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~~~~~Tumbleweed Express~~~~~ EURO Index Chart. I believe it's going to bounce off the 50MA and fill the gap around the 153.00 level.
Latest Market News Below...
Eni Says Goliat May Cost Less Than the $4.9 Billion Budget
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By Marianne Stigset
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Eni SpA, Italy’s biggest energy company, said developing the Arctic Goliat field may cost less than the estimated budget of 28 billion kroner ($4.9 billion).
“The contracts that have come in so far have been lower than what we had budgeted for,” Arild Glaeserud, technical general manager for Eni in Norway, said at a seminar in Oslo today. “The market is hungry” for contracts, he said.
Eni and partner Statoil ASA are starting development of the Goliat, 85 kilometers (52 miles) northwest of Hammerfest on Norway’s northern tip in the Barents Sea, after receiving approval from the Norwegian parliament in June.
Glaeserud declined to specify by how much the budget for Norway’s first Arctic oilfield may be revised down.
The company in February picked the design model of Sevan Marine ASA’s floating production, storage and offloading vessel model, which has production capacity of 100,000 barrels a day. A deadline for contracts on the production unit as well as for an electricity cable to the mainland was last month and Eni expects contracts to be awarded in the first quarter.
Construction is scheduled to start next year and production in 2013. The company plans to drill 22 wells starting in the third quarter of 2011, Glaeserud said. The field is expected to be in production for 15 to 20 years.
Eni is operator of the field and owns 65 percent, while Norway’s Statoil holds the rest.
Aker Solutions ASA in September won a contract worth about 2.3 billion kroner to deliver a subsea production system, while Technip SA got a 200 million-euro ($297 million) contract for supplying and installing flowlines and riser systems.
Norway, the world’s sixth-largest oil exporter, is opening more of its unexplored north as crude output declines in the North Sea. Goliat, discovered in 2000, is estimated to hold 175 million barrels of oil and 8 billion standard cubic meters of gas, according to Eni.
To contact the reporter on this story: Marianne Stigset in Oslo at mstigset@bloomberg.net;
Last Updated: November 5, 2009 09:24 EST
RWE, E.ON to Begin Horizon Nuclear Venture This Month (Update1)
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By Catherine Airlie
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. units of RWE AG and E.ON AG will start their venture this month with plans to spend as much as 15 billion pounds ($25 billion) on nuclear-power plants.
Horizon Nuclear Power, headquartered in Gloucester, England, plans to build 6,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity in Britain by 2025, with each new plant having a 60-year lifespan, the companies said today in a joint statement.
RWE npower and E.ON UK, British units of Germany’s biggest utilities, announced their nuclear venture in January. Paris- based Areva SA and Monroeville, Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse Electric Corp. are competing to provide nuclear technology, and Horizon will enter “exclusive negotiations” with one of them early next year, Chief Operating Officer of Horizon Nuclear Power Alan Raymant said in the statement.
The venture “will play a key role in delivering new nuclear stations, helping achieve the U.K.’s stretching environmental targets and keeping energy prices affordable over the long term,” Raymant said.
U.K. Energy Minister Phil Hunt said June 11 that building new reactors is going to be “critically important” in reducing emissions and dependence on natural gas.
Horizon offices may be opened close to Wylfa, north Wales and Oldbury, 200 kilometers northwest of London. Existing nuclear plants at both sites are run by Magnox North, and the venture has bought the adjacent land. E.ON and RWE own or operate 23 nuclear plants in Germany and Sweden.
To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Airlie at cairlie@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 5, 2009 11:53 EST
Petroplus Falls After Posting Loss, Halting Teesside (Update2)
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By Nidaa Bakhsh
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Petroplus Holdings AG, Europe’s largest independent refiner by capacity, fell to a two-month low in Zurich trading after reporting a third-quarter loss and suspending operations at its Teesside refinery in the U.K.
Petroplus fell 3.1 percent to 22.44 Swiss francs at 5:30 p.m. local time after slumping as much as 8.5 percent to 21.20 francs, the lowest price since Aug. 21. The closing price values the company at 1.94 billion francs ($1.9 billion).
The global recession has eroded demand for fuels, prompting European refiners including Total SA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc to lower operating rates, idle some plants and sell others in a bid to cut costs and maintain profit.
Petroplus has decided to suspend oil processing at its 117,000-barrel-a-day Teesside refinery, Chief Executive Officer Jean-Paul Vettier said today in a statement. The site will continue to run as a terminal and storage facility, he said.
The Zug, Switzerland-based company said in February it was seeking a buyer for the facility and would convert it into storage or a terminal if one wasn’t found by the end of the year. The suspension follows the sale of Petroplus’s Antwerp Processing Facility to Vitol Group and the halt of its BRC refinery in Belgium amid declining processing margins.
Below Capacity
“The European refining environment was particularly challenging in the third quarter,” Chief Financial Officer Karyn Ovelmen said in the statement. The company ran its plants below capacity as fuel demand remained depressed, Vettier said.
The net loss shrank to $259.4 million in the quarter from $445.6 million a year earlier as Petroplus benefited from a $10 million gain in inventory value, it said in the statement. That compares with a $645 million inventory loss last year as oil prices slumped, according to Martin Flueckiger, an analyst at Helvea SA in Zurich.
Crude futures sank 68 percent in the second half of last year as the economic slowdown curbed fuel consumption. Oil has since rebounded 79 percent in New York.
Petroplus sold its Antwerp facility to Vitol last month for $25 million excluding inventories, the companies said Oct. 23. Units at the complex include a 22,300-barrel-a-day gasoil hydrotreater and a bitumen facility with a capacity of 875,000 metric tons a year.
BRC, Coryton
The company shut its 110,000-barrel-a-day BRC refinery in Antwerp “principally for economic reasons” during the third quarter, it said in the statement, adding that the plant is “currently running consistent with plan.”
It also halted its 172,000-barrel-a-day refinery at Coryton in southeast England at the end of the quarter, extending maintenance by 20 days to 25 days until early December.
Petroplus shut its 85,000-barrel-a-day Reichstett facility in France in September after an oil-supply pipe broke. Most of the maintenance at Reichstett planned for the second quarter of next year has been brought forward to this quarter to coincide with the halt, Petroplus said, adding that the plant is expected to be operational at the beginning of December.
A fluid catalytic cracker for gasoline production will be shut in the first quarter of 2010, Petroplus said on a conference call. The refinery will continue to operate during the halt, Ovelmen said on the call.
Other refiners in Europe have also suffered from the economic decline. Total, Europe’s largest integrated refiner, operated its plants at 82 percent of capacity last quarter, compared with 92 percent a year earlier. The Paris-based company said yesterday it’s considering reducing European refining operations because profit margins remain narrow.
Shell has said it’s in exclusive talks with India’s Essar Oil Ltd. for the sale of two refineries in Germany and one in the U.K. as it seeks to reduce costs. Shell, Europe’s largest oil producer, is also selling its Montreal East plant in Canada and a stake in a facility in New Zealand.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nidaa Bakhsh in London at nbakhsh@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 5, 2009 12:53 EST
Canadian Natural’s Profit Falls on Lower Oil Prices (Update5)
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By Sonja Franklin
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., which earlier this year started up the Horizon oil-sands project, said third-quarter profit fell 77 percent on lower crude and natural-gas prices.
Net income dropped to C$658 million ($618 million), or C$1.21 a share, from C$2.84 billion, or C$5.25, a year earlier, the Calgary-based company said in a statement today. Earnings per share were 5 cents lower than the average of 14 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue after royalties declined 35 percent to C$2.58 billion.
New York crude futures were 42 percent lower on average in the quarter than a year earlier, while gas prices dropped 62 percent. Almost 40 percent of Canadian Natural’s output is gas, making it the country’s largest producer of the heating fuel, after EnCana Corp. Before hedging, Canadian Natural’s oil sold for an average of C$62.90 a barrel, a 39 percent drop from a year earlier. Its gas before hedging sold for an average of C$3.80 per thousand cubic feet, down 57 percent.
“The conventional business where they have been starving it of capital continues to suffer,” said Ben Dell, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York who rates the shares “market perform” and doesn’t own any.
Canadian Natural fell 89 cents to C$67.71 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The shares have 12 buy ratings and 11 holds from analysts.
Oil Output
Oil production before royalties rose 17 percent to 359,269 barrels a day on higher volumes from Horizon and African fields, partly offset by planned maintenance in the North Sea and a temporary curtailment of the Primrose East field in Canada. Gas output slipped 13 percent to 1.29 billion cubic feet a day as the company shifted capital to crude production.
Canadian Natural started output of synthetic crude from the C$9.7 billion Horizon project in February. Horizon, in northeastern Alberta, produced an average of 66,907 barrels a day in the third quarter, up 12 percent from the previous three- month period. The project is designed for a capacity of 110,000 barrels a day.
The ramp-up remains below Canadian Natural’s expectations because some equipment in parts of the upgrading plant failed prematurely. The company also ran into difficulty processing the oil-sands ore as it found a higher-than-expected amount of clay in the mine and lacked blending materials.
Blending Issue
While Canadian Natural has “largely resolved” the equipment and plant-reliability constraints, it will probably take until the end of the second quarter to fully resolve the ore-blending issue, the company said in today’s statement.
Horizon will probably reach capacity of 110,000 barrels by the middle of next year, Canadian Natural President Steve Laut said in a telephone interview today.
“Horizon has been a classic upstream project,” said Sanford C. Bernstein’s Dell. “It’s been slower to come through and more expensive than expected and it has not been without challenges during the ramp-up. Very few projects in the upstream industry are simple, and very few of them ramp up without additional complications.”
Canadian Natural said it plans to begin engineering work on its Kirby oil-sands project this quarter and expects to sanction it in late 2010. The company is awaiting regulatory approval for the project, which would have the capacity to produce about 45,000 barrels of oil a day.
Production in 2010 is seen increasing 7 percent to the equivalent of 586,000 to 643,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, the company said.
Capital Spending
Capital spending in 2010 is expected to rise 26 percent to C$3.9 billion, boosted by oil projects, gas drilling in British Columbia and C$600 million for optimizing production at Horizon and preparing future expansions of the project.
Some “80 percent of our capital is going to oil,” Laut said. “We feel more confident about oil than gas, and on gas we are quite uncertain.” He said as result of that, the percentage of oil production will probably gradually increase to two-thirds from about 60 percent currently.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sonja Franklin in Calgary at sfranklin6@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 5, 2009 16:22 EST
Enel to Maintain Dividend Policy as Debt Declines, CFO Says
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By Flavia Rotondi and Tommaso Ebhardt
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Enel SpA, Italy’s biggest utility, will maintain its dividend policy as the company seeks to reduce debt to 45 billion euros ($67 billion) at the end of 2010, Chief Financial Officer Luigi Ferraris said.
“The debt isn’t a problem,” Ferraris said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Rome today. “We’re in a position to confirm our dividend policy, so our shareholders can count on 60 percent of net ordinary income from 2009.”
Enel wants to reduce debt by selling assets. The Rome-based company, Europe’s most-indebted utility, took on 12 billion euros in debt in February to raise its stake in Spain’s Endesa SA to 92 percent. Since then it’s sold 8 billion euros of stock and the equivalent of about 9.5 billion euros in bonds. Enel forecasts that its debt will shrink to 53 billion euros by the end of 2009 from 54 billion at the end of September.
Enel yesterday confirmed an asset disposal target of 10 billion euros by the end of 2010. That includes the sale of a stake in renewable energy unit Enel Green Power, which Ferraris expects to be finalized “by the beginning of next year.” The company may also “close some other minor asset sales before the end of 2009,” he said.
Chief Executive Officer Fulvio Conti reiterated yesterday that Enel wants to sell as much as 49 percent of Green Power, through a direct sale or an initial public offering.
‘Risks’
Enel announced the 60-percent dividend policy in March. Enel’s payout to shareholders for 2008 earnings was 49 euro cents a share, the same amount it paid for 2007 profit.
UniCredit Markets and Investment Banking said in a research report published today that its view on Enel depends on “certain risks mainly linked to the execution risk of the disposal program.” UniCredit, which maintained its “neutral” rating on the stock, also cited “the impact on profitability deriving from a sluggish economic cycle and increasing demand.”
Third-quarter profit fell 43 percent as electricity demand slumped in Italy and a tax gain from a year ago wasn’t repeated. Net income dropped less than analysts had forecast, to 1.19 billion euros ($1.76 billion) from 2.07 billion euros a year earlier.
Enel said yesterday that it plans to sell as much as 4 billion euros of bonds by 2010. “The best timing will likely be the beginning of next year, it could be March,” Ferraris said. The bonds will be offered to Italian retail investors and will have a maturity “around our average of seven years,” he added.
For Related News and Information:
To contact the reporter on for this story: Tommaso Ebhardt in Milan at tebhardt@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 5, 2009 11:09 EST
Seadrill CEO Says No ‘Major Loss’ for West Atlas Rig (Update2)
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By Vibeke Laroi
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Seadrill Ltd., a Norwegian oil-rig company, doesn’t expect to have a “major loss” related to its West Atlas drilling rig, badly damaged in a fire off the coast of Australia following the country’s third-worst oil spill.
“There won’t be a major loss related to this because the rig is well insured,” Chief Executive Officer Alf Thorkildsen said in a phone interview today, without elaborating.
The West Atlas rig was insured for $200 million by a syndicate of companies in London and in Norway, Thorkildsen said, without naming them. The unit has a book value of $143 million, he added.
West Atlas caught fire on Nov. 1 along with PTT Exploration & Production Plc’s Montara wellhead platform. The blaze broke out during attempts to plug a leak by pumping heavy mud into the well, according to PTTEP Australasia, a unit of PTT Exploration & Production. The leak has now been stopped and the fire extinguished.
Australia has set up a commission to investigate the spill, after as many as 30,000 barrels leaked into the Timor Sea. WWF- Australia said the spill was an environmental disaster and reported seeing dolphins, birds and sea turtles swimming in the oil slick.
Asked whether Seadrill is liable in any way for the incident, Thorkildsen said: “I don’t believe so, but it’s too early to say.”
Too Early
Seadrill spokeswoman Hilde Waaler said Nov. 2 that the rig was a “total wreck.” Thorkildsen said today it’s too early to say whether the rig can be used again. “We have to assess the damage and can’t say until we go on board,” he said.
The jack-up rig, the type most commonly used in shallower waters, was leased at a rate of $255,000 a day to PTT, according to Seadrill’s Web site. It’s capable of drilling in water depths of 400 feet.
The West Atlas, built in 2007, does not have “a lot of debt,” Thorkildsen said, without being more specific. He also declined to say whether the insurance would be paid in cash.
“If the insurance is paid in cash, it could strengthen the company’s cash flow,” said Truls Olsen, an analyst at Fearnley Fonds ASA who has a “buy” rating on the stock.
“I think the loss from the rig will have a relatively neutral affect on earnings,” he said, adding that any write down would come in the fourth quarter.
Lukas Daul, an Oslo-based analyst at SEB Enskilda who recommends buying Seadrill stock, said the impact on earnings from the rig loss is likely to be “very marginal.”
Daul doesn’t believe Seadrill will be held liable. “Seadrill had nothing to do with it. The rig just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.
Seadrill reports third-quarter earnings today. A conference call with analysts is scheduled for 6 p.m. local time.
To contact the reporter on this story: Vibeke Laroi in Oslo at vlaroi@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 5, 2009 10:29 EST
Oil Falls on Concern Unemployment Rate to Climb to 26-Year High
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By Mark Shenk and Paul Burkhardt
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell on speculation that a government report tomorrow will show that the U.S. unemployment rate climbed last month, depressing demand for energy products.
Oil dipped 1 percent on concern that the Labor Department will say the U.S. unemployment rate rose to a 26-year high in October. Prices climbed yesterday after the Energy Department said U.S. stockpiles of crude oil, gasoline and distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, fell last week.
“The employment figure tomorrow will be the granddaddy of them all,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates, a Galena, Illinois, consultant. “There’s just an unwillingness to get in until then.”
Crude oil for December delivery fell 78 cents to settle at $79.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures have gained 79 percent this year.
Futures climbed to a one-year high of $82 a barrel on Oct. 21. Prices dropped to $76.55 on Nov. 3, the lowest since Oct. 15. The recent low is considered by technical traders to be a support level, and breaking below it would be a signal that price declines will accelerate.
“The market looks like it’s running out of momentum once we get above $80,” said Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president of energy with MF Global in New York. “We’ll see selling in the market once you get past that point. Oil will meet resistance at $76.50 and $82 a barrel.”
Unemployment Report
The government report tomorrow is anticipated to overshadow other economic data released earlier this week as an indicator of fuel demand, according to Carl Larry, president of Oil Outlooks & Opinions LLC, a Houston-based energy adviser.
“The report is not just going to be a rate or a number, it’s going to be the number of jobs created and the number lost,” said Larry. “The labor, the retail, those are the people who drive.”
Total fuel demand over the four weeks ended Oct. 30 was 4.5 percent lower than the same period a year earlier, yesterday’s Energy Department report showed. Refineries operated at 80.6 percent of capacity, down 1.2 percentage points from the previous week and the lowest rate since the week ended April 10, the department said.
“Refiners are looking at bearish demand numbers and see no need to increase output,” said Rick Mueller, a director of oil markets at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts. “There is no reason for them to take delivery of more crude right now either.”
Gasoline for December delivery fell 2.5 cents, or 1.2 percent, to settle at $1.9877 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil Imports
Imports of crude oil fell 764,000 barrels, or 8.6 percent, to 8.13 million barrels a day, the lowest level since Aug. 14, the Energy Department said.
“We had what was an ostensibly bullish report across the board yesterday,” said Peter Beutel, president of trading adviser Cameron Hanover Inc. in New Canaan, Connecticut. “There were declines in every category, refinery utilization dropped and imports fell. The important number that was ignored at first glance was demand, and it was ghastly.”
An additional 175,000 jobs were probably lost in October and unemployment probably rose to a 26-year high of 9.9 percent, economists forecast before tomorrow’s Labor Department payrolls report.
“The report could certainly have an effect on the market,” said Stephen Schork, president of consultant Schork Group Inc. of Villanova, Pennsylvania. “The White House tends to be hush on the forecast, which would not bode well.”
Jobless Claims
Prices rose to the session’s highs after a separate report today showed that jobless claims dropped last week.
“It will take a lot more than a moderately positive piece of data to keep prices moving higher,” said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts. “This rally has run out of steam.”
Equities rallied on the reports of jobless claims and worker productivity beating forecasts. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index moved higher for a fourth day, gaining as much as 1.8 percent.
The dollar weakened, trading at $1.4872 against the euro, from $1.4861 yesterday.
“Stocks are up and the dollar is down but it isn’t enough to get the market moving,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago. “There’s a lack of passion in the market today,”
Brent crude oil for December settlement declined 90 cents, or 1.1 percent, to end the session at $77.99 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Oil volume in electronic trading on the Nymex was 361,487 contracts as of 3:07 p.m. in New York. Volume totaled 602,989 contracts yesterday, 6.3 percent higher than the average over the past three months. Open interest was 1.24 million contracts. The exchange has a one-business-day delay in reporting open interest and full volume data.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net; Paul Burkhardt in New York at pburkhardt@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 5, 2009 15:40 EST
Exxon, Shell Win Iraq’s West Qurna Oilfield Contract (Update3)
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By Robert Tuttle
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Iraq awarded a contract to develop the West Qurna oilfield to Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, a month before the country holds its second licensing round for oilfield contracts since the 2003 U.S. invasion.
The initial agreement, scheduled to be signed today, will be submitted to the Iraqi government for approval as early as next week, Asim Jihad, an Oil Ministry spokesman, said by telephone. The companies will be paid a fee of $1.90 a barrel for the oil they produce, he said, the maximum set by the government in a June licensing round. Exxon spokesman Patrick McGinn confirmed the agreement in an e-mailed statement today.
Earlier this week Iraq signed a contract with BP Plc and China National Petroleum Corp. to triple output at the Rumaila field to 2.85 million barrels a day. An Eni SpA-led group said in October it was awarded a license to develop the Zubair field.
“With these very encouraging examples, there will be a lot of interest in the second licensing round” in December, Samuel Ciszuk, an analyst at IHS Global Insight, said in a telephone interview.
Iraq, holder of the world’s third-largest oil reserves, aims to increase crude production to 6 million barrels a day by 2015. The country produced 2.45 million barrels a day last month, according to Bloomberg estimates.
In addition to Exxon and Shell, Iraq was in discussions with Russia’s OAO Lukoil, Total SA of France and CNPC for West Qurna, Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, deputy director general of Iraq’s Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate, said last month.
Lukoil’s Loss
“It will be a big loss for Lukoil,” which did work on West Qurna when Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq, Ciszuck said. “They have really been eyeing this field.”
The Rumaila field contract granted to BP and CNPC was the only one awarded in June in the country’s first postwar licensing round. Exxon and Shell had originally placed a joint bid for the West Qurna work in that round, competing against four other groups. At the time, Exxon and Shell had offered to boost output from the field to 2.325 million barrels a day for a remuneration fee of $4 a barrel, which they lowered to $3.70.
All of the license round bids for West Qurna were rejected by Iraq because the proposed fees exceeded a maximum of $1.90 a barrel, the ministry said in a July 2 statement. Irving, Texas- based Exxon and Shell, headquartered in The Hague, began direct negotiations with Iraq later, culminating in today’s contract.
While Iraq’s licensing rounds offer foreign companies the most access to Middle East oil reserves for decades, the country will retain ownership of the fields and pay companies for their expertise.
West Qurna
The West Qurna oil field in southeast Iraq is about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northwest of the city of Basrah and overlaps the northern edge of the Rumaila field. Three reservoirs of West Qurna have been produced from in the past, according to the ministry.
Separately, a second phase of the development of West Qurna will be one of several new projects to be offered in a second licensing round in Baghdad next month. Total Chief Financial Officer Patrick de la Chevardiere said yesterday that the French company is interested in bidding for the Majnoon field in the second round.
To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Tuttle in Doha at rtuttle@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 5, 2009 10:39 EST
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI:US) dropped 15 percent, the most since November 2006, to $27.10. The largest natural-food grocer forecast full-year earnings of $1.10 a share at most, trailing the average estimate of $1.11 from analysts in a Bloomberg survey.
SXC Health Solutions Corp. (SXCI:US) climbed 2.3 percent to $47.81, the third gain this week. The pharmacy-benefits management company reported adjusted third-quarter earnings of 47 cents per share, 22 percent better than the average analyst estimate of 38 cents in a Bloomberg survey.
SunPower Corp. (SPWRA:US) gained 5.3 percent to $26.65, the biggest advance since Oct. 19. The second-biggest U.S. supplier of solar modules was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” and its share price estimate raised to $31 from $28 at Deutsche Bank, which said SunPower’s “products, systems business and market strategy will enable the company to outgrow the market.”
Smith Micro Software Inc. (SMSI:US) dropped the most in the Russell 2000 Index, tumbling 23 percent to $6.99. The communications-software provider for wireless carriers and phone makers reduced its 2009 sales forecast, projecting revenue of as little as $105 million, less than the $112 million average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Sanmina-SCI Corp. (SANM:US) soared 27 percent, the most since November 2008, to $8.45. The maker of computers and phones said that it expects to earn at least 10 cents a share in the fiscal first quarter, excluding some items. Analysts, on average, estimated a loss of 2 cents, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Protective Life Corp. (PL:US) lost 7.4 percent, the most since May 13, to $15.80. The insurer that abandoned plans to win federal bailout funds reported third-quarter earnings of 55 cents a share, 28 percent lower than the average analyst estimate of 76 cents in a Bloomberg survey.
Pioneer Drilling Co. (PDC:US) gained 7.4 percent to $7.37, the third advance in four days. The San Antonio-based natural- gas driller reported a third-quarter loss of 18 cents a share, 17 percent narrower than the average loss estimated by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP:US) gained 3.9 percent, the most since June 2009, to $25.37. The maker of semiconductors forecast third-quarter earnings excluding some items of at least 33 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated profit of 27 cents on average.
MetroPCS Communications Inc. (PCS:US) slumped 9.2 percent to $6.01, the lowest price since its initial public offering in April 2007. The pay-as-you-go mobile-phone carrier lowered its forecast for subscriber additions in 2009, blaming the economy and intensifying competition.
Medtronic Inc. (MDT:US) advanced 5.1 percent, the most since May 7, to $38.42. The world’s largest maker of heart- rhythm devices was raised to “outperform” from “neutral” at Credit Suisse Group AG.
Lamar Advertising Co. (LAMR:US) climbed 15 percent, the most since May 7, to $28.80. The U.S. billboard owner reported an adjusted third-quarter loss of 8 cents per share, narrower than the average analyst estimate of a 17 cent loss in a Bloomberg survey. The company also forecast fourth-quarter sales of $257 million, exceeding the average analyst prediction of $251.9 million.
Lakes Entertainment Inc. (LACO:US) increased 18 percent, the most since May 5, to $3.35. The casino developer said it had adjusted earnings of 18 cents a share, beating the average analyst estimate of 3 cents in a Bloomberg survey.
J.C. Penney Co. (JCP:US) fell 5.5 percent, the most since Aug. 14, to $30.32. The third-largest U.S. department-store chain said third-quarter earnings were 10 to 11 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated average profit of 11 cents.
IMS Health Inc. (RX:US) surged 23 percent to $20.73 for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. The provider of prescription data to drugmakers and analysts, agreed to sell itself to investment funds managed by TPG Capital and the CPP Investment Board for $22 a share, or about $5.2 billion.
Graphic Packaging Holding Corp. (GPK:US) rose 3.8 percent to $2.73, the highest price since Oct. 20. The company which supplies cartons to Kraft Foods Inc. and General Mills Inc. reported adjusted third-quarter earnings of 3 cents per share and sales of $1.05 billion, after a loss a year earlier.
Gibraltar Industries Inc. (ROCK:US) soared 23 percent, the most since March 26, to $14.06. The maker of metal parts for buildings and cars said it had earnings of 28 cents a share, 54 percent greater than the average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
Fuel Systems Solutions Inc. (FSYS:US) gained 31 percent, the most since May 8, to $44.31. The provider of alternative fuel systems said it earned 77 cents a share in the third quarter, excluding some items, 79 percent more than the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The company also raised its 2009 sales forecast to as much as $425 million, more than the $377 million average estimate of analysts.
EMS Technologies Inc. (ELMG:US) slid 23 percent, the steepest drop since September 2002, to $13.18. The provider of wireless communication equipment reported third-quarter earnings of 38 cents a share, 9.5 percent less than the average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
Dynegy Inc. (DYN:US) climbed 9.6 percent, the most since Aug. 10, to $2.05. The Houston-based power producer reported third-quarter earnings of 27 cents per share excluding certain items, beating the average analyst estimate of 3 cents.
CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS:US) plunged the most in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, sliding 20 percent to $28.87. The drugstore chain with more than 7,000 U.S. stores is the target of an investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which is probing some business practices of the company, Chief Financial Officer David Rickard said in an e-mailed statement. Earlier the company said its unit for managing pharmacy benefits lost $3.7 billion in contracts in the third quarter and forecast narrower margins next year.
CTC Media Inc. (CTCM:US) climbed 4.1 percent to $16.72, gaining for a second day. The owner of Russia’s fourth-biggest television network said third-quarter net income attributable to shareholders rose to $25.9 million from $21 million in the year- earlier period.