Business News

Pfizer, Glaxo, J&J Grab ASCO Spotlight

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:01 GMT

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- New drugs from Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline that precisely target genetic weaknesses in cancer were given spotlight treatment Wednesday night by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in a preview of its upcoming and closely followed annual meeting.

ASCO officials also highlighted a mid-stage study of Johnson & Johnson's Zytiga in early-stage (pre-surgical) prostate cancer patients. Later during the ASCO meeting, which starts in two weeks, J&J will present new Zytiga results from a phase III study in more advanced prostate cancer patients.

In all, ASCO released more than 4,500 research abstracts, or clinical summaries, of new cancer drug data Wednesday night in advance of its annual meeting. ...

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Do We Need to Protect Grid From Sunstorms?

twocents@thestreet.com (Newser) — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:36 GMT

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

The peak in the 11-year cycle of solar flares happens next year, but electricity regulators have made little progress in deciding how much protection the power grid needs, the Wall Street Journal finds.

They are reviewing records as far back as the 1859 "super storm," the strongest solar storm ever recorded, to determine how quickly the system needs to be upgraded. A storm much weaker than the 1859 event caused most of Quebec to lose power, and some experts believe that a worst-case solar storm scenario could see American cities lose power for days or even weeks. ...

World's Biggest Brands Flex Their Muscles

twocents@thestreet.com (CNBC) — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:37 GMT

By Phil LeBeau, CNBC Correspondent

NEW YORK (CNBC) -- Pop quiz. How many different brands of commercial vehicles are sold around the world? The answer: More than 200.

All-together, those brands sold more than 79 million cars and trucks around the world last year. That was a new record. ...

Hot Biotech Stocks Traded by Hedge Funds in First Quarter

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:10 GMT

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Noteworthy hedge fund trading in biotech and drug stocks, culled from the 13F filings for the first quarter: Hedge funds and mutual funds that manage more than $100 million are required to disclose their equity holdings, options and convertible debt on a Form 13F filed SEC within 45 days of the end of a quarter. Funds aren't required to report short positions betting on declines. Since we're already midway through the second quarter, these positions in biotech and drug stocks may already have changed. Things that make you go "Hmmmm…." SAC Capital picks up a new, 1.2 million-share position in Ardea Biosciences during the first quarter. On April 23, AstraZeneca announces the acquisition of Ardea for $1.3 billion. RA Capital, savvy Boston investors who are particularly fluent in the hepatitis C drug market, established a new position in Biocryst Pharmaceuticals with a 3 million-share pickup. Biocryst's experimental BCX5191 won't be entered into human studies until later this year, but the drug belongs to the same "nuc" class as Gilead Sciences' GS-7977. Amylin Pharmaceuticals was a popular stock to buy in the first quarter with rumors swirling around a sale of the diabetes drug company to a Big Pharma suitor. Hedge funds Healthcor Asset Management, Calamos Advisors and Tang Capital and RedMile Group were just some of Wall Street's investor pros establishing new positions.

Not all investors are waiting around to see if Amylin is sold. Millennium Management and SAC Capital both disposed of sizeable stakes in the company during the quarter. The two funds likely took profits from the run-up in Amylin's stock price since the takeout rumors first surfaced on March 28. Human Genome Sciences, locked in a takeover fight with partner GlaxoSmithKline, showed similar pattern of opportunistic hedge fund buying and selling. Perhaps most notable is Adage Capital's liquidation of its entire 3.85 million-share position in Human Genome during the January quarter. Orbimed Advisors, with a healthcare portfolio valued at more than $3 billion, initiated new positions in Onyx Pharmaceuticals, ImmunoGen, Neurocrine BioSciences and Array Biopharma during the January quarter. Orbimed also bought new shares of Chemocentryx, which went public in February.

Biotech stock positions exited by Orbimed, as of March 31, include Pharmacyclics, Grifols, Intermune and United Therapeutics. Amarin expects an FDA approval decision on its prescription-grade fish-oil drug AMR101 on July 26. Ahead of that all-important catalyst, Millennium Management, SAC Capital and Sectoral Asset Management added significantly to their existing stakes in Amarin. New positions were established by Brookside Capital and Apex Capital. YM BioSciences received some Boston hedge-fund love in the first quarter. RA Capital and Adage Capital each bought 2.3 million and 2 million shares respectively. The same cannot be said for Balyasny Asset Management, which dumped 2.7 million shares of YM Bio during the quarter. The fund still retained a small 350,000-share stake as of March 31. Mutual fund giant bought 4.15 million shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter, a new position in the obesity drug company. Mutual funds still greatly outnumber hedge funds on Arena's holders list, as of the end of the first quarter. More hedge funds may have been short Arena heading into last week's FDA advisory panel. ...

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Coty Ditches Offer to Buy Avon

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:19 GMT

NEW YORK -- Coty has slammed the door on Avon Products .

Privately held Coty said late Monday that struggling direct cosmetics seller Avon took too long to respond to its $10.7 billion buyout offer. It said it is withdrawing the offer, first made two months ago.

"Two months is enough," Coty Chairman Bart Becht said in a letter to Avon's board. "Consequently, as our deadline to begin discussions expired today, our proposal is withdrawn." ...

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236K Lose Jobless Benefits

twocents@thestreet.com (Newser) — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:10 GMT

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Unemployment benefits abruptly dried up for 236,300 people this weekend, as federal support for the long-term unemployed expired in some of the country's hardest-hit states. Because of a law Congress passed in February, long-term benefits are being scaled back from 99 weeks to 79 weeks, the Hill explains.

So far, 27 states have been cut, for a total of 409,300 unemployed people, according to the National Employment Law Project. ...

JPMorgan's Dimon: I Was 'Dead Wrong'

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:31 GMT

NEW YORK -- The CEO of JPMorgan Chase, which disclosed a $2 billion loss last week, said he was "dead wrong" when he dismissed concerns about the bank's trading last month.

CEO Jamie Dimon said he did not know the extent of the problem when he said in April that the concerns were a "tempest in a teapot." After the bank reported the trading loss, investors shaved almost 10% off the bank's stock price. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon

"We made a terrible, egregious mistake," Dimon said in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." ''There's almost no excuse for it." ...

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Zuckerberg's Hoodie: Gleeful Snub to Wall Street?

twocents@thestreet.com (Newser) — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:08 GMT

By Dustin Lushing, Newser Staff

On the first day of Facebook's IPO roadshow yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg showed up to a meeting with potential investors wearing a hoodie--a wardrobe choice that one Wall Street analyst says is a glaring "mark of immaturity," reports Bloomberg.

"He's actually showing investors he doesn't care that much," said Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities, "...and I think he's got to show them the respect that they deserve because he's asking them for their money." It didn't help that Zuckerberg delayed a meeting for an hour, reportedly because he was in the bathroom. ...

Retiring? Better Have $240K for Health Care

twocents@thestreet.com (Newser) — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:51 GMT

By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff

Retiring this year? You and your significant other will need $240,000 for health care expenses, according to Fidelity Investments' latest annual projection.

That's up 4% from last year's $230,000 estimate, which is a typical -- and actually fairly modest -- increase, BusinessWeek reports. Since 2002's $160,000 estimate, the annual figure has increased an average of 6% per year. ...

A Good Sign for the Economy? Retail Turnover on the Rise

twocents@thestreet.com (CNBC) — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:15 GMT

By Christina Cheddar Berk, News Anchor

NEW YORK (CNBC) -- Employee turnover levels at retailers are on the rise, particularly among part-time store workers and positions tied to the booming ecommerce sector, according to the findings of a new survey by global management firm Hay Group.

The findings may signal improvement in the economy, as employees are more likely to stick with a job -- even if they don't like it -- when it is hard to find new work. But the development could be a double-edged sword for retailers, who are reporting that their turnover costs are about the same as pre-recession levels and are slowly starting to climb. ...

Trying to Refinance? Take a Number

twocents@thestreet.com (Newser) — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:15 GMT

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Mortgage rates have been plummeting -- they were at just 4.05% last month -- and that, combined with Obama administration initiatives, has a lot of homeowners clamoring to refinance.

There's just one problem: A lot of homeowners are clamoring to refinance. The financial crisis left fewer banks standing in the mortgage market, and they're struggling to keep up, the Wall Street Journal reports. Banks now take an average 70 days to complete a refinance, twice what it took a year ago. ...

Amazon's Next Target: Designer Fashion Sales

twocents@thestreet.com (Newser) — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:36 GMT

By Neal Colgrass, Newser Staff

Retailers are watching anxiously as Amazon penetrates its next big market: high-end, designer clothing. Having already scarred publishers and lowered prices in electronics, Amazon is making a "significant" investment in fashion and wooing designer brands, says Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. "It's Day 1 in the category," he tells the New York Times.

The megasite has long sold clothing, but now shoppers can find brands like Vivienne Westwood and Jack Spade on Amazon's MyHabit website. ...

Medical Bills? Your Credit Score Could Take a Whack

twocents@thestreet.com (Newser) — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:11 GMT

By Neal Colgrass, Newser Staff

That unpaid medical bill your insurance company promises to cover for you? Watch out, because even small medical bills are more likely to damage your credit score these days, the New York Times reports.

A Texas man was surprised to find that an unpaid $200 ambulance bill (for his son's bike accident) knocked 100 points off his credit score, even though his insurance company had told him not to worry. "It wasn't like I ignored it," he said. ...

Auto Stocks Stuck in Neutral

twocents@thestreet.com (CNBC) — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:42 GMT

By Phil LeBeau, CNBC Correspondent

NEW YORK (CNBC) -- Call it prosperity without a whole lot of pull, at least when it comes to investors. This is the new reality of the auto industry. Business is booming, profits are strong, investors are indifferent.

Just look at General Motors. The world's largest automaker beat the street with first quarter earnings of $.93/share (est.: $.85/share) earnings $2.2 Billion EBIT and $1 Billion in net profits. By all accounts, it was a solid quarter. ...

Bristol-Myers Missing Hep C Data Raises Red Flags, May Boost Gilead, Idenix

twocents@thestreet.com (Nathan Sadeghi-Nejad) — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:00 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Since my return from the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) conference two weeks ago, I have been unable to get over the strange behavior of executives at Bristol-Myers Squibb. As I discussed in my EASL wrap-up, investors should view with suspicion Bristol-Myers' complaints about Gilead Sciences' refusing to collaborate on a late-stage study of the hepatitis C drugs GS-7977 and daclatasvir partnership. Then there's Bristol-Myers' odd and prolonged silence about INX-189 -- the nucleoside polymerase inhibitor, or "nuc," acquired in the $2.5 billion Inhibitex deal.

I suspect something is wrong with Bristol-Myers' INX-189, which has since been renamed by the company as BMS-094. The red flags are popping up everywhere. If I'm right about Bristol-Myers being in trouble, Gilead's lead in the race to develop all-oral therapies for hepatitis C will expand and Idenix Pharmaceuticals' hepatitis C drugs become more attractive.

Let's examine the details: ...

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Buffett: Successor Will Run Berkshire Well

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sat, 05 May 2012 19:48 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. -- Warren Buffett says his eventual successor as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway will maintain the company's culture and keep key managers of its subsidiaries happy.

Buffett says the successor Berkshire's board has in mind won't do anything to turn off the managers of the 80-odd companies Berkshire owns.

Warren Buffett ...

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SecondMarket Looks Beyond Facebook

twocents@thestreet.com (CNBC) — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:00 GMT

By Julia Boorstin, CNBC Correspondent

NEW YORK (CNBC) -- In a report just released SecondMarket reported that it continued to grow its trading volume in the last quarter it had access to Facebook shares.

The company that trades private company shares completed $165 million in trades in the first quarter, up from $115 million a year earlier, and up from $127 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. ...

Your New Grocery Store: Dollar General?

twocents@thestreet.com (Newser) — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:19 GMT

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

When you think dollar stores, you probably think of Tiki statues, fragile toys, and cheap kitchen implements.

But Dollar General is trying to change all that, the Wall Street Journal reports, by taking a real shot at the grocery market. Over the next year, the discount chain intends to open about 40 "Dollar General Markets," offering an array of groceries--including, yes, fresh produce and baked goods--alongside the typical aisles of bric-a-brac. Many will service otherwise deprived "food deserts." ...

Juicy Details From Tang Capital's Lawsuit Against Savient Pharma

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:06 GMT

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EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ (TheStreet) -- Savient Pharmaceuticals is insolvent and its directors are greedy pigs more interested in emptying the company's dwindling cash pile into their own pockets than repaying creditors, alleges a West Coast hedge fund and Savient's largest creditor in a lawsuit filed Tuesday. ...

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Arena: FDA Adds Obesity Docs to Panel

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:25 GMT

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Thoughts and observations on obesity drug stocks as Arena Pharmaceuticals gets ready to bring lorcaserin in front an another FDA advisory panel on May 10.

My apologies for beginning with some shameless self promotion: I will be live-blogging the Arena FDA panel, providing eight hours-plus of continuous, play-by-play coverage and instant analysis as obesity experts review and ultimately pass judgment on lorcaserin's efficacy and safety.

Don't miss out on all the excitement and suspense. More than 22,000 readers logged into my live blog of the Vivus FDA panel in February, which resulted in a 20-2 vote in favor of Qnexa. I expect another big crowd on May 10, so mark your calendars. ...

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Celldex Screw-Up Nixes ASCO Data Slot

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Tue, 01 May 2012 11:00 GMT

NEEDHAM, Mass. (TheStreet) -- A clerical error has cost Celldex Therapeutics the opportunity to present data on its breast cancer drug CDX-011 at the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.

This is hard to believe, but someone at Celldex clicked a wrong box on ASCO's online abstract submission form. As a result, ASCO rejected the CDX-011 abstract. Celldex appealed but ASCO refused to make an exception, the company says.

Doh! ...

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U.S. First-Quarter GDP Rises 2.2%, Below Forecasts

twocents@thestreet.com (Joseph P. Woelfel) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:33 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. gross domestic product in the first quarter rose 2.2%, according to the advance estimate of GDP from the Commerce Department.

Amgen Goes to Turkey, Loses Biotech Cred

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:23 GMT

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Amgen is saying "elveda" to the biotech sector.

That's Turkish for "goodbye." With the $700 million purchase of Turkey's Mustafa Nevzat Pharmaceuticals, a maker of generic drugs, Amgen's claim as "the world's largest biotech company" no longer holds much meaning.

Amgen has graduated to become a "pharmaceutical company" joining the ranks of Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer. ...

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Consumer Confidence in April Declines

twocents@thestreet.com (Joseph P. Woelfel) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:11 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Consumer confidence in April declined to 69.2, according to the Conference Board, from a revised March reading of 69.5.

March New-Home Sales at 328,000

twocents@thestreet.com (Joseph P. Woelfel) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:07 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- New-home sales in March fell 7.1% to a 328,000 annual rate in March, according to the Commerce Department, from a revised 353,000 units in February.

BofA's $20M Settlement Faces Challenge

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:33 GMT

NEW YORK -- A recently proposed $20 million settlement of shareholder claims by Bank of America Corp. over its 2009 acquisition of Merrill Lynch is being challenged by a separate group of shareholders as too small.

A federal judge in New York has ordered the Bank of America directors who were sued over the deal to defend the settlement in court on May 4, along with the lead shareholders they settled with.

The court order by U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel came last week in response to a request by lawyers for the second group of shareholders, who have their own, similar lawsuit pending against Bank of America's board in Delaware Chancery Court. ...

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IMF Warns Europe Not to Ease on Debt Fight

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 20:39 GMT

By Harry Dunphy and Martin Crutsinger

WASHINGTON -- The International Monetary Fund says financially strapped European countries must put in place bold changes to resolve a prolonged debt crisis.

The 188-nation lending agency has just received an infusion of $430 billion and is pledging to use the new money responsibly to reassure financial markets of its ability to deal with the debt problems. ...

American Jim Yong Kim to Lead World Bank

twocents@thestreet.com (The Associated Press) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:21 GMT

WASHINGTON -- Jim Yong Kim, an American who is president of Dartmouth College, has been chosen to be the next president of the World Bank. His selection Monday extends the U.S. hold on the top job at the 187-nation development agency.

Kim, a surprise nominee of President Barack Obama, was selected Monday in a vote by the World Bank's 25-member executive board. He'll succeed Robert Zoellick, who's stepping down after a five-year term.

Developing nations waged an unsuccessful challenge to Kim, 52, a physician and pioneer in treating HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in the developing world. ...

Endocyte Shares Rise on Merck Cancer Deal

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:58 GMT

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (TheStreet) -- Endocyte shares doubled in value Monday following the licensing of its experimental ovarian cancer drug EC145 to Merck.

Under terms of the agreement, Merck is paying $120 million in cash to Endocyte for worldwide rights to EC145, which recently began a late-stage study in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. Endocyte must continue to pay for the phase III study, with results expected in 2014. ...

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More Hep C Drug Abstracts Leak Ahead of EASL Confab

twocents@thestreet.com (Adam Feuerstein) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:44 GMT

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- More hepatitis data supposedly kept under wraps by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) in advance of next week's closely followed annual meeting has made its way into the hands of Wall Street investors.

Fortunately for EASL, the leaked research abstracts, including one describing the important "Electron" study of Gilead Sciences' hepatitis C drug GS-7977, doesn't contain new information and therefore isn't particularly stock moving.

On Tuesday, an investor who asked to remain anonymous emailed me three research abstracts involving hepatitis C drug data from Gilead Sciences and Bristol-Myers Squibb. All of the abstracts were supposed to be embargoed and therefore not publicly available, according to EASL rules. ...

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