Humana Inc. posted a 35 percent surge in second-quarter profit Monday, easily beating Wall Street views, as more people enrolled in the health insurer's Medicare plans while existing members made less use of its health care services.

From June 24 to July 23, small businesses grew employment by 0.2 percent, equaling an annual growth rate of 2.9 percent, with 50,000 new hires, according to the Small Business Employment Index by Intuit Inc.

Riven by partisanship, the Republican-controlled House passed legislation Friday night to prevent a threatened government default and bundled it off to a swift and certain defeat in the Senate.

Employees enrolled in limited-benefit medical plans may be blocked from participating in the federal high-risk pool created by the PPACA.