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ChangeQuakes Of The Week

May 08, 2006

TOP CHANGEQUAKES OF THE WEEK

** Scientists Discover Gene Linked To Prostate Cancer
** Wachovia Buys Golden West In $25.5 Billion Deal
** Revised Communications Act Proposed
** Report: Vista's Impact On Security Software Market

MORE CHANGEQUAKES TO WATCH

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TOP CHANGEQUAKES OF THE WEEK

Scientists Discover Gene Linked To Prostate Cancer

(DISCOVERY CHANGEQUAKE) -- A genetic variant that puts around one man in every 10 at higher risk of prostate cancer has been discovered, marking a milestone in understanding and diagnosing the most common cancer among men.

abcnews.go.com

Wachovia Buys Golden West In $25.5 Billion Deal

(CORPORATE CHANGEQUAKE) -- Wachovia's agreement to buy Golden West Financial for $25.5 billion will accelerate its expansion into the fast-growing western U.S., but boost its exposure to a mortgage industry expected to slow.

abcnews.go.com

Related story: Market Cool Toward Wachovia's Purchase
www.marketwatch.com

Revised Communications Act Proposed

(REGULATORY CHANGEQUAKE) -- A sweeping overhaul of the Communications Act of 1934, known as the "Communications, Choice and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006," has been proposed on the Senate floor, and would reinstate the audio and video broadcast flag, require VOIP traffic to be identifiable and effectively eliminate analog televisions in a year's time.

www.extremetech.com

Report: Vista's Impact On Security Software Market

(TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGEQUAKE) -- Additional security features in Microsoft's new operating system Vista, due out next year, will largely eliminate the need to run separate antispyware or firewall software, thus having a dramatic effect on sales of aftermarket security software, according to a new analyst report.

news.zdnet.com

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MORE CHANGEQUAKES TO WATCH

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGEQUAKES

IBM's Mainframe Technology Getting An Upgrade

For years, the IBM mainframe business has been running on an ever-accelerating treadmill. The company must go faster and faster, with performance improvements and price cuts, just to keep mainframe technology in place and relevant in modern corporate data centers.

www.informationweek.com

Yahoo! Announces New Ad Platform

Yahoo! unveiled a major renovation of its advertising platform Monday, adding features to improve the specificity of search results and provide more pricing options to its paid-search customers.

www.thestreet.com

Report: Cyberspace Running Out Of Room

The growing popularity of smartphones, IPTV and other gadgets connecting to the Internet is eating up real estate on the Net, and experts predict cyberspace could run out of IP addresses by 2012, with about 17 billion devices connected to the Internet.

www.informationweek.com

The Reality Of Fuel Cells

Officials have been singing the praises of hydrogen fuel cells as a solution to our nation's transportation energy problem, but while fuel cells are a promising technology, they could take more than 50 years to have a significant impact on gasoline consumption.

www.techreview.com

Sony Offers Details On PlayStation 3

Two days before the Electronic Entertainment Expo begins in Los Angeles, Sony Corp. was scheduled to divulge more details on its upcoming PlayStation 3 video game console in a Monday afternoon news conference at its movie studios in Culver City, Calif.

news.tmcnet.com

Related story: E3 2006 -- Most Anticipated Products
videogames.yahoo.com


CORPORATE CHANGEQUAKES

Microsoft And Qualcomm Ink Smart-Phone Pact

Microsoft and Qualcomm announced that they will team up to port Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system to Qualcomm's Mobile Station Modem (MSM) chipsets in a move to aggressively go after the next generation of smartphones.

www.informationweek.com

Related story: Microsoft To Buy Video Game Ad Company Massive
today.reuters.com

Build Your Own Computer At Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart stores plan to start selling build-your-own-computer components in more than one-third of its U.S. discount stores this month as it looks for ways to tempt shoppers to buy more than just low-cost items.

msnbc.msn.com

Apple Vs. Apple: Computer Beats Corp. In Court

It was third time unlucky for Apple Corp. last week as a high-court judge ruled in favor of Apple Computer, allowing the computer maker to continue to display an apple logo on its iTunes online music store.

news.ft.com

Related story: Mac Vulnerabilities Increase Significantly, Say Researchers
www.pcmag.com

Teck Cominco Goes After Inco with $16 Billion Offer

Vancouver miner Teck Cominco has launched a $16 billion offer for fellow Canadian miner Inco -- provided Inco drops a bid for a third mining company, Falconbridge.

www.marketwatch.com

Merger In Medical Lab Equipment Sector Near

Fisher Scientific International, a supplier of medical laboratory equipment, is near a deal to merge with rival Thermo Electron Corp. in a deal valued at about $11 billion.

www.reuters.com


REGULATORY CHANGEQUAKES

FCC Mandates Wiretapping Taxes For Broadband Providers

The FCC voted unanimously to levy what likely will amount to wiretapping taxes on companies, municipalities and universities, forcing broadband providers and Internet phone companies to pick up the tab for the cost of building in mandatory wiretap access for police surveillance.

news.com.com


ECONOMIC CHANGEQUAKES

India Official: U.S. Slowdown Could Trigger Global Recession

A slowdown in the U.S. could trigger a worldwide recession, India's Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said, warning that any abrupt and disorderly adjustment in global imbalances will hit emerging economies hard.

www.forbes.com

Ethanol Import Tariffs Might End

The Bush administration is considering lifting import tariffs on ethanol in a bid to alleviate any supply crunch of gasoline ahead of the peak-demand summer driving season, according to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman.

www.courant.com


FDA APPROVAL CHANGEQUAKES

FDA Releases Critical Path Initiative

The FDA has recently unveiled its long-awaited Critical Path Opportunities List, which maps out a number of "scientific projects" for improving the testing and production of biotech therapies.

www.biopharm-mag.com

FDA Looks To Streamline Drug Review Process

As part of the FDA's broader effort to modernize approaches to managing the new drug review process, the agency's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research is launching an internal assessment to establish best practices surrounding this important process.

www.fda.gov


DISCOVERY CHANGEQUAKES

New Extraction Technologies Could Double Amount Of Accessible Oil

The amount of accessible oil worldwide could eventually be increased by roughly 30% with the help of new drilling, imaging and oil extraction technologies, including the use of microbes, say MIT researchers.

www.technologyreview.com

Viruses May Be The New Batteries

Genetically manipulated viruses could replace standard lithium-ion batteries, packing two to three times more energy than other batteries, researchers say.

www.abc.net.au

U.S. Bird Flu Plan Calls For Limited Federal Role

A flu pandemic would cause massive disruptions lasting for months, and cities, states and businesses must make plans now to keep functioning, and not count on a federal rescue, the Bush administration said

msnbc.msn.com

Related story: U.S. Companies Struggle With Bird Flu Plans
news.yahoo.com