October 20, 2011 at 3:51am
FDA chemist pleads guilty of insider trading
He pleaded guilty to two counts of securities fraud and making false statements in federal court in Maryland. His son was also initially charged in the case but prosecutors later dismissed those charges.In the scheme, Liang reviewed documents about the progress of experimental drugs using an FDA database that includes confidential and non-public documents about trials, studies and correspondence, according to court papers filed last month.Liang made the trades based on the inside information using his home computer or on an Apple iPad, according to a court filing on Tuesday.”In a shocking abuse of trust, Mr. Liang exploited his position as a chemist in the FDA’s Office of New Drug Quality Assessment to cash in, using the accounts of relatives and acquaintances to hide his illegal trading,” said Lanny Breuer, head of the Justice Department’s criminal division.Information about prescription drug approvals or denials can prompt big stock swings and has been the subject of insider trading investigations previously; however, it is rare for such a case to involve a government employee.Sentencing for Liang is set for January 9, 2012. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the securities fraud count and up to five years for the false statements count.Liang also agreed to forfeit the $3.77 million he made, including a home and condominium in Maryland as well as funds in 10 bank and investment accounts, the Justice Department said.Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges are still pending against him.The case is: USA v Cheng Yi Liang, No. 11-cr-530, in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
October 18, 2011 at 9:03am
Fonsai does not want to sell Impregilo stake-exec
Pini said Fondiaria-SAI was ready to subscribe its 20
million euro share of a possible capital increase at Impregilo’s
holding IGLI.
October 12, 2011 at 8:02am
FTSE looks to break out of range, led by miners
* Technical indicators suggest FTSE could head higherBy David BrettLONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Miners led a rebound by Britain’s
top shares by midday on Wednesday, on hopes of further demand
being seen in China, while technical indicators suggested the
FTSE might break out of its recent range.The mining sector, which remains off 30 percent this year
despite a 20 percent rise in the past week, gained in tandem
with base metal prices as expectations rose of potential
restocking in China boosting demand.LME copper stocks in Korea and Singapore, locations nearest
China, have been declining sharply since the end of September.Miners bounced back from a weaker start when the sector was
hit by disappointing results from U.S. aluminium group Alcoa
, and a warning from its CEO of weak economic conditions
through the year, particularly in Europe.In the same sector silver and gold miner Fresnillo
was down 2.5 percent after cutting its silver output target for
2011 due to extra safety measures following the deaths of 10
workers.The FTSE 100 , however, remained robust in the face
of threats to global growth, rising 25.92 points, or 0.5 percent
to 5,421.62 by 1104 GMT,.The index bounced off an intraday low of 5,348.16 in tandem
with a turnround in U.S. futures, which pointed to a sharp rise
at the open on Wall Street.”The market is feeling a bit more protected with the level
of ‘puts’ going up on the volatility index. I still feel it
hasn’t got any momentum behind it and 3Q earnings may be bearish
on outlook statements,” a London-based trader said.The trader also pointed out the FTSE had taken out the
5,413.43 and 5,418.65 resistance levels and was within about 20
points of a potential break to the upside of 5,644.05, with
5,449.67 seen as paramount.DATA BOOSTTraders said economic data was also helping boost risk
appetite, as euro zone industrial production figures came in
much stronger than expected in August.In the UK, however, unemployment rose to its highest level
since 1994.”Economic data is, on aggregate, nowhere near as bad as
anticipated,” a trader at a U.S. investment bank said. “The
significant downside risk is slowly being taken out of the
market because it looks as if there is a concerted economic
effort across the euro zone, so the ‘black swan’ negativity has
… been removed and given people a little more stability.”He said with hedge fund performance also being so poor,
there could also be a little bit of an environment where they’re
forced to chase the market.Man Group shed 5.6 percent after the hedge fund firm
said its flagship AHL fund fell 5.5 percent last week.Elsewhere, there were soothing words from Slovakia where
lawmakers had overnight rejected a plan to bolster the European
Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).Despite the initial “no” vote, parties in Prime Minister
Iveta Radicova’s outgoing government will hold talks with the
opposition to reach a quick agreement on ratifying a plan to
strengthen the EFSF, a party spokesman said.Slovakia is the only euro zone member yet to ratify the
plan, which would give the EFSF bigger powers to fight the
spreading debt crisis.Banks , beaten down this year on worries over
exposure to the euro zone crisis, rallied, with Barclays
up 2.2 percent.In a note, SocGen said it remains very upbeat on UK domestic
banks, and reiterated “buy” recommendations on Royal Bank of
Scotland , Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays,
despite cutting target prices across the sector.”Each has a high quality core business earning double-digit
returns on equity, despite the macro backdrop, but the overall
picture is marred by significant low return/high risk non-core
assets,” SocGen analysts said.Meanwhile, engineers were boosted with IMI and Weir
up 2.8 and 4 percent respectively as Berenberg Bank
starts its coverage on both firms with a “buy” rating.Ex-dividend factors knocked 2.70 points off the FTSE, with
Capital Shopping Centres , Old Mutual , Smith &
Nephew , Tesco , Wolseley , and WPP Group
all losing their payout attractions.On the macro economic front, in the United States the main
focus will be on the release of minutes for the Sept. 20-21 FOMC
meeting, due after the London close at 1800 GMT.
4:17am
TEXT-S&P: Rates Portland Intl Arpt, OR 2011A PFC Rev Bonds ‘A’
At the same time, Standard & Poor’s affirmed its ‘AA-’
long-term rating and underlying rating (SPUR) on PDX’s general
airport revenue bonds (GARBs) outstanding. In addition, Standard
& Poor’s affirmed its ‘A’ SPUR on the airport’s PFC bonds
outstanding. Finally, Standard & Poor’s affirmed its ‘AAA’
long-term rating based on the application of joint support
criteria. The outlook on all ratings is stable.”The ratings reflect our view of PDX’s strong, primarily
origination and destination market, the absence of competing
facilities, and solid historical debt service coverage,” said
Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Mary Ellen Wriedt.More specifically, the ratings are based on our view of the
following strengths:— The airport’s strong liquidity position;— The diversity of passenger airline carriers serving the
airport; and— The demonstrated strong management of operations,
finances, capital projects, and administration of the PFC
program.The series 2011A bonds are being issued to fund costs
associated with the rehabilitation of the south runway and
improvements to the de-icing system.RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH— USPF Criteria: Airport Revenue Bonds, June 13, 2007— USPF Criteria: Stand-Alone Passenger Facility Charge
Debt, June 13, 2007— USPF Criteria: Municipal Swaps, June 27, 2007— Criteria: Joint Support Criteria Update, April 22, 2009Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of
RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal at
www.globalcreditportal.com. All ratings affected by this rating
action can be found on Standard & Poor’s public Web site at
www.standardandpoors.com. Use the Ratings search box located in
the left column.
