The truth is out there: 20/02/2010

A weekly look at the world

*Some of the world's biggest companies seem to fear the number four, after a new study found evidence suggesting quarterly earnings reports are tweaked to meet investor expectations.

A team from Stanford University analysed half a million earnings reports over a 27-year period, going beyond the standard per-share results that are reported in pennies and analysing down to the 10th of a cent. According to the Wall Street Journal, they found that the number four appeared less often than any other digit, and significantly less often than would be expected by chance – only 8.5 per cent of the time. They dub the effect "quadrophobia", as companies are far more likely to round up by a tenth to help boost earnings per share.

*Scorpion venom could be used as an alternative to dangerous and addictive painkillers like morphine, a Tel Aviv University researcher claims. Professor Michael Gurevitz from the university's department of plant sciences is investigating ways of developing a novel painkiller based on natural compounds found in the venom of scorpions. They show high efficacy and specificity for certain components of the body with no side effects, he says. The study, highlighted by the xenophilia blog, said the venom has long been recognised by Chinese medicine

*An Indonesian teenager has been convicted of posting insulting messages on a love rival's Facebook page. Farah Nur Arafah, 18, was handed a suspended jail sentence after leaving malicious messages on the wall of a friend she suspected of trying to steal her boyfriend. Arafah's posting in July last year called the friend a pig and a dog, as well as saying she was promiscuous and overweight, reported Business Week.

*Psychologists have long-acknowledged the importance of "flow", the positive emotional state of undertaking a task equal to, but not exceeding, one's abilities. Now, an American psychologist has delved into "social flow", where similar states are achieved in groups. According to the BPS research digest, a series of studies led Charles Walker to the underwhelming conclusion that "doing it together is better than doing it alone."

*Bill Clinton's plea for donations to help maintain the aid effort in quake- stricken Haiti has not gone unanswered, as patrons of Marilyn's club in Ohio helped raise nearly $1,000 with their "lap dances for Haiti" event. The club's owner told Toledo Blade he had been considering a charity fundraiser to help polish the club's image. "You don't hear much about strip clubs giving back to the community," he said.

*KFC is offering $500 worth of chicken as a reward for information leading to the return of a bust of Colonel Harland Sanders that was taken from a restaurant last month. The bronze bust, valued at $1,200, was taken from the lobby of a KFC in Berea, Kentucky, said the Herald Leader. "We want the Colonel back in our Berea restaurant, and we want the authorities to have the chance to 'grill' the 'chickens' who stole him," KFC spokesman Rick Maynard said.

truth@independent.co.uk