A new study shows that Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)'s cancer drug Sutent may be linked to more instances of heart failure than previously thought. Some 15% of patients suffered heart failure when taking Sutent, according to results from a small study, a higher rate than the 8% previously recognized.After already raising its offer for Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP), a senior executive on Wednesday said BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) would have to raise it "considerably" to lure the miner into talks from the latest offer of 3.4 BHP shares for every RTP share -- a deal at worth around $147.4 billion.
While Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) co-CEO Jim Balsillie declined to give details about future product plans, he said his company may bring out a touchscreen version of its BlackBerry if customers want it. Of course, this was in direct response to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone, which has won praise for its innovative touchscreen control. RIM would introduce devices based on HSDPA.
RIM customers experienced service disruption Monday and an early investigation indicated a problem caused by a recent upgrade aimed to increase capacity.
MarketWatch interviewed Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) CEO Mike Zafirovski. He believes the emergence of new wireless fourth-generation communications technologies -- 4G --such as WiMax and Long-Term Evolution will give it a unique chance to get an edge on rivals.
MarketWatch also interviewed Palm Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) CEO Ed Colligan. He believes that with its Centro entry-level smart phone, Palm has the product it needs to penetrate the consumer market and conquer Europe. Centro, equipped with a full Qwerty keyboard and running the Palm operating system, is available with Sprint (NYSE: S) for $99 with a contract.
TechCrunch claims to have confirmed a rumor that News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) "are in the middle of marathon discussions." TechCrunch has more details on the deal structure, which also includes a private equity fund. This is of course in response to Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)'s $44.6 billion unsolicited bid which Yahoo! has rejected.
Meanwhile, the pink slips have arrived at Yahoo! as it laid off more than 1,000 employees on Tuesday.
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