Financial news on July 17, 2008

Business and Financial news
Advocating a Treatment, but Denied Access to It

It is a case that pits a mother desperately seeking a medical treatment for her son against a biotechnology company for whom she claims to have worked tirelessly as an advocate. Read more..

By REED ABELSON - The New York Times

Bloomberg Expected to Buy Merrill’s Stake in His Firm

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and one of his earliest business partners are parting company in a deal that places a public value of the mayor’s private company. That figure: At least $22.5 billion. Read more..

By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED and LOUISE STORY - The New York Times

Check Your Bag, Before the Airline Does

Weighing in at less than a pound itself, Balanzza’s compact digital luggage scale is small enough to bring along and strong enough to weigh up to 100 pounds of suitcase. Read more..

By J. D. BIERSDORFER - The New York Times

Economic Fears Slice Oil Prices for Second Day

Concerns about an economic slowdown pushed oil down yet again, prompting a 2.5 percent jump in the Dow, amid new evidence of rising prices. Read more..

By JAD MOUAWAD and MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM - The New York Times

Nintendo and Sony Unveil Games

The Japanese video game titans announced wide-ranging new games and services at the E3 convention on Tuesday but did not alter their overall strategies in the fast-growing game market. Read more..

By SETH SCHIESEL - The New York Times

Roy M. Huffington, Independent Oilman, Is Dead at 90

Mr. Huffington was an independent oilman who defied industry precedent by signing an unusually generous deal with Indonesia and made a fortune on natural gas there. Read more..

By DOUGLAS MARTIN - The New York Times

Seeing Images Once Blocked

When I click on a new e-mail message, it says, “external images are not displayed.” Is there a way to change my system so that the images automatically appear? Read more..

By J. D. BIERSDORFER - The New York Times

Senate Report Examines Role of Banks in Tax Evasion

The secrecy surrounding offshore bank accounts was pierced Wednesday by a Senate report that examined how UBS helped wealthy individuals evade American taxes. Read more..

By LYNNLEY BROWNING - The New York Times

The Wild Green Yonder

Airplane manufacturers are trying to bolster their green credentials by lauding initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of flying, as well as the cost. Read more..

By MICHELINE MAYNARD - The New York Times

While the U.S. Spends Heavily on Health Care, a Study Faults the Quality

A new study highlights the stark contrast between what the United States spends on its health system and the quality of care it delivers. Read more..

By REED ABELSON - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

Stock Ticker symbol Open High Low Close Volume
JPMorgan Chase JPM 38.05 40.99 37.80 40.80 132M
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC 26.97 28.73 25.54 27.83 115M
Microsoft MSFT 27.58 27.91 27.11 27.52 96.5M
Intel INTC 21.22 22.40 21.04 21.99 94M
General Electric GE 28.10 28.42 27.69 28.00 73.5M
Cisco Systems CSCO 21.33 21.88 20.93 21.52 65.1M
Pfizer PFE 18.26 18.49 18.00 18.39 49.1M
Coca-Cola KO 51.20 51.36 49.70 50.34 39.6M
ExxonMobil XOM 81.30 81.79 79.10 80.33 39.2M
Oracle Corp. ORCL 20.48 21.04 20.37 20.86 37.4M
AT&T Inc. T 32.09 32.14 31.34 31.75 32.5M
ConocoPhillips COP 83.45 83.87 81.60 82.89 29.3M
Apple AAPL 174.09 174.98 171.39 171.81 27.1M
Comcast CMCSA 19.55 19.93 19.37 19.71 26.4M
Wal-Mart Stores WMT 56.98 57.91 55.42 57.68 24.8M
Home Depot HD 22.79 23.71 22.05 23.38 22.3M
Chevron CVX 86.14 86.75 83.97 85.67 20.5M
Abbott Laboratories ABT 57.10 57.98 55.08 57.50 20.4M
Schlumberger SLB 97.77 99.89 94.56 96.78 19.3M
HP Inc. HPQ 43.00 43.65 42.30 43.23 19M
Walt Disney & Co. DIS 30.50 31.23 30.12 31.20 18M
Alphabet GOOGL 535.35 537.05 524.50 533.44 17.6M
Merck MRK 36.54 36.96 36.04 36.96 17.2M
Visa V 73.70 75.06 71.35 75.06 16.8M
Verizon Communications VZ 35.50 35.60 34.98 35.43 16.2M
Altria MO 21.03 21.08 20.50 20.65 16.2M
UnitedHealth Group UNH 22.60 23.67 22.49 23.58 16M
Procter & Gamble PG 63.97 64.08 63.20 63.89 15.9M
Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY 22.45 22.93 22.00 22.54 15.6M
United Technologies UTX 64.50 65.31 62.58 64.70 14.4M
Johnson & Johnson JNJ 68.44 68.45 67.00 67.83 14.2M
International Business Machines IBM 126.39 126.96 124.00 126.52 12.3M
Gilead Sciences GILD 55.74 55.92 54.52 55.40 11.1M
Pepsico PEP 66.49 66.49 64.35 65.53 10.3M
Amgen AMGN 52.75 53.39 52.49 53.19 10.2M
Amazon AMZN 71.20 72.38 67.74 72.11 9.6M
McDonald's MCD 59.80 60.98 59.01 60.37 9.48M
Boeing BA 66.05 67.22 65.05 66.92 7.11M
3M MMM 69.22 69.58 67.54 69.45 5.86M
Union Pacific UNP 73.69 74.43 71.93 73.20 4.27M
Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 3890.00 3900.00 3779.00 3865.00 27.9K
Exchange Rates of July 17, 2008
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US Dollar Japanese Yen 1 USD = 106.160 JPY 1 JPY = 0.009 USD
US Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 USD = 1.005 CAD 1 CAD = 0.995 USD
US Dollar Swiss Franc 1 USD = 1.019 CHF 1 CHF = 0.981 USD
US Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 USD = 6.829 CNY 1 CNY = 0.146 USD
Euro Japanese Yen 1 EUR = 168.380 JPY 1 JPY = 0.006 EUR
Euro Pound Sterling 1 EUR = 0.793 GBP 1 GBP = 1.261 EUR
Euro Australian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.629 AUD 1 AUD = 0.614 EUR
Euro Canadian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.594 CAD 1 CAD = 0.628 EUR
Euro Swiss Franc 1 EUR = 1.617 CHF 1 CHF = 0.619 EUR
Japanese Yen Pound Sterling 1 JPY = 0.471 GBP 1 GBP = 2.124 JPY
Japanese Yen Australian Dollar 1 JPY = 0.967 AUD 1 AUD = 1.034 JPY
Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar 1 JPY = 0.946 CAD 1 CAD = 1.057 JPY
Japanese Yen Swiss Franc 1 JPY = 0.960 CHF 1 CHF = 1.042 JPY
Pound Sterling Australian Dollar 1 GBP = 2.055 AUD 1 AUD = 0.487 GBP
Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar 1 GBP = 2.009 CAD 1 CAD = 0.498 GBP
Pound Sterling Swiss Franc 1 GBP = 2.038 CHF 1 CHF = 0.491 GBP
Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 AUD = 0.977 CAD 1 CAD = 1.023 AUD
Australian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 AUD = 0.991 CHF 1 CHF = 1.009 AUD
Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 CAD = 1.014 CHF 1 CHF = 0.986 CAD

See what else happened on July 17, 2008