Briefcase

Pesticide linked to cancer OK’d for use by California growers

FRESNO, Calif. – California regulators approved a pesticide Wednesday for use by fruit and vegetable growers despite heavy opposition from environmental and farmworker groups that cited its links to cancer.

The state Department of Pesticide Regulation will register methyl iodide as a substitute for the pesticide methyl bromide, which is being phased out by international treaty because it depletes the Earth’s protective ozone layer.

California’s $1.6 billion strawberry industry will undoubtedly provide one of the biggest markets for the chemical, as will the Central Valley’s nut orchards and the flower industry, which is concentrated in Ventura and San Diego counties.

The pesticide is included on California’s official list of cancer-causing chemicals.

Regulators insist the fumigant can be used safely and say permits will be required and strict guidelines will be followed.

Associated Press

Panel rejects prostate cancer drugs

WASHINGTON – A federal panel of health experts on Wednesday rejected the use of two drugs from Merck and GlaxoSmithKline to prevent prostate cancer, saying the drugs could actually raise the risk of the most serious types of tumors.

The Food and Drug Administration panel of cancer experts voted 17-0 with one abstention that the risks of Merck’s Proscar outweighed its benefits. In a similar vote, the panel voted 14-2 with two abstentions against GlaxoSmithKline PLC’s Avodart. Both drugs are already approved to treat enlarged prostate.

“In a setting like this, the onus is on the drug to be completely safe and to show benefit, and I don’t think it reached that level,” said panel Chairman Dr. Wyndham Wilson, of the National Cancer Institute.

The FDA is not required to follow the panel’s advice but often does.

Studies by both companies showed their drugs decreased incidence of low-grade prostate tumors by nearly 25 percent.

However, panelists voiced concern that a small number of men taking the drugs actually developed more aggressive tumors, compared with patients taking a dummy pill. Panelists said the risk of increasing deadly tumors outweighed the benefit of reducing tumors that are seldom fatal.

According to figures from the FDA presented Tuesday, for every 60 men treated with Avodart for four years, one serious case of prostate cancer would be prevented. But for every 200 men treated during the same timeframe, one would develop a high-grade tumor.

Associated Press

Foreclosure sales plunged in summer

LOS ANGELES –The worst summer for home sales in decades also put a chill on foreclosure sales, even as the average discounts on the distressed properties got bigger compared with other types of homes.

Foreclosure sales plunged 25 percent in the July-September quarter versus the April-June period and tumbled 31 percent from the third quarter last year, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said today.

Sales of nonforeclosed properties fell 29percent sequentially and nearly 31 percent from the third quarter last year, the firm said.

The decline in sales of bank-owned properties and other homes in some stage of foreclosure is in line with an overall housing market slowdown that took hold after federal homebuyer tax credits expired in April.

The fallout over foreclosure processing errors that prompted some lenders to temporarily halt sales of bank-owned homes wasn’t a significant factor in the sharp third-quarter drop in foreclosure sales, said Daren Blomquist, a RealtyTrac spokesman.

Associated Press

Automakers have solid sales in autumn

U.S. auto sales rose 17 percent in November as the industry’s slow, steady recovery continued. All major automakers except Toyota saw double-digit gains from last November.

After an up-and-down year, sales were solid in October and November as consumer confidence improved. Analysts say people who kept their jobs through the downturn are willing to spend money on new cars again.

Automakers expect to close the year with industry sales in the 11.5 million range. That would be an improvement over 2009, when sales hit a 30-year low of 10.9 million.

Associated Press