Replies to post #58553 on Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

Bristol-Myers Seeks New Treasurer After Asset Impairment

[Evidently, the CFO will keep his job despite the disastrous losses in what were supposedly cash equivalents.]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080206/bristol_myers_treasurer.html

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Wednesday February 6, 3:37 pm ET

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., burned recently by bad investments, is seeking a new corporate treasurer, the drug maker's CEO said Wednesday.

"I'm a big believer in accountability, and we're looking for a new corporate treasurer and a couple of people under him," Chief Executive James Cornelius told a Merrill Lynch conference in New York.

Last week, the New York-based company announced that it had recorded a $275 million impairment charge in the fourth quarter of 2007 because some of its short-term investments dropped in value in connection with the recent global credit-market turmoil. The charge contributed to a net loss for the quarter.

Cornelius called the soured investments "an absolute surprise." He conceded that "had I been smart enough to ask about that in detail in the fourth quarter, I'm not sure we would have avoided the loss completely, but maybe we would have minimized it."

Cornelius didn't identify the corporate treasurer. Spokespeople for the company couldn't immediately be reached.
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