U.S. worries subdue shares, Greek deal lifts euro

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares consolidated their recent rise on Tuesday after a surprise drop in U.S. manufacturing added to worries about stalled budget negotiations, while the euro hovered at a six-week high on optimism over Greece's plan to buy back debt.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.fteu3> of top European shares opened steady at 1121.46 points, with a 0.1 percent fall on London's FTSE 100 <.ftse> balanced by small gains on Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> and Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi>.

Worries about a looming wave of U.S. spending cuts and tax hikes intensified on Monday, after the White House dismissed a budget deal proposal from Republicans, saying it did not meet President Barack Obama's pledge to raise taxes on the rich.

In a sign that U.S. manufacturing may also be struggling to gain traction, the Institute for Supply Management index of national factory activity in November hit it softest level since July 2009, possibly hit by the impact of superstorm Sandy.

Berkeley Futures associate director Richard Griffiths said worries over the U.S. budget situation were causing many traders to err on the side of caution by selling shares to take profits after recent rallies.

"There's a lot of doubt about it at the moment, hence stock markets are drifting lower. Sentiment has just turned a bit negative recently," said Griffiths.

The euro extended its recent rally, hitting a fresh six-week high of $1.3077 as markets were reassured by news that Greece was planning to buy back bonds to cut its debt, which first triggered the euro zone crisis three years ago.

The European single currency's rise helped push the dollar to a one-month low against a basket of currencies, with its index <.dxy> falling to 79.761.

In debt markets, German government bonds were steady, as concerns over U.S. budget talks supported safe-haven assets even as better than expected terms for Greece's buy-back underpinned higher-yielding euro zone bonds.

In Asian trading, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> dipped from a nine-month high falling 0.2 percent, while Australian shares <.axjo> lost 0.6 percent and Japan's Nikkei fell 0.3 percent. <.ax><.t/>

U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street when trading resumes and riskier assets such as commodities were also hit, with oil, copper and gold all losing ground.

"Oil markets are starting to come off on the weaker-than-expected manufacturing data and the fact that the U.S. economic outlook remains unclear," said Natalie Rampono, commodity strategist at ANZ in Sydney.

(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Paul Taylor)

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India Ink: A Conversation With: India's Chief Climate Change Negotiator

DOHA, Qatar – With one week left for the U.N. climate change talks to conclude, developed and developing countries remain at odds on how to solve the crisis being linked to the recent spate of extreme weather events that have claimed lives and destroyed property worth billions of dollar.

India has agreed to a take on legally binding obligations after 2020. But for the next eight years, New Delhi wants developed countries to honor their commitments under previous agreements including significantly bringing down their carbon dioxide emissions as well as providing finance and technology to developing countries. Emissions of carbon dioxide hit a record high in 2011, with decreases by developing countries more than offset by increases from China and India.

As discussions heat up here in Doha, India’s chief negotiator, Meera Mehrishi, spoke to India Ink on the contentious issues playing out in the halls of the mammoth Qatar National Convention Center, where delegates from 194 countries have gathered.

Hurricane Sandy, which hit the United States in late October, raised a global alarm about the consequences of climate change. Why don’t these talks reflect urgency for action?

After Hurricane Sandy, I thought the point of view of the Western world would change a little bit. I don’t see that happening. Climate change is becoming a reality because we are facing weather that we have never faced earlier across the world, be it a developed or developing country. And I think at conferences like this, we should have a positive outcome and not just keep postponing things till the next meeting.

A senior negotiator from the United States, Jonathan Pershing, said last week that talks in Doha must phase out obligations under older agreements. How do you react to that?

I know.  But Jonathan Pershing, I find to be a very reasonable man. And yes, I heard that he had made this very strong comment earlier. But we have spoken to the American delegation and they are quite willing to sit down and talk about issues. At least, they are not completely throwing them out of the window. So let us see, while we keep the conversation going, what we are able to keep on the table.

What are India’s stakes at these talks?

Our country is being impacted by climate change. We have had freaky weather in India. The monsoons that used to come in July have started coming in September. The farmers are finding it difficult now because they continue to plant during what they perceive to be the monsoon season. We are losing our crop. It’s going to have huge repercussions on food security in the country. It’s going to take them time to adapt.  And we don’t know what will happen after five to ten years. How often will farmers try to adapt? It will be very difficult.

Last week, you asked the developed world to take higher emission cuts. Can differences between developed and developing countries be resolved in this remaining week?

I think attempts are being made to bridge the divide. Though we are having formal meetings, but we are having a lot of informal consultations. Countries are meeting bilaterally. Very contentious issues are being discussed. And I think everyone is keen to see a Doha outcome.

I think European Union in a meeting mentioned that they were willing to raise their targets to 30 percent. There are some conditionalities that still have to be looked at.  But there is a possibility of European Union raising their targets.

Could you elaborate on the contentious issues?

Well, one that is very contentious is the intellectual property rights-related issue.  Developing countries have been pressing that technology gets transferred from developed to developing countries. We are hoping that developed countries transfer that technology without us having to pay the royalty. But that’s not working out because there are very rigid views from that side because the private sector is involved. The private sector has spent a lot on research and development and I guess they would like some return on it. But then without technology, it will be difficult for developing countries to meet their targets.

Any other particularly tough issue?

Unilateral measures are the other problem for us. Do not take decisions bilaterally that impact other countries. The EUETS [European Union Emissions Trading System] is an example. You [the European Union] impose a tax on civil aviation on airlines that are coming into the European Union. But you’re imposing taxes on flights through their own airspace — that is not European Union airspace. And it had to be discussed keeping the principles of the UNFCCC [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] in view. Now that was not done. It was just announced that we are imposing this tax. They have stopped the clock now and it will be discussed in ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization]. But we are hoping to see that the principles of the convention are kept in mind by the European Union. And we also want to see that no more unilateral actions are taken.

What about money? Is there any movement on mobilizing $100 billion by 2020?

We have set up institutions. We have a Green Climate Fund but how much money is going to come into that and from where … nobody is willing to make that commitment. That is a major problem for us.

On the finance problem, India and China are proud of their growth stories but they still want a slice of the funds. Does India really need this money?

But our growth story has stopped.  The growth is now 5.5 percent. I won’t say that we are desperate for money but it is always welcome. And in these multilateral forums, we are part of the larger group, G77 + China, we all speak with one voice.

Speaking of groups, how united is the BASIC [Brazil, South Africa, India and China] group now? There have been rumors of divisions inside, especially South Africa having its own agenda.

I don’t think the rumors are true. Because as BASIC, we have been meeting regularly for the last one year. And there are a lot of commonalities among the four countries. Yes, South Africa may have its own agenda. We may have our own agenda. Discussions maybe a little strong sometimes but we come to a consensus. I don’t think the unity of BASIC is going to break. Not now at all.

What commonalities keep BASIC together?

All four countries are developing rapidly. Growth of all four countries has slowed down. We also know that post-2020 to take on any kind of targets, we need to allow our countries to develop now. To develop we need finance and technology … that is where we come together. The idea is that we have to have a good sort of life for people in our countries. China’s growth has slowed down. Brazil is doing very well. But Brazil again has pockets in their country that like us have to develop rapidly.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.

Read More..

Kellan Lutz, Hugh Jackman Take Bites and Swipes &#38; More Casting News

By Julia Haskins

12/02/2012 at 07:00 PM EST

Kellan Lutz (left) and Hugh Jackman

Christopher Polk/Getty, Han Myung-Gu/WireImage

It's comeback time. Whether seeking revenge or reprising beloved roles, a fresh crop of movies shows that the best characters always come back for more.

Twilight's Kellan Lutz feasts on others as a vampire, but this time, he's utilizing his own body for powers, Zimbio reports.

The actor will star in Tatua as a tattooed assassin whose weapons are extracted from the ink on his body. The process is a strain on the hit man, but he must put that aside when his son is kidnapped by a dangerous foe.

Hugh Jackman is set to reprise his role as Wolverine in
X-Men: Days of Future Past, the Hollywood Reporter. Ian McKellen (Magneto) and Patrick Stewart (Professor Xavier), will also be joining Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Nicholas Hoult.

Charlize Theron will star in an adaptation of the final installment of a South Korean revenge trilogy, the Hollywood Reporter also says. The original movie revolves around a woman wrongfully imprisoned for 13 years who then sets out to seek her long-awaited revenge. Writer William Monahan says the English-language remake will be "very American – and very unexpected."

The made-for-TV Disney channel movie Life-Size is getting a sequel, Variety reports. Tyra Banks will reprise her role as Eve, the doll who comes to life, and also executive produce the movie. No word yet on whether Lindsay Lohan, who played Eve's owner, will be making a return.

Also coming soon:

Beyoncé won't be slowing down after her Super Bowl performance in February. Just a couple weeks later, she'll introduce her still untitled, feature-length documentary on HBO, Deadline reports. The documentary airs Feb. 16.

Bridesmaids' Rose Byrne will be going through the motions as a newlywed in I Give it a Year, Zimbio reports. As if being newly married wasn't tough enough, the "too perfect" ex Anna Faris will be shaking up an already teetering balance.

Cate Blanchett will be stirring up her wicked ways as the evil stepmother in a live-action adaptation of Disney's Cinderella, also according to Zimbio.

And George Clooney is sticking to his winning formula by joining forces with his Argo team to produce an untitled crime drama, Variety reports.

Read More..

Asperger's dropped from revised diagnosis manual

CHICAGO (AP) — The now familiar term "Asperger's disorder" is being dropped. And abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums will be given a scientific-sounding diagnosis called DMDD. But "dyslexia" and other learning disorders remain.

The revisions come in the first major rewrite in nearly 20 years of the diagnostic guide used by the nation's psychiatrists. Changes were approved Saturday.

Full details of all the revisions will come next May when the American Psychiatric Association's new diagnostic manual is published, but the impact will be huge, affecting millions of children and adults worldwide. The manual also is important for the insurance industry in deciding what treatment to pay for, and it helps schools decide how to allot special education.

This diagnostic guide "defines what constellations of symptoms" doctors recognize as mental disorders, said Dr. Mark Olfson, a Columbia University psychiatry professor. More important, he said, it "shapes who will receive what treatment. Even seemingly subtle changes to the criteria can have substantial effects on patterns of care."

Olfson was not involved in the revision process. The changes were approved Saturday in suburban Washington, D.C., by the psychiatric association's board of trustees.

The aim is not to expand the number of people diagnosed with mental illness, but to ensure that affected children and adults are more accurately diagnosed so they can get the most appropriate treatment, said Dr. David Kupfer. He chaired the task force in charge of revising the manual and is a psychiatry professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

One of the most hotly argued changes was how to define the various ranges of autism. Some advocates opposed the idea of dropping the specific diagnosis for Asperger's disorder. People with that disorder often have high intelligence and vast knowledge on narrow subjects but lack social skills. Some who have the condition embrace their quirkiness and vow to continue to use the label.

And some Asperger's families opposed any change, fearing their kids would lose a diagnosis and no longer be eligible for special services.

But the revision will not affect their education services, experts say.

The new manual adds the term "autism spectrum disorder," which already is used by many experts in the field. Asperger's disorder will be dropped and incorporated under that umbrella diagnosis. The new category will include kids with severe autism, who often don't talk or interact, as well as those with milder forms.

Kelli Gibson of Battle Creek, Mich., who has four sons with various forms of autism, said Saturday she welcomes the change. Her boys all had different labels in the old diagnostic manual, including a 14-year-old with Asperger's.

"To give it separate names never made sense to me," Gibson said. "To me, my children all had autism."

Three of her boys receive special education services in public school; the fourth is enrolled in a school for disabled children. The new autism diagnosis won't affect those services, Gibson said. She also has a 3-year-old daughter without autism.

People with dyslexia also were closely watching for the new updated doctors' guide. Many with the reading disorder did not want their diagnosis to be dropped. And it won't be. Instead, the new manual will have a broader learning disorder category to cover several conditions including dyslexia, which causes difficulty understanding letters and recognizing written words.

The trustees on Saturday made the final decision on what proposals made the cut; recommendations came from experts in several work groups assigned to evaluate different mental illnesses.

The revised guidebook "represents a significant step forward for the field. It will improve our ability to accurately diagnose psychiatric disorders," Dr. David Fassler, the group's treasurer and a University of Vermont psychiatry professor, said after the vote.

The shorthand name for the new edition, the organization's fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, is DSM-5. Group leaders said specifics won't be disclosed until the manual is published but they confirmed some changes. A 2000 edition of the manual made minor changes but the last major edition was published in 1994.

Olfson said the manual "seeks to capture the current state of knowledge of psychiatric disorders. Since 2000 ... there have been important advances in our understanding of the nature of psychiatric disorders."

Catherine Lord, an autism expert at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York who was on the psychiatric group's autism task force, said anyone who met criteria for Asperger's in the old manual would be included in the new diagnosis.

One reason for the change is that some states and school systems don't provide services for children and adults with Asperger's, or provide fewer services than those given an autism diagnosis, she said.

Autism researcher Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for the advocacy group Autism Speaks, said small studies have suggested the new criteria will be effective. But she said it will be crucial to monitor so that children don't lose services.

Other changes include:

—A new diagnosis for severe recurrent temper tantrums — disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. Critics say it will medicalize kids' who have normal tantrums. Supporters say it will address concerns about too many kids being misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and treated with powerful psychiatric drugs. Bipolar disorder involves sharp mood swings and affected children are sometimes very irritable or have explosive tantrums.

—Eliminating the term "gender identity disorder." It has been used for children or adults who strongly believe that they were born the wrong gender. But many activists believe the condition isn't a disorder and say calling it one is stigmatizing. The term would be replaced with "gender dysphoria," which means emotional distress over one's gender. Supporters equated the change with removing homosexuality as a mental illness in the diagnostic manual, which happened decades ago.

___

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

Read More..

Stock index futures signal early gains

PARIS (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.12 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.15 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.4 percent at 3.43 a.m. EST.

European stocks rose in morning trade, with resource-related shares buoyed by improving manufacturing data from China. <.eu/>

The final reading of HSBC's China manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Survey (PMI) rose to 50.5 in November from 49.5 in the previous month, the first time since October 2011 that it has topped the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.

HSBC's data followed a similar survey from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Saturday that showed the pace of growth in the manufacturing sector quickening. The official PMI rose to a seven-month high of 50.6 for November from 50.2 in October.

With barely a month left before they reach the "fiscal cliff" Republicans and Democrats remained far apart on Friday in talks to avoid the across-the-board tax hikes and spending cuts that threaten to throw the country back into recession.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pushed Republicans on Sunday to offer specific ideas to cut the deficit, and predicted that they would agree to raise tax rates on the rich to obtain a year-end deal and avoid possible economic doom.

Three top Federal Reserve officials offered sharply different takes on Saturday on the U.S. central bank's unprecedented efforts to push down long-term borrowing costs, highlighting what may be some key themes at the Fed's upcoming policy-setting meeting.

Singapore Airlines said on Monday it was in talks with interested parties to sell its 49 percent stake in British carrier Virgin Atlantic, with sources revealing that Delta Air Lines Inc was among potential suitors.

Boeing Co and the union that represents its 23,000 engineers tentatively agreed to resume labor talks on Tuesday, after their negotiations on a new contract ended abruptly on Thursday.

News Corp is expected to name Robert Thomson, a close confidant of Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, to lead its new publishing company by the end of next week, according to sources familiar with News Corp's plans.

Bank of America Corp , the second largest U.S. bank, is holding off on plans for new checking-account fees that could have affected some 10 million customers by year's end, avoiding a possible repeat of last year's protests over consumer banking fees, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

U.S. gravel producer Martin Marietta Materials Inc will look to make a friendly offer to buy rival Vulcan Materials Co , rather than attempt another hostile takeover, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people close to the decision.

The S&P 500 wrapped up its fifth positive month in the last six on Friday, although it ended the day flat as politicians remain at odds about how to avoid the cliff.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> rose 3.76 points, or 0.03 percent, to 13,025.58 at the close. The S&P 500 <.spx> gained a mere 0.23 of a point, or 0.02 percent, to finish at 1,416.18. But the Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> dipped 1.79 points, or 0.06 percent, to end at 3,010.24.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by John Stonestreet)

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Amid Egypt’s Duel on Democracy, Morsi Calls for Vote

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York Times

A Cairo rally for President Mohamed Morsi, who wants expanded powers, drew a crowd of hundreds of thousands on Saturday.

CAIRO — President Mohamed Morsi speaks darkly of imminent threats from a conspiracy of unnamed foreign enemies and corrupt businessmen. He vows to uncover counterrevolutionaries hiding under judicial robes. His advisers charge that loyalists of the former dictator have infiltrated the opposition, saying it would gladly sacrifice democracy to defeat the Islamists.

Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

A large Cairo rally on Saturday added to a debate over President Mohamed Morsi’s commitment to democracy.

In a one-week blitz, Mr. Morsi and his allies in the Muslim Brotherhood cast aside two years of cautious pragmatism in an effort to seize full control of Egypt’s political transition. Mr. Morsi decreed himself above the reach of the courts until completion of a new constitution. He went around the laws to install his own public prosecutor in a stated drive to go after those who abused power or reaped profits under the old government. And his Islamist allies in the constitutional assembly rammed through a charter over the objections of their secular opposition and the Coptic Christian Church.

On Saturday, Mr. Morsi pushed forward with plans for the new constitution, setting a national referendum on it for Dec. 15.

“I pray to God and hope that it will be a new day of democracy in Egypt,” he said in a nationally televised speech, calling for a “national dialogue.”

But his recent tone and actions reminded critics of the autocratic ways of his predecessor, and have aroused a new debate here about his commitment to democracy and pluralism at a time when he and his Islamist allies dominate political life.

Mr. Morsi’s advisers call the tactics a regrettable but necessary response to genuine threats to the political transition from what they call the deep state — the vestiges of the autocracy of former President Hosni Mubarak, especially in the news media and the judiciary.

But his critics say they hear a familiar paranoia in Mr. Morsi’s new tone that reminds them of talk of the “hidden hands” and foreign plots that Mr. Mubarak once used to justify his authoritarianism.

“I have sent warnings to many people who know who they are, who may be committing crimes against the homeland,” Mr. Morsi declared in an interview with state television on Thursday night, referring repeatedly to secret information about a “conspiracy” and “real and imminent threats” that he would not disclose. “If anybody tries to derail the transition, I will not allow them.”

In a speech to supporters that unveiled his new push to seize control of the transition’s end, Mr. Morsi was even more zealous. “To the corrupters who hide under respectable cover, I say, ‘Never imagine that I can’t see you,”’ he declared. “I’m on the lookout for them and will never let them go.”

The Muslim Brotherhood mobilized hundreds of thousands of supporters to rally on his behalf on Saturday at Cairo University. They chanted for legal action against the Mubarak-appointed judge who led the call for a judicial strike to protest Mr. Morsi’s attempts to limit judicial power over the transition, and against the Mubarak-appointed public prosecutor Mr. Morsi sought to remove.

The demonstrators denounced both men as remnants of the old government in disguise.

Across town, several thousand of Mr. Morsi’s opponents rallied in Tahrir Square to oppose the draft constitution and what they describe as Mr. Morsi’s power grab. In response to the referendum announcement, Mohamed ElBaradei, an opposition leader and former United Nations diplomat, sent a Twitter message that the draft constitution “undermines basic freedoms and violates universal values.”

“The struggle will continue,” he added.

The Brotherhood has adopted a tone of “open threats and intimidation,” said Hossam Bahgat, executive director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. Liberal critics note that the Brotherhood has already broken its pledges not to take more than a third of the parliamentary seats, run a presidential candidate or monopolize power.

Mayy El Sheikh contributed reporting.

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6 Futuristic Fireplaces to Keep You Warm This Winter

Who would have guessed — the futuristic-looking luxury fireplace industry is booming. Surprisingly, if you can dream it, it can be built. But, most of the time, it’ll cost you.

It seems we’re no longer just content to view the crackling Yule Log on our TVs. These fireplaces even move past the traditional stone and brick models commonly seen today. They run on gas and have controllers to turn them on or off. Some can even be operated from smartphone apps.

[More from Mashable: For Sale: Space Shuttle Xing Sign]

Check out the gallery and tell us which one is most appealing to you.

Uni Flame

The Uni Flame indoor or outdoor fireplace comes from modern home goods company Radius.

[More from Mashable: Portland Toymakers Create Ten-Legged Bamboo Companion [VIDEO]]

Click here to view this gallery.

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, dszc

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum Are Married

People Exclusive

By Monica Rizzo

12/01/2012 at 06:15 PM EST

J.P. Rosenbaum and Ashley Hebert

Victor Chavez/Getty

It’s official: Bachelorette star Ashley Hebert and her fiancé J.P. Rosenbaum tied the knot Saturday afternoon in Pasadena, Calif.

Surrounded by family, friends and fellow Bachelor and Bachelorette alumni like Ali Fedotowsky, Emily Maynard, and Jason and Molly Mesnick, the couple said "I do" in an outdoor ceremony officiated by franchise host Chris Harrison.

"Today is all about our friends and family," Hebert, whose nuptials will air Dec. 16 on a two-hour special on ABC, tells PEOPLE. "It's about standing with J.P., looking around at all the people we love in the same room there to celebrate our love."

The 28-year-old dentist from Madawaska, Maine, met New York construction manager Rosenbaum, 35, on season 7 of The Bachelorette. The couple became engaged on the season finale.

Hebert and Rosenbaum are the second couple in the franchise's 24 seasons to make it from their show finale to the altar, following in the footsteps of Bachelorette Trista Rehn, who married Vail, Colo., firefighter Ryan Sutter in 2003.

Read More..

Asperger's dropped from revised diagnosis manual

CHICAGO (AP) — The now familiar term "Asperger's disorder" is being dropped. And abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums will be given a scientific-sounding diagnosis called DMDD. But "dyslexia" and other learning disorders remain.

The revisions come in the first major rewrite in nearly 20 years of the diagnostic guide used by the nation's psychiatrists. Changes were approved Saturday.

Full details of all the revisions will come next May when the American Psychiatric Association's new diagnostic manual is published, but the impact will be huge, affecting millions of children and adults worldwide. The manual also is important for the insurance industry in deciding what treatment to pay for, and it helps schools decide how to allot special education.

This diagnostic guide "defines what constellations of symptoms" doctors recognize as mental disorders, said Dr. Mark Olfson, a Columbia University psychiatry professor. More important, he said, it "shapes who will receive what treatment. Even seemingly subtle changes to the criteria can have substantial effects on patterns of care."

Olfson was not involved in the revision process. The changes were approved Saturday in suburban Washington, D.C., by the psychiatric association's board of trustees.

The aim is not to expand the number of people diagnosed with mental illness, but to ensure that affected children and adults are more accurately diagnosed so they can get the most appropriate treatment, said Dr. David Kupfer. He chaired the task force in charge of revising the manual and is a psychiatry professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

One of the most hotly argued changes was how to define the various ranges of autism. Some advocates opposed the idea of dropping the specific diagnosis for Asperger's disorder. People with that disorder often have high intelligence and vast knowledge on narrow subjects but lack social skills. Some who have the condition embrace their quirkiness and vow to continue to use the label.

And some Asperger's families opposed any change, fearing their kids would lose a diagnosis and no longer be eligible for special services.

But the revision will not affect their education services, experts say.

The new manual adds the term "autism spectrum disorder," which already is used by many experts in the field. Asperger's disorder will be dropped and incorporated under that umbrella diagnosis. The new category will include kids with severe autism, who often don't talk or interact, as well as those with milder forms.

Kelli Gibson of Battle Creek, Mich., who has four sons with various forms of autism, said Saturday she welcomes the change. Her boys all had different labels in the old diagnostic manual, including a 14-year-old with Asperger's.

"To give it separate names never made sense to me," Gibson said. "To me, my children all had autism."

Three of her boys receive special education services in public school; the fourth is enrolled in a school for disabled children. The new autism diagnosis won't affect those services, Gibson said. She also has a 3-year-old daughter without autism.

People with dyslexia also were closely watching for the new updated doctors' guide. Many with the reading disorder did not want their diagnosis to be dropped. And it won't be. Instead, the new manual will have a broader learning disorder category to cover several conditions including dyslexia, which causes difficulty understanding letters and recognizing written words.

The trustees on Saturday made the final decision on what proposals made the cut; recommendations came from experts in several work groups assigned to evaluate different mental illnesses.

The revised guidebook "represents a significant step forward for the field. It will improve our ability to accurately diagnose psychiatric disorders," Dr. David Fassler, the group's treasurer and a University of Vermont psychiatry professor, said after the vote.

The shorthand name for the new edition, the organization's fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, is DSM-5. Group leaders said specifics won't be disclosed until the manual is published but they confirmed some changes. A 2000 edition of the manual made minor changes but the last major edition was published in 1994.

Olfson said the manual "seeks to capture the current state of knowledge of psychiatric disorders. Since 2000 ... there have been important advances in our understanding of the nature of psychiatric disorders."

Catherine Lord, an autism expert at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York who was on the psychiatric group's autism task force, said anyone who met criteria for Asperger's in the old manual would be included in the new diagnosis.

One reason for the change is that some states and school systems don't provide services for children and adults with Asperger's, or provide fewer services than those given an autism diagnosis, she said.

Autism researcher Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for the advocacy group Autism Speaks, said small studies have suggested the new criteria will be effective. But she said it will be crucial to monitor so that children don't lose services.

Other changes include:

—A new diagnosis for severe recurrent temper tantrums — disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. Critics say it will medicalize kids' who have normal tantrums. Supporters say it will address concerns about too many kids being misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and treated with powerful psychiatric drugs. Bipolar disorder involves sharp mood swings and affected children are sometimes very irritable or have explosive tantrums.

—Eliminating the term "gender identity disorder." It has been used for children or adults who strongly believe that they were born the wrong gender. But many activists believe the condition isn't a disorder and say calling it one is stigmatizing. The term would be replaced with "gender dysphoria," which means emotional distress over one's gender. Supporters equated the change with removing homosexuality as a mental illness in the diagnostic manual, which happened decades ago.

___

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

Read More..

Cliff fight may knock out December rally

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In normal times, next week's slew of U.S. economic data could be a springboard for a December rally in the stock market.

December is historically a strong month for markets. The S&P 500 has risen 16 times in the past 20 years during the month.

But the market hasn't been operating under normal circumstances since November 7 when a day after the U.S. election, investors' focus shifted squarely to the looming "fiscal cliff."

Investors are increasingly nervous about the ability of lawmakers to undo the $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts that are set to begin in January; those changes, if they go into effect, could send the U.S. economy into a recession.

A string of economic indicators next week, which includes a key reading of the manufacturing sector on Monday, culminates with the November jobs report on Friday.

But the impact of those economic reports could be muted. Distortions in the data caused by Superstorm Sandy are discounted.

The spotlight will be more firmly on signs from Washington that politicians can settle their differences on how to avoid the fiscal cliff.

"We have a week with a lot of economic data, and obviously most of the economic data is going to reflect the effects of Sandy, and that might be a little bit negative for the market next week, but most of that is already expected - the main focus remains the fiscal cliff," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York.

Concerns about the cliff sent the S&P 500 <.spx> into a two-week decline after the elections, dropping as much as 5.3 percent, only to rally back nearly 4 percent as the initial tone of talks offered hope that a compromise could be reached and investors snapped up stocks that were viewed as undervalued.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 gained more than 20 points from its intraday low after House Speaker John Boehner said he was optimistic that a budget deal to avoid big spending cuts and tax hikes could be worked out. The next day, more pessimistic comments from Boehner, an Ohio Republican, briefly wiped out the day's gains in stocks.

On Friday, the sharp divide between the Democrats and the Republicans on taxes and spending was evident in comments from President Barack Obama, who favors raising taxes on the wealthy, and Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, who said Obama's plan was the wrong approach and declared that the talks had reached a stalemate.

"It's unusual to end up with one variable in this industry, it's unusual to have a single bullet that is the causal factor effect, and you are sitting here for the next maybe two weeks or more, on that kind of condition," said Sandy Lincoln, chief market strategist at BMO Asset Management U.S. in Chicago.

"And that is what is grabbing the markets."

BE CONTRARY AND MAKE MERRY

But investor attitudes and seasonality could also help spur a rally for the final month of the year.

The most recent survey by the American Association of Individual Investors reflected investor caution about the cliff. Although bullish sentiment rose above 40 percent for the first time since August 23, bearish sentiment remained above its historical average of 30.5 percent for the 14th straight week.

December is a critical month for retailers such as Target Corp and Macy's Inc . They saw monthly retail sales results dented by Sandy, although the start of the holiday shopping season fared better.

With consumer spending making up roughly 70 percent of the U.S. economy, a solid showing for retailers during the holiday season could help fuel any gains.

Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati, believes the recent drop after the election could be a market bottom, with sentiment leaving stocks poised for a December rally.

"The concerns on the fiscal cliff - as valid as they might be - could be overblown. When you look at a lot of the overriding sentiment, that has gotten extremely negative," said Detrick.

"From that contrarian point of view with the historically bullish time frame of December, we once again could be setting ourselves up for a pretty nice end-of-year rally, based on lowered expectations."

SOME FEEL THE BIG CHILL

Others view the fiscal cliff as such an unusual event that any historical comparisons should be thrown out the window, with a rally unlikely because of a lack of confidence in Washington to reach an agreement and the economic hit caused by Sandy.

"History doesn't matter. You're dealing with an extraordinary set of circumstances that could very well end up in the U.S. economy going into a recession," said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors in New York.

"And the likelihood of that is exclusively in the hands of our elected officials in Washington. They could absolutely drag us into a completely voluntary recession."

(Wall St Week Ahead runs every Friday. Questions or comments on this column can be emailed to: charles.mikolajczak(at)thomsonreuters.com )

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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