Filed under: Technology, Market News, Mergers & Acquisitions, Drug Companies, Scandals and Lawsuits
A huge merger may be brewing in the drug industry.Pfizer (PFE) reportedly has approached British rival AstraZeneca (AZN) about a takeover. Britain's Sunday Times says the deal could be worth $100 billion. The report says AstraZeneca has resisted the idea, but it's often mentioned as a possible takeover target. The two companies have worked together on several projects in recent years. A number of AstraZeneca's key products will lose patent protection over the next few years, but it also has some interesting drugs in the pipeline.
Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), Intel (INTC) and other tech giants are reportedly in talks to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that they colluded to hold down wages. More than 64,000 software engineers are seeking $3 billion in case that set to begin next month, if no out of court settlement is reached.
Here on Wall Street last week, the Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) and the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) rallied 2.4 percent, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) jumped 2.7 percent. The S&P is now back within 26 points of the record high set at the beginning of this month.
Finally, New York and New Jersey could lose more than $1 billion in federal funding they had been counting on to help homeowners recover from Hurricane Sandy. The Wall Street Journal reports that money could be redistributed to other areas of the country that have suffered from natural disasters. Leaders from the two states say that's a misinterpretation of the law.
-Produced by Drew Trachtenberg.
