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From Briefing.com: 4:40 pm : Threats of tighter monetary policy in China and increased bank regulation combined with a sell-the-news mentality to drop the stock market for its worst single-session percentage loss in nearly 12 weeks.

Stocks had already tumbled significantly in the previous session, but sellers were back at it after China reported stronger-than-expected fourth quarter GDP growth and a sharper-than-expected spike in inflation, which renewed concern that tighter monetary policy may be in the offing. Tighter policy in China would presumably crimp the country's growth and slow the global economic rebound.

Such a consideration has weighed on both stocks and commodities for two straight sessions. That has had a doubly negative impact on materials stocks, which sank to a 4.3% loss in their latest showing.

Meanwhile, energy stocks dropped 2.0% as oil prices were pushed to a near one-month low of $75.66 per barrel before they finished pit trade with a 2.1% loss at $76.08 per barrel. Price erosion came in the face of a surprise inventory draw of 4.7 million barrels during the week that ended Jan. 15.

Financials were forced a sharp 3.0% lower. President Obama stirred concern for financials with the announcement that plans are being put together to ensure that no bank will own, invest in or sponsor a hedge fund or a private equity fund, or proprietary trading operations unrelated to serving customers for its own profit. Further, the proposal will place broader limits on the excessive growth of the market share of liabilities at the largest financial firms. Though details of any such plan will change as it moves through the legislative process, the idea behind such a plan is a negative for big financial institutions.

The announcement seemed to exacerbate weakness in Goldman Sachs (GS 160.87, -6.92), which had already succumbed to profit-taking by participants who believed that its better-than-expected earnings of $8.20 per share had already been priced into the stock. The company's in-line revenue results also dulled the glimmer of its upside earnings surprise.

However, regional banks were able to garner support and put together a 0.8% gain. They were actually up nearly 3% at their session high as investors acted on knowledge that regional lenders won't be as restricted by Obama's regulatory proposals as their larger competitors. Regional banks were generally an exception to the recent sell-the-news trend and, as a result, were helped by a handful of better-than-expected quarterly reports.

Another exception to the recent sell-the-news trend was eBay (EBAY 24.13, +1.90). Its upside earnings surprise helped it net its best single session advance by percent in six months. That was even more impressive given the scope of losses in the broader market this session.

Volatility surged amid this session's slide. The Volatility Index closed some 19% higher in its sharpest move in two months.

Trading volume topped 1.5 billion shares on the NYSE this session. That's well above recent averages and suggestive of strong underlying conviction.

As an aside, initial weekly payrolls continue to come in at elevated levels. Initial claims for the week ended Jan. 16 totaled 482,000, which was more than the 440,000 initial claims that had been expected. It was also up from the prior week's 446,000 initial claims tally.

Meanwhile, continuing claims came in at 4.60 million, which matched the consensus forecast. Continuing claims for the prior week were revised modestly higher to 4.62 million. DJ30 -213.37 NASDAQ -25.55 NQ100 -0.9% R2K -1.8% SP400 -1.3% SP500 -21.56 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 676/2.90 bln/2015 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 649/1.50 bln/2401

4:35PM Veeco Instruments awarded $4 mln R&D Matching Fund from DoE Solid State Lighting Manufacturing Grant (VECO) 35.43 -1.00 : Co announced that it has been awarded $4 million in R&D matching funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by the U.S. Department of Energy to support high-efficiency solid state lighting projects. Solid state lighting, which uses light emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic LEDs (OLEDs) has the potential to be ten times more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent light bulbs. The overall objective of this two year program is to develop high-volume MOCVD systems that provide a 4X reduction in the cost of epitaxial growth for LED devices, with the ultimate goal of a 10X reduction in LED costs. Veeco will partner with Sandia National Laboratories on this project. In total the Department of Energy awarded more than $37 million in funding for solid state lighting programs. Veeco's proposal was one of eight selected as part of U.S. Manufacturing

4:33PM Conexant reports Q1 EPS of $0.17 vs $0.11 consensus, revs rose 10% YoY to $61.8 mln vs $60.1 mln two analyst est (CNXT) 2.85 -0.05 : Conexant expects revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 to be $60 to $61 mln vs $54.9 two analyst est. Core gross margins are expected to be about 61% of revenues. The company anticipates that core operating expenses will be approximately $25 million. As a result, the company expects that second fiscal quarter core operating income will range between $11.6 and $12.5 mln, with core net income of $0.13 to $0.14 per share vs $0.08 consensus.

4:21PM Advanced Micro beats by $0.13, beats on revs; sees seasonal Q1 rev decline (AMD) 8.99 +0.12 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.05 per share, excluding a $1.57 per share favorable impact from a legal settlement with INTC, $0.13 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.18); revenues rose 41.7% year/year to $1.65 bln vs the $1.49 bln consensus. Advanced Micro sees Q1 revs down sequentially, consensus calls for a ~16% sequential decline. Fourth quarter 2009 AMD gross margin was 45% vs the 42.4% consensus, compared to 42% in the prior quarter. "AMD's quarter marks another milestone in our transformation and underscores our growing momentum. We enter 2010 having completed the transition to a fabless business model, reached a historic antitrust settlement, and made significant progress strengthening our balance sheet. Our innovative strategy for designing the world's most vivid digital experiences continues to generate demand."

4:18PM Western Digital beats by $0.49, beats on revs (WDC) 45.29 +1.03 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $1.85 per share, $0.49 better than the First Call consensus of $1.36; revenues rose 43.7% year/year to $2.62 bln vs the $2.35 bln consensus. Hard drive shipments up 39% yr/yr. "For the third consecutive quarter, we increased output in a supply constrained environment, providing strong support of our customers' growth opportunities, primarily in the consumer segment but, notably, with some emerging strength in the commercial sector...A moderate pricing environment, combined with our passionate focus on cost and efficiency, enabled gross margins of 26.2% -- well above the high end of our model range."

4:17PM Emulex beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS above consensus, revs in-line (ELX) 12.60 -0.01 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.18 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.16; revenues fell 0.3% year/year to $108.3 mln vs the $104.1 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.16-0.18, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.14 consensus; sees Q3 revs of $100-103 mln vs. $100.32 mln consensus.

4:11PM Google stabilizing above the $550 level, down about $30 after earnings (GOOG) 582.98 : $551.50 was gap support from 11/06. If it gets through $550, the next big level isn't until the $530 area. Last trade at $552.70

4:05PM Google beats by $0.29, reports revs in-line (GOOG) 582.98 +2.57 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $6.79 per share, $0.29 better than the First Call consensus of $6.50; revenues rose 17.3% year/year to $4.95 bln vs the $4.92 bln consensus. Aggregate paid clicks, which include clicks related to ads served on Google sites and the sites of its AdSense partners, increased approximately 13% over 4Q08 and increased approximately 9% over 3Q09. Average cost-per-click, which includes clicks related to ads served on Google sites and the sites of our AdSense partners, increased approximately 5% over 4Q08 and increased approximately 2% over 3Q09. Revenues from outside of the United States totaled $3.52 bln, representing 53% of total revenues in the 4Q09, compared to 53% in 3Q09and 50% in 4Q08. Non-GAAP operating income in the fourth quarter of 2009 was $2.76 bln, or 41% of revenues. This compares to non-GAAP operating income of $2.15 billion, or 38% of revenues, in 4Q08.

4:05PM Microsemi reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (MSCC) 17.18 +0.05 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.26 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.26; revenues fell 13.6% year/year to $112.8 mln vs the $112.4 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.26-0.27 vs. $0.27 consensus; sees Q2 revs up 2-4% q/q (~$115-117 mln) vs. $114.82 mln consensus.

4:08PM Advanced Energy signs strategic PV solar service agreement for Colorado State University's new, 2 MW solar plant (AEIS) 15.62 +0.00 : Co announces that AMEC, the international engineering and project management company, has engaged Advanced Energy for a multi-year agreement to provide SiteGuard services for Colorado State University's new, two megawatt photovoltaic solar power plant located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The new solar facility started producing power in early December and is expected to be fully commissioned in early 2010.

12:36PM Motorola confirms store for Android applications in China (MOT) 7.42 -0.06 : Motorola confirms that in China introduced SHOP4APPS, Motorola's store for Android applications. SHOP4APPS will be available on new Motorola smartphones in China starting in time for Chinese New Year. Motorola additionally announced a new feature on their Android handsets enabling users to customize their Android devices by selecting their own search provider. Users will be able to select their search experience from a number of providers including Baidu (BIDU) and others, with whom Motorola has signed strategic agreements.

Cree (CREE) announces a distribution agreement with Arrow Electronics for Cree SiC power products...

Sanmina-SCI Corp (SANM), announces that it has selected SandForce high performance processors for its solid state drive products...

8:38AM LightPath gives Q2 guidance; says strength due to Asian markets (LPTH) 2.30 : The co gives Q2 guidance: backlog scheduled to ship within the next 12 months is $4.0 million, an increase of $900,000 or 29% as compared to the backlog of $3.1 million on December 31, 2008 and an increase of $1.7 million or 74% as compared to the backlog on June 30, 2009; cash on hand as of December 31, 2009 was $906,000 as compared to $524,000 on December 31, 2008 and $580,000 on June 30, 2009; revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 was $2.2 million compared to $1.9 million for the same period in fiscal 2009 and up $600,000 or 38% from the previous quarter. Jim Gaynor, President and Chief Executive Officer of LightPath, commented, "During the second quarter of fiscal 2010 we saw for the second consecutive quarter a significant increase in our backlog. We also experienced revenue growth of 38% over the previous quarter. The order strength continues to come from our work in the Asian markets in industrial laser tools and telecom applications." (Note, there are no estimates for LPTH)

8:30AM Applied Materials and Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment settle litigation and resolve all outstanding disputes (AMAT) 13.80 : The co and Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment, Inc. (AMEC) today jointly announced that they have settled all litigation between the respective companies and that all outstanding disputes have been resolved. Among other things, there was a dispute over the ownership of certain patent families filed by AMEC. In the settlement the parties agreed that those patent families will be jointly owned. AMEC also made a payment to Applied Materials of an undisclosed amount, and in light of that, the parties agreed to collaborate on projects in the future.

7:33AM Fairchild Semi beats by $0.06, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs above consensus (FCS) 9.26 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.23 per share, $0.06 better than the First Call consensus of $0.17; revenues rose 10.5% year/year to $354.5 mln vs the $340.9 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of roughly $370 mln vs. $335.78 mln consensus. Adjusted gross margin was 30.3 percent, up 340 basis points sequentially and 380 basis points higher than in the fourth quarter of 2008. Adjusted gross margin excludes accelerated depreciation and inventory write-offs/reserve releases related to fab closures. "Our scheduled backlog for first quarter shipments is currently about $369 million which is roughly $33 million higher than this point a quarter ago. Included in this amount is approximately $20 million of backlog that we booked in the first three and a half weeks of this quarter. We expect that both distributor sell through and OEM demand will continue to track above seasonal levels in Q1. Given the solid order rates this quarter and our starting backlog position, we expect first quarter sales to be roughly $370 million while further improvements in product mix help drive adjusted gross margin to a range of 31 to 32 percent. We expect R&D and SG&A spending to be approximately $78 million in Q1. Interest expense for the first quarter is expected to be roughly $3 million while our adjusted tax rate should be in the range of 15 to 20 percent. We remain disciplined in our capital investment plans with spending forecast to be between 6 to 7 percent of sales in 2010. We anticipate recording approximately $2 million in charges and $2 million of accelerated depreciation in the first quarter associated with previously announced fab closure actions. As with last quarter, we are not assuming any obligation to update this information, although we may choose to do so before we announce first quarter results."

F5 Networks (FFIV) announces that it has joined the NetApp (NTAP) Alliance Partner Program as an Advantage Alliance Partner. F5 is collaborating with NetApp to provide customers with unified application and data delivery solutions to enable more agile and dynamic data centers...

7:01AM Trina Solar commences module supply to Australia's largest distributor, RFI (TSL) 24.01 -0.97 : Co announced it has made initial shipments to RF Industries Pty Ltd ("RFI"), Australia's leading renewable energy distributor in January 2010. This is in conjunction with the Company's intention to finalize with RFI a national distribution agreement to supply up to 10 MW of PV modules in 2010.

09:38 am Advanced Micro upgraded to Buy at Broadpoint AmTech Research; tgt raised to $10: . Broadpoint AmTech Research upgrades AMD to Buy from Neutral and raises their tgt to $10 from $5.80 as the recent positive events (Analyst Day/INTC settlement/capital structure) lead the firm to believe that AMD's risk/reward is now compelling. The firm notes that AMD's capital structure improved as a result of INTC's $1.25 bln settlement and yesterday's announcement of debt restructuring actions. The firm believes that AMD's debt of ~$3.7 bln will be reduced by ~25%, while also lowering interest expense slightly less, ~20%. Should Global Foundries and ATIC's chartered purchase be consolidated, the firm believes that they could see deconsolidation in the following 3-6 months. Furthermore, the firm feels that revenue growth in the coming quarters will prove to be stronger than the Street is modeling, driven by: a healthy Win7 cycle; leadership in the Evergreen GPU platform; more focused marketing; and possible tailwind from INTC settlement headlines entering the selling season.