The US charged Pfizer and its subsidiary Wyeth on Tuesday with paying millions of dollars in bribes to build their business in Eastern Europe and China, and set hefty fines on the two to settle the charges.
The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission both said Pfizer subsidiaries paid off officials, doctors and healthcare professionals in Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Serbia during 2001-2007 in violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Employees of subsidiaries made the payoffs to secure approval and registration of Pfizer and Wyeth products, and obtain sales contracts for them, according to court filings and statements from the department and SEC.
In 1983, Bill Bain asked Mitt Romney to launch Bain Capital, a private equity offshoot of the successful consulting firm Bain & Company. After some initial reluctance, Romney agreed. The new job came with a stipulation: Romney couldn't raise money from any current clients, Bain said, because if the private equity venture failed, he didn't want it taking the consulting firm down with it.
When Romney struggled to raise funds from other traditional sources, he and his partners started thinking outside the box. Bain executive Harry Strachan suggested that Romney meet with a group of Central American oligarchs who were looking for new investment vehicles as turmoil engulfed their region.
Ryan Budget Cuts to State and Local Services Would Be Far Deeper than Cuts Under Sequestration.
If it fails to include significant new revenues, a major legislative package to shrink federal deficits would almost certainly make deep cuts in federal funds that support states and localities as they perform many basic public functions, including educating children, building roads and bridges, protecting public health, and providing law enforcement.
WASHINGTON - Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus is asking investors, industry professionals and the public to offer their ideas and suggestions on how to formulate a less burdensome legislative alternative to the Volcker Rule.
“If regulators implement the Volcker Rule in its current form, the repercussions will be devastating to our economy. It will undermine our nation’s ability to compete and make it harder for Main Street businesses to raise capital so they can grow and create jobs. Therefore, we must consider legislative alternatives that will not stifle economic growth and job creation,” said Chairman Bachus.
The first trailer for Zero Dark Thirty, the upcoming film about the manhunt for Osama bin Laden, has surfaced over at Entertainment Weekly, who also have an interview with the film's screenwriter Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow (who worked together on The Hurt Locker). The film will tell the story of those behind the Navy elite SEAL Team Six May 2, 2011 raid on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan that lead to the bin Laden's death. The film will hit theaters December 19th.
"I’m fascinated by people who dedicate themselves to really difficult and dangerous things for the greater good,” said Boal. "I think they’re heroic and I’m intrigued by them. I’m fascinated by the world they inhabit. I personally want to know how they caught bin Laden. All I can do is hope that it interests other people."
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