Page 25 - Aruba Today
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BUSINESS A25
Thursday 31 December 2015
KaloBios files for bankruptcy following Shkreli scandal
NEW YORK (AP) — KaloBios, related to his involvement ment for a rare parasitic for brand-name drugs for found that 576,000 Ameri-
the troubled drugmaker with them, though the infection that mainly strikes skin conditions, accord- cans spent at least $50,000
taken over by Martin Shkreli drugmakers are not lacking pregnant women and ing to research published on prescription drugs in
last month, is seeking bank- for problems of their own raised the price from $13.50 in JAMA Dermatology, a 2014,
ruptcy protection less than The other, to $750 per pill. That shoved medical journal. a sum roughly equivalent
two weeks after his arrest the New York company to the U.S. median house-
for securities fraud. Turing Pharmaceuticals right into the crosshairs of That compares with an hold income.
It is the second pharma- Inc., is cutting jobs and lawmakers under pressure overall inflation rate of just An investigation by the
ceutical with ties to the for- seeking a new CEO after to do something about 11 percent during the same Senate Special Committee
mer hedge fund manager Shkreli resigned the position soaring drug prices. period. on Aging is now focused on
now in turmoil following his because of his arrest. Retail prices have surged A report published in May Turing and three other phar-
indictment on charges un- Turing, under Shkreli, ac- 401 percent since 2009 by the pharmacy-benefits maceutical companies.q
quired the rights to a treat- company Express Scripts
Apple agrees to pay $350 million in Italian tax case
FRANCES D’EMILIO A publicity billboard is seen in downtown Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015. Italian authori- program 60 Minutes aired
Associated Press ties say Apple Italia has agreed to pay 318 million euros (about $350 million) in taxes for several Dec. 20, he said: “Apple
ROME (AP) — Apple has past years and is working out a deal to cover its future tax liabilities for its business in Italy. pays every tax dollar we
agreed to pay Italy 318 owe.” Independent tax
million euros (about $350 (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) expert Bob Willens said
million) in taxes for several the fact that Apple settled
past years, prosecutors Wednesday confirmed a They also declined to dis- Apple offices in Milan, with Italian tax authorities
said Wednesday, part of report in daily La Repub- cuss how payment of back London and Ireland were means they’re conceding
a broader European ef- blica that Apple agreed to taxes might affect a crimi- closed on Wednesday. there was something a bit
fort to make multination- pay the sum for the years nal probe, conducted by Messages seeking com- off in the company’s Euro-
als pay what they owe in spanning 2008-2013. The the prosecutors, into sus- ment weren’t immediately pean tax arrangements.
each country where they prosecutors said Apple’s pected tax evasion by answered. “I don’t think Apple would
do business. tax liabilities for the five suc- three Apple employees. La Apple CEO Tim Cook has have agreed to this sanc-
Italy has already brought cessive years will hinge on Repubblica said two of the repeatedly rejected the tion if they didn’t feel there
several cases against glob- an international ruling on employees are executives notion that his company was something at least
al technology companies such cases. They declined based in Italy while the is trying to dodge taxes. In questionable in what they
that have headquarters in to give details. third is based in Ireland. an interview with CBS TV were doing,” Willens said.
low-tax nations like Ireland He said that while the sum
to avoid paying higher tax- was just a “nuisance” for
es in other countries, like Apple, the case did cre-
Italy. The practice, called ate a reputational prob-
profit-shifting, has come lem: “It’s not a very posi-
under attack from the Eu- tive public relations thing
ropean Union, which wants to be branded a serial tax
multinationals to pay tax avoider.”
where they earn their rev- Italian state television
enue, and not where they said the 318 million euros
have their regional base. worked out in the agree-
The EU’s 28 states agreed ment is far less than what
in October to share details Italian tax authorities con-
of tax deals they reach tend should have been
with big companies to paid over those years.
make sure they are fair to Italian tax authorities have
other countries. The EU has also examined Facebook’s
already ordered Starbucks Milan offices’ books. In
and Fiat to pay millions in yet another investigation,
back taxes to Luxembourg Google has said it has
and the Netherlands, re- been working with Italian
spectively. tax authorities to deter-
Milan prosecutors on mine what it might owe. q
Weight Watchers stock soars as Oprah ad begins to air
NEW YORK (AP) — Weight mer talk show. The ad ends New York company. Be- Wednesday. appearance on “The El-
Watchers is getting another with Winfrey asking viewers sides the new ads, Weight Weight Watchers brought len DeGeneres Show” that
boost from Oprah Winfrey. if they’re ready to join her. Watchers has also made in Winfrey at a precarious she lost 15 pounds in a few
The weight loss company’s “Let’s do this together,” she changes to its plans to bet- time for the company. It months.
shares are soaring as a TV says. ter fit in with Winfrey’s mes- has been hurt by the popu- While she slims down, her
commercial starring Win- She tweeted the ad to her sage of living a healthy and larity of fitness trackers and wallet is getting fatter. Back
frey begins to air. more than 30 million follow- happier life and not just fo- free food-tracking apps. in October, Winfrey paid
The commercial shows past ers on Tuesday. cusing on weight loss. Despite recent gains in the about $43.2 million for her
videos of Winfrey working Weight Watchers stock has Shares of Weight Watchers stock, it is still down about 10 percent stake in Weight
out and referencing her more than tripled since Oc- International Inc. jumped 7 percent from a year ago. Watchers. That stake is
struggle with weight, a fre- tober when Winfrey bought $3.96, or 20 percent, to Winfrey is on the new plan now worth more than $148
quent topic of Winfrey’s for- a 10 percent stake in the $23.33 in afternoon trading and she said in an October million.q
