Are Biotechs the Next Target for Cyber Criminals?

After Minerva Neurosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NERV) announced that it was the victim of a cyberattack, its shares dropped sharply on Tuesday. Minerva also provided an update on its clinical trials.

The company said that it had a cyberattack on an external contractor, which resulted in delays in patient recruitment for the Phase 3 trial of its schizophrenia treatment, roluperidone.

So far, Minerva noted that a total of 384 patients of a targeted 501 have been enrolled, with complete enrollment now expected by year’s end, and top-line results are expected in the first half of 2020.

Minerva also said that its patient screening has been completed in the Phase 2b trial of MIN-117 in moderate to severe major depressive disorder. The top-line results are expected in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Excluding Tuesday’s move, Minerva had underperformed the broad markets, with its stock up only 15% year to date. In the past 52 weeks, the stock was down 38%.

Shares of Minerva traded down 23% to $5.97 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $4.07 to $11.99. The consensus price target is $19.20.

NTT Inc merges all its tech firms globally

NTT creates a single entity that manages business worth $11bn

Tokyo-headquartered NTT Inc., the fourth largest telecommunications company in the world, has merged 28 of its existing companies and brands across 70 countries to create a new entity, NTT Ltd, that will manage technology and services business worth $11 billion.

All these companies, including Dimension Data, NTT Communications, Netmagic Solutions, NTT Security and Arkadin, offer technology services such as Managed Service and legacy System Integration and security services.

After the consolidation , the newly created entity NTT Ltd will have a people strength of 40,000 and over 10,000 clients around the globe. The integration is expected to benefit both NTT and its global customers.

NTT Ltd also named Kiran Bhagwanani as its India CEO, who will report to John Lombard, Asia Pacific CEO, NTT Ltd.

“With this integration, our goals and capabilities increase multi-fold. We have created a global technology powerhouse that delivers full breadth of industry-leading products, solutions and world-class managed services to empower our clients in their digital transformation journey.”said Mr Bhagwanani.

The company said its clients would gain tremendously with NTT Group’s research and innovation capabilities for which the annual average investment for the next five years was $3.6 billion.

Economist Surjit Bhalla appointed Executive Director for India at IMF

His appointment has been cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Economist Surjit Bhalla was on Tuesday appointed as the Executive Director for India at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an official order said.

His appointment has been cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The ACC approved the appointment of Mr. Bhalla for a period of three years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier, the order said.

Teekay Offshore’s stock soars to lead NYSE gainers after Brookfield buyout deal

Shares of Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. TOO, +32.33% rocketed 32% on heavy volume in morning trading Monday, enough to pace the NYSE gainers, after the provider of midstream services to the offshore oil production industry agreed to be acquired by Brookfield Business Partners L.P. Trading volume topped 17 million shares, compared with the full-day average of about 147,000 shares. Under terms of the deal, Brookfield will pay $1.55 in cash for Teekay shares it didn’t already own, which represents a 34% premium to Monday’s closing price of $1.16. The deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2019. Teekay’s stock has now rallied 26.5% year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX, -0.28% has gained 18.4%.

Toyota Motor U.S. sales fall 16.5% in September

(Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp’s (7203.T) U.S. sales fell 16.5% in September due to declining demand for sedans such as Camry and Prius, as well as lower sales of its Highlander and Tacoma sport utility vehicles, the Japanese carmaker said on Tuesday.

(The story corrects headline and first paragraph to say sales fell 16.5% not 9%)

Car catches fire in front of Toa Payoh temple, no injuries reported

SINGAPORE – A red car caught fire in front of the Toa Payoh Seu Teck Sean Tong Temple on Tuesday afternoon (Oct 1).

There were no reported injuries from the 2.15pm incident at the junction of Toa Payoh Lorong 1 and 6, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said.

The fire involved the engine compartment of the car, it added, and was put out by firefighters using one water jet and one compressed air foam backpack.

SCDF is investigating the cause of the fire.

GoPro stock surges after launch of new cameras

GoPro Inc. shares GPRO, +5.11% are up more than 6% in Tuesday morning trading after the maker of action cameras announced new devices. The company’s new Hero8 Black camera will sell for $399 and promises improvements in video stabilization. The device also has better wind suppression and audio, according to a release. The company announced Hero8 Black modular accessories, or mods, which start at $49.99 and let users enhance their camera capabilities. In addition, GoPro is launching a new $499 GoPro Max dual-lens camera with four digital lenses, including an ultra-wide lens. GoPro plans to hold a "launch-related product and financial conference call" on Oct. 2 at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time. The stock is up 44% in the past month, as the S&P 500 SPX, -0.28% has risen 1.8%.