INSIGHTS AND PERSPECTIVES

NEW YORK — A new study indicates that the United States could prevent up to half a million deaths during the next 10 years by reducing salt intake, according to published reports.

CHICAGO — Retail executives are moderating their expectations for 2013 following uneven sales in December and January, according to a new survey of CFOs by professional services firm BDO USA.

Eighty-eight members of the House of Representatives fired off a letter Monday to postmaster general and CEO of the U.S. Postal Service Patrick Donahoe urging the agency not to eliminate Saturday delivery of mail, saying it would impede the ability of people who depend on mail-order pharmacies to receive their medications.

NEW YORK — More than half of consumers around the world say the world is in an economic recession, according to a new study by Nielsen.

According to the Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions, 71% of North Americans said they were in a recession in the fourth-quarter of 2012, but this represented a drop in 15 percentage points from the fourth-quarter of 2011, representing the largest drop in negative sentiments about the economy of any area.

ALBANY, N.Y. — A new report indicates that a shortage of physicians could adversely affect the implementation of healthcare reform.

NORTHBROOK, Ill. — Forty-one percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a new survey by Allstate Financial.

WASHINGTON — Retail sales were up slightly in January as the increases in payroll taxes and energy prices forced consumers to change spending habits, according to a new report by the National Retail Federation.

MCLEAN, Va. — Unexpected toxicities from prescription drugs that emerge years after regulatory approval may be due to poor medication adherence in clinical trials, according to a new study.

While much attention on medication adherence has focused on patients not taking the already approved drugs prescribed to them or not taking them properly, the new study, released Tuesday by Consumer Health Information, found problems with adherence in clinical trials as well.