WSJ: Erratic flu season is strain on businesses

[Guest guest]

The Business SEction of the Detroit Free Press today (Mon, April 7,

2008) contains an article that I have not been able to locate on-line.

It is written by Theo Francis and Ellen Byron from the Wall Street

Journal, and the tltle is " Erratic flu season is strain on businesses "

Does anyone else's paper have this story?

It talks about the unpredictability of this year's flu season, vaccine

manufacturers failure to " predict the strains of the virus that would

emerge this winter " and the light flue numbers early in flu season that

brought sales down for folks like Kleenex ( Corp), Procter

and Gamble (Vicks cold med sales were weak) and drug stores.

One quote says,

" In January, Walgreen Co CEO Rein told a shareholder gethering

that December marked the first time in his 25 year career at the company

that cough and cold medicine sales fell during the month. If attendees

of the meeting needed to cough, he joked, they should leave the room and

'go to a movie theater or on a bus' to spread their germs. " We're

really hoping for a very strong flu season, " Rein told the crowd,

according to a transcript of his presentation. "

[Guest guest]

http://www.poststar.com/articles/2008/04/06/business/local/13490859.txt

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