Cuba says good-bye to U.S. currency\nHAVANA -- Communist Cuba said "adios" to the Yankee dollar that shored up its struggling economy for a decade, launching a two-week process Tuesday to eliminate the U.S. currency from circulation in its stores and businesses in response to stepped-up American sanctions.\nPresident Fidel Castro said widespread use of the currency of his country's No. 1 enemy, once seen as a necessary evil to stay afloat after losing Soviet aid and trade, would be halted to guarantee Cuba's economic independence.\nA local currency known as the convertible Cuban peso will be the only money accepted at most businesses across the island of 11.2 million people beginning Nov. 8, Castro's statement said.
Dutch study finds heartburn drugs can induce pneumonia\nCHICAGO -- Widely used heartburn and ulcer drugs can make people more susceptible to pneumonia, probably because they reduce germ-killing stomach acid, Dutch researchers found in a study of more than 300,000 patients.\nThe highest risks occurred with more powerful acid-fighting drugs called proton pump inhibitors, which are sold in the United States under such brand names as Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec. Over nearly three years, users of these drugs faced almost double the risk of developing pneumonia compared with former users.\nUsers of another class of acid-fighting drugs that includes cimetidine and famotidine -- sold in the United States as Tagamet and Pepcid -- also faced an elevated risk.
Consumer confidence declines\nNEW YORK -- Worries about job prospects sent consumer confidence to a seven-month low in October and its third consecutive monthly decline. The steeper-than-expected drop raised questions about whether consumers will be in the mood to spend during the critical holiday shopping season.\nThe Consumer Confidence Index dropped 3.9 points to 92.8, down from a revised 96.7 in September, according to a report Tuesday from The Conference Board, a private research group. Analysts had expected a reading of 94.\nThe October figure is the lowest since March, when the reading was 88.5. The index had been rising since April, before falling 3 points to 98.7 in August and another 2 points in September.
Halliburton sees decrease in earnings\nHOUSTON -- Halliburton Co. posted a $44 million third-quarter loss Tuesday related to a pending settlement of asbestos claims, but the oil-services giant still beat Wall Street expectations amid record gains in its energy unit.\nAsbestos settlement-related charges of $230 million, or 51 cents a share, drove the Houston-based oil services conglomerate's loss of 9 cents per share, compared to a gain of $58 million, or 13 cents per share, the year before. The $230 million reflects the value of 59.5 million Halliburton shares involved in the settlement and is a non-cash expense.\nExcluding the asbestos charge, Halliburton reported earnings from continuing operations of $186 million, or 42 cents per share, compared to $92 million, or 21 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Further excluding a $40 million gain in the third quarter for the sale of a surface well-testing operation and $18 million in charges related to restructuring of engineering and construction subsidiary KBR, per-share earnings were 39 cents.
