MarketWatch.com - MarketPulse
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Drug stocks cruised into positive territory early Wednesday, with many of the blue chip pharmaceutical issues gaining as much as two percentage points. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index hopped 1.4% to 357.24 and the Amex Biotechnology Index edged up 1.9% to 822.95. Schering-Plough Corp. was a notable exception, with shares down 4% to $27.77. A Congressional committee announced on Tuesday that it plans to investigate the integrity of a key study for it and partner Merck & Co.'s popular cholesterol-lowering drug, Vytorin. Merck investors appeared to be largely unfazed by the news, pushing shares up 1% to $18.26.
Financial Markets -- mercurynews.com
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - The U.S. urged OPEC on Tuesday to boost output, but oil ministers appeared undecided on the eve of a key meeting that could help decide whether consumers worldwide will pay more or less at the gas pump and for their heating bills.