Home » Archive for April, 2013
NBA Players Announces to the world he is gay
Jason Collins, a player in the National Basketball Association, who at the end of the regular season became a free agent, has announced he is gay. Collins made the announcement on Monday and said he has received overwhelming support... More of this article »
Ford’s Results Boosted By North American Sales (NYSE:F)
The Ford Motor Company reported that its net income improved 15 percent in the first quarter, rising to $1.6 billion. Overall revenue increased by 10 percent in the quarter, reaching $35.8 billion. Alan R. Mulally, Ford’s chief executive,... More of this article »
Novartis Accused Of Providing Kickbacks To Pharmacies (NYSE:NVS)
In New York, federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit accusing Novartis of providing illegal kickbacks to pharmacies. The kickbacks took the form of discounts and rebates and were intended to cause the pharmacies to promote use of one of... More of this article »
Hospitals Having Battle with Antibiotic Superbugs
Across the U.S., one patient in 20 at hospitals picks up an infection, with some being very hard to fight. The infections are ones patients did not have when they checked into the hospital and some are caused by the very dangerous... More of this article »
Burger King Reports 1st Quarter Profits
Burger King Worldwide reported its first quarter profit more than doubled. The company attributed it to less expense that helped offset the negative sales in same-stores and lower revenue. It went public in June of 2012 after it was... More of this article »
GrainCorp Agrees to $3 Billion Takeover Offer from ADM
GrainCorp, which is the biggest crop handler in eastern Australia, agreed to the $3 Billion takeover offer from Archer Daniels Midland. This brought GrainCorp shares to reach record level in Sydney Friday. The latest offer was the... More of this article »
Humira Helps AbbVie Exceed Wall Street Expectations
Illinois-based AbbVie announced earnings on Friday that passed Wall Street expectations. The biotech company said it could earn up to $1.5 billion more annually from Humira its popular rheumatoid arthritis drug, which already represents... More of this article »
T-Mobile Attracts Customers With Contract Free iPhones (PINK:DTEGY)
In an attempt to gain ground on its competitors, T-Mobile started selling the iPhone to its customers without asking customers to sign-up for long-term service contracts. The new marketing strategy spreads the cost of the device over... More of this article »
Prosecutors Accuse Swiss Pharmaceutical Giant of Kickbacks
U.S. prosecutors have alleged that Novartis, the huge drug maker based in Switzerland, of giving physicians lavish dinners and trips for fishing and other excursions so the doctors would prescribe medications for medications produced... More of this article »
Exxon Mobil Reports Flat Profit for 1st Quarter
Exxon Mobil released its earnings report Thursday that showed flat profit for the first quarter. It got strong earnings on its chemical business that offset the declines in production, exploration, marketing and refining. Exxon, which... More of this article »
NASCAR Driver Patrick Ends Marriage
Danica Patrick, the NASCAR driver, has announced that her divorce has now become finalized. A judge in Arizona signed the consent decree on April 15 between the Go-Daddy NASCAR driver and Paul Hospenthal her husband. The decree was... More of this article »
Notorious NBA Floppers
When a 6-foot-eight, 250 pound forward gets launched into the air after getting slightly nudged by a smaller, lighter point guard and then gets a foul call from the referee working to his favor, that’s a flop. When a player crashes... More of this article »
Complaints Continue To Pile Up Against Google in Europe (NASDAQ: GOOG)
In Europe, antitrust regulators have received a formal complaint about Google’s Android operating system for mobile devices. Fairsearch Europe, a group of Google’s competitors, filed the complaint against the Android operating... More of this article »
Demand for Durable Goods Down in March
It looked like manufacturing in the United States cooled at the end of the first quarter. One of the most recent indicators is the slump of the demand for durable goods in March. It went down the most in seven months. Orders for merchandise... More of this article »
Baltimore City Corrections System Rocked by Prison Scandal
The Baltimore corrections system had 25 members indicted in a major scandal that included 13 prison guards for charges that ranged from drug conspiracy to racketeering to money laundering. The operation was run through a prison gang... More of this article »
Foodborne Illnesses Still Sending Many to the Hospital
A new study ranks poultry and meat, based upon outbreaks of illnesses that are foodborne. In the U.S., the average person consumes about 130 pounds of poultry, beef and pork each year. That amount of meat consumption provides for ample... More of this article »
Home Sales Drop due to Low Supply
Existing home sales dropped last month and this could indicate that recovery in sales has reached a lull that can only be resolved by higher prices. Total existing home sales declined 0.6 percent in March from February to a seasonally... More of this article »
Boeing 787 Battery Risks Were Underestimated (NYSE:BA)
Boeing acknowledged that tests of the lithium-ion batteries on its 787 planes underestimated the risks of fire. Mike Sinnett, Boeing’s chief engineer on the 787, revealed that the calculation that a battery would fail only once every... More of this article »
Optimism Surrounds the Opening of High Point Market
The High Point Market opened April 19 as officials hope that the housing market recovery would result to high demand for furniture and give the market a sustainable economy. The High Point Market is the world’s largest trade show... More of this article »
Tom Cruise tops at the weekend Box Office
Tom Cruise returned to lead the box office with the debut of his newest film Oblivion, a sci-fi adventure. The film’s debut helped the veteran actor reaffirm his star power with a weekend take of $38.2 million, which was easily the... More of this article »
Antitrust Beer Deal Will Expand Corona’s Global Presence
Anheuser-Busch InBev said that its deal with the antitrust regulators in the United States will expand the global presence of Mexican beers. The settlement between the beer company and the Department of Justice calls for the sale of... More of this article »
Five Snowboarders Killed in Colorado Avalanche
On Saturday afternoon, five snowboarders lost their lives after an avalanche they apparently triggered in the backcountry at Loveland Pass in Colorado, fell on them. Search crews and rescue personnel recovered the five bodies a number... More of this article »
Guatemala Judge Suspends Genocide Trial
In Guatemala City, on Friday, uncertainty was apparent in the courtroom at the Efrain Rios Montt genocide trial. Rios Montt is a former army general and congressman, who was a dictator in Guatemala as well. Judges argued over what... More of this article »
IBM Shares Drop after Releasing Lower-Than-Estimates Earnings Report
IBM declined in the first quarter due to economic uncertainty and a falloff in the company’s hardware business that dragged its profits and revenue down. In the past, the company’s cost-cutting discipline as well as its shift towards... More of this article »
Player of Year List Released by British PFA
The Professional Football Association in England has released its shortlist of six men for the Player of the Year trophy. The most controversial player on the list is Liverpool’s Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan has been one of the English... More of this article »
Illinois Governor Says Bonds are needed for Transportation Projects
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said that he needs legislative approval to be able to issue $2.7 billion of bonds to fund transportation projects. The Democratic governor said the debt would be the last part of the state’s $31 billion... More of this article »
Russian President’s Most Vocal Critic on Trial
Authorities in Russia have put the most vocal critic of Vladimir Putin, the country’s president, on trial in what many experts believe to be a risky attempt to shut out the country’s biggest and most charismatic opposition leader,... More of this article »
Intel Profit Drops 25 due to Fall in Chip Sales
Intel, which is the world’s biggest computer chip manufacturer, reported a drop in its quarterly profits Tuesday that reflected the consensus within the personal computer industry. The big chip maker faces several challenges as it... More of this article »
Hybrids reach 5 million mark in sales for Toyota
On Wednesday, Toyota Motors announced it reached the five million sales mark for its autos that are hybrid. The giant automaker from Japan produces the Prius Hybrid and announced that more than 5.125 million of its hybrid vehicles... More of this article »
TurboTax Goes Down as Late Filers Panic
TurboTax, which is one of the most popular tax preparation programs in the United States, temporarily went down and made last minute filers panic. At around 6:40 Sunday night, filers were not able to log in or enter data online for... More of this article »
Yahoo Posts Surprising Profit Increase (NASDAQ: YHOO)
Yahoo’s first-quarter earnings beat analysts’ expectations. Net income in the first quarter increased 36 percent to $390 million, or 35 cents a share, from the same quarter a year ago. Wall Street analysts had expected net income... More of this article »
Fed Downplays Risk of US Inflation
Federal Reserve policymakers stated that there are no indications that their aggressive measures to improve the US economy would lead to inflation in the future. It is a clear sign that they will continue the stimulus action to boost... More of this article »
Researchers Say Cyroneurolysis Helps Neuralgia
A new study says that a treatment, which is minimally invasive and uses a small frozen ball, can treat chronic pain effectively. The treatment is cyroneurolysis and uses a small probe with a temperature of between minus 10 and minus... More of this article »
US Postal Service Advices Taxpayers to File on Time
US Postal Service stations will not extend their counter hours or collection times on Monday, which is the Internal Revenue Service’s income tax deadline. Income tax filers must sent in their forms by the last collection times as... More of this article »
Comedy Loses a Legend
Comic actor Jonathan Winters who starred in movies and on television, died this past week at 87. Winters was one of the most talented improvisational actors and comics in the industry. He starred in his own show The Jonathan Winters... More of this article »
Retail Sales Drop in March
The US Census Bureau released the nominal read of retail sales showed a drop of 0.4 percent in March compared to February. Despite the decline, the reading was still an increase of 2.8 percent on a year-over-year basis on an aggregate... More of this article »
Japan Warned by U.S. over Currency Valuation
The U.S. Department of Treasury has said that valuation currency policy must be geared toward growth instead of giving a country a competitive advantage. The Obama administration this week used new and harsh language in warning Japan... More of this article »
7 best European countries to teach English in
The English teaching market in Europe is booming. Contracts typically last between 6 and 12 months and the staff turnover rate is high. This coupled with the formation of the European Union and use of English as a common language in... More of this article »
Obama Stresses the Need to Revive the Economy with Bankers
President Barack Obama met with the world’s most powerful bankers Thursday. He stressed to them the need to revive the economy and overhaul the fiscal and immigration policies. The ongoing reform of Wall Street was not part of the... More of this article »
Authorities stop package from reaching Sheriff Arpaio
Controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County Arizona had a package addressed to him containing explosive materials that was found at a post office in Flagstaff, both federal and local authorities said. Investigators said they... More of this article »
Microsoft Begins Releasing Transparency Reports (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Microsoft has published reports of recent requests for data made by government law enforcement agencies. They are joining companies like Google and Twitter that publish these reports to provide transparency to their millions of customers.... More of this article »
American Airlines Plans to Expand LAX Service
It looks like American Airlines is not affected by its parent company’s bankruptcy. The airline just announced its plans to expand to eight new destinations out of the Los Angeles International Airport. The airline wants to attract... More of this article »
Man saved when daughters lift tractor
A man from Oregon says his two teenage daughters are the reason he is still alive today. He said they saved him last weekend after they were able to lift a tractor that weighed 3,000 off him. The man’s boot slipped off the clutch... More of this article »
Natural Gas Resources at Record Levels
According to an estimate made by the industry, the United States has 2,384 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. The quantity is twice what a similar study stated nine years ago. The advancement of the industry was caused... More of this article »
UEFA Plans 10-game ban for Racism in European Soccer
Europe’s governing body for soccer announced on Wednesday that soccer players would face a ban of 10 games and team supporters could be banned from entering stadiums under the new antiracism measures that are being drawn up. Gianni... More of this article »
Caribou Coffee to Close Down Shops in Chicago
Caribou Coffee is going out of Illinois and Peet’s Coffee & Tea will gain some ground in Chicago. Caribou became private this year as a result of a $340 million deal with Joh. A. Benckiser. It announced that it will shut down... More of this article »
New Uranium and Extracting Mines unveiled by Iranian Officials
Just days after talks regarding its controversial nuclear power program stalled, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hailed new advances in the program. Iran unveiled a new production facility for uranium and two mines for extraction.... More of this article »
US Small Businesses Slash Borrowing for 2nd Month in a Row
Small businesses in the United States cut their borrowing in February for the second month in a row. This is an indicator of slower growth in the next couple of months even as other economic reports showed recovery picked up in the... More of this article »