NEW YORK - Pfizer Inc. is in talks to acquire rival drug maker Wyeth in a deal that could be valued at more than $60 billion, said people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. A combination of these two U.S. pharmaceutical giants would redraw the boundaries of the global drug industry, which
SAN FRANCISCO - Salaries of tech professionals managed to spike up an average of 4.6 percent last year to $78,035, according to survey results released Thursday by tech career site Dice.com. The survey results, ironically, come at a time when companies across corporate America are announcing layoffs, freezing wages, and even going so far as
SEATTLE - Move over, Atlanta. Seattle, Microsoft and Amazon.com's home base, is now the country's most wired city. No cities in Michigan made the list, but two in Ohio cracked the top 30. While these marquee names have long lent the Emerald City tech-y cachet, it was Seattle's increased use of broadband that powered it
MIDLAND - The BlueWater Angels is sponsoring and hosting a half-day program in conjunction with the Angel Capital Association focused on learning about valuation and portfolio strategy Feb. 19 at Saginaw Valley State University. Tickets cost $75. �??By bringing together experienced and relatively new investors, along with entrepreneurs seeking private funding and professionals involved in
REDMOND, Wa. ? When's the last time you heard of a layoff at Microsoft? Well, you have now. The software maker said Thursday it will cut up to 5,000 jobs, or 5 percent of its workforce, over the next 18 months. About 1,400 jobs were eliminated immediately. Microsoft is also paring other expenses, such as
ANN ARBOR - Six Michigan technology companies split $12,500 in cash prizes awarded by the Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest in its fall 2008 business-plan writing contest. The grand prize of $5,000 went to Hygieia, a biotech start up in Ann Arbor. Hygieia was entered in the Emerging Company category; the other category is New Business
LANSING - While security advisers in Washington, D.C., grapple with the president's desire to use a Blackberry, in Michigan all four legislative caucuses are finding new ways to message by tapping into the power of technology. The explosion of technology, from Facebook and Twitter to podcasts and blogging, has made its own impression on the
LANSING - Crashing into statistical territory not seen in better than two decades, Michigan's unemployment rate hit 10.6 percent in December, statistics released by the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth showed Wednesday. The increase means that at the end of 2008 an estimated 519,000 workers were out of a job. And the news
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama was sworn in Tuesday as the 44th president under sunny skies and before an ocean of humanity, calling on the nation to put aside greed, irresponsibility and "our collective failure to make hard choices" - and turn back the "raging storms" of war and recession. In an ambitious, 20-minute address, Obama
DETROIT - Hallelujah, Chrysler has been saved - again! Fiat is going to take a 35 percent equity position in Chrysler, even though it will not fork over any cash. Instead, Fiat is going to immediately give Chrysler full access to its platforms, powertrains, components and distribution system, and that alone could be worth billions.