AP Business NewsBrief at 11:24 a.m. EST

(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Stock market drifts lower to start the weekNEW YORK (AP) _ U.S. stocks drifted lower in early Monday trading, pulling the Standard & Poor's 500 index back from its five-year high. The S&P 500 slipped two points to 1,516. Nine of the 10 industry groups within the S&P 500 dropped. Financial-industry stocks, the exception, were barely higher.

Stocks head lower after jumping last weekNEW YORK (AP) _ Investors are stepping back after a strong week on major U.S. indexes. The Dow Jones industrial average is down 27 points at 13,964.30 shortly after the opening bell Monday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 1.3 points to 1,516.60 and the Nasdaq composite is down 0.9 points to 3,193.

Dell looks to calm shareholder concern over buyoutNEW YORK (AP) _ Dell is trying to reassure shareholders about its proposed $24.4 billion acquisition by a group led by its founder, saying it considered a number of strategic options before agreeing to the deal. Dell Inc. laid out the advantages of the transaction in a regulatory filing Monday, three days after a major shareholder ridiculed the buyout as a rotten deal that undervalues the business.

Novo Nordisk US shares skid on drug review setbackShares of Novo Nordisk tumbled Monday after the Danish drugmaker said U.S. regulators need a new study before they can finish their review of two diabetes treatments, a development that could delay approval for several years. The company said Sunday that the Food and Drug Administration wants to see information from a study that looks at cardiovascular health before it makes a decision on Tresiba and Ryzodeg, which both use the long-acting insulin degludec.

Oil dips slightly as Asia observes Lunar New YearThe price of oil dipped slightly toward $95 a barrel on Monday as investors cut back on speculative positions and most Asian markets were closed for a holiday. By early afternoon in Europe, the benchmark oil contract for March delivery was down 30 cents to $95.42 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 11 cents on Friday.

Mountain Dew introduces a breakfast drinkNEW YORK (AP) _ If you don't like coffee or tea, Mountain Dew has a new breakfast drink that might perk you up. PepsiCo Inc. is rolling out a new drink called Kickstart this month that has Mountain Dew flavor but is made with 5 percent juice and Vitamins B and C, along with an extra jolt of caffeine.

Source: AMR, US Airways delay meeting on mergerDALLAS (AP) _ The boards of American Airlines parent AMR Corp. and US Airways have pushed back meetings to consider final plans for their merger, Associated Press sources say. A source close to the matter said Sunday that the AMR board wants to meet in person, and that the US Airways board would only meet after the AMR board approves a deal. The source requested anonymity because the talks are private.

Alone, together: Snowed in, in the age of hashtagsHAMDEN, Conn. (AP) _ The East Coast woke up under a blanket of snow this weekend and collectively documented the experience on the myriad social and mobile inventions of the past decade. Facebook, Twitter and other technologies make it increasingly difficult to stay isolated _ even if you're stuck home alone. "The funny thing is that I actually checked my Instagram feed before I even looked out my own window," says Eric Witz, who lives in Medford, Mass.

UK watchdog launches investigation into AutonomyLONDON (AP) _ Britain's accounting watchdog announced Monday that it is investigating the books of British business software maker Autonomy Corporation in the period before it was bought by Hewlett-Packard Co. in 2011. In a brief statement, the Financial Reporting Council said it had launched an investigation "into the published financial reporting of Autonomy for the period between 1 January 2009 and 30 June 2011." Govt: $4.2B recovered in probing health care fraudWASHINGTON (AP) _ The government says it recovered almost $8 for each dollar it spent investigating health care fraud over the past three years, including a record $4.2 billion last year. The $7.90 average return on investment is the highest in the 16-year history of the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Program. Since 1997, the program _ a joint effort of the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services _ has returned more than $23 billion to the Medicare trust funds.

(c) 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[ Back To Technology News's Homepage ]