> The SEC has charged former professional baseball player Doug DeCinces and three others with insider trading after they made more than $1.7 million when Abbott Laboratories announced its plan to purchase Advanced Medical Optics through a tender offer. DeCinces agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle the charges, and the three others also agreed to settlements. SEC release
> Jean-Luc Butel , executive VP and group president of Medtronic, recently told China Daily that his company will strengthen cooperation with Chinese players through a series of joint ventures and M&A. Article
> St. Jude Medical and Illumina announced share repurchase programs after reporting second quarter earnings. Story
> The new IOM report calling for a complete overhaul of the federal approval process for medical devices would pile more regulations on medical manufacturers. And people like Jim Whalen, CEO of Dayton-based GemCity Engineering, are concerned. More
> Axis-Shield has shot down a £230 million cash takeover bid from U.S. rival Alere, which made an initial offer June 7. Axis-Shield has described the indicative 460p per share offer--the same price as yesterday's formal bid--as "unsolicited and highly preliminary." Report
And Finally... While attractive TV doctors may allow surgical masks to dangle from their necks, doing so could create pathway for deadly germs, according to Illinois regulators. The regulators have singled out a number of problematic practices, including a Chicago eye surgery center that routinely reduced sterilizing time for surgical instruments from 10 to four minutes. Item