High court: Reconsider genetic patent case The Supreme Court on Monday ordered an appeals court to reconsider its decision to uphold patents held by Myriad Genetics on two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, associated with a high risk of breast and ovarian cancer. The appeals court was told to take another look at the case in light of the Supreme Court's ruling last week that a diagnostic test was not eligible for patents because it was a simple application of a law of nature.

Pending-home-sales index near two-year high The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes held in February near an almost two-year high, a sign that the real estate market may be stabilizing. The index of pending home purchases fell 0.5 percent to 96.5 after a 2 percent increase the prior month, the National Association of Realtors said Monday in Washington. January's reading of 97 was the highest since April 2010. Compared with a year earlier, February pending home sales climbed 14 percent.

German concession to shore up E.U. finances The European Union took a big step toward building a financial firewall strong enough to prevent the spread of fiscal contagion to major economies like Spain after Germany dropped its opposition to bringing the Continent's total bailout capacity to more than 690 billion euros, or $916 billion. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday in Berlin that her government remained determined that a permanent European rescue fund should be capped at 500 billion euros. But in a big concession, she said Germany would not oppose letting that fund operate alongside a temporary fund that has aided Greece, Ireland and Portugal but still has money to lend. A two-day summit meeting of EU finance ministers starts Friday in Copenhagen.

Yahoo adds to board; Third Point vows fight Yahoo named three new independent directors to its board after failing to reach a compromise with Third Point, which plans a proxy fight to install its own nominees. The new directors are former Fox Broadcasting Network Chairman Peter Liguori, American Express Chief Marketing Officer John Hayes, and Thomas McInerney, who is leaving as chief financial officer of IAC/InterActiveCorp, Yahoo said Sunday.

Qantas a partner in low-cost airline Qantas Airways of Australia is teaming up with one of the biggest carriers in China to form a low-cost airline based in Hong Kong. Qantas and China Eastern Airlines, which is based in Shanghai, are investing $198 million in the joint venture, which will operate short-haul routes in Asia -- including China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia -- the two airlines said in a joint statement. The new airline, Jetstar Hong Kong, will take to the skies next year and follow the no-frills model.

Kraft's CEO to pocket 17% raise Kraft Foods Inc. gave its CEO a pay package worth $15.7 million in 2011, which represents a 17 percent raise from the previous year. The compensation for Irene Rosenfeld included a salary of $1.5 million, stock and option awards worth $9.7 million and incentive-based compensation of $4.2 million. The pay bump for Rosenfeld, 58, was largely the result of her incentive-based pay. She took over as CEO in 2006. The Northfield, Ill.-based company is slashing 1,600 jobs as it readies to split its business into two publicly traded companies: Kraft Foods will focus on its North American grocery brands, while Mondelez International Inc. will focus on international snack brands.

FROM NEWS SERVICES