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Pfizer ( id="symbol_PFE.N_0"> PFE.N ) sought to allay fears that its proposed $106 billion takeover of AstraZeneca ( id="symbol_AZN.L AZN.L ) would deal a blow to drug research, saying the new company would bolster innovative science and speed the development of new treatments. _0"> The deal would be the largest foreign takeover of a British company and has raised fears that resulting cost cutting would see the loss of thousands of skilled jobs, undermining the UK's science base. _1"> AstraZeneca, Britain's second-largest drugs company, has rejected successive approaches from its larger American rival. As political opposition to the plan grew, Pfizer reiterated its commitment to the deal, posting a graphic on its website that touted the benefits of a merger. It said the combined group would be able to expand its global research, speed up the development of treatments and broaden its footprint in emerging markets. A combined Pfizer-AstraZ

Cheetah Mobile Inc's ( id="symbol_CMCM.N_0"> CMCM.N ) shares rose about 13 percent in their market debut, valuing the Chinese security software maker at about $2.2 billion, after its initial public offering was priced near the top end of the expected range. _0"> Earlier on Thursday, the company said its offering of 12 million American depositary shares (ADSs) was priced at $14 each, raising $168 million . Cheetah had said it expected its IPO to be priced between $12.50 and $14.50 per ADS. The Beijing-based company provides security and optimization software used both in smartphones and PCs. Its apps such as Clean Master and Battery Doctor are popular on Google Play. Cheetah's shares opened at $15.25 and touched a high of $15.89 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company is being spun out of software maker Kingsoft Corp Ltd ( id="symbol_3888.HK_1"> 3888.HK ), which will retain control with about 54 percent of Class B sha

Cable TV broadcaster AMC Networks Inc ( id="symbol_AMCX.O_0"> AMCX.O ) said it expects slower advertising growth this quarter as its latest series, "Turn", draws fewer viewers than its older hits, sending its shares down nearly 18 percent. AMC also reported a first-quarter profit that missed analysts' estimates as it spent more on new programs to replace hit shows such as "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men". The company's newest show "Turn" debuted in April with 2.1 million viewers, less than half of what its hit zombie show "The Walking Dead" started with. ( r.reuters.com/sap29v ) "It sounds like the costs will continue to be higher-than-expected in the second and third quarters, as they are replacing licensed shows with wholly owned shows," Evercore Partners analyst Alan Gould said. "Turn", which tells the story of four childhood friends who became spies during the American Revolutionary War in

Molycorp Inc ( id="symbol_MCP.N_0"> MCP.N ) shares slumped 17 percent on Thursday in the wake of the U.S.-based rare earths producer's results a day earlier which showed a bigger first-quarter loss and production hiccups at a newly expanded processing plant in California. _0"> Market concerns about the rate at which the Denver-area company was burning through cash and the possibility that it may have to tap the market for more funds later in the year sent the stock to an all-time low of $3.76 on the New York Stock Exchange. The company reported a net loss on Wednesday of $86.0 million as rare earth prices dropped, more than double its loss of $38.2 million a year earlier, and it produced less material than expected at its Mountain Pass facility in California. "In one word, it is all about uncertainty... They were not able to really tell the market when Mountain Pass will be running at the levels - production and cost - that they need," said Luisa

Wellcome Trust, Britain's biggest medical research foundation said it had "major concerns" about U.S. drug major Pfizer's ( id="symbol_PFE.N_0"> PFE.N ) 63 billion pound offer for AstraZeneca ( id="symbol_AZN.L AZN.L ), the Financial Times reported. _0"> In a private letter to UK chancellor of Exchequer George Osborne, the trust raised doubts about Pfizer's commitment to investment in Britain and said AstraZeneca was critical to Britain's science base. _1"> "Pfizer's past acquisitions of major pharmaceutical companies have led to a substantial reduction in R&D activity, which we are concerned could be replicated in this instance," Wellcome Trust Chairman Sir William Castell was quoted as saying by the British newspaper. Wellcome Trust became the latest in a series of vocal opponents to the potential merger, which would create the world's largest drugmaker. Pfizer is said to be considering raising it

Pfizer defended the business case behind its plan to acquire AstraZeneca on Monday and questioned the UK drugmaker's ability to stand alone for much longer as the New York-based group's CEO prepared for a grilling from British lawmakers. Aiming to douse questions about its commitments to British jobs, Pfizer also said its agreement to complete AstraZeneca's new research centrer in Cambridge, retain a factory in northwest England and put a fifth of its research staff in Britain if the deal goes ahead were legally binding. The comments are Pfizer's latest counter to critics of its proposed $106 billion deal, which would be the largest foreign takeover of a British firm and is opposed by many scientists and politicians - as well as AstraZeneca itself. With its bid now the subject of heated debate in Britain's Houses of Parliament and across the country's news channels, the U.S. drugmaker took a harder line on Monday, saying the merger would create "a UK-b

Pfizer ( id="symbol_PFE.N_0"> PFE.N ) said it would ringfence the development of important drugs if it acquired AstraZeneca ( id="symbol_AZN.L AZN.L ), rejecting a charge from the British company that a takeover would disrupt important research and put lives at risk. _1"> "As we put these companies together, we will continue with our pipeline, AZ will continue with theirs," Pfizer's Chief Executive Ian Read told lawmakers on a second day of questioning about what could be the biggest ever UK corporate deal. "We would ringfence any important products and they would continue to be developed. There is absolutely no truth to any comment that some products of critical nature would be delayed getting to patients, if anything we would accelerate that to patients." AstraZeneca said on Tuesday that Pfizer's proposal risked disrupting its research and delaying getting life-saving new drugs to market, as well as undervaluing the business.