Defeating contagion

October 03, 2014 - Daily News Briefing

Ebola – and the fear of it – must be defeated.

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European Central Bank head Mario Draghi underlined the bank's willingness to step up its economic stimulus efforts — but left open questions about the size of upcoming measures after the bank's meeting Thursday. Markets fell after his statements, as some investors were hoping for a stronger commitment to more stimulus. Germany's main index declined 2 percent, France's 2.8 percent and Italy's a whopping 3.9 percent. The euro rose to $1.2654 from $1.2630 earlier in the day, a sign that currency traders were scaling back their expectations for future monetary stimulus.

Almost two years after his Election Day drubbing, Mitt Romney is the Republican man in demand. The twice-defeated White House contender is campaigning across seven states this week, covering nearly 6,000 miles in five days to raise money and energy for Republican midterm candidates from Georgia to Colorado. Romney has repeatedly insisted he's not running for president again, and his closest aides laugh off a possible 2016 bid. But top GOP strategists and donors suggest his continued high profile in Republican politics highlights the party's murky future and a crowded 2016 field that is both flawed and without a clear front-runner.

Saudi Arabia sought to assure the public that the kingdom was safe and free of health scares as an estimated 2 million Muslims streamed into a sprawling tent city near Mecca on Thursday for the start of the annual Islamic hajj pilgrimage, as part of a five-day spiritual journey meant to cleanse the faithful of sin and bring them closer to God. Earlier this year, Saudi authorities banned people from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea — the countries hardest hit in the Ebola epidemic — from getting visas as a precaution against the virus. The decision has affected a total of 7,400 pilgrims from the three countries. Ebola is believed to have sickened more than 7,100 people in West Africa and killed more than 3,300, according to the World Health Organization.

Prince William and his wife Kate have threatened to take legal action against a photographer they say has been monitoring their toddler son Prince George. The couple's Kensington Palace office said Thursday the royals had "taken legal steps to ask that an individual ceases harassing and following both Prince George and his nanny as they go about their ordinary daily lives."

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, a sign the US labor market might be tightening. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 287,000 in the week ended Sept. 27, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims have fallen steadily since the nation emerged from the 2007-09 recession and are currently lower than they were before the country's economic crisis began.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is buying the privately-owned auto dealership company Van Tuyl Group. Financial terms were not disclosed. Van Tuyl Group says it is the biggest privately owned auto dealership group in the US. It has 78 independently operated dealerships and more than 100 franchises in 10 states. The company will be renamed Berkshire Hathaway Automotive and be based in Dallas. Current CEO Larry Van Tuyl will become chairman of the auto unit. Cecil Van Tuyl, Larry's father, started with a Kansas City Chevrolet dealership in 1955. He was joined in the family business by Larry in 1971, according to the company's website.

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

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