Based on past elections and economic factors, two professors at the University of Oregon predict that Senator Barack Obama will win the presidential election by a 52 to 48 margin.

In the paper "A Disaggregate Approach to Economic Models of Voting in U.S. Presidential Elections: Forecasts of the 2008 Election," published in the Economics Bulletin, economic professors Stephen Haynes and Joe Stone's research shows that lowest-income states prefer McCain by 55.4 percent to 44.6 percent. Middle income states are almost evenly split between the two candidates and highest-income states prefer Obama by 53.3 percent to 46.65 percent.

Haynes and Stone note in their research that the 52 to 48 margin in favor of Obama falls within the four-point range of statistical error.

If Barack Obama is elected president on Nov. 4, and current polling suggests that is the case, he will come into office with something few presidents get and all envy: both houses of Congress controlled by his own party. With Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the helm in the House, and Majority Leader Harry Reid presiding over what may be a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, Obama, Pelosi and Reid will be able to fundamentally change the size, nature and scope of government.

When I was an undergraduate, I had to read Bram Stoker's Dracula for a class called, "Myths of the World." The novel is composed of first hand accounts, diary entries, letters and newspaper clippings to add validity to the story, so as you're reading it, you begin to think--it's real. There I was one night, in my San Francisco apartment, huddled in my bedroom with all the lights on reading:

When the Count saw my face, his eyes blazed with a sort of demonic fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat. I drew away, and his hand touched the string of beads which held the crucifix. It made an instant change in him, for the fury passed so quickly that I could hardly believe that it was ever there. - Bram Stoker's Dracula

SAN MATEO, California, October 24 /PRNewswire/ --

eMeter, a global leader in clean energy technology, has announced that leading Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) technology company, Iskraemeco Ltd, has agreed to participate in its IntegratedMDM program.

The resounding participation of leading AMI companies in eMeter's IntegratedMDM program highlights the value of close cooperation and future interoperability between an independent meter data management system (MDMS) and multiple AMI technologies, said Larsh Johnson, eMeter CTO. Utilities selecting a participating AMI technology can be assured that the technology will operate with eMeter's EnergyIP(TM) MDMS now and in the future.

LONDON, October 24 /PRNewswire/ --

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) will display a wide array of its state-of-the-art ship and marine navigation system capabilities at the international naval defence exhibition, Euronaval in Paris, France.

Euronaval will be held at the Paris-Le-Bourget exhibition centre from 27 to 31 October 2008 and includes the maritime sector and those industrial activities associated with state actions at sea.

ZUG, Switzerland, October 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- Indication: The Complete Article From ACQ Finance Magazine can be Downloaded Free of Charge Under: http://www.presseportal.ch/de/pm/100015343

The British trade journal ACQ Finance Magazine has singled out the acquisition of the e-commerce player Tradus plc by the South African print and online media corporation Naspers (JSE: NPN) as the Deal of the Year.

CALGARY, October 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Flint Energy Services Ltd. (Flint) confirmed the company will release its third quarter interim financial results on Thursday November 6th, 2008 after markets close. A conference call with management is scheduled for Friday November 7th, 2008 at 11:00 am Eastern Time (9:00 am Mountain Time).

Participants may join the live conference call by dialing: Toronto area: 416-644-3418; All other areas: 800-733-9303 Replay Audience Dial-in Number Codes: Access Number: 416-640-1917 Passcode 21285287 followed by the pound sign Access Number: 877-289-8525 Passcode 21285287 followed by the pound sign

Newt Gingrich, John Kerry, and someone named Billy Beane (I have no clue who he is) argue that medicine is not yet sufficiently data driven.:

In the past decade, baseball has experienced a data-driven information revolution. Numbers-crunchers now routinely use statistics to put better teams on the field for less money. Our overpriced, underperforming health care system needs a similar revolution...

Remarkably, a doctor today can get more data on the starting third baseman on his fantasy baseball team than on the effectiveness of life-and-death medical procedures. Studies have shown that most health care is not based on clinical studies of what works best and what does not — be it a test, treatment, drug or technology. Instead, most care is based on informed opinion, personal observation or tradition.

GENEVA, October 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced that it has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for a new indication of GONAL-f(R) / GONALEF(R) (follitropin alfa for injection) for ovulation induction in infertile women. The sNDA submission is supported by a Phase III single-blinded controlled study conducted in Japanese women with no or irregular ovulation (anovulation or oligoovulation), including Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which demonstrated the efficacy and safety of GONAL-f(R).

SARASOTA, Florida, October 24 /PRNewswire/ --

CPC of America, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CPCF), a company focused on developing therapeutic devices for use in endovascular procedures, announced today that it has entered into a manufacturing agreement with BC Tech. According to the agreement, BC Tech will manufacture the MedClose(TM) vascular closure system (VCS), a Class II extravascular puncture-closure device that may be used with a biological sealant for worldwide commercial application in diagnostic and interventional cardiovascular procedures. The Company aims to fill a global market need for a safe, reliable closure system that reduces time to hemostasis and allows for faster patient ambulation and, when necessary, wound re-access.