Health ministers, WHO experts, convene to prepare for bird flu pandemic

OTTAWA The possibility of a bird flu pandemic is the topic, as health
ministers and experts from around the world gather in Canada's
capital.

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin says the ministers should enter
the conference with the understanding that no one country can stand
along in trying to deal with a potential spread. He says developed
nations have an obligation to help poorer countries by sharing
strategies, drugs and testing procedures.

Martin is holding up his country's preparations as a model. Canada has
stockpiles of the antiviral drug Tamiflu, and an action plan in place.
It also has the experience of 44 lives claimed to the deadly SARS
epidemic in Toronto two years ago.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

www.kxan.com

Integra incorporates Panopticon tree-mapping technology with AltioLive

Panopticon Software, the leading supplier of real-time visualisation
solutions to the world's financial markets, and Integra SP with its
Altio, real-time integration software, today announced a strategic
alliance to enable the use of Panopticon's proven visualisation
technology within Integra's AltioLive presentation environment.

This will provide added capability to Integra SP's award winning Rich
Internet Application product.

Panopticon's treemap visualisation solutions are dynamic, interactive
tools used for analysis and data exploration. A treemap from
Panopticon is packed with functionality and controls that enable the
user to do on-the-fly comparisons, slicing-and-dicing of data, look at
aggregates along any dimension, change the characteristic assigned to
size or colour and much more. Panopticon products handle true real
time data updates.

Unlike spreadsheets and pivot tables, Panopticon treemaps instantly
appeal to human curiosity and perceptive ability. The size and colour
of objects is easy and intuitive to understand. They trigger users to
investigate anomalies and outliers in the data sets by appealing not
only to the logical, left part of your brain but also to the right,
artistic part.

Integra SP's AltioLive technology enables companies to build and
deploy rich interactive applications that look, feel and perform like
traditional desktop applications, yet run with the convenience of a
web page in a browser. Based on standard Java and XML, AltioLive can
be deployed on a vast range of platforms and application servers and
easily integrates into existing web and portal architectures.
AltioLive Studio, the development environment, enables applications to
be quickly designed in a zero-code/drag-drop interface, resulting in
reduced time to market while enhancing the end-user experience.

Ben Nathan, Director of Strategic Alliances at Integra SP, says: "This
is a great fit of complementary technologies that will be of major
benefit to new and existing customers. Combining AltioLive's data
delivery and application framework with Panopticon's cutting edge
visualisation technology will even further revolutionise the
end-user's ability to analyse and respond to business issues as they
happen. With respect to web applications - you can't be too rich or
too thin. AltioLive just got richer."

Martin Porter, Business Development Director UK at Panopticon, adds:
"We are moving treemaps to the next level by combining Panopticon's
visualisation solution with AltioLive's data delivery. We see clear
value in being able to offer this to the financial community."

Both AltioLive and Panopticon's solutions are generic and can be
applied to any information. While the respective technologies have
independently shown a high ROI in the financial sector, both products
have been deployed across a vast range of industry sectors and
application areas.

www.finextra.com

Business news in brief from around New Jersey

SKILLMAN, N.J. -- Personal Products Co. has entered into a definitive
agreement to purchase the Rembrandt Brand of oral care products from
The Gillette Co.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but it was anticipated to
take place in the fourth quarter of 2005, Personal Products said
Monday.

Personal Products, a Johnson & Johnson company, produces and markets
oral health, women's health and sanitary protection products. It is a
division of McNeil-PPC Inc.

"The Rembrandt Brand is the perfect complement to our existing oral
care portfolio," said Michael Sneed, chairman of Johnson & Johnson's
consumer company group in North America.

FAIRFIELD, N.J. (AP) _ Kyocera Mita America on Monday announced the
appointments of Tony Pater as chief executive officer and Mike
Pietrunti as president and chief operating officer.

Pater is currently president of KMA and Pietrunti is the company's
senior vice president of marketing and technical operations. Both men
assume their new positions on Nov. 1.

KMA is a leading provider of computer-connectable peripherals. KMA is
a group company of Kyocera Corp., the world's leading developer and
manufacturer of advanced ceramics and associated products.

TURNERSVILLE, N.J. (AP) _ Two more Wal-Mart stores will open Wednesday
in southern New Jersey, the company said.

The Wal-Mart in Turnersville will be a supercenter, the first such
Wal-Mart store in the state, and will be open 24 hours a day. The
company will also open a store in Audubon. The stores will create more
than 550 new jobs, Wal-Mart said.

www.nynewsday.com

Wal-Mart to introduce new health plan

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is launching a plan to lower health-insurance premiums for workers, allowing some to buy coverage for as little as $11 per month.

The world's largest retailer has been under criticism for not offering health coverage to enough workers and for high costs to employees who are eligible for insurance. Wal-Mart's critics have worked to demonstrate that some company workers have had to rely on government-funded programs to pay for health care.

Wal-Mart spokesman Dan Fogleman would not say how much the plan would cost the company, which has 1.2 million domestic employees. The plan is to go in effect in 2006.
Bentonville-based Wal-Mart said the new plan was not a response to the mounting criticism from outside but instead reflected demands for more coverage options from its employees, who it calls associates.

"Just like at other employers in the U.S., our associates are concerned about the skyrocketing costs of health care," Fogleman said.

Wal-Mart's opponents were not impressed, dismissing the plan as a publicity stunt.
Wake-Up Wal-Mart, a union-backed group that is organizing campaigns against the retailer, said the new plan was just a repackaging of Wal-Mart's existing coverage.

"Wal-Mart fails to address the key reasons more than half of its employees aren't covered under their health care plan - ridiculously high deductible costs and overly strict eligibility requirements," Wake-Up Wal-Mart campaign director Paul Blank said in a news release.

Monthly premiums under the new plan would require workers to pay between 40 percent and 60 percent less than under the current plan. The plan would have a $1,000 deductible but would allow individuals three doctor visits before having to pay the deductible, according to The New York Times, which first reported the plan.
The company said the plan would emphasize preventative care and workers would be able to pay into tax-deductible health savings accounts.

The $11 monthly premium won't be widely available. The plan would have most individuals pay about $25 per month, and $65 for a family. A single parent would pay $37 per month. The plan has a $25,000 cap for a worker's first year with the insurance.

Wal-Mart Watch, a group that has called for Wal-Mart to offer better pay and benefits, said the new health plan is designed to meet the needs of only young, healthy people. Group spokeswoman Tracy Sefl also said it is impractical to expect Wal-Mart workers to be able to afford to pay into health savings accounts.
Shares of Wal-Mart rose 11 cents to $45.83 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.


www.seattlepi.nwsource.com

Mobile TeleSystems Selects NetCracker Technology to Manage Its Service-Base of 50 Million Subscribers;

NetCracker's OSS Solution Deployment Will Occur Enterprisewide in One of the Top-10 Global Information Companies
NetCracker Technology, the leading Global Solution Company enabling service providers to rapidly deliver and effectively manage convergent and content-rich offerings, today announced that Mobile TeleSystems (NYSE: MBT), the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), has chosen NetCracker's OSS infrastructure and services for its resource and service inventory provisioning to support its exploding customer base. Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) is deploying the NetCracker Resource and Service Management Operations Support Systems (OSS) Solution in its advanced network.

"NetCracker's portfolio will allow MTS to enhance the utilization of network resources and service provisioning activities while continuing to provide sophisticated, content-rich services to our customers," said Yuri Gromakov, chief technology officer at MTS. This capability, in turn, will enable the rapid delivery and management of services to the largest mobile customer base in Russia.

MTS's services cover 79 of the 89 regions in Russia and the entire territories of Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. BusinessWeek has rated MTS as number six in the fastest growing companies category in its "Info Tech100." MTS looks to NetCracker to help it provide the most reliable mobile services and equip the company with the infrastructure to grow its business.

"The growth of MTS is due in large part to its commitment to offering its customers the best services," said Andrew Feinberg, president and CEO of NetCracker Technology. "With NetCracker, MTS can excel in resource and service management, which will help the company achieve greater control and profitability in its network. NetCracker is pleased to help MTS drive its next phase of growth and market dominance."

About NetCracker Technology
NetCracker Technology is the leading Global Solution Company enabling Service Providers to rapidly deliver and effectively manage convergent and content-rich offerings. NetCracker delivers service and resource management through its software and implementation expertise.

NetCracker's pre-integrated product modules include Service Inventory, Resource Inventory, Service Provisioning & Activation, Discovery & Reconciliation, Design and Planning, Customer Impact Analysis, Outside Plant, Order Management, Asset Management and Telecom Cost Management. Founded in 1993, NetCracker Technology is headquartered in Waltham, MA, and can be reached at 1-781-419-3300 or www.netcracker.com.
About Mobile TeleSystems (MTS)

Mobile TeleSystems (NYSE: MBT) is the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS. Together with its subsidiaries, the Company services 50 million subscribers. The regions of Russia, as well as Belarus, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, in which MTS and its subsidiaries are licensed to provide GSM services, have a total population of approximately 233.1 million. Since June 2000, MTS's Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol MBT. Additional information about MTS can be found on MTS's website at www.mtsgsm.com.

NetCracker is a registered trademark of NetCracker Technology Corp. All other company or product names mentioned in this press release may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies of which they are associated.


www.home.businesswire.com

Big vendors do well out of small business

The SME sector has proved lucrative for two industry stalwarts, with improved profits for both IBM and software vendor Sage.

IBM posted turnover of $21.5bn for its third quarter ended 30 September, an increase of four per cent on the same period last year.

Big Blue reported profit of $1.52bn for Q3, this is down from the $1.55bn the firm reported as profit for Q3 2004.

Sam Palmisano, chief executive at IBM, said: “IBM had a good quarter, showing the strength of our business model across hardware, software and services.”

Mark Loughridge, chief financial officer of IBM, said the SME segment was the strongest in Q3, with 10 per cent growth over the same time last year. He attributed this to the vendor’s “Express offerings and strong network of Business Partners and ISVs”.

Big Blue’s Global Services division grew by three per cent to $11.7bn, software turnover grew by five per cent to $3.8bn and hardware turnover grew by seven per cent to $5.1bn.

Ian Wesley, IBM research director at Ovum, said: “IBM can be pleased with these results, but it’s a sign of the times that four per cent growth is considered encouraging.”

Financial software vendor Sage announced a 13 per cent increase in pre-tax turnover to £777m, in line with market expectations for its year ended 30 September.

David Bradshaw, principal analyst at Ovum said: “These are good results in a very mixed market. The only complaint is that Sage merely met, rather than exceeded, market expectations.”


www.vnunet.com