Financial Watch

The U.S. economic recovery is on track and labor data should look better moving forward but more banks will fail this year than in 2009, said James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

“The situation is improving,” Bullard said in an interview with Dow Jones Monday, adding that “the recovery is on track.” Household spending is looking better and business investment is picking up, he added.

Bullard, however, doesn't expect a V-shaped recovery–meaning rapid economic growth–because of the “damaged” financial sector. He expects to see more bank failures this year than next, mainly due to banks' exposure to commercial real estate.

(KERX 3.00, +0.16, +5.63%) , a biopharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of medically important pharmaceutical products for the treatment of life-threatening diseases, including cancer and renal disease (the “Company”), today announced its results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

At December 31, 2009, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, interest receivable, and investment securities of $35.9 million, as compared to $22.7 million at December 31, 2008.