Business Today: Futures advance ahead of earnings after two-week drop

		Click to View in Browser 01/12/2015 Futures advance ahead of earnings after two-week drop NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday, after a two-week decline pushed the S&P 500 back into negative territory for the year, as investors anticipated the start of the corporate earnings season. Shire to buy NPS for $5.2 billion to boost rare disease drugs LONDON (Reuters) - Shire Plc has agreed to buy U.S. group NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc for $5.2 billion, the Dublin-based drugmaker's biggest acquisition yet as it seeks to strengthen its position in the lucrative field of medicines for rare diseases. GM shows Bolt electric vehicle concept with 200-mile driving range DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co on Monday showed its Chevrolet Bolt concept car with an electric driving range of more than 200 miles and a $30,000 price tag, offering a view into where the U.S. automaker is pushing in development of electric vehicles (EV). Dollar Tree expects to divest less than 300 stores to buy Family Dollar (Reuters) - Discount store chain Dollar Tree Inc said it expects to divest less than 300 stores to buy larger rival Family Dollar Stores Inc, and had already identified potential buyers. Auto industry's past and future collide in Detroit DETROIT (Reuters) - For Detroit's first auto show of the 21st Century in January 2000, General Motors announced "the largest auto show exhibit ever in North America" to usher in the new Millennium. Oil extends fall; Goldman Sachs cuts forecasts LONDON (Reuters) - Oil renewed its decline on Monday, dropping below $49 a barrel as Goldman Sachs slashed its short-term price forecasts and Gulf producers showed no signs of curbing output. Roche in $1 billion-plus Foundation Medicine deal to boost cancer efforts ZURICH/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Roche Holding will acquire a majority stake in molecular and genomic analysis business Foundation Medicine, it said on Monday, signaling its determination to expand in cancer immunotherapy by paying a hefty mark-up on the U.S. company's current price. As oil plummets, how much pain still looms for U.S. energy firms? NEW YORK (Reuters) - With nearly a quarter of U.S. energy shares' value wiped out by oil's six-month slide, investors are wondering if the sector has taken enough punishment and whether it is time to pile back in ahead of earnings reports later this month. Venezuela, Iran plea for oil cut hits Gulf OPEC brick wall DUBAI/DOHA (Reuters) - A diplomatic push by Venezuela and Iran for an OPEC oil output cut has failed to soften the refusal of the group's Gulf members to do so for now, delegates said on Monday. Lufthansa sees 2015 fuel bill down 13 percent, shares rise BERLIN (Reuters) - German airline Lufthansa expects its fuel bill to fall by 13 percent in 2015 because of lower oil prices, setting it on course for higher profit this year and boosting its shares. Related Video Made-in-China Volvos roll into U.S. Strong jobs data not enough to keep rally going Economic News Wall St. pulls back from record; utilities slump U.S. consumer confidence rises in December A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. Register Today   The latest Reuters articles on M&A, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds and regulatory updates delivered to your inbox each day. Register Today   » MORE NEWSLETTERS - 3 Times Square New York, NY 10036 USA © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Ensure delivery of Reuters Newsmails, add mail@nl.reuters.com to your address book. Details Subscribe to other Reuters newsletters. Unsubscribe from this newsletter. Follow us on Twitter Friend us on Facebook Forward to a friend