Bothell’s Helix BioMedix Inc. is licensing one of its synthetic peptides, a wound-healing protein, for use in an anti-acne product made by Levlad Inc. California-based Levlad is using Oligopeptide-10 as a key ingredient in its Nature’s Gate Organics Natural Results Acne Treatment System, which will be available for sale later this year.
Hurricane prompts jobless claim surge
Hurricane Katrina triggered the biggest one-week surge in jobless claims in nearly a decade, and analysts warn that’s just the beginning of the bad economic news ahead as the nation starts paying for the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits jumped by 71,000 last week, the biggest increase since the East Coast blizzard of 1996.
Northwest, Delta start cutting back
Their bankruptcy filings behind them, Delta and Northwest began a lengthy and costly road to recovery on Thursday that will likely include cutting employee rolls, pensions and routes. In the end, if they survive, the nation’s third- and fourth-largest airlines will be smaller and may look more like the discount rivals that helped push them into bankruptcy.
Rubbermaid plans to cut 5,000 jobs
Newell Rubbermaid Inc., maker of plastic products for the home and office, on Thursday announced a three-year plan to streamline manufacturing and cut overhead, including laying off 5,000 workers. The maker of Sharpie pens and Rubbermaid trash cans said it plans to close one-third of its 80 factories worldwide.
Charles Schwab drops some fees
Emboldened by its highest profits since the dot-com boom, Charles Schwab Corp. is dropping its remaining account service fees in the latest step back to the stock brokerage’s low-cost heritage. The decision to drop the fees, announced Thursday and effective Oct. 1, affects about 650,000 account holders with household balances below $25,000.
Microsoft, AOL eye partnership
Microsoft Corp. and Time Warner Inc.’s AOL unit have been discussing potential partnerships in online technology, online advertising and instant messaging that would help the two companies better compete against rivals Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., people familiar with the talks said Thursday. The talks were described as ongoing, with no deal imminent.
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