Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Barclays cuts Intel, Applied Materials to equal weight (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? U.S. semiconductor stocks are in for a "volatile" 2012 as inventory correction extends into the first quarter, and an industry recovery due only in the second half, Barclays Capital said and downgraded five stocks, including Intel Corp.

Barclays lowered its ratings on Intel, Applied Materials Inc, Freescale Semiconductor Holdings Ltd, Microchip Technology Inc and Spansion Inc to "equal weight" from "overweight."

"First quarter should be the trough for semis given the ongoing inventory correction, coupled with supply chain constraints, due to muted end demand visibility," Barclays analyst C J Muse wrote in a note to clients.

Muse now expects U.S. semiconductor revenue growth to come in flat to 4 percent in 2012. He had earlier forecast growth of 2-5 percent.

According to Thomson Reuters' Starmine data, Muse is a four star-rated analyst for the accuracy of his earnings estimates on the companies under his coverage universe, which include Intel and Applied Materials.

Intel, which cut its fourth-quarter outlook citing hard drive shortages, will also see lower demand for its core PC business, Muse said.

Applied Materials is also likely to experience headwinds in its flat panel display and solar photovoltaic businesses, said the analyst.

Barclays' Muse sees volatility in the semiconductor space in 2012 with the emergence of new architecture, new computing platforms, expected refresh in operating systems, more players and the ongoing shortage in hard drives.

The analyst, however, expects semiconductor stocks to outperform end markets in the second half of 2012 and expects a 6-8 percent growth rate in 2013.

Barclays upgraded Cymer Inc, LSI Corp, Micron Technology Inc to "overweight" from "equal weight."

The Philadelphia semiconductor index fell 12 percent since the start of 2011 to end the year at 364.44 points, as the industry was hit by disruptions in supply chains with the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and flooding in Thailand.

(Reporting by Rachel Chitra in Bangalore; Editing by Tenzin Pema, Maju Samuel)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/semiconductor/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120103/tc_nm/us_ustechnology_research_barclays

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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Good day, bad day: January 3, 2012 (The Week)

New York ? Sharks interbreed to survive climate change, while gold strikers find out their big discovery was fake ? plus more winners and losers of today's news cycle

GOOD DAY FOR:

Evolving sharks
Researchers have discovered the world's first hybrid shark in Australia. Common black-tip and Australian black-tip sharks are mating, researchers suggest, in an attempt to adapt to climate change, since their offspring can handle a broader range of water temperatures than each individual species. [The Daily What]

SEE ALSO: A very furry Christmas

?

Tech geniuses
The man behind the design of your favorite Apple products has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Jonathan Paul Ive helped Steve Jobs bring Apple back to life in the late 1990s with the iMac, and later helped design the iPod, iPhone and the iPad. [TIME]

Would-be dads
Researchers in Germany and Israel announced that they have successfully grown mouse sperm in a laboratory. The breakthrough could pave the way for technology that allows infertile men to father their own children instead of relying on donated sperm. [Telegraph]

SEE ALSO: Hot tub gold machine

?

BAD DAY FOR:

Striking gold
Twenty gold bars discovered on a Paris train last week have turned out to be fake. Had the bars been real, they would have been worth around $1 million. [BBC]

Letting bygones be bygones
Herman Cain, the onetime GOP frontrunner felled by allegations of sexual impropriety,?will reportedly not endorse any of his former Republican rivals because none of them supported his 9-9-9 tax plan. Cain reportedly hopes this move will "take the wind" out of the Iowa caucuses. [Business Insider]

SEE ALSO: Unfriendly fire

?

Doing the Dew
PepsiCo, the company that manufactures Mountain Dew, is being sued by a Wisconsin man who claims to have found a dead mouse in a can of the yellow soft drink in 2009. Pepsi's strange ? and somewhat sickening ? defense is that the ingredients in Mountain Dew would have caused the mouse to dissolve into a "jelly-like" goo, making the man's story unlikely. [Huffington Post]

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/theweek/20120103/cm_theweek/222971

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libertycounsel: New Year's Resolutions? Ancient Rome's mythical King Janus had two faces to look back into past & ahead into his future

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Monday, January 2, 2012

F.D.A. Finds Short Supply of Attention Deficit Drugs

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A partnership between the Drug Enforcement Administration and drug makers is behind a shortage that is prompting a wave of complaints to the Food and Drug Administration.

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=cad5f3fabd70df0a3bb62a5c45b62785

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Outback Bowl NFL Draft Preview: Georgia Bulldogs vs. Michigan State Spartans

Home ? 2012 NFL Draft ? Outback Bowl NFL Draft Preview: Georgia Bulldogs vs. Michigan State Spartans

The deeper we get into college bowl season, the better the teams get and the more NFL prospects they have. Michigan State and Georgia are playing each other in the Outback Bowl and both teams have a lot of different prospects that you will want to be looking for. Here are some of my favorites:

Michigan State features an offensive attack that is really on the rise, led by quarterback Kirk Cousins. Cousins and company were very, very close to coming back and winning the Big Ten title this season, and he was a big reason for it. He threw for over 3,000 yards with 24 touchdowns and only seven interceptions completing 65 percent of his passes. I have not been overly impressed with Cousins this year, but there are people who believe he is a second round talent. I think you could see him benefit from Matt Barkley staying in school and possibly get drafted earlier than he might otherwise have.

Cousins has a couple of really good seniors to sling the ball to in B.J. Cunningham and Keshawn Martin, two guys who have been making plays for the MSU offense all year long. The two have combined for 19 total touchdowns, 12 for Cunningham and 7 for Martin.

Martin can hurt you as a receiver, out of the backfield, or as a punt returner, and Cunningham has great size and has clearly been the favorite target of Cousins this season.

The Spartans also have a good running game led by Le?Veon Bell, the talented sophomore who is averaging 5.5 yards per carry with 11 touchdowns. He is spelled by Edwin Baker, who has 655 yards and five touchdowns himself. He is having a down year, but is a candidate to break out. He was dominant last season for MSU.

Defensively, the Spartans have a few guys to look out for, mainly defensive tackle Jerel Worthy and defensive back Trenton Robinson. Robinson is tied for the team lead with four interceptions and makes plays all over the field.

One guy who is going to get his name called early and often is linebacker Denicos Allen, a sophomore who is having an absolutely monster year. He is only 5?10? 220 pounds, but he has 78 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks in 2011. He is a guy to watch out for to see how he takes on blockers and how he plays in coverage as well.

Georgia is led by quarterback Aaron Murray, a redshirt sophomore who has had his ups and downs this year, but when he is on, he is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He?s slightly undersized, but he can really move the ball around.

His favorite target in the passing game is tight end Orson Charles, who led the team in receptions and had five touchdown catches as a junior. He is contemplating leaving early for the NFL Draft, and would probably be a second round talent if he chooses to leave. He isn?t polished as a blocker yet, but he could be a very good tight end at the next level.

Up front, the Bulldogs boast some of the best talent in the conference. Cordy Glenn and Ben Jones are excellent anchors for the line, and both look like starters at the NFL level.

They also have some very talented freshman offensively with Isaiah Crowell leading the team in rushing as a rookie and Malcolm Mitchell leading in receiving yards. It?s been a learning experience for those guys, but they have certainly made their share of plays.

Defensively is where the Bulldogs are really, really strong right now, and they are led by pass rusher Jarvis Jones and safety Bacarri Rambo. Rambo has seven interceptions, one for a touchdown, as well as 52 tackles.

Jones leads the team with 69 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, and 13.5 sacks. He is going to give Cousins fits all day long, but he has already said he is going to return to Georgia for a senior season after transferring. We?ll see if he keeps that vow after this game.

Jones is allowed to be so effective because of how dominant the front of Georgia?s defense can be, led by nose tackle John Jenkins, who also flirted with the NFL Draft advisory committee.

Defensive back Brandon Boykin has three interceptions and nine tackles for loss this season, and he can also make an impact in the return game. He adds another dimension to the game entirely, and has rushed for a touchdown, caught a touchdown, batted down nine passes, forced two fumbles, and basically been the most versatile player on Georgia?s roster.

Kicker Blair Walsh is struggling this season, making only 19 of his 31 field goal attempts but he has an NFL leg. As does punter Drew Butler who is averaging over 44 yards per boot this season.

Tags: 2012 nfl draft, Georgia Bulldogs, Michigan State, NFL Draft, outback bowl

Source: http://nflmocks.com/2012/01/02/outback-bowl-nfl-draft-preview-georgia-bulldogs-vs-michigan-state-spartans/

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Sunday, January 1, 2012

Chinese city finds cancer-causing fungi in food (Reuters)

SHANGHAI (Reuters) ? Chinese food safety regulators in the southern city of Shenzhen have found carcinogenic mildew in peanuts and cooking oil, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.

The cancer-causing substance, called aflatoxin, triggered public concern this week after milk giant Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd said last weekend its Sichuan plant had destroyed products found by a government quality watchdog to contain it.

Aflatoxin occurs naturally in the environment and is produced by certain common types of fungi. It can cause severe liver damage, including liver cancer.

Xinhua reported that the Shenzhen market supervision bureau had said it found up to 4.3 times of the permitted level of aflatoxin in peanuts sold in two supermarkets and one frozen food store, and up to four times the allowed level of aflatoxin in cooking oil in four restaurants.

Fungi and the aflatoxin they produce can infect crops before harvest or during harvesting and storage. The tainted crops then enter the foodchain either directly, or indirectly via animal feed.

On Thursday, food safety officials recalled cooking oil produced by three companies in the southern Guangdong province because they may contain excessive levels of aflatoxin.

These incidents are the latest in a string of safety scandals to hit China's food industry in recent years.

In 2008, at least six children died and nearly 300,000 became ill in China from drinking powdered milk laced with melamine, an industrial chemical added to low-quality or diluted milk to give misleadingly high protein readings.

(Reporting by Melanie Lee)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/cancer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111230/hl_nm/us_chinese_city_cancer_fungi

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2011 'second warmest' year in UK

This year was the second warmest on record for the UK, the Met Office says.

Provisional figures show that only 2006, with an average temperature of 9.73C (49.5F), was warmer than 2011's average temperature of 9.62C (49.3F).

This year saw high temperatures for lengthy periods; including the warmest April and spring on record, the second warmest autumn and the warmest October day.

Early figures suggest 2011 is ending with a "close to average" December.

John Prior, national climate manager at the Met Office, said: "While it may have felt mild for many so far this December, temperatures overall have been close to what we would expect.

"It may be that the stark change from last year, which was the coldest December on record for the UK, has led many to think it has been unseasonably warm."

All bar one of the top 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1997 and all the UK's top seven warmest years happened in the past decade.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-16366078

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