UNITED STATES

Switzerland will hand over details of about 4,450 UBS bank accounts to U.S. authorities, settling a tax dispute that has threatened Swiss banking secrecy, the two governments said on Wednesday.

Macquarie Group Ltd, Australia's top investment bank, agreed to buy U.S. asset manager Delaware Investments for $428 million in cash from Lincoln National Corp, continuing a trend of consolidation in the fund management business.

Oil reversed early losses on Wednesday to rise back toward $70 a barrel, as data showing oil demand is recovering in the United States outweighed doubts about the strength of the global economy.

Stocks slipped on Wednesday, led by the industrial, materials and financial sectors, as a drop in Chinese shares prompted renewed selling in global equity markets on fears stock prices have outpaced the economic recovery.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said the U.S. economy has avoided a meltdown and appears on a slow path to recovery, but Congress must now deal with enormous amounts of debt that threaten to erode U.S. purchasing power.

The Swiss government will hand over details of about 4,450 bank accounts to U.S. authorities as part of a deal struck with Washington over UBS, it said on Wednesday.

Americans remain skeptical of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform drive, but their views have not changed much after weeks of sometimes angry protests at public meetings, according to an NBC poll released on Tuesday.

Adverse events like fainting or nausea remain rare among young women and girls given Merck and Co's Gardasil vaccine against cervical cancer, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

Voter registration cards are for sale by the handful on the streets of Afghan cities and villages.

Packing on the pounds may be an unintended consequence of the U.S. Food Stamp Program, according to research that shows that getting food stamps may help contribute to obesity, at least among women.

The global economic recovery has begun but sustaining it will require refocusing the United States toward exports and Asia toward imports, the International Monetary Fund's chief economist said.

The recession appears to be easing for U.S. hospitals, although close to a third of hospitals remain in the red, according to a study published on Wednesday.

Sony Corp will launch a slimmer, cheaper version of its PlayStation 3 game console next month, hoping to jumpstart sales and win back market share from rivals Microsoft and Nintendo.

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday it was up to national regulatory authorities to decide whether to extend the shelf life of the flu drug Tamiflu by two years, as recommended by Swiss drug maker Roche.

The United States economy is out of the emergency room and appears to be on a slow path to recovery, Warren Buffett wrote in an opinion column in the New York Times.

The Swiss and U.S. governments have signed an agreement involving giant Swiss bank UBS AG aimed at uncovering thousands of Americans who are suspected of evading U.S. taxes, a U.S. Justice Department official said on Wednesday.

Baby boomers, now well into middle age, are still turning on to illegal drugs, doubling the rates of illicit drug use for the older generation, according to U.S. government statistics released on Wednesday.

Promising IPOs, Official Tax Deal?; Opel Finals

Tobacco plants might yield a cheap and easy-to-administer vaccine against a pesky stomach virus called norovirus, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

The United States economy is out of the emergency room and appears to be on a slow path to recovery,, Warren Buffett wrote in an opinion column in the New York Times.

Oil fell below $69 a barrel on Wednesday, at one stage losing more than $1, after a near 5 percent slump in Chinese shares sent doubts rippling through global markets about the strength of the world economic recovery.