New whooping cough strain in US raises questions

NEW YORK (AP) — Researchers have discovered the first U.S. cases of whooping cough caused by a germ that may be resistant to the vaccine.

Health officials are looking into whether cases like the dozen found in Philadelphia might be one reason the nation just had its worst year for whooping cough in six decades. The new bug was previously reported in Japan, France and Finland.

"It's quite intriguing. It's the first time we've seen this here," said Dr. Tom Clark of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. cases are detailed in a brief report from the CDC and other researchers in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease that can strike people of any age but is most dangerous to children. It was once common, but cases in the U.S. dropped after a vaccine was introduced in the 1940s.

An increase in illnesses in recent years has been partially blamed on a version of the vaccine used since the 1990s, which doesn't last as long. Last year, the CDC received reports of 41,880 cases, according to a preliminary count. That included 18 deaths.

The new study suggests that the new whooping cough strain may be why more people have been getting sick. Experts don't think it's more deadly, but the shots may not work as well against it.

In a small, soon-to-be published study, French researchers found the vaccine seemed to lower the risk of severe disease from the new strain in infants. But it didn't prevent illness completely, said Nicole Guiso of the Pasteur Institute, one of the researchers.

The new germ was first identified in France, where more extensive testing is routinely done for whooping cough. The strain now accounts for 14 percent of cases there, Guiso said.

In the United States, doctors usually rely on a rapid test to help make a diagnosis. The extra lab work isn't done often enough to give health officials a good idea how common the new type is here, experts said.

"We definitely need some more information about this before we can draw any conclusions," the CDC's Clark said.

The U.S. cases were found in the past two years in patients at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. One of the study's researchers works for a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, which makes a version of the old whooping cough vaccine that is sold in other countries.

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JournaL: http://www.nejm.org

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Stock index futures cut gains following jobless claims data

By Anne Laurent: A 9-year-old Mexican girl, under the reported name of Dafne, gave birth to a baby girl on Jan. 27, 2013 in Jalisco, Mexico. Both mother and child are at home and healthy, Dr. Enrique Rabago, director of Zapopan Hospital, said at a...

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IHT Rendezvous: The Phantom Province in China's Economy

BEIJING – China has a “phantom province” pumping out nearly 5.8 trillion renminbi (about $930 billion) in gross domestic product last year, about equivalent to the output of its richest province, Guangdong, Chinese media reported this week.

How so?

Deliberately inflated figures from local officials are largely to blame, domestic media reported, as officials seek promotion for delivering the high growth demanded by the state. And the problem of systemic exaggeration in the economy is growing, not shrinking, as the country becomes richer and is increasingly integrated into the global economy.

The world is accustomed to remarkable growth from China, which is now the world’s second-largest economy after zooming up the list to overtake Germany and Japan, and is projected by some to challenge the economic dominance of the United States. And other nations have grown accustomed to looking to China to drive global growth with those high numbers. As Yi Gang, the deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, the central bank, said at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, “I think China’s growth rate will be about 8 percent this year.”

Yet back home, officials are faced with figures that can be off the mark by millions, billions or trillions of renminbi, meaning no one is entirely sure what’s going on. (The government in Beijing has its own way of dealing with the problem: The incoming prime minister, Li Keqiang, once reportedly said financial data in China was “man-made” and he relied instead on three indicators: electricity consumption, rail cargo and bank loans.)

This week, Chinese media reported widely on China’s “phantom province,” the G.D.P. excess that resulted when the economic growth figures from 31 provinces, municipalities and regions were added up and compared to the different, national G.D.P. figure that the government uses. In 2012, the discrepancy reached a remarkable 5.76 trillion renminbi, its biggest ever and the equivalent of the output of Guangdong province, itself an economic powerhouse, the media said.

For 2012, the national G.D.P. figure is estimated to be nearly 52 trillion renminbi (about $8.3 trillion,) while the provincial total was nearly 58 trillion (about $9.3 trillion.)

“Media exposes total G.D.P. of all provinces exceeds national G.D.P. by over 5 trillion renminbi,” (the exact figure was 5.76 trillion,) a headline announced in the 21CN News.

The gap is getting bigger, fast: in 2009, total provincial G.D.P. was nearly 2.7 trillion more than national G.D.P.; in 2010 it was more than 3 trillion; in 2011 it was 4.6 trillion, the Beijing News reported.

In a chain of exaggeration that begins at the village or county level, the figures pile up until they overreach any possible national total, the articles indicate.

The cause of the problem? “G.D.P. ‘achievement,’” said an article in the China Youth Daily, which is run by the Communist Party’s Youth League, referring to the system whereby officials are promoted for achieving high growth rates so they deliberately exaggerate.

The government has tried to stop the mendacity by launching investigations and threatening to punish offenders, but the problem is stubborn, the article said.

The solution?

“Only painful and determined reforms can change the achievement-based evaluation system,” the article said, including: sustained checking of officials’ reporting, increasing the rights of ordinary people to evaluate officials, taking away local officials’ sole responsibility for G.D.P. growth, the environment, public services, people’s prosperity and sustainable development.

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Sean Lowe Blogs: Selma's 'Unwillingness to Compromise' Cost Her a Rose

TV Watch

The Bachelor

By Sean Lowe

02/06/2013 at 08:30 AM EST

From left: Selma Alameri, Sean Lowe and Tierra LiCausi

Kevin Foley/ABC(3)

Sean Lowe is the star of season 17 of The Bachelor, which airs Mondays on ABC. The hunky Dallas businessman and entrepreneur will be blogging about his romantic journey for PEOPLE.com.

I was anxious to get to Canada and forget all about my discouraging week filming The Bachelor in Montana. It started off so promising with Lindsay and then quickly unraveled with the drama surrounding Tierra. Canada was my chance for a clean slate, and I was eager to start the week off on a great first date with Catherine.

I had just recently started to develop real feelings for Catherine. Our relationship was slower to develop than some of the others, but being with her felt natural. There was never a shortage of laughs, and she seemed like someone who truly fit the "best friend" description I had been searching for.

Between driving the ice bus, sledding down hills and drinking hot cocoa, our glacier date was perfect and so much fun. We turned up the romance that evening in our ice castle. We were able to bounce between serious moments and goofy moments so well. The night ended with kisses in the falling snow and I didn't want to say goodnight. The date helped put me back in a positive mental state. I felt hopeful again.

Icy Group Date

I want a girl who isn't afraid to step outside of her comfort zone and will seize the moment. That's why the "polar bear plunge" was the perfect group date. Nobody wants to jump in freezing cold water – I know I didn't! – but I was looking to see who would step up and make a memory that will last forever. It was absolutely freezing that day. The air temperature was right at 32 degrees and the wind was blowing. The canoe ride alone made me want to head back to the hotel where it was warm.

Some of the women were willing to jump in the water, others were more reluctant – and then there was Selma. It didn't bother me that she didn't want to participate. It bothered me that she didn't even consider it. Later she told me that when she says no, nothing can change her mind. As if that's a good thing! I thought you were supposed to compromise and talk things through in a marriage. That reasoning was a large part of why I didn't give Selma a rose that week.

Anyway, we all took the plunge, and almost everyone was glad they did. Except Tierra, of course. She was whisked away by medics and I honestly thought she was experiencing hypothermia. In hindsight, I'm not so sure ... but she played the part well.

Later that evening I was convinced of something: I knew Sarah was not the one for me and I needed to send her home. I could have waited for the rose ceremony, but I wanted to explain myself. I didn't think it was fair to make her wait two more days when I'd already made up my mind. Sending Sarah home was one of the hardest things I did during the season. It hurts me that she left feeling the way she did. She's such a beautiful, bright woman, and some man is going to love her forever. I just knew that man wasn't me.

Date with Des

My final date of the week was with Des. She and I had chemistry from the beginning. I was anxious to spend the day with her because she started to lose confidence in our relationship in Montana. She's another woman I always have fun with. Between repelling down a mountainside, having a picnic in a meadow and climbing a tree, I couldn't have imagined a better date.

That evening we had dinner in the coolest teepee, tucked away in a forest of the Canadian Rockies. She opened up to me about her childhood and how growing up with very little money has made her who she is today. It made perfect sense to me after hearing her story why Des sometimes hides her true feelings behind a smile. She probably had to put on a brave face during tough times as a kid. I found myself wanting to be the man that supports her and makes her feel safe. Des and I finished the evening kissing and making finger puppets on the walls of our teepee. Once again, she was at the top of my list.

Tough Goodbyes

The rose ceremony was tough because I had to say goodbye to two great girls. I never imagined sending Selma home. After our one-on-one date in Joshua Tree, I thought she might be the one. But in the end, her unwillingness to compromise told me that she probably wasn't the girl for me.

And Daniella was equally as hard to say goodbye to, because she was so much fun to be with. We just ran out of time. Our relationship started too late and my feelings for the remaining women were a little bit stronger.

I can tell you, though, I felt so much better about the future after leaving Canada than I did leaving Montana. I felt rejuvenated and hopeful, and the women seemed to have their focus back on love.

Thanks for watching!
Sean

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.

With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until there's a ruling on their lawsuit seeking to block it altogether. The measure would bar many eateries from selling high-sugar drinks in cups or containers bigger than 16 ounces.

"It would be a tremendous waste of expense, time, and effort for our members to incur all of the harm and costs associated with the ban if this court decides that the ban is illegal," Chong Sik Le, president of the New York Korean-American Grocers Association, said in court papers filed Friday.

City lawyers are fighting the lawsuit and oppose postponing the restriction, which the city Board of Health approved in September. They said Tuesday they expect to prevail.

"The obesity epidemic kills nearly 6,000 New Yorkers each year. We see no reason to delay the Board of Health's reasonable and legal actions to combat this major, growing problem," Mark Muschenheim, a city attorney, said in a statement.

Another city lawyer, Thomas Merrill, has said officials believe businesses have had enough time to get ready for the new rule. He has noted that the city doesn't plan to seek fines until June.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials see the first-of-its-kind limit as a coup for public health. The city's obesity rate is rising, and studies have linked sugary drinks to weight gain, they note.

"This is the biggest step a city has taken to curb obesity," Bloomberg said when the measure passed.

Soda makers and other critics view the rule as an unwarranted intrusion into people's dietary choices and an unfair, uneven burden on business. The restriction won't apply at supermarkets and many convenience stores because the city doesn't regulate them.

While the dispute plays out in court, "the impacted businesses would like some more certainty on when and how they might need to adjust operations," American Beverage Industry spokesman Christopher Gindlesperger said Tuesday.

Those adjustments are expected to cost the association's members about $600,000 in labeling and other expenses for bottles, Vice President Mike Redman said in court papers. Reconfiguring "16-ounce" cups that are actually made slightly bigger, to leave room at the top, is expected to take cup manufacturers three months to a year and cost them anywhere from more than $100,000 to several millions of dollars, Foodservice Packaging Institute President Lynn Dyer said in court documents.

Movie theaters, meanwhile, are concerned because beverages account for more than 20 percent of their overall profits and about 98 percent of soda sales are in containers greater than 16 ounces, according to Robert Sunshine, executive director of the National Association of Theatre Owners of New York State.

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Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz

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Stock futures dip after Tuesday rally, earnings in focus

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures dipped on Wednesday, indicating the S&P 500 may pull back from a rally of more than 1 percent a day earlier as the index struggles to push past 5-year highs.

Walt Disney Co beat estimates for quarterly adjusted earnings and said it expected the next few quarters to be better, with a stronger lineup of movies and rising attendance at its theme parks. Shares advanced 3.2 percent to $56.03 in light premarket trading.

With the benchmark S&P 500 index at its highest since December 2007, investors are finding it a challenge to continue a move upward amid a dearth of fresh trading incentives, analysts said.

"We are a little bit at stall speed," said Keith Bliss, senior vice-president at Cuttone & Co in New York.

"We will continue to see earnings but it wouldn't surprise me a bit to see us consolidate around this level on the S&P 500 for the next day or two, in the absence of some real compelling news, which is always a risk."

According to Thomson Reuters data through Tuesday morning, of 278 companies in the S&P 500 <.spx> that have reported earnings, 68.7 percent have beat analysts' expectations, above a 62 percent average since 1994 and 65 percent over the past four quarters.

In another positive sign for corporate profits, 66 percent of companies have topped revenue forecasts. Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are now expected to rise 4.5 percent, according to the data, above the 1.9 percent forecast at the start of earnings season.

S&P 500 futures fell 4.4 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 30 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 11.5 points.

The benchmark S&P index rose 1.04 percent Tuesday, its biggest percentage gain since a 2.5-percent advance on January 2, when legislators sidestepped a "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax hikes that could have hurt a fragile U.S. economic recovery.

Visa , the world's largest credit and debit card network, is expected to report earnings per share of $1.79 for its first quarter, up from $1.49 a year earlier. Smaller rival MasterCard recently reported better-than-expected results but said its revenue growth could slow in the first half of the year due to economic uncertainty.

Zynga Inc jumped 4.7 percent to $2.87 in premarket trading after the online gaming company reported an unexpected fourth-quarter profit, following steep cost cuts and shifting forward deferred revenue.

Time Warner Inc gained 3.1 percent to $51.50 before the bell after reporting higher fourth-quarter profit that beat Wall Street estimates, as growth in its cable networks offset declines in its film, TV entertainment and publishing units.

European stocks were mixed at midday as the previous session's tentative recovery lost steam, with euro zone banks sliding on renewed concerns over the health of the region's economy. <.eu/>

Asian shares rose, with Japanese equities climbing to their highest since October 2008 on hopes of central bank monetary policy easing and optimism about the prospects for a global economic recovery.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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IHT Rendezvous: IHT Quick Read: Feb. 5

NEWS Gen. Moisés García Ochoa was blocked from becoming defense minister of Mexico after American officials expressed their concern that he had ties to drug traffickers. Ginger Thompson reports from New York, Randal C. Archibold from Mexico City, and Eric Schmitt from Washington.

On Monday, confirming what many historians and archaeologists had suspected, a team of experts at the University of Leicester concluded on the basis of DNA and other evidence that the skeletal remains were those of King Richard III, for centuries the most reviled of English monarchs. John F. Burns reports from Leicester, England.

In a major victory for feminists and the rule of law, a Beijing court has granted a woman a divorce on grounds of abuse and made history by issuing a three-month protection order against her ex-husband — a first in the nation’s capital, Beijing, according to lawyers and the Chinese media. Didi Kirsten Tatlow reports from Beijing.

The Thai government faces the quandary of what to do with all the creatures it has saved — a sort of Noah’s ark of endangered species. Thomas Fuller reports from Khao Pratubchang, Thailand.

A strike by garbage collectors in Seville, Spain, is entering its second week and threatening to turn into a health and safety issue in one of Spain’s most touristic cities. Raphael Minder reports from Seville, Spain.

Days ahead of a summit meeting where leaders of the European Union’s 27 member states are to wrestle again with a proposed seven-year budget, a spokesman for the bloc’s executive body was forced to defend the salaries of some officials. James Kanter reports from Brussels.

It was only a few years ago that some economists were arguing that Europe was “decoupling” from its long dependence on trade with the United States, but German carmakers proved otherwise. Jack Ewing reports.

FASHION This month Natalie Massenet, the founder of Net-a-Porter and Internet guru to the fashion world, will throw her might behind London Fashion Week. Suzy Menkes reports from London.

ARTS Song Dong gathered multitudes in Hong Kong and asked them to help complete his autobiographical “36 Calendars” project. Joyce Lau reports from Hong Kong.

SPORTS A 19-month investigation found that criminal groups had infiltrated European and international soccer with hundreds of people involved in match-fixing, global law enforcement officials said. Sam Borden reports.

It would be naïve to believe that soccer is beyond corrupting, or to doubt that the allegations by police investigators in the Netherlands on Monday are anything but the smallest ripples on an enormous global pond. Rob Hughes reports from London.

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Pink: 'Beautiful Has Never Been My Goal'

02/05/2013 at 09:00 AM EST

Pink is well aware of what people say about her appearance.

"A 'girl like me' is someone who doesn't rest on her looks, who has had people tell me from day one, 'You're never going to get magazine covers because you are not pretty enough.' I'm totally comfortable with that," the music star tells Redbook for its March issue, on newsstands Feb. 12.

"I know my strong points: I work hard, I have talent, I’m funny and I’m a good person."

The singer, 33, whose The Truth About Love is nominated for Best Pop Vocal album at this year's Grammys, elaborates on just how she feels about her looks in a very superficial industry.

"Beautiful has never been my goal," she says. "Joy is my goal – to feel healthy and strong and powerful and useful and engaged and intelligent and in love. It’s about joy. And there's such joy now."

Much of that joy comes from life with her husband, Carey Hart, and their daughter Willow, who turns 2 in June. One way that Pink feels beautiful? "When I'm sitting on a mat and my daughter runs to me with complete joy," she says.

The first night after delivering Willow, Pink adds, a nurse in the hospital spent time helping her adapt to life with a newborn. "We sat up and talked all night with my baby in my arms, and it was like my whole life made sense, for the first time, ever."

The 55th annual Grammys will air Sunday, Feb. 10, on CBS at 8p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m.CT)from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

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Bullying study: It does get better for gay teens

CHICAGO (AP) — It really does get better for gay and bisexual teens when it comes to being bullied, although young gay men have it worse than their lesbian peers, according to the first long-term scientific evidence on how the problem changes over time.

The seven-year study involved more than 4,000 teens in England who were questioned yearly through 2010, until they were 19 and 20 years old. At the start, just over half of the 187 gay, lesbian and bisexual teens said they had been bullied; by 2010 that dropped to 9 percent of gay and bisexual boys and 6 percent of lesbian and bisexual girls.

The researchers said the same results likely would be found in the United States.

In both countries, a "sea change" in cultural acceptance of gays and growing intolerance for bullying occurred during the study years, which partly explains the results, said study co-author Ian Rivers, a psychologist and professor of human development at Brunel University in London.

That includes a government mandate in England that schools work to prevent bullying, and changes in the United States permitting same-sex marriage in several states.

In 2010, syndicated columnist Dan Savage launched the "It Gets Better" video project to encourage bullied gay teens. It was prompted by widely publicized suicides of young gays, and includes videos from politicians and celebrities.

"Bullying tends to decline with age regardless of sexual orientation and gender," and the study confirms that, said co-author Joseph Robinson, a researcher and assistant professor of educational psychology at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. "In absolute terms, this would suggest that yes, it gets better."

The study appears online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, said the results mirror surveys by her anti-bullying advocacy group that show bullying is more common in U.S. middle schools than in high schools.

But the researchers said their results show the situation is more nuanced for young gay men.

In the first years of the study, gay boys and girls were almost twice as likely to be bullied as their straight peers. By the last year, bullying dropped overall and was at about the same level for lesbians and straight girls. But the difference between men got worse by ages 19 and 20, with gay young men almost four times more likely than their straight peers to be bullied.

The mixed results for young gay men may reflect the fact that masculine tendencies in girls and women are more culturally acceptable than femininity in boys and men, Robinson said.

Savage, who was not involved in the study, agreed.

"A lot of the disgust that people feel when you bring up homosexuality ... centers around gay male sexuality," Savage said. "There's more of a comfort level" around gay women, he said.

Kendall Johnson, 21, a junior theater major at the University of Illinois, said he was bullied for being gay in high school, mostly when he brought boyfriends to school dances or football games.

"One year at prom, I had a guy tell us that we were disgusting and he didn't want to see us dancing anymore," Johnson said. A football player and the president of the drama club intervened on his behalf, he recalled.

Johnson hasn't been bullied in college, but he said that's partly because he hangs out with the theater crowd and avoids the fraternity scene. Still, he agreed, that it generally gets better for gays as they mature.

"As you grow older, you become more accepting of yourself," Johnson said.

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Online:

Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org

It Gets Better: http://www.itgetsbetter.org

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AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

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Stock futures indicate rebound from recent sell-off

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures advanced on Tuesday retracing ground lost the prior day, indicating that Wall Street would rebound off its worst daily session since November.

Major averages dropped about 1 percent on Monday, pressured by renewed worries over the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis. While the day's decline pushed the S&P 500 into negative territory for February, equities have been strong performers of late, and the benchmark index is up 4.9 percent for 2013.

Wall Street has advanced on strong fourth-quarter earnings and signs of improved economic growth, suggesting the market's longer-term trend remains higher.

"Markets may have been slightly ahead of themselves, but investors recognize that earnings and data are both more positive than we previously thought, so no one should worry that yesterday was the start of anything bigger," said Oliver Purshe, president of Gary Goldberg Financial Services in Suffern, New York.

Archer Daniels Midland , Walt Disney Co and Kellogg Co are among the companies on tap to report on Tuesday. According to Thomson Reuters data, of the 256 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings thus far, 68.4 percent have beaten profit expectations, compared with the 62 percent average since 1994 and the 65 percent average over the past four quarters.

Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to rise 4.4 percent, according to the data. That estimate is above the 1.9 percent forecast at the start of earnings season, but well below the 9.9 percent forecast on October 1.

S&P 500 futures rose 7.2 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures added 69 points and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 11.5 points.

At current levels, the S&P is about 5.4 percent away from its all-time intraday high of 1,576.09, reached in October 2011.

Investors will also be looking to the Institute for Supply Management's January non-manufacturing index, due at 10 a.m. Economists forecast a reading of 55.2, versus 55.7 in December.

Last week, the ISM's manufacturing index for January showed the pace of growth in manufacturing picked up to its highest level in nine months.

In company news, McGraw-Hill will be in focus a day after news the U.S. Justice Department plans to sue the company's Standard & Poor's unit over its mortgage bond ratings. The action would mark the first such federal action against a credit rating agency related to the recent financial crisis.

The stock plummeted almost 14 percent in Monday's session, its worst daily losses since the October 1987 market crash.

U.S. shares of BP Plc rose 1.9 percent to $44.49 before the bell after the company reported earnings that beat expectations and said underlying financial momentum would be "strongly evident" by 2014.

Dell Inc may also be volatile as the company moved closer to a nearly $24 billion buyout deal to take the company private. The stock rose 1.1 percent to $13.42 in light premarket trading.

U.S. stocks slid on Monday as worries about Europe caused the market to pull back from recent gains.

(Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)

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