IN BRIEF
SAN FRANCISCO
Ex-Brocade executive convicted in trial
The former vice president of human resources at Brocade Communications Systems was convicted Wednesday in the company's second criminal stock options backdating case to go to trial.
After deliberating for one day, a federal jury in San Francisco found Stephanie Jensen guilty of conspiracy and falsifying corporate records, the only charges she faced.
Jensen, who wiped away tears as the verdict was read, is to be sentenced March 12. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison; the falsification charge carries a 20-year maximum sentence.
WASHINGTON
Fannie Mae says losses will mount next year
Fannie Mae warned investors Wednesday that its losses would mount next year from bad home loans, even as the mortgage finance company took steps to stabilize its finances.
A day after announcing it would sell stock and slice its dividend, Fannie Mae also disclosed in a regulatory filing that its mortgage investments declined by $9 billion in November, compared with the prior month, as it sold some off to raise capital.
In 2008, Fannie expects to lose money on eight to 10 out of every 1,000 mortgages held on its $2.4 trillion book, the company said Wednesday. That would be a steep rise from 2007, when it expects four to six out of every 1,000 mortgages to be money-losers.
The Washington-based company, which finances or guarantees one of every five home loans in the U.S., made the disclosure as part of a sales pitch to prospective investors in its planned share offering.
Panel says Avastin shouldn't be approved
A panel of government advisers said Wednesday Genentech drug Avastin should not be approved for expanded use in breast-cancer patients.
After weighing evidence on whether the drug meaningfully improves life for patients with advanced breast cancer, Food and Drug Administration advisers voted 5-4 against recommending approval. The FDA isn't required to follow the recommendations of its panel, though it usually does.
San Francisco-based Genentech asked the FDA to approve the drug for use alongside chemotherapy for breast cancer patients.
Genentech shares fell $6.03, or 8.29 percent, Wednesday to close at $66.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Federal judge denies motion to dismiss claim
A federal judge has denied a motion to dismiss a $2.8 billion claim against Harrah's Entertainment by members of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe in upstate New York.
The members are seeking to enforce a judgment made in a tribal court in 2001 that found Harrah's predecessor Park Place Entertainment interfered in the tribe's plans to build a casino in the Catskill Mountains.
The tribal trust's lawyer, Dennis Vacco, said Wednesday that he was pleased with the court's decision, saying "The tribe deserves to have its institutions respected."
Harrah's called the ruling "procedural" since it allows the company to refile the motion in a different format and said it continued to believe the matter had no merit.
NEW YORK
Bristol-Myers Squibb to cut 4,300 workers
Bristol-Myers Squibb, whose best selling product is the anticoagulant Plavix, said Wednesday it would lay off about 4,300 employees and close more than half of its manufacturing plants in a restructuring aimed at cost savings of $1.5 billion by 2010.
The job cuts at Bristol-Myers represent 10 percent of its staff and will largely be made in 2008 and 2009. The company also said it will close more than 50 percent of its factories by 2010 and reduce by 60 percent the number of brands in its mature products portfolio by 2011.
The company expects a sharp downturn in earnings and revenue after Plavix's key patent expires in November 2011.
SAN FRANCISCO
White surpasses silver as top tint for cars
Green may be symbolic of the environmental push toward low-emission, fuel-sipping vehicles, but drivers choose lemon over lime when it comes to the color of their car, a recent study from DuPont shows.
Only 2 percent of new vehicles built in North America are painted green, compared with 3 percent for yellow, the survey showed.
Atop the list, white ended silver's seven-year stint in the lead, with 19 percent of new cars opting for the absence of color rather than the flagship shade of German sports cars.
NEW YORK
Treasury prices decline amid economic news
Treasury prices dropped Wednesday after two new reports suggested the labor market could be holding up in the face of housing weakness.
The benchmark 10-year note fell 0.09 points to 102.78 with a yield of 3.91 percent, up from 3.90 percent late Tuesday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The 30-year long bond dropped 0.5 points to 110.06 with a yield of 4.39 percent, up from 4.37 percent late Tuesday.
