A daily miasma of frivolity by two wanna-be cultural critics. Or: just, like, some good links, dude.

Tag Archives: business

Dec 23 2012
Mark Twain, probably

New York Stock Exchange sold to a rival exchange

New York Stock Exchange sold to a rival exchange

Steve Rothwell for the Associated Press:

In a deal that highlights the dwindling stature of what was once a centerpiece of capitalism, the New York Stock Exchange is being sold to a little-known rival for $8 billion — $3 billion less than it would have fetched in a proposed takeover just last year.

The buyer is IntercontinentalExchange, a 12-year-old exchange headquartered in Atlanta that deals in investing contracts known as futures.

It honestly never occurred to me until reading this story that one could buy or sell a stock exchange. But then, it’s got to be operated by someone, right? In this case, the parent company is NYSE Euronext, which IntercontinentalExchange has acquired in this deal.

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Dec 06 2011
Mark Twain, probably

Pfizer tries to protect Lipitor from generics

Pfizer tries to protect Lipitor from generics

AP report:

Pfizer has devised discounts and incentives for patients, insurers and companies that process prescriptions that will, at least for the next six months, make the brand name drug about as cheap as or cheaper than the generics. Pfizer also has spent tens of millions of dollars this year on marketing to keep patients on Lipitor, which loses patent protection Wednesday.

…

Typically, brand-name drugs get one or two generic competitors initially, priced about 25 percent lower. Six months later, other generic companies are allowed to jump in and the price drops up to 80 percent.

About 90 percent of the branded drug’s sales ultimately vanish, as insured patients seeking a lower copayment switch over and most pharmacies automatically substitute a generic for a brand name.

I’m not really sure how I feel about this. Potentially an anti-competitive move, but either way ends up for lower prices (Merck did a similar thing with Zocor in 2006). Merrill Goozner wrote a piece for The Fiscal Times about this move from a financial perspective.

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