Apple sells 3 million iPads over first weekend

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Apple Inc sold 3 million of its new iPads in the first three days the tablet computers were available, driving optimism for a strong holiday quarter despite intensifying competition.

Sales of the 7.9-inch iPad mini and fourth-generation 9.7-inch version, both Wi-Fi only models, were double the first-weekend sales of the Wi-Fi iPad sold in March, Apple said on Monday.

Apple did not break out numbers for the crucial iPad mini, a smaller version of the original tablet designed to spearhead its foray into a segment now dominated by Amazon.com Inc and Google Inc.

Analysts estimate that about 2.3 million of the new iPads sold over the weekend were the mini-tablets, surpassing expectations of 1 million to 1.5 million.

Wall Street, which was disappointed with Apple’s latest quarterly earnings, had been looking to the iPad mini to boost demand during the crucial year-end holiday shopping season as competition reaches a fever pitch. Microsoft Corp became the latest major entrant to the market last month with the Windows-driven Surface.

While lines for the new iPads appeared lighter than usual when they began selling at stores on Friday, the company said demand was so strong that it “practically sold out of iPad minis.”

Apple had never before introduced two different iPad models in one quarter. Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt said that while the sales number looked good, the company would need to sell another 20 million iPads this quarter to meet his estimate.

“There’s still a lot of wood to chop in the quarter,” McCourt said.

The company said it had shipped many of the new iPads ordered before the release date, but would not send some out until later this month.

Apple had sold 3 million iPads in March, including those with cellular connections as well as Wi-Fi only models.

“We set a new launch weekend record and practically sold out of iPad minis,” Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in a statement. “We’re working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand.”

HOLIDAY SALES CRUCIAL

Apple shares were up 1.7 percent at $ 586.50 in morning trading on Nasdaq, still down more than 16 percent from a record high set in September.

The 7.9-inch iPad mini marks Apple’s first foray into the smaller-tablet segment and is the company’s first major new device since the death of co-founder Steve Jobs last year.

Versions of iPads with both Wi-Fi and cellular connections will not ship in the United States for another few weeks. And both will hit more countries later this year.

The iPad mini takes aim at Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire. At stores around the world, the product’s debut drew sparser crowds than previous launches did, dampening initial optimism for sales. Still, the mini attracted hundreds of people in many locations.

Apple heads into the current quarter after refreshing almost all of its product lines, from Macintosh computers to tablets.

“We believe the iPad mini has the opportunity to surpass the sales of the regular-sized iPads over the next several years,” said Topeka Capital analyst Brian White.

(Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh in Bangalore and Sinead Carew in New York; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Lisa Von Ahn)

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Amgen experimental drug lowers cholesterol in mid-stage trial

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Amgen Inc‘s experimental drug AMG145 reduced levels of bad cholesterol by as much as 55 percent in combination with statin drugs in patients genetically predisposed to high cholesterol, according to data from a midstage trial presented on Monday.

The new drug, given by injection every four weeks, is part of a promising new class of biotech medicines known as PCSK9 inhibitors designed to target a protein that prevents the body from removing artery blocking LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream.

Statins, such as Pfizer Inc‘s Lipitor and AstraZeneca’s Crestor, work by preventing the liver from making cholesterol.

The Phase II trial found that after 12 weeks, patients treated with a low dose of AMG145 had a 43 percent reduction in LDL, while those given a higher dose had a drop of 55 percent. Patients treated with a placebo saw a 1 percent increase in LDL cholesterol.

The trial, presented here at the annual scientific meeting of the American Heart Association, included 168 patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, in which a defective gene inherited from one parent impairs the ability to properly metabolize LDL. The disorder is estimated to affect about one in 500 people and causes extremely high cholesterol.

The most common side effects seen in the trial were injection-site reactions, cold-like symptoms and headache.

AMG145, along with other PCSK9 inhibitors being developed by companies like Pfizer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc in partnership with Sanofi and Roche, is a man-made antibody.

(Reporting By Deena Beasley; Editing by Bernard Orr)

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France urged to cut labour costs

5 November 2012 Last updated at 11:39 ET

France’s President Francois Hollande is under pressure to reform its flagging economy after both the IMF and a separate government-commissioned report urged him to slash employment costs.

The International Monetary Fund said France must act or risk falling further behind its European peers.

The former boss of aerospace group EADS, Louis Gallois, urged the government to improve competitiveness.

Mr Gallois wants French payroll taxes cut by 30bn euros (£24bn) in two years.

Mr Gallois was asked by President Francois Hollande to investigate what was holding France back, as part of a “competitiveness pact”, looking at why the French economy has fallen behind rivals such as Germany and suggesting reforms that could help address the gap.

France accounts for just 13% of eurozone exports, compared with 17% a year ago, and its unemployment rate stands at 10.2%, as against Germany’s 6.9%.

The report’s 22 proposals include slashing the social contributions paid by employers by 20bn euros (£16bn), as well as those paid by employees by 10bn euros.

To recoup some of these lost funds, the report suggests increasing VAT and making cuts to public spending.

Mr Gallois also suggests the creation of a set of laws to make the creation of start-up businesses easier.

Growth ‘overshadowed’

Similarly, the IMF, in its annual review of the French economy, said France should ease employment laws to make it easier to both hire and fire workers, as well as cut payroll taxes to encourage employers to hire more staff.

The IMF also suggested the government should make working hours more flexible, limit future rises in the minimum wage and reduce unemployment benefits during economic upturns to provide a greater incentive to look for work.

“[France's] growth outlook is being overshadowed by a significant loss of competitiveness,” the IMF said.

Last month, the IMF cut its growth forecasts for Europe’s second-largest economy to 0.1% this year and 0.4% in 2013, from 0.3% and 0.8% respectively.

President Hollande, whose official response to the Gallois report is due on Tuesday, insisted he would take “tough decisions”, but said his policy needed to be “holistic”.

The government has already made clear that it will not contemplate shifting more of the tax burden on to households when it has already drastically cut spending, in a bid to reduce its 2013 deficit to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) from 4.5%.

An indication of the report’s likely reception came from Social Economy Minister Benoit Hamon.

“This report is a contribution. It’s the government that governs,” he said.

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Will Ferrell Will Do Anything to Get You to Vote in Comedic PSA [VIDEO]

GIve you a tattoo, eat underpants and human toenails, punch himself in the face … These are just a few of the things that Will Ferrell will do to get you to vote in Tuesday’s U.S. election.

[More from Mashable: Chris Rock Is Voting for the Whitest Candidate [VIDEO]]

In a roughly minute-long YouTube video, the comedian shares a laundry list of tasks he will perform, ranging from the mundane to the bizarre.

Viewers can apparently hold Ferrell to his promise, as he proclaims, “I’m not kidding.”

[More from Mashable: John F. Kennedy Calls on Public to Vote [VIDEO]]

He concludes the video, posted to Barack Obama’s official YouTube page, by endorsing the president.

Will you heed Ferrell’s call to action? Tell us in the comments below.

Thumbnail image courtesy of Eva Rinaldi Photography

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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What election? Sandy’s the big story on ‘SNL’

NEW YORK (AP) — You wouldn’t have known it was the Saturday before the election on “Saturday Night Live.”

Sure, Mitt Romney, played by Jason Sudeikis, made a quick appearance on “Weekend Update,” but otherwise much of the focus was on Superstorm Sandy — and Mayor Michael Bloomberg‘s sign-language interpreter, Lydia Callis.

The real Callis has gained some pop-culture popularity with her enthusiastic interpreting of Bloomberg’s words. She was back at the mayor’s side at Saturday’s briefing in New York and was played on “SNL” by Cecily Strong. The mayor — played by Fred Armisen — thanked Callis for bringing “pizazz” to her job.

Hosting Saturday’s show was comedian and TV star Louis C.K. He said in the monologue of New York City: “We’re still standing.”

President Barack Obama didn’t appear on the show.

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Sanofi considered moving headquarters abroad: report

PARIS (Reuters) – Sanofi‘s management considered moving its headquarters abroad in the last few months but the plan was nixed by the drugmaker’s chairman, French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche reported on Sunday, citing sources close to the board.

First mooted in July, when the Socialist government was preparing to introduce a 75 percent tax on top earnings, the plan envisaged moving the headquarters to London or the United States, or at least relocating Chief Executive Chris Viehbacher and his closest associates abroad.

However, Chairman Serge Weinberg vetoed the project, the newspaper said, saying that Viehbacher had not raised the issue with him.

A Sanofi spokesman denied such plans were discussed and said the company’s recent move to new corporate headquarters in Paris showed its commitment to its base in the city.

Several of the company’s top executives are foreign and spend most of their time travelling abroad.

In addition to German-Canadian Viehbacher, they include Elias Zerhouni, an Algerian-born American in charge of research and development, and Hanspeter Spek, the German-born president of global operations.

Italian Roberto Pucci, senior vice president of human resources, and Karen Linehan, Sanofi’s American-born general counsel, are also part of the executive committee.

Sanofi, which is reshuffling its French research operations at a cost of around 900 jobs, would not be the first French firm to consider moving top executives overseas.

French industrial conglomerate Schneider Electric has kept its headquarters near Paris, but its top managers, including Chief Executive Jean-Pascal Tricoire, relocated to Hong Kong last year in a move to be closer to fast-growing markets in Asia.

Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg, who has opposed the reorganization of Sanofi’s research activities in France, was cited by the newspaper as saying he hoped the plan was just a rumor.

(Reporting by Elena Berton; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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Apple paid only 2% tax outside US

4 November 2012 Last updated at 09:08 ET

Apple paid less that 2% corporation tax on its profits outside the US, its filing with US regulators has shown.

Apple paid $ 713m (£445m) in the year to 29 September on foreign pre-tax profits of $ 36.8bn (£23.0bn), a rate of 1.9%.

It is the latest company to be identified as paying low rates of overseas tax, following Starbucks, Facebook and Google in recent weeks.

It has not been suggested that any of their tax avoidance schemes are illegal.

All of the companies do pay considerable amounts of other taxes in the UK such as National Insurance and raise large sums of VAT.

Apple’s figures for foreign tax appear on page 61 of its form 10k filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

It had paid a rate of 2.5% the previous year.

Apple channels much of its business in Europe through a subsidiary in the Republic of Ireland, which has lower corporation tax than Britain.

But even Ireland charges 12.5%, compared with Britain’s 24%.

Many multinational companies manage to pay substantially below the official corporation tax rates by using tax havens such as Caribbean islands.

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Anna Breslaw’s 600-Word Sprint: On New York, Facebook and the Superstorm

TakePart is happier than ever to present “Anna Breslaw’s 600-Word Sprint,” a weekly column of social justice insight, provocation and solution. Look for Anna’s Sprint every week on the homepage of TakePart.

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By the time the number of years you’ve lived in New York could make up (or surpass) the age of a toddler, you’re well acquainted with the fizzy aperitif of panic and preparation before a projected natural disaster. Having seen multiple false alarms, you’re also duly skeptical that anything is actually going to happen just because some weatherman Tweeted about it.

Nevertheless, you make it to the store at the last minute and buy some water and crackers and a flashlight and cat food. Or—as I spent last year’s overhyped Hurricane Irene—you go to a friend’s house in Chelsea and watch all of Twin Peaks and sleep far away from the windows.

Obviously, in the case of Monday night, the event was actually of severe magnitude—85 dead and rising, millions still without power, possibly $ 50 billion in financial losses (figure is still in estimates)—and the Tri-State Area will undoubtedly be dealing with the consequences for months. In short, I thought it was going to be like this, but it was like this.

MORE: Hurricane Sandy Recovery: How to Help

However, along with the damage incurred by the storm comes a camaraderie you don’t usually see around these parts. And, because we live in the future, it’s primarily communicated via social media.

Photos of good Samaritans placing power strips outside their houses for strangers to charge their phones are making the rounds, and people with power are inviting their Facebook friends over for food and Wi-Fi.

“We are ok” was the most-shared term on Facebook as of 10 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday morning. Others in the Top 10 included “power” (lost power, have power), “made it” and “safe.”

Photos of good Samaritans placing power strips outside their houses for strangers to charge their phones are making the rounds, and people with power are inviting their Facebook friends over for food and Wi-Fi.

At the grocery store Monday afternoon, a woman and I nervously chatted in the endless checkout line about unperishable almond milk for her baby—just in case. I held her place in line as she went to grab it and asked if she could get me two Greek yogurts. This may not seem terribly significant anywhere but New York, where talking to strangers sans inebriation is tantamount to immediate exile from the borough.

(Of course, one can’t help but wonder what the sociological response would have been if—God forbid—it had been even worse. Just think of every major disaster anecdote or film you know: There’s the looting scene, someone smashing a TV set into the window of a store, and people being trampled to death in a rush, which has happened in far less dire conditions than these. Fortunately, there’s no need to think too hard about it this time.)

As for those in Sandy’s path fortunate enough not to incur any major individual loss, we’re basically just left with a whole lot of rebuilding and an abiding sense of plain weirdness: The rumors of alligators swimming in the streets of a decimated Atlantic City, for one thing. This shirtless dude jogging through the storm with a horse mask on. This new temporary subway map, reminding us that even the steadfast MTA system is mortal. And so on.

Nevertheless, we persevere; at least, as much as we can without leaving our borough.

And if anyone wants to come over, I have power and crackers.

Do you have power and crackers, or anything comparable, to share? Leave it in COMMENTS.

Related Stories on TakePart:

• Anna Breslaw’s 600-Word Sprint: Is Wonder Woman Necessary?

• (VIDEO) Strength in Disaster: Courageous Young Vets Rebuild Alabama Town Devastated by the Storms

• Anna Breslaw’s 600-Word Sprint: The Oxymoronic Rise of Anti-Rape Zealotry

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Anna Breslaw is a regular contributor to Jezebel, New York magazine’s Vulture and Glamour, and her writing has been featured elsewhere. She lives in Brooklyn. Email Anna | Anna’s Tumblr

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AP PHOTOS: Stars come out for Sandy victims’ show

NEW YORK (AP) — For the victims of Superstorm Sandy, it was a sorely needed message delivered.

From “Livin’ on a Prayer” to “The Living Proof,” every song Friday at NBC’s benefit concert became a message song.

New Jersey‘s Jon Bon Jovi gave extra meaning to “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.” Billy Joel worked in a reference to Staten Island, the decimated New York City borough.

The hourlong event, hosted by Matt Lauer, was heavy on stars and lyrics identified with New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area, which took the brunt of this week’s deadly storm. The telethon was a mix of music, storm footage and calls for donations from Jon Stewart, Tina Fey, Whoopi Goldberg and others.

The show ended, as it only could, with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, tearing into “Land Of Hope and Dreams.”

“God bless New York,” Springsteen, New Jersey‘s ageless native son, said in conclusion. “God bless the Jersey shore.”

Here, in pictures, are some of the performers on this somber but hopeful night:

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How Computational Models Are Improving Medicine [Video]

Click here to view the video

High-resolution electromechanical model of a heart; courtesy of N. Trayanova

The more we learn about cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s, the more vexingly complex they seem–and the more elusive their cures. Even with cutting-edge imaging technology, biomarker tests and genetic data, we are still far from understanding the multifaceted causes and varied developmental stages of these illnesses. With the advent of powerful computing, better modeling programs and a flood of raw biomedical data, researchers have been anticipating a leap forward in their abilities to decipher the intricate dynamics involved human disease. Now, these computational capabilities are starting to arrive, according to a new analysis published online this week in Science Translational Medicine. In fact, “the field has exploded,” Raymond Winslow, director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Computational Medicine, and co-author of the review, said in a prepared statement. Medicine and medical research largely have been focused on small specialties and narrow studies. But the body is a whole system–not isolated organ groups–and it is in constant interaction with the wider environment, including pollutants, toxins and other stressors. The resulting interactions do not only work in a single direction; instead, we have learned that there are feed-forward and feedback loops and crosstalk on cellular, molecular and genetic levels. This nexus is where advances in computational medicine are poised to make a large contribution. “Computational medicine can help you see how the pieces of the puzzle fit together to give a more holistic picture,” Winslow said. “We may never have all of the missing pieces, but will wind up with a much clearer view of what causes disease and how to treat it.” Models comparing gene expression in different patients have already successfully helped to determine different grades of prostate cancer, predict how different patients will respond to breast cancer treatment and find different types of stomach cancer. Scientists are also taking advantage of more advanced anatomical data to model whole organs and their function–and dysfunction. Using, for example, diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging, researchers can collect detailed information about heart anatomy, fiber and structure. This macro structure can be combined with more cellular-based models for “unprecedented structural and biophysical detail, including cardiac electromechanics,” the researchers noted in their paper. With this information, scientists are learning more about blood-flow dynamics, arrhythmia and heart attacks. These new models are now starting to be translated back to individual patients, to help find better treatments. Computational-medicine algorithms from detailed brain maps have already been used to develop an iPad app that is being used clinically to help doctors decide on deep brain stimulation locations and strengths. These models, however, also need to be checked frequently against real-world data and adjusted accordingly. But researchers who are armed to deal with this once unusual cross-discipline endeavor are growing more common. “There is a whole new community of people being trained in mathematics, computer science and engineering, and they are being cross-trained in biology,” Winslow said. “This allows them to bring a whole new perspective to medical diagnosis and treatment.” The myriad applications for computational medicine approaches are only beginning to be explored, the researchers noted. “As we gain confidence in the ability of computational models to predict human biological processes, they will help guide us through the complex landscape of disease, ultimately leading to more effective and reliable methods for disease diagnosis, risk stratification and therapy,” the researchers wrote. “We are poised at an exciting moment in medicine.”

Video of electromechanical heart model courtesy of N. Trayanova

Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
© 2012 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.

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