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ChangeQuakes Of The Week

March 07, 2006

TOP CHANGEQUAKES OF THE WEEK
** Study: Child Obesity Levels Likely To Soar
** AT&T Makes Deal To Buy BellSouth
** China's Economy Showing Signs Of Slowing
** DOJ Targets Online Music Pricing

MORE CHANGEQUAKES TO WATCH

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TOP CHANGEQUAKES OF THE WEEK

Study: Child Obesity Levels Likely To Soar

(DISCOVERY CHANGEQUAKE) -- The number of overweight children worldwide will increase significantly by the end of the decade, and scientists expect profound impacts on everything from public healthcare to economies, according to a recent study.

news.yahoo.com

AT&T Makes Deal To Buy BellSouth

(CORPORATE CHANGEQUAKE) -- AT&T said it will buy regional-phone company BellSouth for $67 billion in stock, consummating a long-rumored deal that would create a gigantic communications provider with tentacles extending deep into the phone, wireless, Internet and even pay-TV markets.

www.marketwatch.com

Related Stories: Advocacy Groups Voice Concerns Over BellSouth Deal
www.marketwatch.com

Job Cuts Likely In AT&T/BellSouth Merger
news.yahoo.com

China's Economy Showing Signs Of Slowing

(ECONOMIC CHANGEQUAKE) -- The Chinese economy is showing signs of slowing down, according to the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planning body, in a report published in the official China Securities Journal.

www.forbes.com

DOJ Targets Online Music Pricing

(REGULATORY CHANGEQUAKE) -- The U.S. Department of Justice said last week it has opened an investigation into possible anti-competitive pricing of online music by the world's major music labels.

news.yahoo.com

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MORE CHANGEQUAKES TO WATCH

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGEQUAKES

Lunar Power Comes To New York

This summer the popsicles at a Gristedes supermarket on Roosevelt Island, N.Y., midstream between Manhattan and Queens, will be kept icy by power generated from six underwater turbines anchored 30 feet down in the East River, driven by the tidal flows in the channel.

www.businessweek.com

Fuel Cells For Laptops A Reality

This year's CeBIT computer trade show will see the unveiling of the world's first mass production fuel cell for laptop computers, with plans for production in the second half of 2006.

www.vnunet.com


CORPORATE CHANGEQUAKES

Research In Motion Avoids Service Shutdown, Makes Deal With NTP

The BlackBerry wireless e-mail service avoided a shutdown in the United States when device maker Research In Motion Ltd. on Friday agreed to pay NTP Inc. $612.5 million to settle a patent dispute, sending RIM shares up 19% in after-hours trading.

news.yahoo.com

Yahoo! Claims Startup Stole Trade Secrets

Yahoo! has filed a lawsuit against wireless content company MForma, charging the San Francisco-based company and a group of ex-Yahoo! employees there with theft of trade secrets.

www.mercurynews.com

Auto Parts Supplier Dana Files For Bankruptcy Protection

Auto parts maker Dana Corp., which employs 46,000 workers worldwide, filed for bankruptcy protection for its U.S. operations, joining a growing list of suppliers forced to make major restructuring moves because of the slumping U.S. auto industry.

today.reuters.com

GM To Shed Stake In Suzuki

Cash-strapped General Motors intends to sell its stake in Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp. for an estimated $2 billion. The automaker said it would reduce its stake in Suzuki to 3% from the current 20.4%, raising about $2 billion, and it hopes to net between $550 million and $750 million before taxes on the sale.

biz.yahoo.com


REGULATORY CHANGEQUAKES

Regulators Hit Wall Street With $25 Billion Bill

Wall Street, after investigations into one-sided research, illegal mutual fund trades and other malfeasance, is complaining about the cost of what it calls "inefficient regulation."

www.washingtonpost.com


ECONOMIC CHANGEQUAKES

Oil Ministers: OPEC Will Not Cut Production

OPEC is unlikely to cut production levels this week and will opt instead to keep output unchanged amid expectations that high prices could begin dropping as early as next month, key oil ministers signaled Monday.

www.businessweek.com

Australia To Reject India's Bid To Buy Its Uranium

Prime Minister John Howard looks likely to reject India's bid to buy Australian uranium amid heavy criticism from the opposition and anti-nuclear lobby.

www.heraldsun.news.com.au


FDA APPROVAL CHANGEQUAKES

FDA Approves First Antidepressant Transdermal Patch

The first skin patch to treat major depression in adults, developed by Somerset Pharmaceuticals, has received FDA approval to be sold in the United States.

today.reuters.co.uk


DISCOVERY CHANGEQUAKES

Scientists Discover Bacteria That Turns Styrofoam Into Biodegradable Plastic

Biologists in Ireland have found a strain of bacteria that can turn styrene oil -- the oil remnant of superheated Styrofoam -- into a useful, biodegradable plastic.

www.sciam.com

World's Fasted Computer Uses DNA Molecules Instead Of Silicon Microchips

Israeli scientists have devised a computer that can perform 330 trillion operations per second, more than 100,000 times the speed of the fastest PC. The secret: It runs on DNA.
news.nationalgeographic.com

Computers To Become More 'Flexible'

One day you may roll up your computer and toss it in your bag -- no more rugged titanium cases. Today's visionaries are planning a world of flexible electronics that will make even your svelte new laptop look clunky.

www.wired.com

Experts Fear Bird Flu Pandemic As H5N1 Strain Reaches Poland

The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu swept into Poland, a laboratory confirmed, as world health experts prepared for a feared mutation of the virus that could kill millions.

news.yahoo.com