U.S. approves J&J drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment

(Reuters) - U.S. health regulators have approved a new Johnson & Johnson drug for patients with tuberculosis who do not respond to other treatments, the company said.

The drug is the first in 40 years to tackle the disease using a new mechanism of action, according to J&J. The drug blocks an energy-producing enzyme that tuberculosis bacteria need to survive.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, chemically known as bedaquiline and called Sirturo, on Monday following a positive review by an advisory panel last month.

The advisers found the drug to be effective, though they noted that more deaths were seen in the group of patients who took bedaquiline in combination with standard treatments than in the group that took standard drugs alone.

Chrispin Kambili, medical affairs leader for bedaquiline at J&J's Janssen Therapeutics unit, said in a recent interview that the company is studying the difference in death rates but has so far seen no common pattern.

Almost every death was due to a different cause, including a motor vehicle accident. What was unusual, he said, was the low rate of death in the placebo group.

Advisers to the FDA expressed concern that a greater number of patients had elevated liver enzymes, a potential sign of liver toxicity, and elongated QT levels -- an electrical irregularity in the heart that can cause sudden death.

But Kambili said none of the patients died due to serious QT prolongation and there was no unifying findings in the data.

In 2011, nearly 9 million people around the world became sick with tuberculosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and there were 1.4 million TB-related deaths.

Kambili said J&J's drug is designed for a relatively small portion of patients - some 650,000 - who do not respond to existing therapies.

And while investment analysts at Cowen and Co have forecast peak annual sales of the product at a relatively modest $300 million, the drug is important from a public health standpoint, Kambili said.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is caused by strains of the bacterium that have become resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampin, the two most potent drugs for TB.

J&J shares dipped 0.2 percent to $69.36 in early trading.

(Additional reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by John Wallace and Jeffrey Benkoe)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-approves-drug-resistant-tuberculosis-treatment-j-j-142642836--finance.html

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US troops sent to Chad to evacuate diplomats, citizens

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama says 50 US troops have been deployed to the African country of Chad to help evacuate US citizens and embassy personnel from the neighbouring Central African Republic's capital of Bangui in the face of rebel advances toward the city.

Obama informed congressional leaders of Thursday's deployment in a letter yesterday citing a "deteriorating security situation" in the Central African Republic.

The evacuation of the US diplomats comes in the wake of criticism of the Obama administration's handling of diplomatic security at its consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The ambassador and three other Americans were killed in a September 11 attack.

In the Central African Republic, rebels have seized at least 10 northern towns. Yesterday, they continued their advance, seizing the city of Sibut, 183 kilometres from Bangui.

Source: http://timesofindia.feedsportal.com/fy/8at2Eul0iKody3ns/story01.htm

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WTS: Apple iPad mini Wi-Fi | New | 560.00 USD

? Listed on 30 December 2012 by: Safety Tip To eliminate fraud always use Cellpex messaging and ordering. It`s safer and there are no transaction fees. ? Additional Details Sign In for additional details. ?

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The Daily Roundup for 12.20.2012

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

Continue reading The Daily Roundup for 12.20.2012

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/20/the-daily-roundup-for-12-20-2012/

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IntercontinentalExchange takes aim at CME with NYSE talks

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - IntercontinentalExchange is in talks to buy New York Stock Exchange owner NYSE Euronext, in a multi-billion dollar deal designed to push it into the big league of European derivatives and take on arch rival CME Group.

ICE may consider a spin-off or sale of NYSE's stock markets, a source told Reuters. As well as the 200-year old New York exchange, the NYSE also owns bourses in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon.

"We can't exclude any option at this stage. It's all down to what regulators will require to get the deal approved, and to the timeframe they will give ICE to meet these targets," a source familiar with the situation told Reuters, adding that a deal was expected to be announced later on Thursday.

ICE has proposed buying NYSE , which also owns derivatives market Liffe, for $33 per share, a 37 percent premium to its Wednesday closing price, CNBC said.

One-third of the deal would be funded by cash and the rest in stock, the source confirmed.

NYSE and ICE representatives declined to comment.

Analysts said a deal would give Atlanta-based ICE a strategic boost with control of Liffe, Europe's second-largest derivatives market, helping it compete against U.S.-based CME Group Inc , owner of the Chicago Board of Trade.

"ICE is after Liffe, that is the crown jewel of NYSE Euronext. ICE could potentially sell the US and European equities business, but could struggle to find a buyer. A spin-off of this business could be more likely," said Peter Lenardos, analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

"Strategically it makes sense for ICE to enter the European derivatives space in a meaningful way, but paying $10 billion - with debt - to do so sounds generous for NYSE shareholders and expensive for ICE shareholders.

At the close of trading on Wednesday, NYSE was worth about $5.8 billion, indicating that ICE may be willing to pay roughly $8 billion for the owner of the world's largest stock market.

NYSE shares jumped 12 percent in after-hours trading to $26.96. ICE shares rose 3.1 percent to $132.32.

REGULATORY THUMBS-UP

An ICE-NYSE Euronext tie-up would leap-frog Deutsche Boerse to become the world's third-largest exchange group with a combined market value of $15.2 billion. CME Group, ICE's largest U.S.-based rival, has a market value of $17.5 billion, Thomson Reuters data shows.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing is the world's largest exchange group with a market capitalization of $19.5 billion.

ICE's main operations are in energy futures trading and unlike NYSE Euronext, it has steered clear of stocks and stock-options trading, so there is not much business overlap between the two groups, making it more likely competition authorities would approve a tie-up.

Last year, the U.S. Justice Department blocked a $11 billion joint hostile bid by ICE and Nasdaq OMX Group for NYSE Euronext on concerns the tie-up would dominate U.S. stock listings.

If that bid had succeeded, ICE planned to buy NYSE Euronext derivatives business while Nasdaq would have taken control of the stock exchanges.

A rival $9.3 billion bid by German exchange operator Deutsche Boerse also ran afoul of regulators.

"I doubt the competition authorities will have a problem with it, there's only a modest overlap between the businesses," said Richard Perrott, an analyst at Berenberg Bank.

"The rationale for the deal will be the same as that with Deutsche Boerse - migrate the clearing of Liffe derivatives to ICE's services in London and scale up to attract OTC (Over The Counter) derivatives clearing. There could be more than $300 million in cost savings in the deal."

Before the latest ICE offer emerged, NYSE Euronext's shares haD fallen by nearly a third since ICE and Nasdaq launched their thwarted joint bid.

The New York Stock Exchange, known as the Big Board and the symbol of U.S. capitalism, has seen its clout fade as new technology and the rise of private trading venues run by Wall Street banks and brokers cut its margins.

Founded in 2000 as a U.S. electricity trading platform backed by Wall Street banks and energy traders, ICE is the product of a string of acquisitions, from the London-based International Petroleum Exchange in 2001 through the New York Board of Trade and, most recently, a handful of smaller deals, including a climate exchange and a stake in a Brazilian clearing house.

(Additional reporting by Luke Jeffs in London. Writing by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/intercontinentalexchange-takes-aim-cme-nyse-talks-124638480--sector.html

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World stocks indecisive as Fed enthusiasm fades

BANGKOK (AP) -- World stock markets were mixed Thursday as markets digested a move by the European Union to create a common banking authority and enthusiasm faded over the U.S. Federal Reserve's new bond-buying program. A weakening yen propelled Japan's benchmark higher.

Stocks in Europe fell in early trading despite European Union finance ministers meeting in Brussels reached an agreement to set up a shared banking supervisor. Under the agreement, the European Central Bank would act as supervisor for banks in the 17 EU countries that use the euro and any other country in the union that wants to opt in.

Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent to 5,936.12. Germany's DAX fell 0.5 percent 7,579.94. France's CAC-40 lost 0.1 percent to 3,641.54.

Meanwhile, the Fed said Wednesday following a two-day policy meeting that it will keep spending $85 billion a month on bond purchases to drive down long-term borrowing costs and stimulate economic growth. The Fed will spend $45 billion a month on long-term Treasury purchases to replace "Operation Twist," a previous bond-purchase program of an equal size. And it will keep buying $40 billion a month in mortgage bonds.

Those purchases, and the Fed's revamped commitment to keep interest rates low until unemployment falls to a more normal level, are intended to spur borrowing and spending in an economy still growing only modestly since the financial crisis of 2008.

Futures augured a weak session on Wall Street. Dow Jones futures shed a marginal 2 points to 13,228. S&P 500 futures lost 0.1 percent at 1,426.30.

But Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.7 percent to close at 9,742.73 ? an eight-month high ? as the yen sank against the dollar, a boost for Japan's export-reliant economy. Mazda Motor Corp. jumped 4.4 percent. Sony Corp. surged 6.4 percent. Panasonic Corp. soared 7.9 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed earlier gains to close 0.3 percent lower at 22,445.50. South Korea's Kospi rallied 1.4 percent to 2,002.77. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell slightly to 4,582.80.

Besides a spur in borrowing, the Fed's drive to cut rates also induces investors to shift money out of low-yielding bonds and into stocks, analysts said.

"The long-term yields will remain low, so this is definitely a good thing for the U.S. economy, and it's also a positive sign for the Hong Kong stock market. We can clearly see capital inflows to Hong Kong in the past month," said Dickie Wong, executive director of research at Kingston Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong.

"Investors are looking for other places to put money," Wong said. "If you put your money into a savings account, there's no interest at all. For investors in Hong Kong, there is a hunger for yield."

Though welcome by investors, the Fed's announcement did not completely douse concerns over budget negotiations in Washington, which appear to have hit a roadblock.

Without a budget agreement between President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers, a combination of steep automatic tax hikes and government spending cuts will go into effect in 2013, threatening to throw the U.S. economy into recession.

Even if an agreement can be reached, the halting pace of negotiations is jeopardizing chances that it could be written into proper legislative form and passed through both House and Senate before the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was down 38 cents to $86.39 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 98 cents to close at $86.77 per barrel on the Nymex on Wednesday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3071 from $1.3063 late Wednesday in New York. The dollar rose to 83.45 yen from 83.20 yen.

___

Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/world-stocks-indecisive-fed-enthusiasm-094416968.html

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How the AP-GfK poll was conducted

The Associated Press-GfK poll on President Obama and politics was conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3. It is based on landline telephone and cellphone interviews with a nationally representative random sample of 1,002 adults. Digits in the phone numbers dialed were generated randomly to reach households with unlisted and listed landline and cellphone numbers.

Interviews were conducted in both English and Spanish.

As is done routinely in surveys, results were weighted, or adjusted, to ensure that responses accurately reflect the population's makeup by factors such as age, sex, education and race. In addition, the weighting took into account patterns of phone use ? landline only, cell only and both types ? by region.

No more than 1 time in 20 should chance variations in the sample cause the results to vary by more than plus or minus 3.9 percentage points from the answers that would be obtained if all adults in the U.S. were polled.

There are other sources of potential error in polls, including the wording and order of questions.

The questions and results are available at http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-gfk-poll-conducted-065419637--finance.html

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