MICHAEL WACHS CEOCAST

Elsewhere, there were plenty of corporate headlines outside the financial sector to digest. Dow Chemical announced its intent to acquire Rohm & Haas for $78 per share in cash. Meanwhile, the latest turn in the InBev-Anheuser Busch battle had the two sides reportedly close to striking a friendly deal at $70 per share for BUD shareholders. Wal-Mart led a batch of retailers in reporting better-than-expected same-store sales results for June that were boosted by the spending of fiscal stimulus checks. Fellow Dow components Alcoa and General Electric officially kicked off the second quarter earnings reporting season with in-line profit reports. Neither company moved the market much, though, since it was pre-occupied with the Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac saga. Over the weekend, the Yahoo/Microsoft continued to play out, with Yahoo spurning Microsoft's latest proposal as the bad blood between the parties escalated.

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The name of Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ: RGEN), a biopharmaceutical company committed to being the leader in the development of novel therapeutics for profound neuropsychiatric disorders and autoimmune disease, popped up several times last week in the media following the July 31 ruling by a federal judge that its lawsuit seeking royalties from ImClone Systems for its cancer drug Erbitux could proceed. With legendary investor George Soros holding an equity stake in the company, shares could continue to rally as legal maneuvers continue. Overall, the stock gained 26 cents, or 8.7%, last week and closed at $3.26.

CEOCAST MICHAEL WACHS PROFILE - Adeona Pharmaceuticals (AMEX: AEN), a specialty pharmaceutical company developing innovative late-stage drug candidates for the treatment of autoimmune and central nervous system diseases, announced results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2009. Among the highlights was a significant reduction in net loss from $3.1 million, or $0.15 per share during the first quarter in 2008, to $1.1 million, or $0.05 per share in the comparable period this year. The reduction in net loss was most readily attributed to downsizing and cost saving measures initiated at the end of the first quarter of 2008 which have significantly reduced Adeona's burn rate. The company has received encouraging clinical results recently and expects to use the $5.3 million cash on hand at the end of the period to continue to push its portfolio of treatments designed to slow debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer's through the FDA approval process. Shares lost seven cents on the week to close at $0.43.

MICHAEL WACHS CEOCAST - Shares of VeriChip Corporation (NASDAQ: CHIP), a leading provider of identification and security technology, could benefit significantly in the future as usage of radio frequency identification tags (RFIDs) continue to be more widely adopted. Last week it was reported that the American Medical Association (AMA) has adopted a policy stating that RFIDs can improve the "safety and efficiency of patient care" by helping to identify patients and enabling secure access to clinical information. Devices the size of a grain of rice that are implanted with a needle could give emergency room doctors quick access to the records of chronically ill patients, the nation's largest doctors group. RFIDs are removable and designed to stay in place. Although there may be concerns about protecting the privacy of information that is stored on the devices as well as the possibility that such small devices could be allowed to move to other parts of a person's body, the AMA concluded in its report that it is "likely that utilization of RFID devices for medical purposes will expand." Additionally, the company reported that Xmark Corporation, its wholly-owned subsidiary, launched the By Your Side program for its Halo or Hugs infant protection products at the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) Convention in Orlando, FL. The program is designed to provide customers with close and continuing support throughout the product life cycle, from initial purchase to implementation to ongoing use. The AWHONN Convention is the nation's largest gathering of nurses, nurse practitioners and nurse executives in the field of maternal/child care, hosting over 2000 decision-makers. Approximately one out of every three infant protection systems in the United States is an Xmark product. Shares ended the week at $8.59, up 61 cents.

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