Microsoft may have exited gadget show prematurely

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Microsoft may have relinquished its starring role in America’s gaudiest gadget show a year too early.

After 13 straight years in the spotlight, Microsoft’s decision to scale back its presence at this week’s International CES deprived the software maker of a prime opportunity to explain and promote a new generation of redesigned computers running its radically remade Windows operating system.

The missed chance comes at a time when Microsoft Corp. could use a bully pulpit to counter perceptions that Windows 8 isn’t compelling enough to turn the technological tide away from smartphones and tablets running software made by Apple Inc. and Google Inc.

“They needed to be at this show in a very big way to show the progress they have made and what is it about 2013 that is going to make consumers really gravitate toward a Windows 8 machine,” said technology industry analyst Patrick Moorhead.

Since Windows 8 went on sale in late October, there has been little evidence to suggest the operating system will lift the personal computer industry out of a deepening downturn. Worldwide PC shipments during the final three months of last year dropped 6 percent from the same period in 2011, according to the research firm International Data Corp. The dip occurred despite the bevy of Windows 8 laptops and desktop machines that were on sale during the holiday shopping season.

Microsoft, though, insists things worked out at just fine during CES, even though it didn’t have a booth and only had a smattering of executives at the sprawling trade show, which drew some 156,000 people to Las Vegas.

The company, which is based in Redmond, Wash., decided it no longer makes sense to invest as much time and money in CES as it once did. The company says the show’s early January slot doesn’t mesh with the timing of its major product releases. Windows 8, for instance, was still more than nine months away from hitting the market when Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer kicked off last year’s CES with a keynote address that was billed as the company’s swan song at the show.

“We are very comfortable with our decision,” Microsoft spokesman Frank Shaw said. “It has been a productive show for us this year.”

Microsoft’s retreat from CES puzzled some attendees curious about Windows 8. For instance, when Michael Sullivan showed up at computer maker Asus’ booth, which was stocked with Windows 8 computers, there was no one around to discuss the machines or the software.

“This is unusual,” said Sullivan, CEO of computer sales firm Spec 4 International Inc. “I don’t understand why a successful company isn’t bringing executives here.”

Asus invited some CES attendees to learn more about Windows 8 at a nearby hotel, away from the show’s main trade show. Asus has left its booth unmanned in previous years at CES, but the void wasn’t as noticeable when Microsoft’s own representatives were canvassing the floor.

NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim thought Microsoft should have had more people helping to staff its partners’ booths because, he said, no one understands how Windows 8 works better than the company that made it.

“Whenever you have a new product rolling out, it’s always helpful to communicate your message directly as opposed to counting on your partners,” Shim said.

Microsoft elected to curtail its CES presence largely because the show’s marketing value has diminished. In recent years, companies such as Apple and Google have shown that they can command more attention by holding their own exclusive events to unveil products just before they go on sale. Neither Apple nor Google had a major presence at CES.

In a sign that it is embracing its rivals’ strategy, Microsoft staged separate events last year in Los Angeles and New York to unveil Surface, a Windows-powered tablet computer, and Windows 8.

Nevertheless, both Shim and Moorhead believe would have been better off waiting until after this year’s CES to surrender its top billing on the marquee. That way, Ballmer could have used this year’s opening CES keynote to talk about Windows 8′s advantages as a finished product.

“Ballmer could have talked about the operating system more completely and built more hype around it, especially since Microsoft has been getting beaten up so far over Windows 8′s performance,” Shim said.

When Ballmer ended Microsoft’s 13-year streak of kicking off CES, he was only able to provide a peek at a makeover of the operating system that was still months away from being completed.

Microsoft touts Windows 8 as a breakthrough that will enable people to straddle the divide between personal computers and tablets. The revamped operating system is built to respond to the touch of a finger so it can work on tablet computers while still retaining the ability to respond to commands from keyboards and mice on laptop and desktop machines. To take advantage of Windows 8′s versatility, many PC makers are building convertible devices that can work as a tablet or a laptop.

But reviews of the new operating system have been lukewarm. Critics have been panning it as too confusing and cumbersome.

Microsoft used part of a CES technology forum presented by J.P. Morgan to try to build more enthusiasm. The company revealed that 60 million copies of Windows 8 have been sold so far, putting it on the same pace as the previous version — Windows 7 — at the same juncture of its release. But it’s unclear how many of those Windows 8 licenses are installed on computers that are still sitting in stores or warehouses.

Investors have been so unimpressed with the reception to the new Windows products that Microsoft’s stock price has slipped 4 percent since the operating system’s Oct. 26 release. Meanwhile, the bellwether Standard & Poor’s 500 index has gained 4 percent. Microsoft’s stock closed Friday at $ 26.83, up 37 cents.

A clearer picture of the early reception to Windows 8 may emerge Jan. 24 when Microsoft is scheduled to report its earnings for the three months spanning the holiday shopping season.

Although he wasn’t the main attraction, Ballmer made a cameo appearance during Qualcomm Inc. CEO Paul Jacobs’ opening address at this year’s show.

Ballmer’s acceptance of Qualcomm’s invitation to join Jacobs on stage surprised some people because Qualcomm has emerged as a threat to Intel Corp., a longtime Microsoft ally that makes most of the processors in Windows computers. Instead of touting Windows 8, Ballmer spent his time hailing a streamlined version of the operating system, dubbed Windows RT, which runs on tablets using processors that rely on technology designed by ARM, another Intel rival.

Microsoft’s top executive in charge of technical strategy appeared on stage at Samsung Electronics’ invitation to reveal a Windows phone featuring a flexible color display. The electronics of the phone are in a little box, and the thin, bendable screen is attached to it, looking much like a piece of paper.

That left Intel and other Microsoft partners, including PC makers Samsung, Sony, Asus, Acer and Hewlett-Packard Co., to do most of the boasting about Windows 8 at their own CES booths.

“Our partners are doing that very effectively,” Shaw said. “You couldn’t walk through the (CES) floor without seeing people doing really interesting things with Windows 8.”

But there were other times when it appeared Microsoft’s partners could have used some help.

Sony exhibitor John Guzman, for instance, seemed stumped when an Associated Press reporter visited the company’s CES booth and asked whether a machine running Windows 8 or the more advanced Windows 8 Pro would be a better fit for journalistic work.

“That is more of a Microsoft question,” Guzman said, adding that no Microsoft representatives were around.

___

Liedtke reported from San Francisco. AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson contributed to this story.

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3 teens shot in South Side attacks

Three teens were shot in two separate South Side attacks this afternoon, authorities said.

About 4:05 p.m., a 16-year-old boy was shot in the thigh and a 17-year-old boy suffered a graze wound to the chest in the 400 block of East 82nd Street in the Chatham neighborhood, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Veejay Zala.

The younger victim was taken to Adocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious-to-critical condition, and the older victim was taken to Jackson Park Hospital in good-to-fair condition, according to the Chicago Fire Department's media office.

Police did not have details of the attack.

Earlier this afternoon, a 17-year-old boy was shot and seriously wounded in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side, according to police and the  Chicago Fire Department.

Someone in a passing vehicle opened fire and shot the 17-year-old boy in the arm and torso in the 2100 block of West 85th Street, according to police News Affairs Officer Veejay Zala. 

About 2 p.m. paramedics responded and took the victim, who Chicago Fire Department spokesman Kevin MacGregor said appeared under age 16, to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious condition.

On the North Side earlier this afternoon, a man was shot and wounded in the Buena Park neighborhood, authorities said.

The victim was taken from the 700 block of West Gordon Terrace to Weiss Memorial Hospital in fair-to-serious condition following the shooting a little before 1 p.m., said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Will Knight.

The man was shot in the buttocks, said Police News Affairs Officer Michael Sullivan.

Initial reports were of several shots fired near Clarendon and Montrose avenues at 12:53 p.m., and a Cook County sheriff's officer calling for assistance after finding someone at the scene a few minutes later, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli.

The sheriff's officer was a civil process server, and he heard shots and found the shooting victim nearby, said sheriff's spokeswoman Sophia Ansari.

The officer stayed with the victim and another person who was with him and called for an ambulance and police, Ansari said.

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Evan Rachel Wood expecting first child with actor Jamie Bell

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actress Evan Rachel Wood said on Friday that she and her husband, British actor Jamie Bell, are expecting their first child.

“Thanks for all your warm wishes,” Wood, 25, wrote on her Twitter account. “We are very happy. I’m gonna be a mama!”

Moments earlier, Wood posted a picture of the pregnancy book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” on the social media site.

It will be the first child for both Wood and Bell, who wed in October.

Wood rose to Hollywood stardom for her roles in 2008′s “The Wrestler” and the 2003 coming-of-age drama “Thirteen.” She was nominated for an Emmy award for the 2011 television mini-series “Mildred Pierce.”

Bell, 26, found fame as the teen star of “Billy Elliot,” about a ballet dancer growing up in a tough coal mining town in northern England. He won a British BAFTA award for the role and has since appeared in adventure movies such as “The Eagle.”

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; editing by Philip Barbara)

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Flu Deaths Reach Epidemic Level, but May Be at Peak

Deaths in the current flu season have officially crossed the line into “epidemic” territory, federal health officials said Friday, adding that, on the bright side, there were also early signs that the caseloads could be peaking.

Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaking on a telephone news conference, again urged Americans to keep getting flu shots. At the same time, they emphasized that the shots are not infallible: a preliminary study rated this year’s vaccine as 62 percent effective, even though it is a good match for the most worrisome virus circulating. That corresponds to a rating of “moderately” effective — the vaccine typically ranges from 50 percent to 70 percent effective, they said.

Even though deaths stepped — barely — into epidemic territory for the first time last Saturday, the C.D.C. officials expressed no alarm, and said it was possible that new flu infections were peaking in some parts of the country. “Most of the country is seeing a lot of flu and that may continue for weeks,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the C.D.C.’s director.

New outpatient cases — a measure based on what percentage of doctor visits were for colds or flu — dropped off slightly from the previous week, to 4 percent from 6 percent. The trend was more pronounced in the South, where this year’s season began.

Dr. Frieden cautioned that the new flu figures could be aberrations because they were gathered as the holiday season was ending. Few people schedule routine checkups then, so the percentage of visits for severe illness can be pushed artificially high for a week or two, then inevitably drop.

Deaths from pneumonia and the flu, a wavy curve that is low in summer and high in winter, typically touch the epidemic level for one or two weeks every flu season. How bad a season is depends on how high the deaths climb for how long.

So far this season, 20 children with confirmed flu tests have died, but that is presumably lower than the actual number of deaths because not all children are tested and not all such deaths are reported. How many adults die will not be estimated until after the season ends, said Dr. Joseph Bresee, the chief of prevention and epidemiology for the C.D.C.’s flu branch. Epidemiologists count how many death certificates are filed in a flu year, compare the number with normal years, and estimate what percentage were probably flu-related.

Many people are getting ill this year because the country is also having widespread outbreaks of two diseases with overlapping symptoms, norovirus and whooping cough, and the normal winter surge in common colds. Flu shots have no effect on any of those.

Spot shortages of vaccines have been reported, and there will not be enough for all Americans, since the industry has made and shipped only about 130 million doses. But officials said they would be pleased if 50 percent of Americans got shots; in a typical year, 37 percent do.

Dr. Bresee said that this year’s epidemic resembles that of 2003-4, which also began early, was dominated by an H3N2 strain and killed more Americans than usual.

Nevertheless, more Americans now routinely get flu shots than did then, and doctors are much quicker to prescribe Tamiflu and Relenza, drugs that can lessen a flu’s severity if taken early.

The C.D.C.’s vaccine effectiveness study bore out the point of view of a report released last year by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. It said that the shot’s effectiveness had been “overpromoted and overhyped,” said Michael T. Osterholm, the center’s director.

Although the report supported getting flu shots, it said that new vaccines offering lifelong protection against all flu strains, instead of annual partial protection against a mix-and-match set, must be created.

“But there’s no appetite to fund that research,” Dr. Osterholm said in an interview Friday.

“To get a vaccine across the ‘Valley of Death’ is likely to cost $1 billion,” he added, referring to the huge clinical trials that would be needed to approve a new type of vaccine. “No government has put more than $100 million into any candidate, and the private sector has no appetite for it because there’s not enough return on investment.”

At the same time, he praised the C.D.C. for measuring vaccine effectiveness in midseason.

“We’re the only ones in the world who have data like that,” he said.

“Vaccine effectiveness” is a very different metric from vaccine-virus match, which is done in a lab. Vaccine efficacy is measured by interviewing hundreds of sick or recovering patients who had positive flu tests and asking whether and when they had received shots.

Only people sick enough to visit doctors get flu tests, said Thomas Skinner, a C.D.C. spokesman, so the metric means the shot “reduces by 62 percent your chance of getting a flu so bad that you have to go to a doctor or hospital.”

During the telephone news conference Friday, Dr. Frieden repeatedly described the vaccine as “far from perfect, but by far the best tool we have to prevent influenza.”

Most vaccinations given in childhood for threats like measles and diphtheria are 90 percent effective or better. But flu viruses mutate so fast that they must be remade annually. Scientists are trying to develop vaccines that target bits of the virus that appear to stay constant, like the stem of the hemagglutinin spike that lets the virus break into lung cells.

During the 2009 swine flu pandemic, many elderly Americans had natural protection, presumably from flus they caught in the 1930s or ’40s.

“Think about that,” Dr. Osterholm said. “Even though they were old, they were still protected. We’ve got to figure out how to capture that kind of immunity — which current vaccines do not.”

At Friday’s news conference, Dr. Bresee acknowledged the difficulties, saying: “If I had the perfect answer as to how to make a better flu vaccine, I’d probably get a Nobel Prize.”

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U.S. to review Boeing 787 design, safety

Two new incidents involving the Boeing 787 Dreamliner have been reported in Japan -- a crack in the cockpit and an oil leak. Norah O'Donnell reports.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it will launch a high-priority and comprehensive review of Chicago-based Boeing's new 787's critical systems, following a rash of malfunctions this week, such as a battery fire and fuel leaks. However, federal transportation officials also supported Boeing, saying repeatedly that the plane is safe.

"We are confident about the safety of this aircraft," said Federal Aviation Administrator Michael Huerta, adding that a priority in the review will be the plane's electrical systems. He said he would not speculate on how long the review would take.

The review, an unusual move for the FAA that will not ground planes or halt production of new 787s, will examine the plane's design, manufacture and assembly, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

"Through it, we will look for the root causes of recent events and do everything we can to make sure these events don't happen again," he said. "I believe this plane is safe and I would have absolutely no reservation of boarding one of these planes and taking a flight."

Boeing shares were down 2.5 percent in midday trading to $75.15.

The announcement comes amid yet more reports Friday of problems with the highly anticipated "Dreamliner" jet, including a cracked cockpit window and another oil leak on a Japanese carrier. They add to a rash of other reported problems this week, most seriously a battery fire on a parked 787 in Boston, an incident under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The plane model is in use in Chicago for temporary United Airlines flights between Chicago O'Hare and Houston. Chicago-based United has five other 787s in service domestically. "We continue to have complete confidence in the 787 and in the ability of Boeing, with the support of the FAA, to resolve these early operational issues," a United spokeswoman said. "We will support Boeing and the FAA throughout their review."

Next week, LOT Polish Airlines plans to begin operating the region's first regular flight on a 787 between O'Hare and Warsaw, Poland. That inaugural flight is still planned for Wednesday, a spokeswoman said. All told, Boeing has delivered 50 Dreamliners to customers around the world, many to Japanese carriers.

Aviation experts have said the planes are safe and that glitches are common on new models of planes, especially ones as revolutionary as the 787, which uses mostly composite materials instead of metals to create an aircraft that's more lighter, more fuel-efficient and more comfortable for passengers. However, other observers have said the concentration of problems in a short period and the media attention they garner is damaging the reputation of Boeing, which was already under scrutiny for delivering the Dreamliner to customers more than three years late. The plane's list price is about $207 million.

The latest problems came Friday, when Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways said a domestic flight from Tokyo landed safely at Matsuyama airport in western Japan after a crack developed on the cockpit windscreen, and the plane's return to Tokyo was cancelled.

"Cracks appear a few times every year in other planes. We don't see this as a sign of a fundamental problem" with Boeing aircraft, a spokesman for the airline said. The same airline later on Friday said oil was found leaking from an engine of a 787 Dreamliner after the plane landed at Miyazaki airport in southern Japan. An airline spokeswoman said it later returned to Tokyo after some delay. No one was injured in either incident.

Boeing said Friday the 787 logged 50,000 hours of flight, with more than 150 flights occurring daily, and that its performance has been on par with the Boeing 777, which it calls "the industry's best-ever introduction" of a new airplane. "More than a year ago, the 787 completed the most robust and rigorous certification process in the history of the FAA," Boeing said in a statement. "We remain fully confident in the airplane's design and production system."

Ray Conner, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said Friday that the recent problems were not caused by Boeing's outsourcing of production or by ramping up production too quickly.

"We are fully committed to resolving any issue that affects the reliability of our airlines," he said.

gkarp@tribune.com

Reuters contributed
 

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Sprint confirms it will launch BlackBerry 10 later this year

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1 dead, 1 wounded in South Side attack

Chicago police work at the scene of a fatal shooting at 71st an Jeffery on Chicago's southeast side. (Phil Velasquez, Chicago Tribune / January 10, 2013)

Staff report

7:18 p.m. CST, January 10, 2013

Two men were wounded, one fatally, in a shooting in the South Shore neighborhood this evening, police said.

The shooting took place about 6:13 p.m. in the 2000  block of East 71st Street — near Jeffery Boulevard —said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Veejay Zala.

One man was shot and died on the scene, the other suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for treatment, said Zala. A condition was not available.

News Affairs had no immediate information on any of the circumstances of the shooting.

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Adele to join in Hollywood’s Golden Globe party

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Pop star Adele is set to attend the Golden Globes ceremony in Beverly Hills on Sunday in what will be her first public appearance since giving birth to a boy in October.

Golden Globe organizers said the 24-year-old British singer would be attending as a nominee, rather than a performer. Her “Skyfall” theme song for the latest James Bond movie is in the running for best original song at the Golden Globes – one of Hollywood’s biggest awards shows.

The “Someone Like You” singer gave birth to her first child in October with her partner, Simon Konecki, but has since kept out of the public eye.

She performed and co-wrote the theme song for “Skyfall,” a $ 1 billion box office hit, while her Grammy-winning heartbreak album “21″ scored the rare feat in December of topping all U.S. album sales for a second straight year.

Adele will find herself mingling with some of Hollywood’s biggest movie and TV stars on January 13, including Golden Globe presenters George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez and Meryl Streep, and nominees such as Jon Hamm, Ben Affleck, Daniel Day-Lewis, Helen Mirren, Leonardo DiCaprio, Anne Hathaway and Kevin Costner.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Eric Walsh)

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F.D.A. Requires Cuts to Dosages of Ambien and Other Sleep Drugs

WASHINGTON — For two decades, millions of Americans have taken Ambien to help them sleep at night. But for years, the Food and Drug Administration has gotten complaints that people felt drowsy the morning after taking the medicine or its successors, and sometimes got into car accidents.

On Thursday, after laboratory studies and driving tests confirming the risks of drowsiness, the agency said that women should be taking half as much.

The new recommendation applies to drugs containing the active ingredient zolpidem, by far the most widely used sleep aid. Using lower doses means less of the drug will remain in the blood in the morning hours, and will reduce the risk that people who use it will be impaired while driving.

Sleeping pills have boomed in popularity with the increasingly frantic pace of modern American life. According to IMS, a health care information and technology company, about 60 million prescriptions were dispensed in 2011, up about 20 percent since 2006. About 40 million were for products containing zolpidem.

The agency’s announcement was focused on women because they take longer to metabolize the drug than men. An estimated 10 percent to 15 percent of women will have a level of zolpidem in their blood that could impair driving eight hours after taking the pill, while only about 3 percent of men do, said Dr. Robert Temple, an official in the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Reports of aftereffects from sleeping pills have circulated for years, and some doctors questioned why the drug agency took so long to act. Mishaps with sleepy driving — and even strange acts of texting, eating or having sex in the night without any memory of it in the morning — have long been familiar to the medical community.

“In this case, the F.D.A. may be behind the 8-ball,” said Daniel Carlat, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Tufts University, referring to residual drowsiness. “This has been a known problem. Few doctors will be surprised hearing about this. They’ll say, ‘Oh yeah, we’ve already seen this in our patients.’ ”

He added that Thursday’s announcement “will be good for public health because it will get patients to ask their doctors about the appropriate dosage.”

Agency officials acknowledged that they had received about 700 reports of driving mishaps with people on zolpidem over the years, with a spike in 2007 after a change in labeling caused more people to call in complaints. But they said it was not easy to draw a direct connection between the reports and the drug. Patients often did not remember what time they took the pill. Sometimes they had been drinking.

It was not until the drug agency reviewed driving simulation studies from controlled trials of the drug Intermezzo, which was approved in 2011 for middle-of-the-night waking, that a more complete picture of the risks emerged. The agency linked the driving simulation information with data from manufacturers on the amount of zolpidem in patients’ blood and determined that levels above about 50 nanograms per milliliter increased the risk of crashing while driving, said Dr. Ellis Unger, an official at the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Dr. Unger said that all makers of new sleeping drugs would now be asked to conduct driving trials; a spokeswoman clarified that it would not be required.

“A lot of people are wondering about the elephant in the room,” Dr. Unger said. “Why did this take so long? This is science, and our thinking evolves over time.”

The drug agency told manufacturers that the recommended dose for women should be lowered to 5 milligrams from 10 for immediate-release products like Ambien, Edluar and Zolpimist. Doses for extended-release products should be lowered to 6.25 milligrams from 12.5, the agency said. Most sleeping drugs containing zolpidem are now generic.

For men, the agency informed manufacturers that labels should recommend that health care providers should “consider” prescribing lower doses.

Patients taking the higher doses should continue them for the time being, officials said, but should consult with their doctors about lowering them. Doctors can still prescribe the higher dose if the lower one does not work. The lower doses are already commercially available, Dr. Unger said, as they are recommended for older patients.

Sanofi, the manufacturer of Ambien and Ambien CR, said in a statement that it agreed that people taking zolpidem “should always talk to their doctor about the most appropriate dose,” and that the label “provides important information” to determine what that is. The company added that it “stands behind the significant clinical data demonstrating the safety and efficacy of Ambien.”

The drug has also been known to cause sleepwalking incidents, and Dr. Unger said there was evidence that the lower dose might ease such events, though it is weaker than the evidence about next-morning-drowsiness. Dr. Carlat said one of his patients discovered that her weight gain while on the drug was from midnight trips to the kitchen she did not even remember taking.

Dr. Daniel Kripke, professor emeritus of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, and a leading critic of sleeping pills, welcomed the move but said the agency was still not doing enough to investigate other possible side effects.

“It’s a very small step in the right direction,” he said. He added that sleeping medications like zolpidem might increase total sleep time by 20 minutes a night, but that most studies suggest that the use of sleeping pills impairs a person’s performance the next day.

Critics of the drug agency said the label on Intermezzo, which very clearly denotes the risks for women, indicate that the agency was aware of these problems earlier.

But Thomas Roth, director of the sleep center at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit who has been a consultant to sleeping pill makers, said that the drug agency had always been concerned about the potential risks with driving, “but they care about it more now.” He said he believed the lower dose would still be effective for many patients.

Agency officials say all patients are unique and doses will need to be tailored. They say the drugs should be prescribed at the lowest dose required.

Dr. Daniel J. Buysse, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said he already prescribed the lower dose when he feels it is necessary, by telling patients to cut a tablet in half along the score.

“This just tells me, maybe be a little bit more cautious,” said Dr. Buysse, who has been a consultant for drug companies including the maker of Ambien. “But I do not think it will have a big effect on what I do.”

Andrew Pollack contributed reporting from San Francisco.

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Jewel-Osco stores to be sold to Cerberus group

Jewel-Osco stores will be sold to a consortium of investors led by Cerberus Capital Management, Jewel's parent Supervalu said today. (WGN - Chicago)

Jewel-Osco stores will be sold to a consortium of investors led by Cerberus Capital Management, Jewel's parent Supervalu said Thursday.

The deal, valued at $3.3 billion, also includes the Albertsons, Acme, and Shaw stores.

The announcement ends months of speculation that all or parts of the troubled grocery chain would be sold to New York-based Cerberus, an investment firm. Supervalu acquired Jewel in 2006 as part of a larger, complex acquisition of the Albertsons company.

Supervalu also reported earnings of $16 million, or 8 cents per share, in the third quarter ended on Dec. 1, compared with a year-earlier loss of $750 million, or $3.54 per share.

Excluding an after-tax gain related to a cash settlement from credit card companies and after-tax charges primarily related to store closures, it earned $5 million, or 3 cents per share.

As part of the deal, which includes $100 million in cash and $3.2 billion in debt, the five grocery chains will be acquired by AB Acquisition, an affiliate of Cerberus. Other investors in the deal include Kimco Realty Corp, Klaff Realty, Lubert-Adler Partners and Schottenstein Real Estate Group.

Following the sale, which is expected to close in the spring, a newly formed entity called Symphony Investors, led by Cerberus, will purchase up to 30 percent of Supervalu's outstanding shares for $4 each, representing a 50 percent premium over the stock's 30-day average. If Symphony cannot acquire at least 19.9 percent of the outstanding shares at that price, Supervalu must issue additional stock.

Wall Street has long expected Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Supervalu to sell some or all of its assets.

Following the deal, Supervalu will consist of its wholesale grocery business, the Save-A-Lot discount chain, and traditional grocery chains like Cub, Shop N' Save and Hornbacher's.

In a call with investors, outgoing CEO Wayne Sales said the deal brings Supervalu "a very strong balance sheet," and the ability to focus on investments in price reductions, fresh produce, and customer experience at its remaining chains. 

The new company is smaller, "with more bandwidth and leadership" to focus on its wholesale business, Save-A-Lot, and its traditional grocery stores, he said.

Sam Duncan, 61, will replace Wayne Sales as CEO. Duncan was CEO of Office Max from 2005 to 2011, and prior to that, was CEO of ShopKo, a Midwestern grocery chain. Five unidentified board members will resign as part of the deal, making room for Duncan, Albertsons CEO Robert Miller, and three new appointees. The size of the board will shrink from 10 to seven.

Concurrent with the announcement, Supervalu announced that it has secured access to a $900 million asset-based credit facility, and a $1.5 billion loan.

This deal ends a long and difficult year for one of the country's largest grocers.

Last April, Supervalu reported a loss of $1.04 billion for fiscal 2012, which included a $519 million operating loss and $509 million in interest expense. Sales also declined 3 percent, to $27.9 billion. In July, the company said it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a sale. Soon after, the company dismissed CEO Craig Herkert, with Chairman Wayne Sales stepping in to helm the troubled grocer.

Cerberus, an investor in the deal to acquire Albertsons in 2006 was long seen as the leading candidate. Last week, rumors that Supervalu was near a deal with Cerberus sent stock soaring nearly 15 percent.

In September, Supervalu said it would 60 underperforming stores, primarily from the Save-A-Lot and Albertsons chains. No Jewel locations were identified at the time. The announcement was particularly troubling to investment community because Save-A-Lot, a hard discount chain, has been Supervalu's primary growth vehicle.

Supervalu has long acknowledged that many of its stores are not price competitive. In 2012, it homed in on Jewel-Osco and the Chicago market. Supervalu surveyed customers and lowered prices throughout the store. When the company reported results for its second fiscal quarter in September, (Supervalu CEO Wayne) Sales said that Jewel had been "competitively priced throughout the store" for about six weeks.

Sales said that the initiative had resulted in "dramatic improvement" in how consumers "think about the quality of products we sell, how they feel about the service they get in various departments" and that the company was pleased with increased unit sales.

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