Roche makes $43.7bn Genentech bid
July 20, 2008
Swiss drugs firm Roche has offered to buy all outstanding shares in its US partner Genentech for $43.7bn(£22bn).
Roche – which makes the antiviral drug Tamiflu – acquired a majority stake in Genentech in 1990 and currently owns 55.9% of all outstanding shares.
It has offered $89 per share to buy up the remaining stake, a 8.8% premium to Genentech’s Friday closing share price.
BBC NEWS | Business | Roche makes $43.7bn Genentech bid.
I wish I had held onto my Genentech stocks from January!
Zimbabwe introduces Z$100bn note
July 19, 2008
Zimbabwe is to introduce a bank-note worth Z$100bn in response to rampant inflation – but the note will barely cover the cost of a loaf of bread.
Some Zimbabweans are already calling for higher denominations in a country where the official annual inflation rate has exceeded 2,200,000%.
Independent economists believe the real rate is many times higher.
Zimbabwe’s meltdown has left at least 80% of the population in poverty, facing mass shortages of basic goods.
The country’s central bank has introduced several new notes already this year in response to the hyperinflation.
In January, a Z$10 million note was issued, followed by a Z$50 million. By June the denominations had reached tens of billions.
Zimbabwe inflation at 2,200,000%
July 16, 2008
The figure is the first official assessment of prices in the troubled African nation since February, when the rate of inflation stood at 165,000%.
Zimbabwe, once one of the richest countries in Africa, has descended into economic chaos largely blamed on the policies of President Robert Mugabe.
One in four Chinese ‘overweight’
July 8, 2008
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | One in four Chinese ‘overweight’
More than 25% of adults in China are now considered overweight or obese, according to new research.
The findings, in the journal Health Affairs, blame declining physical activity and a more Western diet.
The report warns that obesity rates will double by 2028 if the Chinese government fails to take action.
Researchers say what is happening in China could be seen as a marker for what is going to happen in the rest of the developing world.
Waxwork Hitler beheaded in Berlin
July 5, 2008
BBC NEWS | Europe | Waxwork Hitler beheaded in Berlin
A man has been arrested after tearing the head off a wax figure of Adolf Hitler at a newly opened branch of Madame Tussauds in Berlin.
The 41-year-old man was held after attacking the waxwork, only hours after the attraction opened on Saturday.
The inclusion of Hitler in the exhibition has aroused controversy in a country where Nazi symbols are banned.
But the exhibition’s organisers said they could hardly depict German history without portraying Hitler.They said the waxwork depicted Hitler in the hours before his suicide, a defeated figure slumped in his bunker as the Red Army reached Berlin.
The Fuhrer was positioned behind a table, which was supposed to prevent visitors posing with the statue – or damaging it.
That didn’t take long. I was reading about this exhibit the other day and thought to myself, a lot of people are going to be really upset over this.
Global stocks slide into the red
June 26, 2008
BBC NEWS | Business | Global stocks slide into the red
Global markets have suffered heavy falls after a raft of bad news including a fresh record for the price of oil.
Traders digested news that oil traded at more than $140 a barrel in New York and reacted to signs that the global credit crunch was far from over.
In the US, the Dow Jones index fell more than 3% to 11,453.42, its lowest close in nearly two years.
Today was a blood bath. Let’s hope tomorrow is a better day. I need some cash to pay for my new toy.
What is keeping oil prices so high?
June 23, 2008
BBC NEWS | Business | What is keeping oil prices so high?
Despite an emerging global consensus that oil prices are dangerously high, there seems little chance of the cost of oil falling significantly in the near future.
Analysts say measures agreed at Sunday’s crisis summit in Jeddah are unlikely to have a dramatic impact on market trends.
But what is keeping prices close to record levels of almost $140 a barrel?
Straightforward and concise points, and just about everything I can think of.
229 dead in Philippines typhoon: official
June 22, 2008
229 dead in Philippines typhoon: official
ILOILO, Philippines — At least 229 people are confirmed dead and at least six missing after Typhoon Fengshen ravaged the central and southern Philippines, Red Cross and civil defence officials said on Sunday.
The toll does not include those dead or missing from a ferry that sank in the central Philippines with about 747 people aboard. Four people have been confirmed dead and there are four survivors from that accident.
The rest are unaccounted for.The central province of Iloilo has suffered the heaviest losses after being hit by the typhoon on Saturday, with 101 dead, Philippine Red Cross chairman Richard Gordon said.
Other fatalities were recorded in the neighbouring provinces of Romblon, Cotabato, Antique and Capiz, Gordon added.The civil defence office recorded 26 fatalities in the southern island of Mindanao.
“This (toll) will definitely rise dramatically when we get the listings from the ship,” he said, referring to the Princess of the Stars ferry that sank off Sibuyan island amid rough seas on Saturday.
Floodwaters in Iloilo rose so swiftly that many residents were forced to take refuge on rooftops or in the branches of tall trees, said provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada.
I was born in Iloilo City and still have plenty of extended family living in the area, so I’ve been hearing a lot about this over the last couple days. This morning has been especially newsworthy when a ship carrying 700+ people capsized. The typhoon has been pretty devastating. The news was all over my Google Reader feeds. Iloilo is a relatively small city (though densely populated as any city is in the Philippines) and I don’t remember the last time it has garnered this much international attention.
‘Olympic wedding’ surge in China
June 21, 2008
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | ‘Olympic wedding’ surge in China
Thousands of Chinese couples are applying to tie the knot on 8 August, to help celebrate the opening of the Beijing Olympics, state media say.
The number eight also brings good fortune in Chinese folklore, and the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008 is regarded as especially propitious.
Officials have vowed to grant marriages licenses to all the applicants.
Earlier this month, China reported a surge in the number of children named Aoyun, meaning Olympic Games.
What is obscene these days?
June 20, 2008
BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | What is obscene these days?
It’s 2008 and sex seems to be everywhere. So who holds the line between permissiveness and obscenity? What is obscene these days? And how do those people entrusted to make these calls cope with the harrowing work?
“People think ‘what a great job – you sit and watch porn all day‘,” says Inspector Andy Shortland, who heads the Metropolitan Police’s Obscene Publications Squad.
“I think to myself you really would not want to see this stuff. It’s not top shelf magazine stuff or soft-core porn which you might hire at Blockbuster. This is really horrible stuff. And when I say that it usually stops them dead.
Sweden approves wiretapping law
June 19, 2008
BBC NEWS | Europe | Sweden approves wiretapping law
Sweden’s parliament has approved controversial new laws allowing authorities to spy on cross-border e-mail and telephone traffic.
The country’s intelligence bureau will be able to scan international calls, faxes and e-mails.
The measure was passed by a narrow majority after a heated debate in the Stockholm parliament.
Critics say it threatens civil liberties and represents Europe’s most far-reaching eavesdropping plan.
“By introducing these new measures, the Swedish government is following the examples set by governments ranging from China and Saudi Arabia to the US government’s highly criticised eavesdropping programme,” said Peter Fleischer, of Google.
Nooo! Well, I could always just encrypt everything.
‘Non-planet’ Pluto gets new class
June 12, 2008
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | ‘Non-planet’ Pluto gets new class
“Plutoid” is the word of the moment for astronomers.
It is the new classification that has been sanctioned for the object that was formerly known as the “ninth planet”.
It is nearly two years since the International Astronomical Union (IAU) stripped Pluto of its former status as a “proper” planet.
Now an IAU committee, meeting in Oslo, has suggested that small, nearly spherical objects orbiting beyond Neptune should carry the “plutoid” tag.
Google founder books space flight
June 11, 2008
BBC NEWS | Americas | Google founder books space flight
Google co-founder Sergey Brin has made a $5m (£2.5m) down payment to book a seat on a future orbital space flight, a US space tourism company has said.
Space Adventures says it is planning the first private space flight to the International Space Station in 2011 in a deal with the Russian space agency.
The initial payment gives members a first option on a seat on the mission.
It will go towards flight costs, which could be $35m or more, Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson said.
That’s a lot of money. I wonder how long he’s planning to stay up there.
Chinese babies named ‘Olympic Games’
June 11, 2008
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Chinese babies named ‘Olympic Games’
The rise in popularity of the name is seen as a sign of support for the Games being staged in August in Beijing.
Officials in charge of identity cards say that more than 92% of the 4,104 registered Aoyuns are boys.
Cuba to provide free sex-change
June 6, 2008
BBC NEWS | Americas | Cuba to provide free sex-change
Cuba has authorised sex-change operations and will offer them free to qualifying citizens, officials say.
The move is the latest in a series of policy changes implemented by President Raul Castro since he succeeded his elder brother, Fidel, in February.
Raul Castro’s daughter, who heads the National Centre for Sex Education, spearheaded the changes in a country that once had tough anti-gay policies.
So far 28 transsexuals in the country have requested the operation.
