WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices fell unexpectedly in March and recorded their first annual drop since 1955, government data showed on Wednesday, as slumping demand pushed down energy and food costs. The Labor Department said its closely watched Consumer Price Index fell 0.1 percent, after increasing 0.4 percent in February. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast headline CPI rising 0.1 percent. Core prices, which exclude food and energy items, rose 0.2 percent after rising by the same margin in February. That compared to analysts’ prediction for a 0.1 percent increase. Core prices have risen by 0.2 percent for three months in a row. March core prices were lifted by increased costs for tobacco and vehicles. On a year-over-year basis, consumer prices fell 0.4 percent in March, the first 12-month decline since August 1955, following a 0.2 percent increase the previous month. Core prices rose 1.8 percent year over year. Energy prices dropped 3.0 percent after rising 3.3 percent the previous month. The food index eased 0.1 percent for a second straight month in March.
Experts on marine science, policy and law came together on Friday at the Stanford Law School for a symposium on managing ocean ecosystems in an uncertain future of climate change. The daylong panel discussion was hosted by the Stanford Journal of Law, Science and Policy. ‘The event was an amazing cross-section of state agencies, academic institutions, government and students,’ said Meg Caldwell, a senior lecturer at the Law School and at Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment. Caldwell moderated a panel on protecting marine species. ‘This was real-time education for policymakers,’ added Caldwell, who also serves as director of the Center for Ocean Solutions, a collaboration of Stanford University, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Several panelists described how global warming associated with climate change has already altered marine ecosystems. Rising sea temperatures have contributed to the die-off of 80 percent of corals in the Caribbean, said Brian Helmuth, associate professor of biological sciences at the University of South Carolina. ‘The rate of temperature change really matters,’ he said. ‘When we increase temperatures above a certain threshold, animals’ enzymes don’t work and they can’t survive.’ A number of speakers predicted that […]
The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement officials about a rise in ‘rightwing extremist activity,’ saying the economic recession, the election of America’s first black president and the return of a few disgruntled war veterans could swell the ranks of white-power militias. A footnote attached to the report by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines ‘rightwing extremism in the United States’ as including not just racist or hate groups, but also groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority. ‘It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration,’ the warning says. The White House has distanced itself from the analysis. When asked for comment on its contents, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said, ‘The President is focused not on politics but rather taking the steps necessary to protect all Americans from the threat of violence and terrorism regardless of its origins. He also believes those who serve represent the best of this country, and he will continue to ensure that our veterans receive the respect and benefits they have earned.’ The nine-page document was sent to police […]
Hospitals and pharmaceutical companies have been pushing through hefty price increases aimed at bolstering earnings, even as government and private insurers are struggling to rein in healthcare costs. Drug makers increased prices on drugs like Viagra and the leukemia pill Sprycel by more than 20% in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to data from Credit Suisse. Meanwhile, one of the largest hospital owners in the country, HCA Inc., said Tuesday it expects to report higher revenue for the first quarter even though it had fewer hospitals and its admissions declined. It also said its income before taxes had nearly doubled. [hospital drug costs] The prices of a dozen top-selling drugs increased by double digits in the first quarter from a year earlier. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s Sprycel was up 32.7%, and Pfizer Inc.’s Sutent rose 14.3%. Erectile-dysfunction medicines are also getting pricier, including Pfizer’s Viagra, up 20.7%, and Eli Lilly & Co.’s Cialis, up 14.2%. Another costlier class of medicines is used to treat attention-deficit disorder, such as Lilly’s Strattera, whose price has increased 15.6% over the past year. Express Scripts Inc., one of the country’s largest pharmacy-benefits managers, said it saw prices rise more […]
HONG KONG — Researchers in China say they have managed to generate new eggs using stem cells from the ovaries of young and adult female mice, taking a step towards addressing problems of female infertility. It is presently accepted in scientific circles that the production of eggs, known as oocytes, stops before birth for most species of mammals, including humans. In an article published in the journal Nature Cell Biology, scientists in China said they found a way to generate new eggs using stem cells harvested from the ovaries of juvenile and adult female mice. ‘The finding may have important implications in regenerative and reproductive medicine,’ they wrote. Two other scientists, unrelated to the study, said the results were interesting but needed independent confirmation. Led by Ji Wu from the School of Life Science and Biotechnology at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the researchers said they isolated female germline stem cells (FGSC) from the ovaries of five-day-old and adult mice. The cells were cultured for more than six months and then transplanted into the ovaries of infertile female mice, they said, adding that eighty percent of these mice went on to produce offspring after natural […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
