Xofigo is meant to treat metastatic prostate cancer, but only cancers that have spread into the bones rather than into other organs. The treatment also is approved only for those who have received other therapies aimed at lowering testosterone. The drug is designed to help deliver radiation directly to bone tumors, limiting damage to other tissue and organs. The drug was originally called Alpharadin or radium-223 chloride.

What is interesting is that this approval appears to be about three months ahead of the drug approval deadline in August. The FDA had granted a priority review status to Bayer and partner Algeta in Norway.

Today’s approval should only be a surprise as far as the timing is concerned. Bayer and Algeta ended the late-stage study as its independent monitoring committee determined that the drug already met its primary endpoint and increased the overall survival by 44%, raising the median average to 14 months versus 11.2 months in the placebo group. The drug also lowered pain in the bones for patients.

Dendreon investors already felt the bulk of their pain. Now the stock is still up by $0.01 at $4.18 on 3.1 million shares. Its 52-week trading range is $3.69 to $9.03. Again, the big surprise here is the timing of the FDA approval rather than the FDA drug approval itself.

The Wall Street Journal reports on the search for an alternative OS:

Some of the world’s biggest handset makers and telecom carriers are embracing alternative mobile operating systems this year in a quest to become credible challengers to smartphones run by Apple Inc.and Google Inc. These companies are hoping they can outgun attempts by Microsoft Corp.and Research In Motion Ltd. to emerge as a third alternative platform to the iPhone and Android devices, which have a virtual stranglehold on the market.

Manufacturers such as Huawei Technologies Co., LG Electronics Inc.and ZTE Corp.are building phones for Mozilla’s Firefox OS due out this year with the support of several major carriers.

Microsoft would have to take unprecedented actions to draw carriers to Windows and away from products such as Firefox. Most of the technology world has long believed that Microsoft’s major goal was to overwhelm markets with its tech prowess and marketing that relies on the large cash sum on its balance sheet. However, that cash position now is no better than those of Google or Apple. If anything, the antitrust designation has shifted to Google and Apple. Microsoft’s past monopoly advantages are all but gone. That, by itself, may make carriers more comfortable.

Along with the cash issue is another, which is that officials around the world have beaten down Microsoft’s past monopoly positions. It has been one of the most carefully watched targets of regulators, and that will not end at any time soon, even if Google and Apple are added to the list of those scrutinized by governments.

However, the forces that have put Microsoft at a disadvantage in many sectors compared to both Google and Apple are insufficient to convince carriers that it can be a good partner. Microsoft would have to share some of the benefits of Windows 8 with the telecom companies. This might be based on sharing the money made from the applications built for Windows mobile. The application stores of Google and Apple are so large that they have overwhelmed any effort of carriers to control them. If anything, Android and iOS apps tether consumers to Apple and Google, which kills any benefit customers might perceive in loyalty to the carriers or the software products the carriers promote.

The future of Windows could be based on one thing — its ability to sell carriers on the idea that it can be a partner and not another enemy like the Google and Apple have become.

The analysts at Stern Agee worry that the casualties of growing pains were first the Luon pants debacle and now Sheree Waterson has left as the role of chief product officer. Investors will focus on the two bits being tied together, and the obvious worry is that something has gone very wrong in the designs. Guess what that will do for future sales.

Changes supposedly are being put into place to ensure that product quality lives up to all company standards. Complaints about sheerness were approximately 1%, but in mid-March they were up to 10% and the pants were pulled from the stores. Stern Agee’s note said:

There is an outside chance that new up to standard Luon pants could be in stores in 4 to 6 weeks. The product testing was near completion under the new standards, and new product was in production. However, Lululemon needs new production capacity so not to interfere with fall 2013 production, which is in high gear. Ms. Waterson was well thought of, but was not the person to scale up the organization for its future growth. Her job will be split going forward into a head of design and head of production. LULU should provide further updates in 4 to 6 weeks.

Further updates in four to six weeks? Room for more warnings ahead. See below for further continuation of that theme.

The analysts think that pulling the Luon pants from the stores was absolutely necessary to keep the brand image from being destroyed. The firm does not know how long the fix will take, and the report shows that Stern Agee expects that increased air freight costs will negatively impact the balance of 2013.

Here is the quote that hurts the most about sales now: “Based on our store checks, there are very few black pants left in the stores, and virtually no 4 way stretch pants, which are best for yoga, and store sales are already suffering.”

While the firm thinks that Lululemon handled the sheer issue quite well for its guests, it fears that some customers are likely to try pants from competitors.

Lululemon shares were down to $63.55 in premarket trading on Thursday, against a 52-week range of $52.20 to $81.09.

Research firm Foresee issued its “ForeSee Mobile Satisfaction Index: Holiday Retail Edition.” The results are not terribly different from the Foresee e-commerce data for the same period. Retailers who do well online also do well with mobile activity. Of the 25 companies included:

Amazon tops the list at 85, with Apple (83), and QVC (83) close behind. Rounding out the top five are NewEgg (80) and Victoria’s Secret (80).

Almost no one has heard of PC hardware and parts company NewEgg. The balance of the companies are well known. Amazon had better be at the top of the list, for its own sake, since it has no physical stores to speak of. QVC does not either, because its other medium for sales is television. Apple and Victoria’s Secret must just try harder, although the popularity of their products may get mobile e-commerce buyers to have positive views of the merchandise under any circumstances.

Retailers that are in steep decline, in general, do not do well in the Foresee results. The Sears division of Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) rates just one spot from the bottom. Also-ran discounter Overstock.com Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK) also does poorly, and troubled online retailer Gilt does very badly as well.

In the range of merely mediocre are Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), each of which have huge traffic and are among the top 50 most-visited sites in the United States, according to comScore. Their volumes of business are such that mid-tier performance in the Foresee survey probably does not hurt them much. Also in the middle of the rankings are Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) and J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP), each of which needs to do better in e-commerce and in physical store activity to keep away from trends that already have caused questions about their viability.

On the whole, the companies that did poorly in the Foresee research cannot afford to.

Methodology: In a survey of more than 6,200 consumers collected during the peak holiday shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the retail juggernaut scored highest among 25 of the top mobile commerce companies. The report shows that consumer satisfaction with the mobile retail experience is improving, as the Index climbs two points since last holiday season to 78 on a 100-point scale.

Sprint is likely to contest Dish’s bid on legal grounds, but the third largest U.S. wireless provider apparently is unable to raise its bid for Clearwire due to a contractual restriction imposed by Japan’s Softbank when it offered to buy 70% of Sprint for $20 billion. Clearwire’s value is virtually all tied up in the 133 MHz of wireless spectrum that the company owns, and even at $3.30 a share, there are plenty of shareholders who think that Clearwire is worth far more.

Dish’s offer is only a “preliminary indication of interest,” according to a Clearwire press release, but Sprint’s CEO has already said that 75% of shareholders would have to agree to the Dish offer in order for the deal to go through. Sprint would vote against the deal and that would be that.

So what is Dish up to? The company recently received approval from the Federal Communications Commission to use some of its satellite spectrum for terrestrial-based wireless broadband. That’s great, but building out the wireless network would cost the company billions. Far better — and cheaper — would be to acquire an existing network.

Dish could be angling for just a piece of Clearwire’s spectrum and the network equipment that goes with it. Dish tried and failed to acquire MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE: PCS). It also has sought a deal with Clearwire for part of its spectrum, but Sprint slammed the door on that too. In yesterday’s offer, Dish said it would pay $2.2 billion in cash for 24% of Clearwire’s spectrum and included a commercial deal that would pay Clearwire to operate and manage Dish’s spectrum.

Dish wants to a chunk of Clearwire’s spectrum and is willing to pay essentially the full price the Sprint offered for Clearwire for 24% of that spectrum. That offer values Clearwire’s spectrum assets at around $8.8 billion, which is far more than the Sprint offer. Dish’s Ergen, a poker aficionado, has pushed a lot of chips onto the table, probably figuring that he can get some help from minority stakeholders — and perhaps even Softbank — to pressure Sprint into a deal.

Clearwire’s shares are up 7.5% today, at $3.14 in a 52-week range of $0.83 to $3.40. Sprint’s shares are down 2%, at $5.85 in a 52-week range of $2.10 to $6.04. Dish Network’s shares are up 2.8%, at $37.00 in a 52-week range of $26.12 to $37.92.

Icahn raised his stake in Greenbrier to about 10% in mid-November and the stock got a 20% price boost, which had grown to a 40% share price jump by last week. The relatively paltry premium Icahn appears to be offering is more than made up for in Greenbrier’s highest stock price since early April.

American Railcar primarily builds hopper and tanker railroad cars, while American Railcar’s manufacturing is much more diverse. Both companies have prospered recently, however, in tanker cars to haul crude oil out of the relatively export-poor regions like the Bakken shale play.

American Railcar’s shares are up more than 47% in the past 12 months, while Greenbrier’s shares are actually down about 7% following a big miss on earnings in the first half of this year. Shares of Greenbrier were off nearly 40% in mid-May and again in early November, before Icahn upped his stake.

Shares of Greenbrier are up 6.2% at $20.15 in a 52-week range of $13.10 to $26.66.

Shares of American Railcar are also up, more than 8%, at $34.83 after posting a new 52-week high of $34.96 earlier this morning. The prior 52-week range was $20.26 to $33.00.

Paul Ausick

Under the terms of its agreement with First Reserve and SK Capital, TPC will “carefully consider and evaluate the non-binding proposal from Innospec and its equity financing partner, and has authorized discussions and negotiations with them and is making arrangements to facilitate their due diligence review.” Innospec’s financing partner is a fund owned by Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX).

TPC noted in its announcement that it continues to recommend the original offer.

When TPC entered the agreement with First Reserve and SK Capital, we noted other deals involving chemical makers, some of which were successes and some of which were less so. Part of the problem is that chemical companies rely heavily on natural gas both as a fuel and as a feedstock. Rising natural gas prices threaten margins. The chemical makers alternate feedstocks — natural gas liquids and petroleum — are even more expensive.

Shares of TPC are up about 11% this morning, at $45.21 in a 52-week range of $18.49 to $47.61.

Paul Ausick

The offerings will come from major studios including HBO, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, STARZ, Viacom and Warner Bros. Entertainment, plus favorite movies from Walt Disney Studios. This even has a bit of a Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) competition to it, considering that Netflix lost its STARZ deal.

The company noted:

Barnes & Noble will now offer an expansive digital collection of popular films and television shows to be enjoyed anywhere on NOOKs, TVs, tablets and smartphones. Barnes & Noble is also planning to make available content from other leading studios to be announced.

NOOK Video will give customers a large digital collection of standard and high-definition movies and TV shows available for streaming and download. Some of the names used in the offerings are as follows: Disney-Pixar’s Brave and Toy Story 3, Marvel’s The Avengers, 21 Jump Street, Awkward, The Artist, Breaking Bad, Dora the Explorer, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Spartacus, Magic City, The Walking Dead, True Blood, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter movies, The Dark Knight and The Hangover.

We have seen no trading indication in Barnes & Noble yet, and Netflix shares are indicated only marginally lower.

JON C. OGG

As we mentioned earlier this morning, Baidu has been a disappointment for investors. While sales and profits continue to ramp up impressively, Baidu shares have dropped to near a 52-week low. Over the past year, its shares are off more than 24%, while those of U.S.-based search company Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) are 30% higher over the same period.

Baidu has up to 80% of the Chinese search market, and it is said to be protected by the Chinese government, which has hampered Google’s efforts operate in the People’s Republic. Baidu’s revenue rose 60% in the second quarter to $859 million. Its operating profits rose 52% to $443 million.

And Baidu said it plans to diversify into other markets. Japan was supposed to the first of these, but so far there is little evidence of success there. Baidu does not have the capital to make necessary investments to expand beyond China.

Baidu is down more than 2% in morning trading to $107.11, in a 52-week range of $99.71 to $154.15. Sohu is up about 5% to $43.13, SINA up about 2% to $42.62 and Youku up more than 7% to $19.16. This morning, a Citigroup (NYSE: C) analyst named Yoku a top Internet pick.

Toys R Us became the latest entrant into a tablet designed exclusively for kids with the debut of its Tabeo tablet. It will be available this holiday season starting on October 21 and it can be pre-ordered now.

The new wi-fi tablet is 7-inches and comes with 50 free preinstalled apps and with a 4GB storage.  The cost is being set at $149.99.

While this is just one more bit of competition for LeapFrog, the LeapPad 1 Explorer sells for $79.99 and bundled versions of the LeapPad 2 start at $129.00 and $99.99 for just the tablets. The LeapPad was deemed to be a huge hit last year as it was sold out over the holiday season in 2011, and LeapFrog sells its toys through Toys R Us.

Last year’s holiday success has helped this stock run from under $4 late last year to as high ar $12 this summer. The problem is that shares fell almost 10% last Friday to close at $9.15 and shares were down almost 8% more at $8.45 in late afternoon trading on Monday.

More competition is rarely a good thing. That being said, LeapFrog may still have some spring left in it. Unfortunately there is still a huge open-ended question here for investors. It could go either way. The end result will depend upon which tablet the kids end up liking more after the reviews start coming out.

JON C. OGG