Stimulus deal forged to boost U.S. economy
The White House and congressional leaders developed a stimulus package last week to jump-start the troubled U.S. economy. Investors worldwide had signaled their alarm about the state of the world's largest economy, as global markets plummeted at the beginning of the week. The stimulus package includes sending tax rebates of $600 to $1,200 to most tax filers by spring, hoping they will spend the money quickly to aid the economy. Rebates would be higher for families with children.
The White House and congressional leaders developed a stimulus package last week to jump-start the troubled U.S. economy. Investors worldwide had signaled their alarm about the state of the world's largest economy, as global markets plummeted at the beginning of the week. The stimulus package includes sending tax rebates of $600 to $1,200 to most tax filers by spring, hoping they will spend the money quickly to aid the economy. Rebates would be higher for families with children.
The deal also offered help to buyers and sellers in higher-priced housing markets. See:
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Adolor drug clears hurdle, but caveats remain
The benefits of Adolor Corp.'s only product, the specialized bowel medicine Entereg, outweighed potential risks, including heart attacks, medical experts said Wednesday.
But an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration said long-term cardiovascular risks were a major concern, even though the drug developed by Adolor, of Exton, and partner GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. was effective and reduced hospital recovery time by about a day after abdominal surgery.
The government's assessment was a crucial hurdle for Adolor, which has no marketed products and has worked seven years developing Entereg, also called alvimopan.
Because the assessment was hardly a ringing endorsement, it was unclear whether Adolor and Glaxo would recoup their investment.
"It was definitely a mixed bag," Cowen & Co. analyst Leland Gershell said in an interview after the panel meeting in Silver Spring, Md. See:
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US Airways makes a push for Phila. airport gates
Two of US Airways' three highest-ranking executives were in Philadelphia on Thursday talking to airport officials, a sign they may be close to resolving a dispute the airline says hampers its ability to add more overseas flights here.
President Scott Kirby said US Airways Group Inc., which has about 60 percent of the traffic at Philadelphia International Airport, did not have "anything substantive" to announce yet on getting more international gates at the airport. But he said he and Robert Isom, the company's executive vice president and chief operating officer, had held a "good meeting" with airport officials.
Kirby and Isom were dispatched to Philadelphia from US Airways' Tempe, Ariz., headquarters on the same day that the company, in its regular earnings conference call, reported a fourth-quarter loss, but a $427 million profit for all of 2007.
On Nov. 7, US Airways threatened to give up what could be a lucrative plan to fly nonstop between Philadelphia and Beijing because of a dispute with airport administrators over gates. See:
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Coming tomorrow
SEI Investments Developments Inc. founder and chief executive officer Alfred P. West Jr. banks on constant change.
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