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Market Update 110120

6:04PM Con Edison beats by $68.30, misses on revs (ED) 50.53 +0.18 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $69.00 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $68.30 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.70; revenues fell 4.1% year/year to $3.14 bln vs the $3.47 bln consensus.
6:00PM Helix Inks agreements for deepwater containment system in the Gulf of Mexico (HLX) 11.60 -0.26 : Co announced that it has executed agreements for its Helix Fast Response System ("HFRS") to be named as a spill response resource for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico ("GOM") in response plans submitted by oil and gas producers with state and federal authorities. The HFRS centers on two vessels, the Helix Producer I and the Q4000, both of which played a key role in the BP Macondo spill response and are presently operating in the GOM. Helix signed an agreement with Clean Gulf Associates ("CGA"), a non-profit industry group, making the HFRS available for a two year term to CGA participants in the event of a GOM well blow out incident in exchange for a retainer fee. In addition to the agreement with CGA, Helix also has signed separate utilization agreements with 19 CGA participant member companies to date specifying the day rates to be charged should the solution be deployed.
5:59PM Eli Lilly reported that the FDA decided today that it could not recommend approval of Amyvid (LLY) 34.75 +0.10 : The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee decided today that it could not recommend approval of Amyvid(TM) (florbetapir) at this time based on the currently available data (13-3); but, voted unanimously (16-0) to recommend approval of Amyvid conditional on a reader training program that demonstrates reader accuracy and consistency through a re-read of previously acquired scans. The Committee supported that efficacy was established and there were no significant safety concerns raised. Amyvid is a molecular imaging tool under investigation for the detection of beta-amyloid plaque in the brain. The Committee stated that a negative scan would be clinically useful in indicating that Alzheimer's pathology is unlikely to be the cause of a patient's cognitive decline.
5:44PM South Carolina Electric & Gas Co announces debt offering (SCG) 41.94 +0.15 : South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G), principal subsidiary of SCANA Corp (SCG), announced that it sold, in a negotiated offering, $250 mln principal amount of its First Mortgage Bonds, 5.450% Series due February 1, 2041. The bonds were priced to SCE&G at 98.758%, and are initially being offered to the public at 99.633 percent with a yield to maturity of 5.475%. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, BB&T Capital Markets, a division of Scott and Stringfellow, LLC, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and TD Securities (USA) LLC, acted as joint book-running managers, and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Mizuho Securities USA Inc., and U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc., acted as co-managers for the transaction.
5:37PM St. Jude Medical reaches settlement with U.S. Department of Justice for $16 mln (STJ) 42.20 +0.15 : STJ issued the following statement regarding a settlement agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding a previously disclosed 2005 investigation in Boston related to an industry-wide review of post-market studies and registries: "We are pleased to have reached a settlement agreement with the DOJ that fully resolves the post-market study matter in Boston. The co maintains that its post-market studies and registries are legitimate clinical studies designed to gather important scientific data and St. Jude Medical does not admit liability or wrongdoing by entering into this agreement. The co entered into a settlement agreement to avoid the potential costs and risks associated with litigation. This settlement brings the previously reported post-market study investigation to a close. As part of this settlement, the co will make a payment of $16 mln to the DOJ. STJ affirms that the resolution of this matter has no material impact on the co's financial position or operations."
5:37PM Canpotex and Sinofert sign new contract (Sinofert) to supply 600,000 tonnes of potash during the first six months of calendar 2011 to China (POT) 161.84 -4.97 : Canpotex Limited (Canpotex) signed a contract with Sinofert Holdings Limited (Sinofert) to supply 600,000 tonnes of potash during the first six months of calendar 2011 at price levels similar to those recently established for new seaborne imports of potash to China, and reflects an ~$50 per tonne increase over the 2010 China price level. The contract is the first concluded under the new three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with Sinofert in October, 2010. The contract volumes are at the low end of the MOU range reflecting Canpotex's tight potash supply position. Canpotex is now fully committed for sales in the first calendar quarter of 2011, and has significant volumes confirmed for the second calendar quarter. Agrium supplies Canpotex with 9.28% of its potash product, Mosaic 37.11%, and PotashCorp 53.61%.

Briefing.com note: Canpotex is the world's largest exporter of potash and is wholly owned by POT, MOS and AGU. The "price levels similar to those recently established for new seaborne imports of potash to China" that is mentioned in the press release refers to the recent potash contract between China and Uralkali, a Russia potash producer. Uralkali reported a six-month contract a week ago with China to supply 600,000 tons of potash for $400/tonne, 141% higher than the 2010 price. In 2010, the price China agreed to was ~$350/tonne.
5:30PM Granite Construction joint venture team awarded second segment of mountain view corridor project in Utah; value is $114 mln (GVA) 26.02 +0.35 : Co announced that the Copper Hills Constructors (CHC) joint venture team has been awarded a $114 mln construction management/general contractor (CM/GC) contract by the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) for the second segment of the Mountain View Corridor in western Salt Lake County. Granite's share of the contract is 45%, or ~$51 mln. Granite will book the project into its fourth quarter 2010 backlog.
5:16PM Koss reports Q2 EPS of $0.18 vs. ($0.25) in last year's quarter; revs rose 5% to$12.8 mln (KOSS) 5.45 -0.19 :
5:04PM The Jones Group sees Q4 EPS of ~$0.02 vs. $0.11 Thomson Reuters Consensus; sees 2010 EPS of ~$1.50 vs. $1.57 consensus; sees revs at ~$3.64 bln vs. $3.65 bln consensus (JNY) 13.78 +0.15 : Co said, "Planned inventory positions for the back half of 2010 were influenced by the strong sales trends that existed in the front half of the year. As sales trends slowed in the back half, we needed to sell more into the off-price channel to clear that inventory. We are now well positioned with our inventory and we have tightened our 2011 buy plans to a more conservative approach." Additionally, the Co expects to report cash provided by operating activities from 2010 of ~$140 million. The Co's previous guidance was cash on hand of ~$170 million and cash provided by operating activities of ~$120 million. The increase in cash on hand and in cash provided by operating activities is primarily due to lower than planned working capital requirements.
5:03PM N Amer Palladium says payable palladium production from the LDI mine for the year ended Dec 31, 2010, totaled 95,100 ounces, in line with its 2010 guidance (PAL) 7.33 -0.30 : Co announces operating guidance for palladium and gold production as well as its capital expenditure and exploration budgets for 2011. Payable palladium production from the Lac des Iles mine to increase by approximately 75% from 95,100 ounces in 2010 to between 165,000 to 175,000 ounces in 2011. Capital expenditures of $147 mln on the LDI mine expansion. Payable gold production at the Sleeping Giant mine of 30,000 to 35,000 ounces. Sleeping Giant mill to be expanded to 1,250 tonnes per day to process ore from NAP's other nearby gold projects, at a cost of $7 mln. Exploration and development expenditures of $26 mln at the Vezza gold project to advance the project to a production decision by year- end. These expenditures will be reduced by estimated pre-production revenue of $8 mln, for a net expenditure of $18 mln. Significant exploration budget of $18 mln in Ontario and Quebec to increase palladium and gold reserves and resources.
5:02PM Pall Corp announces dividend increase from $0.16 per share to $0.175 per share (PLL) 49.16 -0.84 :
5:01PM Select Medical sees 2011 EPS of $0.67-0.72 vs. $0.70 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees revs at $2.65-2.75 bln vs. $2.73 bln consensus (SEM) 6.92 -0.10 :
5:01PM YM BioSciences announced that results were reported from a randomized Phase II gastric cancer study of nimotuzumab being conducted by its licensees (YMI) 2.20 +0.04 : Co announces that results were reported from a randomized Phase II gastric cancer study of nimotuzumab being conducted by its licensees, Daiichi Sankyo in Japan and Kuhnil Pharma in Korea. "The overall findings of the study are positive, and support the promise of nimotuzumab in this important global cancer market. Although not powered for statistical significance, in subgroup analyses these data demonstrated that EGFR-positive patients treated with nimotuzumab showed a potential improvement of Progression Free Survival and Overall Survival in gastric cancer. This is consistent with evidence that nimotuzumab selectively targets tissues over-expressing EGFR. The authors of the study conclude that the selection of gastric cancer patients by EGFR status might be effective for future studies of nimotuzumab, and indicate that a Phase III clinical trial should be performed to examine these findings."
4:58PM Equal Energy announces $45 million public offering of convertible unsecured junior subordinated debentures (EQU) 6.52 +0.02 : Co entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters who agreed to purchase, on a bought deal basis $45 mln convertible unsecured junior subordinated debentures at a price of $1,000 per Debenture. Proceeds from the offering will be used to retire a portion of the 8.00% convertible unsecured subordinated debentures due December 31, 2011. (stock is halted)
4:46PM Wisconsin Energy announced a two-for-one stock split and new quarterly dividend of $0.52 a share on a pre-split basis, up from $0.40 per share (WEC) 59.36 -0.01 :
4:41PM People's United Financial reports EPS in-line; Board of Directors authorizes additional share repurchase (PBCT) 13.69 -0.26 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.10 per share, excluding pre-tax merger-related expenses and core system conversion costs, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.10. People's United Financial's Board of Directors has authorized an additional repurchase of common stock. Up to 5% of PBCT's then-outstanding common stock, or up to 17.5 million shares, can be repurchased, either directly or through agents, in the open market at prices and terms satisfactory to management.
4:38PM JPMorgan Chase announced that Jimmy Elliott will become Global Chairman of Mergers and Acquisitions (JPM) 44.75 +1.04 : Co announced that Jimmy Elliott will become Global Chairman of Mergers and Acquisitions and Jim Woolery will join the firm from Cravath, Swaine & Moore to become co-head of North America M&A with Chris Ventresca.
4:38PM Danvers Bancorp to be acquired by People's United Financial (PBCT) in a 55% stock and 45% cash transaction valued at ~$493 mln; transaction valued DNBK at $23.00/share (DNBK) 17.09 +0.07 : People's United Financial (PBCT) and Danvers Bancorp (DNBK) announces today a definitive agreement pursuant to which People's United Financial will acquire Danvers Bancorp, in a 55% stock and 45% cash transaction valued at ~$493 million. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, which has been approved by both companies' boards of directors, Danvers Bancorp shareholders may elect to receive either $23.00 in cash, or 1.624 shares of People's United Financial stock for each Danvers Bancorp share, whereby 55% of Danvers Bancorp shares will be exchanged for stock and 45% for cash. The transaction is valued at $23.00 per Danvers Bancorp share, based on the average closing price of People's United for the 10-day period ended January 19, 2011. The receipt of People's United Financial stock by shareholders of Danvers Bancorp is expected to be tax-free.
4:36PM Advanced Micro beats by $0.03, beats on revs; sees Q1 revenue flat to slightly down QoQ vs -5.4% consensus (AMD) 8.02 +0.09 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.14 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.11; revenues rose 0.2% year/year to $1.65 bln vs the $1.63 bln consensus. Co sees Q1 revenue to be flat to slightly down QoQ vs -5.4% consensus. Reports gross margin of 45%, in-line iwth preannouncement
4:33PM Intrepid Potash estimates that it sold 210-220K tons of potash in Q4; expects to invest ~$140-$165 mln in FY11 related to its capital investment program (IPI) 34.60 -0.92 : Co estimates that, on an unaudited basis, during 4Q10, it produced between 215,000 and 225,000 tons of potash and sold between 210,000 and 220,000 tons of potash. Potash production during the fourth quarter includes the seasonal production from the harvest of our Moab solar evaporation ponds. Intrepid estimates its average net realized sales price for potash during the quarter was approximately $380 - $390 per ton. Intrepid estimates that it produced approximately 25,000 - 35,000 tons of Trio as it came out of the planned East plant maintenance turnaround in October, and sold approximately 20,000 - 30,000 tons of Trio. Intrepid estimates that its average net realized sales price for Trio during the quarter was approximately $215 - $225 per ton. For the full year ended December 31, 2010, Intrepid invested approximately $90 - $95 mln its capital investment program, including the successful execution and completion of the compactor at our mine in Moab, Utah and the addition of two new mining panels at both our East and West mines in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Intrepid's capital strategy remains consistent with increasing reliability, efficiency and productivity. In 2011, Intrepid expects to invest approximately $140 -$165 mln related to its capital investment program that will be funded from existing cash and investments and operating cashflows.
4:33PM Lucas Energy says that the Hilcorp Energy Company operated Hagen EF No.1H Eagle Ford horizontal well is expected to be brought into production within the next two weeks (LEI) 2.16 -0.09 : "We are very pleased with the results of the lateral drilling and stimulation of this, our first, Eagle Ford horizontal well," commented William A. Sawyer, President and CEO of co, who continued: "Hilcorp did an excellent job of choosing the location, drilling the well, and performing a multistage stimulation. We anticipate that the results will meet or exceed our expectations."
4:32PM F.N.B. Corp announces Vincent Delie has been promoted to President of F.N.B. Corporation (FNB) 10.15 +0.02 :
4:32PM Skyworks beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (SWKS) 30.03 -1.88 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.45 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.44; revenues rose 36.7% year/year to $335.1 mln vs the $334 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of 0.38-0.40, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.37 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of 310-320 vs. $306.48 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:31PM Forest Oil expects net sales volume growth of 10% over 2010 guidance; expects 2011 Capital Budget between $600-650 mln, a 10% reduction from 2010 guidance (FST) 37.61 -0.62 : Cash Costs of $2.15 per Mcfe to $2.35 per Mcfe; a 7% Reduction from 2010 Guidance. Co announced its 2011 capital budget and related guidance. As a result of positive operational momentum and economic organic growth achieved in 2010, the Company intends to focus 75% of its drilling activity in its liquids-rich Granite Wash assets in the Texas Panhandle and its royalty-incentivized Deep Basin gas assets and Peace River Arch light-oil assets in Canada. Additionally, Forest expects to commence a first-half of 2011 weighted development program of its Eagle Ford oil asset, with an initial investment of $50 million of capital allocated to the play. These areas have significant horizontal project inventories on large undeveloped land bases that have the ability to carry future development for an extended period of time. In total, approximately 80% of the 2011 capital budget will be allocated to liquids-rich prospects, with the remainder allocated primarily to gas development in the Deep Basin of Alberta, Canada, that has favorable economic attributes through substantial provincial royalty incentives.
4:31PM Polaris Inds approves a 13% increase in the regular quarterly cash dividend to $0.45 (PII) 73.59 +0.28 :
4:30PM ONEOK Partners announced plans to invest another $260-$305 mln between now and the end of 2014 for additional projects in the Bakken Shale in the Williston Basin (OKS) 79.32 -0.97 : Co announces plans to invest another $260-$305 mln between now and the end of 2014 for additional projects in the Bakken Shale in the Williston Basin. These investments include $135-$150 mln for the construction of a new 100 mln cubic feet per day natural gas processing facility - the Stateline II plant - in western Williams County, N.D. - which is expected to be in service in the first half of 2013. In addition to the investments for the Stateline II plant, ONEOK Partners also expects to invest approximately $80 mln to $110 mln for expansions and upgrades to its existing gathering and compression infrastructure. ONEOK Partners also expects to invest approximately $45 mln between now and the end of 2014 for new well connections associated with the Stateline II facility.
4:23PM Emulex beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line (ELX) 11.75 -0.43 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.15 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.13; revenues rose 5.3% year/year to $114 mln vs the $113.4 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.08-0.11, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.11 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $108-112 vs. $110.52 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:21PM SVB Financial Group announces promotion of Greg Becker to CEO (SIVB) 54.32 -1.15 : Co announces that effective April 21, 2011, its President Greg Becker will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer. CEO Ken Wilcox, will become Chairman of Silicon Valley Bank.
4:19PM Intl Game Tech beats by $0.01, misses on revs (IGT) 18.32 -0.08 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.21 per share, excluding $0.04 in favorable items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.20; revenues fell 9.7% year/year to $465 mln vs the $489.6 mln consensus. The items excluded were $0.04 favorable impact from certain discrete tax benefits and gain on the sale of our equity investment in China LotSynergy Holdings, Ltd. "While consistent top-line growth remains challenging, our internal cost cutting and operational improvement strategies are solidly taking hold... Based on early customer feedback, we are confident that our recently released games are gaining momentum. We look forward to better demonstrating our top-line focused initiatives in the second half of this year and beyond."
4:19PM Synaptics beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 revs above consensus (SYNA) 32.05 +0.75 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.72 per share, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.68; revenues rose 19.7% year/year to $159.6 mln vs the $158.3 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $136-146 mln vs. $135.74 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Non-PC revenue of $88.6 million represented 55% of total revenue for the second quarter, an increase of 48% over the comparable quarter last year. Non-PC revenue consisted almost entirely of revenue from mobile phone applications, as the number of mobile phone models shipping with Synaptics' touchscreen solutions continued to expand.
4:18PM Michael Baker unit selected to perform support services for the California Department of Transportation's Design-Build Program in $3.5 mln contract (BKR) 30.49 -0.66 :
4:18PM SVB Financial Group beats by $0.37 (SIVB) 54.32 -1.17 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.89 per share, included pre-tax gains of $23.6 mln from the sale of certain agencybacked available-for-sale securities, $0.37 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.52.
4:16PM Matthew's beats by $0.01, beats on revs (MATW) 34.61 -0.10 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.45 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.44; revenues rose 7.5% year/year to $207.3 mln vs the $200.4 mln consensus.
4:15PM Capital One beats by $0.18, beats on revs (COF) 47.25 -0.07 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.52 per share, $0.18 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.34; revenues fell 9.3% year/year to $3.96 bln vs the $3.87 bln consensus. Provision expense of $839 million in the fourth quarter decreased $28 million from the prior quarter driven by lower charge-offs which were partially offset by a smaller allowance release in the fourth quarter. Continued improvement in charge-offs and delinquency performance in the portfolio was the primary driver of the fourth quarter allowance release. The allowance as a percentage of loans was 4.47 percent at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010 compared with 4.89 percent at the end of the prior quarter. Domestic Card revenue margin declined 11 bps to 16.66% in the fourth quarter from 16.77% in the prior quarter driven by a full quarter of lower late fees resulting from implementing the CARD Act. Domestic Card charge-off rate improved 231 bps relative to fourth quarter of 2009 to 7.28 percent. Excluding run-off portfolios, loans grew $1 billion in the quarter. Strong deposit growth with disciplined pricing continued, with Commercial and Consumer Banking deposits up more than $10 billion, or 11.6%, in 2010. "In the second half of 2010, improvements in our credit results outpaced the economic recovery, and we began to see some stabilization in loan volumes and early signs of a return to loan growth in 2011."
4:15PM Wells Fargo (WFC) and Baoding Tianwei Group Co anounce they have signed a strategic cooperation agreement that could lead to the development and building of solar power products in the US (HOKU) 2.50 -0.12 : Wells Fargo and Baoding Tianwei Group Co anounce they have signed a strategic cooperation agreement that could lead to the development and building of solar power products in the United States. Such an agreement is a common first step in a business relationship involving a Chinese company. Specific financial terms were not disclosed. The agreement includes potential financial support for Hawaii-based Hoku Corp. (HOKU), a subsidiary of Tianwei.
4:13PM 1st Source Corp approves a cash dividend of $0.16 per common share, up 6.67% over the dividend declared in the same period a year earlier (SRCE) 18.58 -0.29 :
4:13PM Assoc Banc-Corp misses by $0.01 (ASBC) 14.77 -0.15 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.04 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.05. Co says loans 30-89 days past due were down for the fourth consecutive quarter, and potential problem loans were down for the fourth consecutive quarter. They report nonaccrual loans were down 21% from the prior quarter and 47% from a year ago. Co had a net interest margin of 3.13%, up 5 basis points from the prior quarter and capital ratios remain very strong, with a Tier 1 common ratio of 12.26% at December 31, 2010, compared to 7.85% a year ago.
4:13PM ARMOUR Residential REIT announces that it intends to offer shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering (ARR) 7.73 -0.20 : Ladenburg Thalmann and Cantor Fitzgerald will act as joint bookrunning managers and representatives of the several underwriters in the offering. Macquarie Capital, Maxim Group LLC and National Securities Corporation will act as co-managers in the offering.
4:12PM Intuitive Surgical beats by $0.77, beats on revs (ISRG) 289.83 -0.62 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $3.02 per share, $0.77 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $2.25; revenues rose 20.5% year/year to $389.3 mln vs the $369.9 mln consensus. Intuitive Surgical reports Q4 procedure growth of ~35% vs expectations of ~27%
4:11PM Hewlett-Packard announces Shumeet Banerji, Gary Reiner, Patricia Russo, and Meg Whitman as new Board members (HPQ) 46.78 +0.46 : Co announces that its board of directors has appointed five new members, effective Jan. 21, bringing the total number of board members to 13. The new directors are Shumeet Banerji, chief executive officer of Booz & Company; Gary Reiner, former chief information officer of General Electric Company and a current special advisor to private equity firm General Atlantic; Patricia Russo, former chief executive officer of Alcatel-Lucent; Dominique Senequier, chief executive officer of AXA Private Equity; and Meg Whitman, former president and chief executive officer of eBay Inc. The five new directors also will stand for re-election at HP's next Annual Meeting of Stockholders in March. In addition, HP announced that incumbent directors Joel Hyatt, John Joyce, Robert Ryan and Lucille Salhany are not standing for re-election at the company's Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
4:10PM Pulse Electronics confirms receipt of letter from Bel Fuse (BELFA) (PULS) 4.77 -0.12 : Co announces it has received a letter from Bel Fuse Inc. indicating its intent to nominate a fourth candidate for election to the company's Board of Directors at the 2011 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. On Dec 28, PULS acknowledged it received a separate letter from Bel Fuse indicating its intent to nominate three candidates for election to the board. The Governance Committee will consider whether the Bel Fuse notice of nomination complies with applicable requirements of the company's governing documents and SEC regulations.
4:09PM Tempur-Pedic beats by $0.09, reports revs in-line; guides FY11 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus; $200 mln share repurchase (TPX) 39.40 -1.25 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.66 per share, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.57; revenues rose 19.6% year/year to $292.7 mln vs the $292.3 mln consensus. Tempur-Pedic Announces New $200 Million Share Repurchase Program . Co issues upside guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $2.60-2.75 vs. $2.49 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $1.23-1.28 bln vs. $1.23 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. The Company announced that the Board of Directors has authorized a new share repurchase program of up to an incremental $200.0 million.
4:09PM Cubist Pharma misses by $0.10, misses on revs (CBST) 21.20 -0.05 : Reports Q4 (Dec) GAAP earnings of $0.24 per share, $0.10 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.34; revenues fell 2.9% year/year to $161.8 mln vs the $163.7 mln consensus. Cubist Pharma reports FY10 Cubicin sales of $599.6 mln vs consensus of $606.87 mln.
4:09PM Google beats by $0.66, beats on revs; announces mgmt changes, Larry Page succeeds Schmidt as CEO (GOOG) 626.77 -4.98 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $8.75 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.66 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $8.09; revenues rose 28.6% year/year to $6.37 bln vs the $6.06 bln consensus. GOOG reports Q3 Paid Clicks increased 18% y/y, 11% q (Y/Y expectations ~15%); Costs Per Click increased 5% y/y, 4% q/q (Y/Y expectations ~5%). Intn' rev +52% YoY. Q3 Paid Clicks increased 18% y/y, 11% q (Y/Y expectations ~15%). GOOG also announces mgmt changes: Starting from April 4, Larry Page, Google Co-Founder, will take charge of Google's day-to-day operations as Chief Executive Officer. Sergey Brin, Google Co-Founder, will devote his energy to strategic projects, in particular working on new products. Eric Schmidt will assume the role of Executive Chairman, focusing externally on deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships, govt outreach and technology thought leadership--all of which are increasingly important given Google's global reach. Internally, he will continue to act as an advisor to Larry and Sergey.
4:08PM Polycom beats by $0.06, beats on revs (PLCM) 38.18 -2.61 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.49 per share, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.43; revenues rose 26.9% year/year to $340 mln vs the $327.7 mln consensus. Co states, "In summary, 2011 promises to be a year of significant revenue growth, expanding operating margins, and Polycom's delivery of what we refer to as UC Everywhere. With our customers demanding Polycom's UC solution at unprecedented levels, coupled with our strong and growing brand and channel, we believe we are best positioned to be the go-to provider of UC solutions..."
4:07PM Google discloses info on Schmidt stock trading plan (GOOG) 627.77 -4.98 : On December 9, 2010, Eric [Schmidt] adopted a stock trading plan in accordance with guidelines specified under Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act, and Google's Policy Against Insider Trading. In the future, he will begin selling a portion of his Google stock pursuant to this trading plan. The pre-arranged trading plan was adopted in order to allow Eric to sell a portion of his Google stock as part of his long-term strategy for individual asset diversification and liquidity. The stock transactions pursuant to this trading plan will be disclosed publicly through Form 4 and Form 144 filings with the SEC. Using this trading plan, Eric can diversify his investment portfolio and can spread stock trades out over a period of one year to reduce market impact. Because this trading plan was established well in advance of a trade, it also helps avoid concerns about whether Eric had material, non-public information when he made a decision to sell his stock. As of Dec 31, 2010, Eric held approx 9.2 mln shares of Class A and Class B common stock, which represented approx 2.9% of Google's outstanding capital stock and approx 9.6% of the voting power of Google's outstanding capital stock. Under the terms of the trading plan, Eric intends to sell approx 534,000 shares of Class A common stock. If Eric completes all the planned sales under this trading plan, he would continue to own approx 8.7 million shares...
4:06PM AK Steel announces price increase for carbon steel products (AKS) 14.31 +0.03 : Co will increase current spot market base prices by $50 per ton for all carbon flat-rolled steel products, effective immediately with new orders. AK Steel said that the price increase is needed to recover higher costs for steelmaking inputs, and reflects the continuing strong demand for carbon steel products.
4:06PM Tempur-Pedic announces new $200 mln Share Repurchase Program (TPX) :
4:06PM Elec For Imaging beats by $0.06, beats on revs (EFII) 14.60 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.28 per share, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.22; revenues rose 27.2% year/year to $145 mln vs the $136.3 mln consensus.
4:06PM Flextronics beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides MarQ above consensus (FLEX) 8.22 -0.14 : Reports Q3 (Dec) earnings of $0.25 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.24; revenues rose 19.5% year/year to $7.83 bln vs the $7.61 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q4 (Mar), sees EPS of $0.21-0.23, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.21 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q4 revs of $7.1-7.4 bln vs. $6.96 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:05PM Anworth Mortgage to increase to series b preferred stock conversion rate (ANH) 6.85 -0.02 : Co announces that, in accordance with the terms of Anworth's 8.625% Series A Cumulative Preferred Stock, or Series A Preferred Stock, the board of directors declared a Series A Preferred Stock dividend of $0.539063 per share for the first quarter of 2011.
4:05PM J&J Snack Foods misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line (JJSF) 47.13 -0.63 : Reports Q1 (Dec) GAAP earnings of $0.38 per share, $0.02 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.40; revenues rose 4.4% year/year to $155.6 mln vs the $154.7 mln consensus.
4:04PM Maxim Integrated beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 revs above consensus (MXIM) 25.60 -0.33 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.44 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.41; revenues fell 2.1% year/year to $612.9 mln vs the $607.7 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $590-620 vs. $585.02 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:04PM Interactive Brokers misses by $0.02, misses on revs (IBKR) 17.48 +0.07 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.15 per share, $0.02 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.17; revenues fell 7.0% year/year to $186.3 mln vs the $251.2 mln consensus.
4:03PM GMX Resources announces 2010 year-end Haynesville/Bossier reserves; 2010 production and operations update (GMXR) 5.12 +0.08 : Co announces 2010 year-end Haynesville/Bossier reserves increased 208.2 BCFE, or 804%, compared to year-end 2009. Production for Q4 was 5.3 BCFE up 51% from Q4 2009 and production for the year was 17.5 BCFE up 30% from 2009. Additionally the company released 60 day production results of its most recent long (>6000') lateral Haynesville/Bossier Hz well - the Mia Austin 6H which has averaged 7,241 Mcf/d.
4:03PM EZCORP beats by $0.07, beats on revs; guides FY11 EPS above consensus (EZPW) 28.49 +0.06 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.69 per share, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.62; revenues rose 18.4% year/year to $218.8 mln vs the $213.4 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $2.40, ex-items, vs. $2.35 Thomson Reuters consensus and vs prior guidance of $2.35.
4:03PM Danaher announces definitive agreement to acquire EskoArtwork for $470 mln (DHR) 46.26 -0.77 : Co announces that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Pacific Scientific Aerospace business to Meggitt. Danaher simultaneously received a binding offer from Meggitt to acquire the Artus business which remains open for 12 months. Upon the closing of both transactions, Meggitt will pay Danaher an aggregate cash purchase price of $685 million, subject to post-closing adjustments. The parties currently expect that the transactions will close in the second quarter of 2011.
4:02PM THL Credit announces formation of $150 mln THL Credit Greenway Fund (TCRD) 12.85 +0.04 : Greenway will immediately commence investment activities and will invest in transactions in which co also invests. Co will receive a management fee on capital called by Greenway and a performance fee subject to a return hurdle. Co also will receive a portion of the closing fees on each investment transaction.
4:01PM Verizon files appeal in federal court regarding FCC Net Neutrality Order (VZ) 34.61 +0.01 : Co files an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, challenging the Federal Communications Commission's Report and Order on rules dealing with the issue of net neutrality.
4:01PM Clean Diesel Technologies takes steps to replace subsidiary's secured credit facility and provides financing update (CDTI) 8.49 -0.49 : Co announces that its subsidiary, Catalytic Solutions, had entered into an agreement with Fifth Third Bank (FITB), CSI's secured lender under which Fifth Third Bank has agreed to extend forbearance under the terms of its loan agreement with CSI. Clean Diesel also announced that it subsequently entered into a commitment letter with another financial institution for an alternative financing facility of up to $7.5 million. Proceeds from the alternative facility would be used in part to repay all outstanding obligations under the existing Fifth Third Bank facility. As of December 31, 2010, ~$2.4 million was outstanding under the Fifth Third Bank facility.
4:00PM Corcept Therapeutics is offering to sell shares of its common stock (CORT) 3.95 -0.19 : Co is offering to sell shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. Corcept also expects to grant the underwriters a 30 day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the shares of common stock offered in the public offering to cover over-allotments, if any. All of the shares in the offering are being sold by Corcept. Stifel Nicolaus Weisel and Leerink Swann LLC are joint book-running managers and JMP Securities and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. are co-managers.
3:54PM Equal Energy halted, news pending (EQU) 6.52 +0.02 :
3:46PM StoneMor Partners L.P increases its quarterly cash distribution by $0.01 to $0.575, payable on February 14, 2011 (STON) 30.58 -1.53 :
3:38PM S&P -2.8 slips back off afternoon resistance -- Nasdaq Comp -22 (SPY) : Noted in the 14:47 update that the index was testing afternoon resistance at 1283 (50% retrace of Tues-Thur slide, equality with first leg off morning low). A continuation of the slide off 1283 below the 1276 area (2695 Nasdaq Comp) would raise odds that the recovery was a temporary corrective bounce.
3:25PM Lifeway Foods announces new 250,000 share buyback program (LWAY) 8.79 +0.05 :
3:14PM Bridgepoint Education announced plans to open a new location in Denver, Colo (BPI) 17.33 +0.51 : The office space is expected to be used to support student services for Bridgepoint Education's universities, Ashford University and University of the Rockies.
3:01PM American Shared announced that the Leksell Gamma Knife PerfexionTM system AMS supplied to Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center has begun treating patients (AMS) 3.07 +0.01 :
2:58PM Apollo Investment received additional commitments of $50 mln under its existing senior secured, multi-currency, revolving credit facility (AINV) 11.40 -0.30 : Co received additional commitments of $50 mln under its existing senior secured, multi-currency, revolving credit facility. The Facility allows the Company to continue to seek additional commitments in the future, up to $2.0 bln.
2:51PM Power Integrations confirms it was awarded double damages in patent-infringement case against Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS) (POWI) 38.21 -1.12 : (See prior 7:44 comment)
2:47PM S&P bounces 12 points off the low, tests 1283 afternoon resistance (SPY) : This marks the 50% retracement of the slide off Tuesday's high as well as equality with the initial push off the morning low. Retracement/congest resistance above is at 1285/1286.
2:39PM Darling Intl announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) offered a conditional commitment for a $241 mln loan guarantee for its proposed joint venture project with Valero (VLO) to build a renewable diesel facility (DAR) 12.16 -0.24 :
2:38PM CBOT Agriculture and Ethanol and ICE Exchange Sugar Closing Prices (COMDX) : March corn was 18 cents higher (or +2.0%) at $6.54 per bushel, March soybeans closed higher by 4.5 cents at $14.16 per bushel, March wheat closed higher by 6.75 cents at $8.04 per bushel, Feb ethanol closed 0.007 cents lower at $2.32, March world sugar futures closed up 0.13 cents to 31.31 cents.
2:36PM NYMEX Energy Closing Prices (COMDX) : March crude oil settled lower by $2.20 to $89.61, Feb natural gas rallied for 12.8 cents to close at $4.689, Feb heating oil dropped 3.36 cents to end at $2.5225 while Feb RBOB gasoline shed 5.65 cents to finish at $2.4251.
2:33PM Further afternoon recovery gains for the stock indices -- Dow +18, S&P +0.9, Nasdaq Comp -13 (SPY) : Relative sector strength on the latest push has been noted in Solar TAN, Disk Drive, Ag/Chem MOO, Networking IGN, Oil Service OIH, Software IGV.
2:10PM Lockheed Martin and United Technologies Corp. (UTX) subsidiary receive a $1.4 bln firm fixed price contract from the U.S. Navy to continue providing performance-based logistics support for more than 490 in-service H-60 SEAHAWK helicopters (LMT) 78.33 +0.67 :
2:02PM American Electric will accelerate the construction process of a natural gas-fired power plant near Dresden (AEP) 36.40 +0.44 : Co will accelerate the construction process of a natural gas-fired power plant near Dresden, Ohio. The partially constructed plant was purchased in 2007 by AEP through its AEP Generating Company subsidiary from Dresden Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Dominion (D).
2:00PM Family Dollar increases regular quarterly dividend by 16% to $0.18 (FDO) 43.95 +0.24 :
1:50PM Todd Shipyards announces U.S. Coast guard exercise of option on overhaul Of USCGC Healy (TOD) 22.30 +0.02 : Co announced that the U.S. Coast Guard has awarded to its wholly owned subsidiary, Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation, a $4,883,691 modification to previously awarded contract HSCG85-11-C-P45631 in support of repairs and alterations being performed during the dockside maintenance availability of the icebreaker USCGC Healy (WAGB-20).
1:49PM China Shenghuo Pharma stated that its policy is not to comment on unusual market activity or rumors (KUN) 1.58 -0.18 :

1:42PM NRG Energy announces that the 290-megawatt Agua Caliente solar project has received an offer of a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $967 million from the DoE (NRG) 20.46 +0.41 :
1:32PM COMEX Metals Closing Prices (COMDX) : Feb gold ended lower by $24.20 to $1346.00, March silver shed $1.336 to finish at $27.465, while March copper dropped 10.45 cents to close at $4.2655.
1:24PM Tiffany & Co Board authorizes $400 mln share repurchase over two years (TIF) 57.69 -0.53 :
1:17PM Life Partners Holdings confirms SEC investigation (LPHI) 13.55 -1.49 : Co confirms that the SEC is conducting an investigation into the business of its operating subsidiary, Life Partners, Inc. Co's confirmation follows press reports of the previously non-public investigation. Co said in addition that it does not know how long the investigation will go on, nor does it know how it will ultimately be resolved.
1:13PM Mountain Province Diamonds initiates exploration at Kennady North Project (MDM) 5.95 -0.20 : Co announced plans for work to be completed on the Company's 100%-owned Kennady North Project. The Kennady North Project consists of five mining leases and eight mineral claims. Since 2006, when Mountain Province recovered a 100% interest in the Kennady North Project, no further exploration activity has taken place. During that period the Company's primary focus has been on the advancement of the Gahcho Kue Project.
1:09PM Alliance Resource resumes production operations at the Warrior mine operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary Warrior Coal (ARLP) 63.92 -3.36 : Operations were temporarily suspended on January 12, 2011 due to adverse geological conditions which disrupted ventilation in an area of the mine.
1:02PM Sherwin-Williams partners with Scripps Networks Interactive's (SNI) HGTV (SHW) 82.30 -0.81 : The licensing partnership includes eight unique color collections, durable and low-odor paint manufactured by Sherwin-Williams, as well as an array of smart tools designed to help consumers enjoy the perfect painting experience.
1:00PM Washington Post: Warren Buffett to retire from the Board of The Washington Post Company (WPO) 437.33 +13.94 : Co announced that Warren E. Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., will not be a candidate for re-election to its board of directors. Buffett, who has served on the board since 1974 (with a break of eight years when he became a director of Capital Cities), will continue to serve until the expiration of his current term in May.
12:54PM Procter & Gamble hovering near best level of the day at 65.90, its 52-wk high from Tuesday is at 65.94 (PG) 65.90 +0.55 :
12:50PM Relative Sector Strength as stock indices extend bounce off lows -- Dow -18, S&P -3.7, Nasdaq Comp -24 (TECHX) : Sectors that are outperforming the S&P on the recovery include: Oil Service OIH, Energy XLE, Commodity Index, Ag/Chem MOO, Coal KOL, Materials XLB, Semi SMH, Casino BJK, Rail, Networking IGN, Disk Drive.
12:36PM PNM Resources New Mexico utility rate case was extended two weeks after regulators agreed to give more time to gain support for stipulation with other parties (PNM) 13.54 +0.05 : Today, Commissioners granted the motion and set Feb. 3 as the new deadline for filing a stipulation. If a stipulation does not materialize, the case will proceed on a litigation path according to the new extended schedule.
12:35PM CGGVeritas launched on Jan 19 issuance of bonds convertible into and/or exchangeable for new or existing shares due 2016; increased principal amount to ~EUR360 mln (CGV) 28.45 -0.77 :
12:35PM Dow -29 pushes as much as 54 points off its morning low -- S&P -5.2, Nasdaq Comp -27 (DIA) : The indices have improved off late morning lows (stabilized near supports noted earlier and in The Technical Take at 11746 Dow, 2687 Nasdaq, 1270/1269 S&P) with a pullback in the Dollar Index coinciding with the equity bounce.
12:30PM Washington Post approves increase in annual dividend rate on common stock to $9.40 per share from $9.00 per share (WPO) 438.20 +14.81 :
12:00PM PNM Resources announces approval of TNMP electric rate stipulation (PNM) 13.45 -0.04 : Co's electric transmission and distribution utility, Texas-New Mexico Power, received unanimous approval today by Texas regulators to increase annual revenues by $10.25 million beginning Feb. 1. The annual financial impact of the new rates is expected to add ~$6.7 million of after-tax earnings, or $0.07 per diluted share.
11:49AM Mosaic pulls back between its 50 ema/sma along with AGU and IPI (MOS) 72.56 -3.59 :
11:38AM New session lows for S&P -9.7 and Nasdaq Comp -36 -- Dow -65 did not confirm the new low (SPY) : Although they have set new lows the S&P and Nasdaq Comp continue to hover near supports noted earlier at 1270/1269 (session low 1271) and 2691/2687 (session low 2686.59), respectively.
11:35AM Semiconductor Hldrs ETF slides to new session low of 33.36 (SMH) 33.40 -0.74 : Semi/Disk Drive weakness have helped push the Nasdaq Comp to a minor new session low of 2686. The next support of note for the SMH is at its Dec peak at 33.26. The weakest performers in the SMH include: ALTR -4.2%, AMAT -3.3%, AMKR -2.3%, ATML -5.8%, BRCM -4.4%, (testing its 50 sma), LSI -2.3% (testing its 50 ema), MXIM -2.3%, NSM -2.4%, NVLS -2.7%, SNDK -4.7%, TER -3.8%,
11:18AM Cocoa futures remain higher despite broad market weakness, primarily due to news of a possible EU ban on cocoa trade; now +$46 at $3,146/metric ton (NIB) 44.80 +0.68 : Cocoa is one of only four commodities trading higher in the CRB Index today and over the past two sessions, cocoa futures are 3.8% higher. From last week, the commodity is up 6.7%.
11:15AM Wyndham Worldwide entered into an agreement with Chatwal Hotels & Resorts, gaining exclusive rights to franchise and manage its Dream and Night boutique hotel brands globally (WYN) 28.27 -0.51 :
11:12AM Stock indices extend to secondary supports -- Dow -64, S&P -8.6, Nasdaq Comp -31 (SPY) : The stock indices extended the morning slide back near supports highlighted in The Technical Take at 2691/2687 Nasdaq Comp (session low 2691), 11757/11746 Dow (session low 11744) and 1270/1269 S&P (session low 1271). Little interest has been noted thus far, however, with the S&P needing to initially clear 1276 and then the more important short term barrier at 1279/1280 in order to begin to improve the negative bias.
11:07AM March cotton futures rally 3% to new session highs of $1.5294/lb; cotton went limit-up in the prior two sessions and is ~6% higher from last week (BAL) 77.16 +0.97 :
11:06AM Natural gas gives back gains from inventory data as it drops quickly back toward flat line; now up 2.2 cents to $4.583 (COMDX) :
11:05AM Peabody Energy, China Huaneng, and Calera Agree to pursue development of low-carbon emissions clean coal project in Inner Mongolia (BTU) 58.52 -1.44 :
11:01AM Crude oil sees little reaction to inventory data as it continues to bump around session lows; now down $2.66 to $89.15 (OIH) :
10:57AM New session lows -- Dow -74, S&P -9.7, Nasdaq Comp -32 (SPY) :
10:55AM Sector relative weakness (TECHX) : Commodity/Energy continue to be a drag as the Dollar Index extends higher (Energy XLE, Oil Service OIH, Silver SLV, Mining XME, Steel SLX, Coal KOL, Ag/Chem MOO, Materials XLB). Also underperforming the S&P in recent action are: Disk Drive, Reg Bank KRE, Casino BJK.
10:52AM Peabody Energy and Yankuang Group (YZC) to pursue development of Wucaiwan Energy Center in Xinjiang, China (BTU) 58.45 -1.51 : Peabody Energy and Yankuang Group announces they are pursuing development of the planned Wucaiwan Energy Center in the Zhundong Region of Xinjiang in Northwestern China. The center would include development of a 20 million ton-per-year surface coal mine, which will provide the fuel for a 2,000 megawatt supercritical power plant and a substitute natural gas facility producing 4 billion-cubic-meters of gas annually. The agreement demonstrates growing cooperation on clean energy and carbon initiatives between China and the United States.
10:51AM Nasdaq Comp -26 sets fractional new session low of 2699, retesting its 20 day ema at 2699 (QQQQ) : This is the first test of the 20 day in seven weeks.
10:39AM Medley Capital prices 11.1 mln share IPO at $12.00 (MCC) : Co announced today the pricing of the initial public offering of 11.1 mln shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $12.00 per share. The co offered 10.28 mln shares of its common stock through a group of underwriters and has granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 1.54 mln shares of its common stock. Additionally, the co offered 833K shares of its common stock at the public offering price of $12.00 per share directly to affiliates of Medley Capital LLC, MCC Advisors LLC, which is the co's investment adviser, their respective affiliates and some of their employees. The co intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to provide debt financing to portfolio cos in accordance with its investment objective and for general corporate purposes.
10:37AM Dollar Index sets new session high, probing the high of yesterday's two month low bar at 79.01 -- session high 78.99 (UUP) :
10:31AM Dow -53 and S&P -6.4 set new session lows, Nasdaq Comp -22 still holding just above its morning low (SPY) :
10:30AM Market Vectors Coal ETF holds on initial retest of 50 sma/ema support (KOL) 46.13 -1.08 : The sector ETF topped out last week and is currently down for the fourth session in a row. This morning's gap down extension, bringing the recent decline to more than 8%, tested support at its 50 sma/ema in early trade (45.50 -- session low 45.50) and bounced. The recovery has lost some steam over the last 20 minutes cutting the push off the low in half. If it can continue to hold above 46.03 and 45.90 on this dip there is potential for another intraday leg higher -- ANR, ACI, CNX, JOYG, BTU, WLT, BUCY, MEE.
10:30AM Potash extends recent pullback lower intraday as it dips down to challenge its 20-day ema next to the $160.00 area (POT) 160.60 -6.21 :
10:30AM BSD Medical reports publication of German Oncology Journal Der Onkologe emphasizing benefits of hyperthermia in treatment of cancer (BSDM) 4.84 -0.09 : Co announced publication of an issue of the official journal of the German Cancer Society, Der Onkologe, that is dedicated to the current role of hyperthermia in cancer treatment. BSD's product lines include both hyperthermia and ablation treatment systems.
10:30AM Natural gas spikes to highs following inventory data; currently up 5.1 cents to $4.627 (UNG) :
10:09AM I.D. Systems announces that Ford (F) is expanding its deployment of co's wireless Vehicle Management System to industrial truck fleets at two manufacturing plants in the United Kingdom and a third facility in Romania (IDSY) 3.69 -0.11 :
10:08AM America Srvc Gr announces invitation to proceed with negotiations with Public Health Trust/ Jackson Health System for correctional healthcare services for inmates in Miami-Dade County, Florida (ASGR) 15.10 +0.03 : The contract, which with all extension opportunities (which must be mutually agreed upon) could run for up to eleven years, will cover approximately 6,100 inmates under the custody and control of the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department. Services are anticipated to commence approximately 60 days from the execution of a definitive agreement between the parties and generate annual revenues in a range of approximately $65 to $69 million for the first contract year. The anticipated contract between Public Health Trust/ Jackson Health System and PHS remains subject to successful negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement between the parties.
10:06AM PSS World Med acquires Dispensing Solutions, Inc. (PSSI) 23.01 +0.15 : Co announces that it has acquired Dispensing Solutions, Inc. DSI, a privately held company based in California, markets turn-key dispensing programs in the point of care, government, and contract packaging markets. DSI, which operates throughout the country and employs a staff of over 90 professionals, is currently projected to generate ~$30 million in annual revenue. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
10:05AM SPDR Homebuilders builds on bounce off 20 day (XHB) 18.06 +0.18 : Noted early that the XHB was displaying some relative strength after the opening hold at its 20 day ema, which capped the downside in early Jan. Follow through gains have been seen after the stronger Existing Home Sales data -- LEN, MDC, MTH, PHM, SPF, TOL, HD, LOW, RYL, DHI, CTX, KBH, NVR.
10:02AM Raytheon signed a contract worth $475 mln with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the combat-proven Paveway family of precision-guided munitions (RTN) 51.50 +0.29 :
10:02AM FICO will provide collections, risk and fraud solutions to Tesco Bank for its banking platforms; financial terms not disclosed (FICO) 23.49 -0.04 :
10:02AM Finish Line increases quarterly cash dividend to $0.05 from $0.04 (FINL) 16.34 +0.28 :
10:01AM Stock indices see some extension of morning bounce after better housing data -- Dow -6, S&P -1.9, Nasdaq -14 (SPY) :
10:01AM Boeing confirmed it will deliver 13 C-17 Globemaster III airlifters in 2011 as the company moves to a new production rate of 10 C-17s per year (BA) 71.90 +0.17 : Co confirmed it will deliver 13 C-17 Globemaster III airlifters in 2011 as the company moves to a new production rate of 10 C-17s per year. Boeing will reduce the production program's work force by approximately 1,100 jobs through the end of 2012. The company delivered 14 C-17s in 2010.
10:01AM Iridium Communications partners Xact Tech to offer satellite connectivity (IRDM) 8.40 -0.03 : Xact Technology announces that it has partnered with Iridium Communications as an Iridium Value-Added Reseller and will develop a dual-mode cellular/satellite GPS tracking and machine-to-machine communication device that will work anywhere in the world.
10:00AM iShares Russell 2000 tests/bounces near early Jan low at 77.44 -- session low 77.43 (IWM) 78.25 -0.28 :
9:57AM Speedway Motorsp initiates an offering of $150 million of Senior Notes due 2019 (TRK) 15.08 -0.05 : Co intends to use the proceeds from the offering, along with additional borrowings under its existing credit facility, to finance a tender offer for any and all of its outstanding 63/4% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2013. The aggregate principal amount outstanding of the 2003 Notes currently is $330 million.
9:57AM JPMorgan Chase extends rebound (JPM) 44.53 +0.82 : The stock held above yesterday's low 43.60 (session low 43.61) in opening trade and has extended the recovery in recent trade to initial resistance near at 44.50/44.60 -- session high 44.53. Short term resistances above if follow through develops are at 44.75 and 44.97.
9:51AM Opening Point Gainers/Losers (TECHX) : Point Gainers: DDS (+4.13), ESI (+3.35), SHLD (+3.57), RJF (+2.45), PRGO (+2.33), JCP (+1.97), EBAY (+1.40), PPDI (+1.30), LEA (+1.14), ORLY (+1.06), BLTI (+0.95), AFL (+1.03)

Point Losers: FFIV (-26.49), CAEI (-9.17), CRM (-6.970, AIG (-6.63), FCX (-5.17), PCLN (-4.47), MA (-4.940, VMW (-4.31), NFLX (-4.73), MNKD (-3.92), AAPL (-3.95), POT (-3.38)
9:51AM Deckers Outdoor attempting to stabilize off gap support (DECK) 75.51 -1.63 : The stock broke below its Jan range low and its 50 sma/ema off the open but is attempting to stabilize after flirting the the bottom of its late Nov gap at 73.87 (session low 74.00).
9:47AM Labopharm receives Health Canada approval for OLEPTRO: a new once-daily antidepressant for the treatment of major depressive disorder (DDSS) 0.96 +0.06 : Co announces that Health Canada's Therapeutic Products Directorate has approved OLEPTRO (trazodone hydrochloride Extended Release Tablets), a novel once-daily formulation of the antidepressant trazodone, for the symptomatic relief of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in adults. OLEPTRO acts as a serotonin antagonist reuptake inhibitor, providing physicians and patients in Canada with a new option in the treatment of MDD.
9:45AM SPDR Retail and Housing XHB displaying relative strength (XRT) :
9:43AM Wal-Mart displaying relative strength, approaches its nine month high from Nov at 55.72 -- session high 55.66 (WMT) 55.58 +0.55 :
9:41AM Fresh lows for gold and silver (COMDX) :
• Gold currently off $26.00 to $1344.20
• Silver lower by $1.131 to $27.675
9:40AM Home Depot displaying relative strength, working up toward this week/8 month high at 36.21 -- session high 36.15 (HD) 36.14 +0.51 :
9:40AM Cleveland Biolabs announces potential direct anticancer effect of CBLB502 (CBLI) 7.09 +0.11 : Co announced that it has accumulated preclinical data demonstrating that CBLB502, a drug under development to treat exposure to radiation, has direct anticancer effect in several transplanted cancer models grown in mice and rats including colon and lung cancer, lymphoma and melanoma. In one of the animal models of transplanted colon cancer, CBLB502 treatment resulted in complete tumor regression with no recurrence of the disease in a large percentage of animals.
9:38AM Firmer weaker action with indices hovering near session lows -- Dow -41, S&P -7.2, Nasdaq Comp -24 (SPY) : Early sector pressure has been noted in Silver SLV -3.35, Gold Miners GDX -312%, Networking IGN -3%, Coal KOL -3%, Crude Oil USO -2.6%, Disk Drive -2.6%, Mining XME -2.5%, Solar TAN -2.2%.
9:35AM March crude notches fresh lows at $89.33; now off $2.38 to $89.43 (COMDX) :
9:31AM Fifth Third prices a public offering of 121,428,572 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $14.00/share, or $1.7 bln in aggregate gross proceeds (FITB) 14.25 -0.35 : Co intends to use the proceeds, together with the net proceeds of a planned senior debt offering and other available funds, to repurchase in full all 136,320 shares of its Series F Preferred Stock issued to the U.S. Treasury under its Troubled Asset Relief Program Capital Purchase Program, after notification to and approval by the U.S. Treasury.
9:27AM Ardea Biosciences prices public offering of 2,750,000 shares of its common stock at $26.00 per share (RDEA) 26.81 :
9:24AM Home Bancshares beats by $0.18 (HOMB) 20.11 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.51 per share, $0.18 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.69). "While we are displeased with the recent credit quality issues, we are optimistic of the improvements in base earnings our Company is continuing to accumulate. We are expecting the FDIC-assisted acquisitions completed during 2010 will continue to provide progress in our base earnings into future periods. We are pleased with the $0.49 diluted earnings per share bargain purchase gain on the two acquisitions completed during the fourth quarter."
9:20AM ArQule prices a public offering of 7 mln shares of its common stock at a price of $6.15 per share (ARQL) 6.84 :
9:17AM Neostem acquires Progenitor Cell Therapy (NBS) 1.50 : Co and Progenitor Cell Therapy announce the closing of their previously announced merger transaction. NeoStem has a 51% ownership interest in a profitable Chinese generic pharmaceutical manufacturing company and has stem cell operations in the U.S. and China, while Progenitor Cell Therapy is a privately held cell therapy company with operations on the east and west coast of the U.S. PCT's CEO, will continue his involvement with the combined companies by shifting his role from PCT's Chief Executive Office to Chief Medical Officer.
9:11AM Apollo Investment prices offering of $175 mln of Senior Convertible Notes due 2016 (AINV) 11.70 : Co announces it has priced a private offering of $175 mln aggregate principal amount of 5.75% senior unsecured convertible notes due 2016. The net proceeds from the offering of Notes will be used to fund new portfolio investments, reduce outstanding borrowings on the co's revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes.
9:08AM Crude oil drops close to a point following the open of pit trade to notch fresh lows at $89.63; now down $2.11 to $89.70 (COMDX) :
9:06AM Isle of Capri prices 5.3 mln shares of common stock at $10.25 (ISLE) 10.80 : The co intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to temporarily repay borrowings outstanding under its revolving line of credit. The co also intends to use the remaining proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes including, without limitation, to finance future capital expenditures.
9:03AM Tegal and se2quel Partners form new company in solar utility development (TGAL) 0.63 : Co announced that it has formed, along with se2quel Partners LLC, a new company dedicated to the development and operation of large scale photovoltaic (PV)-based solar utilities in the United States, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
9:02AM Diebold chosen by Banco Santander to replace more than 670 of the bank's automated teller machines (DBD) 31.79 :
9:02AM Market Leader acquires mobile software-as-a-Service company kwkly; financial terms not disclosed (LEDR) 2.50 :
9:01AM Cameron has received a contract valued at approximately $90 mln from Statoil (CAM) 50.25 : Co announces it has received a contract valued at approximately $90 mln from Statoil for the provision of high temperature, high pressure (HPHT) surface wellhead and Christmas trees for the Norwegian Gudrun platform with further options for the Valemon and Brynhild platform developments. The seven-year agreement also includes aftermarket services with the option for two-year extensions continuing through the lifetime of the field.
9:01AM Bally Technologies wins systems contract with Isle Vista Casino (BYI) 42.28 : Co announced the completion of a new systems contract with Wisconsin's Isle Vista Casino that replaces 100 percent of a competitor's systems technology. The planned installation is slated to go live in February 2011 at the casino, which is owned and operated by the Red Cliff Band of Chippewa Indians and located three miles north of Bayfield, Wisconsin on the Red Cliff reservation.
8:52AM Radient Pharm receives received CE-Mark approval from the European Union for the use of its Onko-Sure In Vitro diagnostic cancer test as a pan tumor marker for cancer (RPC) 0.87 :
8:48AM Crude oil futures now getting hit on strength of dollar; March crude currently lower by $1.03 to $90.78 (COMDX) : Note that the March contract becomes the front month at the close of pit trade today.
8:47AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
• Calix (CALX) announced that Broadband Stimulus award winner North Central Telephone Cooperative has selected the Calix E7 Ethernet Service Access Platform to bring broadband services to north central Tennessee and parts of southern Kentucky.
• JDSU (JDSU) announced that a major European communications service provider has selected JDSU's test solutions for the deployment of emerging 100GE and LTE next-generation networks. JDSU's solutions will provide critical analysis and network performance metrics to find and fix service-affecting issues before they reach the consumer, help ensure that high-speed, high-bandwidth services using 4G and 100GE technologies are delivered reliably, and that the subscriber experience is of high quality.
• QKL Stores (QKLS) announced the opening of two new stores.
• KMG Chemicals (KMGB) announced that effective February 1, 2011, or as contracts allow, prices for a number of its ultra high-purity process chemicals, including all fluorine-based products, sulfuric and other certain acids, and select solvents will increase between 5% and 20% depending on the product.
• IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) announced that Evolution Markets, a leading energy and environmental markets brokerage, has joined the ICE eConfirm Broker Matching Service.
• BIOLASE Technology (BLTI) announced the launch of the Waterlase iPlus System dual-wavelength all-tissue laser, the first major breakthrough in all-tissue laser technology since the Waterlase MD was introduced in 2005.
8:47AM Oxford Lane Capital prices 1.825 mln share IPO at $20 vs. expectations for 2.0 mln shares to be priced at $20 (OXLC) : The Company plans to use the net proceeds of this offering for acquiring investments and for general working capital purposes, which may include the payment of operating expenses, including advisory and administrative fees and expenses, and other expenses such as due diligence expenses of potential new investments.
8:45AM Orbit Int'l receives follow-on order of approximately $400,000 for common transponder program (ORBT) 3.74 : Co announces that its Electronics Group received a follow-on order valued at approximately $400,000 for Remote Control Units ("RCUs") to support the ongoing Common Transponder Program requirements of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army. This order was received by the Company's Orbit Instrument Division. Deliveries under this follow-on contract are expected during the fourth quarter of 2011.
8:42AM Silver futures also fall to lows of the session at $27.805; now lower by 94.6 cents to $27.855 (COMDX) :
8:40AM Progressive beats by $0.09, misses on revs (PGR) 19.32 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.45 per share, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.36; revenues fell 3.6% year/year to $3.28 bln vs the $3.53 bln consensus.
8:39AM Gold futures drop to their lowest levels of the morning at $1348.50; now down $20.00 to $1350.10 (COMDX) : Lows represent gold's worst levels in two months.
8:33AM GATX misses by $0.07, reports revs in-line; guides FY11 EPS in-line (GMT) 33.35 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.33 per share, excluding $0.09 in net non-recurring items, $0.07 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.40; revenues rose 1.3% year/year to $306.3 mln vs the $304.7 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $1.70-1.80 vs. $1.77 Thomson Reuters consensus. "Looking forward, although absolute railcar lease rates are increasing, the rollover effect of leases renewing at rates lower than expiring rates will continue to pressure revenue. Our marine joint ventures will also see continued pressure on charter rates reflecting continued low demand and overcapacity in most marine sectors. We expect stable performance from American Steamship Company in 2011. On the positive side, we expect to realize continued low funding costs and an increase in attractive asset remarketing opportunities."
8:33AM Mac-Gray Corp approved 10% increase to the quarterly dividend to $0.055 per share, prior $0.05 (TUC) 14.59 :
8:32AM Cheniere Energy Partners signs MOU with EDF Trading for bi-directional processing capacity at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal (CQP) 22.44 : Co announces that its subsidiary, Sabine Pass Liquefaction, has signed a memorandum of understanding with EDF Trading, under which EDF Trading intends to contract between 0.7 million tonnes per annum and 1.5 mtpa, equivalent to approximately one to two billion cubic meters of processing capacity at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.
8:32AM HCP prices $2.4 billion aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes (HCP) 35.95 : Co prices $2.4 bln aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes in the following tranches: $400 million of 2.70% notes due 2014 with a yield of 2.734%; $500 million of 3.75% notes due 2016 with a yield of 3.838%; $1.2 billion of 5.375% notes due 2021 with a yield of 5.443%; and $300 million of 6.75% notes due 2041 with a yield of 6.833%. BofA Merrill Lynch, UBS Investment Bank, Wells Fargo Securities, Citi and J.P. Morgan acted as joint book-running managers for the offering.
8:31AM Capstone Turbine signs first service contract providing plant operations; Total Long-Term Service Backlog increases to over $25 mln (CPST) 1.10 : Co announces that it has signed a new C1000 Factory Protection Plan service contract in the Dominican Republic for an installation at an all-inclusive luxury resort that includes a plant operator. The FPP contract is valued at ~$1.0 mln over the 9-year period and includes an onsite operator for the first year of the contract. This is the first Capstone FPP contract to include plant operations in addition to the scheduled and unscheduled maintenance of the microturbine. Capstone's FPP backlog as of January 15, 2011 was ~$25 mln, up from $17 mln in November 2009.
8:31AM China North East Petroleum to acquire Sunite Right Banner Shengyuan Oil and Gas Technology Development; expected to pay a total consideration of $43.4 mln (NEP) 5.63 : Co announced it entered into a binding agreement to acquire Sunite Right Banner Shengyuan Oil and Gas Technology Development, an operator with exclusive oilfield exploration and drilling rights to the Durimu oilfield in Inner Mongolia. China North East Petroleum is expected to pay a total consideration of $43.4 mln consisting of RMB 70 mln (~$10.6 mln) in cash upon closing of the acquisition and 5.8 million shares of NEP restricted common stock in exchange for 100% ownership of Shengyuan. The Company expects to close the intended acquisition by the end of its 2011 first quarter.
8:29AM Atlas Air Worldwide announces placement of two additional B747-400 Freighters in service for DHL Express beginning March 2011 (AAWW) 50.07 :
8:19AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
• Foster Wheeler AG (FWLT) announced that a subsidiary of its Global Power Group has been awarded a contract by Kraftanlagen Power Plants GmbH to design, supply and erect a circulating fluidized-bed steam generator and the associated auxiliary equipment for the Alpiq Generating s.r.o. Kladno Power Plant in the Czech Republic.
• Denison Mines Corp. (DNN) announced significant winter drill programs at a number of its Athabasca Basin projects, including the commencement of the first part of the multi-faceted 2011 exploration program at Wheeler River.
8:13AM PPG Industries beats by $0.12, beats on revs (PPG) 82.79 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.25 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.12 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.13; revenues rose 8.4% year/year to $3.38 bln vs the $3.29 bln consensus. "Looking ahead to 2011, we anticipate that the global economic recovery will strengthen and broaden. This should drive volume increases for PPG, which we expect to leverage into higher earnings through our continued cost focus." The co is implementing price increases in its Commodity Chemicals segment and in each of its coatings segments to fully counter rising raw materials costs. Bunch concluded by saying that PPG is working on several initiatives to deploy its nearly $2 billion of cash and short-term investments to grow earnings.
8:12AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
• ZBB Energy Corporation (ZBB) announced that it has secured contracts in China to provide ZBB technology to one of the world's leading solar companies as well as a major petrochemical producer.
• BioClinica (BIOC) announced it has established a strategic partnership with Symbiance.
• Solar International (SOLR) announced that it has received a $33.3 million order from South Korea-based OCI Company, Ltd. for its sapphire crystallization furnaces.
• OSI Systems (OSIS) announced that its Security division, Rapiscan Systems, has been awarded a multimillion dollar contract from a prominent customs agency based in Europe for high speed rail inspection solutions using the Rapiscan Eagle R60 Rail scanner platform.
• CAE (CAE) announced it has been awarded a series of military contracts for the defence forces of more than 12 countries valued at more than CAD140 mln.
• CSC (CSC) announced that the U.S. Air Force awarded the company a task order to provide analytical and technical support to its 24th Air Force Cyber Command, located in San Antonio, Texas.
• CoreSite Realty Corporation (COR) announced that the City of Santa Clara has approved CoreSite's application for entitlements to increase the size of CoreSite's data center campus at Coronado Drive and Stender Way in Santa Clara, California.
• Dey Pharma, subsidiary of Mylan (MYL), launched MyEpiPen App for iPhone and iPod touch and MyEpiPen App for iPad.
• MicroStrategy (MSTR) announced that in mobile BI application benchmark tests, MicroStrategy can support ~42,000 active iPhone users on an 8-CPU configuration, delivering average response times as fast as 1.6 seconds.
• Orient Paper (ONP) announced it recently completed the installation of two new energy efficient boilers to replace two old steam boilers that, as previously announced, were removed in July 2010, per the requirement of the Baoding City Environmental Protection Agency in connection with the government's approval of the Company's pending new 360,000 tons per year corrugating medium paper production line.
• Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (RDY) announced that it has launched Pantoprazole Sodium Delayed-Released tablets (20mg and 40mg strengths), a bioequivalent generic version of Protonix Tablets in the US market. The FDA approved Dr. Reddy's ANDA for Pantoprazole Sodium Delayed-Released tablets on January 19, 2011.
8:07AM Southwest Bancorp reports Q4 EPS of $0.17 vs $0.08 Thomson Reuters consensus (OKSB) 12.29 : "The 2010 results put us in a position to gain momentum in 2011. Earnings for the fourth quarter were driven by stable net interest income, controlled noninterest expense, and a decrease in the required provision for loan losses."
8:06AM Southwest Air reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (LUV) 12.84 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.15 per share, excluding items, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.15; revenues rose 14.8% year/year to $3.11 bln vs the $3.08 bln consensus. Fourth quarter 2010 unit costs, excluding special items, increased 7.6 percent from fourth quarter 2009, largely due to the 12.7 percent increase in economic fuel costs per gallon to $2.48... " Thus far in January, booking and revenue trends suggest similar year-over-year improvement in January versus December 2010. Bookings in place for the remainder of the first quarter also are strong."
8:05AM Yongye Intl. reports the number of independently owned, Yongye branded stores selling its Shengmingsu products reached 24K as of Dec 31, 2010 vs 21.9K as of Sept 30, 2010, and 9.1K a year ago (YONG) 7.89 :
8:03AM Union Pacific beats by $0.08, beats on revs (UNP) 97.30 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.56 per share, $0.08 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.48; revenues rose 17.5% year/year to $4.41 bln vs the $4.35 bln consensus. Q4 business volumes, as measured by total revenue carloads, grew 9% vs. 2009, as all six Union Pacific business groups reported volume growth for the third consecutive quarter. "As we look ahead to 2011, we are encouraged by signs of a slowly strengthening economy."
8:03AM IAMGOLD provides Greenfields Exploration Update; expenditures for 2011 are budgeted at $43.5 mln (IAG) 18.37 : Co announces following positive exploration results in 2010, co announces a record $43.5 mln greenfields spend for 2011, which provides the co the opportunity to aggressively advance new and existing growth opportunities. Expensed and capitalized greenfields expenditures in 2010 are estimated at $37.6 mln. Nearly 118,000 metres of drilling are planned across all sites in 2011, with an additional 46,425 metres of aircore drilling budgeted for Essakane. The planned drilling comprises a significant proportion of the overall budget and an important allocation of expenditures in resource development. Other updates include:
• A focused and balanced exploration portfolio of 18 projects in West Africa and the Americas that includes aggressive exploration programs at two advanced greenfields projects in Mali
• 32 drill ready exploration targets outlined
• Joint venture of the co's Eagle Mountain gold project in Guyana
• Reactivation of three projects in the Abitibi region of Quebec
• Significant new oxide drill targets identified within the Essakane Mine Permit.
8:03AM TCF Financial reports EPS in-line (TCB) 15.89 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.22 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.22. "Despite a troubled economy and numerous legislative and regulatory burdens, TCF is reporting its 63rd consecutive quarter of profitability and a record high level of capital... We continue to focus on our conservative banking philosophy, which has proven its sustainability throughout the current economic cycle. We are seeing encouraging signs on the credit front, such as a decrease of nearly $20 million in non-performing assets from the third quarter (the first decrease in non-performing assets in 18 quarters)."
8:02AM Wuhan General Group subsidiary wins bid for Wuhan bubway systems valued at ~$670K (WUHN) 1.21 :
8:02AM Hersha Hospitality Trust acquires Capitol Hill Suites in Washington, DC (HT) : Co announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase the 152 room Capitol Hill Suites, Washington, D.C. for approximately $47.5 million, or $312 thousand per key excluding closing costs. The purchase price represents a forward capitalization rate of approximately 7.3% on the hotel's projected 2011 net operating income, stabilizing at approximately 10%. The acquisition is anticipated to be funded by assuming $32.5 million of existing debt with a 5.81% interest rate and cash on hand. The Company anticipates the closing of this acquisition will occur by the end of the first quarter of 2011. Additionally, the Company has purchased and closed on a 191 room hotel at Delaware Park in New Castle, Delaware for $15 million, or $78 thousand per key excluding closing costs. The Company took advantage of ongoing market dislocation in the development community to pursue the opportunistic acquisition of this hotel which has never been opened. It is expected to open by the third quarter of 2011 and will be franchised with a leading upper upscale brand.
8:01AM Forest Labs and Pierre Fabre Medicament announce topline Phase III results from a study of Levomilnacipran for the treatment of major depressive disorder (FRX) 31.88 : Co announced preliminary top-line results from a Phase III study of levomilnacipran for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). The primary endpoint in the study was the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale-Clinician Rated (MADRS-CR). Although the overall difference observed between the drug-treated and placebo-treated patients was not statistically significant, levomilnacipran consistently demonstrated improvement relative to placebo over the course of the trial. Levomilnacipran was well tolerated in this study. The most common adverse events in the levomilnacipran group were nausea and headache.
8:01AM Spherix to sell $2.77 mln of shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase shares of its common stock in a registered direct offering to institutional investors (SPEX) 0.78 : Each investor will receive one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase 0.5 shares of common stock for a purchase price of $0.65. The warrants have an exercise price of $0.80 per share, and are exercisable 6 months after issuance and terminate 60 months after the date of issuance. The co intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to continue the development of Dtagatose for diabetes and triglycerides, as well as for general corporate purposes. Rodman & Renshaw acted as the exclusive placement agent for the offering.
8:01AM Newmont Mining announced attributable gold and copper production of approximately 5.4 million ounces and 327 million pounds, respectively, for 2010 (NEM) 55.46 : Co announced attributable gold and copper production of approximately 5.4 million ounces and 327 million pounds, respectively, for 2010, at estimated consolidated costs applicable to sales of $485 per ounce and $0.80 per pound, respectively, on a co-product basis. Q4 Preliminary: Gold and copper production of 1.4 million ounces and 74 million pounds, respectively; Gold and copper sales of 1.3 million ounces and 57 million pounds, respectively; Average realized gold and copper price of $1,368 per ounce and $4.52 per pound, respectively; and Estimated consolidated costs applicable to sales for gold and copper of $513 per ounce and $0.95 per pound, respectively.
8:01AM Masimo: New clinical study finds Masimo noninvasive hemoglobin accurate in patients with critically low hemoglobin levels (MASI) 28.39 : The study, presented by researchers at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center (EHMC) in New Jersey, evaluated the accuracy of Masimo SpHb--a noninvasive measurement of hemoglobin blood levels obtained using a Masimo rainbow ReSposable Sensor placed on the finger and continuously displayed on a Masimo Radical-7 Pulse CO-Oximeter(TM). SpHb measurements obtained from nine intensive care unit (ICU) patients with critically low hemoglobin levels (ranging from 4.3-8.6g/dL for Hb lab values) were compared with invasive blood samples drawn simultaneously and analyzed by a central laboratory. Results showed a mean bias and precision of 0.70 g/dL and 1.05 g/dL for SpHb, respectively, when compared to reference laboratory hemoglobin values--demonstrating "clinically acceptable agreement." Researchers concluded that "the ability to measure hemoglobin noninvasively and continuously has the potential to facilitate the timely detection of changes in hemoglobin and thus improve patient blood management decisions in patients with critically low hemoglobin."(1)
8:01AM ManTech awarded $9.2 mln contract to provide cyber security services to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (MANT) 39.93 : Co announces that it has been awarded a contract to provide cyber security services to the FBI. Under the contract, ManTech will help protect and secure the FBI's classified communications infrastructure from domestic and foreign cyber threats. The five-year contract is valued at approximately $9.2 mln, with a potential value of approximately $10.5 mln. ManTech will also provide communications security and security-related policies, procedures, training and planning, and manage security for the FBI's internal communications platform.
8:00AM Rexahn Pharmaceuticals: Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) increases its investment in Rexahn for continued research and development of pre-clinical anti-cancer compound, RX-3117 (RNN) 1.22 : Co announces that Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) purchased 2,334,515 shares of Rexahn's common stock in a private offering for $3.95 million, or $1.692 per share. This investment by Teva was made pursuant to the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement, dated June 26, 2009, as amended. The investment money will be used for the purpose of supporting the research and development program for the pre-clinical stage, anti-cancer compound RX-3117. After this transaction, Teva will own 6.29% of the outstanding shares of Rexahn.
7:59AM IDEX Corp acquires Advanced Thin Films; expected to be accretive to earnings in 2011 (IEX) 39.34 : Co announces it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Advanced Thin Films for cash consideration of $32 mln and is expected, inclusive of all potential earn-out, to be accretive to earnings in 2011. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the month pending the discharge of indebtedness of the company.
7:38AM Morgan Stanley beats by $0.08, beats on revs (MS) 27.75 -1.00 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.43 per share, $0.08 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.35; revenues rose 15.0% year/year to $7.8 bln vs the $7.35 bln consensus. Advisory revenues declined 9% y/y, Underwriting revenues rose 9% y/y, Fixed Income revenues rose 15%. Fixed income sales and trading losses were $29 million compared with net revenues of $663 million in last year's fourth quarter. DVA resulted in negative revenue of $842 million in the current quarter compared with negative revenue of $453 million a year ago. Results reflected lower levels of activity. Compensation expenses of $1.8 billion increased from $1.5 billion a year ago and primarily reflected higher net revenues and an increase in headcount. The compensation to net revenue ratio for the current quarter was 49% compared with 46% in the fourth quarter of the prior year. Non-compensation expenses of $1.4 billion increased 9% from a year ago. Morgan Stanley's average aggregate trading and non-trading Value-at-Risk (VaR) measured at the 95% confidence level was $171 million compared with $189 million in the third quarter of 2010. Average trading VaR was $132 million compared with $142 million in the third quarter of 2010. Global Wealth Management Group reported pre-tax income from continuing operations of $390 million compared with pre-tax income from continuing operations of $231 million in the fourth quarter of last year. Net revenues were $3.4 billion compared with $3.1 billion a year ago and primarily reflected higher net interest and commission revenues. Morgan Stanley's Tier 1 capital ratio, under Basel I, was approximately 16.0% and Tier 1 common ratio was approximately 10.5%. The return on average common equity from continuing operations for the full year was 8.5%. As of December 31, 2010, Morgan Stanley had not repurchased any shares of its common stock as part of its capital management share repurchase program.
7:37AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
• Cytori (CYTX) received approval from The Netherlands to initiate a pivotal European trial, named ADVANCE, to investigate adipose-derived stem and regenerative cells, processed by the Celution One System, in the treatment of patients with acute heart attacks.
• EMCOR Group (EME), a Fortune 500 leader in mechanical and electrical construction, energy infrastructure and facilities services for a diverse range of businesses, announced that its PPM subsidiary has been awarded a five-year contract valued at over $35 mln for ongoing maintenance and construction services at the Seminole Electric Cooperative generating station outside of Palatka, Florida.
• Alliance Data Systems Corporation (ADS) announced that its Canadian coalition loyalty business has signed a multi-year contract renewal with Sobeys Inc. Under terms of the renewal, Sobeys Inc.'s retail brands will all continue as participating sponsors in the Canadian AIR MILES Reward Program.
7:35AM Parker-Hannifin beats by $0.09, beats on revs; raises FY11 EPS above consensus (PH) 91.08 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $1.39 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.30; revenues rose 21.8% year/year to $2.87 bln vs the $2.74 bln consensus. Co raises guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $5.80-6.20 vs. $5.82 Thomson Reuters consensus. "Our performance in the first half of this year has been very strong and puts us ahead of where we expected to be. Therefore, we are increasing our full year guidance for earnings per share in fiscal 2011. By executing the Win Strategy, our employees will continue to build from a position of great strength and we remain confident about our prospects for growth and profitability in the coming years."
7:34AM Fairchild Semi beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 revs above consensus; court ruling doubles patent damage award to POWI to ~$12.1 mln (FCS) 16.73 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.45 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.39; revenues rose 12.2% year/year to $397.7 mln vs the $399.6 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $405-420 mln vs. $388.60 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. "Our current scheduled backlog is sufficient to achieve this range. We expect gross margin to be flat to down 100 bps QoQ due primarily to the impact of lower utilization in the fourth quarter as well as modest seasonal increases in costs." Separately, the co announced a recent court ruling in its six-year-old patent litigation with Power Integrations (POWI). The court denied Power Integrations' request for attorneys' fees and triple damages, and instead doubled the damage award from ~$6.1 mln to ~$12.2 mln. The amount is fully reserved and the decision will have no effect on Fairchild's business operations.
7:33AM Rockwell Collins beats by $0.09, reports revs in-line; raises FY11 EPS, in-line with consensus, revs in-line (COL) 63.26 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.96 per share, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.87; revenues rose 0.6% year/year to $1.11 bln vs the $1.11 bln consensus. Co issues raises EPS guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $3.85-4.05 vs. $3.96 Thomson Reuters consensus (previously in the range of $3.75 to $3.95); sees FY11 revs of $4.8-5.0 bln vs. $4.91 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.
7:32AM Occidental Petro selected by the Government of Abu Dhabi to participate in the development of Abu Dhabi's Shah gas field (OXY) 98.27 : Co announces it has been selected by the Government of Abu Dhabi to participate in the development of Abu Dhabi's Shah gas field. Under the terms of the new agreement in principle, co will hold a 40% participating interest in a 30-year contract. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company holds the remaining 60% interest. Capital expenditures are estimated to be in the range of $10 billion for the project with co's share proportional to its ownership.
7:31AM Atlantic Coast Federal extends community offering in connection with its reorganization (ACFC) 1.59 : Co will extend the community offering being conducted in connection with its reorganization from a two-tier mutual holding company structure to a stock holding company structure to January 27, 2011. The closing of the offering remains subject to final regulatory approval and, in addition, the Company must sell a minimum of 1,700,000 shares at $10.00 per share to consummate the offering. The terms and conditions of the community offering are more fully set forth in the Company's prospectus dated November 12, 2010.
7:31AM Suburban Propane declared increase in the its qtrly distribution from $0.85 to $0.8525 per Common Unit for the three months ended Dec 25, 2010 (SPH) 57.70 :
7:30AM Vertex Pharm reports U.S. FDA and Health Canada grant Priority Reviews for telaprevir for the treatment of Hepatitis C (VRTX) 39.45 : Co announces that the FDA has accepted the New Drug Application for telaprevir and granted the company's request for six-month Priority Review. Additionally, Vertex today announced the completion of a New Drug Submission to the Therapeutic Product Directorate of Health Canada seeking approval for telaprevir in Canada. Telaprevir was also granted Priority Review in Canada, which allows for faster review for promising medicines that address life-threatening or severely debilitating conditions and for which there are few effective therapies already available. Standard review in Canada takes 18 months or more and Priority Review typically shortens the review time to approximately six to nine months.
7:21AM NN Inc to restructure European manufacturing capacity; German operation has filed for bankruptcy (NNBR) 13.85 : Co announces that it will cease company manufacturing operations at its German manufacturing facility, Kugelfertigung Eltmann GmbH, because the operation has filed for bankruptcy at the local court on January 20, 2011. Eltmann manufactures precision steel balls for industrial and aerospace applications. Due to the insolvency of Eltmann, as of December 31, 2010, NN, Inc. will adjust the value of the property, plant and equipment to fair market value, which is not expected to result in a significant change from the current book value of $1.9 million. In addition, as of the bankruptcy date, all other assets and liabilities will be written off and charges taken to record any contingent liabilities. As of this date, management does not expect that the charges for these entries to be significant, although it is not possible to determine the amounts at this time.
7:18AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
• Genzyme Corp. (GENZ) announced that it will build an additional manufacturing plant in Geel, Belgium, to support the long-term growth of Myozyme and Lumizyme for Pompe disease.
• Biostar Pharmaceuticals (BSPM) announced that its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ronghua Wang, is a Chinese Entrepreneur Representative on Chinese President Hu Jintao's delegation during the official visit to the United States in January 2011.
• The state of Iowa has extended its contract with Iowa Interactive, part of NIC (EGOV) to provide eGovernment services through the state's official Web portal, Iowa.gov. The contract includes a one-year renewal ending in March 2012.
• iPass (IPAS) announced that the iPass Mobile Network has grown by nearly 70 percent in four months to surpass 260,000 Wi-Fi hotspot venues, making it the world's largest mobile network.
• Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. (ST) has signed an agreement with the Baoying government in China's Jiangsu Province to increase its investment in Baoying.
7:16AM Meridian Bioscience misses by $0.04, misses on revs; reaffirms FY11 EPS guidance, revs guidance (VIVO) 23.25 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.15 per share, $0.04 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.19; revenues fell 12.2% year/year to $37.3 mln vs the $40.6 mln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $0.77-0.82 vs. $0.79 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $165-170 mln vs. $165.22 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
7:16AM Mechel Steel provides 2010 operational results (MTL) 31.90 : Co announces 2010 operational results. In the mining division, the overall coking coal production exceeded last year's figures by 52%. Output of other types of metallurgical coal grew by 176%. These results enabled co to benefit from the positive trends on the global coal markets. Co states it expects to add volumes from existing operations as well as from Elga, where co has already stripped the coal seams and prepared coal for extraction. "The steel division worked at full load, consistently increasing the volumes of production for high value-added products. As a result, hardware production reached record levels."
7:06AM Johnson Controls beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus; raises FY11 EPS, rev, cap-ex guidance (JCI) 40.13 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.55 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.54; revenues rose 13.4% year/year to $9.54 bln vs the $8.97 bln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.52-0.54 vs. $0.57 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co raises guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $2.50-2.55 vs. $2.30-2.45 previously vs. $2.54 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $38.5 bln from $37 bln previously vs. $37.19 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. The increased guidance is due to the impact of the European automotive acquisitions, higher automotive production in North America and Europe and higher Power Solutions aftermarket battery volumes. Capital expenditures for 2011 are expected to total $1.4 bln vs earlier guidance of $1.2 bln. The increase reflects accelerated manufacturing capacity expansion in Power Solutions and capital expenditures associated with the recent automotive acquisitions. Revs increased 9% in North America where automotive production in the quarter increased 7%. European sales, excluding currency, were up 13% compared with a 6% production growth. Asia sales increased 49%, while revenues in China, which are mostly generated through non-consolidated joint ventures, increased 37%.
7:06AM Perrigo to acquire assets of Paddock Labs for $540 mln; expected to be $0.25 accretive to adjusted earnings per share in FY12 (PRGO) 66.25 : Co announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Paddock Laboratories, a privately-held, Minneapolis-based manufacturer and marketer of generic pharmaceutical products for ~$540 mln in cash. The acquisition is expected to close during the Company's fiscal 2011 fourth quarter pending regulatory approval. Co expects the transaction is expected to be ~$0.05 accretive to GAAP earnings per share and, excluding $0.20 of deal-related intangible amortization, $0.25 accretive to adjusted earnings per share in fiscal year 2012.
7:02AM Soligenix Receives FDA Orphan Drug Designation for RiVax for the Prevention of Ricin Intoxication (SNGX) 0.18 : Co announces that the FDA has granted Orphan Drug Designation to RiVax for the prevention of ricin intoxication. RiVax is a proprietary vaccine that contains a recombinant subunit of the A chain of ricin toxin which induces ricin neutralizing antibodies in humans and animals.
7:02AM Chelsea Therapeutics reports data demonstrating sustained symptomatic benefit of Northera in Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension Over 12-Month Treatment Period (CHTP) 6.39 : Co reports new 12-month data from Study 303, a safety extension study from its Phase III NORTHERA (droxidopa) registration program in symptomatic neurogenic orthostatic hypotension. Preliminary, top-line results demonstrate Northera provides clinically meaningful and durable symptomatic improvements in patients with NOH throughout a one-year observation period. The data also validate that the drug is safe and well tolerated following extended dosing up to two years.
7:02AM Repligen licenses rights to use of HDAC3 inhibitors for memory disorders (RGEN) 4.78 : Co announces that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with the University of California, Irvine for a patent application covering the use of histone deacetylase 3 inhibitors for the treatment of disorders involving preservation or extinction of memory including Alzheimer's disease, memory impairment and post traumatic stress disorder. Upon issue, the patent will remain in force until 2031 prior to any regulatory extensions.
7:01AM UnitedHealth announces next phase in health benefits and health services organizations, and new leadership roles (UNH) 40.56 : Co announces the next phase in the continuing alignment of the company on its benefits and services platforms and changing roles for a number of its senior executives designed to further position the leadership of the company as it continues to grow in the evolving health care landscape. Most notably:
• Mike Mikan, EVP and CFO, UnitedHealth Group, will take responsibility and oversight for the co's health services platform, including OptumHealth, Ingenix and, working with William A. Munsell, Prescription Solutions.
• David S. Wichmann, executive vice president, UnitedHealth Group, and president, UnitedHealth Group Operations, will become CFO for UnitedHealth Group, while retaining all his existing corporate responsibilities for leading enterprise-wide information technology and oversight for the company's multi-year initiative to simplify and integrate enterprise-wide operations and reduce run-rate operating costs. He is also taking responsibility for oversight of UnitedHealth Group's corporate functions.
• William A. Munsell, Larry C. Renfro and Anthony Welters will join Mr. Hemsley in the office of the chief executive, focused on enterprise-wide initiatives, including emerging growth and expansion opportunities; public, regulatory and governmental affairs and representation; reputation and market image efforts, and external relationships and alliances for the enterprise.
7:01AM Spectranetics receives FDA approval for site change related to manufacturing of CVX-300 laser system (SPNC) 4.72 : Co announces that the FDA has approved the its premarket approval application supplement requesting a manufacturing site change for the CVX-300 laser system. The co expects to submit a separate PMA supplement to the FDA later this year requesting a manufacturing site change for its remaining products, the ELCA coronary atherectomy product line and the SLS II laser-assisted lead extraction product line.
7:01AM Wendy's confirms that it is exploring strategic alternatives for Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc., including a sale of the brand (WEN) 4.47 : Co announced it is exploring strategic alternatives for Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc., including a sale of the brand. UBS Investment Bank is assisting in the process. Nelson Peltz, Chairman of Wendy's/Arby's Group, said, "We believe the way to maximize shareholder value is to focus all of our management and financial resources on continuing to build the Wendy's(R) brand. Arby's is a good business, and we are making progress improving its performance, as evidenced by the 3.1% increase in company-operated same-store sales in the fourth quarter of 2010. However, despite Arby's positive momentum, the reality is that the Wendy's brand, given its relative size and scope, is the key driver of shareholder return, and we believe we should focus on the execution of the compelling growth opportunities at Wendy's."
7:00AM Western Union announces bank signing in Russia (WU) 19.09 : Co announced an agreement to offer international money-transfer services at Sberbank branches across Russia. Sberbank, the oldest and biggest bank in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, is expected to become the largest Western Union partner bank in the region. According to the agreement, Western Union services initially will be available at more than 8,000 Sberbank branches in 2011.
7:00AM Mylan Labs' Matrix receives tentative FDA approval under PEPFAR for Lamivudine and Zidovudine Tablets, 30 mg/60 mg (MYL) 23.01 : Co announced that its subsidiary Matrix Laboratories Limited has received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for its New Drug Application (NDA) for Lamivudine and Zidovudine Tablets, 30 mg/60 mg. The NDA is based on the reference listed drug Combivir, by ViiV Healthcare.
6:35AM Ziopharm Oncology receives positive opinion for Orphan Drug Designation for Darinaparsin from EMA (ZIOP) 5.60 : Co announces that The Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products within the EMA adopted a positive opinion for darinaparsin (Zinapar or ZIO-101) designation as an orphan medicinal product for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma. A positive opinion by the COMP immediately precedes official designation of darinaparsin as an orphan drug by the European Commission. Intravenous darinaparsin has demonstrated evidence of activity in lymphoma, in particular PTCL. ZIOPHARM expects to initiate a registration-directed study of darinaparsin in patients with PTCL by the end of 2011.
6:32AM Knight Capital Group releases Dec 2010 volume statistics (KCG) 13.22 : Knight's equities volumes were as follows: Average daily U.S. equities dollar volume traded in December 2010 was $22.9 bln, down ~10.6% from $25.6 billion in November 2010 and up ~4.7% from $21.9 billion in December 2009. Average daily U.S. equities trade volume in December 2010 was 3.2 million, down ~9.6% from 3.6 million in November 2010, and up ~0.4% from 3.2 million in December 2009. Average daily U.S. equities share volume in December 2010 was 5.5 billion, down ~9.4% from 6.1 billion in November 2010, and down ~50.2% from 11.1 billion in December 2009... On foreign exchange, Hotspot FX recorded average daily notional dollar value traded in December 2010 of $35.9 billion, down ~22.2% from $46.2 billion in November 2010, and up ~44.6% from $24.9 billion in December 2009.
6:28AM PNC Bank beats by $0.12, beats on revs (PNC) 61.81 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.50 per share, $0.12 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.38; revenues fell 20.1% year/year to $3.9 bln vs the $3.55 bln consensus. The 8% QoQ increase reflected higher noninterest income. Fourth quarter 2009 revenue included a $1.1 billion gain recognized on PNC's portion of the increase in BlackRock's equity resulting from the value of BlackRock shares issued in connection with BlackRock's acquisition of Barclays Global Investors. Overall credit quality continued to improve during the fourth quarter of 2010. Nonperforming assets declined $368 million to $5.3 billion as of December 31, 2010. Accruing loans past due decreased $133 million, or 7 percent, during the quarter to $1.9 billion at year end. The allowance for loan and lease losses was $4.9 billion, or 3.25 percent of total loans and 109 percent of nonperforming loans, as of December 31, 2010. Net charge-offs increased compared with the third quarter reflecting continued active credit mgmt. Delinquencies continued to improve, declining 7 percent during the fourth quarter of 2010 compared with the third quarter. The Tier 1 common capital ratio was an estimated 9.8 percent at December 31, 2010, up from 9.6 percent at September 30, 2010 and 6.0 percent at December 31, 2009.
6:27AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
• Acacia Research (ACTG) announced that its subsidiary, Spread Spectrum Screening has entered into a settlement and license agreement with Dainippon Screen Graphics.
• Spanish hotel group AC Hotels and Marriott International (MAR) announced their joint venture to manage and franchise a new lodging co-brand across Europe and Latin America "AC Hotels by Marriott."
• Cognizant (CTSH) announced that it has been selected by Eli Lilly (LLY) to deliver an end-to-end set of services to help Lilly's U.S. sales and marketing operations be more effective, efficient, and innovative. Under the multiyear contract, Cognizant will deliver a tightly bundled range of solutions spanning commercial analytics, sales force planning, sales incentive compensation, customer relationship management, business reporting, data warehousing, and state compliance reporting using a consumption-based service delivery model called Business Process as a Service.
6:19AM Virginia Commerce Bancorp misses by $0.04 (VCBI) 6.27 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.11 per share, $0.04 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.15. Higher net interest income, higher non-interest income and lower loan loss provisions drove the year-over-year improvement in earnings, while non-performing assets and loans 90+ days past due declined from $98.1 million at December 31, 2009, to $74.6 million as of December 31, 2010. "It is also clear that net income to common stockholders will improve measurably when we are able to pay off our $71 million in TARP funding. While we could choose to earn our way out of TARP through retained earnings over the next two plus years, it is also an option to pay it off as early as the second half of this year through an equity offering. This decision will largely be dependent on satisfactory appreciation in our stock price and the prerequisite regulatory approval."
6:10AM Knight Capital Group misses by $0.10, beats on revs (KCG) 13.22 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.08 per share, excluding a $0.02 tax benefit, $0.10 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.18; revenues fell 14.6% year/year to $259 mln vs the $253.6 mln consensus.
6:09AM Tyco Electronics beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs in-line; guides FY11 EPS, revs in-line (TEL) 36.03 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.73 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.68; revenues rose 10.7% year/year to $3.2 bln vs the $3.16 bln consensus. Total co orders were $3.2 billion, an increase of 7 percent compared to the prior year and up 7 percent sequentially. The book-to-bill ratio was 0.99 overall and 1.03, excluding the SubCom business. Sales grew 11 percent compared to the prior-year quarter and 2 percent sequentially. Organically, sales increased 11 percent compared to the prior year and were down 2 percent sequentially. The adjusted operating margin was 14.5 percent in the quarter, up 300 basis points versus the prior year and up 30 basis points sequentially. Co issues mixed guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.70-0.74, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.75 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $3.45-3.55 bln vs. $3.48 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $3.05-3.20, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.07 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $13.9-14.3 bln vs. $14.03 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.
5:33AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
• NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) announced that Comba Telecom Systems Holdings has selected NXP high speed converters for use in its digital repeater products.
• In a move designed to enhance its presence in Korea and to bolster its domestic sales operations, GM Daewoo Auto & Technology, a unit of General Motors (GM) announced today that it is replacing the current nameplate with the world's fastest-growing automotive brand, Chevrolet.
• The state of Iowa has extended its contract with Iowa Interactive, a unit of NIC (EGOV) to provide eGovernment services through the state's official Web portal, Iowa.gov. The contract includes a one-year renewal ending in March 2012.
• MF Global Holdings (MF) announced it was pleased to reach a preliminary agreement among principals to settle class action litigation brought on behalf of purchasers of MF Global stock between July 2007 and February 2008. Co sees no material impact from $2.5 mln contribution to settlement.
• Covidien (COV) announced that the Puritan Bennett 520 ventilator is now available in the European Union.
• HP Enterprise Services today announced FCC, a Spain-based multinational public services company, has signed a seven-year technology services agreement with Hewlett-Packard Servicios Espana. The agreement is intended to transform FCC's technology infrastructure to advance the company's ability to compete internationally; it is valued in excess of $300 mln in revenue for HP (HPQ).
• Waters (WAT) announced it signed a land-purchase agreement with The Royal Bank of Scotland for a new Mass Spectrometry Headquarters in Wilmslow, Cheshire, near Manchester, U.K.
• EagleBank (EGBN) announced that it has entered into a Referral Agreement with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney to offer customers investment advisory services. Under the program, co will refer bank customers and others to Morgan Stanley, which will provide a variety of investment advisory services to referred clients.
• Winner Medical Group (WWIN) announced that one of its subsidiaries, Huanggang Winner Cotton was awarded a Cotton Processing Certificate by the State Development and Reform Commission.
3:47AM Elbit Systems issues a cash tender offer for ITL's shares (ESLT) 54.85 : Co announces that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Elbit Security Systems has issued a Cash Tender Offer to acquire the remaining ordinary shares of I.T.L Optronics held by the public. The remaining shares represent 12.15% of ITL's outstanding share capital. The balance, amounting to 87.85% of ITL's outstanding share capital is currently held by Elsec. The Tender Offer period will remain open through February 8, 2011 and is for the price of NIS 12.5 (~$3.52) per share and for a total consideration of ~NIS 18.8 mln(~$5.3 mln).
3:41AM BHP Billiton reports half year production (BHP) 90.59 : Co issues production for half year which includes:
• Total Petroleum Production -- Production was in line with the December 2009 half year as the successful ramp up of Pyrenees (Australia) was offset by the deferral of production well drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and severe flooding in Pakistan. Production was lower than the September 2010 quarter following lower than average seasonal demand in Eastern Australia and planned downtime activities at operated and non-operated facilities. Our current expectation is that production volumes for the 2011 financial year will be in line with the 2010 financial year.
• Crude Oil, Condensate, and Natural Gas Liquids -- Production growth at Pyrenees in the December 2010 half year was offset by the drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico and associated permitting delays. There were no weather related impacts in the Gulf of Mexico through the hurricane season.
• Natural Gas -- Strong LNG production from North West Shelf (Australia) in the December 2010 half year was offset by severe flooding in Pakistan. Quarterly production was lower than comparable periods following a steeper than average decline in seasonal demand in Eastern Australia.
• Alumina -- Production was higher than all comparable periods due to the ongoing ramp up of the Alumar refinery. Production in the December 2009 half year was impacted by an unplanned calciner outage at Worsley (Australia).
• Aluminium -- Production across all operations was in line with comparable periods.
• Copper -- Production was higher than all comparable periods and reflected solid performance across all operations, including record milling rates for Olympic Dam and Antamina. Additionally, the Pampa Norte Cerro Colorado (Chile) operation reported record milling rates for the December 2010 half year. The December 2009 quarter was impacted by the Clark Shaft outage at Olympic Dam and industrial action at the Pampa Norte Spence (Chile) operation. Escondida (Chile) continues to expect production for the 2011 financial year to decline by five to 10 per cent when compared with the 2010 financial year, mainly due to lower ore grades. At 31 December 2010, the Group had 287,276 tonnes of outstanding copper sales that were revalued at a weighted average price of $4.30 per pound. The final price of these sales will be determined over the remainder of the 2011 financial year. In addition, 236,584 tonnes of copper sales from the 2010 financial year were subject to a finalisation adjustment in the current period. The finalisation adjustment and provisional pricing impact as at 31 December 2010 will increase earnings(b) by US$667 million for the period.
• Lead/Silver -- Cannington (Australia) production was higher than the December 2009 half year with stronger grades more than offsetting lower milling rates due to planned maintenance.
• Zinc -- Production decreased in the December 2010 quarter as the Antamina mine plan progressed through a copper rich ore zone. Uranium -- Olympic Dam achieved record ore hoisting rates for the December 2010 half year following the successful repair of the Clark Shaft. Lower uranium grades and planned maintenance impacted production during the quarter.
• Diamonds -- Production for the December 2010 quarter was lower than both comparable periods due to a decrease in ore processed and lower average grade. Production continues to be influenced by the variability of ore sources due to the mix of open pit and underground mining.
• Nickel -- Contained nickel production was marginally lower than the December 2009 half year, which included the drawdown of accumulated Nickel West (Australia) concentrate stocks. Metal volumes were impacted by the disruption of hydrogen and nitrogen gas supply at the Nickel West Kwinana refinery (Australia), however this was offset by the increased export of nickel in matte production. As announced previously, Cerro Matoso (Colombia) production will be impacted for nine months due to the planned replacement of one of its two furnaces, commencing in the second half of the 2011 financial year.
• Iron Ore -- Record production and shipments were achieved for both the half year and quarter ended December 2010 despite the impact of ongoing tie-in activities related to its growth projects. Western Australia Iron Ore shipments rose to an annualised rate of 148 million tonnes per annum in the quarter (100% basis). Half year production records were achieved for manganese ore and at GEMCO (Australia), facilitated by a significant improvement in market demand when compared with the December 2009 half year. Production was lower than the September 2010 quarter and reflected safety related downtime at Hotazel (South Africa) and wet weather impacts at GEMCO. Record sales for the December quarter benefited from inventory that was accumulated in the prior quarter when port maintenance was undertaken at GEMCO.
• Manganese Alloy -- Production in the December 2010 quarter was broadly in line with the September 2010 quarter. Record manganese alloy sales were also achieved during the quarter.
• Metallurgical Coal -- Queensland Coal production was significantly affected by the persistent rain and flooding that impacted the Bowen Basin in the December 2010 half year. In the December 2010 quarter, Queensland Coal production declined by 30 per cent when compared with the September 2010 quarter. The decline in Queensland Coal sales, however, was limited to 15 per cent and benefited from the relatively healthy level of inventory that was held across our supply chain at the commencement of the quarter.
• Energy Coal -- Production was higher than the December 2009 quarter having benefited from the start up of the MAC20 project at Hunter Valley Energy Coal and the ongoing ramp up of Klipspruit (South Africa). Record rainfall continued to constrain production at Cerrejon Coal (Colombia). Production was lower than the September 2010 quarter and largely reflected an unplanned outage at New Mexico Coal (USA). Record exports from Hunter Valley Energy Coal for the quarter and half year, which included a greater proportion of high ash sales, reflected first production from the MAC20 project and the ongoing ramp up of the Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group (NCIG) port facilities. The increase in sales is occurring as operations are experiencing adverse movements in currency markets, particularly in South Africa and Australia, and additional operating costs ahead of full production from the delivery of growth projects.
3:30AM BHP Billiton reports exploration and development; revises costs for Kipper and Turrum Projects (BHP) 90.59 : Co announces that During the December 2010 quarter, a further $570 mln of capital expenditure was approved to underpin continued growth in Western Australia Iron Ore's production profile. The investment expands on BHP Billiton's earlier pre-commitment of $1.73 blnannounced in January 2010 and will facilitate the ongoing development of port, rail and Jimblebar mine infrastructure. Industry wide cost pressure is being experienced across a broad range of projects and reflects stronger producer currencies, particularly in Australia, and underlying inflation on raw material and labour costs. Additionally, co approves increased capital expenditure for the Esso Australia operated Kipper and Turrum projects in the Gippsland Basin, offshore Victoria. Kipper's capital expenditure has increased to $900 mln and the facilities are now forecast to be completed in calendar year 2012. Mercury was encountered in the reservoir during development drilling and mercury mitigation will be managed as a separate project. The timing of first production is subject to resolution of the mercury related issues. Turrum's expenditure has been adjusted to $1,350 mln and is now forecast to begin production in calendar year 2013.
2:34AM Aviva briefs investors on the quality of its balance sheet (AV) 13.79 : In a presentation hosted by co, it provides the following info with regard to its balance sheet. The higlights include:
• High quality and well managed balance sheet supporting strong capital generation, profits and dividend
• Plan to reduce hybrid debt by at least 700 mln over the next three years
• Pension deficit reduced to 0.4 bln (Nov 30, 2010) from 1.7 bln (Dec 31, 2009)
• Economic capital surplus of 4.8 bln (Dec 31, 2009), within the range of an AA calibrated risk appetite, based on co's capital model
• Proforma net asset value on a European Embedded Value equivalent basis is 617p (3Q10)
1:45AM Baldor Electric: ABB Ltd announces second extension to tender offer for Baldor Electric (BEZ) common stock (BEZ) 63.39 : ABB and BEZ announce that ABB's subsidiary Brock Acquisition Corp has extended for a second time the expiration date for its tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of BEZ at a price of $63.50 per share net to the holder in cash, without interest and less any required withholding taxes, until 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on Tuesday, January 25, 2011. The offer had previously been scheduled to expire on January 19, 2011.
1:40AM Trident Microsystems CEO resigns to pursue other opportunities; appoints interim CEO; President also resigns (TRID) 1.61 : Co announces that Sylvia Summers Couder has resigned as CEO and as a director to pursue other opportunities. The co also announced that Mr. Philippe Geyres has been appointed as Interim CEO effective immediately and that the co has initiated a search for a CEO following this transition. Geyres is a candidate for the permanent CEO position. Geyres joined Trident's board in February 2010 following the co's acquisition of certain assets of NXP. The co also announced that Christos Lagomichos has announced his departure from co and resignation as its President effective Feb. 9, 2011.
1:38AM Wynn Resorts commences consent solicitation by subsidiaries related to each series of their outstanding First Mortgage Notes (WYNN) 118.18 : Co announces that its subsidiaries, Wynn Las Vegas and Wynn Las Vegas Capital have commenced a consent solicitation to amend certain provisions of the indentures relating to their 7-7/8% First Mortgage Notes due 2017, 7-7/8% First Mortgage Notes due 2020 and 7-3/4% First Mortgage Notes due 2020. The proposed amendments would, with regard to each series of Notes, modify certain provisions to be consistent with the terms that the Issuers propose to include in future issuances of secured notes.
1:35AM Charter Comm prices $300 mln Senior Unsecured Notes; offer increased from $250 mln (CHTR) 41.50 : Co announces that its subsidiaries, CCO Holdings and CCO Holdings Capital have priced a private offering of $300 mln in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due 2019. The notes will bear an interest rate of 7 percent per annum and will be issued at a price of 99.5% of the aggregate principal amount. These notes will form a part of the same series as the 7.00% Senior Notes due 2019 issued on January 11, 2011 in the principal amount of $1.1 bln. The notes will result in proceeds of ~$294 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. Co intends to use the proceeds from the sale of the notes to repay outstanding term loan borrowings under its subsidiary's credit facility and for general corporate purposes.
1:27AM Ares Capital prices private offering of unsecured Convertible Senior Notes (ARCC) 16.28 : Co announces that it has agreed to sell to initial purchasers in a private offering $500 mln aggregate principal amount of its 5.75% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016. Co expects to use the net proceeds of this offering to repay or repurchase certain outstanding indebtedness and for general corporate purposes, which may include funding investments in its investment backlog and pipeline.
1:24AM Targa Resources offers to exchange outstanding 11 1/4% Senior Notes due 2017 for new notes and cash (NGLS) 32.61 : Co and its subsidiary Targa Resources Partners Finance announces the commencement of a private exchange offer to certain Eligible Holders in respect of any and all outstanding 11.25% Senior Notes due 2017 for 6-7/8% Senior Notes due 2021 to be issued by the Issuers and cash, and a solicitation of consents. The New Notes are expected to be fungible with the $325 mln in aggregate principal amount of 6-7/8% Senior Notes due 2021 that the Issuers expect to issue on February 2, 2011. The New Notes will bear interest at a rate of 67-/8% per year from February 2, 2011 to, but excluding, February 1, 2021, when they will mature.
1:16AM Novo-Nordisk A/S intends to appeal adverse ruling in Prandin patent case (NVO) 113.60 : Co announces it received an adverse ruling in a patent litigation which covers the combination use of repaglinide and metformin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, is invalid and unenforceable. Co markets repaglinide under the trade name Prandin and a fixed dose repaglinide/metformin tablet under the trade name PrandiMet. The district court ruling has the potential to facilitate launch of a generic repaglinide. At present, it is unclear whether or when a generic version of Prandin or PrandiMet will be available in the U.S. market. Co intends to appeal this ruling and is evaluating its best options for doing so. For the first nine months of 2010, US sales of Prandin and PrandiMet amounted to $134 mln.
Market Update

4:30 pm : Stocks tried to rally back from another stiff selling effort, but the broader market's inability to extend beyond the neutral line led stocks to waver into the close.
Sellers attempted to take control of trade right away. Their efforts were motivated by worries that China might have to tighten monetary policy to contain inflation after the country reported that its economy expanded at a torrid clip of 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Some stepped in with a bid that took the S&P 500 and the Dow back to the neutral line, but resistance there encouraged sellers to redouble their efforts.
For the second straight session the Nasdaq was hit the hardest. At its session low, the tech-rich Index was down 1.4%. The S&P 500 was down 0.8% and the Dow was down 0.7% at their worst levels of the day. Selling pressure began to ease midsession, though there wasn't any headline to account for the shift in sentiment. Amid the improved tone stocks staged a gradual climb in afternoon action, but neither the Dow nor the S&P 500 could do more than briefly poke into positive territory before drifting into the close.
eBay (EBAY 30.78, +1.68) was one of the few strong performers in the Nasdaq today. Its near 6% surge followed better-than-expected earnings and strong guidance. Fell Nasdaq component Google (GOOG 626.77, -4.98) was weak ahead of its latest report.
Morgan Stanley (MS 29.02, +1.27) was a standout in the broader market, thanks to an upside earnings surprise. It led the financial sector to a 0.5% gain, even though regional lenders like FifthThird (FITB 14.22, -0.39) and PNC Financial (PNC 61.00, -0.81) lagged following strong results of their own.
Freeport McMoRan (FCX 110.90, -4.26) also tumbled after it reported better-than-expected earnings. It was caught up in a push against basic materials stocks, which collectively fell to a 1.5% loss.
There was a substantial dose of data to digest this morning. It included news that initial jobless claims for the week ended January 15 came in at 404,000, which is below the 425,000 initial claims that had been widely expected. The week-over-week decline took the four-week moving average down to 411,750. As for continuing claims, they fell to 3.86 million from 3.89 million.
Existing home sales for December spiked 12.3% to an annualized rate of 5.28 million units. Not only is that better than the rate of 4.80 million units that had been widely expected, but it was also the highest rate since Spring.
Leading indicators for December increased by 1.0%. That bested the 0.6% increase that was widely expected, but it remained on level with what had been recorded for the prior month.
The Philadelphia Fed Index for January was a bit disappointing. It came in at 19.3, which is both shy of the 20.0 that had been anticipated and below the downwardly revised reading of 20.8 for the prior month.
The dollar scored only its second gain in nine sessions with a 0.2% advance against a basket of major foreign currencies. Most of that move came against the yen, which was down 1.2% to 83.0 yen per dollar at the closing bell.
Treasuries turned sharply lower in the face of a weaker equity market. They had already been under pressure, but their slide steepened with the release of results from a $13 billion auction of 10-year TIPS. Weak demand at the auction caused the benchmark 10-year Note to drop to a loss of about a full point. It settled off of that low so that its yield was just shy of 3.45%.
Tomorrow's economic calendar is empty so most of the market's attention will be on the latest from Dow components General Electric (GE 18.43, +0.10) and Bank of America (BAC 14.54, +0.17).
Advancing Sectors: Utilities (+0.6%), Financials (+0.5%), Consumer Staples (+0.4%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.2%), Health Care (+0.2%)
Declining Sectors: Telecom (-0.2%), Industrials (-0.4%), Tech (-0.7%), Energy (-0.7%), Materials (-1.5%)DJ30 -2.49 NASDAQ -21.07 NQ100 -0.8% R2K -1.1% SP400 -0.8% SP500 -1.66 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 731/2.33 bln/1908 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1124/1.19 bln/1845
3:30 pm : Commodities finished mixed, once again, on the session, with grains (+1.1%) leading the way higher and precious metals (-2.7%) leading the decliners.
Precious metals sold off today on concerns about continued tightening in China following better-than-expected GDP data. Feb gold finished lower by 1.5% to $1345.60 per ounce, while March silver dropped 4.2% to close at $27.47 per ounce. Gold's lows, at $1342.40, represent its lowest levels in 2 months, while silver's low at $27.37 represent its lowest levels in over 1.5 months.
March crude oil ended lower by 2.3% to $89.61 per barrel. It too sold off on concerns about continued tightening in China. In fact, this morning's inventory data had little effect on prices. Crude oil's lows, at $88.90, marked its worst levels in about two weeks. Feb natural gas rallied for 2.5% to close at $4.69 per MMBtu, following bullish inventory data. It notched highs at $$4.703, its best level since early Jan.DJ30 -4.92 NASDAQ -18.57 SP500 -1.39 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 797/1.9 bln/1798 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1232/878.9 mln/1725
3:00 pm : The Dow and S&P 500 have struggled to turn their rebound into any kind of a material gain. Instead, they both remain mired near the neutral line. The Nasdaq has also been slow to extend its move beyond its morning high.
Outside of stocks, the dollar has turned lower in recent trade. It is still up 0.2% against a basket of major foreign currencies, though.
Treasuries are still trading near their session lows so that the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note remains above 3.45%. DJ30 +7.27 NASDAQ -13.98 SP500 +0.34 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1206/719 mln/1752 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 793/1.60 bln/1798
2:30 pm : The Dow has poked into positive territory, but resistance at the neutral line has kept the S&P 500 from joining it there. As for the Nasdaq Composite, it is still down markedly on the day, but its loss is now only half of what it was at its session low.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM 44.97, +1.26) and Wal-Mart (WMT 55.99, +0.96) are primary leaders among blue chips. Meanwhile, eBay (EBAY 30.54, +1.44) has been a leader in both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. DJ30 +7.99 NASDAQ -18.08 SP500 -0.65 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 701/1.53 bln/1892 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1087/678 mln/1866
2:00 pm : Stocks have resumed their rebound. The Dow is now near the neutral line while the S&P 500 is close behind.
Treasuries have turned lower in recent trade. Part of their sell-off comes in response to results from a $13 billion auction of 10-year TIPS. The benchmark 10-year Note is now down nearly a full point so that its yield is at a weekly high of 3.46%. Farther out on the yield curve, the 30-year Bond is down 50 ticks so that its yield is up to 4.63%. DJ30 -5.71 NASDAQ -25.50 SP500 -2.46 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 743/1.40 bln/1811 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1104/616 mln/1832
1:30 pm : Shares of Visa (V 70.05, +0.93) and MasterCard (MA 236.50, +1.14) have made a nice jump out of the red in recent trade. The move has been attributed to headlines indicating that Representative Frank supports changes the Dodd-Frank interchange provision.
However, the broader market has slowed its recent rebound effort to take a bit of a breather -- the move saw the S&P 500 climb from a session low of 1271 to almost 1279 in a matter of 90 minutes. DJ30 -23.00 NASDAQ -28.46 SP500 -4.62 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 739/1.40 bln/1812 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1105/613 mln/1830
1:05 pm : A broad-based sell-off sank stocks earlier this session, but they have spent the past 90 minutes cutting their losses. The Dow and S&P 500 are now approaching the neutral line, but the Nasdaq is still down deeply for the day.
The prior session's slide fed overnight selling interest in Asia. Weakness there was exacerbated by concern that China might need tighter monetary policy, given that the country's rapid growth has some worried about the threat of inflation. Losses among Asia's averages ranged from 1% to more than 2%.
The dour tone abroad and concern about the implications of tighter policy in China provided an excuse for sellers to pressure stocks in the early going. Half-hearted buying broad the broader market back to the neutral line, but it was met with resistance there.
Stocks really didn't attract any support until the S&P 500 came within a couple of points of last week's closing low and the Nasdaq approached last week's intraday low, which is also in line with its 25-day moving average. The Nasdaq is still down about 1% amid weakness in semiconductor stocks and large-cap tech issues, but eBay (EBAY 30.50, +1.40) has been a bright spot in the Index. The company complemented a better-than-expected earnings report with a strong forecast.
Morgan Stanley (MS 28.83, +1.08) has been a standout in the S&P 500. The stock is up more than 4% following its latest quarterly report, but the broader financial sector remains mired near the neutral line, unable to provide leadership to the broader market.
Natural resource plays have been under particularly stiff pressure this session. As such, energy stocks are down 1.3% and materials stocks are down 1.6%. They make up the two worst performing sectors.
Domestic data did little for participants this morning. The first dose included news that the latest initial jobless claims tally fell more than expected to 404,000 from 425,000. Continuing claims fell to 3.86 million from 3.89 million.
Existing home sales for December increased a stronger-than-expected 12.3% to an annualized rate of 5.28 million units, which is the highest level since May.
The Philadelphia Fed Index for January came in at 19.3, which is down more than expected from the prior month.
Leading Indicators for December increased a stronger-than-expected 1.0%, but that is in step with the November's increase. DJ30 -25.54 NASDAQ -25.89 SP500 -4.74 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 700/1.23 bln/1834 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1009/529 mln/1882
12:30 pm : Despite the weakness in stocks today, Treasuries have failed to attract buyers. Though the benchmark 10-year Note is off of its low, it still remains down markedly for the day. As such, its yield stands just above 3.40%, which is a high for this week. As an aside, results from an auction of 10-year TIPS are due at the top of the hour.
The dollar has caught a bid after falling to losses in seven of the past eight sessions. Relative to a basket of competing currencies it is up 0.4%, but still near the two-month low that it set in the prior session. DJ30 -32.24 NASDAQ -27.53 SP500 -5.30 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 696/1.19 bln/1832 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1052/514 mln/1830
12:00 pm : Stocks are trying to trim their losses, but considerable weakness continue to undercut the Nasdaq. Heavyweights Apple (AAPL 331.26, -7.58), Amazon.com (AMZN 182.26, -4.61), and Microsoft (MSFT 28.25, -0.22) have hampered the Nasdaq, but eBay (EBAY 30.32, +1.22) has been a bright spot following its better-than-expected earnings and strong forecast.
Natural resource plays have been drags on the broader market. Specifically, energy stocks are down 1.5% and materials stocks are down 1.8%. They are the worst two performing sectors in the S&P 500. DJ30 -39.69 NASDAQ -30.46 SP500 -6.71 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 598/1.04 bln/1890 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 890/453.5 mln/1976
11:30 am : After a brief breather, sellers have redoubled their efforts to take the Nasdaq to a new session low. Given the steepness of its slide both today and yesterday, the Nasdaq is on pace for its worst back-to-back performance since August.
The magnitude of the back-to-back selling suggests that something more than profit taking might be going on in the market. Stocks registered new two-year highs only two days ago, but in the stock market's ascent to that point pull backs were met with subsequent support. DJ30 -76.21 NASDAQ -38.57 SP500 -10.51 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 623/920 mln/1832 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 919/401 mln/1906
11:00 am : About an hour ago stocks attempted to rebound from an opening slide, but the broader market was met with resistance at the neutral line. Renewed selling pressure has since sent stocks to fresh session lows.
Materials stocks are in the worst shape. The sector has slumped to a 2.3% loss. Weakness in the commodity space has exacerbated pressure against basic materials plays and other members of the sector.
Utilities stocks have managed to hold on to a gain, though. The sector is up an enviable 0.5%. DJ30 -77.80 NASDAQ -33.23 SP500 -9.82 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 693/778 mln/1697 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 994/362 mln/1784
10:35 am : Most commodities are trading lower this morning along with today's broad market weakness. Strength in the dollar index is also adding to selling pressure.

Around the open of pit trading, February natural gas was at session lows of $4.53 per MMBtu, then rallied in to positive territory and new session highs of $4.60 per MMBtu shortly after. Ahead of the inventory data, February natural gas was only one of two commodities trading in positive territory in the CRB Commodity Index. Cocoa was the best performer with 1.4% in gains. Following inventory data, which showed a draw of 243 bcf compared to consensus of a draw down of 233 bcf, natural gas spiked to session highs of $4.65 per MMBtu and is now 1.8% higher at $4.64 per MMBtu.

February crude oil has been in the red all session. It began to fall more sharply about 30 minutes before pit trading began and went on to lose over $2 per barrel over the next two hours of trade. It just hit new session lows of $88.10 per barrel and is currently at $88.34 per barrel, down 2.8%. Due to the holiday on Monday, crude inventory data will be released today at 11:00am ET and current consensus calls for a draw of 500K.

Precious metals have been weak all session. Both February gold and March silver hit new session lows (gold $ 1343.10, Silver $27.51) within the last hour. Silver futures are by far the worst performing commodity in the CRB Index this morning and is currently trading at $27.43 per ounce, down 4.8%. Gold is 1.9% lower at $1344.10 per ounce.DJ30 -12.64 NASDAQ -40.49 SP500 -13.10 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 711/608.2 mln/1634 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1008/285.0 mln/1748
10:05 am : Stocks have extended their rebound from an opening slide at the open. The upward push has been helped by the latest dose of data.
Existing home sales for December increased 12.3% from the prior month to an annualized rate of 5.28 million units, which is the highest level since May. The rate was also better than the annualized rate of 4.80 million units that had been widely expected.
The Philadelphia Fed Index for January came in at 19.3, which is below the downwardly revised prior month reading of 20.8. It is also below the 20.0 that had been anticipated among economists polled by Briefing.com.
The December Leading Indicators reading increased by 1.0%, which is in step with the November increase of 1.1%, but stronger than the 0.6% increase that was widely expected.
Advancing Sectors: Financials (+0.9%), Utilities (+0.6%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.5%), Consumer Staples (+0.3%), Health Care (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Materials (-1.3%), Tech (-0.9%), Energy (-0.9%), Industrials (-0.2%)
Unchanged: TelecomDJ30 -7.91 NASDAQ -12.38 SP500 -1.16 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 915/427 mln/1357 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1262/214 mln/1458
09:45 am : Stiff selling has hit the Nasdaq Composite for the second straight session. The tech-rich Index now sits at its 20-day moving average, but it isn't quite down to last week's low.
Semiconductor stocks continue to be a considerable source of weakness for the Nasdaq. Semiconductor stocks are collectively down 1.3% this morning and down 4.0% for the week.
eBay (EBAY 30.34, +1.24) has offered some support to the Nasdaq in the early going. Its 4% bounce takes it to a one-month high. DJ30 -22.97 NASDAQ -19.64 SP500 -4.56 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 572/260 mln/1628 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 827/141 mln/1839
09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -2.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -11.00. Stocks fell sharply in the prior session, but a supportive bid has yet to surface. Lingering weakness comes amid concern that rapid economic growth in China could prompt tighter monetary policy in order to stave off inflation. That concern caused Asia's major averages to tumble overnight. Less attention has been paid to the latest round of earnings results, which features upside surprises from Morgan Stanley (MS), eBay (EBAY), and UnitedHealth (UNH). The latest initial jobless claims tally was also shrugged off, even though it moved closer to 400,000. Still to come are the latest monthly figures for existing home sales, leading indicators, and the Philadelphia Fed Index at 10:00 AM ET. Natural gas inventory data is due at 10:30 AM ET, followed by oil inventory data at 11:00 AM ET. Results from an auction of 10-year TIPS will be posted at 1:00 PM ET.
09:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -10.30. Futures for the S&P 500 continue to trail fair value by a relatively modest margin. Action in Germany is also a bit dim. That has Germany's DAX down 0.3%. Automaker Volkswagen is under some of the most pressure; its shares have dropped to a two-month low. Daimler (DAI) is also down. According to data, producer prices in Germany increased 0.7% in December after a more tepid 0.2% increase in November. France's CAC has moved out of the red to a 0.1% gain. Still, LVMH Moet Hennessey remains a heavy drag. It's 2% drop today comes on top of a 3% tumble in the prior session. The stock now sits at its lowest level since October. About 80% of the issues in Britain's FTSE have fallen to a loss; such widespread weakness has the FTSE down 1.2%. Rio Tinto (RIO) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are two of the heaviest weights. HSBC (HBC) has also hampered action, but fellow banking plays Lloyds Group (LYG) and Barclays (BCS) have managed to muster gains.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei fell overnight to a 1.1% loss. Pressure was broad in that declining issues outnumbered advancers by 6-to-1. Tokyo Electron, Fanuc Corp, TDK, and Canon (CAJ) were primary sources of weakness. Honda Motor (HMC) and Dentsu scored slight gains in the face of broad weakness, though. According to data, Japan's final Leading Indicator Index for November came in at 100.6, down slightly from the 101.0 reading previously published. Data was the big story in China, which reported that its fourth quarter GDP surged 9.8% from the prior year. The rapid rate of expansion has caused concern that tighter policy may be implemented to stave off inflation. December inflation data showed a 4.6% increase in consumer prices and a 5.9% increase in producer prices. Both were actually down from the same period one year ago. Market participants turned pessimistic and sent 90% of the names in the the Shanghai Composite to a loss. The concerted selling effort resulted in a 2.9% loss for the Index. PetroChina (PTR), China Petroleum (SNP), and Industrial & Commercial Bank were a few of the hardest hit names. Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank to a 1.7% loss. Banking issues were among the poorest performers. Li & Fung, China Unicom, and Belle International were the only three issues in the 45-member Index to stage gains.
08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -10.80. Stock futures remain under moderate pressure and generally unchanged by the latest weekly jobless claims count. Initial jobless claims for the week ended January 15 totaled 404,000, which is down 37,000 from the previous week and below the 425,000 initial claims that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. The four-week moving average fell by 4,000 to 411,750. Continuing claims were also down from the prior week. They came in at 3.86 million after they totaled 3.89 million in the prior week.
08:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -3.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -12.30. Stocks suffered their worst percentage loss in almost two months during the prior session. Weakness lingers ahead of today's open, despite upside earnings surprises from Morgan Stanley (MS), eBay (EBAY), UnitedHealth (UNH), PNC Financial (PNC), and FifthThird (FITB). The downbeat tone follows stiff selling in Asia after reports indicated that China's economy continues to expand a torrid clip. Rapid growth there has raised concerns about inflation, but China's consumer prices and producer prices for the fourth quarter were both down from the prior year. U.S. participants get their own dose of data at the bottom of the hour, when the latest weekly jobless claims tally is due. Existing home sales figures for December are due at 10:00 AM ET, along with December leading indicators and the January Philadelphia Fed Index. Results from an auction of 10-year TIPS are scheduled to be released at 1:00 PM ET.
06:43 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -1.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -10.50.
06:43 am : Nikkei...10437.31...-119.80...-1.10%. Hang Seng...24003.70...-415.90...-1.70%.
06:43 am : FTSE...5890.13...-86.50...-1.50%. DAX...7029.00...-53.80...-0.80%.
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