Helix BioMedix of Bothell and Pyxis Genomics have signed a research agreement that allows Pyxis to examine Helix’s library of peptides and potentially license some for use in animal supplements. Pyxis, an animal health company based in Chicago, is interested in using the peptides, small proteins with infection-fighting properties, as an alternative to antibiotics. Timothy Falla, chief scientific officer at Helix, said the agreement represents the company’s first step toward commercializing its peptides for the agricultural market. Financial terms of the agreement were not released. Helix, whose stock trades on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board, has more than 100,000 peptides under patent protection.
Americans’ demand for imported goods – everything from cars and clothing to hot toys for Christmas – climbed to an all-time high in October, in the process creating a record U.S. trade deficit with China. In a more hopeful sign for battered U.S. manufacturers, American exports also rose to the highest level in 2 1/2years. The overall trade deficit hit $41.8 billion, a 1 percent increase from September’s imbalance of $41.3 billion, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The deficit was the biggest in five months and kept the country on track for a record shortfall this year of around $490 billion.
Wholesale prices retreated 0.3 percent in November, pulled down by falling costs for gasoline, beef and cars, suggesting that the economy’s resurgence isn’t fanning inflation. The decline in the Producer Price Index, which measures prices before they reach store shelves, came after prices rose 0.8 percent in October, the Labor Department reported Friday. That jump unsettled some analysts, who worried that the seeds of inflation were being planted and could take root down the road.
The U.S. dollar hit a new record low against the euro on Friday, spurred by comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow that the market should set the value of the dollar, and he wasn’t concerned about its decline. The dollar traded at $1.2297 against the euro in afternoon trading in New York, breaking the previous record of $1.2276 set Tuesday and capping a recent string of new lows. The 12-nation euro has climbed 16.8 percent against the dollar this year. In late New York trading, the euro was quoted at $1.2288, up from $1.2189 late Thursday. “We’re on the side of letting the marketplace work,” Snow told reporters in New York.
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