The recession has undermined the pilings supporting many once-stable organizations, ranging from financial institutions to restaurants to newspaper publishers. Now the economy may claim another victim: The Philadelphia Orchestra. The 110-year old cultural mainstay may declare bankruptcy after ticket sales dwindled this season and its endowment failed to meet its goal, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer . Continue reading Sad Violins: Philadelphia Orchestra May File for Bankruptcy Sad Violins: Philadelphia Orchestra May File for Bankruptcy originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:30:00. Filed Under: Economy , People , Media Permalink | Tweet this! | Comments

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Filed under: Company News , Technology , Economy It won’t be such a happy holiday season for employees of InkStop. The printer ink and electronics retailer, which abruptly shut its doors Oct. 1, had said it would reopen after restructuring. On Friday, however, parties in charge of liquidating the company’s assets announced that they had begun a sale of InkStop’s inventory to raise money to pay off the retailer’s debts. Not all of the retailers 152 stores will reopen for the sale, said the liquidation partners in a written statement. Just 25 to 35 InkStop locations will reopen at selected sites in and around the Philadelphia, Washington, Cleveland, Detroit, Atlanta, St. Louis, Dallas and Denver metropolitan areas. Among the products to be sold are digital cameras, GPS units, MP3 players and computer gadgets. The sale will continue until all merchandise is sold, the liquidation partners said. Continue reading InkStop locked employees out in the cold, then reopens to liquidate InkStop locked employees out in the cold, then reopens to liquidate originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Company News , Healthcare , Pfizer , Merck It seems that for Pfizer ( PFE ), the saga of Prempro is just beginning. Barely a month after the world’s largest pharmaceutical company lost a case related to Wyeth’s Prempro hormone replacement therapy drug and was ordered to pay punitive damages on top of earlier compensatory damages, it lost the second pending case in the matter in Philadelphia on Monday. Initially, Pfizer was ordered in September to pay $3.75 million in compensatory damages. The punitive damages amount awarded a month later was sealed pending another verdict in a second similar case in the same courthouse. On Monday, the court revealed that Pfizer has been ordered to pay a total of $103 million in punitive damages in the two cases. The jury found the hormone drugs the two plaintiffs used for years contributed to their breast cancer. Including three other cases, so far Pfizer has been ordered to pay $165 million in punitive damages. Continue reading Prempro lawsuits: Pfizer hit with $103 million more in punitive damages Prempro lawsuits: Pfizer hit with $103 million more in punitive damages originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Healthcare , Media , Pfizer The striking union of transit workers in Philadelphia are angry that they’re not getting daily doses of Viagra . And amazingly, their bosses apparently caved on their demands after the union turned down a generous offer — and threatened to embarrass the city during the World Series. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has agreed to cover almost all of its rising health-care costs, and to increase coverage for Pfizer’s ( PFE ) Viagra and other erectile dysfunction treatments, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. Workers are unhappy that their health insurance plan only covers about 10 pills a month. Continue reading No daily Viagra dose, no peace! Philly transit workers rise up in protest No daily Viagra dose, no peace! Philly transit workers rise up in protest originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Media , News Corp. Yesterday’s spectacular (for Phillies fans) Game 1 of the World Series posted stunning ratings, underscoring the bonanza News Corp.’s ( NWS ) Fox television network is reaping. Shares of the parent company of The Wall Street Journal and the Fox Business Channel rose 60 cents on Thursday, or 4.43 percent, to $14.14. They’ve gained 48 percent this year. According to Nielsen data supplied by Fox Sports, Game 1 between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies averaged a rating of 11 (19.5 million viewers), or about a 29 percent gain from last year’s Game 1 between the Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays. It’s also the second-highest Game 1 of the decade and is Fox’s best rating for a nondecisive World Series game since 2004. They were a “bit better” than Fox expected, Lou D’Ermilio, a spokesman for Fox Sports, told DailyFinance . Continue reading World Series TV ratings: Fox knocks it out of the park World Series TV ratings: Fox knocks it out of the park originally appeared on DailyFinance on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Earnings Visa Inc. on Tuesday posted a profit for its fiscal fourth quarter, reversing a year-ago loss, as cost reductions and growing debit card use made up for a decline in payment volume reflecting consumer spending cutbacks. The payments processor posted profit of $514 million, or 69 cents per share, on revenue of $1.87 billion. Adjusted for restructuring charges and other items, the company said it earned 74 cents per share. That compares with a year-ago loss of $356 million, or 45 cents per share, on revenue of $1.71 billion. Continue reading Visa posts 4Q profits on debit card use and cost cuts Visa posts 4Q profits on debit card use and cost cuts originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Company News , Healthcare , Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( PFE ) sure is no stranger to finding itself in court. The pharmaceutical giant is constantly defending its practices and drugs, often ending up paying millions if not billions in damages — even admitting to felony criminal charges . Pfizer has also inherited lawsuits with some of the companies it has purchased. It’s recent $68 billion mega acquisition of Wyeth is no different. On Monday, a Philadelphia jury, which had earlier found a link between a woman’s breast cancer and the hormone-replacement drug she was taking, also found that Wyeth hid and ignored evidence of the drug’s potential cancer risk. The jury awarded Connie Barton an undisclosed amount of punitive-damages . Continue reading Pfizer in court again, this time for Wyeth’s menopause treatment Prempro Pfizer in court again, this time for Wyeth’s menopause treatment Prempro originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Company News , People , Media In 2006, the Wine School of Philadelphia began hosting the Sommelier Smackdown, a live competition in the spirit of Iron Chef pitting two wine stewards in a duel to determine who had the superior olfactory senses and taste buds. WSP founder Keith Wallace sold tickets for $62, and Zagat’s took notice, calling the Sommelier Smackdown “the latest hot culinary competition.” But when Wallace tried to trademark Sommelier Smackdown a year ago, he attracted the unwanted attention of Vince McMahon, chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ). McMahon (pictured, aloft) wasn’t amused by Wallace’s use of “smackdown”; on September 29, the WWE filed an objection with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Continue reading WWE puts a wine school in a legal sleeper hold over use of ’smackdown’ WWE puts a wine school in a legal sleeper hold over use of ’smackdown’ originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: General Electric , Verizon , Comcast In early 2004, Comcast Corp. ( CMCSA ) stunned Wall Street and Hollywood by launching an unsolicited bid for one of the titans of American entertainment — the Walt Disney Co. ( DIS ). Though that effort failed, the Philadelphia-based company’s thirst for content has not been quenched, which is why reports indicating that it wants a piece of General Electric Co.’s ( GE ) NBC Universal makes perfect sense . Comcast, the No.1 cable company, is in a much stronger position today than it was five years ago. Despite predictions that satellite and telecom companies would eat its lunch, Comcast has held its ground. During the second quarter, revenue rose 4.5 percent to $8.55 billion while operating cash flow gained 5.5 percent to $3.35 billion. Comcast had $3.98 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period even as it fought customer defections to rival services such as Verizon’s ( VZ ) FioS. The company’s shares fell $1.17, or 6.93 percent, to $15.71 in midmorning trading. GE, which has resisted calls by investors to dump the entertainment business for years, traded down 31 cents, or 1.89 percent, to $16.20. Continue reading Media World: Comcast’s quest for NBC Universal makes perfect sense Media World: Comcast’s quest for NBC Universal makes perfect sense originally appeared on DailyFinance on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: People , Investing In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt decided to move the United States away from the gold standard, and issued Executive Order 6102 , which limited the amounts of gold bullion and coins that private citizens could own. He also determined that the country would no longer issue gold coins. Before the executive order could take effect, the mint produced almost a half million gold $20 coins. After giving two to the Smithsonian institution, officials sent the rest off to be destroyed. However, a few of the 1933 Saint Gaudens double eagles (as the coins later came to be known) survived, largely through the efforts of Israel Switt, a Philadelphia jewelry dealer. The best-known of these began a long odyssey which took it into the collection of Saudia Arabia’s King Farouk and, ultimately, into the hands of Stephen Fenton, a British coin dealer. When Fenton attempted to sell the coin in 2002, he was arrested; later, he struck a deal whereby he was able to sell the coin in return for sharing the proceeds with the government. When it fetched $7.6 million at auction in 2002, it became one of the most valuable coins in the world. Continue reading The rare double eagle gold coins: Was grandpa a thief, or a great collector? The rare double eagle gold coins: Was grandpa a thief, or a great collector? originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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