LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Yasiel Puig #66 of the Los Angeles Dodgers walks onto the field to start the game against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on September 29, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images); Credit: Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

There are 162 games in the regular season of a major league baseball team, and I have watched exactly … hm … none. Spring, summer, autumn, as the Dodgers died and rose from the dead, I wasn’t looking.

But now, like almost everyone else in L.A., I will be cheering them in the playoffs, cheering them to their first World Series game since Michael Dukakis ran for president.

I am that deplorable creature: The fair-weather fan.

I like sports just fine, but my sport is football.

They say baseball is a relaxing game. Boy, is it!  You can eat, doze, eat again, and it’s still the fourth inning. I’ve tried to love baseball, I really have. But the diamond can’t beat the gridiron when it comes to football’s built-in thrill advantage: At any possible second, the football can change hands, the defense becomes the offense … and score!

Just about the best time I ever had at Dodger Stadium was watching the pope round the bases in his Popemobile, when he visited L.A. That was the year before the Dodgers won the World Series for the last time. I hear baseball players are superstitious; maybe it’s time to invite the new pope for a return engagement.

Kitty Felde – now there’s a fan. She’s even written plays about baseball! But she’s way back in the nation’s capital, stuck with the Washington Nationals to root for.

A paradox

It’s a paradox, really. I’ve interviewed the former Dodgers owner, Peter O’Malley, who is a truly wonderful man. I’ve interviewed Carl Erskine, the Dodgers pitcher who goes back to the Brooklyn days, and a sweeter guy you could never meet. I know Roz Wyman, the First Fan, the city councilwoman who worked the magic to bring the Dodgers here from Brooklyn.  I interviewed the McCourts, back when they were still a plural. The L.A. Times once sent me to write about Fernando Valenzuela’s hometown in Mexico, back when El Zurdo started burning up the mound at Chavez Ravine. And I sat with that gift of a man, Vin Scully, at Dodger Stadium, as the team warmed up on the jewel-box beautiful field.

None of that made a true baseball believer of me. Instead, I pine like Juliet for a pro football team. O Dodgers, Dodgers, wherefore art thou the Dodgers, and not the Green Bay Packers?

But I would be thrilled if the Dodgers took the whole baseball enchilada – thrilled, because I am an Angeleno, and the Dodgers are that rare civic institution that ties us all together, even if you don’t know a base hit from base ten.

And that makes me as entitled as the next local to put on my Dodger Blue and holler my heart out, and cheer them all the way to the World Series.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Before he Picks this Week's featured File Exchange submission, Brett would like to give a nod of appreciation to the developers of the Image Processing Toolbox. Back in September of 2018, I wrote... read more >>

Alex Wolff in Human Capital.; Credit: Vertical Entertainment/Human Capital (2019)

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Lael Loewenstein, Claudia Puig and Tim Cogshell review this weekend’s new (streaming and VOD) movie releases.

• "Human Capital" on DirecTV

• "Crip Camp" on Netflix

• "The Platform" on Netflix

• "Blow The Man Down" on Amazon Prime Video

• "Phoenix, Oregon" on film's website

• "The Dog Doc" on Amazon Prime Video

• "Hooking Up" on Xfinity OnDemand

​CORRECTION: The film Human Capital is available on all on-demand platforms as of March 20th.

Guests:

Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA); she tweets @ClaudiaPuig

Lael Loewenstein, KPCC film critic and film columnist for the Santa Monica Daily Press; she tweets @LAELLO

Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC, Alt-Film Guide and CineGods.com; he tweets @CinemaInMind

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

KJ Apa and Britt Robertson in "I Still Believe" ; Credit: Lionsgate/I Still Believe (2020)

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Amy Nicholson and Wade Major review this weekend’s new movie releases.

• "I Still Believe" on VOD

• "Banana Split" on VOD 

• "Vivarium" on VOD

• "Resistance" on VOD

• "Vitalina Varela" on GrasshopperFilm.com

• "Uncorked" on Netflix

• "Dosed" on film's website

• "The Occupant" on Netflix

• "Tape" on VOD

• "There's Something In The Water" on Netflix

Guests:

Amy Nicholson, film critic for KPCC, film writer for The Guardian and host of the podcasts ‘Unspooled’ and the podcast miniseries “Zoom”; she tweets @TheAmyNicholson

Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and CineGods.com

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Talia Ryder and Théodore Pellerin in "Never Rarely Sometimes Always".
; Credit: Focus Features/Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Lael Loewenstein, Peter Rainer and Christy Lemire review this weekend’s new movie releases and share their picks for the best movies and TV shows to binge, rewatch or see for the first time while you’re staying at home.

• "Never Rarely Sometimes" on VOD (for rent on Amazon Prime & FandangoNOW)

• "Bacurau" on virtual cinemas, including Laemmle's and Alamo Drafthouse

• "Slay The Dragon" on VOD, including iTunes

• "About A Teacher" on Amazon Prime Video

• "Dolphin Reef" on Disney+

• "Elephant" in Disney+

Guests:

Lael Loewenstein, KPCC film critic and film columnist for the Santa Monica Daily Press; she tweets @LAELLO

Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor

Christy Lemire, film critic for KPCC, RogerEbert.com and co-host of the ‘Breakfast All Day’ podcast; she tweets @christylemire

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Kunjue Li (L) and Hing Chi-Lee (R) in Tigertail.; Credit: Netflix/Tigertail (2020)

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Claudia Puig, Tim Cogshell and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases and share their recommendations for what to binge-watch while you’re stuck at home during COVID-19.

• "Tigertail" on Netflix

• "School Life" on Netflix

• "Love. Wedding. Repeat." on Netflix

• 'Stray Dolls" on VOD (AppleTV, Google Play Redbox * FandangoNOW

• "Sea Fever" on VOD (Spectrum On Demand, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu, Redbox & FandangoNOW)

• "Strike" on VOD (Redbox, FandangoNOW & Vudu)

• "The Main Event" on Netflix

Guests:

Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA); she tweets @ClaudiaPuig

Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC, Alt-Film Guide and CineGods.com; he tweets @CinemaInMind

Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick in Trolls World Tour.; Credit: Universal Pictures/Trolls World Tour (2020)

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Lael Loewenstein, Amy Nicholson and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases and share some of their recommendations for movies and TV shows to discover, rediscover and binge-watch while you’re at home.

• "Trolls World Tour" on VOD (Vudu, FandangoNOW, AppleTV, Amazon Prime Video , Microsoft Store & more)

• "The Quarry" on VOD (FandangoNOW, Google Play, DirecTV On Demand)

• "A White, White Day" on The Frida Virtual Cinema

• "Away" on Laemmle's Virtual Cinema and Amazon Prime Video

• "Selah And The Spades" on Amazon Prime Video

• "The Booksellers" on VOD (Google Play) and virtual cinemas, including Laemmle's and The Virutal Frida Cinema

• "Endings, Beginnings" on VOD (iTunes and FandangoNOW)

• "Sergio" on Netflix

Want to see what our critics are watching and recommending you watch during stay at home? Click here to see a full list of our FilmWeek critics' favorite TV shows and films to binge-watch during COVID-19.

Guests:

Amy Nicholson, film critic for KPCC, film writer for The Guardian and host of the podcasts ‘Unspooled’ and the podcast miniseries “Zoom”; she tweets @TheAmyNicholson

Lael Loewenstein, KPCC film critic and film columnist for the Santa Monica Daily Press; she tweets @LAELLO

Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Chris Hemsworth and Rudhraksh Jaiswal in Extraction.; Credit: Netflix/Extraction (2020)

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Christy Lemire, Angie Han and Wade Major review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and VOD platforms.

• "Extraction" on Netflix

• "Bad Education" on HBO

• "Circus Of Books" on Netflix

• "Why Don't You Just Die!" on VOD (iTunes, Amazon & Google Play)

• "Beastie Boys Story" on Apple TV+

• "Robert The Bruce" on VOD (iTunes, Amazon, FandangoNOW & Google Play)

• "1BR" on VOD (iTunes) & DVD

• "The True History Of The Kelly Gang" on VOD (iTunes, Vudu & Google Play)

Guests:

Angie Han, KPCC film critic and deputy entertainment editor at Mashable; she tweets @ajhan

Christy Lemire, film critic for KPCC, RogerEbert.com and co-host of the ‘Breakfast All Day’ podcast; she tweets @christylemire

Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and CineGods.com

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel in "A Secret Love"; Credit: Netflix/A Secret Love (2020)

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Lael Loewenstein and Tim Cogshell review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on demand platforms.

• "Bull" on VOD (iTunes & FandangoNOW)

• "A Secret Love" on Netflix

• "Deerskin" on virtual cinemas, including Laemmle's & The Frida Cinema

• "The Wretched" on VOD (iTunes & Google Play)

• "The Half Of It" on Netflix

• "All Day And A Night" on Netflix 

• "Vanilla" on VOD (Vudu, Google Play & iTunes)

• "South Mountain" on VOD/DVD (iTunes, Amazon, Google Play & Vudu)

• "Working Man" on VOD (iTunes, Google Play, FandangoNOW & Vudu) 

Our FilmWeek critics have been curating personal lists of their favorite TV shows and movies to binge-watch during self-quarantine. You can see recommendations from each of the critics and where you can watch them here.

Guests:

Lael Loewenstein, KPCC film critic and film columnist for the Santa Monica Daily Press; she tweets @LAELLO

Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC, Alt-Film Guide and CineGods.com; he tweets @CinemaInMind

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Michelle Obama in "Becoming".; Credit: Netflix/"Becoming" (2020)

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Claudia Puig, Peter Rainer and Christy Lemire review this weekend’s new movie releases.

• "Becoming" on Netflix

• "Rewind" on VOD (iTunes) & on PBS May 11th (check your local listings)

• "Spaceship Earth" on virtual cinemas (Laemmle's & The Frida), streaming on Hulu, and VOD

• "Arkansas" on VOD (Spectrum On Demand, DirecTV on Demand, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, FandangoNOW & Amazon Prime)

• "Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind" on HBO & Amazon Prime

• "Driveways" on VOD (Amazon Prime and Google Play)

• "Walkaway Joe" on VOD (iTunes, Google Play, FandangoNOW & Vudu)

• "Intrigo: Dear Agnes" on VOD (iTunes, Google Play, FandangoNOW & Vudu)

• "Valley Girl" on VOD (iTunes, Google Play & Amazon Prime)

• "On a Magical Night" on virtual cinemas, including Laemmle's & The Frida

• "The Delicacy" on SOMM TV

Guests:

Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA); she tweets @ClaudiaPuig

Christy Lemire, film critic for KPCC, RogerEbert.com and co-host of the ‘Breakfast All Day’ podcast; she tweets @christylemire

Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

An experimental wave energy project in the UK has allowed researchers an early view of how the public might respond to large-scale development and the reaction is surprisingly positive. This is encouraging, says the study, but the potential for future conflict between the public and wave energy developers should not be overlooked.

Populations of otters, grey seals and sea eagles are slowly recovering in Sweden, which is likely to be thanks in part to a ban on organochlorine chemicals, such as PCBs and DDT, in the 1970s, according to a new study. However, the research shows that negative effects of these chemicals on the reproductive health of female animals persisted for more than 15 years after the ban was introduced.

4 awesome discoveries you probably didn't hear about this week -- Episode 31

4 awesome discoveries you probably didn't hear about this week -- Episode 32

Emily Quinn speaks from the TED stage at TEDWomen 2018; Credit: /TED

Part 1 of the TED Radio Hour episode The Biology Of Sex

Artist Emily Quinn is intersex. She's one of over 150 million people in the world who don't fit neatly into the categories of male or female. She explains how biological sex exists on a spectrum.

About Emily Quinn

Emily Quinn is an artist and activist. She worked at Cartoon Network on the Emmy Award winning show, Adventure Time. While there she partnered with interACT and MTV to develop the first intersex main character in television history. She came out publicly as intersex in a PSA alongside the character's debut. She later worked as the Youth Coordinator for interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth.

As an activist, she speaks about intersex issues before audiences and through her YouTube channel: intersexperiences. As an artist, her most recent projects include a genderless puberty guidebook and a portrait series of intersex people that will be exhibited at medical schools across the U.S. in 2020.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments remotely this week, and for the first time the arguments were streamed live to the public.; Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

For the first time in its 231-year history, the Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments remotely by phone and made the audio available live.

The new setup went off largely without difficulties, but produced some memorable moments, including one justice forgetting to unmute and an ill-timed bathroom break.

Here are the top five can't-miss moments from this week's history-making oral arguments.

A second week of arguments begin on Monday at 10 a.m. ET. Here's a rundown of the cases and how to listen.

1. Justice Clarence Thomas speaks ... a lot

Supreme Court oral arguments are verbal jousting matches. The justices pepper the lawyers with questions, interrupting counsel repeatedly and sometimes even interrupting each other.

Justice Clarence Thomas, who has sat on the bench for nearly 30 years, has made his dislike of the chaotic process well known, at one point not asking a question for a full decade.

But with no line of sight, the telephone arguments have to be rigidly organized, and each justice, in order of seniority, has an allotted 2 minutes for questioning.

It turn out that Thomas, second in seniority, may just have been waiting his turn. Rather than passing, as had been expected, he has been Mr. Chatty Cathy, using every one of his turns at bat so far.

Thomas broke a year-long silence on Monday in a trademark case testing whether a company can trademark by adding .com to a generic term. In this case, Booking.com.

"Could Booking acquire an 800 number, for example, that's a vanity number — 1-800-BOOKING, for example?" Thomas asked.

2. The unstoppable RBG

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg participated in Wednesday's argument from the hospital. In pain during Tuesday's arguments, the 87-year-old underwent non-surgical treatment for a gall bladder infection at Johns Hopkins Hospital later that day, according to a Supreme Court press release.

But she was ferocious on Wednesday morning, calling in from her hospital room in a case testing the Trump administration's new rule expanding exemptions from Obamacare's birth control mandate for nonprofits and some for-profit companies that have religious or moral objections to birth control.

"The glaring feature" of the Trump administration's new rules, is that they "toss to the winds entirely Congress' instruction that women need and shall have seamless, no-cost, comprehensive coverage," she said.

3. Who flushed?

During Wednesday's second oral argument, Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, a case in which the justices weighed a First Amendment challenge to a federal rule than bans most robocalls, something very unexpected happened.

Partway through lawyer Roman Martinez's argument time, a toilet flush could be distinctly heard.

Martinez seemed unperturbed and continued speaking in spite of the awkward moment.

The flush quickly picked up steam online, becoming the first truly viral moment from the court's new livestream oral arguments.

4. Hello, where are you?

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, considered one of the most tech-savvy of the justices, experienced a couple of technical difficulties with her mute button.

In both Monday and Tuesday arguments, the first time she was at bat, there were prolonged pauses, prompting Chief Justice John Roberts to call, "Justice Sotomayor?" a few times before she hopped on with a brief, "Sorry, Chief," before launching into her questions.

By Wednesday she seemed to have gotten used to the new format, but the trouble then jumped to Thomas, who was entirely missing in action when his turn came. He ultimately went out of order Wednesday morning.

5. Running over time

Oral arguments usually run one hour almost exactly, with lawyers for each side having 30 minutes to make their case. In an attempt to stick as closely as possible to that format, the telephone rules allocate 2 minutes of questioning to each justice for each round of questioning.

Chief Justice John Roberts spent the week jumping into exchanges, cutting off both lawyers and justices in the process, to keep the proceedings on track. Even so the arguments ran longer than usual.

But in Wednesday's birth control case, oral arguments went a whopping 40 minutes longer than expected.

Justice Alito, for his part, hammered the lawyer challenging the Trump administration's new birth control rules for more than seven minutes, without interruption from the chief justice.

Referencing a decision he wrote in 2014, Alito said that "Hobby Lobby held that if a person sincerely believes that it is immoral to perform an act that has the effect of enabling another person to commit an immoral act, the federal court does not have the right to say that this person is wrong on the question of moral complicity. That is precisely the question here."

Christina Peck is NPR's legal affairs intern.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

For the first time, Uber will guarantee drivers an hourly wage of $20 an hour in Los Angeles, or $26 during peak times.; Credit: David Ramos/Getty Images

To keep demand high during the slower winter months, the ridesharing service, Uber, has cut fares by 20 percent in 48 markets – including Los Angeles and Orange County.

The company says a trip from West Hollywood to downtown will now be around nine dollars, instead of $11.

When Uber lowered prices in the past to muscle out competitors like Lyft and taxi services, passengers loved it but drivers have complained it puts an unfair squeeze on them, complaining their already low take went even lower.

Uber stresses the fact cutting fares actually helps drivers because they get more business. In a blog post, the company points to data from Chicago where fares dropped 23 percent last month compared to December 2013 while drivers' income increased by 12 percent.

But drivers have been skeptical whether volume can make up for the price drop. The company's claim that New York city drivers earn a median of $90,766 a year has been refuted. Slate talked to New York UberX driver Jesus Garay in October:

“They say it doesn’t hurt the pocket of the drivers,” Garay says of the 20 percent fare cuts. “It does. Because it’s impossible with those numbers to be in business.”

The way drivers see it, ride volume can only increase so much in response to lower prices. Garay says that on average, a ride takes him 20 minutes from start to finish: five minutes to reach the pickup location, five to wait for the customer, and 10 to drive to the destination. For a trip of that length, Garay says he’ll make $10 or $11. “So if you’re busy, you’re going to make three rides in an hour,” he explains. 

Newly flush with a $40 billion valuation, Uber is now willing to put its money where its mouth is; For the first time, Uber will guarantee its partners – as it calls them -  an hourly wage of $20 an hour in Los Angeles, or $26 during peak times. (The guarantee comes with a few conditions: Drivers have to accept 90% of trips, average at least one trip per hour, and be online for 50 minutes of every hour worked)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Full Text:

A new study shows that the West Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing some of the most rapid climate change on Earth, featuring dramatic increases in temperatures, retreats in glaciers and declines in sea ice. The Southern Ocean absorbs nearly half of the carbon dioxide -- the key greenhouse gas linked to climate change -- that is absorbed by all the world's oceans. The study tapped an unprecedented 25 years of oceanographic measurements in the Southern Ocean and highlights the need for more monitoring in the region. The research revealed that carbon dioxide absorption by surface waters off the West Antarctic Peninsula is linked to the stability of the upper ocean, along with the amount and type of algae present. A stable upper ocean provides algae with ideal growing conditions. During photosynthesis, algae remove carbon dioxide from the surface ocean, which in turn draws carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. From 1993 to 2017, changes in sea ice dynamics off the West Antarctic Peninsula stabilized the upper ocean, resulting in greater algal concentrations and a shift in the mix of algal species. That's led to a nearly five-fold increase in carbon dioxide absorption during the summertime. The research also found a strong north-south difference in the trend of carbon dioxide absorption. The southern portion of the peninsula, which to date has been less impacted by climate change, experienced the most dramatic increase in carbon dioxide absorption, demonstrating the poleward progression of climate change in the region.

Image credit: Drew Spacht/The Ohio State University

4 awesome discoveries you probably didn't hear about this week -- Episode 32

How to transition to a remote workforce in a safe manner – How to protect yourself from COVID-19 scams – Stantinko's miner caught using new obfuscation techniques

The post Week in security with Tony Anscombe appeared first on WeLiveSecurity

What COVID-19 may mean for privacy rights – Managing supply-chain risks – Two Windows zero-days remain unpatched

The post Week in security with Tony Anscombe appeared first on WeLiveSecurity

Staying safe from coronavirus-themed scams – Securing remote desktop connections – The security risks of videoconferencing

The post Week in security with Tony Anscombe appeared first on WeLiveSecurity

What to know about passwords in Zoom - What to do if your phone goes missing - Email provider hacked

The post Week in security with Tony Anscombe appeared first on WeLiveSecurity

Even accounts belonging to banks and educational institutions were found on lists plastered across various hacker forums

The post Half a million Zoom accounts for sale on the dark web appeared first on WeLiveSecurity

Sextortion-meets-coronavirus scams - The financial loss from coronavirus-themed fraud in America - Is the time ripe for one global set of data privacy rules?

The post Week in security with Tony Anscombe appeared first on WeLiveSecurity

ESET research into vulnerabilities in smart home hubs – Discovering and disrupting a botnet in Latin America – Digital assistants in the work-from-home era

The post Week in security with Tony Anscombe appeared first on WeLiveSecurity

ESET's new Threat Report is out – Another deep dive into Latin American banking trojans – More coronavirus-themed scams

The post Week in security with Tony Anscombe appeared first on WeLiveSecurity

An unknown threat actor is exploiting vulnerabilities in plugins for which patches have been available for months, or even years

The post Almost a million WordPress websites targeted in massive campaign appeared first on WeLiveSecurity

COVID-19 and digital transformation – How personal data ends up in spam feeds – Common password mistakes and what to do instead

The post Week in security with Tony Anscombe appeared first on WeLiveSecurity

Hong-Kong-based conglomerate Tencent has rolled out Xiao’e Pinpin, a mini program for...

Source: Streetwise Reports   04/23/2020

Global healthcare packaging components manufacturer company West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. (WST:NYSE) today announced financial results for its first quarter ending March 31, 2020 and provided updated full-year 2020 financial guidance.

The company reported that net sales in Q1/20 increased to $491.5 million, a 10.8% increase from $443.5 million in Q1/19. During the same corresponding period, the firm stated that non-GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased by 36% to $0.99 and non-GAAP adjusted-diluted EPS increased by 36% to $1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services advised that it is maintaining its FY/20 net sales guidance, which is expected to be in a range of $1.95-1.97 billion. The company stated that it is updating FY/20 adjusted-diluted EPS guidance to a new range of $3.52-3.62, compared to the prior estimated range of $3.45-3.55.

The company's President and CEO Eric M. Green commented, "During these unprecedented times, our priorities are focused on the well-being and safety of our team members as well as ensuring the supply of critical, high-quality components and solutions to our customers...I am extremely pleased that we delivered a strong performance in the first quarter given the challenging environment that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our customers, our suppliers and our team members. In particular, we continued to deliver strong sales growth in high-value products, as demand trends from our worldwide customer base were similar to trends we saw last year. Our teams are partnering with a broad range of customers working to support efforts to develop solutions that address the global COVID-19 pandemic such as diagnostics, anti-viral therapeutics and vaccines."

The firm outlined sales in the most recent quarter by product line. The company reported that in Q1/20, net sales in its Proprietary Products segment grew by 9.7% to $373.5 million and that this segment "saw good demand for Westar^®, Daikyo^®, NovaPure^® and FluroTec^® components as well as for devices such as Daikyo Crystal Zenith^® syringes and cartridges and our self-injection platforms."

The firm noted that net sales from its Contract-Manufactured Products segment grew by 14.5% to $118.1 million led by sales of components for diagnostic devices and drug-injection delivery devices.

The company added that the Biologics market unit enjoyed double-digit organic sales growth, the Generics market unit achieved high-single digit organic sales growth and the Pharma market unit registered mid-single digit organic sales growth.

The firm additionally noted that during Q1/20 under its share repurchase program, it repurchased 761,500 shares for $115.5 million at an average share price of $151.65.

West Pharmaceutical Services is headquartered in Exton, Pa., roughly 35 miles west of Philadelphia, and is a designer and manufacturer of injectable pharmaceutical packaging and delivery systems.

West Pharmaceutical has market capitalization of around $13.5 billion with approximately 73.84 million shares outstanding. WST shares opened 5.25% higher today at $179.05 (+$8.93, +5.25%) over yesterday's $170.12 closing price and reached a new 52-week high price this morning of $190.27. The stock has traded today between $177.13 and $190.27 per share and is currently trading at $187.04 (+$17.17, +10.11%).

Disclosure:
1) Stephen Hytha compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He or members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.
2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.
3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.
5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases.
6) This article does not constitute medical advice. Officers, employees and contributors to Streetwise Reports are not licensed medical professionals. Readers should always contact their healthcare professionals for medical advice.

( Companies Mentioned: WST:NYSE, )

My new book LOSERTHINK, available now on Amazon https://tinyurl.com/rqmjc2a Content: The Plague of Corruption video General Flynn San Antonio makes phrase “Chinese virus” hate speech Vitamin D deficiency and coronavirus Testing, flattening the curve, magical thinking If you would like to enjoy this same content plus bonus content from Scott Adams, including micro-lessons on lots […]

The post Episode 962 Scott Adams: No One Knows Anything But We Still Have to Decide How to reopen Economy appeared first on Scott Adams' Blog.

Shares of WPX Energy traded 25% higher after President Trump tweeted that he expected a deal between Russia and Saudi Arabia to scale back oil production.

A new study indicates that water management in the Netherlands uses a reliable warning system for extreme weather, which can incorporate wind and coastal surge level forecasts, as well as precipitation forecasts.

A recent study has assessed the lifecycle environmental impact during the production and use phase of three battery types for plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and full performance battery electric vehicles (BEV). The study indicates that newer lithium-ion (Li-ion) technologies outperform current nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries and identifies processes contributing to 13 environmental impacts

Using data gathered by satellites, scientists have monitored changes in fishing activity around Italy in the Mediterranean Sea for the period 2007-2010. From this, they developed new ecological indicators that gave a more detailed pattern of fishing activity in the Italian seas. In addition, the new indicators suggest that fish stocks on the seabed around Italy are continuing to decline.