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ChangeQuakes Of The Week

April 17, 2006

TOP CHANGEQUAKES OF THE WEEK

** Report: China Reducing Purchases Of U.S. Treasuries
** IRS Asks PayPal For Taxpayer Data
** Estrogen May Cut Breast Cancer Risk
** VOIP Awareness On The Rise
** U.S. Flu Pandemic Response Plans Unveiled

MORE CHANGEQUAKES TO WATCH

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TOP CHANGEQUAKES OF THE WEEK

Report: China Reducing Purchases Of U.S. Treasuries

(ECONOMIC CHANGEQUAKE) -- The dollar fell sharply against the euro and yen in Asia on a media report suggesting that China might reduce its purchases of U.S. Treasury holdings, and amid speculation that U.S. interest rates may have peaked.

biz.yahoo.com

Related stories: China's Economy Growing Faster Than Expected
www.theglobeandmail.com

China Moves To Market-Determined Exchange Rate
news.yahoo.com

IRS Asks PayPal For Taxpayer Data

(REGULATORY CHANGEQUAKE) -- The Justice Department has asked PayPal, the electronic funds payment arm of eBay, to turn over customer records to the IRS as part of an ongoing tax evasion probe.

www.boston.com

Estrogen May Cut Breast Cancer Risk

(DISCOVERY CHANGEQUAKE) -- Two months after concluding that estrogen replacement isn't bad for women's hearts, government researchers found that it does not cause breast cancer, either. And for some women, estrogen actually reduced the risk of breast cancer.

www.forbes.com

Related story: Is A Shot For Cancer On The Horizon?
www.msnbc.msn.com

VOIP Awareness On The Rise

(TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGEQUAKE) -- According to a recent study, the percentage of British and American adults who know of VOIP or already make telephone calls via an Internet connection has increased from 37% to 46% in the UK, and from 36% to 51% in the U.S. during the last nine months.

www.tmcnet.com

U.S. Flu Pandemic Response Plans Unveiled

(DISCOVERY CHANGEQUAKE) -- President Bush is expected to approve a national pandemic influenza response plan that identifies more than 300 specific tasks for federal agencies, including determining which frontline workers should be the first vaccinated and expanding Internet capacity to handle what would probably be a flood of people working from their home computers.

www.msnbc.msn.com

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MORE CHANGEQUAKES TO WATCH

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGEQUAKES

TDK Begins Shipping Recordable Blu-ray Discs

TDK announced that it has begun shipping 25GB recordable and rewritable Blu-ray Disc media to retailers nationwide. A pioneer of blue laser recording technology and founding member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, TDK is the first to market with bare Blu-ray Disc media.

finanzen.net

Related story: TDK Starts Development On 200GB Blu-ray Discs
www.afterdawn.com

Portland Latest City To Complete Free Wi-Fi Deal

Portland, Ore., the latest city to implement a city-wide public Wi-Fi network, has awarded a contract to Mountain View, Calif.-based startup MetroFi, which beat out two competitors, including EarthLink.

news.tmcnet.com

Cell Phones Good As Cash For Entertainment

Forget about cash and credit cards, there's a new payment alternative for buying CDs, DVDs and other such entertainment pleasures -- your cell phone.

news.yahoo.com


CORPORATE CHANGEQUAKES

Report: China Bank In Talks With Bear Stearns Over $4 Billion Stake

According to a new report, one of China's biggest state-controlled banks is discussing investing up to $4 billion in a deal that could end up giving it a minority stake in the U.S. investment firm Bear Stearns.

biz.yahoo.com

Related story: Chinese Bank Denies Report Of Bear Stearns Stake
www.msnbc.msn.com

TiVo Wins $74 Million In EchoStar Patent Suit

In a case cast as crucial to TiVo's survival, a federal jury decided that EchoStar Communications (DISH Network) copied key technologies from the digital video recording pioneer and awarded TiVo nearly $74 million.

www.foxnews.com

Related story: TiVo And DirecTV Extend Contract
www.businessweek.com


REGULATORY CHANGEQUAKES

States Pushing To Collect Online Sales Tax

With online shopping growing rapidly and nearing $100 billion a year in consumer sales, state governments are now more than ever making an effort to collect on sales tax assessed on online purchases.

news.com.com


ECONOMIC CHANGEQUAKES

Survey: Outsourcing Saves Less Than Some Claim

A recent survey shows that outsourcing information technology and business services delivers average cost savings of only 15%, disproving some market claims that outsourcing can reduce costs by more than 60%.

www.redherring.com

Oil Hits $70 A Barrel On Supply Worries

Crude oil futures hit $70 a barrel for the first time in seven-and-a-half months, pushed higher by concerns over declining gasoline stocks in the U.S., supply disruptions in Nigeria and tension over Iran's nuclear program.

www.bloomberg.com


FDA APPROVAL CHANGEQUAKES

FDA Announces Public Meeting On Nanotechnology

The FDA will be holding a public meeting in the fall of this year, designed to gather information about current developments in uses of nanotechnology materials in FDA-regulated products.

www.fda.gov

FDA OKs Medtronic Insulin Pump

Medtronic has received approval from the FDA for its insulin pump with real-time glucose monitoring to help diabetes patients maintain healthy glucose levels.

www.redherring.com


DISCOVERY CHANGEQUAKES

Nanogenerators Convert Motion Into Power

A new class of devices known as "nanogenerators" aim to convert energy created from body movement, the stretching of muscles or the flow of water to power future nanoscale components.

www.livescience.com

Study: Ultra-thin Graphite Might Be Key To Nano-scale Devices

A study of how electrons behave in circuitry made from ultrathin layers of graphite suggests the material could provide the foundation for a new generation of nanometer scale devices that manipulate electrons as waves -- much like photonic systems control light waves.

www.hindu.com