U.S. stocks down, bonds up
NEW YORK, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. stocks headed down Wednesday in late-morning trading, but bonds gained value.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 6.32 or 0.05 percent to 11,491.77. The Nasdaq composite eased 1.49 or 0.07 percent to 2,214.33, and the Standard & Poor's 500 was down 1.18 or 0.09 percent to 1,311.93.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained 4/32, cutting its yield to 4.76 percent.
The dollar fell to 117.66 yen from 117.95, and the euro was off at $1.2673 from $1.2691.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed at 15,750.05 on a gain of 30.71 or 0.20 percent.
London erects wall against Sarbanes-Oxley
LONDON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- British authorities are moving to ensure that Washington's Sarbanes-Oxley rules never apply to the London Stock Exchange.
LSE leaders want to make sure than if any foreign buyers take control of their exchange it will not be subject Sarbanes-Oxley rules, which they view as draconian, the Telegraph reported Wednesday.
Those concerns have risen as New York's Nasdaq Stock Exchange Inc. has gained a nearly 30-percent stake in the LSE.
In response, Britain's government is introducing legislation to protect its "light touch" approach to the regulation of stock exchanges.
Proposed legislation would give the Financial Services Authority final say in any bid for the London Stock Exchange by giving it control of the key matter of regulation.
"This legislation will confer a new and specific power on the FSA to veto rule changes proposed by the exchanges that would be disproportionate in their impact," said Treasury Minister Ed Balls. "It will outlaw the imposition of any rules that might endanger the light touch, risk-based regulatory regime that underpins London's success."
London's action comes as U.S. business and financial leaders seek ways to ameliorate the most extreme aspects of Sarbanes-Oxley.
Pfizer wins a round against Ranbaxy
THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- A Dutch court has ruled that Pfizer Inc.'s main patent on the active ingredient in Lipitor stops an Indian generic drug maker from making the chemical.
The District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands decided that Ranbaxy's generic version of atorvastatin -- the active ingredient in Lipitor -- would infringe Pfizer's patent, which expires in about five years, Pfizer said Wednesday in a news release.
"Today's decision is another affirmation of the strength of the intellectual property behind Lipitor, one of the most important medical breakthroughs of our era," said Pfizer General Counsel Allen Waxman. "The court's ruling reinforces the fundamental principle that patent laws exist to support and encourage medical innovators, not undermine them."
MAN prepares bid for Swedish rival
FRANKFURT, Germany, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- German truck maker MAN reportedly will offer to buy Swedish rival Scania, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
Scania said Tuesday in a statement that it had "reasonable grounds to assume" that MAN would bid.
The German company has approached Volkswagen, Scania's biggest shareholder, about plans to buy the Swedish company, which is expected to fetch something more than $10 billion.
