>>> WhatsApp is coming to the web

WhatsApp is coming to the web

WhatsApp is coming to the desktop, thanks to a web client that launched today for Chrome and Android. Reached by the Verge, WhatsApp confirmed earlier rumors, which pointed to a newly live page at web.whatsapp.com as proof. "The primary use is of course still on your phone," a spokesman said, "but there are people who spend time in front of a computer at home or at work and this will help bridge the two."

Your phone will need to stay connected to the web for the client to work, and all user messages will still reside on the phone, but WhatsApp is hoping the client will give users more flexibility. A spokesman said the company plans to bring the same experience to iOS, although the timeframe is still unclear. Detailing the features in a subsequent blog post, the company said, "we really hope you find web client useful in your everyday lives."


With more than 600 million users, WhatsApp is one of the largest chat clients in the world, and the app's growth has fueled rumors concerning the company's next move. In November, WhatsApp partnered with Whisper Systems for end-to-end encryption, bringing strong security to an unusually broad user base. In December, the company's plans for voice-calling were revealed by images scraped from WhatsApp's public site, although the company has yet to publicly release the feature. At the same time, there's been intense speculation that the company might expand to the desktop for simple business reasons.

FT : Actavis and Valeant raise prospect of more pharma deals

Actavis and Valeant raise prospect of more pharma deals

Two of the most acquisitive pharmaceuticals groups have pledged to continue pursuing deals in 2015, raising the prospect of another big year for healthcare consolidation.
Brent Saunders, chief executive of Actavis, said his company would continue to do deals worth up to $10bn, although he said it would “take a pause” on transformational takeovers such as last year’s $66bn purchase of Allergan.

“We need to invest in our pipeline so that we can have growth well beyond the next decade,” he told the Financial Times. “We have not damped our appetite or capability to do deals.”
Meanwhile Valeant, the Canadian group that lost out in the race to buy Allergan, will also continue looking for “small and medium-sized” deals, its chief executive Mike Pearson told the Financial Times.
More than $250bn of pharma deals were struck during 2014, a record for the sector, as drugmakers used their strong cash positions to replenish their pipelines.
A rush of “tax inversion” deals contributed to the frenzy, as pharma companies sought to buy foreign rivals and redomicile overseas to escape higher US corporation tax. However, a White House crackdown in the autumn thwarted several pending transactions and has made it very difficult to pursue fresh inversions.
As two of the companies that have already inverted, Actavis and Valeant pay much lower effective rates of tax — 16 per cent and 5 per cent respectively — than some of their peers, putting them in prime position to bid for smaller rivals.
Actavis has in the past been linked to Salix, a gastrointestinal drug specialist with a market capitalisation of $7.6bn. Shares in Salix jumped almost 5 per cent on Tuesday following reports it had asked its banker, Centerview Partners, to explore a possible sale.
Pfizer, which tried to invert by buying UK-domiciled AstraZeneca but had to abandon that plan, has a tax rate of approximately 27 per cent. But its chief executive, Ian Read, has said that, despite the crackdown, there are still some advantages of doing an inversion. One source familiar with his thinking says he admires GlaxoSmithKline, also based in the UK.
Mark Schoenebaum, an analyst at Evercore at ISI, said: “Ian Read is a big thinker and I bet he will do something big in 2015, either a deal or buy his own stock back, but he is not going to sit around and wait for share price performance.”
Pfizer could also consider buying Actavis if the company stops expanding, healthcare bankers said.
Pfizer declined to comment.

(BFW) Bluecrest Flagship Fund Said to Be Down 5.5% Month to Jan. 16

BN 01/21 17:56 *BLUECREST FLAGSHIP FUND SAID TO BE DOWN 5.5% MONTH TO JAN. 16
Bluecrest Flagship Fund Said to Be Down 5.5% Month to Jan. 16
2015-01-21 17:59:21.622 GMT


By Lindsay Fortado
(Bloomberg) -- BlueCrest Capital Management’s biggest fund
fell 5.5% in month to Jan. 16, according to people with
knowledge of the matter.
* Fund fell amid turmoil linked to the Swiss central bank’s
decision to end the cap on the franc
* Pool is managed by founder Michael Platt


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(BFW) Pfizer CEO Read Admires Glaxo, Could Also Consider Actavis: FT

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/69783a1e-a175-11e4-8d19-00144feab7de.html?siteedition=intl#axzz3PTfF5m00

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Pfizer CEO Read Admires Glaxo, Could Also Consider Actavis: FT 2015-01-21 17:33:09.154 GMT

By Robin Stringer (Bloomberg) -- CEO Ian Read admires GlaxoSmithKline, FT says, citing 1 person familiar w/ his thinking. * Pfizer, which tried to invert by buying U.K.-domiciled AstraZeneca, has tax rate of ~27% * Read has said there are still some advantages of doing an inversion despite crackdown, FT says * Pfizer could also consider buying Actavis if co. stops expanding, FT cites unidentified health-care bankers as saying * Pfizer declined to comment to FT * NOTE: Aug. 1, Glaxo Market Cap Slump May Interest Pfizer: Berenberg Link * Nov. 26, Mylan Most Likely Pfizer Target, Glaxo Is ‘Wild Card’: Jefferies Link Link to Story: http://on.ft.com/1umebfI

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