Oil Prices Down Despite Storm

Benchmark crude fell $2.48, or 2.8 percent, to finish at $86.45 after the Labor Department said employers stopped adding jobs in July. The unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent.

The U.S. jobs report follows a weak manufacturing report from China and concerns that the lingering debt crisis in Europe continues to hold back economic growth there.

Brent crude, used to price oil in many international markets, fell $1.96 to end at $112.33 per barrel In London.

Gasoline prices remained high, however. The average retail price for gasoline in the U.S. rose about 2 cents on Friday to $3.647 per gallon according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. That's the second highest level ever for this time of year. It was a little higher in 2008.

Oil was also pushed down as the dollar rose against the euro and some other currencies. Oil is priced in dollars and becomes more expensive to buyers with foreign currency -- and less attractive -- as the dollar get stronger.

Also, a Libyan official said Friday that five foreign oil and gas companies have returned to Libya to resuscitate production choked off by civil war and sanctions.

This encouraged traders that Libyan oil might begin flowing sooner than hoped, though most expect it to be several months before significant exports resume.

Concerns about the economy, the dollar and increased supply from Libya overwhelmed worries that the interruptions of oil and gas production caused by Tropical Storm Lee in the Gulf of Mexico might squeeze supplies and push prices higher.

The storm has forced several oil companies to evacuate personnel from production platforms and drilling rigs in the region. Nearly half of the Gulf's oil production has been cut off, as well as one-third of the region's natural gas production, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

Forecasters expect the storm to dump a foot or more of rain on parts of Louisiana starting this weekend.

The storm is not expected to damage rigs in the region, however. Oil production should resume shortly after the storm has cleared and companies can return workers to production platforms.

In other energy trading, heating oil fell 5.44 cents to finish at $2.9974 per gallon and gasoline futures lost 5.31 cents to finish at $2.8396 a gallon. Natural gas fell 17.8 cents, or 4.4 percent, to end the day at $3.872 per 1,000 cubic feet.

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (VSTA) Stem Cell Technology to Test New Drugs for Toxicity Before Humans Trials

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on stem cell-based drug rescue and drug development, recently completed a $3.87 million financing (including cancellation of $1.0 million of debt) to accredited investors, including a $1.5 million investment by Platinum Long Term Growth Fund. The Company is focused on rescuing the investments made by pharmaceutical companies in promising drug candidates that have been "put on the shelf" due to heart toxicity concerns. By combining its stem cell technology platform, Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube(TM), with modern medicinal chemistry and three-dimensional (3D) "micro-organ" culture systems, the Company plans to create new, safer, proprietary drug rescue variants of once promising original drug candidates.

VistaGen uses its human pluripotent stem cell technology to generate early indications, or predictions, of how humans will ultimately respond to new drug candidates long before they are ever tested in humans. The Company anticipates that CardioSafe 3D(TM), the first bioassay system derived from its Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube(TM) platform, will allow it to assess the heart toxicity profile of new drug candidates with greater speed and precision than nonclinical in vitro techniques and other technologies currently used in the drug development process. VistaGen plans to expand its drug rescue capabilities by introducing its second bioassay system, LiverSafe 3D(TM), a human liver cell based toxicity and metabolism bioassay system, next year. The Company's core goal is to develop a diverse pipeline of new small molecule drug candidates that will be as effective as the original drug candidates discontinued due to safety concerns but without the toxicity that caused them to be put on the shelf.

"Both in our labs in South San Francisco and through our collaboration with Dr. Gordon Keller in Toronto, we have assembled a dedicated and experienced team that is passionate about the transformative potential of our stem cell technology. Our goal is simple: use stem cell technology to make better medicine," said Shawn K. Singh, Chief Executive Officer, VistaGen in a prior press release.

VistaGen's technologies were developed over the last 20 years by a prominent Canadian scientist, Dr. Gordon Keller (recently named a "Top 25 Transformational Canadian" for his pioneering stem cell research), and by Dr. Ralph Snodgrass, VistaGen's founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer. Using mature heart cells produced from pluripotent stem cells, the Company believes its CardioSafe 3D(TM) is capable of predicting the in vivo cardiac effects, both toxic and non-toxic, of small molecule drug candidates before they are tested in humans.

In parallel with its drug rescue activities, VistaGen also plans to advance numerous pilot preclinical cell therapy programs, including programs focused on autologous bone marrow transplantation, as well as heart, liver and cartilage repair. Each of the programs is based on the proprietary stem cell differentiation and human cell production capabilities of its Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube(TM) platform.

Low Rates Both Good and Bad for Consumers

Borrowers were relieved when the Federal Reserve said that it would hold interest rates at rock bottom for the next two years. But savers didn't share the same joy.

The Fed's move was aimed at goading consumers and businesses to look again at leverage as a means of investing in the economy — either through big-ticket purchases like houses, cars and large appliances, or, for businesses, in equipment, new systems and even workers.

The Fed thinking is that if interest rates stay low enough, people and businesses won't be afraid to borrow, which could shake this stagnant economy back into growth mode.

But it stings if you're on a fixed income facing rising costs for energy and food, or if you're so wary of your money disappearing in the stock market that you're sitting on a bank savings account full of cash.

Low interest rates also hurt if your retirement is dependent on interest income from certificates of deposit. Interest rates on a one-year CD have plunged to 0.42% from 2.38% just three years ago, according to Bankrate.com. Most money-market mutual-fund yields are at 0.01%.

But if you're a homeowner with, say, a 5-1 adjustable-rate mortgage that's already past the first five years of the fixed-rate portion, you're in pretty good shape for the next couple of years.

Ditto on those home-equity lines of credit, which carry variable interest rates mostly based on the prime rate, which also trends with the federal funds rate.

Low interest rates also have contributed to 50-year troughs in mortgage rates, which are determined by a variety of interest-rate benchmarks. Freddie Mac reported average fixed mortgage rates rose modestly last week to 4.22%, after seven straight weeks of declines. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 4.36%. The 5-1 ARM slipped to 3.07%, setting a record low.

Low interest rates could be mixed blessings for credit-card holders, unless, of course, you don't pay your bills on time and get slapped with high penalty rates. Thanks to the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, most banks reset their average percentage rates to variable terms plus margins, meaning they could rise and fall along with the prime rate.

A low-interest environment makes it even more important that you pay off your credit card balances, however. Because you're earning very little return on savings accounts and CDs, the amount you pay in interest-rate charges has a bigger impact on your total budget and cash flow.