INVESTMENT

ne-third of all the deaths among the homeless, the study noted, are caused by drug and alcohol abuse.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty imposed what he called a fiscally sustainable formula for increasing federal transfers to the provinces for health care, one that will eventually increase spending by less than the current 6 percent a year.

Standard and Poor's, one of the top credit rating agencies in the world, announced today it was lowering the sovereign credit ratings on the Republic of Hungary, slashing that government's debt to 'junk' debt status. The agency also assigned the nation's debt with a 'recovery rating' of 3, meaning it expects investors to be able to obtain from 50 to 70 percent of the country's bonds face value in the event of a default.

Institutional investors such as unions won the right to file private common-law suits against Wall Street firms for alleged securities-related fraud and negligence.

Canadian telecom upstart Globalive wants to buy rival Mobilicity but no deal is imminent or indeed likely until the government clarifies rules on foreign ownership and airwave allocation, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The largest companies, those typically under the most scrutiny, have experienced the biggest increases in CEO compensation. In 2010, S&P 500 CEOs' total realized compensation increased by a median of 36.5 percent.

After breezing through the euro zone debt crisis for the past two years, Germany's economy could fall into recession as anxious businesses hold off on investment and exports wither.

A devastating plane crash on New Jersey's I-287 left five dead in a business trip turned sour. What's more is that for a small plane, the wreckage was huge.

By mid-day the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was down 80 points, to 12,023.28, while the NASDAQ was down 2 percent, to 2,550, and the S&P 500 was off three-quarters of a percent fo 1,232.

To be sure, it's not a U.S. stock market for rookies, or the squeamish -- it's a market that also can bring out the reactive in even the most experienced investor. Hence with the above in mind, here are 5 time-tested axioms that every investor should keep close by.

A Socata TBM-700 plane crash on Interstate 287 in Morris Township, New Jersey that killed five people could have been caused by icing, according to reports.

KGHM, Europe's No.2 copper producer, and Abacus Mining will need to invest $795 million in their joint Canadian copper and gold project Afton-Ajax, according to a feasibility study cited by KGHM on Wednesday.

Oracle Corp's earnings fell short of Wall Street's forecasts for the first time in a decade as software and hardware sales sputtered, sending its shares down more than 10 percent and stoking fears a global recession will hurt tech spending.

For most people, the holiday season is a time spent with family and friends, but for many it can be a time of intense loneliness. Scammers count on that.

Think of wine critic Robert Parker as the E.F. Hutton of fermented grapes. When he talks, oenophiles listen.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: Research In Motion, Polycom, and Yandex. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Oracle, Conceptus, ARM Holdings, ASML Holding, Baidu, and Paychex.

Southeast Asian stock markets climbed higher on Wednesday, cheered by better economic news from the United States, with a rally in global oil prices boosting commodities-related shares across the board.

Japanese prosecutors raided offices of Olympus Corp and the home of a former executive Wednesday in a probe into a $1.7 billion accounting scandal that has threatened the survival of the once-proud camera and medical equipment maker.

Japanese prosecutors raided Olympus Corp units on Wednesday in connection with a huge accounting scandal that has threatened the existence of the 92-year-old maker of cameras and medical equipment, Japanese media reported.

The story that will follow is one of corporate machinations, armed strongmen storming a Siberian oil field and an office headquarters, corruption and ludicrous amounts of money.

The Rangers spent $51 million to negotiate with the Japanese star.