World important news by Lamonica

A $25-a-share offer would value Human Genome at about $4.8 billion, based on the number of shares outstanding.Glaxo declined to comment on the speculation. Human Genome Sciences spokesman Jerry Parrott said the company does not comment on market rumors.Human Genome and Glaxo jointly sell Benlysta, a recently launched drug to treat Lupus.”HGSI shares are trading up this morning on speculation of a potential acquisition by partner GlaxoSmithKline,” said Ian Somaiya, an analyst at Piper Jaffrey, in a research note. “While takeout rumors are nothing new and the timing appears to be relatively early — only seven months into Benlysta launch — we believe that GSK could be opportunistic given the weakness in HGSI stock, which is trading at its lowest levels since 2009.”A speculative article in Britain’s Daily Mail sparked the most recent speculation.”The article circulated late on Monday,” said WhatsTrading.com options strategist Frederic Ruffy.Options volume in Rockville, Maryland-based Human Genome is 3.7 times the average daily levels with about 19,000 calls and 3,679 puts traded through midday, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert.The upside calls, giving investors the right to buy the company’s shares at $15 apiece by November expiration in 31 days, are the most active option with volume of 1,739 contracts traded, data from Trade Alert showed.Human Genome’s shares were up 10.2 percent at $12.40 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday afternoon, off an earlier high at $13.19. The company’s shares are down from a year high of $30.15 in April.

* Speculation that dos Santos has chosen successorLISBON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Angola’s economy is likely to grow 3.7 percent this year and accelerate rapidly to 12 percent in 2012, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said in a state of the nation address on Tuesday.Dos Santos, who has been in power in the oil-producing African nation for over 32 years, said this year’s growth rate would be lower than the 7.6 percent estimated in the budget due to lower oil output after technical problems at a field operated by BP .”(The lower output) was only partly compensated by the rise in oil prices and accelerated growth in the non-oil sector,” dos Santos said in the speech, which was broadcast by state television channel TPA.The government said the economy grew by 3.4 percent in 2010.Dos Santos’ 2011 growth forecast was in line with that of the International Monetary Fund, which cut its GDP projection to 3.7 percent from a previous forecast of 6.5 percent.Analysts expect Angola’s oil output, which represents over 90 percent on its export revenues, to recover next year as oil fields come back on line and new projects begin production.On inflation, dos Santos said although it is a challenge, the government would reach its target of inflation ending 2011 below 12 percent in 2011.”It will be a great achievement if we can reach 10 percent or 11 percent inflation,” he added.Inflation slowed sharply to 11.91 percent year-on-year in September from 13.68 percent in August, suggesting plans to cut prices drastically are on track.Dos Santos’ MPLA party, which in 2002 won a 27-year civil war against UNITA and then won 82 percent of the vote in a 2008 general election, is widely seen as favourite to win another general election next year.Still, speculation is rife that dos his rule may be about to end, with media reports citing MPLA sources that say he has selected Manuel Vicente, head of state oil company Sonangol, as his successor to take over before or shortly after the election.His regime has also faced unprecedented dissent from a youth movement this year, with several rallies organised to call for his resignation.”There is no basis for the assertion that there is a dictatorial regime Angola… On the contrary, there is a recent, but dynamic and participative democracy,” he said.

French judges had asked the ECJ for a clarification on the issue. A court adviser had said in March a ban on Internet sales restricted competition.”A clause in a selective distribution contract banning the distributors of the company Pierre Fabre Dermo-Cosmétique from selling its products online amounts to a restriction on competition by object, unless that clause is objectively justified,” the court said.”Such a ban may not benefit from a block exemption but may, if certain conditions are met, benefit from an individual exemption,” it said.It is now up to French judges to assess whether there are legitimate reasons for PFDC’s ban.PFDC, maker of the Avene, Klorane, Galenic and Ducray brands, requires distributors to sell its products only in shops and with a qualified pharmacist.Luxury brand owners have long argued that bricks-and-mortar outlets are key to protecting their image and exclusivity, while online retailers and markets such as eBay have challenged such claims.