1. INVESTORS DOUBT BERNANKE'S WORD
Despite Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's repeated claims that he has no plans to end quantitative easing, the yield on the 10-year treasury note has risen to 2.19 percent from 1.63, a 14-month high, as investors worry the Fed will taper its bond-buying. In May, Bernanke said policymakers are waiting for "increased confidence that the labor market is improving and that the improvement is sustainable" before cutting back on stimulus. Bernanke is expected to address the topic again at a press conference on June 19, after the Federal Open Market Committee releases a policy statement. [Bloomberg]
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2. SUPREME COURT: HUMAN GENES MAY NOT BE PATENTED
The U.S. Supreme Court voted unanimously in favor of scientists and doctors who challenged Utah company Myriad Genetics, for protecting a patent on genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Myriad Genetics, which controlled the $3,000 tests that identified the gene — implying an increased risk in cancer — had filed patent infringement suits against other companies that ran the same tests. The ruling may drive the cost of the test down, but could also deter businesses from investing in expensive, time-consuming genetic research. [New York Times]
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3. WALL STREET CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF SNAPCHAT
Snapchat, the app that lets you send photos then destroys them seconds after they're opened, is a huge hit on Wall Street, says New York. Bankers, who are expected to keep their online presence strictly professional, use the app to participate in social media without worrying about getting fired. Snapchat photos can self-destruct an image as soon as one second after it's opened, though nothing prevents the receiver from taking a screen shot. [New York]
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4. COURT: INTERNS SHOULD BE PAID
A court found that interns working for Fox Searchlight on the movie Black Swan were actually employees and deserved pay. The court ruled against the company because while the interns received only "resume listings, job references, and an understanding of how a production office works," Fox received a monetary benefit, since it would have needed to pay employees for the work had the interns not been hired. The case follows another one where interns at the publisher Hearst sued as a class, and the judge decided that each internship was different and would have to be tried separately. [Bloomberg Businessweek]
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5. PFIZER, TAKEDA WIN $2.15 BILLION IN PATENT CASE
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries will pay $1.6 billion and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries will pay $550 million to settle charges from Pfizer and Takeda Pharmaceutical that they sold the heartburn drug Protonix before the patent — which Teva and Sun did not own — expired. Teva and Sun used what is called an "at-risk launch," where a generic drug maker starts selling a drug with a disputed patent, before the litigation has been resolved. In such cases, the generic drug company can make huge profits from launching the drug at a lower price, but if the patent proves legitimate, they must pay damages for lost profits to the drug company that owns the patent. [Wall Street Journal]
