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SKY News Summary 06-30-08

Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, has a great article in this month’s issue of Foreign Affairs magazine. It is an essay entitled “The Future of American Power: How America Can Survive the Rise of the Rest”, adapted from his book, “The Post-American World”. Mr. Zakaria maintains that America can retain its superpower status if it can get its dysfunctional politics, not economics, under control. The interesting part is that he spends the first ten pages comparing the U.S. to Britain’s fall as an empire after the Boar war. He contends that our situation is much different, and that even with the drain of the war in Iraq and the outsourcing of manufacturing, America has in no way lost its economic clout. He considers our future industries, such as “nanotechnology (applied science dealing with the control of matter at the atomic or molecular scale)” and “biotechnology (a broad category that describes the use of biological systems to create medical, agricultural, and industrial products)”, and points out that we are far away from our nearest competition. In nanotechnology, he states research “is likely to lead to fundamental breakthroughs over the next 50 years, and the United States dominates the field. It has more dedicated ‘nanocenters’ than the next three nations (Germany, Britain, and China) combined and has issued more patents for nanotechnology than the rest of the world combined, highlighting its unusual strength in turning abstract theory into practical products.” “Biotech revenues in the United States approached $50 billion in 2005, five times as large as the amount in Europe and representing 76% of global biotech revenues.”
Mr. Zakaria also sees immigration as very positive, noting that “half of all Silicon Valley start-ups have one founder who is an immigrant or a first-generation American” and that without immigration, the U.S. “GDP growth over the last quarter century would have been the same as Europe’s”. “In short”, he says, “the United States’ potential new burst of productivity, its edge in nanotechnology and biotechnology, its ability to invent the future—all rest on its immigration policies.” But, he feels our “can-do country is now saddled with do-nothing political process”, where “the system provides greater incentives to stand firm and go back and tell your team that you refused to bow to the enemy. It is great for fundraising, but it is terrible for governing.”
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20080501facomment87303/fareed-zakaria/the-future-of-american-power.html

For the first time, growth in the Hispanic population in the U.S. is due to natural increase, not immigration. An article by Kenneth Johnson and Daniel Lichter in this month’s Population and Development Review, shows that from 2000 to 2005, 221 counties in this country would not have grown if the Hispanic population had not increased.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-06-29-hispanicside_N.htm

According to the Economist, the federal Bureau of Land Management has placed a moratorium on applications for new solar energy devices placed on federal land. The BLM apparently has a backlog of 130 applications and must study the environmental impact of solar devices, such as mirrors placed in Nevada’s deserts. The study could take as long as 22 months which could be a problem as tax incentives for such alternative energy plans are set to expire the end of this year.
http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11637342

The FDA is growing more cautious when approving drugs, as evidenced by the reduction of approvals in 2007 (19 approvals, the fewest in 24 years). The agency is concerned about safety and side effects as well as facing 500 job vacancies among its staff of 2,700 reviewers. Drug companies say the FDA is over-cautious the result being fewer new drugs.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121476772560213981.html

In 2007, Colorado was ranked as the “world’s most attractive place to invest in oil and gas exploration, thanks to its low taxes and relative lack of limitations on where and how companies could cooperate, according to a survey of 275 companies by the Fraser Institute, a Canadian Free-market think tank.” However, that will change this year as new regulations are placed on a November ballot initiative.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121432262357900159.html

Sources: Foreign Affairs, May/June issue, Wall Street Journal, The Hartford Courant, The Economist, and USA Today

SKY News Summary 06-26-08

Merck announced delays in shipping its shingles vaccine, Zostavax ( $236 million in sales last year) because the primary ingredient, bulk varicella is not being manufactured properly. The company said that it had been producing a diluted bulk varicella and that its newly refined manufacturing process to create the correct potency needed to be approved by U.S. regulators. Bulk varicella is also used to make Varivax, the children’s chickenpox vaccine. The company is able to manufacture enough bulk varicella to maintain its supply of Varivax, which had $854.9 million in sales last year.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121443178028504909.html

GE is having problems selling its $30 billion credit card business as possible bidders (Citigroup, Bank of America, and Capital One Financial) deal with their own credit card woes. GE is the largest private-label credit card issuer with 40% of the business, issuing cards for Gap, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart, Brook Brothers, Penny’s, Chevron and Ikea. “Private-label cards have higher loss rates than general purpose cards,” according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. In fact, GE charged off 8% of its loans in May 2007, compared with Citigroup’s 5.49% and J.P Morgan’s 5.16%.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121443732441405273.html

Existing-home sales rose slightly in May (2%) as buyers took advantage of a drop in home prices. The national median existing home price was $208,600 in May 2008, down from $222,700 in May of 2007. In the Northeast, existing-home sales rose 4.6%, although total sales were 15% lower than in May of 2007. The median price in the Northeast was $278,000 down 2.4% from last year. Sarasota, Florida was one of the most active cities, in terms of home sales, in the country.
http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2008/may_home_sales_show_gain“>http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2008/may_home_sales_show_gain

The Dept of Commerce reported that May’s new-home sales dropped 2.5% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate from April and dropped 40.3% from May 2007.
http://trade.gov/press/press_releases/2008/aircraft_062508.asp

Last December, Nature Nanotechnology published a paper by Yi Cui, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford, and five other scientists, that may end up revolutionizing just about everything. The team had discovered a way of retaining energy in lithium-ion batteries using silicon nanowire. The silicon is like a sponge that swells as it absorbs positively charged lithium atoms, but previously, the swelling caused the silicon to pulverize after time. Tiny nanowires, each a thousand times thinner than a human hair, inflate, but do not break. Gossip on the web says that Dr. Yi has been in discussions with GM about batteries for the Volt that would have a charge lasting 400 hours, not 40 hours. Gossip also says that Dr. Yi was awarded a $10 million grant from Saudi Arabia to pursue his research.

http://www.gm-volt.com/index.php?s=tory&paged=2
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/january9/nanowire-010908.html
http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v3/n1/full/nnano.2007.411.html

American Express and Rearden Commerce have joined together to offer travel services, including itineraries and travel alerts, through Blackberry.
http://www.reardencommerce.com/news/

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Hartford Courant, Stanford University News Service, Nature Magazine, GM-volt.com, Rearden commerce web site.

SKY News Summary 06-23-08

The oil summit in Jeddah yesterday proved productive. Saudi Arabia promised to increase production for the year by up to 200,000 barrels a day and increase its capacity for production from 11.4 million barrels a day to 15 million barrels a day by 2018. It is expected that the $60 billion Saudi Arabia has invested up to this point will yield increased capacity next year of 12.5 million barrels a day. http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121405594337494503.html

Citibank will eliminate about 10% of the 65,000 employees in its investment bank, including senior management, to meet Mr. Panidt’s (CEO) goal of reducing expenses by $15 billion.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121416925522495095.html

Eli Lilly hopes to get a ruling on it anticlotting drug, prasugrel from the Food and Drug Administration by Thursday. Lilly and its partner Daiichi Sankyo, have high expectations for the drug which was proven more effective than its competitor, Plavix, but also showed risks of bleeding in some patients. When Plavix comes off patent in 2011 and generic brands flood the market, prasugrel will have to prove that it is worth the added expense.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121418403962995823.html

Altria is having trouble countering a decline in cigarette smokers in the U.S. The company announced it will discontinue sales of Marlboro Ultra Smooth given slow sales in its test markets. Customers complained of poor taste. The cigarette was sold as “safer” than traditional cigarettes. In 2006, it discontinued sales of Accord, which used a battery-powered holder to heat the tobacco, and in January of this year, discontinued Taboka Tobaccopaks which was “spit-free” chewing tobacco. Marlboro Moist Smokeless Tobacco, a moist snuff, has been selling well although the company had to reduce the price from $3 a can to $1 a can.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121418691547195835.html

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, surveyed 35,000 people on religious issues and found that only 16% of Catholics and 36% of Evangelicals believe that their religious beliefs are the only way to salvation, 35% of “unaffiliated” persons pray at least once a week, 92% of Americans believe in God, and 34% have experienced or witnessed a healing of an illness or an injury. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons read the Bible the most, followed by black Protestants and Evangelicals.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0624/p02s01-ussc.html.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, The Hartford Courant, Christian Science Monitor, and USA Toda

SKY News Summary 06-20-08

According to the New England Agricultural Statistics of Concord N.H., Connecticut produced 15,000 gallons of maple syrup, the best production on record. This compares with the number one producer, Vermont, (Connecticut ranks tenth) which produced 500,000 gallons. Overall, production was up 27% from 2007. Hartford Courant
Peter Marteka State Maple Sugarers Hit A Sweet Spot

Connecticut sent up a cheer with the GAO’s recommendation to rethink the Air Force’s choice for its tanker contract. If the contract goes to Boeing, tanker engines will be made by Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford.
Bid Flaws Don’t Fly

Oil prices may go down for a couple of reasons:
1) The Iraqi Oil Ministry announced that it may sign a deal with several major oil companies in order to boost output. This is the first deal since 2003.
2) China will raise prices for gasoline by 17% and diesel by 18%. (t will also raise electricity prices by 4.7%).
3) World leaders and oil executives will meet in Jeddah on Sunday to discuss ways to reduce oil prices.
However, there are some mitigating factors that pressure oil prices:
1) Last November, China raised domestic fuel prices 10% with little global effect.
2) Asia’s other large consumers – India, Indonesia and Malaysia- all subsidize fuel costs.
3) With inflation at 8%, China will protect its poor from the fuel price increase.
4) With economic growth at 10%, demand for oil will grow even if prices are high.
Wall Street Journal, “China Lifts Fuel Prices, and Oil Falls in response” Guy Chazan

Chevron and Shell have been drilling for oil in the Gulf of Guinea to avoid violence and militant attacks onshore in Nigeria. However, yesterday, Shell had to suspend production of 225,000 barrels a day after a Nigerian militant group attacked its offshore facility. That brings the total of temporary suspensions in Nigeria to between 800,000 and 1 million barrels, or half the country’s effective pumping capacity.
Wall Street Journal, “Shell Reduces Nigerian Oil Output After Attack at Sea”

The SEC said it is nearing an agreement with the Federal Reserve in which it will share information on Wall Street firms with the Fed. The information will include Wall Street banks’ borrowing from the central bank.
Wall Street Journal, “Fed, SEC Close to Data Sharing”

Sources: Wall Street Journal, The Hartford Courant, and USA Today

SKY News Summary 06-19-08

Boeing received good news as the GAO ruled that the Air Force should rethink its choice of Northrop for a $40 billion tanker contract. The GAO also said that the Air Force should reimburse Boeing’s legal fees expended during the protest.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121380978064785085.html

Starting this summer, U.S. airline passengers will be able to IM on AOL, watch video clips on Hulu and even download articles from the Wall Street Journal. Internet-equipped planes will allow laptops with Wi-Fi capabilities to access the internet in-flight through a program called Gogo offered through Denver-based Aircell. “Aircell gets Internet access to planes through a network of 92 towers scattered across North America. These essentially are cellphone towers, carrying a high-speed cellphone data signal, except that the Aircell antennas point up, into the sky. A receiver on the underside of the aircraft picks up the signal, which is then distributed through the plane via Wi-Fi.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121382851874286403.html

Roche Holding will purchase the license for TB-403, a promising cancer drug, from ThromboGenics and BioInvent International for up to $776 million. The drugs block the development of blood vessels in cancer tumors, thwarting their growth, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“New Cancer Drug License May cost $776 million”

In an interesting article on wind energy, the WSJ explains the benefits of wind turbines in the ocean as opposed to on land. Apparently, sunlight penetrating the first few inches of water keeps the air temperature around the turbine more constant, reducing the fluctuation in wind flow, allowing for shorter turbines, and greater life spans of turbines.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121382784900886363.html

Intel announced that it will spin off its new technology for solar panels to form a new company called SpectraWatt. The company also announced a way of producing an improved memory chip, what it calls floating body cells. Instead of using six transistors for a memory cell, it uses only one, allowing for a smaller chip. WSJ
“Intel plans to spin off solar-panel unit Spectra Watt”

Halliburton is acquiring 49% of WellDynamics B.V. from a investment fund, called Shell Technology Ventures Fund 1 B.V., which has a technical relationship with Royal Dutch Petroleum and with financial backing of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. WellDynamics owns the rights to a technology which improves the productivity of oil reservoirs by allowing engineers to model, measure and optimize well performance in a real-time environment.
http://www.halliburton.com/default/main/halliburton/eng/news/source_files/news.jsp?newsurl=/default/main/halliburton/eng/news/source_files/press_release/2008/corpnws_061108.html

Johnson & Johnson acquired a privately-held company called Amic which makes a diagnostic machine that tests blood samples in a matter of minutes. The tests can be done at the bedside or in the doctor’s office much faster than sending the blood sample to the lab.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121384831834587959.html

The FDA has approved Eli Lilly’s antidepressant, Cymbalta, to treat a chronic pain disorder called fibromyalgia. Cymbalta is the company’s second best-selling drug with $2.1 billion in sales last year. Also, Lilly and TransPharma Medical announced that the two companies will jointly license and develop ViaDerm-hPTH (1-34), an osteoporosis drug currently in Phase II testing.
http://newsroom.lilly.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=316143

AT&T launched two mobile applications that allow you to use your AT&T phone to download Webisodes, news and sports and upload videos and photos to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Flickr.
http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=25843

Applied Materials announced a non-binding proposal to acquire ASMI’s Atomic Layer Deposition and Chemical Vapor Deposition businesses for between $400 and $500 million. ASMI rejected the offer and the counter-reply, but Applied Materials insists the offer is still open to negotiation.
http://www.appliedmaterials.com/news/pr2007.html?menuID=6
Chicago Bridge was awarded a $40 million contract by Petroterminal De Panama for replacement petroleum storage tanks associated with the Trans-Panama Pipeline Expansion Project. CBI built the original tanks in the late 1970s.
http://www.cbi.com/ir/release.aspx?releaseid=316505

Coke is introducing a new two-liter bottle in its iconic Coke bottle shape.
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/presscenter/nr_20080613_2l_contour.html

Fifth Third added $4.8 billion in assets and $3.2 billion in deposits by acquiring First Charter Corporation, with 57 branches in North Carolina. Fifth Third will pay $31 per First Charter share, or about $1.1 billion.
https://www.53.com/wps/portal/news/?New_WCM_Context=/wps/wcm/connect/FifthThirdSite/About+53/In+the+News/Press+Releases/2008/Press+Releases+060608

Johnson Controls-Saft will make the batteries for Ford Escape’s new test plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The 20 test vehicles will be evaluated in California starting in December and later will be tested in New York and New Jersey. There are obstacles, such as infrastructure requirements, vehicle performance and cost which need to be overcome before the vehicles come to market.
http://johnsoncontrols.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=113&item=1549&printable

Medtronic got FDA approval for the Medtronic Attain StarFix over-the-wire lead, an active fixation left heart lead for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). “With the Attain StarFix’s unique active fixation mechanism, physicians have a left-heart lead that can be safely placed in a wide variety of veins regardless of location and diameter,” said Stuart Adler M.D., clinical cardiac electrophysiologist, St. Paul Heart
Clinic, St. Paul, Minn.
http://wwwp.medtronic.com/Newsroom/NewsReleaseDetails.do?itemId=1213705367232&format=pdf&lang=en_US

Roche announced that two international studies showed that its new rheumatoid arthritis drug Actemra (tocilizumab) was superior in reducing symptoms at 6 months in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.
http://www.roche.com/med-cor-2008-06-13

TI is producing an ultra small LED driver that can manage 60 white LEDs at once for use in notebooks, portable GPS, cell phones, MP3 players and industrial and medical applications. The TPS61181 includes features like a way to disconnect the battery from the LEDs during shutdown or over-current conditions. Its suggested retail price is $1.75.
http://focus.ti.com/pr/docs/preldetail.tsp?sectionId=594&prelId=sc08074

UTC authorized repurchase of 60 million shares worth about $4 billion at current prices. The company repurchased $2 billion shares in 2007 and expects to repurchase $2 billion in 2008.
http://www.utc.com/press/releases/2008-06-11c.htm

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Hartford Courant, AT&T, Applied Materials, Chicago Bridge, Coke, Fifth Third, Johnson Controls, Medtronic, Roche, Iexas Instruments, UTC, Lilly, and Halliburton web sites.

SKY News Summary 6-18-08

Years ago, Cisco found a way of “converting voice communication into ‘data packets’ and routing them through via the Internet-far cheaper than using traditional ‘pipe’ to transmit conversation.” Cisco now has 74% of the $18 billion communications network market according to Dell’Oro Group, a market research firm. But, the company is concerned that communications carriers that purchase their Internet delivery equipment are not prepared for the burgeoning use of the Internet propelled by Google’s YouTube. Cisco estimates that Internet traffic will grow to six times its existing usage between 2007 and 2012, especially in Latin America, followed by Western Europe and the Asia-Pacific area. Video communications, which accounted for 5% of data traffic in 2005 and grew to 30% this year, will reach 50% of data traffic by 2012.

“Cisco Visual Networking” http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns827/networking_solutions_sub_solution.html

http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121358372172676391.html

http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121358353414576379.html

J&J announced that Todd Pope, who headed Cordis, the beleaguered stent manufacturing division, will be leaving on July 11. This division has faced increased competition from other drug-coated stent manufacturer, especially Medtronic and Boston Scientific.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121359062166376801.html

This summer 34% of teenagers will have a summer job. This will be the worst summer job market for teens since 1948 according to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2008-06-15-summer-jobs_N.htm?csp=34

Sources: Wall Street Journal, The Hartford Courant, and USA Today

SKY News Summary 06-13-08

Transportation costs continue to rise, the dollar continues to be weak, and Chinese employers are under pressure to increase wages. These elements are causing a shift in production locations of U.S. manufacturers from foreign soil back into this country. “The cost of shipping a 40-foot container from Asia to the East Coast has tripled since in 2000 and will double again as oil prices head toward $200 a barrel, says Jeff Rubin, chief economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto” as quoted in the Wall Street Journal.

Anheuser-Busch already owns 50% of Mexico’s Grupo Modelo (which makes Corona beer) but may move to purchase the rest of the company to avoid InBev’s takeover bid.

Exxon Mobil, following in the steps of ConocoPhillips and BP, is selling off its 2,220 gas stations to the 10,000 owner/operator distributors already selling their gas. Each station should be worth between $500,000 and $2 million. The company, under fire for the high price at the pumps, will not escape the dispute since the Exxon Mobil name will continue to be on the stations.

The European Commission fined United Technologies, and three other elevator companies, for administrative and fraud issues surrounding alleged price fixing. UTC was fined € 224.9 million.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, The Hartford Courant, and USA Today

SKY News Summary 06-12-08

Verizon will begin to sell Palm’s retail version of the Treo on Friday. The Centro smartphone will cost $99 and will compete with the Blackberry and the iPhone by providing email and internet functions on the cellphone.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121324209529367321.html

The SEC recommended that credit-rating firms make their rating process more transparent so that structured products would be clearly defined. Credit-rating firms would also publish both the number of ratings it performed that year and how the ratings actually performed over a period of time.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121323614021066931.html

The Commerce Department reported that May retail sales rose 1 percent in part resulting from tax rebate spending. That was the biggest improvement in six months.
http://www.courant.com/business/nationworld/sns-ap-wall-street,0,4040832,print.story

UTC Power, a unit of UTC scored a major contract, winning a bid to provide 12 fuel cells for the four main towers at the reconstructed World Trade Center, called Freedom Tower. The $10.6 million deal is significant because it will “produce the single greatest concentration of power – 4.8 megawatts- generated by UTC fuel cells at one site and one of the biggest fuel cell installations in the world.” UTC Power’s biggest installation is also in New York, at a Verizon plant on Long Island.
http://www.courant.com/business/hc-utcpower0612.artjun12,0,4378622,print.story

Microsoft is unveiling a new social networking and gaming machine at the Rio in Las Vegas. The 30-inch flat screen coffee table allows you to chat with others in the lounge as well as gamble or watch youtube videos. Each system cost the Rio about $10,000 and there are 6 of them.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/topstories/2008-06-12-1585123941_x.htm

Sources: Wall Street Journal, The Hartford Courant, and USA Today

SKY News Summary 06-10-08

The National Association of Realtors reported that April pending home sales rose 6.3% from the March number, to 88.2, a six-month high. A level of 100 is typical. Last April, the level was 101.5.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121301517514157107.html

Three months ago, Boeing lost the first of three Air Force contracts worth about $100 billion to replace 600 aerial refueling tankers within the next 30 years. But with two top Air Force officials ousted for mistaken nuclear shipments, and a procurement scandal in 2003, Boeing may successfully prove that the Air Force did not run a fair competition for the contracts. Boeing has appealed to the Government Accountability Office and expects an answer by June 19. While the GAO cannot decide the outcome, it will sway members of Congress as they decide the fate of the contract. The winners chosen three months ago were EADS, parent of Airbus, and Northrop Grumman.
http://www.courant.com/business/hc-boeing0610.artjun10,0,2817165,print.story

USA Today has an interesting article about search engines and their need to quickly adapt to the growing cell phone web browsing market spawned by the iPhone. Microsoft which offers Window Mobile on handsets by 50 manufactures and 160 mobile operators worldwide, seems to have the upper hand on this market while Google and Yahoo must change their methods if they expect to survive. Currently, 16% of cellphone owners use mobile devices to access the Web. There are 3 billion cellphone owners compared to 1 billion PC owners. Google and Yahoo have mastered the PC web browsing market by giving pages of results for each search and displaying ads across the right side of the page. But the 2-inch screen of a cell phone makes this type of search engine obsolete.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2008-06-09-mobile-search_N.htm?csp=34

The editorial in today’s USA Today supports drilling for oil in Alaska, and points to some numbers that give a different perspective on the issue. Apparently, the area in question is 2,000 acres on a 19 million-acre refuge. It is expected that the area could produce 5% of the nation’s oil needs, as much as the country gets from Venezuela.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20080610/cm_usatoday/ourviewonenergypolicyalaskadrillingisnoquickfixbutitneedstohappen

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, The Hartford Courant, and USA Today

SKY News Summary 6-5-08

It is no secret that the rail system in this country is getting congested. The 500 freight trains that pass through Chicago every day must yield to the 700 commuter trains that share the same tracks. Expanding the 150-year old rail system will cost around $148 billion over the next 30 years, or $1.6 billion over the next 5 years.
http://www.courant.com/business/hc-rail0605.artjun05,0,3414986,print.story

The Department of Labor reported that productivity rose at an annual rate of 2.6% from January through March, again exceeding expectations.
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/prod2.pdf

For the third time, Procter & Gamble is selling a major brand to J.M. Smucker. Smucker will purchase Folgers for $2.95 billion in an all-stock transaction. (Previously, Smucker purchased Jif and Crisco). P&G shareholders will own 53.5% of Smucker. Smucker now owns ten No. 1-ranked brands including Eagle Brand condensed milk, and Hungry Jack pancake mix.
http://www.pginvestor.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=104574&p=irol-newsArticle_Print&ID=1162350&highlight=

Verizon is in talks to acquire Alltel for $28 billion. The deal would make Verizon the largest carrier with 80 million customers compared with AT&T’s 71 million customers.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/telecom/2008-06-04-verizon-alltel_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Wal-Mart may be making a transition in management as Rob Walton, 63, Chairman and son of Sam Walton, brings Gregory Penner, 38, his son-in-law, onto the Board assuming a family seat. Mr. Penner was responsible for starting Walmart.com.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121262565274046979.html

GE Healthcare and the University of Pittsburgh are teaming up to form Omnyx LLC. The new entity will focus on digitizing microscopic images, which requires improved scanning techniques. 1.5 billion tissue samples are analyzed annually in this country to detect and diagnose diseases. These samples are viewed by scientists under microscopes but the images cannot be stored, retrieved or shared digitally. UPMC employs 140 pathologists in 20 hospitals who review 2 million slides each year. This is the first time GE has collaborated with an academic medical center. Each entity will contribute $20 million to the project.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121263208105047295.html

The Wall Street Journal, The Hartford Courant, and USA Today, GE, P&G, and Department of Labor websites.