Initial jobless benefits claims drop to 420,000
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Initial jobless claims dropped for the second week in a row, with 420,000 people filing for unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending Dec. 18, down from 423,000 for the previous week, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.
However, the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate is dropping as well. It was 3.2 percent for the week ending Dec. 11, down by 0.1 percentage points from the previous week’s unrevised rate of 3.3 percent, the most recent figures available.
The unemployment rate stands at 9.8 percent with 15.1 million jobless Americans.
Labor Department officials said the total number of people claiming unemployment benefits in all programs nationwide was 8,883,578 for the week ending Dec. 4.
However, when averaging initial claims over several weeks–a slightly less volatile measure–there was a slight increase in unemployment. The four-week moving average of unemployed was 426,000, which was an increase of 2,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 423,500. The four-week moving average has stayed in the 400,000 to 500,000 range for over a year. Economists say it needs to fall below 400,000 before the nation will see a significant decrease in unemployment.
Extended unemployment benefits were available in 35 states and the District of Columbia. States with extended benefits included Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
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Pfizer recalling more Lipitor bottles
NEW YORK, Dec. 21 (UPI) — Drug maker Pfizer says it is recalling another 19,000 bottles of its Lipitor cholesterol medication following reports of musty odors from the bottles.
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Language barrier key for Nepali in New York
Kathmandu, Nepal (AHN) – Nepali Diasporas living in New York face a language barrier, creating a major challenge that causes immigrants to miss out on jobs and other opportunities in the United States.
Most of the Nepalis who reached the U.S. in search of green pastures are at the receiving end of downward socio-economic mobility, forcing them to lower their living standards in order to survive and support family members back home, a study has revealed.
“While in Nepal, people have dreams of doing well in the U.S. However, there is a huge difference between what you think of America and when you actually come here,” says New York-based non-profit organisation Adhikaar. “People have to work really hard to survive here.”
“Even if you are educated, you won’t be able to find a job of your choice if you don’t have the [right] documents,” a Nepali worker told the group. “You can earn money here, but not respect.”
Much of the problems faced by the Nepali-speaking community in New York City are typical of those faced by emerging communities. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 is not enough to survive and support a family in New York City, the report adds. Making matters worse, migrant workers in the informal sector are often exploited by the employers and are paid below the legal minimum wage.
The report titled “Snapshots of the Nepali-speaking Community in New York City: Demographics and Challenges” reveals that language barrier has become a major challenge for most of the Nepali-speaking people in finding jobs and other services. For example, many Nepalis in the U.S. do not have health insurance, and almost three-fourths of them face challenges in obtaining healthcare.
Many Nepali migrants are unable to transfer their work experience, skills and education from Nepal. Over half of the Nepalis in New York were involved in business or a professional sector in Nepal. While most Nepali immigrants are able to find jobs in New York, they are often low-wage jobs consuming long hours and providing few benefits. While immigration status is a reason for Nepali immigrants doing low-wage jobs, it is not the only one, the report adds. “Nearly half of the respondents to survey have the legal right to work in the U.S., yet most of them faced challenges.”
The most common types of job for men are works in restaurant, gas station, taxi or limousine and moving industry, while women often work as domestic workers and at nail salons or beauty parlours. Report has it that those who intend to earn degrees find themselves unable to attain their goal due to the number of hours they must work to pay for their education and living expenses.
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Test detects TB in minutes rather than months
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – The World Health Organization is endorsing the use of a new test for tuberculosis that can diagnose the disease in 100 minutes. The current test takes three months to get results.
The accurate and easy-to-use rapid TB test was developed by the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), a non-profit organization based in Switzerland. The test also can detect drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis and TB complicated by HIV infection.
“Its speed and improved sensitivity will help us pick up far more cases and begin treatment earlier,” said Joseph Sitienei, head of Kenya’s National TB and Leprosy Control Programme, according to IRIN news service.
FIND has set a lower price of $17 for the TB test cartridge in countries most affected by the disease. That’s a 75 percent reduction in the regular price
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Pfizer CEO switch stuns Wall Street
Wall Street initially welcomed the departure of Pfizer CEO Jeffrey Kindler – but now questions abound. |||
New York – Wall Street initially welcomed the abrupt departure of Pfizer CEO Jeffrey Kindler, but quickly turned to questions about the condition of the pharmaceutical company and the behaviour of its board.
Many analysts were amazed that the world’s top drugmaker – a Dow component company, worth $130-billion – could lose its chief without warning on a Sunday night and with no explanation beyond a claim that the job was simply too tiring for Kindler.
The Pfizer board immediately promoted company veteran and global head of pharmaceutical operations Ian Read, apparently not bothering with a wider CEO search.
“It has to raise some red flags, and if nothing else, it’s poor communication by Pfizer,” said Tom Villalta, lead portfolio manager for Jones Villalta Opportunity Fund.
“Couldn’t the transition have been done more tactfully?” Villalta said. “I like Read’s marketing experience and don’t think he’s a bad choice. But this is a weird way to replace the CEO of one of the largest companies in the world.”
Shares of Pfizer rose as much as 2.2 percent on the news of Kindler’s resignation, as investors hoped Read would push through asset sales, cost cuts, share buybacks or higher dividends to boost the company’s lacklustre share price.
But the stock ended the day barely higher with a rise of 0.4 percent, as the suddenness of the news suggested disorganisation at Pfizer.
Mike Krensavage, principal at Krensavage Management LLC and a long-time drug industry watcher, said Kindler, 55, had yet to lead Pfizer through the biggest challenge in its history: the US patent expiration of its top-selling Lipitor cholesterol drug in November 2011.
“It’s a big surprise,” Krensavage said. “Companies usually have a more orderly change of leadership.”
Nell Minow, editor of GovernanceMetrics International, an independent research firm specialising in corporate governance, said boards have become “a bit trigger-happy when it comes to CEOs,” calling it the “new normal”.
“We’re living in an off-with-his-head environment,” Minow said. “I’m not saying they should have given him more time. I am saying they should have been clearer with him about what they wanted… This situation reflects poorly on the board. It makes them look impulsive and desperate.”
Still, few shed tears over Kindler’s exit. Over the course of his tenure, which began in July 2006, Pfizer’s shares have lost 27 percent of their value, underperforming a 10 percent decline in the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical index of large drugmakers.
A lawyer by trade, Kindler was previously Pfizer’s general counsel and before that led the McDonald’s owned Boston Market restaurant chain.
Analysts said Read could be more active since he knows the pharmaceutical business inside out.
“I have long thought it would be very positive if Kindler left,” said Jordan Schreiber, senior investment officer of Princeton Capital Management Inc. “The manner was highly unusual, but I’m glad he’s gone.”
Kindler said in a statement issued by Pfizer on Sunday night that the job had been “extremely demanding” and that he wanted to “recharge my batteries.” He was also replaced by Sanofi-Aventis CEO Christopher Viehbacher as chairman at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America trade group.
“People are hopeful there will be some more aggressive restructuring that takes place within Pfizer,” said Edward Jones analyst Linda Bannister. “We’re up against the patent expiration of Lipitor…It’s right around the corner.”
Kindler’s departure comes more than a year after Pfizer completed the signature move of his tenure – the $67-billion acquisition of rival Wyeth.
That acquisition, which brought Pfizer more access to biotech drugs and vaccines as well as cost cuts, was intended to help Pfizer move through the decline of Lipitor. But the deal has failed to spur stock gains.
Goldman Sachs analyst Jami Rubin said she had “long argued that Pfizer should be more aggressive in achieving greater efficiencies in both its $28.5-billion operating expenses base as well as its massive balance sheet and portfolio of various businesses, some of which should be divested.”
“We are delighted to see the board taking action as Pfizer’s share price continues to underperform amid a flurry of questions about strategic direction,” Rubin said in research note.
JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott said the CEO change could lead to more aggressive actions at Pfizer, including share repurchases or dividend increases.
“While a CEO transition in the midst of a major merger integration will likely create added uncertainty with the story, the key question, in our view, remains on the changes this transition will bring to the Pfizer story,” Schott said in a research note.
Rubin of Goldman Sachs called Read, who joined Pfizer in 1978, a “seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience running many different regions and businesses in pharma”.
“Some investors may be concerned that the new CEO may not shake up the company to the degree that some would like to see, but he has the ability to focus the strategy and get the ship going in the right direction,” Rubin said.
But Read can only do so much restructuring, and the company will need some promising experimental drugs to succeed, Edward Jones’ Bannister said, citing drugs in development for pain, rheumatoid arthritis, blood clots and Alzheimer’s disease.
“In order for the stock to really start to move on a sustainable basis, it’s going to have to come from positive results from their pipeline,” Bannister said.
Pfizer’s shares ended up seven cents at $16.80 on the New York Stock Exchange. – Reuters
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Rights Groups Says Southern U.S. “Fails” In Reducing AIDS Cases
New York, NY, United States (NewsBahn) – An international rights organization is accusing state governments in the southern United States of a “public health failure” that has seen the number of HIV/AIDS cases in the region rise the most in the nation because of policies that are ineffective and discriminate against people with the virus.
Human Rights Watch, in a report issued Friday, said “progress in the fight against AIDS in the southern United States is undermined by state laws and policies that impose ineffective approaches and fuel stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV.”
The report says HIV is increasing in 17 southern states at the fastest rate in the nation. It documents practices in the region that HRW says have undercut progress on combating HIV, including:
- Refusal of southern states to provide comprehensive sex education in the schools
- State laws that impede access to sterile syringes
- Criminal penalties for exposing others to HIV.
The report termed as “alarming” the rise of HIV/AIDS in the South, saying that “roughly half” of Americans who die of AIDS live in the South. Those states also have the highest rates of new HIV infections in the country, HRW said. Hardest hit are minorities, particularly African-Americans, whom the report said “bear a disproportionate burden of infection.”
The report found that in 2008 in Mississippi, for example, African-Americans were 37 percent of the population but 76 percent of new cases of HIV. In South Carolina, African-Americans were 28 percent of the population but 72 percent of people living with AIDS.
“The South is the epicenter of HIV infection in the United States, but southern states resist proven methods of HIV prevention and refuse to provide adequate funding for HIV care and services,” said Megan McLemore, senior health researcher at Human Rights Watch. “This is a public health failure, but also a violation of fundamental human rights for those at risk and infected with HIV.”
The 23-page report, “Southern Exposure: HIV and Human Rights in the Southern United States,” was released in advance of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1
The 17 states cited in the report lead the nation in the percentage of people living in poverty, according to the organization. They also lead in the lack of access to health care and the numbers of people without health insurance, factors that increase the risk of HIV infection or AIDS deaths. HRW said southern states also report the nation’s highest rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, sexually transmitted diseases that can significantly increase an individual’s risk of becoming infected with HIV.
“While the federal government has recognized the importance of comprehensive sex education, many southern states continue to promote unproven and ineffective abstinence-based approaches,” HRW said. The result “is the denial of potentially life-saving information to adolescents at risk of HIV infection. Abstinence-based programs often include, and even require, negative messages about homosexuality, which can stigmatize gay youth and drive individuals in need of HIV information away from essential treatment and services.”
Some laws in southern states also prohibit needle exchange programs in which used syringes are exchanged for clean ones. Drug users sharing needles is considered a significant method of transmitting the AIDS virus.
Other states in the region punish those who knowingly pass the virus to others, HRW noted, discouraging people from being tested for AIDS.
Human Rights Watch also charged that both the federal and state governments do not adequately fund HIV/AIDS programs in the South. HRW said federal funding “has consistently shortchanged the South due to outdated formulas based on cumulative AIDS cases rather than on new HIV infections.”
In addition, restrictive Medicaid eligibility rules in southern states leave many with HIV unable to afford health care. In Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia, HRW said, 40-65 percent of people diagnosed with HIV are not in regular treatment, compared with the national average of 30 percent.
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Can Medication Stabilize Or Reverse Vascular Disease? Apparently That It Can
Can medication stabilize or reverse vascular disease? And how much should medication reduce cholesterol levels? With lipid lowering how low should you go? Russell H. Samson, MD, FACS, RVT, Clinical Associate Professor Department of Clinical Sciences (Vascular Surgery) at Florida State University Medical School, Sarasota, Florida, addressed these difficult questions today at the 37th annual VEITHsymposium™ held at the Hilton New York (New York, NY). Dr. Samson said the question regarding whether medication can stabilize or reverse vascular disease, is difficult to answer…
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Nepal, U.N. Deny Blame For Haitian Cholera Outbreak
Nepal (AHN) – The Nepalese Army and the United Nations have outright denied that the Nepali mission in Haiti should be blamed for the recent cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 300 lives.
In an interview with local Sagarmatha TV, Nepal Army Brigadier General Ramindra Chhetri denied the allegations, saying that none of the Nepali peacekeepers were infected any serious disease. “Before they selected for peacekeeping deployment, the peacekeepers have to go through strong health vetting. There is no possibility of any infection in the new batch of soldiers as they have to undergo a ‘through medical checkup’ before participating in the peace keeping mission,” he said.
“There is no contamination on the base. We have conducted several tests, and all of them have come negative,” Vincenzo Pugliese, deputy spokesman of the the U.N. Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) told reporters from Port-au-Prince.
Referring to press reports, Pugliese said, “Journalists saw and filmed something very misleading. They saw the soaked ground caused by water from the kitchen and the showers. It was not from human waste as reported in the media.”
Pugliese also said that the force commander of the base had invited journalists to inspect their base, firsthand.
In New York, the United Nations, during a regular press briefing pointed out that tests of samples taken from Nepali peacekeepers based in Haiti have proved “negative.” The U.N.’s clarification comes amidst allegations that sewage water coming from latrines at the Nepali peacekeeping base in Mirebalais could be the source of cholera outbreak in the Caribbean country.
The U.N. has reiterated its point amid international concern over the cholera outbreak.
During the daily briefing at the U.N. headquarters, Spokesperson for the Secretary General, Martin Nesirky, said, “Tests of samples from the military camp and waters adjacent to the river were conducted on October 22 and proved negative.”
Denying claims that there were leakages in the sewage system, Nesirky told reporters that the overflow of water seen near the latrines is actually from the kitchen and showers of the Nepali camp. He added the soak pit is located three metres away from the latrines, and hence misleading passers-by into believing that the soaked ground is caused by the overspill of human waste.
A Nepal Army officer serving at MINUSTAH said “rumors” that the Nepali contingent was the source of the Cholera infections was spread by some local politicians. “We have taken it seriously and the investigations so far have shown that the Nepali battalion is blame-free.”
He said the examination of the medical records of the Nepali peacekeepers who served in the battalion for the last six months and tests run on water have shown there is no infection. The officer further said MINUSTAH is investigating the deposition of waste from the seven septic tanks of the Nepali Battalion.
“After the investigation inside the battalion was found negative, the UN is now investigating whether the civilian contractor has made any mistake while disposing of the sewage,” the official added.
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TV, Sponsorship Deals Boost MLB Revenues For 2009-10 Season
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Despite the average per-game attendance drop during the 2009-10 season compared to the previous campaign, Major League Baseball reportedly expects to post record-breaking $7 billion in gross revenues for this season.
The projected hike in revenues for the season can be attributed to several factors which include the annual escalators in local television deals and the return of ads from the automotive and financial sectors.
“This is the golden era for the sport and given the (weak) economy this may be the most remarkable year we ever had,” MLB Commissioner Bud Selig told Sport Business.com.
“Every economic option in our business is up this year. We’re at numbers nobody ever thought possible,” Selig added.
According to Turner Sports President David Levy, significant increase in sponsorship revenue coming from automotive, financial sectors and insurance companies hiked the growth in advertising for baseball.
MLB registered $6.6 billion in revenues in 2009, an increase from the $6.5 posted in 2008.
Meanwhile, total attendance slipped to about 0.6 percent during the 2010 regular season compared to 2009.
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First-Time Jobless Claims Drop 23,000 For Week Ending Oct. 16
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Advance figures for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims for the week ending Oct. 16 decreased by 23,000 to 452,000, according to the Department of Labor.
The previous week’s revised first-time jobless claims averaged 462,250 and the 4-week moving average was 458,000, a decrease of 4,250, DOL officials said in a weekly report.
Employers continue to fire workers at a pace that makes employment gains difficult because hiring still lags in the weak economy.
In addition, the “advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending Oct. 9, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.5 percent,” the DOL said.
That means 3.5 percent of unemployed Americans are covered by unemployment insurance. There are several reasons for the disparity in the rate of unemployment versus the rate of unemployed workers covered by unemployment compensation payments. Some jobless Americans did not previously work at jobs that were covered by the program, they did not have enough credits to apply for benefits when they lost their job, or they have been unemployed long enough to have exhausted their unemployment compensation benefits.
“Extended benefits were available in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin during the week ending Oct. 2,” according to the DOL.
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