Nobel :German Scientist Wins Nobel Chemistry Prize

The Nobel Prize
Every year since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for peace. The Nobel Prize is an international award administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize. Each prize consists of a medal, personal diploma, and a cash award

In the picture :Gerhard Ertl of Germany who won the Nobel Chemistry Prize poses for a photo at the Fritz-Haber-Institute in Berlin on his 71st birthday, 10 Oct. 2007

The 2007 Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded to Gerhard Ertl of the Max Planck Society in Berlin. Kevin Billinghurst has the story from Stockholm.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences honors Professor Ertl for his groundbreaking studies of chemical reactions on solid surfaces.

He is credited with creating a methodology for demonstrating how different experimental procedures can be used to provide a complete picture of a surface reaction, observing how individual layers of atoms behave on the extremely pure surface of a metal.

Professor Gunnar von Heijne of the Academy of Sciences explains the importance of Ertl's work.

"From high school we tend to think of chemical processes as happening in water or perhaps in a gas, but in fact a whole lot of scientifically very interesting and practically important chemistry happens on solid surfaces," he noted. "Think of iron rust, think of catalytic converters on the exhaust pipes of our cars, think of technologies such as fuel cells. Gedrhard Ertl's scientific insights have laid a firm foundation for modern surface chemistry, and his careful methodological approach has become a model for both academic research and for industrial process development."

Nobel science prizes are given for contributions to basic understanding of nature, but Professor Ertl's work also has practical environmental applications. He has studied the process by which nitrogen can be extracted from air for inclusion in artificial fertilizers, a field of huge importance in agriculture. He has also explained oxidation of carbon monoxide on platinum, a reaction that takes place in catalytic converters to clean auto-exhaust emissions.

Professor Ertl was reached by telephone minutes after hearing he had been chosen, incidentally on his 71st birthday.

"I was really speechless," he said. "I am very surprised. This is the greatest honor you can think of in the life of a scientist."

On December 10, the 111th anniversary of the death of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, Professor Ertl and the other winners of the 2007 Nobel Prizes in science and literature will come to Sweden to receive their awards in a gala ceremony at Stockholm City Hall

Technorati : Chemistry Prize, Nobel

Lubrication oil appears to be an important yet little-recognized source of toxic particle emissions from motor vehicles

Lubrication oil appears to be an important yet little-recognized source of toxic particle emissions from motor vehicles -- even those fueled by clean-burning hydrogen, according to a joint study by government and academic researchers in Washington State and Minnesota

Their study, a step toward more cleaner-burning engines, will be published in the Oct. 1 issue of ACS' Environmental Science & Technology.

Scientists have long recognized diesel-fueled vehicles as important sources of air pollution that can increase the risk of asthma, bronchitis, and other health problems. Most research, however, has focused on diesel soot, rather than emissions produced by lubrication oil.

In the new study, Arthur L. Miller and colleagues modified a truck diesel engine to run on clean-burning hydrogen instead of diesel fuel, allowing the researchers to focus solely on particle emissions from lubrication oil.

They found that the hydrogen-powered engine emitted higher levels of metal-rich particles than the diesel-fueled engine. Lubrication oil was the primary source of these increased emissions. Emission particles identified include calcium, phosphorous, zinc, magnesium, and iron nanoparticles, all of which have the potential to cause lung damage when inhaled over long periods, they say.

"This study's findings may increase current knowledge about the role of lubrication oil in particle-formation dynamics as engine technology improves and cleaner internal combustion engines are developed," the researchers state.

More about toxic air

Dioxin, lead and particulate matter emissions from diesel-fueled engines are three of five toxic air contaminants that may cause children and infants to be especially susceptible to illness, according to a new evaluation conducted by the California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA).

Polycyclic organic matter and acrolein are the other two toxic air contaminants identified in the evaluation.

"This was one of the most extensive evaluations to date of the effects that toxic pollutants in our air may have specifically on children and infants," said OEHHA Director Dr. Joan Denton.

"There is increasing evidence that children and infants may be more vulnerable than adults to the toxic effects of many pollutants," Dr. Denton said. "However, most past scientific research focused on the effects of pollution on adults. For that reason, most air-quality regulations are based on the effects of air contaminants on adults, rather than children. This evaluation is a key step in California's efforts to ensure children receive the protection they deserve from toxic air contaminants."

The OEHHA evaluation was mandated by the Children's Environmental Health Protection Act (Senate Bill 25), which was authored by Senator Martha Escutia and signed into law by Governor Gray Davis in October 1999. The Act requires OEHHA to evaluate available information on toxic air contaminants and develop a list of up to five toxic air contaminants that may cause children and infants to be especially susceptible to illness. OEHHA is forwarding the list to the California Air Resources Board (ARB), which is required by the Act to review existing regulations for those contaminants and, if necessary, amend them or develop new regulations to ensure the adequate protection of children and infants.

The Act also requires OEHHA to continue evaluating the health effects of other toxic air contaminants on children and infants. Beginning in 2004, OEHHA will annually evaluate at least 15 contaminants and then present an updated list of contaminants to ARB, which will review and revise its regulations as needed.

Children may face greater risks than adults from air pollution, in part because their exposure to airborne pollutants is greater. Infants and children generally breathe more air per pound of body weight than adults, which increases their exposure to any pollutants in the air. Infants and children often breathe through their mouths, bypassing the filtering effect of the nose and allowing more pollutants to be inhaled. Children also tend to be more active physically than adults, and spend more time outdoors.

Exposure to toxic air contaminants during infancy or childhood could interfere with the development of the respiratory, nervous, endocrine and immune systems, and could increase the risk of cancer later in life.

Beginning in early 2000, OEHHA scientists conducted an initial review of the toxicity and prevalence of more than 200 toxic air contaminants. OEHHA then oversaw focused reviews of the scientific literature on 36 of those contaminants, and selected 17 contaminants for further evaluation based on evidence of their potential effects on children. The state's Scientific Review Panel on Toxic Air Contaminants, a committee of independent scientists affiliated with the University of California, reviewed OEHHA's draft report and endorsed the selection of the final five contaminants, as described below:

Dioxins are a family of chemicals that include polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). Dioxins typically are released to the air during waste incineration, the burning of fuels to produce power for industrial purposes, and motor vehicle use. Dioxins persist for long periods of time in the environment. Airborne dioxins can settle on crops, which are then eaten by humans directly, or by livestock that humans later consume.

Fetuses and newborns are particularly vulnerable to dioxin exposure. Dioxins have been found in amniotic fluid and placenta samples, and breast-fed infants can have blood levels of dioxin greater than in their mother. Evidence indicates that exposure to dioxins during infancy may affect the development of the immune system and later make the child more susceptible to infectious diseases. Fetal exposure to dioxins may be associated with low birth weight. Early dioxin exposure may also increase cancer risk later in life.

Regulatory efforts have led to a substantial decrease in dioxin emissions. By 1995, dioxin releases were 80 percent lower than in the 1970s. Federal and state regulations in recent years have targeted municipal waste and medical waste incinerators. ARB is initiating a new evaluation of the sources of dioxin emissions.

Lead has long been associated with toxic effects in children. Low levels of lead exposure have been associated with delays in mental development; decreases in intelligence, short-term memory and visual motor functioning; and aggressive behavior in children.

Airborne lead levels have decreased dramatically in recent decades, primarily due to the ban on leaded gasoline. Deteriorating lead-based paint is now a more significant source of lead exposure for California's children than lead in the ambient air. However, lead emissions still occur from a number of industrial facilities in California. Children living close to these facilities may face an increased risk of lead-related health effects, especially if they are further exposed to lead from paint and other sources.

Polycyclic Organic Matter (POM) consists of a family of more than 100 chemicals, including benzo[a]pyrene and napthalene. They are produced by the combustion of fossil fuels, vegetable matter and other carbon-based materials. POM is present in exhaust from diesel- and gasoline-powered motor vehicles, fireplace smoke, tobacco smoke, and emissions from paper mills, industrial machinery manufacturing plants, and petroleum refineries. POM can be a significant indoor air pollutant due to smoking, wood burning, and infiltration of outdoor polluted air.

A number of POM substances have been identified as causing cancer in humans or animals. Early-in-life exposures to POM may increase the risk of cancer later in life. Transfer of POM from the mother to the fetus has been well documented, and several studies indicate POM exposure in the womb may result in low birth weight, birth defects or cancer.

ARB regulations have significantly reduced POM emissions from motor vehicles, and new ARB motor vehicle measures are expected to further reduce POM emissions. Industrial facilities with significant POM emissions are required by state law to submit health risk assessments for OEHHA's review and, if necessary, implement risk-reduction measures.

Particulate matter emissions from diesel-fueled engines are microscopic particles present in diesel exhaust. These particles can inflame the airways, enhance allergic responses and may make children more susceptible to allergies and asthma. They also contribute to overall levels of airborne particles, which have been associated with exacerbation of asthma, bronchitis, cough and wheeze in children. Diesel particles also contain a number of toxic substances, including POM.

ARB has previously approved various regulations to reduce diesel-exhaust emissions. In September 2000, ARB approved a risk reduction plan that is expected to reduce diesel particle emissions by 85% by 2020. ARB will determine whether any changes in its diesel regulatory program are needed as a result of OEHHA's identification of diesel exhaust particles.

Acrolein is present in motor vehicle exhaust, tobacco smoke, wood smoke and some industrial emissions, and is used as an herbicide in irrigation canals. It can also be formed in the atmosphere from chemical reactions involving 1,3-butadiene, another pollutant present in motor vehicle and industrial emissions. Acrolein is very difficult to measure in ambient air, but studies indicate it is routinely present in urban settings at concentrations that may affect the respiratory system.

Several studies in animals strongly suggest that acrolein may exacerbate asthma. OEHHA believes this is of special concern for children, because asthma is more prevalent among children than adults, and because asthma episodes can be more severe in children than adults due to their smaller airways.

Other toxic air contaminants that may make children and infants especially susceptible to illnesses and that will be given a high priority in future OEHHA reviews are arsenic, benzene, carbon disulfide, chlorine, formaldehyde, glycol ethers, manganese, mercury, methyl bromide, methylene chloride, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and vinyl chloride.

In other activities related to the Children's Environmental Health Protection Act, OEHHA and ARB are studying whether the state's ambient air quality standards for particulate matter and other pollutants adequately affect the health of children. For more information, please see the fact sheet, "Air Pollution and Children's Health" on OEHHA's Web site at www.oehha.ca.gov/public_info/facts/airkids.html. (updated 2/28/02)

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is one of six entities within the California Environmental Protection Agency. OEHHA's mission is to protect and enhance public health and the environment by objective scientific evaluation of risks posed by hazardous substances.

Technorati : toxic particle emissions

MIT model could improve some drugs' effectiveness

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24hoursnews-In this image, a fragment of the antibody Erbitux (cetuximab) binds to its target, a fragment of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The blue ribbon at the top is the backbone of the EGFR fragment, and the red and gray ribbons at the bottom are the backbone of the antibody fragment. The licorice sticks and the balls in the central portion represent protein side chains making close interactions between the antigen (EGFR) and the antibody, with the balls representing one of the mutations designed computationally.

MIT researchers have developed a computer modeling approach that could improve a class of drugs based on antibodies, molecules key to the immune system. The model can predict structural changes in an antibody that will improve its effectiveness.

The team has already used the model to create a new version of cetuximab, a drug commonly used to treat colorectal cancer, that binds to its target with 10 times greater affinity than the original molecule.

The work, which will appear Sept. 23 in an advance publication of Nature Biotechnology, results from a collaboration using both laboratory experiments and computer simulations, between MIT Professors Dane Wittrup and Bruce Tidor.

"New and better methods for improving antibody development represent critical technologies for medicine and biotechnology," says Wittrup, who holds appointments in MIT's Department of Biological Engineering and Department of Chemical Engineering. Tidor holds appointments in Biological Engineering and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Antibodies, which are part of nature's own defense system against pathogens, are often used for diagnostics and therapeutics. Starting with a specific antibody, the MIT model looks at many possible amino-acid substitutions that could occur in the antibody. It then calculates which substitutions would result in a structure that would form a stronger interaction with the target.

"Combining information about protein (antibody) structure with calculations that address the underlying atomic interactions allows us to make rational choices about which changes should be made to a protein to improve its function," said Shaun Lippow, lead author of the Nature Biotechnology paper.

"Protein modeling can reduce the cost of developing antibody-based drugs," Lippow added, "as well as enable the design of additional protein-based products such as enzymes for the conversion of biomass to fuel." Lippow conducted the research as part of his thesis work in chemical engineering at MIT, and is now a member of the protein engineering group at Codon Devices in Cambridge, Mass.

"Making drugs out of huge, complicated molecules like antibodies is incredibly hard," said Janna Wehrle, who oversees computational biology grants at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which partially supported the research. "Dr. Tidor's new computational method can predict which changes in an antibody will make it work better, allowing chemists to focus their efforts on the most promising candidates. This is a perfect example of how modern computing can be harnessed to speed up the development of new drugs."

Traditionally, researchers have developed antibody-based drugs using an evolutionary approach. They remove antibodies from mice and further evolve them in the laboratory, screening for improved efficacy. This can lead to improved binding affinities but the process is time-consuming, and it restricts the control that researchers have over the design of antibodies.

In contrast, the MIT computational approach can quickly calculate a huge number of possible antibody variants and conformations, and predict the molecules' binding affinity for their targets based on the interactions that occur between atoms.

Using the new approach, researchers can predict the effectiveness of mutations that might never arise by natural evolution.

"The work demonstrates that by building on the physics underlying biological molecules, you can engineer improvements in a very precise way," said Tidor.

The team also used the model with an anti-lysozyme antibody called D44.1, and they were able to achieve a 140-fold improvement in its binding affinity. The authors expect the model will be useful with other antibodies as well.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Wittrup and Tidor also co-teach a class focusing on connecting fundamental molecular and cellular events to biological function through the use of mathematical models and computer simulations

Technorati : drugs' effectiveness

Stars caught in bizarre death-dance

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24hoursnews

The low-mass companion in SWIFT J1756.9-2508 may have a mass just a few times greater than Jupiter, but up close, it would probably look nothing like a planet. The object is probably dominated by helium gas. Even though it is much larger than the pulsar, the pulsar is at least 100 times more massive. Image / Aurore Simonnet, Sonoma State University

In this artist depiction of the SWIFT J1756.9-2508 system, the foreground object is the planet-mass object. The pulsar, located at the upper right, is tidally distorting the companion into a teardrop-shaped object, and ripping gas from it. This material flows in a stream toward the pulsar and forms a disk around it. Eventually, enough gas builds up in the disk to produce an outburst bright enough to make the system visible from Earth. Image / Aurore Simonnet, Sonoma State University

NASA astronomers have found a bizarre Planet-Mass orbiting a neutron star.

The object's minimum mass is only about seven times that of Jupiter, but instead of orbiting a normal star, this low-mass body orbits a rapidly spinning pulsar.

It orbits the pulsar every 54.7 minutes at an average distance of only about 230,000 miles (slightly less than the Earth-Moon distance).

MIT astronomers played a key role in discovering what NASA calls one of the most bizarre objects in space: a star "skeleton" of very low mass that is orbiting and being slowly consumed by a pulsar, or remains of a second massive star, that is itself spinning faster than a kitchen blender.

A NASA team led by Hans Krimm and Craig Markwardt at Goddard Space Flight Center and an MIT team led by Deepto Chakrabarty, an associate professor of physics in MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, described the overall system (known by its abbreviation SWIFT J1756.9) in an article accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

"While we already know of several cases of pulsars that have consumed or vaporized most of the mass in their companion star, SWIFT J1756.9 is possibly the most extreme example," said Chakrabarty.

Systems like SWIFT J1756.9 provide a rare opportunity for astronomers to examine how millisecond pulsars are spun up to such incredibly rapid speeds, and to determine their eventual fate, he added.

SWIFT J1756.9 was discovered earlier this year using NASA's Swift and Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) satellites. The RXTE observations indicate that the pulsar, a type of neutron star, is spinning 182.07 times per second, even though it is believed to contain at least 1.4 times the mass of the sun but is only about 10 miles across. "This means that the surface of the star is moving at about 7000 miles per second, or roughly 4 percent the speed of light," Chakrabarty said.

The companion object was found to orbit the pulsar every 54.7 minutes at an average distance of only about 230,000 miles (slightly less than the Earth-Moon distance). It has what astronomers consider a very low mass: about seven times that of Jupiter. For comparison, the sun is over 1000 times more massive than Jupiter.

"This object is merely the skeleton of a star," says Markwardt. "The pulsar has eaten away the star's outer envelope, and all that remains is its helium-rich core."

The system is only the eighth millisecond pulsar observed to be pulling mass from a companion, and only one other such system has a companion with such a low mass. The companion in that system also has a minimum mass of about seven Jupiters.

The system probably formed several billion years ago, when it consisted of a very massive star and a smaller star. The more massive star evolved quickly and exploded as a supernova, leaving behind a pulsar. The smaller star eventually started to puff up as it aged, and the two objects became embedded in the extended stellar envelope. This drained orbital energy, causing the two stars to draw ever nearer.

Today, the two objects are so close to each other that the pulsar's powerful gravity produces a tidal bulge on its companion, siphoning off gas that flows into a disk that surrounds the pulsar. The flow eventually becomes unstable and dumps large quantities of gas onto the pulsar, causing an outburst like the one observed in June.

With an estimated distance of roughly 25,000 light-years, the system is normally too faint to be detected, and is only visible during an outburst. SWIFT J1756.9 has never been seen to erupt until this June, so as Markwardt points out, "We don't know how long it will slumber before it wakes up again."

In addition to Chakrabarty, the MIT team includes Jacob Hartman, a graduate student in physics who defended his Ph.D. thesis on August 2.

More

Bizarre planet-mass object orbiting neutron star detected

Technorati : bizarre death-dance, skeleton

Silicon Storage Technology’s gets a boost,

24hoursnewsThursday, September 13th, 2007 at 3:38 pm in Silicon Storage Technology.

You have to forgive Silicon Storage Technology (ticker:SSTI) if it's feeling a bit down in the dumps lately. The Sunnyvale maker of flash storage products for consumer devices could use a friend right about now. It's struggling to sort out its potential backdated options problems, it's fighting delisting by Nasdaq because it hasn't filed financial statements in about a year, and its stock price has been hovering around $3 per share for the past few months.

On Thursday, SST got a big hug, but not necessarily the kind it wanted.

Los Angeles-based Riley Investment Partners filed a schedule 13-D indicating it now held about 6.1 percent of the company's stock after going on a stock buying binge starting in late July. At the end, the fund attached a love letter of sorts explaining its interests:

"RIM believes the shares of the Issuer to be significantly undervalued…In fact, when one backs out cash and investments, the market is valuing SST's NOR flash business, product pipeline and licensing revenue stream at only $60 million-which RIM believes to be an extremely low valuation by any measure."

We all would like to hear we're worth more than everyone thinks, right? But this love is not unconditional:

"RIM has communicated this view to the Issuer's management… RIM's desire, at this point in time, is to work assiduously and aggressively with the current management team on behalf of all shareholders."

And here's the catch:

"RIM's sincere hope is that management and the Board of Directors share its sense of urgency…If they do not, it will force RIM to take a more proactive approach, one which will include, among other things, the nomination of new directors…communicating with other stockholders, making proposals to the Issuer concerning the capitalization and operations of the Issuer."

more from Silicon Storage Technology,>>

SST (Silicon Storage Technology, Inc., NASDAQ: SSTI), a leader in flash memory technology, today announced a new addition to the company's popular SuperFlash-based FlashFlex family of 8-bit, 8051-compatible microcontrollers, the SST89V54RD-33-C-QIF. Leveraging the company's innovative packaging technology, the new SST89V54RD is available in a 6mm x 6mm WQFN package, making it the smallest 8051-based microcontroller currently on the market. The device's miniature size and low power consumption are ideal for small form factor mobile applications, such as notebook PCs, MP3 players and GPS systems, as well as home entertainment devices including HDMI products. Additionally, the SST89V54RD supports in-system programming (ISP) and in-application programming (IAP), which provide a variety of benefits to device manufacturers and consumers alike.

"As the sophistication of mobile devices increases, size reduction and low power consumption become even larger issues for product design teams," said Paul Lui, senior vice president of the Standard and Special Product Group at SST and president of SST China. "The new thin and powerful SST89V54RD was designed to help our customers meet the size, power and performance requirements of next-generation portable consumer electronic devices."

In addition to a tiny 6mm x 6mm footprint, the WQFN package offers an extremely low-profile nominal package height of only 0.7mm (maximum total thickness of 0.8mm), making the new SST89V54RD well suited for height-constrained mobile applications.

In-Field Re-Programmability Through IAP and ISP
Like all of SST's FlashFlex microcontrollers, the SST89V54RD supports both IAP and ISP, enabling the user to update the flash device in the field or in an application. Both IAP and ISP lower cost and improve time-to-market for manufacturers, while bringing enhanced user experiences and convenience to consumers. These re-programming features also have a significant role in enabling increased functionality, such as remote diagnostics and product monitoring, in network- or Internet-enabled devices.

Pricing and Availability
Samples of the SST89V54RD-33-C-QIF FlashFlex microcontroller are available now. Pricing starts at $1.20 in 10K unit quantities. For more information about this or other SST products, please contact an SST sales representative, or visit the company's Web site at http://www.sst.com.

About Silicon Storage Technology, Inc.
Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, SST designs, manufactures and markets a diversified range of memory and non-memory products for high volume applications in the digital consumer, networking, wireless communications and Internet computing markets. Leveraging its proprietary, patented SuperFlash technology, SST is a leading provider of nonvolatile memory solutions with product families that include various densities of high functionality flash memory components and flash mass storage products. The Company also offers its SuperFlash technology for embedded applications through its broad network of world-class manufacturing partners and technology licensees, including TSMC, which offers it under its trademark Emb-FLASH. SST's non-memory products include NAND controller-based products, smart card ICs, flash microcontroller and radio frequency ICs and modules. Further information on SST can be found on the company's Web site at http://www.sst.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements regarding flash memory and non-memory market conditions, SST's future financial performance, the performance of new products and SST's ability to bring new products to market that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks may include timely development, acceptance and pricing of new products, the terms and conditions associated with licensees' royalty payments, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and general economic conditions as they affect SST's customers, as well as other risks detailed from time to time in the SST's SEC reports, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, June 30 and September 30, 2006.

For more information about SST and the company's comprehensive list of product offerings, please call 1-888/SST-CHIP. Information can also be requested via email to literature@sst.com or through SST's Web site at http://www.sst.com. SST's head office is located at 1171 Sonora Court, Sunnyvale, Calif.; telephone: 408/735-9110; fax: 408/735-9036.

Technorati : Silicon

Hazy Logic spinned off

PB : Md. Moshiur Rahman sponsored by www.careerbd.net and www.24hournews.blogspot.com

The Marlboro Man is surrendering his passport.

After spinning off Kraft Foods, tobacco giant Altria Group is set to hive off its international arm, Philip Morris International. It seems like an odd decision. The risk of crippling U.S. lawsuits -- a major rationale for separating the businesses in the first place -- has mostly subsided. And a spinoff might not unlock much shareholder value anyway.

Getting rid of Kraft was a no-brainer. Making Oreos and cigarettes under the same roof never made much sense. But PMI is a different story. Synergies with the domestic cigarette business would vanish by separating them. And strategically, PMI's growth balances the domestic arm's weaknesses.

Tobacco consumption in the U.S. is shrinking. Overseas, the tobacco trade is booming, particularly in emerging markets, and accounts for about two-thirds of Altria's overall profit. There's an argument for milking the mature cash flows of the domestic business to feed faster-growing markets.

That's especially true when it's not clear what financial engineering can accomplish. Assume that Altria's international business fetches an enterprise value comparable to British American Tobacco's, at 12 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. For Altria's U.S. arm, assign a multiple of six times -- a premium to Carolina Group, the tobacco unit of Loews Corp. The result is a blended multiple of about 10 times -- in line with Altria's $146 billion market value.

Sure, PMI now can offer its managers incentives with a currency all their own. And removing any lingering association with the U.S. might make it easier for PMI to woo potential acquisition targets overseas. Yet these are fuzzy benefits. Without a clear path for creating value, Altria's board may regret letting the Marlboro Man's more-worldly cousin ride off into the sunset.

Pox on Both Housing Markets

A year ago, Britain probably looked more vulnerable than the U.S. to problems in the housing economy. Confidence, the expectation that prices would only go up, was equally extravagant in both countries. Economic news also was equally supportive, with solid growth and low unemployment.

But house prices looked bubblier in Britain. In the decade up to 2006, the gap between growth in house prices and in nominal per-capita gross domestic product was 69 percentage points in the United Kingdom. In the U.S., it was 20 percentage points. Also, the recent increase in overnight interest rates should have been more painful in the U.K., since almost all British mortgages are variable-rate, in which the interest rate changes along with short-term rates, although sometimes after a delay. Most U.S. mortgages have fixed 30-year rates.

Yet it was the U.S. housing market that got into trouble -- the average home price is down 3% in a year, and unsold new houses are piling up. Repossessions are up in the U.K., but so is the average price -- 12% from a year ago, according to Halifax, a U.K. bank.

Two trans-Atlantic differences explain some of the U.K.'s resilience. Construction of new housing is a big and highly cyclical industry in America and a midsize and stable affair in the U.K. The U.K. doesn't have to deal with the price-depressing effect of homes dumped on the market by cash-strapped builders.

Second, lenders in the U.K. have to keep a higher proportion of their loans on their own balance sheets -- something like 80%, against 20% in the U.S. That has probably kept British lenders from going to extremes in subprime lending.

Still, investors in U.K real estate shouldn't assume the housing ladder will reach to the sky. Two million borrowers face higher interest payments in the next year, when their two-year teaser rates expire. If enough of them are forced to sell, or if unemployment picks up, the U.K. could start to look a bit more American.

From More source

(MSN)Altria to split up Philip Morris.

Altria Group on Wednesday said it would split the international and domestic operations of Philip Morris, the world's biggest cigarette maker, into separate public companies in a long-anticipated move.

The fast-growing international unit, Philip Morris International, will be spun off to shareholders, severing it from Philip Morris USA, which is suffering from falling US cigarette consumption. The spin-off is set for next year after a unanimous board vote. Timing will be given on January 30.

The tabular content relating to this article is not available to view. Apologies in advance for the inconvenience caused.

Louis Camilleri, Altria chief executive, will become chief executive of PMI, whose operations are based in Lausanne, Switzerland, but with a small headquarters office retained in New York. Altria will in effect become PMUSA, led by Michael Szymanczyk, and it will retain its 28.6 per cent stake in the brewer SABMiller.

The move will complete the break-up of the Altria conglomerate, highlighted by the closure of the New York headquarters, cutting about 400 parent company jobs with an estimated $250m in cost savings.

Altria has restructured, including a spin-off in March of Kraft, its US food unit, to boost value for shareholders as the US tobacco litigation threat receded.

The last step marking a milestone in the global tobacco industry was to restructure Philip Morris, which makes Marlboro, one of the world's most recognisable brands, and PMUSA's and PMI's increasingly different business agendas. Mr Camilleri said: "I am convinced that this transaction will enhance growth at both Altria and Philip Morris International."

A standalone PMI would be a fast-growing global contender. It has a 15.4 per cent share of the international cigarette market, but only 5 per cent of its profits come from emerging markets, which make up 60 per cent of international cigarette consumption. Its balance sheet would be strong and its stock would be robust currency to participate in rapid industry consolidation.

PMI, which accounts for almost three-quarters of the cigarette makers' total revenue, has made recent acquisitions in Indonesia and Pakistan and eyed fast-growing Asian and eastern European cigarette markets.

Bonnie Herzog, analyst at Citigroup, said: "It's at this point that we expect the beast to be unleashed...and shareholders will be rewarded."

Separating PMI and PMUSA is likely to cheer Wall Street as it will free both groups to become more efficient. Altria shares were up by just over 1 per cent at $69.80 at the close.

Technorati : Hazy Logic

Ist Look of Rocho---with dr Munni(Wednesday, August 02, 2006, 1:06:46 PM)

Baba and Rodo id waiting for The Rocho (Wednesday, August 02, 2006)

Wednesday, August 02, 2006, 1:12:16 PM( 1st Moment with Nanu)

Wednesday, August 02, 2006, 1:11:46 PM( Ist moment with Papa)

ROCHO 02-08-2006 1st moment with Mom (4.42.42)Day

News and Views: It is Rocho (Rocheli) 1st Birthday

News and Views: It is Rocho (Rocheli) 1st Birthday

02-08-2006

It is Rocho (Rocheli) 1st Birthday

Md Moshiur Rahman,

Hay This is a Happy Birth day........Yes Rocheli"s

ROCho @RODo

THIS is the First day of the blog

Happy 0 birth day