Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc. announced Wednesday that its board of directors has adopted a stockholder rights plan designed to protect the company and its stockholders from unsolicited takeovers. The adoption of the plan, also commonly known as a “poison pill” clause, was not in response to any specific effort to gain control of the company, according to Northwest Biotherapeutics. The Bothell-based biotech firm completed its initial public offering on Dec. 14, selling 4 million shares at $5. On Wednesday, shares in the company closed at $4.07. Northwest Biotherapeutics also released news that clinical trials of its DCVax-Prostate on late-stage prostate cancer patients have shown favorable results. The firm recently began a further trial using 495 patients at more than 20 clinical sites in the United States.
Major appliances such as a refrigerator or a washer-dryer pair could cost $3 to $5 more as a result of tariffs President Bush is imposing on steel products this month. Steelworkers say that is a small price for saving American jobs and an industry that once was the backbone of U.S. commerce. Americans need to think when they open their wallets “if this is an important and productive industry for America,” United Steelworkers of America President Leo Gerard said Wednesday. Bush’s three-year package – a mix of quotas and tariffs of 8 percent to 30 percent on various products that will decline each year – is structured to help the steel industry get back on its feet.
Federal regulators on Wednesday approved the proposed $22 billion merger of Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp., a deal that would be the biggest in high-tech history. Announcing the decision, the Federal Trade Commission said it voted to close its antitrust investigation of the proposed deal. The 5-0 commission vote requires no additional action from the companies to meet antitrust requirements. The merger still faces a tough shareholder vote, with Hewlett and Packard family interests opposing it.
The economy showed more signs of improving in January and early February, a Federal Reserve survey says, offering fresh evidence that the nation is recovering from the recession. The Fed’s latest survey of business activity around the country, released Wednesday, suggested that signs of a rebound were becoming more widespread and now were evident in most areas. In its previous survey, the central bank struck a more cautious note, saying there were “scattered reports of improvement.”
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