Avid Technology to delay filing of 3d-quarter report
THE REGION
Avid Technology Inc. will delay filing its third-quarter 10-Q form while it determines the appropriate accounting treatment for revenue from its new consumer video division. The Tewksbury company said it got the division when it bought Pinnacle Systems Inc. for $462 million in cash and stock. Avid, a hardware and software company, said the revenue in question relates to ''partial shipments to European resellers of available consumer video products to fulfill orders placed during the third quarter." Shares fell $3.21, or 6.2 percent, to $48.83. (Dow Jones)
FDA warns HIV patients on Biogen Idec skin drug
The Food and Drug Administration warned healthcare professionals against prescribing Biogen Idec Inc.'s psoriasis drug Amelive to patients with HIV. Cambridge-based Biogen Idec sent a letter to healthcare professionals in October discussing the labeling change for the drug. The FDA posted the letter to its website yesterday. Amelive was approved to treat moderate to severe psoriasis, an autoimmune disorder. The drug is an injection and is designed to suppress an immune-system function. However, the suppression of the immune system might also accelerate the progression of HIV. (Dow Jones)
THE NATION
Chip maker raises dividend and sets $25b buyback
In a move to return cash to shareholders and boost its stock price, chip maker Intel Corp. said yesterday it will increase its quarterly dividend by 25 percent and buy back up to $25 billion in common shares. The dividend increase, to 10 cents per share from 8 cents, is smaller than it was last year, when the company doubled the payout from 4 cents per share. The latest boost takes effect in the first quarter of 2006. Intel said it purchased more than 300 million shares for about $7.5 billion in the first three quarters of 2005, compared with $7.5 billion in repurchases for all of 2004. Since 1990, it has bought about 2.5 billion shares for about $49 billion. (AP)
Shareholder turns up pressure on Knight Ridder
The largest shareholder in Knight Ridder Inc. is turning up the pressure on the newspaper publisher, saying in a regulatory filing that it may nominate a slate of directors at the company's annual meeting next year. Private Capital Management LP said it was considering that and other moves to boost the value of its 19 percent stake after seeing only a ''limited response" to the ''serious concerns" about the company raised by PCM and other shareholders. PCM is demanding that Knight Ridder put itself up for sale. Knight Ridder is the second-largest publisher of newspapers in the United States. (AP)
Suitor ends negotiations to purchase stake in AOL
Yahoo Inc. has pulled out of discussions over buying a stake in America Online Inc., leaving Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. as the leading potential suitors. The decision came after Yahoo's chief executive, Terry Semel, and chief finance officer Susan Decker met in late October with Time Warner Inc. executives, said Yahoo spokeswoman Joanna Stevens. Stevens said Yahoo had ''politely passed" on proposed terms and ''walked away from any interest in a deal." Two people close to the discussions said a key stumbling block was Time Warner's insistence that it retain majority ownership in the AOL unit. They spoke on condition of anonymity because public discussions of any private negotiations were contrary to their companies' policies. (AP)
AT&T chief opts to leave after takeover by SBC
AT&T Corp. chief executive David Dorman confirmed expectations that he will not stay on for long after AT&T is acquired by SBC Communications Inc., opting for nearly $20 million in severance pay and consulting fees rather than a subordinate post at the combined company. Dorman, 51, also chairman of AT&T, will serve as president of the merged company and a member of its board of directors ''for a brief transition period," after which he will resign from both positions, SBC said in outlining the post-merger management team. Edward E. Whitacre Jr., SBC's current chairman and chief, is still slated to hold both of those posts at the combined company, which will be assuming the AT&T corporate name and brand. (AP)
Effort to stop importation of medicine called flawed
The government has not developed an organized way to stop people from illegally importing prescription drugs, a congressional study issued yesterday said. The Government Accountability Office said the sheer volume of imports, hidden amid the rest of the mail, makes it difficult for the Food and Drug Administration and Customs and Border Patrol officers from locating many of them. A requirement that the FDA give notice to people whose drugs are seized has also drained resources.
