| Bonds rise; Hedge fund rumor circulates
Treasury prices threw off early weakness and advanced Friday after a rumor that another hedge fund is in financial trouble circulated through trading rooms. "There are a number of names of hedge funds being bandied about as possibly being in trouble," said Tom di Galoma, head of Treasurys trading at Jefferies & Co. It is impossible to discern whether the stories have any basis in fact, he said. Problems at hedge funds in recent months have contributed to the massive declines on Wall Street, and in turn benefited the government bond market. Problems at two funds operated by Bear, Stearns & Co. last fall brought home to the markets the reality that the housing and mortgage crisis was spreading throughout the financial sector. Although the rumor was not verified, it affected the markets, sending the major stock indexes well below their best levels and pushing Treasurys higher.
Alnylam reports positive data for midstage drug trial
Biopharmaceutical company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. said today that midstage study results of its experimental therapy ALN-RSV01 for the treatment of a respiratory disease showed it is safe, well-tolerated and worked against the virus. Shares of Cambridge-based Alnylam jumped $3.50, or 11.5 percent, to $34 in premarket trading; Alnylam shares trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market. In the study of ALN-RSV01 versus placebo, 88 adult subjects were experimentally infected with a clinical strain of RSV. Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia among infants and children under 1 year of age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The subjects received ALN-RSV01 or placebo in a nasal form for five consecutive days.
Williams Pipeline Partners stay flat in first-day public trading
Williams Pipeline units, each priced at $20, ended their first day of trading at $20 apiece. In after-hours trading, the units shed 4 cents. That's relatively good news on a day when stocks dipped at the end of one of Wall Street's weakest weeks. "On a down day, they ended up not down," Tulsa portfolio manager Jake Dollarhide said. "I think it further reinforces Williams' reputation." Williams Pipeline is the first major initial public offering of the year. Bad economic news has pushed share prices down and sent other fledgling issues to the sidelines. In fact, Williams was the only one of three initial public offerings planned for this week that made it to market. "It's a very skittish market, and there are no do-overs," Dollarhide said. "When you do an IPO, you have one chance to raise money." Williams initially said it expected to price its new units between $19 and $21.
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