MOSCOW | Fri Feb 1, 2013 3:53am EST

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A rocket carrying a communications satellite suffered engine trouble and plunged into the Pacific Ocean shortly after launch on Friday, Russian news agencies reported.

The unsuccessful launch of the Intelsat-27 satellite was one of several setbacks for Russia's space program in recent years, including failed satellite launches and an unsuccessful mission to study the Mars moon Phobos.

The Zenit-3SL rocket carrying the satellite suffered engine failure shortly after liftoff, state-run Itar-Tass reported, citing a Russian space industry source. The rocket is a joint production of Ukrainian and Russian companies, it said.

Intelsat-27 was to provide services for media, government and other customers in the Americas and Europe, according to the website of Luxembourg-based Intelsat.

Russia is increasing space spending and plans to send a probe to the moon in 2015, but its celebrations in 2011 of the 50th anniversary of the Soviet achievement of putting the first man in space were marred by several botched satellite launches.

(Writing by Steve Gutterman)

View the original article here

BEIJING | Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:24am EST

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's carbon intensity, or its emissions relative to economic output, fell more than 3.5 percent in 2012, outperforming its average annual target, China's chief climate change official said on Thursday.

China aims to cut carbon intensity by 17 percent during the 2011-2015 period, which means an annual average target of around 3.5 percent. Intensity is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of gross domestic product.

"The situation last year was relatively good. Based on a preliminary estimate, China could achieve a more than 3.5 percent fall in carbon intensity," said Su Wei, director general of climate change department of National Development and Reform Commission.

Cutting carbon intensity allows China to meet international demands for it to curb emissions and also keep its priority that development must come first while many Chinese still live in poverty.

The government is currently drawing up a national plan on climate change till 2020, which is expected to be finalized soon, Su said.

China recently published a new industrial carbon emissions plan. Steel, nonferrous metals and petrochemical sectors are required to cut CO2 intensity by 18 percent by 2015 compared with the 2010 level.

By 2020, China aims to cut its carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent versus the 2005 level, a target that is stimulating a sharp increase in investment demand in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Its efforts to control emissions are also paving the way for creation of a carbon market, which requires accurate measurements of the carbon emitted.

China's biggest listed steelmaker, Baoshan Iron and Steel, is among the industrial companies that must participate in a pilot carbon trading scheme in Shanghai, the local government said last month.

China will need 1.24 trillion yuan ($199.2 billion) in energy conservation investments in 2011-2015, an increase of 50 percent from the level in 2006-2010, according to a research report released by Tsinghua University on Thursday.

The investment in China's renewable energy sector in 2011-2015 will increase 37.5 percent to 1.8 trillion yuan, the report showed. ($1 = 6.2262 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Wan Xu and David Standway; editing by Jane Baird)

View the original article here

The Nook Tablet is seen during a demonstration at the Union Square Barnes & Noble in New York, November 7, 2011.

View the original article here

Fri Dec 21, 2012 12:24pm EST

n">(Reuters) - Walgreen Co (WAG.N) posted an unexpected decline in quarterly profit on Friday as the largest U.S. drugstore chain worked on winning back former customers and changed how it accounts for its first international acquisition.

The company stands to get a bit of a sales lift in the current quarter as a strong flu season brings shoppers in for flu shots and medications.

Walgreen lost millions of customers due to a contract dispute with pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX.O) and is trying to lure them back with offers such as $25 gift cards. It is seeing an increasing pace of Express Scripts patients returning to its stores.

Earnings in the latest quarter were hurt by a decision to report results from Walgreen's stake in Europe's Alliance Boots Holding Ltd ABN.UL on a one-quarter lag rather than a one-month lag. The decision was based on regulatory, audit and business concerns, the company said.

Shares of Walgreen, which has 8,000 U.S. drugstores, fell 3.75 percent to $36.14 in midday trading.

"It was messy," Gabelli & Co research analyst Jeff Jonas said of the quarterly results, noting they included items such as the change in reporting results from Alliance Boots as well as a charge for costs stemming from Hurricane Sandy.

"If you give them credit for everything, it was actually a good quarter," he said.

FLU UP, PROFIT DOWN

The Centers For Disease Control is projecting the worst flu season in 10 years, and Walgreen has seen strong demand for flu shots and other immunizations continue into December, Chief Executive Greg Wasson said.

Through the end of its fiscal first quarter on November 30, Walgreen had given more than 5 million flu shots, up from a year earlier. It has also seen sales of cough and cold medications pick up.

A strong flu season should help the industry in December and likely for the next couple of months, said Jonas.

Walgreen earned $413 million, or 43 cents per share, in the first quarter, down from $554 million, or 63 cents per share, a year earlier.

Earnings before unusual items fell to 58 cents per share from 71 cents a year earlier, missing analysts' average forecast of 70 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Unusual items in the latest quarter included costs related to acquisitions, an inventory provision, and the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

Results from Alliance Boots cut adjusted earnings per share by 7 cents, rather than adding 3 cents as was expected if results had been reported using a one-month lag.

Walgreen paid $7 billion in cash and stock for a 45 percent stake in the European pharmacy operator in August and has an option to buy the rest of the company in about three years.

Walgreen's first-quarter sales fell 4.6 percent to $17.32 billion, with sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, down 8 percent.

The sales performance was slightly worse than Walgreen reported earlier this month. At that time, it said sales fell 4.5 percent to $17.34 billion and same-store sales declined 7.7 percent.

Since settling its dispute with Express Scripts, Walgreen has stepped up its marketing to bring back Express Scripts patients and also has been promoting a new loyalty card, signing up more than 45 million shoppers in a few months.

Rivals CVS Caremark Corp (CVS.N) and Rite Aid Corp (RAD.N) are trying to hold onto the customers they gained when Walgreen lost its Express Scripts patients.

On December 13, CVS said it still expected to retain at least 60 percent of the Walgreen patrons that switched to its chain, which should boost CVS' fourth-quarter earnings by at least 12.5 cents per share.

On Thursday, Rite Aid said it has retained "the lion's share" of patients it gained during the dispute.

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and John Wallace)

View the original article here