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ChangeQuakes Of The Week

August 07, 2006

TOP CHANGEQUAKES OF THE WEEK
** Oil Surges As BP Shuts Largest U.S. Oil Field
** AOL To Reduce Workforce By A Quarter
** Blood Test Offers Hope Of Breast Cancer Breakthrough
** Apple Options Probe Widens

MORE CHANGEQUAKES TO WATCH

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TOP CHANGEQUAKES OF THE WEEK

Oil Surges As BP Shuts Largest U.S. Oil Field

(ECONOMIC CHANGEQUAKE) -- BP has begun shutting down the biggest oil field in the United States, Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, which pumps 400,000 barrels daily and accounts for 8% of U.S. domestic production, after discovering a damaged pipeline, sending oil prices nearly 2% higher and its shares sharply lower.

today.reuters.co.uk

AOL To Reduce Workforce By A Quarter

(CORPORATE CHANGEQUAKE) -- AOL will shed as much as a quarter of its global work force within six months as the company seeks more than $1 billion in savings to offset its decision to give more services away for free.

biz.yahoo.com

Related Stories: AOL Likely To Tap Video, IM To Seek Edge
www.usatoday.com

AOL Criticized For Spilling Search Data
money.cnn.com

Blood Test Offers Hope Of Breast Cancer Breakthrough

(DISCOVERY CHANGEQUAKE) -- Scientists have developed a new blood test that can detect breast cancer at a very early stage by monitoring very small changes in concentrations of proteins in the bloodstream when the immune system begins to fight a cancer. Early trials have found it is up to 1,000 times more sensitive than existing scans.

internationalreporter.com

Apple Options Probe Widens

(CORPORATE CHANGEQUAKE) -- Apple Computer said it would likely need to restate earnings and will delay filing its quarterly report because of additional irregularities it found in its accounting of stock options.

www.eweek.com

Related Stories: Automakers Trick Out Rides With iPods
www.cnn.com

Apple Leopard Ready To Pounce
www.itwire.com.au

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MORE CHANGEQUAKES TO WATCH

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGEQUAKES

Researcher Warns Of Security Problem In Electronic Passports

Electronic passports being introduced in the U.S. and other countries have a major vulnerability that could allow criminals to clone embedded secret code and enter countries illegally, an expert warned.

abcnews.go.com

Holographic Storage A Reality By Year-End

The first holographic storage media will begin shipping by Christmas, executives at media maker Hitachi Maxell have indicated.

www.extremetech.com

Related Story: What Is Holographic Storage?
www.inphase-technologies.com


CORPORATE CHANGEQUAKES

Google And XM Satellite Radio Team Up In Ad Pact

Google, the world's leading search giant, said that it has inked a pact with XM Satellite Radio to enable Google AdWords customers to automatically place advertisements into programming on XM's talk radio stations.

abcnews.go.com

Related Story: Viacom, Google Aim Ad-Backed Videos At Web Sites
www.eweek.com

Mozilla Firefox Inks New Deal; Continues To Gain On Internet Explorer

Mozilla's Firefox browser, the open-source challenger to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, has crossed the 200-million downloads mark. The organization also inked a deal with its partner Google to bundle its Web browser along with RealPlayer, tightening the screws further against Microsoft in the increasingly competitive browser market.

www.redherring.com

Alien Decides Not To Pursue Its IPO

Eight days after it said it was preparing for an IPO on a day-to-day basis, Alien Technology, which had been granted the RFID trading symbol, has withdrawn its registration statement with the SEC.

www.eweek.com


REGULATORY CHANGEQUAKES

FTC Rules That Rambus Had Monopoly On Chip Technologies

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission ruled that computer technology developer Rambus Inc. unlawfully monopolized markets for four memory chip technologies.

www.eweek.com


ECONOMIC CHANGEQUAKES

Minimum Wage Increase And Estate Tax Cut Blocked By Senate

Both Democrats and Republicans insist they emerged as winners from last week's failed GOP effort to cut taxes on multimillion-dollar estates and raise the minimum wage.

www.businessweek.com

Atlantic Hurricane Forecast Lowered

A noted hurricane research team has reduced its forecast for the Atlantic hurricane season, but said it would still be above average with 15 tropical storms, seven of which would become hurricanes.

go.reuters.com


FDA APPROVAL CHANGEQUAKES

FDA Accused Of Scant Monitoring Of Food Labeling

The FDA has been accused of misleading Congress by ignoring the enforcement of key regulatory provisions intended to provide accurate food labeling.

www.foodnavigator-usa.com

FDA Approves Seasonal Flu Vaccines

The FDA has approved the manufacture of this year's seasonal influenza vaccine, which includes one strain that was used in last year's vaccine and two new virus strains scientists believe are likely to cause flu in the Northern Hemisphere during 2006-2007.

www.sci-tech-today.com

Governors Pressure FDA To Clarify How Biotech Drugs Are Approved

The governors of four states have petitioned the FDA in an attempt to force the agency to quickly clarify how generic versions of two drugs made from living organisms can be brought to market.

www.boston.com


DISCOVERY CHANGEQUAKES

Chinese Herb Shown To Slash Blood Sugar By 50%

Researchers at Sydney's Garvan Institute have discovered that berberine, a Chinese herb, can significantly lower blood sugar levels in diabetics.

www.newstarget.com