Today's Top Stories 11-15-11

BLOOMBERG

The Supreme Court’s review of the U.S. health-care overhaul all but guarantees a legacy-shaping ruling for both President Obama and Chief Justice John Roberts. The court’s ruling will help determine Obama’s political future as he seeks re-election in November. The court could burnish Obama’s credentials as a problem-solver or leave him to go before the electorate stripped of his signature legislative achievement.

The detailed tax plans from Republican presidential candidates would provide tax cuts for the highest earners with those from Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman offering the biggest benefits. Mitt Romney’s proposal, which suggests fewer changes, would benefit middle-and lower-income families more than his rivals’ would. On the surface, the 9-9-9 tax plan of Herman Cain would lead to the biggest tax cuts at the top of the income scale and the largest tax increases at the bottom. Analyzing the Cain plan is difficult because he also eliminates the payroll tax and imposes a 9 percent business tax and a 9 percent national sales tax that each tax consumption rather than income.

Herman Cain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are in a dead heat as the top choices for Iowans likely to attend the Jan. 3 Republican presidential caucuses.

Prices paid to U.S. wholesalers fell 0.3 percent in October, the most in four months as the cost of energy and automobiles decreased, pointing to waning inflation.

Europe’s economic expansion failed to accelerate in the third quarter as Germany and France struggle to shore up a region bracing for a recession sparked by an escalating debt crisis. Gross domestic product increased 0.2 percent from the previous three months.

British banks may have to pay more than 20 billion pounds ($31.9 billion) a year, twice as much as competitors, because of additional regulation and taxes in their home market, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts.

Women who don’t get enough vitamin D, found in sunshine, fish and fortified foods including milk and orange juice, have a higher chance of heart failure and stroke than those with sufficient amounts, a Danish study found.

AP Top Stories

Support for the Taliban among Afghans has steadily declined in recent years and people strongly back a government peace initiative, according to a survey funded in part by the U.S. government.

A long-lost Victorian painting that hung in a family's unlocked New England beach house for half a century could fetch $800,000 when it is sold next month, Christie's auction house said.

Qatar Airways returned to the table to sign a $6.5-billion deal with Airbus after cancelling an announcement and bluntly telling the European plane maker to go back to basics.

Consumers are giving a modest lift to the economy. They spent more on autos, electronics and building supplies in October to boost retail sales for the fifth straight month.

U.S. companies paid less in October for gas, new cars and other goods, driving down wholesale prices for the first time since June.

The International Monetary Fund says it has approved a nearly $134 million loan for Afghanistan, saying its government has made progress in addressing governance and accountability issues during the Kabul Bank crisis.

France came under heavy fire on global markets reflecting fears that the euro zone's second biggest economy is being sucked into the debt crisis after a warning that Paris's inability to adapt should be "ringing alarm bells".