Business briefs: Genetically engineered salmon approved for consumption
Federal regulators on Thursday approved a genetically engineered salmon as fit for consumption, clearing the last major obstacle for the first genetically altered animal to reach U.S. supermarkets and dinner tables.
The approval by the Food and Drug Administration caps a long struggle for AquaBounty Technologies, the small company that first applied for approval in the 1990s. The agency made its initial determination that the fish would be safe to eat and for the environment more than five years ago.
The approval of the salmon has been fiercely opposed by some consumer and environmental groups, which have argued that the safety studies were inadequate and that wild salmon populations might be affected if the genetically engineered fish were to escape into the oceans and rivers.
Within hours of the agency's decision, one consumer advocacy group, the Center for Food Safety, said it and other organizations would file a lawsuit to try to rescind the approval.
UnitedHealth lowers forecast, blames ACA
UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest health insurance companies, told investors Thursday that it is significantly lowering its profit estimates and blamed an expected loss of hundreds of millions of dollars selling individual policies under the federal health care law.
The company warned that it was also weighing whether it would continue to offer individual coverage through the online exchanges for 2017.
The announcement comes as the latest blow to the market created under the law to allow better access to health insurance for people who buy coverage on their own rather than through an employer. As the law enters its third year, with open enrollment for 2016 now underway, many customers have faced sticker shock as premiums have risen significantly in some parts of the country. Some of the new companies offering coverage, including the so-called co-ops, have stopped selling coverage in recent weeks, leaving people with fewer options.
The insurance giant may also be using the news to prod the administration into making changes to the law or paying more of what the federal government owes insurers under one of the programs aimed at protecting them from losses in the early years.
U.S. stocks dragged down by health care sector
U.S. stocks closed slightly lower Thursday after spending much of the day wavering between small gains and losses.
Several companies reported earnings and outlooks that offered a mixed picture of the economy for investors.
Health care stocks were among the biggest decliners, dragged down after UnitedHealth Group cut its full-year earnings forecast.
Traders felt a bit better
about payments company Square and online dating site operator Match Group. Both soared on their first day of trading.
In the absence of major economic news, investors honed in on the uneven company earnings and outlooks.
All told, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 4.41 points, or 0.02 percent, to 17,732.75. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 2.34 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,081.24. The Nasdaq composite lost 1.56 points, or 0.03 percent, to 5,073.64.
-- Herald wire reports
This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 10:49 PM with the headline "Business briefs: Genetically engineered salmon approved for consumption ."