Speculative Options Plays (SPECOPS)

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LEND - DJ Farallon Cap Reports 6.9% Stake In Accredited Home Lenders

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Hedge fund Farallon Capital Management LLC on Tuesday reported holding a 6.9% stake in Accredited Home Lenders Inc. (LEND), according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Farallon Capital on Monday entered into a financing agreement to provide the beleaguered subprime mortgage lender a $200 million loan to help it survive its current funding crisis.

Farallon Capital and its affiliates own about 1.77 million shares of the San Diego lender, according to the SEC filing.

As part of the financing agreement, Farallon will also get 3.3 million warrants - or options to buy shares - from Accredited, with an exercise price of $10 a share.

Shares of Accredited Home Lenders jumped more than 20% Tuesday and closed at $10.77 each, up $1.82 from Monday's close.

-Denise Jia, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-1359; [e-mail]


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 20, 2007 17:44 ET (21:44 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 05 44 PM EDT 03-20-07

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LEND - Accredited Home Up After Getting $200M Loan
63 minutes ago - Dow Jones News
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of Accredited Home Lenders Inc. (LEND) rose 29% to $11.54 before the opening bell Tuesday after the San Diego mortgage company obtained a five-year, $200 million loan from Farallon Capital Management. Hedge fund Farallon will get 3.3 million warrants from the beleaguered subprime mortgage lender.
Accredited will use the money, along with proceeds from the planned fire sale of $2.7 billion in mortgage loans, to boost its liquidity. The company disclosed Monday that it was in discussions with a third party for extra financing.
The loan carries a 13% interest rate and can be paid off at any time, subject to certain conditions and prepayment fees.
The subprime mortgage business has been plunged into a crisis by a rash of loan delinquencies that prompted lenders to tighten up credit. Around two dozen lenders have been forced to shut down.
Shares of subprime lender Fremont General Corp. (FMT) were up 5.9% at $8.55 in pre-open electronic trade while shares of New Century Financial Corp. (NEW) edged 3 cents higher to $2.20.

Affiliated Computer Up On Buyout Proposal

Affiliated Computer Services Inc. (ACS) jumped 18% to $60.25 after it said it received a proposal to be acquired by a group led by Darwin Deason, its founder, and private equity firm Cerebus Capital Management L.P. for $59.25 per share.
The total value of the deal, including debt, is about $8.2 billion, according to a press release from Deason.
The bid, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, represents a premium of 15.5% over Tuesday's closing price of $51.29 for the shares and a 18.3% premium to the stock's 90-day average closing price, Deason said.
Citigroup Global Markets has provided a letter to Deason's group saying it is "highly confident" of its ability to raise the debt necessary to complete the transaction.

Palm Rises As Blog Fuels Buyout Rumors

Shares of Palm Inc. (PALM) rose 4.5% to $18.95 after the industry blog Unstrung, citing unnamed sources, said a buyout of the company is near.
Unstrung said Nokia Corp. (NOK) was a leading contender, although Palm is said to prefer a private-equity buyer. Texas Pacific Group is one of the two private equity firms said to be interested, the blog said, adding Silver Lake Partners is speculated to be the other.
Palm, which hired Morgan Stanley (MS) this month to help explore its strategic options, is demanding $20 or more per share, Unstrung said.

Rambus Up As FTC Says Company Can Collect Royalties

Rambus Inc. (RMBS) shares rose 7.3% to $21.27, the day after the Federal Trade Commission said it had stayed portions of its remedy order, clarifying that the company isn't restricted from collecting royalties for the use of some of its technologies in the past.
In its order, the FTC also said that Rambus isn't required to refund royalties already paid.
In early February, the FTC ordered Rambus to license some of its computer memory-chip technology and set maximum royalty rates it can collect for licensing.

Stock Futures Edge Lower

U.S. stock futures edged lower Tuesday after a solid start to the week, with attention turning to housing starts data and the start of a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the policy-making arm of the Federal Reserve, on interest rates.
S&P 500 futures were down 2.40 points at 1413.40, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 14 points at 12315 and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 2 points to 1779.2.
A slew of merger-and-acquisition news Monday helped U.S. stocks finish higher, with the Dow industrials up 115 points, the S&P 500 up 15 points and the Nasdaq Composite rising 21 points.

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
03-20-07 0822ET
Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc

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The Long and the Short of Down-Market Investing
by Ben Stein


Posted on Friday, March 16, 2007, 12:00AM
I was going to write about how to give a good job interview, and maybe I will someday soon. But right now I'm moved by the stock market's continued gyrations downward to say a few deathless words on that subject.

In brief, be of good cheer.

A Bank or a Casino?


Let me explain a few basic things about the stock market. It exists for a variety of reasons. For one thing, it allows entrepreneurs and established companies to raise money for factories and laboratories and mills and mines.


It also allows small and large investors like you and me to purchase stocks to place long-term bets on the economy. We buy into America's industrial growth, and help it propel us into retirement and prosperity. The stock market allows this.


But the stock market is also a vast casino for the people who work in it. They play feverishly, trying to make a dollar or two (or a million or a billion) via short-term trades. They sell short, buy and sell options, use trades so complex they break computers -- all to make a quick buck.


In particular, they can make money by selling short and using "sell programs." These allow traders to make money as markets fall, just as we long-term investors make money by holding on for the long run.


Take Advantage of the Sale


These trades should be totally irrelevant to us long-term investors, except for one thing: Sometimes, when the traders and gunslingers drive down the price, they give us a chance to buy into long-term growth on the cheap.


As I've said before, if the market sells itself down a few percent or more, why not take advantage of the sale the same way you would a sale on paper towels or a washing machine? It's the same market, and eventually the traders will decide to start their manipulations to make the market go up. And there we'll be, with our stocks.


Ultimately, when the trading frenzies die down, stocks are priced according to earnings and interest rates, not according to who has the quickest finger on the sell-program trigger. And again, there we'll be with our stocks. (I learned this from Warren Buffett, so it has to be true... and it is true.)


Now, here's a key point: When the markets go nuts and traders sell short and trigger sell programs, they don't ever just say, "Hey, we're doing this to make a fast buck and profit from fear." They always have some supposedly legitimate, "statesmanlike" reason.


Barely Blip-worthy


Today, the reason is supposedly terror in the subprime mortgage market. To put this as frankly as possible, this is just nonsense.


Even if subprime delinquencies and defaults are up, they're a tiny portion of total mortgages. Suppose 13 percent of subprime mortgages are in default. Subprime itself is less than 15 percent of total mortgage debt, so that means that roughly 2 percent of mortgage debt is delinquent or in default.


Yes, that's more than it used to be, and is a disaster for the subprime mortgage companies.


But when a mortgage defaults, the lender takes back the house or condo, sells it, and usually recovers about 75 percent of the loan value or more. That means the real loss would be about 25 percent of 2 percent, or 1/2 of 1 percent.


In the context of a market as huge as the nation's mortgage market, that's not a lot. A few companies will go bankrupt, and someone will make a killing buying their bonds and portfolios at a huge discount as they turn out to be worth a lot more than people thought in March 2007. But it won't mean a lot to a roughly $14 trillion economy, of which the subprime mortgage market is a tiny blip.


Buy and Hang On


It's all a fig leaf for unscrupulous traders to spook other traders and try to scalp them. Please don't let it scare you. Keep holding on, and add to broad indexes like the SPY and the VTI.


There's also the supposed terror of a tiny rise -- .25 percent -- in Japanese interest rates. This will make speculators' easy-money-borrowing in Japan and subsequent re-lending in New York at a much higher rate a tiny little bit more difficult. But you and I have nothing to do with the carry trade, and the carry trade has nothing to do with the long-run level of the stock market.


Meanwhile, the economy is strong. Employment is very, very strong, and corporate profits are great. It's a good time to buy -- especially because traders and speculators have driven prices down.


That's good news for you, if you're patient. I know this is counterintuitive; it always feels a lot better to buy when the market is going up. But you make more money buying when the market is going down. Let the traders and gunslingers kill each other. Buy when it's low and just be happy -- and, as always, be patient.

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LEND CFC FMT NEW - The Ticking Time Bomb of Subprime Lenders
80 minutes ago - Investopedia
On Friday, subprime lenders received a lift from Accredited Home Lenders (Nasdaq: LEND ) and Fremont General (NYSE: FMT ), which both buoyed deals to remain in business.

And while the news is certainly positive, it's really just another episode in the recent soap opera for sub-prime lenders. You've probably heard the plot, but just incase, let me refresh your memory.

History

As interest rates dipped to historical lows in recent years, there's been a flood of borrowing by those who have less than stellar credit. And credit isn't really the problem…the issue is that many Americans were enticed to take on adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) and now, many homeowners' payments are going up.

But so many could barely afford the loans in the first place, and now, the payments exceed incomes. The unfortunate result has been a tsunami of foreclosures…as seen in a 42% rise in banks repossessing homes in 2006, over 2005.

What Does this Mean Now?

The sellng might not be over yet. See, the CPI report just showed a 0.2% increase in core prices, which may not sound like a ton, but it is. With gasoline prices on the rise too, inflation stands a very good chance of rearing its ugly head again in the months to come.

To translate this into usable information, inflation picking up steam again could mean that the Fed will have its hands tied when considering the overnight interest rate this summer and early next fall. And, much of the reason for the market's run in late 2006, was partially due to expectations of a rate cut this year.

Thus, the problem is two-fold.

First, the chances of a rate cut surfacing are dwindling, which will be bad for the market.

Second, rising interest rates means increasing payments for those with ARM mortgages -- and more foreclosures to come.

What we're left with is a potentially dangerous market environment, coupled with extended mortgage defaults in the months to come. And, at the end of the day, despite news that "the bottom is in" the mortgage sector, it's probably not.

More stringent loans iced with increased foreclosures will spell continued problems for subprime lenders.

Is it Time to Buy in Yet?

And here's where we get to the money question, "Is it time to buy subprime lending stocks yet?"

I answer, "Never, ever, ever try to catch a falling knife, especially in the stock market."

When I look at companies like Accredited Home Lenders, New Century Bancorp (Nasdaq: NCBC ), Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC ), Novastar Financial (NYSE: NFI ) and Homebanc (NYSE: HMB ), just to name a few, I can't help to consider shorting the bounce.

What's more, it's known that some of the greatest fortunes in the investment world have come from buying when everyone else is selling. And this may seem like a good enough reason for some to start buying mortgage stocks. However, unless your investment portfolio can take the beating if this sector continues its drop, it's probably a good idea to stay away from this sector for now.

The Investopedia Advisor is a membership based stock picking service. It offers three model portfolios for different investing styles as well as detailed buy recommendations, holding updates and sell recommendations. In 2005, the Investopedia Advisor outperformed the S&P 500 by approximately 3 to 1. To learn more please visit http://advisor.investopedia.com/land/7ingredients.aspx?ad=IA_1001.

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USNA - USANA Health Sci Upped To Buy From Hold At Canaccord Adams
1:30 AM ET - Dow Jones News
> Dow Jones Newswires 03-19-07 0130ET
Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

and

Usana Health Sci Raised To Buy From Neutral By DA Davidson
Friday 03/16/2007 3:56 PM ET - Dow Jones News
> Dow Jones Newswires
03-16-07 1556ET
Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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USNA - chart (updated)

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LEND FMT - Subprime Lenders Take Steps To Try To Stay Afloat
19 minutes ago - Investrend
March 19, 2007 (FinancialWire) Fremont General Corp. (NYSE: FMT), a real-estate lender that has been hammered by concerns about the health of mortgage loans made to borrowers with weak credit, revealed that Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) has increased its line of credit to the company to $1 billion.

Subprime-mortgage company Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. (NASDAQ: LEND) will sell $2.7 billion in loans at a substantial discount to help meet margin calls from lenders.

Fremont said that it has $1.3 billion in cash and short-term investments and has received proposals for additional credit facilities if needed. Credit Suisse is advising Fremont on the sale of its subprime business.

Accredited Home said the $2.7 billion in loans it plans to sell will cover substantially all of its loans held for sale that are funded out of its warehouse and repurchase credit facilities, asset-backed commercial paper facility and equity.

The discounted sale will result in a pretax charge of $150 million. While the sales will substantially reduce Accredited Home's debts, the company said it still needs its lenders to waive covenants regarding required levels of profitability and timely securities filings.

Both lenders' share prices jumped, with Fremont's rising $1.50, or 20%, to $8.90 and Accredited Home's up $1.47, or 16%, at $10.90.

For up-to-the-minute news, features and links click on http://www.FinancialWire.net

FinancialWire is an independent, proprietary news service of Investrend Information, a division of Investrend Communications, Inc. It is not a press release service and receives no compensation from any company for its news or opinions. Other divisions of Investrend, however, provide shareholder empowerment platforms such as forums, independent research and webcasting. For more information or to receive the FirstAlert daily summary of news, commentary, research reports, webcasts, events and conference calls, click on http://www.investrend.com/contact.asp

For a free annual report on a company mentioned in the news, please click on http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279

To become an investor monitor of independent research for a company in which you are invested, go to the not-for-profit Shareholders Research Alliance, Inc. website by clicking on http://www.shareholdersresearch.com/

The FinancialWire NewsFeed is now available in multiple formats to your site or desktop, free. Click on: http://www.investrend.com/XmlFeeds?level=268

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Options volume - Unusually high volume Friday 3/16/2007

MOT Motorola APR07 22.5 Put MOTPX


CSX CsX Corp APR07 45 Call CSXDI


TEX Terex Corp JAN08 60 Call YSZAL


BBBY Bed Bath & Beyond Inc APR07 37.5 Put BHQPU



ORCL Oracle JAN09 15 Put VOCMC



EEE Evergreen Energy Inc JUN07 10 Call EEEFB



COH Coach Inc AUG07 50 Put COHTJ


XLE Sector Spdr-Energy JAN08 53 Put YECMA



GOLD Randgold Res Ltd JUN07 25 Call GUDFE


RKH Regional Bk Holdrs Tr APR07 155 Put RKHPK


ITMN APR07 22.5 Call IQYDX


MT Arcelor Mittal APR07 45 Put MTPI
[chart]bigcharts.marketwatch.com/charts/big.chart?symb=MT%3DPI&compidx=aaaaa%3A0&ma=0&maval=9&uf=0&lf=1&lf2=0&lf3=0&type=2&size=2&state=8&sid=2280170&style=320&time=18&freq=9&comp=NO%5FSYMBOL%5FCHOSEN&nosettings=1&rand=1444&mocktick=1>

FORM Formfactor Inc MAR07 40 Call AFUCH


SPW Spx Corp JAN08 50 Put YSWMJ


ALXN MAR07 40 Call XQNCH


LNC Lincoln National Corp JUL07 70 Call LNCGN


XLB Sector Spdr-Basic Inds MAR07 38 Put XLBOL


LFC China Life Ins Co Ltd OCT07 40 Put LFCVH

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USNA - USANA Files Lawsuit for Defamation against Fraud Discovery Institute and Barry Minkow in U.S. District Court
Thursday March 15, 9:03 pm ET
- USANA Responds to Allegations Made by Mr. Minkow and Fraud Discovery Institute in the Mass Media -

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--USANA Health Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:USNA - News; "USANA") ("the company") announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the Fraud Discovery Institute and Barry Minkow in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, Utah for defamation. The company issued the following statement regarding public claims made today by Mr. Minkow, a convicted felon:

"USANA believes Mr. Minkow's statements are part of a coordinated public relations program financed by a paying client and from which Mr. Minkow will profit personally. According to reporting in the March 15, 2007 edition of The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Minkow "...has bought 'put' options on USANA's shares in a bet the price will fall." Mr. Minkow admits that he has been paid to conduct his "investigation" against USANA. Further, he has engaged a public relations firm to propagate his false and misleading statements about USANA to the media.

"USANA believes this is a campaign to manipulate USANA's stock price that is being orchestrated by an individual who served 7 years in prison for stock fraud. In 1998, Mr. Minkow was convicted on 57 counts of fraud and conspiracy related to his carpet cleaning business, ZZZZ Best. He was also ordered to pay his customers $26 million in restitution.

"Mr. Minkow's assertions about USANA's sales model are false and misleading. USANA markets and sells premium nutritional supplements to thousands of customers, and its business model is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission. Nearly 80,000 individuals have signed up to be preferred customers of USANA's premium nutritional products and do not participate as business associates. USANA business associates are under no obligation to purchase any amount of products beyond a $20 starter kit, and the company fully discloses the commissions paid to its associates on an annual basis.

"The claim by Mr. Minkow that USANA will 'run out of distributors' is false, misleading, and without any basis. The fact is that many professionally-managed multi-level marketing and direct selling companies have operated for decades. USANA's business model is dependent on consumption of its nutritional products, not the recruitment of associates. USANA's track record speaks for itself: The company has posted record sales growth in the previous 18 operating quarters.

"USANA markets and sells a premium product that in some cases is priced higher than generics and name brand competitors. USANA's premium prices reflect the quality of its products, which occupy the higher end of the market the company serves. USANA manufacturers its products according to strict, pharmaceutical grade, GMP's (Good Manufacturing Practices) and maintains extensive documentation to support the veracity of its ingredient labels. USANA guarantees the potency of its products.

"Mr. Minkow has assembled a random collection of statements in an effort to create a false impression of USANA and its founder and chairman, Dr. Myron Wentz.

Mr. Wentz's citizenship is perfectly legal and has no bearing on the operation of USANA.
Many companies that operate in the United States have off-shore ownership. USANA is a publicly-traded company on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and meets the regulatory requirements of that exchange as well the Securities and Exchange Commission.
USANA is confident that informed stakeholders will recognize the true purpose of Mr. Minkow's campaign and will conclude that his claims lack any fundamental value."

About USANA

USANA develops and manufactures high quality nutritional, personal care, and weight management products that are sold directly to Preferred Customers and Associates throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Mexico, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. More information on USANA can be found at http://www.usanahealthsciences.com.

Safe Harbor

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act. Our actual results could differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including reliance upon our network of independent Associates, the governmental regulation of our products, manufacturing and marketing risks, and risks associated with our international expansion. The contents of this release should be considered in conjunction with the risk factors, warnings, and cautionary statements that are contained in our most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:
Direct media inquiries on the lawsuit to:
Shughart, Thomson & Kilroy
D.J. Poyfair, 720-931-1199
303-910-1999 mobile
or
All other media inquiries contact:
Edelman
Joe Poulos, 312-240-2719
or
Investors Contact:
USANA
Riley Timmer, 801-954-7100
Investor Relations
[e-mail]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: USANA Health Sciences Inc.

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USNA - Nice find, exactly the kind of volatile situation I was intending to spotlight with this board. Looks like a possible severe over-reaction of the PPS, with it now near the 200 day MA - will radar it for a bounce.

[TallTrader]

USNA - USANA Health Sciences Inc

March 15 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Usana Health Sciences Inc., which sells vitamins and nutritional supplements, fell 15 percent after a trader said in the Wall Street Journal's ``Heard on the Street'' column that the company's sales model isn't sustainable.

Barry Minkow, who served several years in prison for stock fraud in the 1990s, told the Journal that he bought ``put'' options on Usana shares in a bet their price will fall. After prison, Minkow founded a company that specializes in fraud investigations.

Minkow told the Journal that Usana's sales model requires the constant recruitment of new distributors and that the pool will dry up eventually. Usana refuted the criticism and sued Minkow in federal court in Salt Lake City today, claiming his comments to the newspaper defamed the company, according to Usana spokesman Joe Poulos.

Minkow's claims in the Wall Street Journal that Usana will run out of distributors is ``false, misleading, and without any basis,'' the company said in a statement today. ``Usana's business model is dependent on consumption of its nutritional products, not the recruitment of associates.''

Minkow didn't immediately return a call seeking comment after business hours. The Wall Street Journal reported Usana Health has 153,000 ``associates,'' or distributors, working from home to sell its products, adding that 86 percent of revenue comes from sales to associates.

Shares of Salt Lake City-based Usana fell $8.92 to $49.85 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, their lowest closing price since Jan. 9. The shares have risen 44 percent in the last year before today.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=USNA:US&sid=afP..rei...

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Gasoline spot price, New York Harbor, 2004-2007:

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NRMX chart
Neurochem Inc

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RTK - Rentech Shares Soar on Permit Approval
Thursday March 15, 5:26 pm ET
Rentech Stock Continues Its Rise Thursday After Winning Approval to Convert Illinois Plant

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Rentech Inc., which develops technology to create alternative fuels, continued their rise Thursday after the company announced it won zoning approval to begin construction on a coal-to-liquids plant.
ADVERTISEMENT


The Los Angeles-based company announced Wednesday that Jo Daviess County in Illinois approved a zoning permit for its subsidiary, Rentech Energy Midwest Corporation, to convert an ammonia fertilizer plant into a facility that will produce ultra-clean fuels.

"The significance of the permit is that it sets the stage to commence construction of what is expected to be the first commercial-scale coal-to-liquids plant in the U.S.," said Raymond James and Associates analyst J. Marshall Adkins in a research note, who added that the company was undersold prior to the rally.

The company plans to begin the conversion of the East Dubuque, Illinois plant later this year.

Rentech shares rose 23 cents, or 9.6 percent, to close at $2.62 on the American Stock Exchange. The stock has risen nearly 31 percent since Tuesday's close, and has traded between $1.95 and $5.31 during the past 52 weeks.

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RTK chart
Rentech, Inc.

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NFI - NovaStar to cut 350 jobs, 50 in KC
Friday March 16, 7:15 pm ET

NovaStar Financial Inc. announced late Friday that it would cut about 350 employees as it adjusts to a sagging subprime mortgage market.
The Kansas City-based subprime lender (NYSE: NFI - News) said in a release that it would lay off approximately 50 employees locally, leaving it with an area work force of about 635.

Most of the reductions will take place in the company's wholesale loan production operations. NovaStar said its loan servicing operations would not be affected by the move.

NovaStar and others in the subprime mortgage market have taken hits of late due to rising foreclosure rates and fears that there could be more foreclosures if the price of homes remains flat or declines in coming months. Concerns about subprime loans could affect the ability of companies like NovaStar to obtaining financing for new loans or to securitize the loans it makes.

NovaStar said in its announcement that the work force cuts would begin immediately and likely be completed during the second quarter of the year. It expects to take a pre-tax charge of between $2.7 million to $3.1 million related to the cuts.

Published March 16, 2007 by the Kansas City Business Journal

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NFI chart (updated)
Novastar Financial Inc

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HEPH - Hollis-Eden to curtail devt of Neumune, shares rise

By Jennifer Robin Raj

BANGALORE, March 16 (Reuters) - Shares of Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals Inc. (HEPH.O: Quote, Profile , Research) rose as much as 52 percent after the company said it is stopping further development of radiation drug Neumune and instead focus on its diabetes and prostrate cancer drugs.

The share spike, which made the stock the biggest percentage gainer on the Nasdaq Friday, reversed some of its prior-week losses that followed the contract rejection of Neumune by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Neumune was being developed to treat acute radiation syndrome under the U.S. government's Project BioShield program.

Analyst Joseph Pantginis of Canaccord Adams said as a public company, Hollis-Eden needed to go after drugs with real markets where it could potentially get return on investment.

The San Diego-based company had spent between $80 million to $90 million over four years developing Neumune with no current potential for reimbursements from the government.

It plans to file an investigational new drug application to treat type 2 diabetes by the end of the month. The company is also considering the same compound as a treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Hollis-Eden also expects to file an IND for its prostrate cancer drug candidate by the end of 2007 or early 2008, Scott Rieger, Hollis-Eden's corporate communications officer, said from San Diego.

SUFFICIENT FUNDS

"We think that we have enough cash to develop these compounds to a point where we can generate some meaningful clinical data, which we think would be attractive to Wall Street and to potential large pharma collaborators," Chief Operating Officer Dan Burgess said by phone.

The company had $67.1 million in cash at the end of 2006.


Hollis-Eden also said it would not be providing 2007 financial outlook due to the events surrounding Neumune.

NEUMUNE NOT DEAD YET

Hollis-Eden said the HHS had indicated that it rejected the company's purchase contract as the amount of data available for Neumune was insufficient.

The company said it was not prepared to fund safety and efficacy trials that could address HHS concerns, in the absence of an advance purchase contract.

It did not however completely close doors to further development of Neumune.

It said it would consider licensing or selling Neumune to third parties. The company said it could also revisit its decision if the U.S. Congress or the Department of Defense improve the procurement climate for Neumune.

Shares were up 59 cents to $3.10 in late afternoon trade on the Nasdaq.

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HEPH chart
Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals Inc

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BKUNA chart
BankUnited Financial Corporation

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BKUNA - BankUnited's Stock Is a Victim of Subprime Fallout, Analysts Say

Ahead of the Bell: BankUnited
Wednesday March 14, 9:31 am ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- The risky "subprime" mortgage market is collapsing, and taking some victims with it.
One of those victims, analysts said, is BankUnited Financial Corp., a Coral Gables, Fla.-based bank with 75 branches and $13.6 billion in assets.

BankUnited Financial's stock lost almost 10 percent on Tuesday and is down 27 percent for the year. Analysts said BankUnited Financial's shares are suffering from the sell-off in the subprime mortgage industry, which is racked with payment defaults and withering credit quality.

Analysts said BankUnited Financial has exposure to mortgage credit, and more frequent payment defaults hurt the bank's earnings. But the plunge in the stock is overdone, according to some.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst David Bishop raised his rating on BankUnited Financial to "Hold" from "Sell." He said he's concerned about BankUnited Financial's earnings outlook and expects the bank to report higher credit costs. Howver, he believes those costs will be contained.

Because the market assumes the bank will suffer the same fate as subprime mortgage lenders, contained credit costs would spark a rally in the shares, he said.

"There has been a change of sentiment for financials that has painted the entire group with the same broad brush," Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Laurie Hunsicker wrote in a client note. "The market is clearly more risk-averse. ... Now is the time to bottom fish on names such as BankUnited Financial, trading at less than book value."

Hunsicker cut her price target on BankUnited Financial to $32 from $37, but only because of a change in investor psychology. The target is still 56.4 percent higher than Tuesday's close of $20.46.

Shares of BankUnited Financial rose 89 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $21.35 in premarket trading Wednesday.

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TRMS - Trimeris stock plunges on CEO's departure
Friday March 16, 3:44 pm ET

The stock price of Trimeris collapsed Friday following the company's announcement that both its chief executive officer and chief financial officer have tendered their resignations.
The company said late Thursday afternoon that co-founder and CEO Dani Bolognesi, who also acts as chief scientific officer, would resign today. He will stay on as a "scientific consultant" to Trimeris through October 2008. Robert Bonczek, CFO and general counsel, plans to step down on April 30.

Shares of Trimeris were down 31.5 percent to $6.90 in midafternoon trading Friday.

Trimeris (NASDAQ: TRMS - News) officials did not cite a reason for the departure of either Bolognesi or Bonczek.

The company has named E. Lawrence Hill Jr. acting president and chief operating officer. Hill currently is president of Hickey & Hill Inc., a management services firm, and formerly served as CEO of Deltagen Inc. from 2003 through 2005.

Thursday's announcement came on the heels of a difficult year for Trimeris, whose HIV drug Fuzeon has failed to reach expectations. The company announced in December plans to slash 25 percent of its work force.

Also Thursday, the company released 2006 fourth quarter and full-year financial results above Wall Street expectations.

Trimeris reported 2006 full-year net income of $7.4 million, or 34 cents per diluted share, compared to a 2005 full-year loss of $8.1 million, or 37 cents per share. Full-year revenue nearly topped $37 million in 2006, up from $19 million a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had projected, on average, full-year earnings of 28 cents per share on revenue of $35.84 million.

Trimeris reported 2006 fourth quarter net income of $4.7 million, or 21 cents per diluted share, up from nearly $3.8 million, or 17 cents per diluted share. Fourth quarter revenue in 2006 was $12.5 million, compared to nearly $8 million in the same period a year earlier.

Company officials attributed the earnings to higher sales of HIV drug Fuzeon, which totaled $73.3 million in 2006.

In yet another announcement Thursday, Trimeris said it has altered an agreement signed in 2000 with drug maker Roche, its partner on Fuzeon. Trimeris said it would pay a "nominal royalty" to Roche for the return of rights to joint patents and other intellectual property that could be used in the development of future HIV drugs.

Published March 16, 2007 by the Triangle Business Journal

[CoolHandLucas]

TRMS - Trimeris Falls
Friday March 16, 12:22 pm ET
Biopharmaceutical Company Trimeris Down As Executives Retire and Roche Deal Revised

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of biopharmaceutical company Trimeris Inc. skidded in premarket trading Friday, a day after the company said two top executives are retiring, and announced it will buy back intellectual property from F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd.

Chief Executive and Chief Science Officer Dani P. Bolognesi's retirement is effective today, while CFO Robert Bonczek will step down April 30.

ThinkEquity Partners analyst Vinny Jindal downgraded the stock to "Sell" from "Accumulate," and cut his price target to $7 per share from $11. He said the Morrisville, N.C., company could still be a buyout target, but is not likely to grow in the short term because of the confusion surrounding the retirements.

"We question both the timing and reasoning behind both actions and are left with little sense of confidence as to Trimeris' future," he said. "With many questions and few answers, we believe there exists too high a level of uncertainty to recommend purchase of Trimeris shares."

Morgan Stanley analyst Steven Harr said Fuzeon, an HIV drug developed by Trimeris that Roche is marketing, will face stronger competition and may have an uncertain future.

"With today's news, Trimeris appears to be a ship without a rudder, lacking both permanent management and a short or long-term strategy," he said.

Trimeris stock dropped $1.77, or 17.6 percent, to $8.30 in premarket trading.

[CoolHandLucas]

SOV - Sovereign Bancorp seeks to ease possible takeover

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, March 16 (Reuters) - Sovereign Bancorp Inc. (SOV.N: Quote, Profile , Research) shares rose 5.7 percent on Friday after the No. 2 U.S. savings and loan introduced a proposal that could make it easier to be acquired.

In a proxy filing this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Philadelphia-based thrift said it will seek shareholder permission to "opt out" of a Pennsylvania anti-takeover law that limits the voting power of Banco Santander Central Hispano (SAN.MC: Quote, Profile , Research), its largest shareholder.

The Spanish bank owns 24.99 percent of Sovereign's shares but has only a 19.99 percent voting stake.

Pennsylvania law considers giving a shareholder 20 percent voting power a "control transaction," allowing other shareholders to receive cash for the "fair value" of their shares.

Sovereign is asking shareholders to waive this provision, which the law permits. This would allow Santander to raise its voting stake to 24.99 percent without shareholder interference.

"The Pennsylvania statute may have a potential chilling effect on takeover activity due to the uncertainty and unpredictability that may arise for a prospective bidder with respect to acquisition cost," Sovereign said in the proxy.

Shareholders would vote at Sovereign's May 3 annual meeting in Philadelphia.

"The move is seen clearing the way for Banco Santander Central Hispano to buy the remaining Sovereign shares it doesn't already own," said Frederic Ruffy, an analyst at Optionetics, an options education firm in Redwood City, California.

Representatives of Sovereign and Santander declined to comment. Spain's Expansion newspaper reported the proposal on Friday.

Sovereign shares closed up $1.39 at $25.80, after earlier rising as much as 9.4 percent to $26.70.


NEW DIRECTION

Santander acquired a 19.8 percent stake in Sovereign last June, in a controversial transaction engineered by former Sovereign chief executive Jay Sidhu.

The Spanish bank quickly raised its share stake to 24.99 percent. It has a right for one year beginning in mid-2008 to buy the rest of Sovereign for $40 per share.

Analysts have long said Santander or another company might eventually buy Sovereign, which has $89.6 billion of assets and nearly 800 banking offices in eight northeastern U.S. states

"Spanish banks have been notably undersized in the U.S. relative to the Hispanic market opportunity," Banc of America Securities LLC analyst Kenneth Usdin wrote on Friday. "Santander's 25 percent investment in Sovereign ... could become its launching point for a larger presence."

Last month, Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA.MC: Quote, Profile , Research) agreed to buy Compass Bancshares Inc. (CBSS.O: Quote, Profile , Research) for $9.6 billion, giving it a foothold in several southern states with large Hispanic populations.

Analysts have said potential buyers may first give Sovereign time to improve results and shore up its balance sheet following years of rapid growth under Sidhu, who was ousted in October.

Late last year, Sovereign announced plans to cut 800 jobs and sell $10 billion of loans and securities to reduce interest-rate risk. Joseph Campanelli is now chief executive. (Additional reporting by Doris Frankel in Chicago and Elisabeth O'Leary in Madrid)

[CoolHandLucas]

SOV chart
Sovereign Bancorp Inc

[CoolHandLucas]

BOBJ chart
Business Objects SA

[CoolHandLucas]

ADM chart
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.

[CoolHandLucas]

EEE chart
Evergreen Energy, Inc.

[CoolHandLucas]

FMT chart
Fremont General Corporation

[CoolHandLucas]

Possible bounce plays:

Stocks that trade options and had RSI< 20 at least once during week of 3/12-3/16, sorted by volume:

LEND HEPH JNJ AMGN NFI FBR ARXT CNO TRMS AVNR SEPR RAS RTK BKUNA AVCT CORS MTH PPCO SPC ANPI PGIC CVTX FRNT EGY MNI NTBK XJT EPL SSP ITMN AUDC GPI EMIS ENT DVSA CACH MECA VIMC SEAC PTRY FVE CCRN PCYC XRM IDSY TUTR RWC

LEND - Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co 10.9 43,479,176


HEPH - Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals Inc 3.25 17,400,018



JNJ - Johnson & Johnson 60.51 15556300



AMGN - AMGEN 59.3 14397920



NFI - Novastar Financial Inc 5.9 12866300



FBR - Friedman Billings Ramsey Group Inc 5.14 12269100



ARXT - Adams Respiratory Therapeutics Inc 28.22 10921012



CNO - Conseco Inc 17.31 4492850



TRMS - Trimeris Inc 7.12 4400944



AVNR - Avanir Pharmaceuticals 1.37 3956437



SEPR - Sepracor, Inc 47.86 2463695


RAS - RAIT Financial Trust 28.45 2076400




RTK - Rentech, Inc. 2.64 1815410




BKUNA - BankUnited Financial Corporation 21.59 1525736




AVCT - Avocent Corp. 27.13 1434282




CORS - Corus Bankshares Inc 17.51 1287380




MTH - Meritage Homes Corp 32.34 1249500




PPCO - Penwest Pharmaceuticals 10.48 1190122





SPC - Spectrum Brands, Inc 6.58 1140300





ANPI - Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc 6.01 1118441





PGIC - Progressive Gaming International Corp 5.14 1098939





CVTX - CV Therapeutics, Inc. 9.3 1068992



FRNT - Frontier Airlines Holdings, Inc 6.12 1057766



EGY - Vaalco Energy Inc 4.61 1039500



MNI - McClatchy Co. 33.17 1023100




NTBK - NetBank Inc. 2.45 933981



XJT - ExpressJet Holdings Inc 6.03 886200



EPL - Energy Partners Ltd 17.65 852600




SSP - EW Scripps Co. 43.59 843800




ITMN - InterMune Inc. 22.36 841777




AUDC - AudioCodes Ltd. 6.84 836174




GPI - Group 1 Automotive Inc 41.44 783300




EMIS - Emisphere Technologies Inc 3.45 621285




ENT - Enterra Energy Trust 5.16 530800




DVSA - Diversa Corp. 6.95 429733




CACH - Cache Inc. 17.86 416126




MECA - Magna Entertainment Corp. 3.09 405362




VIMC - Vimicro International Corp. 5.19 399836




SEAC - SeaChange International Inc. 7.95 399150




PTRY - Pantry Inc. 43.09 376106




FVE - Five Star Quality Care Inc 9.95 369000




CCRN - Cross Country Healthcare Inc. 18.11 353204




PCYC - Pharmacyclics Inc. 2.91 346769




XRM - Xerium Technologies Inc 7.74 334800




IDSY - ID Systems Inc. 12.03 104043




TUTR - Plato Learning, Inc 3.8 86131




RWC RELM Wireless Corp. 4.09 46800

[CoolHandLucas]

Takeover candidates, chatter stocks:
BOBJ
SOV

[CoolHandLucas]

February options volume leaders:

Symbol Opt Sym Name Tot
1 AAPL AAQ Apple Inc. 884,701
2 GOOG GOQ Google Inc. 831,295
3 NEW URE New Century Financial Corporation 564,098
4 QCOM QAQ QUALCOMM, Inc. 532,957
5 MSFT MQF Microsoft Corporation 496,012
6 NYX NYX NYSE Group, Inc. 482,894
7 DTC DTC Domtar, Inc. 463,607
8 RIMM RUL Research in Motion Limited 449,652
9 MO MO Altria Group, Inc. 447,352
10 INTC INQ Intel Corporation 437,293
11 CSCO CYQ Cisco Systems, Inc. 432,165
12 WY WY Weyerhaeuser Company 351,666
13 NFI NFI Novastar Financial, Inc. 307,063
14 GS GS The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 295,143
15 AMD AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 288,616
16 HPQ HWP Hewlett-Packard Company 287,988
17 BMY BMY Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 279,707
18 AMGN AMQ Amgen, Inc. 274,968
19 BRCM RCQ Broadcom, Inc. 272,251
20 GE GE General Electric Company 260,891
21 S FON Sprint Nextel Corporation 260,776
22 YHOO YHQ Yahoo! Inc. 244,296
23 VLO VLO Valero Energy Corporation 238,595
24 GM GM General Motors Corporation 238,529
25 CFC CCR Countrywide Financial Corporation 235,702
26 RMBS BNQ Rambus, Inc. 224,964
27 BIDU BDQ Baidu.com 223,441
28 HAL HAL Halliburton Company 219,847
29 AGIX AUB AtheroGenics, Inc. 214,724
30 BAC BAC Bank of America Corporation 206,991
31 WMT WMT Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 192,694
32 X X United States Seel Corporation 191,995
33 NEM NEM Newmont Mining Corporation 185,359
34 MRVL UVM Marvell Technology Group Ltd 185,168
35 ICE ICE IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. 184,979
36 MA MA MasterCard, Inc. 183,846
37 ONXX OIQ Onyx Pharmaceuticals, 176,693
38 HD HD Home Depot, Inc. (The) 161,614
39 AKS AKS AK Steel Holding Corporation 161,181
40 AMZN ZQN Amazon.Com Inc. 160,956
41 SNDK SWQ SanDisk Corporation 160,072
42 FCX FCX Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Co., Inc. (Class B) 156,893
43 WFMI FMQ Whole Foods Market, Inc. 156,854
44 RIO RIO CIA Vale Do Rio Doce (CVRD) 152,791
45 ELN ELN Elan Corporation PLC ADR 150,852
46 DELL DLQ Dell Computer Corp. 150,201
47 CVX CHV Chevron Corporation 148,792
48 PFE PFE Pfizer Inc. 147,803
49 CHK CHK Chesapeake Energy Corporation 145,593
50 JPM JPM JPMorgan Chase & Co. 145,270
51 XOM XOM Exxon Mobil Corporation 144,362
52 DO DO Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. 143,235
53 AA AA ALCOA Inc. 141,959
54 EBAY QXB eBay, Inc. 137,985
55 GLW GLW Corning Incorporated 136,785
56 MOT MOT Motorola, Inc. 135,702
57 NRMX KQM Neurochem, Inc. 133,042
58 GRMN GQR Garmin Ltd 132,170
59 EOP EOP Equity Office Properties Trust 131,881
60 CAT CAT Caterpillar, Inc. 130,874
61 IBM IBM International Business Machines Corporation 130,670
62 UTHR FUH United Therapeutics Corp 127,001
63 C C Citigroup, Inc. 126,607
64 TWX AOL Time Warner, Inc. 121,764
65 XMSR QSY XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. 120,703
66 F F Ford Motor Company 119,200
67 COP COP ConocoPhillips 115,374
68 WB FTU Wachovia Corporation 110,162
69 IIG IIG Imergent, Inc. 103,627
70 CROX CQJ Crocs, Inc. 103,531
71 SBUX SQX Starbucks Corporation 102,924
72 NTRI NSI NutriSystem, Inc. 102,608
73 SHLD KTQ Sears Holdings Corporation 99,045
74 TXN TXN Texas Instruments Incorporated 97,906
75 SIRI QXO Sirius Satellite Radio 97,367
76 LVLT QHN Level 3 Comunications Inc. 94,200
77 NVDA UVA NVIDIA Corporation 93,958
78 MS MWD Morgan Stanley 92,986
79 GILD GDQ Gilead Sciences, Inc. 92,158
80 RIG RIG Transocean Inc. 91,485
81 LEH LEH Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. 91,256
82 AMR AMR AMR Corporation 90,302
83 ORCL ORQ Oracle Corporation 89,891
84 LVS LVS Las Vegas Sands Corp. 87,425
85 JBLU JGQ JetBlue Airways Corporation 86,623
86 KO KO Coca-Cola Company (The) 86,280
87 TEVA TVQ Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited ADR 83,946
88 BBY BBY Best Buy Co., Inc. 83,481
89 BSX BSX Boston Scientific Corporation 82,367
90 ABX ABX Barrick Gold Corporation 82,141
91 DTV HS The DIRECTV Group, Inc. 80,074
92 GSF SDC GlobalSanta Fe Corporation 80,044
93 MRK MRK Merck & Co., Inc. 78,249
94 DOW DOW Dow Chemical Company (The) 77,898
95 AKAM UMU Akamai Technologies, Inc. 77,624
96 ATI ATI Allegheny Technologies, Inc. 76,763
97 MER MER Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. 74,938
98 NMX NMX Nymex Holdings Inc. 74,490
99 SEPR ERQ Sepracor, Inc. 73,461
100 CME CME Chicago Mercantile Exchange 73,073
101 AIG AIG American International Group, Inc. 72,906
102 ERTS EZQ Electronic Arts, Inc. 72,462
103 T T AT&T Corporation 72,426
104 JNJ JNJ Johnson & Johnson 70,536
105 UPS UPS United Parcel Service, Inc. 69,338
106 LEND QFW Accredited Home Lenders Holding Company 68,633
107 TOL TOL Toll Brothers, Inc. 68,489
108 EMC EMC EMC Corporation 68,422
109 HOG HDI Harley-Davidson, Inc. 68,260
110 GG GG Goldcorp, Inc. 68,196
111 AXL AXL American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. 67,721
112 GPS GPS Gap, Inc. (The) 67,434
113 MEDX MZU Medarex, Inc. 67,234
114 UNH UNH UnitedHealth Group 65,925
115 AHM AHH American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. 65,528
116 ESRX XTQ Express Scripts Inc.-Cl A 65,285
117 MNTA QMP Momenta Pharmaceutical Inc. 65,098
118 CAL CAL Continental Airlines, Inc. (Class B) 64,647
119 ADM ADM Archer-Daniels-Midland Company 64,196
120 AXP AXP American Express Company 61,551
121 TIE TIE Titanium Metals Corporation 61,275
122 HRB HRB Block (H & R), Inc. 61,244
123 LLY LLY Lilly (Eli) and Company 61,167
124 AMAT ANQ Applied Materials, Inc. 60,757
125 NOK NOK Nokia Corporation ADR 60,551
126 BTU BTU Peabody Energy Corporation 60,421
127 LOW LOW Lowe's Companies, Inc. 60,361
128 CMCSA CCQ Comcast Corporation Class A 59,721
129 RSH RSH RadioShack 59,674
130 BSC BSC Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. (The) 59,256
131 UAUA UAL UAL Corporation (New) 58,699
132 FD FD Federated Department Stores, Inc. 58,124
133 MCD MCD McDonald's Corporation 57,266
134 CCJ CCJ Cameco Corporation 57,252
135 FMT FMT Fremont General Corporation 56,602
136 BHI BHI Baker Hughes Incorporated 56,420
137 OVTI UCM OmniVision Technologies, Inc. 56,228
138 VZ VZ Verizon Communications, Inc. 55,815
139 SUNW SUQ Sun Microsystems, Inc. 55,618
140 AMX AMX America Movil S.A.B. de C.V. 55,463
141 DIS DIS The Walt Disney Company 55,114
142 EXC PE Exelon Corporation 54,692
143 MMM MMM 3M Company 54,608
144 BUD BUD Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. 54,197
145 PBR PBR Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.-ADR 53,589
146 BA BA Boeing Company (The) 53,455
147 WYE AHP Wyeth 53,334
148 PALM UPY Palm Inc. 53,311
149 ENER EQI Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. 52,982
150 NDAQ NQD Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. 52,797
151 ALU ALA Alcatel-Lucent 52,200
152 CELG LQH Celgene Corporation 52,058
153 APC APC Anadarko Petroleum Corporation 51,784
154 SLB SLB Schlumberger Limited 51,168
155 NOV NOI National Oilwell Varco, Inc. 51,014
156 CVS CVS CVS Corporation 50,493
157 FNM FNM Fannie Mae 50,464
158 GT GT Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (The) 49,896
159 AUY AUY Yamana Gold Inc. 49,781
160 WYNN UWY Wynn Resorts, Limited 49,740
161 SCT SCT Scottish RE Group Limited 49,355
162 LFC LFC China Life Insurance Co., Ltd. 49,262
163 RACK RQO Rackable Systems, Inc. 49,234
164 SYMC SYQ Symantec Corporation 49,005
165 ALL ALL Allstate Corporation (The) 48,022
166 ALD CQL Alllied Capital Corporation 47,852
167 TYC TYC Tyco International Limited 46,712
168 OXY OXY Occidental Petroleum Corporation 46,562
169 AT AT ALLTEL Corporation 46,335
170 WM WM Washington Mutual, Inc. 45,862
171 JOYG JQY Joy Global, Inc. 45,858
172 EEE KFX Evergreen Energy, Inc. 45,604
173 BRLC UEN Syntax-Brillian Corp. 45,413
174 LEA LEA Lear Corporation 45,295
175 TXU TXU TXU Company 45,123
176 PCU PCU Southern Copper Corporation 44,831
177 PG PG Procter & Gamble Company (The) 44,485
178 MU MU Micron Technology, Inc. 44,274
179 CEPH CQE Cephalon, Inc. 44,254
180 FMCN QOH Focus Media Holding Limited 44,193
181 MT IST Arcelor Mittal 44,114
182 COF COF Capital One Financial Corporation 44,045
183 DVN DVN Devon Energy Corporation 43,536
184 WFR WFR MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. 42,874
185 TTWO TUO Take-Two Interactive Software 42,754
186 GFI GFI Gold Fields Limited 42,709
187 ANF ANF Abercrombie & Fitch Company 42,583
188 CMX CMX Caremark RX, Inc. 42,273
189 KSS KSS Kohl's Corporation 42,240
190 ECA PCX EnCana Corporation 42,196
191 ISRG AXQ Intuitive Surgical, Inc. 42,004
192 BEAS BRQ BEA Systems, Inc. 41,712
193 RYL RYL The Ryland Group, Inc. 41,260
194 NT NT Nortel Networks Corporation 40,656
195 NTAP NJQ Network Appliance Corp. 40,115
196 BHP BHP BHP Billiton Limited 39,998
197 KBH KBH KB HOME 39,776
198 MICC MQS Millicom International Cellular S.A. 39,555
199 NUE NUE Nucor Corporation 39,494
200 PD PD Phelps Dodge Corporation 39,449

[CoolHandLucas]

LEND FMT EEE ADM - Stocks to watch mentioned on Friday's CBOE TV for high volume of June call options.

PPS as of Friday March 16, 2007:

LEND = 10.90
FMT = 8.90
EEE = 7.20
ADM = 33.51

[CoolHandLucas]

CBOE - Selected Active Individual stocks for witching day Friday, March 16, 2007

LEND
HAL
AGIX
CFC
LEH
GS
NEWC
MO
PFE
NEM
NFI
FMT
VLO
XHB
BAC
CEPH
MSFT
SBUX
XOM
F
AKS
NRMX
NYX
YHOO
GM
WM
AMD
CSCO
JPM
C
ALCOA
GLW
CVS
CSX

[CoolHandLucas]

Opportunisticly played LEND as a short as it was dropping, but then picked LEND as a call candidate after the drop because they were more associated with GS than the other subprimes and I figured GS had a vested interest in LEND not going belly up. A gamble definately, but it turned into a lucrative play with the squeeze. I am just still a little excited, lol. I am out and taking a break, too darn volatile today!

[CoolHandLucas]

HAHA!

Yes, LEND has been a stelar play. So much short interest, over half the float is currently short I approximate. And they are just digging themselves deeper this being options quadruple witching day. Oh the shorts are on the ropes, one has to love the fight. Watching the T&S and the 1 minute chart, you can sort of see a tug of war battle between those who are DESPERATE to short sell the PPS down so they can cover, but they keep digging a deeper and deeper hole. What a great play to ride.

Good luck!

[TallTrader]

Nice board. I came here Wednesday looking for Sub Prime stocks. I bought the LEND $5 calls at .25 and .4 thinking they were a little overdone. Now at $7.50! But I sold before I understood what was driving the price up!

[CoolHandLucas]

LEND - Premarket activity

As of 15 minutes before open on 3/16/2007, 3.3 Million shares traded, or approxiamtely 16% of the float. Looks to gap at the open. Currently trading premarket @ just above $12.00

[CoolHandLucas]

Thanks! I think today will be more of the same that we saw the last 2 trading days, with MASSIVE shorting of LEND attempting to drive the PPS down. The bears vs the bulls round 3, it will be a lot of fun to watch, and a profitable swing trade!

[AD]

Wonderful play on LEND, getting on it early. Nice tight float with that big short. With news, it would be explosive, and news it did get.

Stunning.

[CoolHandLucas]

Big Brokers Will Profit From Subprime Slide
By Jim Cramer
RealMoney.com Columnist
3/16/2007 7:21 AM EDT

This column was originally published on RealMoney on March 15 at 10:45 a.m. EDT. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers. For more information about subscribing to RealMoney, please click here.

If you take the pressure off the crummy loan companies for a couple of days, if you break the rapid-fire spiral that New Century (NEWC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and Accredited (LEND - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) precipitated, here's what happens: You get a chance for these companies to refinance, find buyers or take in capital before they have to file Chapter 11.

All three brokers that reported this week, Goldman (GS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating), Bear (BSC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) and Lehman (LEH - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating), want in to this business. A number of companies have been pushed back into what looks like oblivion, including some that don't deserve to be.

As I indicated Wednesday in the Dirty Dozen list, many of these companies should not be targeted but are. We are, for instance, seeing the incredible results of what happens when you do a failed raid: IndyMac (NDE - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating), and soon Thornburg (TMA - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) mortgage and another one, Downey Financial (DSL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating), which should be bought, not sold.

The big three, Goldman, Bear and Lehman, seem to be short this mortgage stuff. They can repackage it, the way they repackaged loans in the 1980s that were going bust, make it equity and allow people to play the upside or short the downside. That's what will happen next.

These three know the market -- they know what's bad and good, turns out they aren't morons -- and they can pick and choose while making money in the structured and distressed credit. Oh, that's what they are doing, aside from not seeing a contagion despite the bears' most adamant saber-rattling. (Again, Bear, like Goldman: not known as a bunch of liars.)

I repeat, these guys are now packaging the bad loans and allowing you to short or go long them and making fortunes off them. Not getting hit by them. Profiting from them.

Do we still get the Fed cut? Of course, the Fed is political; it won't let one-third of the country's homeowners -- the possible amount that could be hurt -- get crushed. That's not its mission. It doesn't matter if ethanol drove the PPI -- that's what is really going on.

The breather will help the solvent crummy loaners (not subprime, but bad subprime lenders) stay solvent. It will not help the insolvent get solvent. Seems fair.

[CoolHandLucas]

LEND - Bloomberg article

Accredited Home Lenders to Sell $2.7 Billion of Loans (Update2)

By Kevin Foley

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., a U.S. mortgage lender to people with poor credit, agreed to sell $2.7 billion of loans to pay bankers who demanded cash to cover the risk of defaults.

The loans will be sold at a ``substantial discount'' to alleviate pressure from margin calls, the San Diego, California- based company said in a statement distributed by Business Wire today. Accredited didn't identify the buyer.

The sale will result in a pretax charge of $150 million as Accredited aims to survive a housing slump that's forced more than two dozen lenders to close or seek help. Global stocks tumbled earlier this month on concern rising U.S. mortgage defaults may spread to other parts of the world's biggest economy.

``With the jitters we've seen in the subprime market, the ability to refinance debt has become increasingly difficult to the point where we may be seeing some forced liquidations of underlying assets,'' said Brian Johnson, a banking analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Sydney.

U.S. subprime borrowers fell behind on their mortgages at the highest rate in four years during the fourth quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said this week, and foreclosures on all types of home loans rose to a record. Yesterday, U.S.-based Bear Stearns Cos., the biggest underwriter of mortgage-backed bonds, said it's shopping for distressed debt, including subprime home loans that have soured.

`No Assurance'

Accredited, the 15th-biggest U.S. subprime lender, said it's exploring strategic options, including raising additional capital. The company won't file its annual report by today, and the loans will be sold ``over the next couple of days,'' it said.

Accredited also said changes are needed to the amount of goodwill established in its purchase of Aames Investment Corp. last year.

The company said it's continuing to seek waivers and extensions of waivers of financial and operating covenants. ``There can be no assurance that the company will be successful in receiving any of the required waivers,'' Accredited said.

Shares of U.S. mortgage companies rose yesterday after Blackstone Group LP agreed to buy PHH Corp.'s home-lending business and Bear Stearns said it may buy more subprime loans.

Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, gained 3.1 percent, Accredited added 56 percent and New Century Financial Corp. more than doubled.

Shares of mortgage companies have been pummeled this year by a rise in late payments and lack of demand from investors who buy home loans. Accredited stock fell 65 percent on March 13, when the company said it needed to raise cash to buy back bad mortgages it sold to investment banks.

More than two dozen lenders have shut down or sought buyers since the start of 2006 as defaults in U.S. subprime markets have grown, according to Bloomberg data.

Subprime borrowers often obtain loans with higher interest than prime loans because they have little or no down payment, or flawed credit. In some cases, borrowers aren't required to provide proof of income and may have high levels of debt.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a.81AdqJ3vVI&refer=home

[CoolHandLucas]

LEND - Subprime lender Accredited in deal to sell loans
Friday March 16, 1:33 am ET


NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. subprime mortgage lender Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. (NasdaqGS:LEND - News) said it reached an agreement to sell $2.7 billion of loans at a substantial discount to alleviate pressures from margin calls.
ADVERTISEMENT


The news came after Accredited's stock more than doubled in the past two trading days on speculation that the company would get a capital injection or takeover bid. Shares hit a low on Tuesday as the crisis over subprime mortgages -- mortgages aimed at less creditworthy borrowers -- deepened.

Accredited's loans are now funded out of its warehouse and repurchase credit facilities, asset-backed commercial paper facility and its equity.

Terms of the sale include a holdback reserve of approximately $40 million to satisfy all future claims against the loans, including early payment defaults.

Claims in excess of the reserve will have no recourse against the company.

The sale is expected to be completed over the next couple of days.

The sale of its loans held for sale will provide additional liquidity to Accredited, thereby facilitating its efforts to continue its previously announced intention to explore various strategic options.

The company estimates that this discounted loan sale will result in a pre-tax charge of approximately $150 million.

Accredited will retain approximately $120 million of loans held for sale in its warehouse facilities, comprised mostly of loans originated since March 7, 2007.

The company also said it will not file its annual report on form 10-K by March 16, 2007.

Accredited said it was continuing to seek waivers and extensions of waivers of certain financial and operating covenants.

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LEND - Accredited to Sell Loans in Inventory
Friday March 16, 12:26 am ET

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. (NASDAQ:LEND - News; "Accredited" or "Company") announced today that the Company has reached an agreement to sell substantially all of its loans held for sale that are currently funded out of its warehouse and repurchase credit facilities, asset-backed commercial paper facility, and its equity. The $2.7 billion of loans held for sale will be sold at a substantial discount in order to alleviate recent pressures from margin calls.

Terms of the sale include a holdback reserve of approximately $40 million to satisfy all future claims against the loans, including early payment defaults. Claims in excess of the holdback reserve will have no recourse against the Company. The sale is expected to be completed over the next couple of days.

The sale of its loans held for sale will provide additional liquidity to Accredited, thereby facilitating the Company's efforts to continue its previously announced intention to explore various strategic options, including potentially raising additional capital. The Company estimates that this discounted loan sale will result in a pre-tax charge of approximately $150 million. Accredited will retain approximately $120 million of loans held for sale in its warehouse facilities, comprised mostly of loans originated since March 7, 2007.

The Company also will not file its Annual Report on Form 10-K by March 16, 2007 as previously announced on March 2, 2007. Accredited has determined that changes are required to the amount of goodwill established in its acquisition of Aames Investment Corporation ("Aames") in the fourth quarter of 2006. The previous goodwill estimate was based on the market price of the Company's common stock as of the closing date of the transaction, which was October 1, 2006. The Company has determined that the goodwill should have been established based on the market price of the Company's common stock on the announcement date of the transaction of May 25, 2006, resulting in total goodwill of approximately $130 million. Further, Accredited has determined that the entire amount of goodwill established has been impaired and will be charged-off in the quarter ended December 31, 2006. This goodwill charge-off will not affect Accredited's operations, tangible book equity, cash, or liquidity. In addition, the company is still evaluating whether the deferred tax assets acquired in the Aames acquisition are realizable.

While the sale of the loans held for sale has substantially reduced the Company's debt outstanding in its warehouse and repurchases facilities, Accredited is continuing to seek waivers and extensions of waivers of certain financial and operating covenants, including waivers relating to required levels of net income and requirements to file the Form 10-K by March 16, 2007. There can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in receiving any of the required waivers.

This notice does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities. Any securities offered by the Company will not be or have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.

About Accredited

Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. is a mortgage company operating throughout the U.S. and in Canada. Accredited originates, finances, securitizes, services, and sells non-prime mortgage loans secured by residential real estate. Founded in 1990, the company is headquartered in San Diego. Additional information may be found at www.accredhome.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 relating to the Company's proposed sale of loans, satisfaction of claims against loans, increase of liquidity, exploration of strategic options, receipt of an after-tax charge, retention of loans held for sale, late 10-K filing, accounting treatment of goodwill and deferred tax assets established in the Aames acquisition, and efforts to obtain waivers of certain financial and operating covenants under the Company's warehouse and repurchase facilities. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the Company's ability to close the loan sale contemplated; the Company's ability to achieve and/or maintain certain liquidity levels; claims against the Company regarding the loans sold; the Company's ability to pursue strategic options, including potentially to raise additional capital; uncertainties regarding tax issues, loan value, and purchase accounting adjustments relating to the Company's recently consummated acquisition of Aames; ability to receive waivers, and other risk factors as outlined in Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co.'s annual report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2005, its reports on Form 10-Q for the first, second and third quarters of 2006, and other documents filed with the Commission. These and other factors could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from what it projects in its forward-looking statements.



Contact:
Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co.
Rick Howe, 858-676-2148
[e-mail]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co.

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LEND NFI - BullMarket.com Market Wrap: March 15th, 2007
Thursday March 15, 3:48 pm ET
By the BullMarket.com Staff

Stocks traded in a fairly narrow range today following Tuesday's plunge and Wednesday's late-day recovery. The day began with data showing a bigger-than-expected jump in producer prices, but some big-name M&A activity helped take the edge off inflation-related investor nervousness. The major indices all closed slightly higher.

Looking at the day's economic data, the Producer Price Index (PPI) jumped by 1.3% in February, well above economist expectations, and the closely watched core rate, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, jumped 0.4% compared to the 0.2% rise that had been expected. The concern here is that further data confirming this outlook for inflation will make the Fed less likely to lower interest rates later this year, as many investors are hoping. The more influential Consumer Price Index (CPI) number will be released tomorrow, and investors will be watching to see if it tracks closely with today's PPI numbers.

In merger news, electronic commodities trading platform Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE - News) made public an unsolicited bid worth $9.9 billion for Chicago Board of Trade parent CBOT Holdings (NYSE: BOT - News). CBOT rose 17% on the news, while Intercontinental dropped -3%. The announcement also pushed Nymex Holdings (NYSE: NMX - News), parent of the rival New York Mercantile Exchange, 5% higher.

In tech news, Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO - News) announced it will pay $3.1 billion in cash, or $57 a share, for online videoconferencing firm WebEx Communications (Nasdaq: WEBX - News). Excluding WebEx's cash, the deal is worth $2.9 billion. The deal continues Cisco's trend of moving beyond the router and equipment business to providing a wider array of networking services. WebEx gained 22% on the news, while Cisco finished little changed.

Subprime lenders remained highly volatile, and several beaten-down stocks in the sector recorded eye-popping gains as acquirers appeared to be massing on the sidelines, readying bids for these now cheap companies. Leading the pack was Accredited Home Lenders (Nasdaq: LEND - News), which climbed 56% on the day, but Novastar Financial (NYSE: NFI - News) and Fremont General (NYSE: FMT - News) also registered big gains.

One of those potential buyers is Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC - News), which reported FQ1 earnings today and said it would consider buying subprime lenders or pieces of their portfolios at the depressed prices offered by the recent market turmoil. Bear Stearns, the top underwriter of mortgage-backed securities in the country, said that problems with the subprime market had not spread to the broader mortgage market. For FQ1 ended February 28th, Bear Stearns beat EPS estimates and reported essentially in-line revenue for the quarter. Investors responded by pushing the stock 2% higher.

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LEND - Accredited Leads Subprime Rebound
Andrew Farrell, 03.15.07, 6:58 PM ET

Accredited Home Lenders traded sharply higher for the second consecutive day as takeover speculation helped shares of the subprime lender and its competitors to rally.

Accredited (nasdaq: LEND - news - people ) was up $3.35, or 55.5%, to $9.39 at the end of trading Thursday, a dramatic rebound from its closing price two days ago of $3.97. Shares fell $7.43, or 65.2%, on Tuesday, after the company revealed its creditors had pulled back nearly $200 million in loans. (See: "Accredited's Bad Credit.")

Speculation that major investment firms have been perusing the beaten up sector for bargain prices has helped bolster flagging stocks. On Wednesday, Goldman Sachs (nyse: GS - news - people ) Chief Financial Officer David Viniar told The Wall Street Journal that the company is looking for acquisitions in the subprime sector, although he didn't name a target.

Rumored interest of investment houses in subprime lenders has been around at least since February when published reports cited Lehman Brothers (nyse: LEH - news - people ) as looking into a purchase of H&R Block (nyse: HRB - news - people )'s subprime arm Option One. (See: " H&R Block Near Sale Of Subprime Lending Arm".)

"Investment banks are a logical buyer," said Matthew Howlett an analyst at Fox-Pitt Kelton. "But there's also a chance for offers to come from private equity, especially after the Blackstone deal."

Private equity firm Blackstone Group and GE Capital Solutions, a unit of General Electric (nyse: GE - news - people ), said Thursday they would acquire the mortgage company PHH (nyse: PHH - news - people )for $1.8 billion for $31.50 a share, a 13% premium on Wednesday's closing price.

IndyMac Bancorp (nyse: NDE - news - people ) jumped 43 cents, or 1.5%, to $29.37 Thursday after the company released a statement saying that its exposure to subprime mortgages is "small." The company said that only 3.0% of its 2006 mortgage loan production of $90 billion was subprime.

IndyMac Chairman Michael Perry said that the company feels its has been unfairly heaped in with other subprime lenders. Even with today's gains, IndyMac stock is down 33% in the past three months. Perry, however, was also quick to point there are definitely problems in the subprime mortgage business.

"It is no fun to have this current level of turmoil in the mortgage business and have our earnings and stock price decline," said Perry. "And, while we don't wish any of our competitors ill, the current 'firestorm' in our industry is exactly what is needed to restore rationality and discipline to the mortgage business, and this will ultimately be very positive for strong companies like Indymac."

Lax underwriting standards have been blamed as the culprit as subprime loans--those made to borrowers with weaker credit--have defaulted at sharply higher rates recently.

H&R Block also closed up on Thursday, rising 75 cents, or 3.7%, to $20.89, making gains after troublesome news regarding its own exposure. The company had fallen under $19 at one point yesterday after it said it would restate third-quarter earnings with steeper losses because of a $29 million write-down on Option One. (See: "Mortgage Arm Taxes H&R Block".)

Trading of New Century Financial (nyse: NEW - news - people ) was halted on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this week but shares trading on the Pink Sheets closed higher 68 cents, or 101.5%, at $1.35 Thursday. Countrywide Financial (nyse: CFC - news - people ) gained $1.08, or 3.1%, to $35.47, and Fremont General (nyse: FMT - news - people ) was up 74 cents, or 11.1%, to $7.40.

The sector performance easily outpaced the three major indices. While the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq each ended the day up less than 0.5%, an index of mortgage banking and real estate finance companies compiled by Revere Research closed with gains of 4.2%

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LEND - Chart (revised)

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LEND NEW - Sector Snap: Subprime Mortgages
Thursday March 15, 3:33 pm ET
Shares of Subprime Lenders Spike, but Put Only Small Dent in Losses Sustained So Far in 2007

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of lenders and financiers in the subprime mortgage industry rose sharply Thursday as some Wall Street investment banks said they would consider buying lenders at fire-sale prices, but the increases put only a minor dent in the losses sustained since the beginning of the year.
ADVERTISEMENT


The subprime -- the area of banking catering to borrowers with blemished credit histories -- mortgage lending industry is in turmoil. Many subprime lenders issued risky loans to people with bad credit during the housing boom. With housing prices slumping, borrowers are missing payments and financial backers are cutting lenders off from borrowing more money.

Shares of subprime lenders have tumbled in 2007, and played a role in broader stock sell-offs.

However, in the past two days, stocks of subprime lenders have crept up as several major Wall Street banks hinted they might buy distressed mortgage banks if the price is right.

"Obviously, these origination platforms are going to be absorbed by somebody," said Bear Stearns Cos. Chief Financial Officer Samuel Molinaro. "There will be a lot of assets moving, and I expect we will participate in some of that."

The gains in the sector Wednesday and Thursday are still outweighed by the losses sustained in past months. New Century Financial Corp., whose stock is being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, currently trades on the pink sheets and is considered on the verge of bankruptcy.

The stock gained 60 cents, or 90 percent, to $1.27 in afternoon trading Thursday. At Wednesday's closing, the stock was down 97 percent since the beginning of the year.

Shares of Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. rose $3.43, or 56.8 percent, to $9.47, after closing Wednesday down 85 percent for the year. NovaStar Financial Inc. gained 87 cents, or 20.8 percent, to $5.05. The stock closed Wednesday down 87 percent for the year.

Punk Ziegel analyst Richard X. Bove said while banks like Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. have talked about buying subprime lenders, he isn't sure whether they are going to pay for money-losing companies with weak loans and poorly defined products.

Instead, he wonders whether "they're not just exercising their vocal chords in order to protect a business they have a significant interest in."

Wall Street banks lend money to mortgage lenders, and often buy loans from lenders for packaging into mortgage-backed bonds.

Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch & Co., and Lehman Brothers have recently bought subprime lenders, but that was before the market imploded this year. Bove said those deals probably took place because the sellers knew the market had turned sour.

The deals "were occurring when the sellers recognized that they were in the midst of a massive problem and the buyers didn't have a sense as to how great the problem was."

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LEND - Accredited Leads Subprime Rebound
Andrew Farrell, 03.15.07, 3:30 PM ET

Accredited Home Lenders traded sharply higher for the second consecutive day as takeover speculation rallied the ailing subprime lender and its competitors.

Accredited (nasdaq: LEND - news - people ) was up $3.40, or 56.3%, to $9.44 in afternoon trading Thursday, a dramatic rebound from its closing price two days ago of $3.97. Shares fell $7.43, or 65.2%, on Tuesday, after the company revealed its creditors had pulled back nearly $200 million in loans. (See: "Accredited's Bad Credit".)

Speculation that major investment firms have been perusing the beaten up sector for bargain prices has helped bolster flagging stocks. On Wednesday, Goldman Sachs (nyse: GS - news - people ) Chief Financial Officer David Viniar told The Wall Street Journal that the company is looking for acquisitions in the subprime sector, although he didn't name a target.

Rumored interest of investment houses in subprime lenders has been around at least since February when published reports cited Lehman Brothers (nyse: LEH - news - people ) as looking into a purchase of H&R Block (nyse: HRB - news - people )'s subprime arm Option One. (See: " H&R Block Near Sale Of Subprime Lending Arm".)

"Investment banks are a logical buyer," said Matthew Howlett an analyst at Fox-Pitt Kelton. "But there's also a chance for offers to come from private equity, especially after the Blackstone deal."

Private equity firm Blackstone Group and GE Capital Solutions, a unit of General Electric (nyse: GE - news - people ), said Thursday they would acquire the mortgage company PHH (nyse: PHH - news - people )for $1.8 billion for $31.50 a share, a 13% premium on Wednesday's closing price.

IndyMac Bancorp (nyse: NDE - news - people ) jumped $1.26, or 4.4%, to $30.20 Thursday after the company released a statement saying that its exposure to subprime mortgages is "small." The company said that only 3.0% of its 2006 mortgage loan production of $90 billion was subprime.

IndyMac Chairman Michael Perry said that the company feels its has been unfairly heaped in with other subprime lenders. Even with today's gains, IndyMac stock is down 33% in the past three months. Perry, however, was also quick to point there are definitely problems in the subprime mortgage business.

"It is no fun to have this current level of turmoil in the mortgage business and have our earnings and stock price decline," said Perry. "And, while we don't wish any of our competitors ill, the current 'firestorm' in our industry is exactly what is needed to restore rationality and discipline to the mortgage business, and this will ultimately be very positive for strong companies like Indymac."

Lax underwriting standards have been blamed as the culprit as subprime loans--those made to borrowers with weaker credit--have defaulted at sharply higher rates recently.

H&R Block was also up, rising 25 cents, or 1.2%, to $20.36, making gains after troublesome news regarding its own exposure. The company had fallen under $19 at one point yesterday after it said it would restate third-quarter earnings with steeper losses because of a $29 million write-down on Option One. (See: "Mortgage Arm Taxes H&R Block".)

Trading of New Century Financial (nyse: NEW - news - people ) was halted on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this week but shares trading on the Pink Sheets were up 14 cents, or 20.1%, to 81 cents Thursday. Countrywide Financial (nyse: CFC - news - people ) gained $1.03, or 3.0%, to $35.42, and Fremont General (nyse: FMT - news - people ) was up 65 cents, or 9.8%, to $7.31.


http://www.forbes.com/2007/03/15/accredited-rebound-subprime-markets-equity-cx_af_0315markets13.html...

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LEND - Accredited Home Lenders more than doubles in 2 days

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Accredited Home Lenders
11:30am 03/15/2007

LEND8.97, +2.93, +48.5%) were soaring 38%, and have now more than doubled since closing at a record low just 2 sessions ago. The stock was last trading up $2.28 at $8.27. On Tuesday, the stock had tumbled 65% to $3.97 after the subprime mortgage lender said it received margin calls from its financial backers, and was looking to raise capital to enhance liquidity. Despite the sharp two-day gain, the stock was still down 66% over the last month on concerns over the health of the subprime market.