Banco Santander, one of the financial institutions hardest hit by the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme scandal,  has offered restitution to clients whose money it invested with the alleged swindler.  According to Bloomberg.com, the Spanish bank said yesterday that it would issue 1.38 billion euros ($1.82 billion)  to its individual private banking clients whose money was invested with Madoff.  Apparently, Banco Santander is trying to head off lawsuits filed by angry clients who lost money because of the bank’s Madoff connection.

Numerous individuals, institutions and hedge funds lost money because of Madoff’s alleged scheme.  But according to the Associated Press, losses for Banco Santander’s clients were among the highest of any bank linked to Madoff’s investment advisory business.  Those clients were invested in the Optimal Strategic US Equity Fund, which is managed by a unit of Banco Santander. That fund has lost more than  $3.1 billion as a result of investing with Madoff, the Associated Press said. Yet just weeks before Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme collapsed, managers at Banco Santander’s Optimal hedge fund investment arm were praising Madoff’s supposedly “impeccable” market timing. (more…)

The peanut butter plant at the center of a nationwide salmonella outbreak had a history of safety problems that were  never corrected.  What’s worse, USAToday is reporting that Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) continued to ship its peanut butter and other products even after its own tests found the bacteria at its Georgia plant in 2007 and 2008.

Products made with PCA peanut butter and peanut paste have been implicated in a mult-state salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 500 people in 43 states since September.  PCA supplies peanut butter and paste to about 85 companies, and scores  of firms, including General Mills and the Kellogg Company, have been forced to recall products.   (more…)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be working with the maker’s of the anti-stroke medication Plavix to enable a better understanding of the drug and its effects on the body, especially when taken with another class of drugs, said MedWatch.  The LA Times reports that Plavix is the world’s second-best selling drug and had global sales of $7.3 billion in 2007.

A prior study found that patients taking the clot reducer Plavix (Generic: Clopidogrel bisulfate) experienced more than 12 times as many ulcers as those patients who were treated with aspirin plus a heartburn pill.  It is believed that up to half of those patients who are now taking Plavix do so because their doctors assume that Plavix is safer on the stomach than aspirin, said that study’s lead author, Dr. Francis K. L. Chan.  Of note, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association recommends Plavix therapy instead of aspirin therapy for those heart and stroke patients at risk of developing ulcers. (more…)

Amid lawsuits and ongoing recalls, KV Pharmaceutical is recalling most of its drugs, said the St. Louis Business Journal.  Yesterday—with the exception of some of the products it distributes, but does not manufacture—KV suspended manufacturing and shipping of all of its products.  KV is also conducting a voluntary recall of most of its products, said the St. Louis Business Journal.

KV said it is likely these moves will have a significant and an adverse effect on its financial profile, which might place it an out-of-compliance status with a number of aspects of its credit agreements, said the St. Louis Journal.  The moves will also “wipe out” most of KV’s market value, Reuters said.  KV’s line of credit totaled around $30 million at year-end, 2008, said the St. Louis Business Journal. (more…)

Although survivors of the dramatic January 15th US Airways crash this month have received some compensation for their troubles, some feel they deserve more, USA Today reports.  US Airways sent each passenger an apology letter, reimbursement for the flight, and an additional payment for $5000, said USA Today.

The safety advocacy group National Air Disaster Alliance & Foundation, says $5,000 is insufficient.  “We’re grateful everyone survived, and the captain on the plane was so marvelous,” executive director Gail Dunham told USA Today, “But passengers lost luggage, briefcases, cellphones, BlackBerrys, and business documents, and went through a terrific ordeal,” Dunham added.  Many passengers say they lost much more than $5000 in possessions and are unclear if or when they will ever receive their belongings back, said USA Today. (more…)

Banco Santander is in the middle of a class action lawsuit over the growing Madoff scandal in which investors were swindled out of millions of dollars.  Bloomberg News is reporting that the lawsuit alleges that Banco Santander and others did not conduct sufficient due diligence to prevent losses in funds that invested money with Madoff.  Banco Santander SA is Spain’s largest bank.

Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme has claimed victims worldwide and, now, investors in Spain are taking steps to recoup their money.  In addition to the class-action suit, over 100 Spanish investors are scheduled for talks with both Barclays Bank and Banco Santander, said the Times Online yesterday, in a bid to recover cash.  Fifty other investors are also involved in another action there. (more…)

Complaints from homeowners over defective Chinese Drywall continue and now a class-action suit has been filed in Sarasota County in Florida, the Bradenton Herald has reported, noting that complaints registered with the Florida Health Department have grown from 30 to 54 and include homes from all over the state.

Hundreds of homeowners have been plagued by odious smells and ongoing wiring, pipe, and air conditioning problems due to defective Chinese Drywall.  Worse, consumers are complaining about health problems that seem to lift when they are away from the toxic Chinese Drywall.  Health concerns include an array of respiratory problems, nosebleeds, irritated eyes, and headaches.  Of very serious concern, is the possibility that the Chinese Drywall is emitting excessive amounts of hydrogen sulfide fumes, which can cause extreme irritation, unconsciousness, and even death. (more…)

The ongoing and massive U.S. salmonella outbreak that has claimed seven lives has now prompted Starbucks to pull all of its peanut butter products from its shelves, reports Reuters today.

Starbucks told Reuters it pulled all of its peanut butter-containing products from stores in the U.S. and Canada as a precautionary step, but noted that its products are not affected by the recall, which involves peanut butter and peanut butter paste produced by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA).  Starbucks said that although PCA is not one of its suppliers it has removed its protein plate, granola bars, and peanut butter cookies from shelves, said Reuters. (more…)

Reacting to the widely publicized conflict-of-interest scandal, University of Wisconsin (UW) officials say they are taking steps to resolve the problem at their School of Medicine and Public Health, The Capital Times said.

Dr. Thomas Zdeblick is the UW researcher who received $19 million in payments over five years from Medtronic, Inc., for his help in developing and promoting its spine products, specifically, the Infuse Bone Graft. According to an earlier Wall Street Journal report, payments amounted to far more than he ever disclosed to UW. Also, the Journal noted, UW maintained a policy requiring its researchers to disclose when they receive over $20,000 from a device or drug maker, but no other details are required. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that over 30 UW physicians exceeded the threshold in 2006 and 2007. (more…)

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) says it’s close to completing the first phase of its fly ash spill clean up, which has been described as significantly expensive, complex, and lengthy, reports the Tennessee Green.

In December, a dam break at TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant caused a massive fly ash—also known as coal ash—spill that released 80 acres of sludge from the facility.  Though the exact cause of the accident remains unknown, it was thought that six inches of rain over the previous 10 days and overnight temperatures in the teens contributed to the dam breach.  The fly ash pond at the plant had a history of safety problems, including two other breaches in the prior six years and a number of so-called “baby blowouts.” (more…)