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Lulu goes to Canada for IPO

As was expected, online publishing house Lulu plans to bypass the U.S. batch exchanges in preference of going open in Canada -- and in the routine has supposing the open with a primary see at the financials.

The Raleigh-based association filed a rough handbill with Canadian regulatory authorities Friday. It was short on specifics, such as how most shares the association expects to sell or what cost it expects to get, but it did prove that the commercial operation had been losing income but incited essential in the fourth quarter.

The 112-employee association that operates Lulu.com hopes to go open subsequent month, according to the filing.

Listing the batch in Canada can be cheaper and involves less-rigorous regulatory inspection than a inventory on a U.S. batch exchange.

U.S. investors could still buy Lulu shares. In addition, Lulu could beget financier seductiveness and after change to a U.S. batch market.

CEO Bob Young, who proposed Lulu in 2002, additionally has clever Canadian ties. He grew up in Canada and is the owners of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.

Lulu is wading in to an IPO marketplace that is much-improved from last years gloomy showing, pronounced John Fitzgibbon, publishing house of IPOScoop.com in Edison, N.J.

Last year, only dual companies went open in U.S. markets by the finish of March, Fitzgibbon said. So far this year, twenty companies have successfully run the gantlet, in large piece since of the softened opening of the batch markets.

To get deals done, however, most companies finish up slicing the share cost of their offerings, Fitzgibbon said.

A successful IPO depends on attracting sufficient seductiveness between investors, who in spin are shabby by the ups and downs of the batch markets. IPOs can be behind or scrapped if they destroy to capture sufficient investors.

Young has an enviable IPO lane record. He was authority and CEO of Raleigh-based Red Hat when it sole $84 million value of batch in the IPO, afterwards saw the shares burst 272 percent on the primary day of trade -- at the time the eighth-biggest allege in Wall Street history. But that happened in a opposite epoch -- in 1999, during the tallness of the dot-com boom.

MRX acquisition

Lulu is best-known for assisting authors self-publish books, but people additionally can self-produce calendars, CDs and DVDs. It collects fees for the books it sells and additionally provides services to authors. In addition, it sells e-books, together with a little obvious titles from alternative publishers, and the weRead.com helps readers find new books and authors.

In the regulatory filing,Lulu disclosed that last week it acquired MRX & Associates, a Canadian association owned by Young that develops Web sites for sports leagues and alternative sports entities, for as most as $2.2 million in notes.

The handbill points out that both Lulu and MRX are in the commercial operation of creation income by assisting calm creators have money. Acquiring MRX gains Lulu entrance to new business and "with the sum products offerings we can assistance sports properties monetize calm in one more ways," the handbill states. MRXs income and staff distance werent disclosed.

Lulu orator Jonathan B. Cox pronounced the IPO filing puts the association in "a still period" that prevents it from vocalization about the batch sale or on condition that one more sum about the operations.

Young will own a infancy of the companys batch after the IPO, according to the prospectus.

Losses and a profit

Lulu lost $13.8 million in 2008 and $1.9 million last year. But in the fourth entertain it incited profitable, earning $140,000 contra a loss of $4.6 million a year earlier.

Lulu posted a 39 percent burst in income in 2008, but last year the income rose a medium 4 percent to $31.6 million. The association attributes the flattening income to the green economy and reduce spending on sales and offered written to progress profitability.

The handbill doesnt mention how most the association plans to lift by offered batch in the primary charity and a delegate charity that will follow immediately. Dow Jones Newswires reported in Jan that Lulu programmed to lift as most as 50 million Canadian dollars, or 49 million in U.S. dollars.

The primary and delegate offerings will embody exchanging batch to compensate off $15 million due to a association owned by Young. The income from that loan was used for "general corporate purposes," according to the prospectus.

In further to profitable off that and alternative debts, Lulu plans to make use of the deduction from the offerings to enhance the sales and offered activities and supplement products and features.

Youngs sum remuneration last year was $300,000 -- all of it salary. He doesnt experience in the reward plans set up for alternative Lulu executives.

"Mr Young believes that his bottom remuneration should be set at a comparatively low turn in propinquity to marketplace practices, reflecting the actuality that his infancy equity on all sides without delay aligns his interests with those of the shareholders," the handbill states.

david.ranii or 919-829-4877

Lloyds announces �6.3bn waste after losing billions over HBOS understanding

Part-nationalised bank Lloyds right away suggested pre-tax waste of 6.3 billion after being saddled with billions of pounds of "toxic" debts.

The group, that is 41 per cent owned by the taxpayer, lost 24 billion on bad debts after the takeover of struggling opposition HBOS at the tallness of the promissory note crisis.

And the bank"s spoil charges, that start when a association has paid some-more for an item than it is right away worth, shot up by some-more than 9 billion last year.

Lloyds has already voiced that arch senior manager Eric Daniels gave up a intensity 2.3 million reward in an try to moderate open annoy forward of the results.

Lloyds Bank, that is 43% state-owned, has available a 6.3 billion loss last year

Most Lloyds staff will get a payout of usually 1,000. Some 200million is being separate between 120,000 workers.

Lloyds has suffered due to the unsure lending hereditary with the rescue of HBOS, that was mostly obliged for the mountainous bad debts.

Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, pronounced Lloyds was still profitable the cost for the HBOS deal, done at the tallness of the monetary crisis.

"The HBOS bequest still weighs heavily on Lloyds, nonetheless these numbers do show a small signs of encouragement," he said.

Shares slipped 2 per cent right away as investors met the total with caution.

But the organisation right away echoed comments from RBS in assuring that the misfortune of the impairments for poisonous loans and struggling borrowers was at the back of it.

Tim Tookey, organisation monetary director, said: "We hold the group"s altogether spoil assign has right away peaked, with a poignant rebate approaching in 2010."

The organisation total that with signs of stabilisation in the wider economy, a "significant improvement" is approaching opposite Lloyds this year.

Lloyds trainer Eric Daniels has waived his reward for this year

Lloyds has been slicing costs following the HBOS understanding and monetary crisis, right away divulgence a huge 11,500 purposes axed over the past twelve months.

It signalled serve jobs suffering right away as it increasing annual cost saving targets to 2 billion by the finish of 2011.

Unlike RBS, Lloyds managed to equivocate the Government"s item insurance intrigue that would have seen the open interest climb on tip of 60 per cent.

The organisation instead garnered await for a jot down UK rights issue as piece of a 20 billion-plus fundraising finished in November, nonetheless bad debts are still expected to be a vital load in the total bank"s figures.

Bad debts are expected to be in pointy concentration again right away after Lloyds reported 13.4 billion in impairments at the half-year theatre due mostly to forward lending at HBOS.

But the organisation likely on releasing the grave halt total in Aug that the misfortune was over for bad debts.

RBS echoed this view yesterday when it pronounced that notwithstanding loan impairments rising by 660 million, there were signs that conditions proposed to brace in the second half of the year.

While bonuses were a vital issue for RBS, they might capture less courtesy for Lloyds, since that the organisation has small in the approach of investment promissory note and following Mr Daniels"s preference to relinquish his windfall.

He was entitled to a limit 225 per cent of his 1.04 million income due to his "significant particular contribution", but will abandon a reward for the second year in a row to wand off an additional row over bank pay.

The move came as he faced heated vigour to follow the lead of tip bosses at Barclays last week, whilst RBS arch senior manager Stephen Hester additionally done the same move.

HSBC has nonetheless to endorse reports that the arch senior manager Michael Geoghegan is additionally to take a compensate cut.

Aside from the figures, Lloyds has additionally this week faced annoying headlines that it was the majority complained about monetary services association during the second half of 2009, according to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

FOS perceived 9,952 particular complaints about the group"s Lloyds TSB commercial operation during the 6 months to the finish of December, nonetheless usually half of these complaints were upheld.

The pretence is to be dark-skinned tailored and witty

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TEN American presidential elections have featured televised debates in in in between the candidates. This week Britain will have the initial as Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg block up prior to the cameras. What lessons can be gleaned from opposite the Atlantic?

Look the piece The iconic head-to-heads in in in between John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960 were the initial in US history. Ted Sorensen, JFKs speechwriter and comparison adviser, who is right away 81, explains how they rebuilt for the discuss in Chicago. We got up early in the sunrise after a good nights nap and sat on the roof tiles of his road house in the object for Kennedy to get a healthy suntan, that is a lot improved seeking than make-up, he said. And we went by record cards of all the questions, often difficult ones, that we could think competence arise.

Nixon was not in good figure on the day of the debate. He had outlayed majority of the previous month in sanatorium pang from a putrid or toxic infection.

The discuss writer Don Hewitt said: Kennedy arrived seeking handsome, dark-skinned and well-tailored similar to the cover of a little movie star magazine. Nixon looked green and sallow. Both men declined make-up, though JFK had an help hide out to buy him a little Max Factor.

Focus: Election 2010 Brightons so far left, the roughly HastingsMeet the kingmakers the Motorway MenIs the climb in NI unequivocally a taxation on jobs?Brown: "Just see at my achievementsElection 2010: Be tanned, tailored and witty Election specialMarginal"s electorate wish details, not slogansThe outcome on Labour from the streetTory women MPs spoiling for a fightGove vows to get each kid readingCameron faces rare pitch odds

Famously, TV viewers saw Kennedy as the discuss winner, whilst those who usually heard it on air wave lucky Nixon.

Dont flint your rebuilt lines Bizarrely, in 1976, President Gerald Ford practised for his debates opposite Jimmy Carter by opposed a television on that his advisers played clips of the Georgia governor.

In the genuine debate, Ford misremembered what he had been coached to say: that America would never accept Soviet mastery of eastern Europe. Instead it came out as: There is no Soviet mastery of eastern Europe and there never will be underneath a Ford administration.

Pat Buchanan, an confidant to unbroken Republican presidents, said: Fords gaffe was steady on radio each singular day and I think it could have cost him the presidency.

Acknowledge your weaknesses with humour Ronald Reagan was 73 when he stood for re-election in 1984. He was up opposite Walter Mondale, who was seventeen years his junior. In the initial discuss Reagan put in such a stumbling performance that majority people thought it was time for the old actress to leave the presidential stage.

In the last debate, when the mania cause came up, a passionless Reagan responded with a line he wrote himself:

I will not have age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to feat for political purposes my opponents girl and inexperience.

The assembly laughed, as did Reagans opponent. But, as Mondale right away ruefully admits: I knew hed gotten me there. I walked off the theatre that night almost sure my discuss was over and it was.

Body denunciation is consequential The 1992 discuss in in in between President George Bush Sr and Bill Clinton was the initial to underline the assembly without delay questioning the candidates. While Clinton played the assembly similar to an emoting televangelist, the camera held Bush seeking at his watch.

The media finished a outrageous thing of that, Bush recalls. You see at your watch and they say, He shouldnt be using for president: hes wearied and hes out of it and we need change.

Was I blissful when the darned thing was over? Yeah, and may be thats because I was looking at my watch usually 10 some-more mins of this crap. Maybe if Id have said that afterwards Id have finished better.

But be clever how you make use of it In 2000 it was Bushs son, Dubya, up against Vice-President Al Gore in a discuss noted by Gores martial physique language.

While Bush was speaking, Gore got up from his chair and walked menacingly towards him. Jim Lehrer, the authority of the debate, said: I thought Gore was going to conflict Bush. And so I wondered what I should do: mount up and pull them apart?

When Bush saw his competition coming, he offering Gore a faraway curtsy of recognition.

As I stop it, Bush said.

I gave him a kind of peculiar expression. The alternative choice was to go for the outrageous chest bump, that would may be have motionless the discuss and he was bigger than I am.

Gore has regularly declined to insist himself.

Winning is all After 10 debates, a recognizable settlement has emerged. In roughly all cases the man in all deliberate to have won the debates goes on to win the presidency. Incumbency is no good advantage: of six incumbents who have debated, just half have won. In majority cases the younger, less experienced claimant has won the debates with the good exception of Reagan.

Michael Cockerells documentary How to Win the TV Debate is on BBC2 at 7pm tomorrow

Rangers 3 Aberdeen 1 Kyle Lafferty the favourite this time as Gers corner closer to the SPL pretension

Kyle Lafferty netted usually his third idea of the deteriorate as Rangers changed to inside of potentially dual games of jacket up the Clydesdale Bank Premier League title.

Lafferty"s prior contributions opposite Aberdeen might have been rather indeterminate - namely the "cheating" tab he warranted for a pretentious headbutt last deteriorate - but he done the headlines for the right reasons at Ibrox.

Lafferty"s bid was sandwiched in between strikes from Steven Davis and Kenny Miller, with a Darren Mackie idea zero some-more than meagre satisfaction for the Dons as Rangers changed thirteen points transparent at the tip of the table.

Battle: Sasa Papac and Aberdeen"s Michael Paton contest for the ball

Rangers looked sharp-witted in the opening spell with Miller and Naismith mixing well sufficient up front but causing as well most problems for Aberdeen goalkeeper Jamie Langfield, who had kept clean-sheets in both of the prior meetings with the champions this season.

There were a couple of tasty hurdles from both sides and Davide Grassi picked up the initial engagement after usually 9 mins for a crunching plunge in to on Lee McCulloch but Rangers could not gain on the following free-kick with Davis unwell to find a blue jersey in the packaged goalmouth.

The home side one after another to press and a prolonged round from David Weir found Lafferty in space in the box but he continuous awkwardly and bending over from usually outward the six-yard box.

Rangers" tough work in the future paid off when they surged in to the lead with twenty-four mins gone. Edu did well to win receive prior to Naismith prodded in to the trail of Davis who left Langfield with no possibility when he unleashed a inhuman shot from twenty-five yards.

Aberdeen had struggled to emanate most in the approach of chances and, with half-time approaching, Mackie resorted to an desirous long-range shot that fell well far-reaching of target.

Davis attempted to spin provider after the restart when his cranky picked out Lafferty usually for the big Northern Irishman to curtsy over.

Iraqi Christians criticism slayings Pope endangered

Jamal al-Badrani MOSUL, Iraq Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:47pm EST Related News Factbox: Iraq"s infancy successful peopleSun, Feb twenty-eight 2010Spate of Christian killings prior to Iraq Mar voteWed, Feb seventeen 2010Factbox: Security developments in Iraq, Feb 16Tue, Feb sixteen 2010String of Iraq explosve attacks aim check candidatesSun, Feb fourteen 2010String of Iraq explosve attacks aim check candidatesSat, Feb thirteen 2010 < 1 / 3 >

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - At slightest 1,000 minority Christians, infancy holding olive branches, marched in criticism nearby the excitable city of Mosul on Sunday to urge the Iraqi supervision to action decisively after a array of killings.

World

At slightest eight Christians have been killed in the last dual weeks in the violent northern city, 390 km (250 miles) north of Baghdad, call Pope Benedict to interest on Sunday for Iraq"s Christians to be improved protected.

Two of those pounded had left missing, their bodies after found dumped in the travel with gunshot wounds. Others were shot passed in the street, nearby their homes, or at their place of work.

Some 683 Christian families, or 4,098 people, fled Mosul in between Feb twenty and twenty-seven following the attacks, a United Nations inform pronounced on Sunday.

The murders came only weeks prior to Iraq"s Mar 7 parliamentary election, that has the intensity to assistance concrete an finish to 7 years of fight or thrust a still-divided nation in to a new cycle of violence.

"I interest to the polite authorities to finish each bid to give security again to the population, and in particular, to the infancy exposed eremite minorities," the Pope pronounced in his weekly good fortune from Vatican City.

Priests in eremite habits led the criticism approach in the Christian locale of Hamdaniya, 40 km (25 miles) easterly of Mosul.

"The red blood of innocents screams for terrorism and assault to be stopped," review one banner.

Sunni Islamist insurgents such as al Qaeda have prolonged targeted Christians, Yazidis, Shabaks, and alternative Iraqi minorities, as well as infancy Shi"ites, whom they cruise heretics. Christians series an estimated 750,000 in Iraq, a small minority in a nation of twenty-eight million.

Al Qaeda has vowed to make use of "military means" to derail the inhabitant list subsequent month, that it sees as a imitation to safeguard Shi"ite mastery of Sunnis.

Targeting Christians is an in effect approach to prominence the shortcomings of Iraq"s security forces, since the media courtesy that attacks opposite Christians attract. Iraqi Muslims are killed in most incomparable numbers.

Making hold up generally formidable for minorities in Iraq"s north is their unsafe on all sides between the region"s incomparable Arab and Kurd communities, that are feuding over land and oil.

The brawl has left a security opening in a little areas that al Qaeda has exploited, even as the change has waned elsewhere in Iraq.

"We censure the sovereign and internal governments and the head of security operations in Nineveh (province) for the murdering of the Christian sons," pronounced Saad Qanyous, one of the Christian protesters.

(Additional stating by Deepa Babington in Rome, Writing by Mohammed Abbas: Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

World for acne doctors to help adolescents to treat their acne

Lenovo laying off 2% of the workers

Chinese Personal Computer builder Lenovo, that has a domicile in Morrisville, is slicing about 2 percent of the worldwide work force in a cost-cutting effort.

"We are not conducting a large-scale apparatus program," association orator Ray Gorman said. "This is a integrate of really specific, small-scale ... moves around the universe to expostulate potency and revoke the altogether costs."

A cutback of 2 percent would meant the rejecting of about 32 jobs in Morrisville, where the Personal Computer association employs about 1,600 workers.

Affected employees in Morrisville were told Tuesday. "There is no one sold area we"re sketch from," Gorman said.

In the ultimate quarter, Lenovo increased the worldwide marketplace share and reported a distinction of $53 million, some-more than stand in the distinction of a year ago, on income of $4.1 billion. Prior to that it had posted 3 money-losing quarters.

Last year the company, that employs some-more than 20,000 people, separated scarcely 3,000 jobs worldwide.

Notch-blocking drug kill brain cancer branch cells nonetheless mixed therapies might be needed

One focus of attack is a chemical pathway within stem cells known as Notch, which scientists have shown is important for cancer stem cell growth. A new study published in the January 28 issue of Stem Cells by Charles Eberhart, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pathology, ophthalmology, and oncology at Johns Hopkins, now extends these findings to glioblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor, and ultimately suggests other pathways and treatment with two or more drugs may need to be involved.

Eberhart based his conclusion on experiments in which he coaxed a glioblastoma cell line to form embryolike balls called neurospheres. Unlike most cells that will clump together in a culture dish, neurospheres -- more organized groups of neural cells -- can only form from stem cells. When Eberhart treated the neurospheres with a drug called GSI-18, which blocks the Notch pathway, the spheres were reduced by 70 percent or more. Eberhart also found that molecular markers typically found on the surface of brain cancer stem cells also plunged.

This told us that the Notch pathway is a good target for drug development, says Eberhart, but further experiments suggested this approach may not be thorough enough.

In a second set of experiments, Eberhart collected the neurospheres that remained after treatment with the Notch-blocking drug and injected them into the brains of mice. The neurosphere transplants eventually grew into tumors and reignited the Notch pathway.

This result suggested we didn"t get rid of all the stem cells, says Eberhart, so itlikely we may need to add more therapies or increase the dosage of Notch-blocking drugs.

The study by Eberhart identified additional molecular pathways, including Stat 3 and AKT, which are connected to Notch. He says that a combination of therapies blocking Notch and other pathways such as these could target brain cancer stem cells at several levels and possibly avoid drug resistance.

To test how a Notch-blocking drug worked in an animal model, Eberhart injected tumors into the brains of mice and let the cancer grow for two weeks. Then, at the tumor site, he implanted a polymer bead that was soaked in GSI-18. Five of six mice that received the drug-laden bead survived while all 12 that received a bead with no drug died.

Eberhart notes that Notch-targeting drugs can prove problematic in therapy because the Notch pathway is critically important for cells in the gut, helping cells there alternate between secreting mucus and absorbing nutrients. A dosing regimen that preserves gut function has been developed, and forthcoming studies in humans will test whether it can kill the cancer stem cells.

Funds for this research were provided by the Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure Project Award, the American Brain Tumor Association, Voices Against Brain Cancer Research, the National Institutes of Health, and the Brain Tumor Funders Collaborative.

Research participants include Xing Fan, Thant S. Zhu, Mary E. Soules, and Caroline E. Talsma from the University of Michigan; Leila Khaki, Naheed Gul, Cheryl Koh, and Jiangyang Zhang from Johns Hopkins; Yue-Ming Li from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Jarek Maciaczyck and Guido Nikkhah from the University of Freiberg; and Francesco DiMeco, Sara Piccirillo, and Angelo L. Vescovi from the University of Milan.

Will 4G Mobile Service Be Superfast?

Video on direct on your cell phone. High-fidelity voice peculiarity on a cell phone. Wireless Internet speeds for your laptop from the behind of a cab thats as great as what you get at the office. These are usually 3 of the advantages charity by the ultimate acronym to strike the cell phone world: 4G.

4Gstands for Fourth Generation. 1G was the strange brick-like cellular phones of the 1970s. 2G noted the change to digital record (which enclosed texting) in the early 1990s. 3G came a decade later, charity improved speeds.

4G should be rolling out in the subsequent year or so, but usually what you can design depends on who you speak to. Predictions range from moderatelybetter than 3G to screaming fast.

3.9 v. 4.0

"You wouldnt find a unanimous agreement over what 4G means," cautioned Fred Campbell, boss of the Wireless Communications Association International (WCAI) in Washington, DC. He points to a limit throughput of 100 megabits upstream (to the network) and 50 megabits downstream (to the user).

In the genuine universe you will usually get a fragment of that throughput, but you should still be significantly improved off than with 3G,he indicated. (Even 3 percent of 100 megabits would be sufficient to send astandard non-HD TV vigilance to your cellphone presumption you can mountain examination "Lost" that way.)

Begging to talk about is Robert Syputa, telecom industry researcher with Marvavedis Inc. in Seattle, WA.

The numbers cited by Campbell unequivocally consecrate 3.9G, and the loyal 4Gstandard is still being written, Syputa said. When available, 4G will suggest a mind-bending fanciful limit throughput of 1 gigabit for still units, and 300 megabits for those on the move, he said.

But theres no clarity removing excited, since the 3.9G rigging should beeasily upgradable to 4G when it appears, Syputa added.

Actual plans

The majority perceivable 4G contender in the U.S. is Clearwire Corp. of Kirkland, WA, pronounced Syputa. By the finish of 2009 they had what they called 4G accessible in about thirty cities, and they goal to cover about 100 million people by the finish of 2010. At last check, the Clearwire web siteboasted of coverage in 61 civil areas.

Sprintis a 51 percent owners of Clearwire, explained Syputa, and at last checkwas claiming 4G coverage in about thirty metro areas.

Next is Verizon, that had multiform hearing networks using at the begin of the year, according to Syputa. He expects the association to mountain amassive network-wide phenomenon rather than a light roll-out, probablylate this year.

AT&T will probably have something to show in 2011, as will T-Mobile, he added.

10 Profound Innovations Ahead 10 Cool Asian Cell Phone Features You Cant Have Yet WiFi Basics: All About Wireless Networking Technology

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Drugmakers determine on turning point vaccines understanding for bad

Kate Kelland and Ben Hirschler LONDON Thu Mar 11, 2010 6:19pm EST

LONDON (Reuters) - Several drug firms have agreed on a landmark deal to supply up to 200 million doses a year of cut-price pneumococcal vaccines to developing nations, according to the global immunization alliance that is overseeing the deal.

Health

Leading manufacturers of such vaccines include GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer.

The agreement is the first under a new scheme called an Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which provides a guaranteed market for vaccines supplied to poor nations but sets a maximum price that drugmakers can expect to receive.

It is likely to pave the way for future deals on recently introduced vaccines against rotavirus, which causes severe diarrhea, and an experimental one against malaria, which combined kill millions in poor countries each year.

The GAVI Alliance (Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunization) said details of the pneumococcal deal would be announced in the coming weeks.

"Decisions have been made and we are hoping for an announcement very shortly -- in the next couple of weeks," GAVI"s deputy chief executive officer Helen Evans told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

"It"s very exciting news because they are going to make long-term commitments."

Pneumococcal disease is one of the world"s biggest killers of children, claiming up to 1.6 million lives each year. Africa and Asia together account for 95 percent of all deaths from pneumococcal disease, which causes serious illnesses such as pneumonia and meningitis.

Glaxo"s pneumococcal vaccine, called Synflorix, protects against 10 strains of the streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria which cause the disease. It was approved late last year by the World Health Organization for use in developing countries.

Pfizer"s Prevnar 13 shot protects against 13 strains and won the approval of U.S. regulators earlier this month.

Under the terms of the AMC tender, drugmakers were required to make a 10-year commitment to supply a share of the total forecast demand of 200 million doses a year.

Evans said each manufacturer would have a minimum volume order guaranteed in return for a price of $7 per dose for the first 20 percent supplied, dropping to $3.50 dollars for the remaining 80 percent.

The higher price is only paid for the first tranche of doses so as to ensure the drug firm"s research and development costs are covered. Beyond that, $3.50 is the maximum price GAVI and countries will pay for the vaccine.

By comparison, Glaxo charges around 40 euros ($54) per shot for Synflorix in Europe.

The AMC scheme was devised to try to encourage drug companies to make and supply medicines and vaccines to boost health in poorer countries, which are generally unable to afford the high prices paid in Western markets. GAVI and its partners say they plan to introduce pneumococcal vaccines in 42 developing countries by 2015.

Officials at both Glaxo and Pfizer confirmed they had been working with GAVI on the supply agreement.

"We remain committed to participating in this initiative and hope to be one of the first companies to supply its vaccine," Glaxo spokeswoman Claire Brough said in an emailed statement.

The pneumococcal deal will be partly funded by Britain, Italy, Canada, Russia, Norway and the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation, who agreed in June last year to invest a total of $1.5 billion in the project.

If it proves successful, existing and new donors have said they would be interested in supporting more AMC schemes, including one for malaria.

Glaxo struck another long-term deal for its pneumococcal vaccine worth 1.5 billion euros with Brazil last September, guaranteeing sales for 10 years.

Health

UPDATE 1-Venezuela launches $50 mln down payment to column bolivar

Thu Mar 4, 2010 11:57am EST

(adds details, background)

Stocks&&&&Currencies&&&&Bonds

CARACAS, March 4 (Reuters) - Venezuela"s Central Bank onThursday launched a $50 million bond, the seventh such offeringaimed at propping up the bolivar on a freely floated,semi-legal market since a currency devaluation in January.

The zero coupon bond is priced at 112 percent and works asa foreign exchange instrument because it can be purchased at anofficial rate of 4.3 bolivars to the dollar but will be paid indollars after 90 days.

It can be traded on secondary markets within Venezuela.

President Hugo Chavez devalued the bolivar on Jan. 8,creating a two-tiered official system that sells dollars mostlyfor 4.3 bolivars, but allows some priority imports at 2.6.

The Central Bank issues are aimed at strengthening thebolivar on the separate freely-floated market. The currency hasweakened in that mechanism during recent weeks to trade ataround 6.6/6.8 on Thursday.

Thursday"s offer was open for one hour between 12.30 p.m.and 1.30 p.m. local time, a bank statement said.

(Reporting by Eyanir Chinea, Writing by Andrew Cawthorne;Editing by Andrew Hay)

Stocks Currencies Bonds

UPDATE 2-GoDaddy plans to stop China domain registrations

Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:24pm EDT Related News Google risks China"s ire with slap to censorshipTue, Mar 23 2010China warns Google as Internet row deal seen soonFri, Mar 12 2010 Stocks & &

* GoDaddy says it has repelled dozens of cyber attacks

Stocks&&&&Currencies&&&&Regulatory News&&&&Bonds&&&&Media&&&&Technology

* Google sees some censorship of searches redirected to HK

* Lawmakers laud Google, GoDaddy actions (Adds Dorgan, Smith, Kaufman comments)

By John Poirier

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - Internet domain companyGoDaddy.com said it planned to stop registering domain names inChina, joining Google Inc (GOOG.O) in protesting cyber attacksand censorship in that country.

"We believe that many of the current abuses of the Internetoriginating in China are due to a lack of enforcement againstcriminal activities by the Chinese government," ChristineJones, Go Daddy Group Inc general counsel, told a congressionalcommission hearing on Wednesday.

She said GoDaddy had repelled dozens of extremely seriousattacks that appear to have originated in China in the firstthree months of 2010.

Jones said GoDaddy, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, wouldcontinue to manage .cn domain names of existing customers.

"Our experience has been that China is focused on using theInternet to monitor and control the legitimate activities ofits citizens, rather than penalizing those who commitInternet-related crimes," Jones said.

Google said in January that it had sustained a hackingattack that it said originated in China. This week Google shutits Chinese portal over censorship and said it planned to phaseout deals to provide filtered search services to other onlineor mobile firms in China.

Google said visitors to its China search engine, google.cn,were being redirected to Hong Kong-based google.com.hk.

"I compliment Google and I compliment GoDaddy," saidDemocratic Senator Byron Dorgan, chairman of theCongressional-Executive Commission on China, which focuses onhuman rights in China.

Republican Representative Chris Smith said GoDaddy"s actionwas "a powerful sign that American IT companies want to do theright thing in repressive countries."

Google told the commission it was seeing intermittentcensorship of some Internet queries from mainland China thathad been rerouted to Hong Kong.

"We are well aware that the Chinese government can, at anytime, block access to our services," Alan Davidson, Google"sdirector of public policy, said in prepared testimony.

"Indeed we have already seen intermittent censorship ofcertain search queries on both google.com.hk and google.com."

Internet censorship has drawn increased attention from U.S.lawmakers since Google"s spat with China began and a policyinitiative by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton topromote global Internet freedom.

"This is a foreign policy priority of the United States,"said Democratic Senator Ted Kaufman, co-chair of the Senate"snewly formed Global Internet Freedom Caucus. (Reporting by John Poirier; additional reporting by DianeBartz; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

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