News Headlines - 14 October 2013

▽3 American Professors Awarded Nobel in Economic Science - NYTimes.com

Three American professors — Eugene F. Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert J. Shiller — were awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science on Monday for showing that stock prices, while unpredictable in the short term, tend to follow established rules in the long term. Their findings have influenced the way many people invest, encouraging the rise of index funds that buy broad baskets of equities and other assets. At the same time, sophisticated investors have sought to profit from the evidence of long-range patterns.

▽Senate Democrats Press New Front in Shutdown Budget Battle

Senate leaders attempting to avoid a U.S. debt default remained at loggerheads Sunday and escalated the standoff by reopening the contentious issue of automatic spending cuts, damping hopes that some of Congress's most canny negotiators would break the impasse.

▽BBC News - Eurozone industrial output strengthens in August

Factories in the 17-country bloc saw output rise by 1% in the month, which was better than analysts' forecasts. The figures showed that the highest increase was registered in Portugal, where output grew by 8.2%.

▽IAEA team in Japan to check Fukushima cleanup - Al Jazeera English

Nine-day visit comes after criticism that Japan's government is reluctant to accept foreign help at leaking plant.

▽BBC News - Spanish slug invasion: Scientists seek public's help

Scientists are asking for the public's help to track the spread of a greedy slug species threatening to eat its way through British gardens and crops. The Spanish slug was first reported in the UK in January by Dr Ian Bedford, head of entomology at the John Innes Centre, Norwich.