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ChangeQuakes Of The Week

October 30, 2006

TOP CHANGEQUAKES OF THE WEEK
** Report: Global Warming Poses Fiscal Threat
** Smart Card Industry Expects Boost From Deadline
** Merck To Buy Sirna For $1.1 Billion
** Could Copyright Fight Strip YouTube Of Content?g

MORE CHANGEQUAKES TO WATCH


TOP CHANGEQUAKES OF THE WEEK

Report: Global Warming Poses Fiscal Threat

(ECONOMIC CHANGEQUAKE) -- Pay now to fix global warming or risk a worldwide economic depression later, says a British government report. Failure to act carries the danger that rising temperatures will increase the likelihood of widespread drought, crop failure, sea-level rise and other economic calamities, the report warns.

www.usatoday.com

Smart Card Industry Expects Boost From Deadline

(REGULATORY CHANGEQUAKE) -- Smart card technology vendors are betting that the passing of the U.S. government's latest worker identification deadline on Oct. 27 will help push use of their products further into the commercial sector and beyond. The government's Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 mandate requires that all federal agencies distribute certified PIV (personal identity verification) smart cards to their employees.

www.eweek.com

Merck To Buy Sirna For $1.1 Billion

(CORPORATE CHANGEQUAKE) -- Merck & Co. announced it has agreed to acquire biotechnology firm Sirna Therapeutics for $1.1 billion in cash to gain a stronger foothold in the promising drug-development technology of RNA interference.

today.reuters.com

Could Copyright Fight Strip YouTube Of Content?

(CORPORATE CHANGEQUAKE) -- Last week, YouTube reportedly started taking down clips from popular Comedy Central shows such as "South Park," "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" after the site was apparently notified the clips represented copyright infringement. The previous week, YouTube purged nearly 30,000 clips after it was informed of copyright violations by the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors Composers and Publishers.

abcnews.go.com

RELATED ARTICLE: MySpace to Block Illegal Use of Copyrighted Music
www.eweek.com

MORE CHANGEQUAKES TO WATCH

CORPORATE CHANGEQUAKES

Top Power Firms Urge Sustainable Energy Policies

Leading electricity companies from around the world issued a report urging governments to adopt new sustainable energy and climate policies to avoid a future environmental crisis.

today.reuters.com

RELATED ARTICLE: Australia Faces Blackouts, Builds Major Solar Plant
today.reuters.com

Wal-Mart Expands $4 Drug Plan, Total Now 27 States

Wal-Mart is extending its $4 generic prescription drug plan to 12 more states, bringing the total to 27. States added last week are: Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Dakota and Virginia.

www.usatoday.com

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGEQUAKES

Will The iPod Continue To Click?

Bye-bye click wheel? If a recent patent filing is any indication, Apple Computer may abandon the iconic wheel that has become synonymous with its popular iPod music players.

www.mercurynews.com

Solar Start-Up Snags $35 Million As CIGS Ignites

Miasole, a start-up specializing in solar cells made from copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), has raised $35 million in another round of venture financing. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company had already raised $21.4 million. CIGS has emerged as a technology that could challenge silicon solar panels. CIGS solar cells aren't as efficient at harvesting sunlight as silicon solar cells, but proponents say they will be much cheaper to manufacture.

news.zdnet.com


REGULATORY CHANGEQUAKES

KFC Eliminates Trans Fats, NYC Restaurants May Follow Suit

After two years of secret taste tests, KFC announced it would stop frying chicken in artery-clogging trans fats, but New York City restaurants being urged to do the same say it's not so easy.

biz.yahoo.com

ECONOMIC CHANGEQUAKES

Income, Spending Rose Solidly In September

U.S. consumers, helped by bigger paychecks and lower gasoline prices, boosted their spending last month, according to a government report that may counter fears of a sharp economic slowdown.

today.reuters.com

DISCOVERY CHANGEQUAKES

Scientists Eye Ethanol Boost For Gasoline Engines

Injecting small quantities of ethanol into car engines at moments of peak demand -- such as accelerating sharply or climbing a steep hill -- could improve the fuel economy of gasoline engines by 20% to 30%, according to MIT scientists.

www.dailytech.com

Alzheimer's Blood Test Developed

British scientists are developing a blood test which may be able to pick up signs of Alzheimer's disease before people start to show symptoms. The team from the Institute of Psychiatry found levels of two types of protein in the blood were only present if people had the condition.

news.bbc.co.uk