CTI BioPharma lays off half of workforce to save cash for lead drug trial

CTI BioPharma Corp. has laid off about half of its workforce as part of a restructuring plan to save cash as it finishes off its lead drug trial, the company said in a news release Thursday morning.   CTI expects “savings of approximately $20 million primarily associated with reduced employee costs over the next three years,” according to the statement, which added that the company plans to provide a financial update in the first half of 2019 when details of its Phase 3 myelofibrosis drug trial are finalized. CTI has not responded to a request for an interview Thursday morning by the Puget Sound Business Journal. The job cuts are CTI's latest attempt to salvage its pipeline of cancer drug candidates and reinvent the Seattle-based biotech after its co-founder and longtime CEO Dr. James Bianco stepped down in late 2016 amid multiple class action lawsuits and a Food and Drug Administration investigation into patient deaths from its lead drug candidate.

The Stock Market Is Having Its Worst Year in a Decade. Here's What to Do Now, Depending on Your Age

For instance, an investor with 90% in stocks and 10% in bonds at the start of the financial crisis in 2008 would have been down more than 40% in March 2009, when the market bottomed out. But, assuming they avoided cashing out, they’d have broken even by mid-2011, just over three years later, according to data from Morningstar. By the start of this year, they’d have more than doubled their money.

Technical Overview of Important JPY Pairs: 12.12.2018

USD/JPY Although USDJPY’s U-turn from 100-day SMA & support-line of short-term symmetrical triangle helped it cross 50-day SMA, the triangle-resistance, at 114.00, could challenge the pair’s strength. Given the buyers’ ability to surpass 114.00 barrier on a daily closing basis, the 114.55 and the 115.00 might entertain them before pleasing with 61.8% FE level of 115.30. On the contrary, 50-day SMA level of 113.00 and the 112.55 can offer immediate supports to the pair ahead of highlighting 112.35-30 support-confluence for one more time.

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Jim Cramer highlights the stocks he thinks will rally if U.S.-China trade talks prove successful.

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1,800 companies left California in a year — with most bound for Texas

A record number of companies are leaving California for states with a better business climate, and a new report shows that Texas remains their No. 1 destination. What’s more, the study’s author – for the first time in his career – is openly urging California businesses to relocate out of state. Texas’ rank as the top destination for California companies is especially significant considering that the large majority of corporate relocations cross only one state line, said Joseph Vranich, president of Pennsylvania-based Spectrum Location Solutions LLC. “A lot of people don’t want to be more than one hour from other members of their family they might be leaving behind, or their good friends or their favorite country club — whatever it is,” Vranich said in an interview with the Dallas Business Journal.

Qualcomm wants China to ban the iPhone XS and XR

As part of an ongoing patent dispute, chipmaker Qualcomm is asking Chinese courts to ban sales of Apple's iPhone XS, XS Max and XR within the country, according to the Financial Times. The request comes just days after the company won an injunction temporarily preventing Apple from selling older models of iPhones in China. Earlier this week, the Intermediate People's Court in Fuzhou determined it was likely Apple infringed on two Qualcomm patents related to resizing photos and managing apps.

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  U.S. tribunal to review ruling on Qualcomm request for iPhone ban

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  Little-Known Chinese IP Firm Secures China iPhone Injunctions for Qualcomm

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SAIC appoints new board chair

Longtime government contracting executive Donna Morea will become the new board chair at Science Applications International Corp. after its $2.5 billion all-stock deal to buy Engility Holdings Inc. closes next month.

Ex-Porsche CEO Aims to Save Combustion Engine From Scrapheap

Using pulsed microwaves to ignite fuel rather than spark plugs or glow plugs, the engineers behind MWI Micro Wave Ignition AG say they can cut consumption of gasoline and diesel by as much as 30 percent, and emissions by as much as 80 percent, because the fuel burns at a lower temperature. Among its shareholders is Wendelin Wiedeking, the former chief executive officer of Porsche AG credited with reviving the iconic German sports-car maker. MWI has mandated Macquarie Capital to look for a buyer and international partner that can help to promote the new system and increase MWI’s financial firepower, according to people familiar with the matter.

40-year veteran of Wall Street with an knack for market timing calls a bottom in stocks

The stock market has reached a bottom following a tumultuous 10 weeks that's seen the S&P 500 in and out of correction territory, Raymond James' Jeff Saut says. The U.S. economy is not going to slow as much as expected and earnings will be strong next quarter, he adds. The stock market has reached a bottom following a tumultuous 10 weeks that's seen the S&P 500 in and out of correction territory, longtime strategist Jeff Saut told CNBC on Thursday.

Robinhood, the start-up upending stock trading, goes after banks with 3% savings accounts

Popular online stock-trading platform Robinhood is offering checkings and savings accounts with an interest rate that’s roughly thirty times higher than the national average. “Robinhood Checking & Savings” accounts have no fees or account minimums, building off of the company’s free stock-trading model that ushered in 6 million users and a $5.6 billion valuation in its five-year existence. The company is launching a new app on Thursday that will house its stock trading alongside the checking accounts.

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  Pro-Crypto Trading App Robinhood Launches Checkings & Savings Accounts

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Here's how much you need to earn to live in the Bay Area's most expensive neighborhoods

While realtors and economists are seeing some signs that the Bay Area's housing market is starting to cool, median home prices in the region are up year over year. In the Bay Area's ritziest neighborhoods, rising home prices means the income needed to afford those jumbo mortgages are sky-high these days. Business Times' research crunched the numbers on Bay Area ZIP codes to find which ones require the highest salaries to afford a median priced home.

Toyota recalls 70,000 vehicles to replace air bag inflators

Toyota is recalling about 70,000 Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles in North America to replace air bag inflators that could explode and hurl shrapnel at drivers and passengers. Takata uses the chemical ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion and inflate the bags. The Toyota and Lexus vehicles were recalled previously and the inflators replaced with new ones that still used ammonium nitrate.

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  Toyota advances plans to replace Takata airbags in 65,000 vehicles

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• Toyota (TM) Set to Recall 70,000 Vehicles in North America

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Wells Fargo says to invest in 'bond-like stocks'

Kirk Hartman of Wells Fargo Asset Management says there are "a lot of" opportunities, but he would invest in bonds and bond-like stocks in the current environment.

A Billionaire Vanished for 400 Days and His Empire Boomed

Before long, rumors swirled: Was the billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi even alive? Al Amoudi, is "still alive" and will stand trial at some point for corruption and bribery, according to a Saudi official, who asked not to be identified. What’s remarkable about his situation is that despite his prolonged detainment, a result of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s crackdown on graft in the Kingdom, the bulk of Al Amoudi’s global business empire has boomed.

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  Exclusive: Trump says standing by Saudi crown prince despite pleas from Senate

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After losing half its value, Nvidia faces reckoning

Nvidia is a company that has reached the highest highs and the lowest lows, all in the span of a couple of weeks. Over the past two months, Nvidia’s stock has dropped from a closing price of $289.36 on Oct. 1 to today’s opening of $148.42, a decline of 48.8%. It takes a lot for a company to lose nearly half its value in such a short period of time, but Nvidia is proving that an otherwise strong technology business can disappear in a blink of an eye.

• NVIDIA (NVDA) Shares Slip as SoftBank Aims to Sell Stake

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  Nvidia's 50% Plunge From Its Peak May Be Causing a Headache for Softbank's Vision Fund

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Saudi Arabia Is Shipping 6,000 Tons of Shrimp a Week to China

The world’s largest oil exporter has shipped 6,000 tons of the crustaceans to China since last week, Ahmed Al-Bala’a, chief executive officer of the National Aquaculture Group, said in a statement. Saudi Arabia is testing the waters in China for shrimp as it seeks to reduce its reliance on oil and develop new industries and lines of business. Saudi shrimp exports to China should exceed 30,000 tons by the end of the year, said Al-Bala’a, whose closely held company operates a sprawling network of shrimp farms on the Red Sea coast.

Chicago snubbed again: First by Amazon and now by Apple

What do America's big tech companies have against Chicago? First, Amazon.com Inc. snubbed the city when it announced last month that Long Island City in Queens and Crystal City in Virginia will each ultimately get more than 25,000 Amazon employees as part of company's announcement that it was splitting its HQ2 choice between the New York area and the Washington, D.C. area. The Cupertino, California-based tech company (Nasdaq: AAPL) announced aggressive national expansion plans, adding thousands of workers in several cities and hundreds of new workers in other cities.

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  New York Amazon warehouse employees push to unionize

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  Only 700 Amazon Workers are Coming to Long Island City in 2019

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Unabashed Bitcoin Bull Thomas Lee Says the Market Is Wrong

Back in May, Thomas Lee, head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors was predicting a rally to $25,000 by the end of the year. Bitcoin’s fair value, given the number of active wallet addresses, usage per account and factors influencing supply, is between $13,800 and $14,800, he said in a note Thursday. “Fair value is significantly higher than the current price of Bitcoin,” he wrote.