Two state firms win anthrax vaccine contracts
Two Maryland vaccine developers have received the green light from Washington to continue development of a third generation of recombinant anthrax vaccine, contracts worth nearly $114 million. PharmaThene Inc. of Annapolis said yesterday that it has received a multiyear contract worth $83.9 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to continue work on an advanced vaccine for the civilian bio-defense stockpile that can be stored for up to three years at room temperature. Emergent BioSolutions Inc. of Rockville won a similar contract it valued at $29.7 million. Both companies are also competing for a separate federal contract to produce 25 million doses of a second-generation recombinant anthrax vaccine. It would replace BioThrax, the Emergent vaccine now used to immunize military personnel, which requires six shots over 18 months and has a history of side effects and shelf-life problems.
Loring Byers funeral home shuts down
Loring Byers Funeral Directors in Randallstown closed Thursday after 51 years in business. Part of the Dignity Memorial network of funeral providers, Loring Byers said "changing business conditions in this market" led to the decision. Prearranged funeral contracts with Loring Byers will be honored at Sterling-Ashton-Schwab-Witzke Funeral Home of Catonsville, which is also part of the Dignity Memorial network.
Economy's spring rebound weaker than estimated
WASHINGTON: The economy's spring rebound turned out to be slightly less energetic than the government previously thought. And, the road ahead is likely to be rocky as the country gets pounded by the worst financial crisis in decades. The Commerce Department reported yesterday that gross domestic product, or GDP, increased at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the April-June period. That wasn't as strong as the 3.3 percent growth estimate made a month ago. But it did mark a pickup after two terrible quarters. The economy barely grew in the first quarter - advancing at a feeble 0.9 percent pace. In the final quarter of last year, the economy actually shrank. Nonetheless, the lower reading for second-quarter GDP surprised economists who had been expecting the government to stick with the 3.3 percent growth estimate. The main reasons behind the downgrade: consumer spending and U.S. exports didn't grow as much during the spring as previously thought. Yet export growth was still very brisk, a key factor keeping the economy afloat. And consumers were helped out by the government's tax rebates. GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced within the U.S. and is the best barometer of the country's economic health. Since the spring, the economy has lost traction. "The latest tightening of the credit crunch will hit an economy that was already deteriorating sharply," said Nigel Gault, economist at Global Insight. In the past week alone, the clogging of the nation's credit arteries had become so bad that the Bush administration proposed a $700 billion financial bailout to Congress in a desperate bid to stem the fallout.
Associated Press
Federal workers face 8% rise in premiums
WASHINGTON : Federal workers will pay about 8 percent more next year for health insurance obtained through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the government reports. Federal employees and retirees can choose from 269 insurance options, with some plans going up much more than the 8 percent average. For example, the premium for the most popular choice among enrollees is rising about 13 percent. About 20 percent of current enrollees are in plans that will have a premium increase of less than 5 percent. About 8 million federal workers, family members and retirees are enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Participants can use an open enrollment season that begins Nov. 10 to shop around and change their insurance coverage to fit their medical and financial circumstances.
Associated Press
Gold prices rise on bailout worries
NEW YORK : Gold prices briefly jumped above $920 an ounce yesterday as a stalled plan to bail out the U.S. financial system unnerved investors and prompted a flight into safe assets. Silver also rose. In other commodities trading, crude oil turned lower on worries that failure to approve the $700 billion rescue package would deepen the economic crisis and further curtail U.S. energy demand. Agriculture futures also fell. Gold for December delivery rose as high as $920.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange before easing back to settle at $888.50, up $6.50. Other precious metals traded mixed. December silver rose 22.8 cents to settle at $13.503 an ounce, while December copper fell 6 cents to settle at $3.0745 a pound. In energy markets, worries about the bailout deal weighed on oil as investors fretted that more economic tremors would undermine Americans' ability to pay for gasoline, heating oil and other energy. Light sweet crude for November delivery fell $1.98 to $106.04 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier dipping as low as $104.25. Crude rose $2.29 to settle at $108.02 on Wednesday. In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures fell 8.37 cents to $2.6136 a gallon, while heating oil futures fell 6.104 cents to $2.9879 a gallon.
Associated Press