InterDigital Inc (IDCC)

[jimmylee]

Spencer - Here's what their pointing to for the drop....


Bear Stearns
Bear Stearns Co Inc
BSC

42.86 -14.14 -24.81%
NYSE
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[BSC 42.86 -14.14 (-24.81%) ] shares plunged after the brokerage said the loan, which will come from J.P. Morgan and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, will be for an initial period of up to 28 days, helping to boost the firm's liquidity. Bear Stearns also said the companies are in talks about "permanent financing or other alternatives."

Rumors had been swirling this week about liquidity problems at Bear Stearns. The company attempted to play down the rumors for most of the week, going so far as to say that the firm had no liquidity problems, but in the press release Friday, Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz said, "our liquidity position in the last 24 hours had significantly deteriorated. We took this important step to restore confidence in us in the marketplace, strengthen our liquidity and allow us to continue normal operations."

The consumer-price index came in unchanged for February, the Labor Department reported. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, core CPI was also unchanged. Economists had expected the gauges to tick higher by 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

The detail of the CPI report that's raising the most eyebrows is the 0.5 percent drop in the energy component, even as the front-month crude-oil contract rallies to a new high just about every day.

"Initial look at it is kind of bizarre," Robert Macintosh, chief economist at Eaton Vance Management in Boston, told Reuters. "I don't know why you don't see inflation here. It must be a faulty measurement system -- it makes no sense whatsoever."

"This is the most absurd number I have ever seen," Tom Sowanick, chief investment officer at Clearbrook Financial in Princeton, N.J., told Reuters, calling out the energy drop in particular. "These numbers aren't believable. In the real world, nobody would believe today's figures.