The value of the voting right: a study of the Milan Stock Exchange experience

The value of the voting right: a study of the Milan StockExchange experience

L Zingales
Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, 1101 E 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA

Abstract

I study the large premium (82 percent) attributed to voting shares on the Milan Stock Exchange. The premium varies according to the ownership structure and the concentration of the voting rights, and it can be rationalized in the presence of enormous private benefit of control A case study seems to indicate that in Italy private benefits of control can easily be worth more than 60 percent of the value of nonvoting equity. A tentative explanation for these findings is provided.

Bankex, real estate drag Sensex below 15k level

Bankex, real estate drag Sensex below 15k level

Press Trust Of India / Mumbai August 15, 2008, 3:56 IST

The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex on Thursday shed 369 points, the biggest fall in nearly three weeks, to close below the psychological 15,000-point level on sustained selling pressure, particularly in realty, bank and consumer goods counters.

The 30-share barometer, which fell 119 points in the previous day’s trading, lost 368.94 points to 14,724.18 on Thursday. It dipped to the day’s low of 14,686.66 and saw a high of 15,033.28 points.

The National Stock Exchange index Nifty also fell by 90.35 points to 4,430.70.

Realty stocks bore the maximum brunt, with the BSE Realty Index plunging 7.97 per cent, or 447.30 points, to 5,163.53. Real estate major DLF, which crashed by 8.66 per cent, was the worst performing stock among the Sensex club.

Banking stocks tumbled, with sectoral majors State Bank of India and ICICI Bank taking a major hit of 6.24 per cent and 5.25 per cent respectively.

Most actively traded companies on Canadian stock markets

1 day ago

TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange:

Toronto Stock Exchange (down 18.31 points at 13,358.91):

Blue Note Mining Inc. (TSX:BN). Mining. Down 3.5 cents, or 46.67 per cent, at four cents on extremely high shares at 47,039,596. Lower metal prices resulted in a revenue increase of only 24 per cent at the Montreal-based company. Net loss in the quarter widened at $12.7 million or $0.035 per share compared to $2.5 million or $0.01 per share from a year ago.

Allon Therapeutics Inc. (TSX:NPC). Drug maker. Unchanged at $1.07 on active trading at 6,378,400 shares. The Vancouver-based company boasted earlier in the week that it achieved all its clinical and financial objectives during the quarter and is on track to achieve all its 2008 milestones, including a partnership with a large pharmaceutical company.

Groupe Aeroplan Inc. (TSX:AER). Loyalty card program operator. Up 10 cents, or 0.76 per cent, at $13.30 on 6,371,994 shares after the firm saw lower profits in the second quarter, but a 52 per cent rise in revenues. Aeroplan also announced a multi-year deal with supermarket giant Sobeys for customers to earn Aeroplan miles on their grocery purchases in some provinces, and a separate deal with travel company Expedia in the United Kingdom.

Sleep Country Canada (TSX:Z.UN). Mattress retailer. Up $5.83, or 36.32 per cent, at $21.88 on 5,996,130 shares. Two Canadian investment firms have offered to buy the national mattress retailer in a friendly deal valued at $356 million.

Eastern Platinum Ltd. (TSX:ELR). Mining. Down five cents, or 3.18 per cent, at $1.52 on 5,342,817 shares.

Yamana Gold Inc. (TSX:YRI). Mining. Down 83 cents, or 7.10 per cent, at $10.86 on 5,089,216 shares. The gold sector led all the decliners on the TSX, plunging 5.32 per cent.

TSX Venture Exchange (down 5.71 points at 1,991.18):

Phoscan Chemical Corp. (TSXV:FOS). Mining. Down 10 cents, or 9.62 per cent, at 94 cents on 5,385,172 shares.

Bridge Resource Corp. (TSXV:BUK). Down 17 cents, or 16.83 per cent, at 84 cents on 5,241,390 shares.

Companies reporting major news:

Cameco Corp. (TSX:CCO). Miner. Up 43 cents, or 1.31 per cent, at $33.32 on 1,160,770 shares. Delays in expanding some of its mines caused Cameco to lower its 2008 uranium production by one million pounds. It also reported a big drop in second-quarter income at $150 million or 44 cents a share, compared to $205 million or 58 cents per share.

Clearwater Seafoods (TSX:CLR.UN). Food processor. Up 65 cents, or 17.33 per cent, at $4.40 on 1,705,884 shares after announcing a plan for the publicly traded income fund to go private. Clearwater also announced a slight dip on its second quarter profit at $11.5 million, compared to $12.1 million from a year ago.

Mega Brands (TSX:MB). Toymaker. Down nine cents, or 3.02 per cent, at $2.89 on 10,661 shares as it said timing, not a fear of investor backlash, was behind the troubled toymaker's efforts to bypass a shareholder vote on a $75 million liquidity infusion.

	Stock Exchange moves to historic Wellington waterfront building 14.01.04
	Mayor Kerry Prendergast is delighted the New Zealand Stock Exchange has not only decided to keep its head office in Wellington, but to relocate to a heritage building in a fantastic waterfront location close to Te Papa and Civic Square. "NZX's new headquarters will be a great addition to the waterfront," she says. "It will be an ongoing reminder of what a great place Wellington is to do business and reinforces the city's reputation as an ideal location for innovative people and their families." The Council see the Stock Exchange as a vital part of the city and business sector has been working with NZX to help ensure it retains its headquarters in the capital. "We want to celebrate Wellington's historic role as the financial centre of this country and Council will be discussing the installation of the electronic signs for the outside of the building that will bring a touch of Times Square to the Taranaki Street Wharf," Mayor Prendergast says. It is envisaged the horizontal ticker signs - visible from the waterfront and Jervois Quay - will wrap around part of the building at two levels providing scrolling, up-to-the-minute share prices, foreign exchange prices and daily highs and lows. A high quality outdoor video screen with stereo sound will give live market announcements and business news near the building's main waterfront entrance. "This is an exciting, vibrant use for an old waterfront warehouse. It will be a great home for the NZX and will help bring life and drama to a building that has been empty and derelict for years," Mayor Prendergast says.

Guillaume Desnoës

Guillaume Desnoës

News Stock Exchange

Are you interested in news? How very old school since now you can predict the future! This is possible thanks to websites like Newsfutures or Trendio that enable you to buy and sell options on events to come.

These are information or prediction markets.

They make the bet that we can predict the future rather well by encouraging a community to negotiate options linked to the realization of future events, which seems to work well according to James Surowiecki, the author of the bestseller The Wisdom of Crowds. No need for a representative sample when a diversified and decentralized group in which individuals act in complete independence generally is enough to obtain the best results. Statistically, when installing “collective thinking”, they are better then the experts.

Not convinced?

In your opinion what is the most reliable way for Hollywood majors to anticipate the success of their films?

Well, by looking at the film exchange on the Hollywood Stock Exchange, where a community sells and buys “futures”, which are negotiable options that are in the end exchanged for an underlying value (Box Office results after a few weeks for example).

To predict the election results? Take a look at the Iowa Electronic Market. During the last US Presidential Elections, it was revealed to be more reliable than other popularity polls.

It isn’t just a coincidence if Google, Yahoo or even HP have already used this sort of tool corporately to predict upcoming events such as product launches…

France 24 has reached 1.2M unique visitors in France according to a panel conducted by Nielsen in December 2006. Place your bets for January 07!

Upstarts Are Taking Aim
At the London Exchange

Chi-X, Turquoise Leading the Charge;
'A Cauldron of Competition' in Trading

By NEIL SHAH
August 14, 2008; Page C1

In a brick building with darkened windows outside the heart of London's financial district, a fledgling firm called Chi-X Europe Ltd. is leading a foray into the territory of London Stock Exchange Group PLC.

Chi-X's chief executive, 53-year-old Peter Randall, hopes to challenge the 300-year-old exchange by winning over clients such as banks and hedge funds, whose rapid-fire automated trades make up a growing share of the market.

The firm's efforts are just the beginning of what could be a major change in a business long dominated by established players such as the LSE, Germany's Deutsche Börse AG and New York Stock Exchange parent NYSE Euronext. Encouraged by new European rules aimed at increasing competition, some of the world's biggest investment banks are putting their weight behind upstart trading platforms such as Chi-X and Turquoise, a venture led by former Morgan Stanley electronic-trading chief Eli Lederman.

Their aim: gain more influence over a business that generates more than $9 billion in annual revenue, and cut the daunting expense and hassle of trading in Europe, where the process of buying, transferring and paying for a stock can cost about six times as much as in the U.S.

"You can expect a cauldron of competition," says John Lowrey, who runs electronic trading for Lehman Brothers in Europe, which holds a small stake in Chi-X. Mr. Lowrey expects the price of trading to fall by 50% in Europe over the next few years.

The newcomers can offer lower prices because they operate with a fraction of the costs of their older peers and eschew traditional functions like listing stocks.

The battle is likely to heat up this fall as a flock of new platforms joins the year-and-a-half old Chi-X. Mr. Lederman's Turquoise starts limited trading Friday and launches in September after more than a year of delays. Nasdaq Stock Market operator Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. is set to unveil a platform next month that will compete for some of the same clients as its OMX Nordic exchange. Kansas City, Mo.-based BATS Trading Inc. is considering November for the debut of its own European service.

A native of Manchester, England, Chi-X's Mr. Randall says he got into electronic trading to "challenge the status quo." He received degrees in management and law from Oxford University and the London School of Economics, respectively, and spent his early career analyzing stocks.

For several years in the 1990s, he served as chief of the Asian operations of Instinet LLC, now a brokerage unit of Japanese bank Nomura Holdings Inc. that performs electronic trades for big investors. Instinet launched Chi-X in November 2006, giving stakes to major banks the following January but remaining the venture's majority owner. The name refers to the Greek letter for "X" and suggests a "crossing" or exchange.

Mr. Randall has gotten Chi-X off to a good start, largely by catering to the needs of traders at banks and hedge funds that specialize in so-called algorithmic trades, which now account for roughly 20% to 40% of all European trading. Algorithmic traders use computers to identify market discrepancies and make often millions of fast transactions.

To attract the business, Chi-X charges 0.0005 percentage point on such trades, roughly one-seventh the price charged by the LSE, Mr. Randall says, though he warns the two pricing systems are hard to compare. As a result, Chi-X garnered 17.5% of trading in shares listed on the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index at the end of July. The LSE says its fees depend on the volume of a client's business.

Chi-X has "helped us reduce costs for clients," says Chris Jackson, a Merrill Lynch director who uses Chi-X to perform trades for U.K. clients. "We do expect incumbent exchanges to lose additional market share as the new platforms come on-line." Merrill has stakes in Chi-X and Turquoise.

Turquoise, meanwhile, has its work cut out for it. The firm, backed by many of the same banks that support Chi-X, stumbled early on because of a lack of leadership, Mr. Lederman says. "It was a part-time job for many people," he says. The 40-person firm now hopes to distinguish itself from Chi-X by giving clients access to a "dark pool," or electronic network that matches buyers and sellers anonymously, he says.

Chi-X, Turquoise and the other new entrants are coming at a time when a sharp economic downturn in Europe is threatening to shrink the trading business overall.

The LSE is taking the threat seriously. As of Sept. 1, it plans to cut certain fees for sophisticated and larger clients. Together with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., it also aims to launch a dark-pool venture early next year called Baikal. Spokesman Patrick Humphris says the added business from sophisticated traders can benefit both upstart and established players.

Increasingly, though, Europe's national exchange operators are looking to poach one another's clients by launching pan-European services, in which they offer to trade shares of companies that aren't listed on their exchanges.

"We've seen almost weekly announcements by the exchanges to introduce pan-European" platforms, says Larry Tabb, chief executive of financial-services consulting firm Tabb Group. "Without a doubt, we are headed headlong into a European exchange price war."

The arrival of so many new platforms raises the possibility that they will drive each other out of business. By taking stakes in multiple platforms, banks are hedging their bets in case some fail. One view, shared by Mr. Randall, is that the platforms will eventually merge, and thus remain a threat for Europe's big exchanges.

"I don't think it's a rivalry," says Mr. Randall, adding that he has been friends with Mr. Lederman for several years. "It's more like co-opetition."

Write to Neil Shah at neil.shah@dowjones.com

MIV Announces Exchange Offer for Reg. S Shareholders in Europe

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MIV Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB:MIVI) (Frankfurt:MIVN), a leading developer of next-generation coatings and advanced drug-delivery systems for cardiovascular stents and other implantable medical devices, announced today that it intends to take steps to delist its Reg. S stock from the Frankfurt Exchange. The Company’s primary market for its shares of common stock is the OTC Bulletin Board and the Company believes that the separate listing of Reg. S stock on the Frankfurt Exchange is unnecessary. In connection with such delisting, the Company has undertaken an exchange offer (the “Exchange”), whereby for each holder of record as of the record date of August 15, 2008 (“Record Date”), the Company will offer to exchange one share of Company common stock (“New Stock”) for each share of Reg. S stock outstanding and currently trading on the Frankfurt Exchange under WKN 911285 (“Reg. S Stock”). The Exchange relates solely to the Reg. S stock trading under the identification, “MIV Therap. Reg S. DL-001 (ISIN USU606981046, WKN 911285).” The Exchange will have no effect on any other shares of common stock of the Company trading on the Frankfurt Exchange, namely, there will be no effect on the Company’s common stock trading under the identification “MIV Therap. NEW DL-001 (ISIN US55306V2051, WKN A0Q48S).” Further, please be advised that as a result of the Company’s recent 1-for-10 reverse stock split, effective as of June 27, 2008, each share of Reg. S Stock outstanding was automatically consolidated on a 1-for-10 basis, and accordingly, when exchanged for New Stock will reflect the post-reverse stock split share amounts. For further information regarding the reverse stock split, please see the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 3, 2008.

The exchange of Reg. S Stock for New Stock must take place on or before the delisting date when the Reg. S Stock will no longer be tradable. Each share of New Stock will be issued pursuant to Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and therefore exempt from registration. The Company will pay any associated administrative expenses.

In order to accept the Exchange, holders of record of Reg. S Stock as of August 15, 2008 must return their Reg. S Stock to the Company via the Company’s account with the following delivery details:

Depository:		Brown Brothers Harriman
DTC No:		010
Favour:		Fortis (C.I.) Ltd
Ac:		6682702

The Company’s Exchange Agent, who will be facilitating the Exchange, is Epsom Asset Management Ltd. (“Epsom”), and can be reached via email by contacting Danny Snape at: danny@ehtrustco.ch. When initiating the delivery of Reg. S Stock to the Company’s account, the holder of Reg. S Stock must coordinate with Epsom on the trade date and settlement date. Additionally, Fortis (C.I.) Ltd will require a contact name and details of an individual from the bank or broker that is arranging the delivery of the Reg. S Stock. When submitting shares Reg. S Stock for Exchange, holders are asked to provide Epsom delivery instructions for the return of New Stock along with the holder’s telephone number and email address so that the Company or its agent may communicate with them if there are questions.

Upon receipt of the Reg. S Stock, the Company will send the Reg. S stockholder either a certificate or an electronic DTC transfer representing the same number of shares of New Stock (on a post-reverse stock split basis) within twenty (20) business days. If shares of Reg. S Stock are not tendered for exchange by September 12, 2008, they will no longer be tradable on the Frankfurt Exchange (or any other applicable German stock exchange). Following the de-listing of the Reg. S Stock, the Company will continue to file its periodic reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

This Exchange will also be submitted to Clearstream and Euroclear for distribution so that we may reach as many Reg. S Stockholders as possible.

If holders have any questions regarding the Exchange Offer or how to exchange Reg. S Stock, they are asked to send an email of their request in English or German to the Company’s representative in Germany, Vastani Trading at info@vastani.com.

About MIV Therapeutics

MIV Therapeutics is developing a next-generation line of advanced biocompatible coatings for passive and drug-eluting applications on cardiovascular stents, as well as for a broad range of other implantable medical devices. The Company's ultra-thin coating formulation is designed to protect surrounding tissue from potentially harmful interactions with bare metallic stents. This coating platform is derived from hydroxyapatite (HAp), an organic material that has demonstrated excellent in vivo safety and biocompatibility. Hydroxyapatite is a porous material that makes up the bone mineral and matrix of teeth, and is widely used today as a bone substitute material and for coatings on implantable fixation devices in orthopedic, dental and other applications. The Company's novel polymer-free drug-eluting technologies based on HAp could also provide an attractive alternative to current polymer-based drug-eluting coatings on the stent market, which have been associated with undesirable effects. The Company's drug-eluting coatings are additionally designed to suit a broad range of implantable medical devices that could benefit from highly customizable drug release profiles. MIV Therapeutics has a Collaborative Research Agreement with the University of British Columbia and has received a government grant for its research program on the “Development of Novel Drug Eluting Composite Coatings for Cardiovascular Stents,” under the National Research Council-Industrial Research Assistance Program. Under this sponsorship, the Company is expected to complete its drug-eluting research and development program and to reach product commercialization. MIV's intellectual property portfolio includes patents held by the University of British Columbia and exclusively licensed to MIV. Key patent applications filed simultaneously in various countries around the world further protect the commercial exclusivity of MIV's inventions in the global marketplace. For more information, please visit www.mivtherapeutics.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements. All statements that discuss expectations and projections with respect to future matters including, without limitation, statements relating to the safety and efficacy of the Company’s product and the ability of the Company’s product to rejuvenate the stent market are forward-looking statements. Such statements are indicated by words or phrases such as “proposed,” “expected,” “believe,” “will,” “breakthrough,” “significant,” “indicated,” “feel,” “revolutionary,” “should,” “ideal,” “extremely” and “excited.” These statements are made under “Safe Harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, market acceptance of the Company’s product, the ability of the Company to raise sufficient funding and to continue to develop its various business interests as presently contemplated, and other factors identified in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended May 31, 2007 and Forms 10-Q. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law.

DJ UPDATE:Tokyo Shares End Higher; Shipping, Tech Shares Gain

Tokyo stocks rose slightly Friday as recent decliners such as marine transport shares recovered and short-covering pushed up high tech shares.

Market analysts say that lower crude oil prices and a weaker yen will probably support sentiment, keeping the Nikkei 225 Stock Average above the 13000 mark next week. The benchmark index rose 62.61 points, or 0.5%, to 13019.41 Friday, almost wiping out the 66.25-point loss it posted a day earlier.

"Trading volume may also rise since many investors are expected to return from summer holidays," said Masaru Ohnishi, strategist at JPMorgan. He added that investors are keeping an eye on such economic indicators as the U.S. July new home data as well as the U.S. producer price index due out next week.

REKLAMA	Czytaj dalej

Shipping shares extended their gains from yesterday as investors took heart from the rising baltic dry index. Kawasaki Kisen gained 4.9% to Y809.

Chip shares were also Friday's notable gainers, with Elpida Memory rising 6.3% to Y2,795 and Tokyo Electron adding 3.4% to Y6,340 on a weaker yen and strength in the Philly Semicon Index.

On the other hand, trading houses, whose business largely depend on raw material prices, declined on an overnight drop in crude futures. Mitsubishi Corp. fell 2.3% to Y2,790, while Mitsui & Co. lost 2.4% to Y1,766.

"Recent movements of trading house shares seem to be pegged to crude prices," said a senior official at SMBC Friend Research Center.

In other Japanese markets, shares traded on the Osaka Securities Exchange added 28.28 points, or 0.1%, to 24036.03, while shares traded on the Jasdaq Securities Exchange fell 2.20 points, or 0.2%, to 1384.40.

The Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues rose 8.38 points, or 0.7%, to 1247.31.

After almost 70 years, Shanghai’s stock exchange is reopening to the world

The Shanghai Stock Exchange

Re-enter the dragon

Aug 14th 2008 | HONG KONG
From The Economist print edition

After almost 70 years, Shanghai’s stock exchange is reopening to the world

Illustration by S. Kambayashi

FROM the 1860s until the Japanese invasion of China in 1941, Shanghai’s bustling stockmarket listed not only domestic companies but also foreign firms, such as those now known as HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank, which operated out of the international concession. When trading resumed in 1992, only domestic firms could list. But many foreign ones have been eager to join them, and after a change in securities laws announced on August 6th, some may now have the chance.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) hopes to be the first foreign firm to list in Shanghai, and may have the blessing of the regulators, according to Chinese press reports. But there is competition. HSBC and Standard Chartered are also reportedly angling to return, and other big banks have put out feelers.

Had the opening come in 2007 when the Shanghai market was riding a wave of euphoria for much of the year, the motivation for a listing by any Western company would have been self-evident: money—and lots of it. Conditions, however, have nosedived. Corporate profits may have risen since but share prices are down by half, and there is little appetite left to provide capital to domestic companies.

The first foreign firms to list may be luckier, however, because they offer Chinese investors a rare opportunity to diversify into non-Chinese shares. With lower portfolio risk, local investors would also theoretically be able to pay more for Chinese companies, says William Goetzmann, a professor at Yale University who has published a rare paper on the pre-war ties between China’s financial markets and the rest of the world.

For the newcomers, there would be many potential benefits including, above all, in marketing themselves to the Chinese. For example, just as a listing by the NYSE would confer some status on Shanghai, so would it also encourage Chinese firms to use New York’s main exchange as their market of choice. (The big state-owned ones have largely ignored the Big Board since a listing in 2003 by China Life, an insurance firm, was met by a barrage of American lawsuits, partly because of poor disclosure.) The NYSE’s own members may also find it easier to list in China. As a fringe benefit, it may be able to sell China its trading technology. For other companies, the shares issued in China could be used as a form of currency to provide performance-linked pay to local employees, as well as to buy Chinese companies.

But there are pitfalls. Exchange rules may permit the Chinese authorities to attend the board meetings of listed companies, something that might not bother the NYSE, which does not face competition from Chinese exchanges in its home markets of Europe or America, but would probably horrify a global bank. More importantly, the financial barriers that surround China’s economy, such as its closed capital account, restrictions on currency trading, and prohibition on short-selling, mean that shares in China trade at different prices from those with identical rights listed on other overseas exchanges.

That kind of trading inefficiency looks bad for China and would be an embarrassment for the NYSE, which prides itself on its ability to price shares cleanly. To solve it, the potential entrants are considering how to issue other types of shares known as depository receipts—but that is complicated by China’s trading and capital restrictions. To find a solution, they may have to help China to liberalise its financial markets even further. That would not only benefit the foreigners, but China too—which is probably the main reason it is courting them in the first place.

Isolagen, Inc. Receives American Stock Exchange Notice Accepting Its Previously Submitted Plan of Compliance and Canceling the Delisting Hearing

Last update: 4:07 p.m. EDT Aug. 14, 2008

EXTON, Pa., Aug 14, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Isolagen(TM), Inc. (ILE:

ILE

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ILE, , ) today announced that on August 14, 2008 it received notice from the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) advising the Company that its previously submitted plan of compliance demonstrates a reasonable course of action by the Company to regain compliance with AMEX's continued listing standards, and that the delisting hearing previously scheduled for August 19, 2008 has been canceled.

AMEX indicated that its decision was based upon the information disclosed in the Company's August 5, 2008 press release regarding the positive top-line results from the Company's two pivotal, Phase III clinical studies. The Company's previously submitted plan of compliance outlined its strategy to regain its compliance with AMEX's continued listing standards by September 14, 2009.

About Isolagen, Inc.

Isolagen(TM), Inc. (ILE:

ILE

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ILE, , ) is an aesthetic and therapeutic company committed to developing and commercializing scientific advances and innovative technologies. The company's technology platform includes the Isolagen Process(TM), a cell processing system for skin and tissue rejuvenation which is currently in clinical development for a broad range of aesthetic and therapeutic applications including wrinkles, acne scars, burns and periodontal disease. Isolagen also commercializes a scientifically-advanced line of skincare systems through its majority-owned subsidiary, Agera(R) Laboratories, Inc. For additional information, please visit www.isolagen.com.

Isolagen Forward Looking Statements

All statements in this news release that are not based on historical fact are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements in this press release, include, without limitation, the outcome of Amex's periodic review of the Company's plan of compliance and Amex's willingness to permit continued listing during the pendency of the plan. While management has based any forward-looking statements contained herein on its current expectations, the information on which such expectations were based may change. These forward- looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are outside of our control, that could cause actual results to materially differ from such statements. Such risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, but are not necessarily limited to, those set forth under Item 1A "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, as updated in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed since the annual report. We operate in a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment, thus new or unforeseen risks may arise. Accordingly, investors should not place any reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. We disclaim any intention to, and undertake no obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are also urged to carefully review and consider the other various disclosures in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, as well as other public filings with the SEC since such date.

SOURCE Isolagen, Inc.

 http://www.isolagen.com

Stocks advance as investors return to financials

By SARA LEPRO – 1 day ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street rebounded Thursday as investors took advantage of bargains in financial stocks after two straight days of heavy declines. The Dow Jones industrials rose more than 100 points.

Stocks initially fell after the Labor Department reported another hefty jump in consumer prices. The 0.8 percent overall rise in July's Consumer Price Index was not as large as June's increase, but it was twice as high as the market expected, and brings inflation to its highest annual pace in 17 years. The core index, which eliminates food and energy prices, is not up as much, but it still rose by 0.3 percent last month — slightly more than forecast.

Wall Street has been concerned that consumers are paring back their discretionary spending in the face of higher prices, in addition to declining home values and a shaky job market. And because consumers' spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy, the fear on Wall Street is that the nation is in for a prolonged period of little or no growth.

But after its early disappointment with the CPI, investors began looking more positively at stock prices that were beaten down the past two sessions amid rising anxiety about credit losses at banks and brokerages.

"The greater fear right now is missing the next big rally," said Richard Dickson, senior analyst at Lowry Research in Florida. "Inflation numbers were bad, but they are probably going to get better. The fact that the market has not sold off with any strength, investors are saying, 'Hey, let's go ahead and buy.'"

The Dow jumped 110.74, or 0.96 percent, to 11,643.70 in midday trading.

Volume was extremely light, distorting moves in the major indexes, and helping the Dow to extend a streak of volatility that has frequently sent it up or down by triple digits in recent weeks. On the New York Stock Exchange, 385.23 million shares exchanged hands.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7.78, or 0.61 percent, to 1,293.61, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 22.16, or 0.91 percent, to 2,450.78.

Bonds edged higher after the Labor Department's data. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, dipped to 3.91 percent from 3.94 percent late Wednesday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude fell $2.15 to $113.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In a separate report, the Labor Department said claims for unemployment benefits fell by 10,000 last week — less than anticipated and showed the labor market is still pinched because of the weak economy. But investors seemed relatively unfazed by the latest economic data, turning instead to buying opportunities in the financial sector.

Reports of more credit losses at banks such as UBS AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co. sent shares tumbling earlier this week. The losses served as a stark reminder that the housing slump and resulting credit crisis are far from over.

But the resulting decline in stocks made many companies look more attractive Thursday. Moreover, with many investors on vacation, and therefore fewer people trading, price moves were exaggerated.

JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley became the latest financial firms to settle with regulators over their sale of auction-rate securities when they agreed Thursday to repurchase a combined $7 billion of the investments. The companies will also pay a combined $60 million in fines.

Last week, regulators reached settlements that required Swiss bank UBS to repurchase $18.6 billion in the securities, while Citigroup agreed to buy back $7 billion of the securities. Auction-rate securities are investments that resembled corporate debt, but with interest rates reset at regular auctions. The market for the securities collapsed in February amid deterioration in the broader credit markets.

JPMorgan Chase was up 79 cents to $37.70, while Morgan Stanley rose 53 cents to $40.68.

Investors were also pleased with Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s earnings; the world's largest retailer reported a 17 percent rise in second quarter profit and raised its full-year outlook. The discounter has benefited from the economic slowdown, as U.S. shoppers search for lower prices.

Wal-Mart gained 15 cents to $58.03. The news pulled up other retailers, including Target Corp., which rose $1.48, or 3.1 percent, to $49.55. Macy's Inc., which on Wednesday posted a lower second-quarter profit and warned that its full-year earnings will fall short of expectations, jumped 98 cents, or 4.7 percent, to $21.64.

In other corporate news, British Airways PLC, American Airlines and Spain's Iberia SA said Thursday they have signed a revenue-sharing deal that — if approved by regulators — will see the trio set prices together and share seat capacity on trans-Atlantic flights.

AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines, gained 44 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $11.30, while UAL Corp., operator of United Airlines, rose 95 cents, or 7.9 percent, to $13.01. Delta Air Lines Inc. rose 36 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $8.70.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, as well as on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The Russell 2000 index, which primarily tracks small companies, rose 5.36, or 0.72 percent, to 753.05.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.51 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.45 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.15 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.01 percent.

Market ends its five week gaining rally (Weekly Market Review)

Mumbai, Aug 16 (IANS) Indian equity markets ended their five week gaining rally in a truncated trading session this week.

The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, declined 443.64 points or 2.92 percent in the week to close at 14,724.18 Thursday. Friday, Independence Day, was a holiday.

The S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange lost 98.80 points or 2.18 percent in the week to end at 4,430.70.

The BSE mid cap index fell 63.55 points of 1.07 percent at 5,823.42 in the week and BSE small cap index lost 71.30 points or 0.99 percent at 7,110.44.

India’s inflation touched 12.44 percent for the week ended Aug 2 as compared to 12.01 percent for the week before, but that did not have an effect on the stocks as the announcement was made after the markets closed Thursday.

On Wednesday, market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) held a review meeting where it was decided to cut down on the timeline of rights issue to 43 days from 109 days. That did have an adverse effect.

SEBI the markets attarcated $121.20 million in foreign institutional investments during the week.

The week started on a positive note on the back of strong global cues and fall in crude oil prices. The Sensex closed with a gain of 336.10 or 2.22 percent at 15,503.92 Monday and the Nifty rose 90.90 points or 2.01 percent to 4,620.40.

The indices ended lower Tuesday, on the back of poor industrial output data. The Sensex lost 291.79 pints or 1.88 percent to 15,212.13. The Nifty lost 68.15 points or 1.47 percent to 4,552.25.

On Wednesday for the second consecutive day the Sensex closed with a loss of 119.01 or 0.78 percent at 15,093.12 and the Nifty slipped 23.2 points or 0.51 percent at 4,529.05.

The markets extended losses for the third day running after a rise in crude oil prices which rekindled fears of inflationary pressure.

On Thursday the Sensex fell 368.94 points or 2.44 percent to 14,724.18 and the Nifty lost 98.35 points or 2.17 percent to close at 4,430.70.

TSX plummets to March levels

TSX plummets to March levels

U.S. stocks rise on lower commodities

The Gazette

Published: 6 hours ago

The Toronto Stock Exchange benchmark fell yesterday to its lowest close since March as commodity stocks and financials were sold off.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 262.21 points, or two per cent, to 13,096.70. The TSX Venture composite index fell 53.85 points, or 2.7 per cent, to 1,937.33.

The stock groupings for energy, materials and financials - representing about three-quarters of the main benchmark's weight - were all down. It was a rare example of broad-based bearishness, with the recent trending being that financial stocks usually gain to offset losses in commodities, or vice versa.

Looking for reasons for the sell-off in commodity stocks, some key prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange were in decline. Crude oil was down $1.24 to $113.77 U.S. a barrel. That put it down almost 23 per cent from the all-time high of 147.27 U.S. reached last month. Gold was down $22.40 to $792.10 U.S. an ounce. The price of bullion has dropped 8.4 per cent in the past five days, the biggest weekly loss in more than 25 years.

The Canadian financials were down probably "because of the broad sell-off of Canadian stocks," said Keith Summers, chief investment officer with Stonegate Private Counsel in Toronto.

Banking and insurance stocks didn't benefit from a shifting of investor money out of resource stocks, as has often been the case lately.

"I'm inclined to think it might have been more foreign investors who are selling Canada completely as opposed to Canadian investors who are getting out of commodities and getting into financials," Summers said.

The TSX energy index was down 3.1 per cent, having the most detrimental effect on the composite. Suncor Energy Inc. fell $2.66, or 4.8 per cent, to $53.34. EnCana Corp. dropped $3.06, or 4.2 per cent, to $70.04.

The materials index was down 4.2 per cent. Goldcorp Inc. fell $1.77, or 5.4 per cent, to $31.16. Uranium producer Cameco Corp. dropped $2.80, or 8.4 per cent, to $30.52 as analysts downgraded the stock on worries of weaker realized uranium prices and flooding at Cameco's Cigar Lake uranium project in Saskatchewan. The biggest loss on the whole exchange, in dollar terms, was from Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., which was down $10.23, or 5.4 per cent, to $179.90.

The TSX financials index was down 0.5 per cent. Bank of Nova Scotia declined 60 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $48.89. There was an isolated case of gain among the major banks as Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce rose 71 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $61.21.

The Canadian dollar rose 38 basis points to 94.43 cents U.S.

In New York, stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to a third weekly gain, as lower commodity prices boosted the outlook for consumer companies and the two largest bond insurers had their credit ratings affirmed.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.climbed the most in a week as crude slid for a second day,up $1.27 to $59.37.

Ambac Financial Corp. rallied 25 per cent, up $1.12 to $5.68, and MBIA Inc. advanced 8.7 per cent, up 90 cents to $11.22, after S&P concluded a credit review without lowering the companies' ratings.

Eight of 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 advanced as a report showing unexpected growth in New York manufacturing spurred optimism that the economy will pick up as energy and raw material prices retreat.

The S&P 500 rose 5.27 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 1,298.2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 43.97, or 0.4 per cent, to 11,659.9. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 1.15 to 2,452.52 as Apple Inc. lost two per cent.

The advance sent the S&P 500 up 0.2 per cent on the week. The benchmark for American equities has lost almost 12 per cent this year as surging commodities and credit-market losses curbed profit growth. Earnings have slumped 23 per cent on average for the 446 companies in the S&P 500 that released second-quarter results since July 8, according Bloomberg data.

General Electric Co. added one per cent to $29.80 and contributed the most to a 0.8-percent-gain in the S&P 500 Industrials Index. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's general economic index climbed to 2.8, from minus 4.9 a month earlier, and defied economists forecasts for a decrease of minus-4. A separate Fed report showed industrial production increased in July.

J.C. Penney Co. rose the most since February, adding 8.4 per cent to $39.94. Kohl's Corp. rose 7.3 per cent to $51.79. Both U.S. department-store chains reported second-quarter profit above the average analyst estimate by controlling costs amid reduced spending by cash-strapped shoppers.

Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest U.S. energy company, slumped 0.5 per cent to $77.07 for a third-straight weekly drop. Chevron Corp. fell two per cent to $84.25.

Canwest News Service, Reuters, Bloomberg News