News Summary (LLY, TM)

According to the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ken Rogoff, the Chinese property market has started to collapse. In an interview on Bloomberg Television, Rogoff said, “You’re starting to see that collapse in property and it’s going to hit the banking system... They have a lot of tools and some very competent management, but it’s not easy.” Eli Lilly LLY would be losing patents for eight key drugs in eight years. These drugs account for roughly 75% of LLY’s annual revenue. To cope with this nightmare, which will start with the patent expiry of its blockbuster Zyprexa drug in October 2011, Eli Lilly is undertaking measures to reduce its costs. LLY is also focusing on developing new drugs for diseases, such as Alzheimer's, cancer and diabetes, which are tough to treat. According to an official of Toyota TM, the company was aware of the problems in the engine of its Lexus brand in 2008. However, TM did not think that a recall was necessary, and simply took measures to avoid the problem in vehicles produced from August 2008 onwards. Since then, Toyota has recalled 270,000 Lexus vehicles. Following a series of recalls over the past two years, the company has planned to extend the testing time for new models before they go into production. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.