NEWARK, New Jersey, October 9 /PRNewswire/ --

PIERS Global Intelligence Solutions, a Commonwealth Business Media company and the leading provider of U.S. ocean-going trade information, announced the strategic expansion of its international trade database assets to include coverage of water- and airborne cross-border commerce to and from Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

"This is a significant expansion of our Asian Subcontinent coverage," says Richard E. Hanft, Director, Asia/Pacific Region, for PIERS.

LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany, October 9 /PRNewswire/ --

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced the opening of new development laboratories and a pilot plant facility that will research groundbreaking technologies and test large-scale production of newly developed drug formulations. The expansion is part of Abbott's global drug delivery business, SOLIQS, which is based in Ludwigshafen.

"Abbott is committed to advancing scientific innovation and bringing new medicines to patients," said John M. Leonard, M.D., senior vice president, Pharmaceuticals, Research and Development, Abbott. "Innovative drug formulation is critical to the development of effective new treatments that make a difference for patients."

MENLO PARK, California, October 9 /PRNewswire/ --

- Company Prepares for Increased Sales and Marketing Efforts to Accelerate Global Progress of MitraClip(R) System

Evalve, Inc., the leader in the development of devices for the percutaneous repair of cardiac valves, has expanded its sales and marketing executive team with the appointment of Sean Cleary as senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing and Chris Richardson, as vice president of sales.

LONDON, October 9 /PRNewswire/ --

Planalytics Inc., the global leader in Business Weather Intelligence(R), in its September WeatherCall(SM) report said that retailers had a strong, although short-lived, start to the season when wetter and cooler weather increased demand for autumn merchandise during the first ten days of the month. By mid-month this favourable seasonal demand faded as temperatures trended back towards normal and sunny days outnumbered grey ones. The pattern shifted again at the very end of the month, when the mellow pattern changed to something more akin to most people's perception of autumn, as a vigorous system brought wind and rain to all parts of the UK.

CALGARY, Canada, October 9 /PRNewswire/ --

- 33.33 Per Cent Interest in Sangaw North Production Sharing Contract

Addax Petroleum Corporation ("Addax Petroleum" or the "Corporation") (TSX:AXC and LSE:AXC), today announces that it has acquired a 33.33 per cent interest in the Sangaw North Production Sharing Contract ("PSC"). The Sangaw North license area is operated by Sterling Energy plc ("Sterling") and is located approximately 80 kilometers southeast of the Corporation's Taq Taq field.

MILAN, Italy, October 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Making HD video conferencing simple and affordable and supporting its diffusion as a communication and collaboration standard throughout companies of any size and industry: it's been less than a year since Mirial started its partnership with BCS Global, but the two companies already seem to have reached their goal.

PRINCETON, New Jersey, October 9 /PRNewswire/ --

BioWa, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a license agreement with CSL Limited, providing CSL with access to BioWa's POTELLIGENT(R) Technology platform for the research and development of antibody therapeutics with enhanced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC).

"We are very pleased to have this opportunity to work with CSL, our first Australian partner," said Dr. Masamichi Koike, President and CEO of BioWa. "We believe that CSL's strength in biologics and significant presence in Australia and many other countries will help the technology to reach broader fields and territories."

KEIGHLEY, England, October 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The credit crunch has not stopped UK consumers from purchasing lower value gadgets and electrical products, according to the UK's leading cashback shopping website.

http://www.froggybank.co.uk analysed the spending habits of the half a million members of its cashback network.

It discovered that while purchases of high value electrical items are in decline, lower value items show a recovery in sales when compared to two or three months ago.

And contract mobile phone sales have increased by six per cent so far this year compared to last year.

froggybank.co.uk's marketing manager Nadeem Azam said: "It seems we are always going to be fascinated by gadgets whatever the status of the economy."

Feeling down? Wondering how to cheer up? Well perhaps all you have to do is sing a song. Hey, it works for birds.



Researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan have recently uncovered a breakthrough in animal behavior. In their recent study, they concluded that singing by male birds to attract females stimulates reward centers in their brains, reinforcing their behavior. In essence, singing for mates makes male birds really happy.

DUBLIN, Ireland, October 9 /PRNewswire/ --

- The Associated Press, MocoSpace, News International, Mobitainment and Zagat Survey lead the winners for best mobile Web sites

The dotMobi Advisory Group (MAG) today announced the winners of the first ilovemobileweb Awards for excellence in mobile Web site creation. More than 50 submissions from a half-dozen countries were considered for six categories: Social Networking, Information, Entertainment, Corporate, Commerce and Retail, and Travel.