SkyIG

SKY News Summary 10-26-07

Bank of America announced it would be laying off 700 workers, or about 5% of its workforce as it eliminates its wholesale mortgage business. The company will focus on expanding its retail-lending as it seeks more control over the quality of loans.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB119334534142171941.html

Yesterday, a federal grand jury in Chicago indicted four former BP propane traders for manipulating the market and another trader will pay $400,000 to settle a civil suit charging that he tried to manipulate the unleaded-gasoline market five years ago. Also, as the Wall Street Journal reports, in the “largest manipulation settlement in the history of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, BP will pay $303 million in criminal and civil penalties and restitution for driving up the price of propane in 2004. BP will pay $50 million in connection with the deadly 2005 explosion at BP’s refinery in Texas City, Texas, in the largest criminal fine ever assessed against a corporation under the Clean Air Act. It will also pay $20 million in connection with oil spills from pipelines at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in 2006.” Also, the company will be under the supervision of Attorney Bart Schwartz acting as court-appointed trading monitor.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119332810057671536.html

In the continuing saga of Russia’s Shtokman oil project in the Barents Sea, the Kremlin announced that state-owned Gazprom had chosen Norway’s StatoilHydro, as well as France’s Total (chosen in July) to develop Shtokman. Gazprom will retain 51% of the operation, effectively owning the field. A few years ago, the Kremlin had announced that Russia would develop the site and ship liquid natural gas to the U.S. where it would be sold to Chevron and ConocoPhillips. Since then, however, relations have cooled, and Russia may have become aware of the difficulties involved in extracting the oil in arctic conditions.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB119330677925471200.html

Sources: The Wall Street Journal

SKY News Summary 10-25-07

Microsoft said it would pay $240 million for a 1.6% stake of Facebook. That places the value of the social networking website at $15 billion, just vindication for CEO Mark Zuckerman who spurned Yahoo’s, $1 billion takeover bid last year. Microsoft will collect information about Facebook members’ preferences and sell ads based on those preferences. Microsoft’s ad revenues rose 21% to $1.8 billion compared to Google’s ad revenue of $13.3 billion. USAToday
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2007-10-24-facebook-microsoft-deal_N.htm?csp=34&loc=interstitialskip

Eli Lilly suspended two studies of its blood-clot preventer “prasugrel”, noting that the recommended dosage may be adjusted. This drug is Lilly’s most important experimental drug and is expected to drive future earnings. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119323938811069932.html
Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank, will cut 3,000 jobs (less than 2% of the company’s workforce) in corporate and investment banking. USAToday
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/2007-10-24-bank-of-america-job-cuts_N.htm?csp=34
Oil prices rose $1.83 to $87.10 due to an unexpected drop in U.S. oil inventories. WSJ

Tribune Publishing announced the sale of its Southern Connecticut Newspapers, The Advocate (Stamford), and Greenwich Time, to Hearst Corporation for $62.4 million. The newspapers will be managed by MediaNews Group, Inc. under an existing joint venture agreement with Hearst. The deal does not include real estate in Stamford and Greenwich, which Tribune plans to sell separately.
http://www.tribune.com/pressroom/releases/2007/10252007.html

UBS has agreed to acquire 100% of the Caisse Centrale de Reescompte Group from Commerzbank (CCR Group) for EUR 435 million. CCR is an asset and wealth manager in France with EUR 17 billion in invested assets as of June 2007.
http://www.ubs.com/1/e/about/newsalert?newsId=129910
 

U.S imports of natural gas rose 42% from 1996 to 2006 and now account for 16% of all natural gas consumed in the U.S. Most of this is gas piped over the border from Canada. But a growing amount (growing at 16% per year for the next 20 years) is shipped as liquefied natural gas. There are currently four gas terminals in the United States that can turn the liquid gas back into vapor: in Everett, Mass; Cove Point, MD.; Elba Island, Ga.; and Lake Charles, La. As the need for natural gas increases, and with it, the shipment of liquefied natural gas, it is estimated that the country will need seven to nine new terminals. However, the sight of gigantic gas tankers in their harbors makes many Americans nervous, both as a terrorist target and an accident waiting to happen. Mexico, on the other hand, sees our need as an opportunity. The country’s first gas terminal opened last year near the eat coast city of Tampico and another is under construction near the Pacific city of Manzanillo. Each terminal generates about 1,500 construction jobs. USAToday
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2007-10-24-natural-gas-mexico_N.htm?csp=34

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, The Hartford Courant, USAToday, Tribune Newsroom, UBS Newsroom

SKY News Summary 10-23-07

Staples will begin selling Dell computers and accessories in the near future. WSJ

Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceuticals company, learned yesterday that the FDA had approved Voltaren Gel for pain associated with osteoarthritis. WSJ

The Consumer Product Safety Commission found, that out of the 104 lead tests it conducted using home lead test kits, 56 showed false negatives and 2 were false positives. “None of the kits consistently detected lead in products if the lead was covered with a non-leaded coating,” the agency said in a statement. USAToday

Cisco announced a definitive agreement to purchase Navini Networks, a leader in Mobile WiMax 802. Cisco will pay about $330 million in cash and assumed options. The company noted that, “the acquisition of Navini will help extend and enhance Cisco’s IP Next Generation Network vision to enable service providers to deliver any service to any device over any network—a vision that Cisco calls the Connected Life. The addition of broadband wireless products based upon WiMax products, will complement existing Cisco products and solutions to enable service providers to deliver premium end-to-end Connected Experiences and hasten their transition to becoming Experience Providers.”
http://investor.cisco.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=81192&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1066029&highlight=

Spectra Energy received the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval to increase capacity at the Egan facility in Acadia Parish, La. According to the company, Egan is expected to complete an expansion to 32 Bcf by the summer of 2012. “As a salt cavern storage facility, Egan is ideally suited to provide the short term balancing and rapid supply turnover services so critical to electric generation plants and LNG suppliers,” according a spokesman for the company.
http://www.spectraenergy.com/news/releases/2007/Oct/20071018_01.asp

It won’t be the fault of the IRS if tax refunds are delayed this year. The IRS needs 12 or 13 weeks to reprogram computers once Congress signs a bill that fixes the Alternative Minimum Tax and, so far, no bill has been signed. In fact, the House is trying to find a way to come up with $50 billion in revenue through taxes or spending cuts to offset the income it will lose when it prevents a huge expansion of the AMT. Lawmakers have until the end of this month to make the fix that will affect 25 million people. USAToday
http://www.usatoday.com/_ads/interstitial/2007/page/interstitial.htm?http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2007-10-22-alternative-minimum-tax_N.htm?csp=34

Microsoft agreed to comply with the EU ruling lowering certain royalty fees. Microsoft agreed to let open-source developers into the Windows servers for a one-time fee of $14,300. Microsoft has already paid fines of over $1 billion and has made a version of Windows without a media player in Europe. USAToday
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-10-22-eu-microsoft-antitrust_N.htm?csp=34

Eli Lilly and MacroGenics announced a licensing and collaboration agreement today. The two companies will develop and commercialize teplizumab, a humanized anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody for use in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, or so I am told. Under the agreement, MacroGenics will receive an initial payment of $41 million, as well as $41 million in other committed funds.
http://newsroom.lilly.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=269892

Sales of hunting licenses are declining rapidly, and along with them, wildlife and conservation management income. In 1975, the peak, there were 19.1 million hunters. Last year, there were 12.5 million hunters which generated $724 million (not to mention $267 million coming from taxes on guns and ammunition), for environmental conservation. USAToday
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-10-22-Hunter_N.htm?csp=34

According to a survey of 492 full- or part-time workers, most of us won’t stop working when we retire. Only 34% will quit work entirely: 24% will change fields, 14% will work as a consultant, 14% will work fewer hours for the same company, and 2% will take a part-time job. USAToday

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, The Hartford Courant, USAToday, Eli Lilly Newsroom, Spectra Energy Newsroom, Cisco Newsroom

SKY News Summary 10-22-07

The November issue of Scientific American has an interesting article on IMOD (interferometric modulator displays) technology. This is a type of display that you would find on your cell phone, laptop or MP3 player. Its chief rival is the LCD (liquid-crystal-display technology) that is currently standard for these devices. However, according to the article, the IMOD consumes as little as 6% of the cell phone’s battery life compared with nearly 50% for an LCD. Also, the IMOD can be read in daylight without turning black like the LCD, and it switches on in 10 microseconds, almost 1,000 times faster than the LCD display. Qualcomm is the maker of the IMOD and hopes the industry is ready for a change. Scientific American
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=8B9B849E-E7F2-99DF-3E12AE7E6FE4243E&sc=I100322

According to a Pitney Bowes survey of 1,017 adults, the vast majority (86%) of people still prefer to receive bills, bank statements and other financial information by regular mail. Only 10% surveyed preferred to get this information via e-mail. USAToday

PepsiCo’s Gatorade and Tiger Woods are collaborating on a new line of sports drinks. This is the first time Gatorade has licensed an athlete’s name for a new product. “Tiger” will be prominent on the label with “Gatorade” in small letters above. The drink is hoping to boost Gatorade sales which, while still amounting to 80% of the sports-drink market, is under pressure from newcomers such as Cadbury Schweppes’ Accelerade. USAToday

Microsoft must be happy with its Halo 3 sales. The game came to market on September 25 and within 12 days had sold 3.3 million copies. (That’s over 10 times the sales of the number 2 game, Wii Play). The success of Halo 3, which can only be played on Xbox 360, seems to be driving sales of that console. However, it is interesting that the number of 360 units sold (528,000), is not far off the number of Wii consoles sold by Nintendo, (500,000). Perhaps the glitches that came with some of the 360 consoles are to blame. NY Times
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/19/the-halo-over-xbox/?hp

There is growing opposition to the Chrysler, UAW agreement, as six large UAW sites voted against the deal over the weekend. The deal does not give the same product guarantees that General Motors’ workers won a few weeks earlier. GM has made product promises stretching into 2012. Chrysler is under new management which may not want to commit to an upcoming production schedule. USAToday
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007-10-21-chrysler-vote_N.htm?csp=34

The head of the Federal Trade Commission has rejected requests to open a formal antitrust investigation of Intel, for anticompetitive conduct. Advanced Micro Devices as well as regulators in Korea, Japan, and the EU, continue to wage war on Intel, so the informal antitrust review continues. NYTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/washington/22ftc.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Sources: Scientific American, November 2007, The Hartford Courant, The New York Times, USAToday

SKY News Summary 10-19-07

Oil prices topped $90 a barrel for the first time. Light sweet crude for November delivery hit $90.02 on Thursday evening.  Adjusted for inflation, the record price is still $93.09 set in January of 1981, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. USAToday

The Labor Department reported yesterday that the number of people filing jobless benefits applications increased by 28,000 from the week before.  This is the largest increase since jobless claims rose by 42,000 the week of February 10.  USAToday

Media companies such as Viacom, Walt Disney, Microsoft, News Corp’s Fox, CBS, and NBC Universal have created guidelines to protect copyrights online.  They also have agreed upon technology to stop uploading of patented content. These guidelines may affect Viacom’s suit against Google’s You Tube. USAToday

Pfizer took steps to curtail losses of its insulin inhaler, Exubera, by pulling it from the market.  The company will take a $2.8 billion pretax hit on the product.  This marks the first time a company has withdrawn a drug for a non-safety related reason.  The company had bet that diabetes patients would prefer an inhaler over a needle, but it didn’t take into account other mitigating factors:  For one, only ten percent of the insulin gets into the bloodstream, and no one is quite sure where the other 90% goes.  Because more insulin is needed to have the intended effect, the product is more expensive. Also, the inhaler takes over an hour of training to use, and looks like a bong (perhaps not something you want to use in the workplace).  WSJ

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119269071993163273.html

On Wednesday, GasPriceWatch.com reported that pump prices rose 4 cents overnight to an average $2.77 per gallon.  Airline ticket prices and home heating prices will follow suit. In the past, consumers have been able to shrug off higher gas prices at the pump since gasoline amounts to only about 4.5 percent of the average American’s budget (less than what they spend on eating out). CSMonitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1018/p01s07-usec.html

The U.S. teen pregnancy rate fell 37% from 1990 to 2002.  The number of pregnancies in 1990 was 117 for every 1,000 females ages 15-19.  That number dropped to 75 for every 1,000 females ages 15-19 in 2002. USAToday

In June, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Charles Schumer added “earmark” funding to the $604 billion education and health spending bill.  The “earmark” was for a $1 million grant to help build a museum at Woodstock.  The site of the museum is owned by Alan Gerry, worth $1.3 billion according to Forbes, who wants to make the site into a tourist attraction.  Five days after the “earmark” was added by Clinton and Schumer, Gerry, a registered Republican, donated $20,000 to the Democrats’ Senate campaign committee and four days after that, they contributed the maximum $9,200 to Clinton’s primary and general election campaign fund.  The Gerry’s have given $150,000 to the Schumer-led committee since 2005. The Senate, in a rare move, voted Thursday to kill the $1 million earmark. USAToday

http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/10/schumer-clinton.html

Sources:  The Wall Street Journal, The Hartford Courant, Christian Science Monitor, USAToday

SKY News Summary 10-18-07

Boston Scientific will cut about 2,300 jobs or 9% of its workforce in order to reduce operating costs. The medical device company has seen its most lucrative business, heart devices, decline, and has been saddled with debt resulting from its acquisition of Guidant.
USAToday
http://www.moneyline.com/article/health-SP/idUSN1734066620071017

GMAC said it will cut its workforce by 3,000 jobs, or 25%, given the slump in the residential real estate market and the global credit crunch. HC
http://www.courant.com/business/hc-natbriefs1018.artoct18,0,7806993.story

Profits at UTC rose 20%, exceeding estimates. Earnings included a 4 cents-a-share net benefit attributable to tax adjustments. A weak dollar abroad helped the earnings. HC
http://www.courant.com/business/hc-utcearns1018.artoct18,0,1863889.story

Medical schools have the largest first-year class in history. There were 7,800 new students, up 2.3% since 2006. Applications were up 8.2%. HC

Social Security benefits will rise 2.3% starting in January, the smallest increase in four years. The average benefit check will go from $1,055 per month to $1,079 per month based on the CPI from July through September. Unfortunately, that does not take into consideration, energy prices that could be high this winter. HC
http://www.courant.com/business/hc-social1018.artoct18,0,3379176.story

Computer shipments rose at the fastest rate in two years. Sales of laptops are mainly responsible for the 15.5% increase in global PC shipments from July to October. USAToday

Hewlett-Packard reported that computer shipments rose 33% from the prior year. It was the fifth consecutive quarter that the number of computers shipped by HP surpassed the number shipped by Dell. Dell’s shipments rose only 3.5% for the third quarter of 2006. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119267879420463189.html

The majority (52%) of business owners started their business from scratch. 18% purchased their business from a non-family member, while 11% took over the business from a family member. 5% inherited a family business. USAToday

Morgan Stanley will be laying off about 300 bankers, traders, and analysts, mainly in their fixed-income business, in light of the global credit market situation. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119267879993263211.html

If gas rose at the same rate as college tuitions have since 1980, you would be paying $9.15 for a gallon of gas and $15 for a gallon of milk. USAToday
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/10/college-tuition.html

Commonwealth Edison, a unit of Exelon Corp. says it needs $361 million more a year to cover higher operating costs. The company noted that costs for electric poles have risen 43%, overhead wires have risen 48% to 59%, and substation transformers are up 100% in the past three years. Global competition for metals, such as copper and steel, has fueled many of the increases. ComEd is requesting a rate increase that would increase residential energy delivery costs by 24% and commercial costs by 138%. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119267597556863024.html

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, The Hartford Courant, USAToday

SKY News Summary 10-16-07

Cisco announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Latigent, a leading provider of web-based reporting and analytics for call centers, based in Chicago and founded in 2002. The details of the sale were not disclosed.
http://www.latigent.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

An analysis of data which will be presented tomorrow at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting showed that Asacol, a product of Procter & Gamble, provided rapid relief for patients with ulcerative colitis.
http://www.pgpharma.com/consumer_asacol.shtml

Merck announced that the FDA approved Isentress for the treatment of HIV-1 infection for patients who are resistant to other drugs.
http://www.merck.com/newsroom/press_releases/product/2007_1012.html

In the continuing saga of Chevron’s joint venture, Tengizchevroil (an oil consortium in Kazakhstan), Russia refuses to allow an increase in capacity of a pipeline running across its territory. (In July, the Kazakh government imposed a $609 million fine on the consortium for improper stockpile of sulfur.) The Russian oil pipeline monopoly, Transneft owns 24% of the pipeline, but wants outright ownership, giving it more revenue. The problem of ownership is becoming acute, as Chevron moves ahead to increase production of Tengizchevroil. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119248589561259851.html

Enrollment in graduate school has risen from 1,345,000 students in 1980, to 2,186,000 in 2005. In 2005, 60% were women, compared with 50% in 1980. USAToday

This year marks the third-consecutive year that U.S. citizens swept the economics category in the Nobel prize. Leonid Hurwicz, Eric Maskin, and Roger Myerson won for their work on “mechanism design theory”, a type of game theory which has been used to design airwave auctions for the FCC, as well as government tax policy. By the way, Mr. Maskin lives in Albert Einstein’s former house and is the third Nobel winner to live in that home. Mr. Hurwicz, who is 90 years old, is hard of hearing and had his wife answer the phone call call from Nobel. He thought it was a joke. USAToday
http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2007-10-15-nobel-economics_N.htm?csp=34

Each year, an open-ended survey of 1,003 U.S. adults is conducted late in September by the Consumer Electronics Association. The survey asks what you want for Christmas. Last year, as in years past, the respondents asked first for clothing, then peace and happiness, money, and lastly for computers. This year, peace and happiness got pushed aside. Laptops and gaming systems were the number one wish, followed by peace and happiness, big-screen TVs, clothes, then money. USAToday

Airline miles are the most common credit card award, with about 40% of card holders receiving this incentive. American Express received the highest rating for credit card companies in J.D. Power’s Customer Satisfaction Survey. USAToday
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2007-10-15-wheat-prices_N.htm?csp=34

More and more stories are coming to light about Lasik surgery gone awry. Since the eye operation is not covered by insurance, there is little regulation or reporting. But evidence of problems is accumulating. One company, MedLens, makes contact lenses for people for which the surgery did not work. (Patients suffer dry eyes, severe headaches, and distorted night vision). Its products are selling to more than 2,500 post-Lasik patients annually, and business has been increasing by 10% each year. HC
http://www.courant.com/hc-healthlasik.artoct16,0,6775493.story

Genentech’s third-quarter net income rose 21% mainly due to growth of its cancer drug, Avastin. However, total product-sales growth was the lowest since 2003. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119247925309459646.html

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, The Hartford Courant, USAToday

SKY News Summary 10-15-07

Danaher announced its purchase of an electronic test and measurement company, called, Tektronix for $2.8 billion. Tektronix reported net income of $90.4 million on revenue of $1.11 billion as of May 26th, its fiscal yearend. Last year, Danaher bought a maker of dental equipment, Sybron Dental Specialties for $2 billion. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119240961930058765.html

Citigroup and to a much lesser extent, other big banks, have a problem. Their affiliates own $80 billion in assets backed by mortgages and other securities that, in most cases, are not reported on the banks’ balance sheet. The banks have the option of moving them onto the books, where they would have to set aside reserves to cover losses, or selling them in a fire sale. Either way, financial markets could be hurt, or the economy dampened, by hindering the banks’ ability to lend. Enter the Treasury Department that is prompting big banks (J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Chase and Bank of America) to set up a fund that will act as a buyer-of–last-resort. J.P. Morgan and Bank of America did not have any of these assets so they will earn fees for helping to arrange the fund. Opponents of this plan call it a bailout of Citigroup which historically has had slim reserves. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119240580162658678.html

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has simplified its approval process for building and operating nuclear plants. The old system forced companies to get a construction permit, then come back for an operating permit. Often, the operating permit was not issued until some major re-engineering was done, and cost overruns were a given. The NRC had hoped to eliminate the overruns as well as lengthy approval process by making the application process a “suggested” three-step process. First, equipment vendors (such as General Electric, Toshiba’s Westinghouse and Areva, a French company) get certification for their reactor designs. Next, power companies seek early site permits. (This step is not being taken because power companies are building on existing sites). Third, the power companies get certification to build and operate the plant. But since the process is only “suggested,” and the Congress offered huge incentives to the first few builders (such as federal risk insurance of as much as $500 million, and a production tax credit), power companies and equipment vendors are trying to accomplish all three steps of the application process at the same time, much to the chagrin of the NRC. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119240598741458693.html

Medtronic suspended sales of its Sprint Fidelis line of defibrillator leads, saying that a fracture in the wire could have caused the deaths of 5 heart patients. These leads are not used in conventional pacemakers. Doctors recommend leaving the leads in the patient, rather than removing them, since the leads, which are made of polyurethane- or silicone-coated metal alloy, run through a vein to the heart. The human body often builds scar tissue around the wire and detaching the scar tissue to remove the wire often leads to dangerous bleeding. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119240777833358629.html

SKY News Summary 10-12-07

The Commerce Department reported that exports rose for the sixth consecutive month, to $138.3 billion, while imports fell to $195.9 billion. The trade deficit was $57.6 billion which was $10 billion less than last August. Demand for U.S. goods and services continued to grow because of the falling value of the dollar and growth in Asia as well as other foreign economies. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119210554455955928.html
 

The Federal deficit also narrowed by 34% in fiscal year 2007 (which ended September 30). Revenue was $2.57 trillion, up 6.7% from the prior year, and spending was $2.73 trillion, up 2.8%. This was the third consecutive annual reduction. Economic growth helped tax receipts outpace the growth of government spending. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119211977395156102.html

People suffering from eye diseases are going to have a hard time getting Genentech’s drug, Avastin, which costs about $40 per month. Instead, they will have to buy the company’s drug, Lucentis, which costs $2,000 per month. The company says that Lucentis has been approved to treat wet macular degeneration, whereas Avastin is a cancer drug, and that the company needs to recoup its research cost for Lucentis by charging such high prices. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119213222981256309.html

Bank of Japan held interest rates steady, at 0.5%, for the fourth consecutive month. Mr. Fukui, Bank of Japan Governor said, “We must carefully examine developments of the global economy and financial markets as they are still unstable, although the global economy is likely to keep expanding.” WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119207863751455796.html?mod=todays_us_money_and_investing

“CSI” fans may have a new shock in store October 18. There may be no “CSI” if screen writers vote a walkout that day. The Writers Guild of America is asking for a 100% increase in revenue from DVD sales (from four to eight cents per DVD sold) and a share of income from programs streamed on the internet by television networks. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers contend that the raise in DVD royalties is too high and that streamed videos are promotional and do not fall under the rights of writers.
Stay tuned. FT
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/19b11660-785e-11dc-8e4c-0000779fd2ac.html
 

Tony Hayward, the new chief executive of British Petroleum, is attempting to restructure the company by eliminating layers of management and simplifying the divisional structure. He hopes to remedy safety problems, like the one that led to the fatal explosion at its Texas refinery in 2005. However, he is battling the corporate culture of his predecessor, the charismatic Lord Browne, who did not share this view, but rather grew the company into one of the world’s largest oil companies by acquisition and a hands-off approach. Who needs CSI when we have this drama brewing? FT
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f2b78b1c-785c-11dc-8e4c-0000779fd2ac.html

The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), while having eased from the high of 5.725% in early September, is still relatively high, at 5.09125%. Normally, it would be just above the current 4.75% Fed funds rate, but banks are reluctant to lend to each other because they are uncertain about their own funding needs. They may be made to make good on ailing commercial paper and other commitments. FT
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e36913d8-785c-11dc-8e4c-0000779fd2ac.htmlSources: The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times

SKY News Summary 10-11-07

A U.S. District Judge in San Francisco granted a preliminary injunction against a federal program intended to eliminate illegal immigrants in the workplace. The 140,000 “no-match” letters, authorized by the Department of Homeland Security, and which would have been sent out by the Social Security Administration, imposed stiff penalties and sanctions on those employers with unauthorized workers. The defense, comprised of an unusual amalgamation of the American Civil Liberties Union, the AFL-CIO, and the Chamber of Commerce, showed that the Social Security Administration’s records and letters contained too many mistakes, and that the government had not assessed the financial impact of the move in accordance with its own laws. HC, WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119207143226555717.html

The hymn, “Amazing Grace” was written by John Newton, a reformed captain of a ship involved in slave trade. WSJ

The New Jersey Devils’ Martin Brodeur needs six wins to become the second goaltender in NHL history with 500 wins. Patrick Roy has 551 wins. USAToday

Chrysler and the UAW reached a tentative agreement which is similar to that reached last month with General Motors. However, Chrysler, unlike GM, is owned by a private-equity group, Cerberus Capital Management LLP, which had already begun restructuring the company last summer. Also, the UAW had not given Chrysler a concessionary healthcare deal in 2006, which it had given GM and Ford. Now the UAW and Ford will have to reach an agreement, which may be difficult, given that Ford had massive losses last year and does not expect to be profitable until 2009. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119202109228954636.html

GM had three of the top six models sold in September. The Buick Enclave ranked number 1. Buick has sold 16,482 Enclaves since it went on sale in April of ’07. The Ford Escape was number 10 and Chrysler did not make a model in the top ten. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119206636664555529.html

Medtronic was pleased with an FDA panel decision to approve its drug-coated stent, Endeavor. There was some concern that it led to an increase in blood clots. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119205142965455086.html

Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner will be delayed at least six months. First deliveries will be made late next year. Boeing will have to pay penalties for missed deadlines. Many airlines were relying on the 787 to expand their schedules. Boeing is using a new supplier system in which suppliers invest more upfront and take on a share of the development costs. In return, the supplier makes a major section of the plane. For example, the wings are made in Japan, and most of the fuselage is made in Italy, South Carolina, and Kansas. The factory in South Carolina hired local, untrained, workers to build an airplane that is technically very advanced. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119203025791454746.html

According to the Wall Street Journal, Merck has an AIDS drug that holds much promise. Isentress, represents a new way to attack the HIV virus that has managed to develop resistance to many other drugs. “About two-dozen HIV drugs are on the market, and most block two enzymes that HIV uses to replicate in the body. Isentress would be the first drug on the market to target a third enzyme that helps the virus insert its DNA into that of human cells.” Annual sales of Isentress could be $500 million world-wide by 2012. (In comparison, Merck’s annual sales of its asthma-drug Singulair, were $3.58 billion last year.) WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119205916392955290.html

Findings from a report by the Census Bureau on 2005 spending by the Federal government, shows that poorer states like Mississippi and West Virginia benefit from our system of taxation and spending. But wealthier states, like Connecticut, do not. Connecticut paid $13,178 in taxes per person and received $8,791 per person in federal spending. Alaska received the most spending per person, $13,916 and Nevada the least, $5,840. Nationally, the average tax paid was $7,652, and the average federal spending per person was $7,706. HC

One-third of U.S. homes now have HDTV. By 2009, Consumer Electronics Association expects half of U.S. homes to have HDTV. The average price of a 42-inch flat-panel TV is $1,856 now, compared with $3,855 in 2004. DirecTV has obtained an advantage over cable operators, by offering 55 HD channels, compared to 20 to 30 offered by cable companies. By the end of the year, DirecTV expects to offer 100 channels. DirecTV offers Bravo, Animal Planet, USA Network, the History Channel and the Weather Channel on high-definition, even in remote areas where local affiliates don’t broadcast in HD. Cable providers are hampered by local transmission facilities, known as head ends, almost half of which don’t transmit premium HDTV services. That leaves 20% of the U.S. population without access to HDTV via cable. Cable companies are also hampered by bandwidth constraints. They are surmounting this challenge in two ways: First, by adding high-definition programming to their video-on-demand services, a feature that satellite cannot offer because it is broadcast only. Second, by using “switched digital video,” in which the operator transmits only the signals of channels being watched in the area. So, if no one in Simsbury is watching Telemondo, Comcast won’t transmit it, saving bandwidth space. Until now, cable providers have managed to get the advantage over satellite providers by bundling telephone, high-speed internet, and cable television services. WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119206092122955361.html
Sources: The Wall Street Journal, The Hartford Courant, USAToday