| $12 million generated for Fate biotech, stem cell drugs
A group of venture capitalists is investing $12 million to launch Fate Therapeutics, a biotech company aiming to develop drugs that spur dormant adult stem cells to regenerate damaged tissue. The budding biotech expects to have a product in early-stage clinical trials by next year. The company's principal backers are ARCH Venture Partners and Polaris Venture Partners, which both have a Seattle presence. OVP Venture Partners, of Kirkland, and Venrock, based in Cambridge, Mass., are also investors. Fate is operating out of ARCH Venture Partners' Seattle offices, and will remain in the city if it finds a chief executive here, said ARCH founding partner Robert Nelsen. The company plans to open facilities in Massachusetts and California, a statement said. In Seattle "we're able to attract money to great ideas," Nelsen said.
Valuing Northern Rock
Investing in Northern Rock is now a game for hardened gamblers only. The muddy confluence of desperate politics, financial greed and spin has reduced transparency to nothing. On paper, working out how much to pay for Northern Rock, or estimating the value of the only bid on the table, is relatively simple. Northern Rock was insolvent without the government's help. Virgin's proposal, very roughly, could leave investors with shares worth as little as 60p. That assumes that today's book value of £1.9bn is hit by fees and writedowns of £750m, before adding the £1.55bn capital provided by Virgin and a proposed rights issue. It also assumes that a shaky, reborn bank deserves to trade at a lowly 0.8 times book value and that Virgin Money is worth the £250m Virgin says it is (which is, in fact, highly debatable).
INVESTING: Weigh risk, rewards before selling stock
Matt Krantz, financial markets reporter at USA Today, answers questions e-mailed to him at mkrantz@usatoday.com: Q: We wanted to sell our J.C. Penney stock in May, but didn't. It has since fallen about 30 percent. Should we sell now? A: The stock fails the risk vs. reward test. That's probably one reason you're having so much trouble now. You likely are suffering more risk than you expected, and that's prompting you to think about selling your investment at a time other investors would consider buying it. You can make a decent case to hang onto the stocks. But, if you do, remember that this stock, like all stocks, has an element of risk. send a letter to the editor. .
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