Business News

Elan Shareholder Vote Nixes Royalty Pharma Takeover -- For Now

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:44 GMT

DUBLIN (TheStreet) -- Elan's shareholders approved a share repurchase plan Monday, which forces Royalty Pharma's hostile tender offer to lapse unless an Irish court intervenes.

Royalty is offering $12.50 per share for Elan plus another $2.50 per share contingent on the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri hitting certain sales targets. However, Royalty's tender offer was forced to lapse because Elan shareholders voted to approve one of four proposals made by company management.

The other three proposals, including a royalty agreement with Theravance and the acquisition of a privately held drug maker, were rejected. ...

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'Man of Steel' Soars to No. 1 With $125 Million Debut

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:58 GMT

By Derrik J. Lang

LOS ANGELES -- Man of Steel leaped over box office expectations in a single weekend.

The Warner Bros. superhero film earned $113 million in its opening weekend at the box office, according to studio estimates Sunday. The retelling of Superman's backstory earned an additional $12 million from Thursday screenings, bringing its domestic total to $125 million. Original box-office expectations for Man of Steel ranged from $75 million to $130 million. ...

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Paul Soros, Shipping Magnate, Is Dead at 87

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:42 GMT

By Jake Pearson

NEW YORK -- Paul Soros, a successful innovator in shipping, philanthropist and the older brother of billionaire financier George Soros, died in New York City on Saturday after a long bout with a host of illnesses, said his son Peter Soros. He was 87.

Soros, an engineer and businessman, founded Soros Associates, a world leader in the design and development of bulk handling and port facilities. The company has operations in 91 countries. Soros also held a number of patents and wrote more than 100 technical articles on the transportation of materials and related shipping design issues. ...

Elan Plants 'For Sale' Sign on Front Lawn

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:52 GMT

DUBLIN (TheStreet) -- Elan's Plan B: Surrender.

The Irish drug maker announced Friday a formal sales process to find a buyer for the company -- an acknowledgement that management's restructuring plan is likely to be rejected by shareholders on Monday.

Elan "invited" Royalty Pharma to participate in the sale process, even though Royalty's hostile tender offer of up to $15.50 per share for the company is still in play. Elan urged its shareholders not to accept Royalty's tender in the hope that another acquirer might step in with a higher price. ...

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Wall Street Realizes Myriad Genetics Monopoly on Breast Cancer Risk Tests Is Done

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:43 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (TheStreet) -- Myriad Genetics' monopoly on genetic testing for breast cancer risk has been torn down by the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on human gene patents Thursday. One day later, Wall Street analysts are reacting accordingly.

Sell side does an abrupt about face on $MYGN - after glowing reviews yesterday - both ML and RBC downgrade - CSFB very negative comments— Ian Estepan (@ianestepan) June 14, 2013

CSFB: we see competitors will offer the test for $995 (less than 1/3 $MYGN's current price) if they do not lower price payors will shift— Ian Estepan (@ianestepan) June 14, 2013 ...

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Myriad Genetics Shares Rise on Supreme Court Gene Patent Ruling

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:24 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TheStreet) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that human genes are derived from nature and therefore cannot be patented. However, synthetic genetic material was patent eligible because it is not naturally occurring.

Shares of Myriad Genetics were up 10 percent to $37.29 on the court ruling mainly because the worst-case scenario -- justices ruling that all genetic material was ineligible for patent protection -- did not come to pass. The case focused on the legitimacy of patents held by Myriad for two genes -- BRCA1 and BRCA2 -- which are used to determine the risk for developing breast and ovarian cancer.

RBC Capital analyst Michael Yee, in a note to investor clients, called the court's ruling a positive for Myriad: ...

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Stock Market Happy With Jobs Report

twocents@thestreet.com (Bret Kenwell) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:06 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- TheStreet's Debra Borchardt is with Nicholas Colas of ConvergEx Group, to discuss Friday's nonfarm payrolls report. The government reported that 175,000 jobs were added to the U.S. workforce in May, slightly more than economists' expectations for 169,000. The unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 7.6%, from 7.5% in April. The higher unemployment rate could be an indication that more people are searching for a job, since the reading does not take into account people who are unemployed and not actively seeking work. Although the nonfarm payrolls number did beat expectations, it wasn't a very good number overall, according to Colas, who said it would have been much better if it had been more than 200,000. Concerns are starting to build that the economy is seeing very little improvement after trillions of dollars in stimulus injections from the Federal Reserve. Colas also added that the jobs experiencing the highest growth are also the ones that pay the lowest. Although that's better than nothing, it's not good for the economy, as these jobs rarely have benefits and pay too little to cover anything outside of basic expenses. One bright spot is the auto sector, which pays well and is firing on all cylinders. These jobs, which pay $40 an hour or more, are climbing after automakers have seen a huge surge in sales in 2013. Borchardt noted that Ford has seen robust sales in its F-Series pickup trucks, something that has already begun adding additional shifts to compensate for the increased demand. She also pointed out that it is a rather expensive vehicle and that if consumers are buying it, it must show that they have confidence in their work and plan to keep getting paid well. "You have some folks doing well, other folks, not so much," Colas concluded. ...

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'Fast 6' Takes First Place at Box Office Again

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 00:30 GMT

By Sandy Cohen

LOS ANGELES -- With its supercharged muscle cars, Fast & Furious 6 raced to first place at the box office for the second consecutive weekend.

The Universal Pictures release is expected to add $34.5 million to its North American ticket sales, keeping it in the No. 1 spot after opening to more than $120 million over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. ...

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Report: Problem Found in 787 Jet; No Safety Risk

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 14:21 GMT

TOKYO (AP) -- A sensor problem was found Sunday in one of the exchanged batteries for a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 jet but did not pose a safety risk, a Japanese broadcaster reported. The Boeing Co. jets had been grounded for four months until their safety could be reconfirmed.

The problem emerged in a sensor that detects overheating in the modified version of the lithium-ion batteries used in the aircraft, NHK TV said. The batteries were encased to prevent overheating from spreading. ...

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ASCO '13: Onyx's Nexavar Delays Growth of Thyroid Cancer

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:30 GMT

CHICAGO (TheStreet) -- Onyx Pharmaceuticals' Nexavar stalled disease progression by five months in patients with treatment-resistant, differentiated thyroid cancer, an aggressive form of the disease that has gone without new, effective therapies for 40 years.

Based on the positive Nexavar phase III results, Onyx and its partner Bayer will file for FDA approval in the middle of the year. Nexavar is already approved for the treatment of kidney cancer and liver cancer, with 2012 sales of $861 million.

Differentiated thyroid cancer is the most common subtype of thyroid cancer and has generally high cure rates when treated with surgery or radioactive iodine. Five to 15 percent of differentiated thyroid patients can develop resistance to radioactive iodine. When that happens, these patients have no effective treatment options. ...

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Court Tries to Reach Deals With North Carolina Ponzi 'Winners'

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 20:24 GMT

By Mitch Weiss

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Time is running out for people who profited from a $600 million Ponzi scheme to contact a federal court-appointed receiver to negotiate a settlement in the case.

Receiver Kenneth Bell sent emails earlier this year to 16,000 investors who made money from ZeekRewards, an online company based in Lexington, N.C. He also posted a letter on the ZeekRewards receivership Web site, saying the investors, or net winners, had until May 31 to contact his office to negotiate a settlement or face possible legal action. ...

Valeant to Buy Bausch & Lomb

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Mon, 27 May 2013 16:06 GMT

By Linda A. Johnson, AP Business Writer

Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals said Monday that it will pay $8.7 billion to buy Bausch & Lomb, one of the world's best-known makers of contact lenses, in a massive expansion of Valeant's smaller ophthalmology business.

Valeant said the cash deal will help it capitalize on increasing demand for contact lenses and other products because of aging populations, growing demand in emerging markets and increasing rates of diabetes. Complications of the complex blood sugar disorder can damage the eyes over time. ...

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'Fast' Races Past 'Hangover' at Weekend Box Office

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sun, 26 May 2013 22:35 GMT

By Derrik J. Lang

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- It's a blowout at the box office.

Fast & Furious 6 is revving past The Hangover Part III in the No. 1 position at the Memorial Day weekend box office. ...

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Israeli Electric Car Company to Fold

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sun, 26 May 2013 14:48 GMT

By Aron Heller

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's trailblazing electric car company Better Place announced Sunday that it is shutting down, less than six years after unveiling an ambitious plan that promised to revolutionize the auto industry by reducing the world's dependency on oil.

Better Place was perhaps Israel's best known clean-tech company and a leading symbol of its "startup" nation status. Israel, along with Denmark, was the company's test market for developing nationwide networks of charging and battery-swapping stations that it hoped would eventually spread globally. But the company experienced repeated delays in getting off the ground and experienced weak demand for its cars after burning through millions of dollars. ...

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Japanese Stocks Slide 7.3%

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Thu, 23 May 2013 08:56 GMT

BANGKOK -- Japanese stocks plummeted Thursday after a spike in government bond yields and unexpectedly weak Chinese manufacturing spooked investors sitting atop months of massive gains in share prices. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo nosedived 7.3% to close at 14,483.98, its worst drop since the 2011 tsunami.

Japan's 10-year government bond yield rose above 1% for the first time in a year, unnerving financial markets at a time when Japan's already overburdened government finances are vulnerable to rises in interest rates. It later slipped back to about 0.9%. The spike in long-term debt comes despite the Bank of Japan's aggressive efforts to keep interest rates down. It followed overnight news that some officials of the U.S. Federal Reserve are willing to scale back the American central bank's stimulus effort as soon as June if the economy perks up.

Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG Markets in Melbourne, said the Nikkei has been on such a tear this year that all it took was the convergence of a few negative events to spark a sharp correction. The Nikkei, even after Thursday's fall, is up 39% so far this year. ...

Rockwell Medical Run-Up Trade Follows Financing

twocents@thestreet.com (Mark Messier) — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:00 GMT

WIXOM, MI (TheStreet) -- Consider a run-up trade in a biotech stock after it raises money. A recent example: Last January, Trius Therapeutics sold 6.3 million shares at a 9% discount to its market price at the time. Over the next two months -- and ahead of results from a clinical trial of its lead antibiotic -- Trius shares ran up more than 50%.

I'm giving this strategy another go with Rockwell Medical , marketer of dialysis related products. On Monday, Rockwell closed a $40 million stock offering, which should provide the company with enough cash to fund operations into 2014. Rockwell spends a lot of money and its balance sheet has been weak, so this latest offering -- priced at a small discount to market price -- should alleviate investors concerns about the company's cash and attract new buyers to the stock.

Rockwell's looming catalyst is data from two phase III studies of an experimental soluble iron solution added to the dialysis fluid of kidney dialysis patients in order to prevent iron deficiency and anemia. ...

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ASCO '13 Preview: Gilead's Big Cancer Debut

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:00 GMT

FOSTER CITY, Calif. (TheStreet) -- Gilead Sciences' experimental cancer drug idelalisab demonstrated long-lasting tumor shrinkage in more than half of patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Responses were durable, with disease progression stalled for an average of 17 months -- noteworthy because CLL patients enrolled in the phase I study had already undergone an average of five prior therapies.

Results from the idelalisab study in CLL were announced Wednesday night in advance of a presentation at next month's American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.

Gilead is known best these days for its dominant HIV drug business and soon-to-be-approved crop of hepatitis C therapies. But Gilead is also making a less-publicized push into cancer drug development. Idelalisab is the company's lead cancer asset, picked up through the acquisition of Calistoga Pharmaceuticals in 2011. ...

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Bangladesh to Raise Garment Worker Pay

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sun, 12 May 2013 16:30 GMT

By Farid Hossain, Associated Press

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Bangladesh's government plans to raise the minimum wage for garment workers, a Cabinet minister said Sunday, after the deaths of more than 1,100 people in the collapse of a factory building focused international attention on the textile industry's dismal pay and hazardous working conditions.

A new minimum wage board will issue recommendations for pay raises within three months, Textiles Minister Abdul Latif Siddiky said. The Cabinet will then decide whether to accept those proposals. ...

Repros Patent Problems Began When Harry Met Joe

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Thu, 09 May 2013 12:00 GMT

THE WOODLANDS, Tex. (TheStreet) -- Investors who have read through Repros Therapeutics' regulatory filings know about the unresolved and worrisome patent conflict involving the company's testosterone-boosting pill Androxal. Less known but more interesting are the events behind this patent fight, including allegations that Repros' CEO stole the idea for Androxal from a New York fertility doctor.

Call the story, "When Harry Met Joe." Except there's no fake orgasm over pastrami sandwiches at Katz's.

Harry is Dr. Harry Fisch, a New York urologist and fertility specialist. For male patients with low testosterone, particularly those who still want to have kids, Fisch has long prescribed clomiphene, a decades-old hormone treatment normally used to boost fertility in women. In men, clomiphene raises testosterone but also preserves sperm count. ...

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Fire Aveo's CEO for Incompetence and Arrogance Rivaling ImClone's Sam Waksal

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Mon, 06 May 2013 16:26 GMT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (TheStreet) -- Aveo Oncology CEO Tuan Ha-Ngoc hasn't been fired yet. That's disappointing. After the FDA and its advisory panel thrashed Aveo's kidney cancer drug tivozanib last Thursday -- excoriating the company for conducting a flawed and unethical clinical trial -- you'd think Aveo's directors would have convened an emergency board meeting to send Ha-Ngoc and his executive team packing.

Then again, Aveo's chairman is Henri Termeer, who wasn't exactly the sort of CEO to take personal responsibility for major screw ups under his watch while running Genzyme. Termeer also had a bad habit of ignoring FDA's recommendations, just like Ha-Ngoc.

So with these two running the show at Aveo, the question to ask might not be when will the company's directors fire Ha-Ngoc, but how big of a bonus will Ha-Ngoc get this year? ...

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Former Dow Jones Executive William Cox Jr. Dies

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sat, 04 May 2013 22:00 GMT

NEW YORK -- Former Dow Jones & Co. executive William Cox Jr. has died at age 82, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal report cited unnamed people close to the family. Cox was part of the Bancroft family that controlled Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal until they were sold to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. in 2007.

The sale was contentious because the Journal had long been independent and members of the Bancroft family were divided about whether to sell or not. But eventually, News Corp. paid about $5 billion to acquire Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal. ...

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Long Shots in Research In Motion

twocents@thestreet.com (OptionMonster) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:49 GMT

By Pete Najarian, co-founder of OptionMonster

NEW YORK -- Research In Motion has been a great beta trade for some time, and option traders are looking for the BlackBerry maker to spike much higher. OptionMonster's tracking programs Monday found some curious prints in the September 27 calls, which were bought for 22 cents. hat's a crazy high strike for a stock that closed the session at $15.61, up 3.93%. These calls lock in the price where investors can buy stock in the smartphone maker. Because the options are much cheaper than the shares, they can result in significant leverage if the stock moves in the right direction. The September 19 calls were also active but much closer to the money.

Apple was also in focus Monday with a gain of more than 3%. There is no comparison between these companies in most metrics, but they do have similar products in certain categories, and Research In Motion has frequently been an outperformer. In addition, Jefferies issued a positive note on the company Monday. ...

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Owner of Collapsed Building Captured in Bangladesh

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:38 GMT

By Chris Blake and Julhas Alam

SAVAR, Bangladesh -- The fugitive owner of an illegally constructed building that collapsed and killed at least 377 people was captured Sunday by a commando force as he tried to flee into India. At the disaster site, meanwhile, fire broke out in the wreckage and forced authorities to suspend the search for survivors temporarily.

Mohammed Sohel Rana was arrested in the western Bangladesh border town of Benapole, said Jahangir Kabir Nanak, junior minister for local government. Rana was brought back by helicopter to the capital of Dhaka where he faced charges of negligence. ...

FAA: Air Traffic System System Soon at Full Operation

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 20:43 GMT

NEW YORK -- The Federal Aviation Administration said that the U.S. air traffic system will resume normal operations by Sunday evening after lawmakers rushed a bill through Congress allowing the agency to withdraw furloughs of air traffic controllers and other workers.

The FAA said Saturday that it has suspended all employee furloughs and that traffic facilities will begin returning to regular staffing levels over the next 24 hours. The furloughs were fallout from the $85 billion in automatic-across-the-board spending cuts this spring. The bill, passed on Friday, allows the FAA to move as much as $253 million within its budget to areas that will allow it to prevent reduced operations and staffing.

The furloughs started to hit air traffic controllers this past week, causing flight delays that left thousands of travelers frustrated and furious. Planes were forced to take off and land less frequently, so as not to overload the remaining controllers on duty. ...

'Pain and Gain' Tops Weekend Box Office

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 16:58 GMT

LOS ANGELES -- Iron Man 3 is the heavy-lifter at theaters with a colossal overseas debut that overshadows a sleepy presummer weekend at the domestic box office.

The superhero sequel starring Robert Downey Jr. got a head-start on its domestic launch next Friday with a $195.3 million opening in 42 overseas markets. ...

Iceland Returns Center-Right to Power

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:36 GMT

By Jenna Gottlieb and Jill Lawless

REYKJAVIK, Iceland -- In a dramatic about-face, Icelandic voters have returned to power the center-right parties that led the national economy to collapse five years ago.

With all votes counted Sunday, the conservative Independence Party and rural-based Progressive Party -- who governed Iceland for decades before the 2008 crash -- each had 19 seats in Iceland's 63-seat parliament, the Althingi. ...

Authorities Arrest Man in Ricin Case

twocents@thestreet.com (TheStreet Staff) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 17:13 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (TheStreet) -- Federal agents have arrested a Mississippi man in connection with the investigation into ricin-contaminated letters sent to President Obama and two other government officials, according to published media reports.

Agents arrested J. Everett Dutschke, a martial arts instructor at his home in Tupelo, Miss. Just before 1 a.m., The New York Times reported, citing an FBI representative in Jackson, Miss.

The arrest comes after authorities dropped criminal charges Tuesday against Paul Kevin Curtis, who alleged that Dutschke had framed him, the Times reported. ...

Bulls Want to Drive Ford Higher

twocents@thestreet.com (OptionMonster) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:41 GMT

By Pete Najarian, co-founder of OptionMonster ...

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A Dendreon Shareholder Voices His Frustration At Incompetent Directors

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:14 GMT

SEATTLE (TheStreet) -- Dendreon is holding its annual shareholder meeting today in New Jersey. Management and directors are facing some tough questions about who should be held responsible and accountable for Provenge's commercial troubles and the stock's poor performance.

Brad Loncar, a Dendreon shareholder who has previously agitated for change at the troubled company, is attending today's meeting and tweeting about it:

$DNDN this was the question I asked publicly at the ASM today: This year Dendreon had one director who chose (cont) tl.gd/n_1rjtfs5— Brad Loncar (@bradloncar) April 22, 2013 ...

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