Ever come across something so brilliant you wish you had thought of it yourself? Well that's what Seth Hettena has just put together, via sourcing from Vedomosti: an aggregation of the preferred timepieces worn by high-level Russian officialdom as a possible proxy for corruption. There are several questions raised from this little survey, not the least of which is: to those of you contending that Igor Sechin is the real master string-puller, I ask you, have you considered Moscow's Deputy Mayor Vladimir Resin? More importantly, could any of these men hold it together under the mind-bending microscope of Vesper Lynd?

A partial list of who prefers which wristwatch:

Vladimir Putin: Blancpain, Leman Aqualung Grande Date, $10,500

Dmitry Medvedev: Breguet, Classique Moon

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GIC held over 9 pct of Citigroup prior to stake sale * Now has below 5 pct; will stay on as “portfolio investor” * GIC says realised $1.6 bln profit from sale * Citigroup shares up in premarket trade By Kevin Lim and Saeed Azhar SINGAPORE, Sept 22 - Singapore wealth fund GIC has halved its stake in Citigroup <C.N>, cashing in on a market rally for a profit of $1.6 billion, but signalling investor concerns over the outlook for global banks. The sale follows other divestments by sovereign funds from Western banks they helped rescue at the start of the financial crisis to use the money closer to home in emerging markets and in other growth sectors such as resources. In June, Abu Dhabi exited Barclays Plc <BARC.L> with a gain of about 1.5 billion pounds , though Temasek [TEM.UL], another Singapore wealth fund, lost an estimated $4 billion from an early exit from Bank of ...

The U.S. dollar slid to a 1-year low against the euro on Tuesday near $1.48 as deteriorating sentiment on the U.S. currency encouraged selling ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting and Group of 20 summit this week.

Traders took advantage of a dollar rally in the prior session to sell on views the Fed will signal plans to maintain loose monetary policy well into 2010.

Currency investors are also bracing for G20 leaders to discuss rebalancing the global economy this week, a process that would almost certainly require a weaker dollar.

A document obtained by Reuters showed how Washington would urge G20 leaders to launch a new push this year to get debtor nations like the United States to save more and exporters like China, Germany and Japan to spend more.

“If you take the view that too much of U.S. growth has been domestically driven, the next logical step is to say an

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In a major development today, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Roche’s (RHHBY) Valcyte (valgancyclovir) for the prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease in pediatric kidney and heart transplant patients. The drug targets patients aged 4 months to 16 years, who are at higher risk of developing the infection due to reduced immunity following organ transplants. The FDA also approved a pediatric oral solution of the drug.

Although the virus lies dormant in the body throughout life, it has the potential to cause severe damage when the immunity system is weakened. For transplant patients, the virus can lead to loss of the transplanted organ and in severe cases may even be fatal.

The recent approval represents a label expansion for the drug, which is already approved for CMV disease in HIV patients. In July 2008, it received pediatric exclusivity from the FDA. Combined sales of Valcyte and

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We are disappointed with the latest decision by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to review the safety features of orlistat. The drug is sold in the U.S. both as a prescription product (Xenical) and as an over-the-counter (OTC) product (Alli). The OTC version is sold by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) whereas Roche (RHHBY) markets the prescription drug.

The FDA had to initiate the review process as the agency received about 32 cases of liver problems (between 1999 and 2008) in patients taking the drug in either forms, among which twenty-seven were hospitalized with six of them suffering from liver failure. The most common symptom reported was jaundice, which leads to yellowing of the skin or eyes along with stomach pain and weakness.

The obesity management drug Xenical got FDA approval way back in 1999 while the OTC version was approved in 2007. At present, orlistat has approval in approximately 100

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PennyOmega.com Stock Report!

PennyOmega.com Hot Stock News & Alerts!

 

Friday July 31, 2009

PennyOmega.com Stock Report!

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General Employment Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE Amex: JOB) reported consolidated net revenues for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 of $2,520,000, compared with consolidated net revenues of $3,622,000 reported for the same period last year. It was the third quarter of the Company’s 2009 fiscal year. Contract service revenues for the quarter were $1,490,000, down 17% from the same period last year. Placement service revenues of $1,030,000 decreased 43% from last year.

Noble Corporation (NYSE: NE) today reported that the Company’s Board has established the record date and payment date for a dividend in the form of a reduction of the

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Commodity prices and world stocks rose while the U.S. dollar and government bond prices slipped on Friday when investors cautiously put money back into riskier assets.

U.S. crude pricesraced above $71 a barrel, extending a 2 percent gain the day before, after rebel attacks on Nigerian oil facilities disrupted supply. Firmer oil prices supported metal prices, with gold edging above $940 to a one-week high.

Global equities were also in demand, with the MSCI world equity index advancing 0.9 percent and the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.2 percent.

The MSCI world equity index is up more than 21 percent this quarter, on track for the biggest quarterly gain in its 20-year history.

“It is clear that the rebound in global equity markets has lost some steam,” Barclays Wealth said in a note.

“It appears to us that stocks are now broadly fairly valued, having erased their previous undervaluation faster than expected. Further share price gains may

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Alcon, Inc. (ACL) faces some challenges in the near future: patent expirations, patent challenges, generic threats, softer pricing on certain of its products and Medicare rebates. Additional near-term challenges come from slower top-line growth due to a weakening economy and negative foreign currency affects.The company also took significant losses on its investment portfolio which, by our calculations, negatively impacted EPS by as much as $0.24 in the fourth quarter and $1.22 for all of 2008. The company has subsequently begun redeeming all investments and expects to be 90% invested in cash-equivalents by mid-2009. This should help reduce or eliminate any further investment losses.However, even in the face of these challenges, the company posted solid operational growth in 2008 and through the first quarter of 2009. Excluding the affect of foreign exchange, sales grew 10% in 2008 and were up 5% in the ...

'There will be the predictable difficulties in negotiations on energy issues', says a top Russian senator on the Russia-EU summit, as there is 'a global collision in strategy'.  President Medvedev will 'be interested in the EU's position . . . on the continuing threat to Europe resulting from our difficult relations with Ukraine in the gas sphere'.  American billionaire Walter Buffett will provide the start up money and Barack Obama the political support for an international nuclear fuel bank to be created in Central Asia.  Rusnano and Viktor Vekselberg's Renova are embarking upon a $635 million project to manufacture solar panels in the republic of Chuvashia.  Swiss technology group Oerlikon is negotiating to join the project, which would involve a 700 million Swiss franc supply deal with Rusnano.  Shell's remuneration committee is reportedly under increasing pressure ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 7, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: UBS AG (UBS), Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (HE), Cabela's Inc. (CAB), Banco Santander Central Hispano SA (STD) and Marvel Entertainment (MVL).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Wednesday's Analyst Blog:

UBS Reports Pre-Announced Loss

As pre-announced, UBS AG (UBS) reported a net loss from continuing operations attributable to UBS shareholders of CHF1.98 billion, driven by trading losses of CHF630 million at the Investment Bank as it continues to shed

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