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Eternal city reveals new layers during metro dig
Fri Dec 1, 2006 1:24pm ET

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More Science News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] By Phil Stewart

ROME (Reuters) - Raffaela La Pasta is not sure but thinks that the still half-buried skeleton she is unearthing in downtown Rome is female, and at least 1,600-years-old.

A leg-bone is sticking up through the dirt and the outline of the skull is just visible, even in this pit 8 meters (26 feet) below the surface of the city.

"She's not the only one. There are others we found too," La Pasta said, coolly.

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This archaeological site, which has also yielded a trove of Roman coins, pottery and even toys, is just one of dozens being drilled in the eternal city thanks to a metro project that is giving La Pasta and other scientists a rare, deep look below.

A few of the finds, like a 2,000-year-old Roman compass La Pasta's team found, go on display at a downtown museum starting on Saturday.

Other artifacts will join the exhibition as they are discovered in the coming months, while Rome forges ahead with its plans to punch a tunnel under the historic center to make way for a long-awaited subway line.

"You're standing on top the world's biggest archaeological collection," said the exhibit's curator, Maria Antonietta Tomei, motioning to the earth below.

"And our museum exhibit will only get bigger."   Continued...


HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?

The project is massive, with a eight-digit price tag just for the first stage of the excavations.

At spots throughout Rome, archaeologists are walling off bits of sidewalk, streets and squares trying to find out how to build the subway line -- a daunting, costly task for urban planners.

Central Rome is still full of surprises. In June, another group of archaeologists found the skeleton of a woman who they think may have ruled Rome 3,000 years ago -- before Romulus and Remus are credited with founding the city.

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The metro line aims to run deep enough underground to avoid disturbing ancient artifacts as it winds it way under an historic center that includes structures like the Forum and the Colosseum which are sensitive to vibrations in the earth.

"The issue is not the metro itself, which is going to run far enough below the surface that there is no risk," said Giovanni Simonacci, the Metro C project's technical director.

The problem, he said, is figuring out how to get people from the surface of the city down to the metro line without disturbing an important historic structure.

"We don't know where (the precise entry and exit points) will be yet because we don't know what is down there," he said.

"Phase One" of the excavations are meant to reach depths of 11 meters (36 ft) across the city. The target date was originally set for December but has already been pushed back until at least the end of March due to new discoveries.   Continued...


UNDER THE PIAZZA

It's hard to tell if Mayor Walter Veltroni is squinting because of the sunlight or because he's realizes how challenging his so-called "archaeological metro" project will be.

Standing in the middle of Rome's busiest square, Piazza Venezia, Veltroni peers below the ground into what his team of archaeologists have uncovered: a well preserved cellar of a palace built in the 17th century.

The cellar's interior window frames and staircase are intact, just as they would have been before the palace was destroyed to make way for the famous Roman square around a century ago. They had covered right over it.

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The archaeologists said they plan to tear down the cellar to find other buildings they suspect are buried even deeper below.

"We don't know what's down there," Veltroni told Reuters, raising his voice over the buzz of Piazza Venezia's traffic.

"Now we're naturally more recent. When we go deeper to look for the real Rome, we see what we find."

The metro project could have unforeseen consequences for the city. Veltroni did not rule out turning part of Piazza Venezia into a museum if there was a highly important discovery.

La Pasta said the project could yield more finds than Veltroni and others might imagine.

On a dig that she worked on a block away, the team reached a depth of 17 meters (56 feet). They found entire structures, including perfectly preserved sections of 2,000-year-old Roman wall that are now in the Rome metro building's headquarters.

"It was a whole new layer of the city," she said.

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Pfizer shares sink after key drug halted By THERESA AGOVINO, AP Business Writer
1 hour, 28 minutes ago



NEW YORK - Shares of Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drugmaker, sank Monday on news that the company had halted development of a key new cholesterol treatment that was heralded as the engine to re-ignite the company's stagnant sales.

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The stock plunged $3.63, or 13 percent, to $24.23 in morning trading on the     New York Stock Exchange.

Pfizer said Saturday that an independent board monitoring a study for cholesterol treatment torcetrapib recommended that the work end because of an unexpected number of deaths and other complications.

The news is devastating to Pfizer, which had been hurt by numerous patent expirations on key products. It spent around $800 million to develop torcetrapib, which was supposed to fill the void when its best-selling drug, cholesterol treatment     Lipitor, loses patent protection in 2010 or 2011. Lipitor sales totaled $12.2 billion last year.

Moody's Investors Service placed Pfizer's long-term Aaa debt rating under review for possible downgrade because of the announcement. Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "buy"; Morgan Stanley dropped it to "equal weight" from "overweight" while Lehman Brothers' ranking fell to "underweight" from "overweight." Lehman Brothers analyst Tony Butler wrote in a report that Pfizer may not return to revenue growth for the next seven years, with the exception of 2009.

Pfizer will likely slash staff and accelerate merger and licensing deals as the pressure on it to improve its financial performance intensifies, analysts said. The good news for Pfizer is that it has solid cash flow and a management team that understands its challenges and seems motivated to address them, analysts said.

Two months ago, Pfizer said it would detail plans in January to turn the company into a more nimble organization ― plans that would go beyond the program announced last year to cut $4 billion in expenses by 2008. Patent expirations will cost the company $14 billion annually between 2005 and 2007.

In the statement Pfizer issued Saturday, CEO Jeff Kindler said the company's pace of transformation will be quickened because of the loss of torcetrapib, although he didn't give any specifics. Last week, Pfizer announced it was cutting 20 percent, or 2,200 jobs, of its U.S. sales force.

Deutsche Bank analyst Barbara Ryan said Pfizer may lay off as many 10,000 people in the near future. Pfizer employs roughly 100,000 people. Ryan expects Pfizer to hike its annual dividend from 96 cents to $1.10 per share in upcoming weeks in the hopes of putting a floor on the stock.

But Jason Napodano, an analyst at Zacks Independent Research, doesn't think the dividend will be enough to prop up the shares. He points out that at the end of last month, Pfizer pulled out of its deal with drugmaker Organon to develop schizophrenia treatment asenapine. Napodano said he expected that drug to add $500 million in sales by 2010 while by that time torcetrapib's sales would total $3 billion.

"Losing asenapine was a hole in the boat. Now they have hit an iceberg," said Napodano.

Pfizer reiterated it hopes to introduce six new products to the market by 2010, but Napodano said its pipeline just doesn't have another drug which offers the sales potential of torcetrapib.

Ryan and Napodano both expect Pfizer to act swiftly to bring new products into the fold, either through acquisition or licensing. But Napodano said until investors see what those products are, he sees little reason to buy the stock and intends to review his "hold" rating on Pfizer.

Torcetrapib was designed to raise levels of HDL, or what's commonly known as good cholesterol. Pfizer has two other products in early development to raise HDL, using the same method as torcetrapib. It is too soon to say whether they will be affected by the compound's demise because it is still unclear what caused the patient deaths in the trial.

Torcetrapib had been shown to raise blood pressure in some patients but the other two compounds haven't displayed such a side effect, according to Pfizer.

Dr. Steven Nissen, chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, said it is too soon to say whether the entire class of drugs known as CETP inhibitors is dangerous or if there was something specific to torcetrapib that caused the deaths. He said that Roche Holding AG is developing drugs of the same type, and there's speculation that Merck & Co. is too. Merck declined to say if it had such a drug in its pipeline.

Roche spokesman Darien Wilson said its compound, slated for introduction in 2009, has not shown a risk of elevated blood pressure in clinical trials.

Pfizer was hoping to seek approval for torcetrapib in the second half of next year.

Nissen said he will examine the results of the study, and if the trial showed the drug actually increased plaque, it would indicate that there is something wrong with the way the class of drugs works.

Nissen, an outspoken critic of the pharmaceutical industry, said he doesn't believe Pfizer will face any liability issues over the trial because it acted swiftly to tell the public and researchers about the problem. The results were unexpected because the review board examined the trial data in October and didn't see an increase risk of death, Pfizer said.

"I have to give Pfizer credit. They did everything the right way," Nissen said.

Analysts said that patients sign waivers, acknowledging that they are willingly participating in an experiment, which protect companies from most lawsuits. However, Fordham University School of Law professor Benjamin Zipursky said warning patients of risks doesn't necessarily mean they can't sue later, especially if information about the trial wasn't adequately detailed or the company downplayed or hid any potential negative data about the drug.

Pfizer was planning to sell torcetrapib in combination with Lipitor. According to Pfizer spokesman Paul Fitzhenry, 82 patients taking the combination of torcetrapib died, compared with 51 deaths among patients taking Lipitor alone. Each arm of the study had 7,500 patients. Pfizer said the study didn't raise any questions about Lipitor's safety.

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Stocks surge, shrug off Pfizer drug halt By JOE BEL BRUNO, AP Business Writer
1 minute ago



NEW YORK - Wall Street surged higher Monday as investors put aside Pfizer Inc.'s decision to halt development of a key drug and focused instead on another series of takeover deals.

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The Dow Jones industrial average rose 89.72, or 0.74 percent, to 12,283.85. Broader stock indicators were also higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 12.41, or 0.89 percent, at 1,409.12, and the Nasdaq composite index added 35.18, or 1.46 percent, to 2,448.39.

Pfizer shares fell by about 12 percent after the company stopped the development of the cholesterol drug torcetrapib because of deaths and cardiovascular problems among people taking the drug during clinical trials. The stock was also downgraded by several Wall Street analysts on concern that Pfizer's revenue growth will now weaken.

The news was offset by several merger announcements that reinforced the belief that companies are optimistic about the economy and therefore are willing to take some risks. Leading them was Bank of New York Corp.'s $16.5 billion deal to buy rival Mellon Financial Corp. to create an asset management powerhouse.

"Trading activity is being driven by the large amount of merger and acquisition announcements, specifically in the banking, semiconductor and hotel sectors of the market," Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at Spencer Clarke LLC. "Many investors remain concerned about the economy, but are optimistic that a soft land lies ahead for U.S. financial markets."

He said Friday's report on November employment from the Labor Department will add "fuel to the fire" if it's weaker than expected, or provide relief after a string of sluggish economic reports. On Tuesday, the     Commerce Department issues data on factory orders for October, and the Institute for Supply Management releases its services sector business index.

Stocks had stumbled Friday after a manufacturing survey unexpectedly contracted in November, pushing the major indexes to a loss for the week. However, major indexes are still poised to finish 2006 with double-digit gains. The Dow so far this year is up 14.61 percent, the S&P 500 has gained 12.88 percent, and the Nasdaq 11.02 percent.

"We really need somewhat of a pullback to keep us from using up all this fuel," said Al Goldman, chief market strategist with A.G. Edwards & Sons. "But, overall, I'm still optimistic with a level of caution after the party we've already had."

Bonds were little changed, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note flat at 4.43 percent from late Friday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Oil prices reversed some of their increases last week, but was seen moving higher amid worries about possible production cuts by     OPEC. A barrel of light, sweet crude fell 99 cents to $62.44 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Drug makers were in focus after Pfizer pulled its cholesterol drug because it causes possibly deadly side effects. Shares of the Dow component fell $2.96, or 10.6 percent, to $24.90.

However, rivals Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. were mixed although their cholesterol drug was seen thriving with competition eliminated. The two companies partner to make Zeita and Vytorin. Merck fell 36 cents to $44.70, while Schering-Plough added 80 cents, or 3.7 percent, to $22.73.

Bank of New York's all-stock deal to buy Mellon will create the world's leading asset servicer with $16.6 trillion in assets under custody. It also ranks among the top 10 global money managers with more than $1.1 trillion in assets under management.

Shares of Bank of New York leaped $4.27, or 12 percent, to $39.75. Mellon rose $2.73, or 6.8 percent, to $42.78.

LSI Logic Corp. said it will buy rival chip and storage systems maker Agere Systems Inc. for $4 billion in stock. The purchase price represents a 28 percent premium for Agere shareholders. LSI fell $1.44, or 13.6 percent, to $9.12; Agere Systems rose $1.51, or 8.5 percent, to $19.30.

Financier Kirk Kerkorian's investment arm, Tracinda Corp., on Monday launched a cash tender offer to acquire 15 million shares of casino operator MGM Mirage. Tracinda currently holds a 55.9 percent stake in the Las Vegas-based company, whose shares rose $2.68, or 5 percent, to $56.35.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was up 14.68, or 1.88 percent, at 795.85. The index is now at a new closing high.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 2 to 1 on the     New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 2.75 billion shares, compared to 2.83 billion on Friday.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed lower by 0.11 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 closed up 0.48 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.87 percent, and France's CAC-40 added 0.80 percent.

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36、Oil falls below $63
Mon Dec 4, 2006 7:03am ET

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More Business News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] By Barbara Lewis

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday, unwinding steep gains last week that were spurred by mounting expectations of a second OPEC supply cut and as colder weather began to eat into U.S. fuel stocks.

U.S. crude was trading 51 cents lower at $62.92 a barrel by 6:32 a.m. EST, while Brent crude traded down 60 cents at $64.02.

"The run up that we had was too much, too soon," said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix.

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U.S. crude hit a 17-month low of $54.86 on November 17, but has since recovered, climbing by around $4 last week and reaching a peak of $63.82 early on Monday, the highest since September 28.

Most OPEC ministers have said they still see the need for a further output cut when the producer group meets in Abuja next week and that, regardless of price, the market is oversupplied.

The group already agreed to reduce supplied by 1.2 million barrels per day from November 1.

"The price is firming somewhat, but against a weakening dollar, and there is still a lot of excess volume out there," OPEC President Edmund Daukoru said in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

The dollar's slide to a series of 20-month lows against the euro <EUR=> has triggered buying across the commodities complex as dollar-denominated assets are relatively cheap, but it has eroded revenues for oil producing countries.   Continued...

35、Airbus says A350 financing open
Mon Dec 4, 2006 7:09am ET

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More Business News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] By Tim Hepher

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus (EADS.PA: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Monday funding for its wide bodied A350 plane remained open and might include a capital hike but cautioned that one airline might cancel orders for the new aircraft.

Airbus confirmed its newly approved A350 XWB would be funded by a combination of internal and external market sources and did not rule out taking government development loans.

However, Airbus President and Chief Executive Louis Gallois told a news conference that no decision had been taken, or was imminent, on whether to approach European governments for loans for funding that the United States has attacked for being illegal subsidies.

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Confirming the plane's total development cost of 10 billion euros ($13.32 billion), Gallois said parts of the project would be shared with outside risk-sharing partners.

"The financial resources must be sufficient and sustainable," Gallois said.

Gallois said that a capital increase was one of the options under discussion and he noted that the financial markets were interested in Airbus parent EADS but there was no big hurry.

Gallois is also co-chief executive at EADS.

Gallois renewed Airbus' criticism of Boeing on the grounds that it too receives hidden government subsidies.   Continued...

34、Bank of New York to buy Mellon
Mon Dec 4, 2006 6:52am ET

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of New York Co. Inc. (BK.N: Quote, Profile , Research) on Monday announced plans to buy Mellon Financial Corp. (MEL.N: Quote, Profile , Research) to create the world's largest securities servicing and asset management firm.

Based on Friday's closing share prices, Mellon was worth about $16 billion, while Bank of New York was worth about $27 billion.

Bank of New York stockholders will get 0.9434 shares in the new company for each of their shares, and Mellon stockholders will get one share in the new company for each of their shares.

Bank of New York Chairman and Chief Executive Thomas Renyi will be executive chairman for 18 months after the deal closes, with overall responsibility for the integration of the two companies.


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Mellon CEO Robert Kelly will be chief executive of the new company and succeed Renyi as chairman.

The companies expect to complete the deal early in the third quarter of 2007.

The pair expect to cut the 40,000 combined staff numbers by about 3,900 in the three years after the deal closes. There will be restructuring charges of about $1.3 billion, they said.

The banks said the combined company would have a market capitalization of $43 billion, becoming the 11th largest U.S. financial institution. It will be called The Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

33、Dollar recovers from 20-mth lows, more weakness seen
Mon Dec 4, 2006 6:29am ET
advertisement   Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] By Toni Vorobyova

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar recovered from an earlier 20-month low against a basket of currencies on Monday as investors locked in profits after shaving more than 3 percent off its value in less than two weeks.

A run of weak U.S. data has boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates next year.

On Friday, the Institute for Supply Management's survey of U.S. national manufacturing in November showed a contraction in the factory sector for the first time in 3-1/2 years.

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In contrast, expectations for a European Central Bank rate hike this week and perhaps again in early 2007 have boosted the euro, sending it to within three cents of its record high versus the dollar and to a record peak against the yen on Monday.

Investors took advantage of the absence of major data or market-moving comments by policymakers to lock in profits from the dollar's recent sharp fall.

"On a day without any news it's not too surprising that we see a bit of a setback for euro/dollar. But for the rest of the year we definitely see the euro gaining the upper hand," said Tobias Thygesen, senior analyst at Danske Markets in Copenhagen.

"Data out of the U.S. has been mixed to say the least, while the data out of the euro area has been very positive and not even euro zone finance ministers could find themselves in a position to say that rates shouldn't go up given the strong euro," he added.

By 1031 GMT the euro was down 0.2 percent on the day at $1.3302, off an earlier 20-month high of $1.3367. It is within a few cents of its 2004 record peak of $1.3667.   Continued...

32、OPEC frets over dollar's fall, ponders oil cut
Mon Dec 4, 2006 6:33am ET

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More Business News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] By Ghaida Ghantous and Karin Strohecker

ABU DHABI/VIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC is worried by a fall in the dollar that is eroding member states' oil revenue and ministers will take up the issue when they meet next week to discuss a further cut in output.

The dollar is at a 20-month low against the euro -- a bonus for non-dollar oil consumers but a threat to producers.

Most OPEC ministers are leaning toward cutting production beyond the 1.2 million barrels per day they agreed in October to prevent a supply glut. A weak dollar provides another argument for trimming reduction and supporting prices.

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"The dollar is not helping (matters). It affects revenue. If there is a significant drop, it is of concern to us," United Arab Emirates' Oil Minister Mohammed al-Hamli told Reuters.

"But as producing countries we look at market fundamentals."

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets on December 14 in Nigeria.

Many in the group still view the market as imbalanced and support a further cut of 500,000 bpd to 1 million bpd. Influential Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi says an excess 100 million barrels must be removed.

Kuwait and Libya are alone in saying existing curbs are sufficient, especially with U.S. crude near $63 a barrel.   Continued...

31、Airbus does not exclude A350 loans, but no decision
Mon Dec 4, 2006 6:26am ET

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More Business News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] PARIS (Reuters) - Planemaker Airbus confirmed on Monday that its newly approved A350 XWB would be funded by a combination of internal and external market sources and did not rule out taking government development loans.

However, Airbus President and Chief Executive Louis Gallois told a news conference that no decision had been taken, or was imminent, on whether to approach European governments for loans for funding that the United States has attacked for being illegal subsidies.

Confirming the plane's total development cost of 10 billion euros ($13.32 billion), Gallois said parts of the project would be shared with outside risk-sharing partners.

"The financial resources must be sufficient and sustainable," Gallois said.

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Gallois said that a capital increase was one of the options under discussion and he noted that the financial markets were interested in Airbus parent EADS but there was no big hurry.

Gallois is also co-chief executive at EADS.

Gallois renewed Airbus' criticism of Boeing on the grounds that it too receives hidden government subsidies.

"We are all aware in our hearts that the 787 is based on highly subsidized spending. There is government funding on both sides of the Atlantic. We are discussing with governments future R&D funding but other options are on the table."

"We have no imminent cash needs. We are only asking for a level playing field. No decision has been taken or is imminent."   Continued...

30、Gold ticks lower, silver off six-month highs
Mon Dec 4, 2006 6:23am ET

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More Business News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] By Atul Prakash

LONDON (Reuters) - Gold erased overnight gains to marginally decline in Europe on Monday and silver traded off six-month highs, with traders watching the dollar movement for direction ahead of the year-end.

Thin trading could exaggerate price movements, but analysts said the metals had potential to move upwards.

Spot gold <XAU=> hit a high of $647.70 an ounce in Asia and was at $644.50/645.50 by 1041 GMT, versus $645.20/646.20 in New York late on Friday.

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"Gold can still go higher from where we are, with $650 easily on the card. And if you are lucky, depending on the U.S. data flow, $700 is possible -- though a steep target," said Michael Widmer, analyst at Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank.

"It will become more difficult now for the dollar to remain strong. Previously you could say only a few sectors like the U.S. housing market had got problems, but now it's the manufacturing sector that has contracted in November."

"That highlights the problems that you are having at the moment in the United States."

The dollar slumped on Friday after the Institute for Supply Management's survey of national manufacturing showed a contraction in the factory sector for the first time in more than three years. The U.S. currency came within cents of its record lows against the euro on Monday.

A weaker dollar makes gold cheaper for holders of other currencies. Investors also tend to shift their money to the commodities sector from currencies for higher returns.   Continued...