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Market Update 110207
4:25 pm : Another round of broad buying drove stocks to new two-year highs. Share volume was unimpressive, though.

Stocks made a quick move higher in the early going. Strong gains by Europe's bourses had helped to provide a positive backdrop in the absence of any domestic data. Merger and acquisition activity also acted as a boon as many thought it an encouraging sign that deals are being made even as stocks trade at their best levels in more than two years.

Pride International (PDE 39.80, +5.41) will be purchased with a mix of cash and stock for $41.60 per share, a premium of about 21% over its closing price last week, by Ensco (ESV 52.13, -2.28). That announcement helped stoke buying in other offshore drillers and exploratory plays.

Beckman Coulter (BEC 82.65, +7.48) will be acquired with cash by Danaher (DHR 49.03, +1.05) for $83.50 per share, a premium of about 11% over its closing price last week.

AOL (AOL 21.19, -0.75) announced it will acquire Huffington Post for $315 million in a mostly cash transaction. The deal comes after AOL had announced better-than-expected earnings last week.

Financials were this session's best performers; they climbed 1.5%. The move was largely led by multi-line insurers like Loews Corp (L 43.27, +1.87), which posted an upside earnings surprise for its latest quarter.

Humana (HUM 58.74, -1.80) was also out with earnings, but its results came short of the consensus forecast. An improved outlook from the firm failed to offset the offense.

While buying lifted the broader market to its best level since mid-2008, there wasn't a lot of share volume behind the move. In fact, share volume on the NYSE failed to break 900 million.

Today's only piece of data was released late in the afternoon. It indicated that consumer credit during December increased by $6.09 billion, which is far more than the $2.50 billion increase that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. Consumer credit for November had increased by $2.02 billion.

An appetite for risk had initially helped to renew pressure against Treasuries so that yields climbed to levels not seen since May, but they were able to rebound. The benchmark 10-year Note still finished with a fractional loss, but the 30-year Bond scored its first gain in a week.

The dollar finished flat after it had staged gains in the previous three sessions. It had been on pace for another gain, but fell in afternoon trade.

Advancing Sectors: Financial (+1.5%), Industrials (+1.0%), Utilities (+0.7%), Tech (+0.6%), Energy (+0.6%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.5%), Materials (+0.5%), Consumer Staples (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Health Care (-0.2%), Telecom (-0.2%) DJ30 +69.48 NASDAQ +14.69 NQ100 +0.5% R2K +1.0% SP400 +0.9% SP500 +8.18 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1803/1.77 bln/863 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2073/88 mln/917

3:30 pm : Commodities were, once again, mixed on the session. Industrials (+1.5%) led by a 4.3% rally in cotton, were the largest advancing sector. Energy (-1.5%), led by a 4.5% decline in natural gas, was the largest declining factor.

March natural gas fell 4.5% to finish at $4.11 per MMBtu. Prices traded to their lowest levels since late Dec at $4.101 on forecasts for milder weather in the weeks ahead. March crude oil settled lower by 1.7% to $87.48 per barrel. Easing tensions in Egypt weighed on prices throughout the day and forced crude oil to its lowest levels, at $87.42 per barrel, in over a week.

It was a relatively uneventful session for precious metals. April gold prices closed near flat at $1348.20 per ounce. March silver finished higher by 1.4% to $29.35 per ounce. DJ30 +65.20 NASDAQ +12.62 SP500 +6.93 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1733/1.5 bln/919 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1992/639.8 mln/977

3:00 pm : Stocks have surrendered a chunk of their gains in recent trade. There is no clear catalyst to account for the slip, but it coincides with a move by Treasuries to their session high.

December consumer credit, the only item on the economic calendar, was just released. It showed an increase of $6.09 billion, which is far more than the $2.50 billion increase that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. Consumer credit for November was revised upward to $2.02 billion from $1.34 billion. DJ30 +66.64 NASDAQ +12.30 SP500 +7.39 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1726/1.33 bln/915 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2030/585 mln/938

2:30 pm : The 30-year Bond has caught a bid in recent trade. It is now up six ticks after it had been in the red for the entire morning and early afternoon. The benchmark 10-year Note is still down a few ticks, however. Their yields stand at 4.72% and 3.65%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar has turned lower. The greenback had been up nicely against competing currencies earlier today, but it is now flat. Heading into this session the dollar had advanced for three straight days.

Stocks continue to sport strong gains. However, each of the major averages is now at the lower end of its afternoon trading range. DJ30 +74.89 NASDAQ +21.27 SP500 +9.13 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1845/1.20 bln/787 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2134/528 mln/828

2:00 pm : The stock market has spent the past couple of hours trading in a narrow range, which has allowed this session's gains to consolidate. Though the broader market has become range bound, financials have made a modest move to fresh session highs. The sector is now up 1.6%, which is double what the broader market has achieved. Financials have been out in front of the stock market for virtually the entire session.DJ30 +85.64 NASDAQ +22.65 SP500 +10.63 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1843/1.12 bln/780 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2140/485 mln/794

1:30 pm : Telecom is the only major sector that has failed to stage any kind of a gain. The sector's 0.2% loss stems from weakness in integrated plays like AT&T (T 27.85, -0.12) and Verizon (VZ 36.10, -0.21). Verizon confirmed that the iPhone 4, from Apple (AAPL 353.05, +6.55), will by available at more than 2,000 Verizon Wireless stores and Apple retail stores.DJ30 +83.86 NASDAQ +24.35 SP500 +10.79 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1871/1.04 bln/734 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2148/450 mln/764

1:00 pm : Unwilling to fight the stock market's upward trend, participants continue to push into equities and shun Treasuries. In the process, all three major equity averages have set new two-year highs while yields on Treasuries have climbed to multi-month highs.

Broad-based buying in the first few minutes of trade helped stocks add quickly to opening gains. Financials didn't take long to take a lead over the other sectors, though. They are currently up 1.5%. Loews Corp (L 43.20, +1.80) is a leader in the group following its upside earnings surprise.

Humana (HUM 59.33, -1.21) had an earnings report out, too. However, its earnings came short of what had been expected. That has overshadowed the firm's improved forecast. Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded Humana peer UnitedHealth (UNH 42.15, -0.34), but upgraded Aetna (AET 37.20, -0.22).

There were a few corporate deals over the weekend, but the acquisition of Pride International (PDE 39.87, +5.48) by Ensco (ESV 51.93, -2.48) for $41.60 per share in cash and stock has helped bolster support for other offshore drillers and exploratory plays. The takeover price represents a 21% premium over PDE's closing price from last week.

In other merger and acquisition activity, Beckman Coulter (BEC 82.49, +7.32) will be acquired with cash by Danaher (DHR 49.56, +1.58) for $83.50 per share, a premium of about 11% over its closing price last week.

Favor for riskier issues has helped small-cap stocks push the Russell 2000 to a 1.3% gain. That puts the Small-Cap Index at a new three-year high. Meanwhile, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite are all up less than 1%, but still up markedly to their best level in more than two years.

Amid the broad interest in stocks, Treasuries have extended their descent to a sixth session. The prolonged selling effort had the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note flirting with 3.70% earlier today. It hasn't touched that mark since May.DJ30 +77.84 NASDAQ +24.05 SP500 +10.08 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1868/972 mln/718 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2141/420 mln/773

12:30 pm : Stocks have drifted off of their sesion highs, but gains remain impressive. Barring any kind of a sell-off, the Dow is on pace for its sixth straight gain, including an incremental move higher in the middle of last week. During that span the blue chip average has advanced 3.0%, which makes for its best six-session performance since early December.

United Technologies (UTX 83.73, +1.21) is currently a leader in the Dow. It has advanced 2.8% during the course of the six most recent sessions. In contrast, Kraft (KFT 30.81, -0.38) is a laggard among blue chips and up 0.9% during the last six sessions. DJ30 +80.57 NASDAQ +23.48 SP500 +10.04 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1858/882 mln/714 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2157/375 mln/748

12:00 pm : Natural gas prices have been driven deeper into negative territory so that they now trade with a 3.3% loss at $4.17 per MMBtu. Oil prices also remain under pressure as they contend with a 0.8% loss at $88.35 per barrel.

Despite the pullback in energy prices, energy stocks have collevtively gained 1.0% this session. Pride International (PDE 39.77, +5.38) is a standout in the space following news that it will be acquired by Ensco (ESV 51.75, -2.66) in a cash and stock mix for $41.60 per share, or a premium of about 21% over its closing price last week. News of the acquisition has stoked interest in shares of other offshore drillers and exploratory plays like Seahawk Drilling (HAWK 7.62, +0.62) and Atwood Oceanics (ATW 42.88, +2.08). DJ30 +83.87 NASDAQ +23.77 SP500 +10.27 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1895/790 mln/677 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2224/340 mln/670

11:30 am : Favor for riskier issues has helped small-cap stocks push the Russell 2000 to a 1.4% gain so that it outperforms the benchmark S&P 500. At the moment, some 85% of issues in the small-cap Index are in higher ground.

Silicon Graphics (SGI 14.71, +1.46) is a primary leader in the group. Its surge today comes after it pulled back about 3% during the prior session following a 26% spike this past Thursday. Its overall strength in recent trade has the stock at a three-year high. DJ30 +86.13 NASDAQ +24.91 SP500 +10.79 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1897/685 mln/663 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2253/300 mln/622

11:00 am : Following a brief pause, stocks have extended today's advance to a fresh session high. Financials are still out in front; they now sport a 1.4% gain.

Financials have benefited from a rather broad bid that has sent more than 90% of the sector's members to a gain. Multi-line insurers are in the best shape -- they've collectively gained 3.1%, so far, today.

The S&P 500 Financial Sector is up little more than 5% this year. At its current level the sector trades at 15.0x trailing earnings and 12.8x expected earnings. During the past five years the financial sector has traded with a weekly average P/E ratio of about 20.4x trailing earnings.DJ30 +92.71 NASDAQ +24.93 SP500 +11.38 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1913/566 mln/588 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2274/250 mln/576

10:35 am : The Dollar Index is 0.3% higher and near current session highs of 78.350. Despite this strength, most commodities in the CRB Commodity Index are trading higher.

Energy commodities are mixed, but is the worst performing segment in the CRB Index with natural gas futures down 3.2%. RBOB Gasoline is 0.4% higher, while crude is 0.4% lower and heating oil is 0.1% lower.

March crude oil fell into negative territory about two hours ago and hit session lows of $88.11 per barrel at the top of the hour. Currently, it's down 0.4% at $88.68 per barrel. March natural gas has been in negative territory all session and hit new session lows of $4.15 per MMBtu about an hour ago after quickly selling off about 2%. It's currently down 3.2% at $4.17 per MMBtu.

In other commodities, cotton futures are leading the CRB Index with 2.7% in gains on strong China demand, a current near-term theme, and strong India sales. The Cotton Corp. of India said cotton sales grew by 5.7% in the season from October 1. March sugar prices are 1.4% higher at 33.10 cents/lb on continued supply concerns

Precious metals are modestly higher this morning with April gold just above the unchanged line at $1350.70 per ounce and March silver 0.5% higher at $29.21 per ounce.DJ30 +73.49 NASDAQ +19.37 SP500 +9.18 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1852/436.4 mln/602 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2170/194.2 mln/603

10:00 am : The broader market has eased back a bit in recent action, but it continues to trade with a solid gain.

However, financials remain at session highs; the sector now sports a 0.9% gain. Loews Corp (L 43.70, +2.27) is a leader in the group following its upside earnings surprise.

In contrast to financials, telecom has dug deeper into negative territory. The sector is now down 0.5%. It is in the worst shape of any major sector.

Advancing Sectors: Financial (+0.9%), Industrials (+0.8%), Materials (+0.8%), Tech (+0.7%), Energy (+0.7%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.4%), Utilities (+0.3%), Consumer Staples (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Telecom (-0.5%), Health Care (-0.1%)DJ30 +53.40 NASDAQ +12.89 SP500 +6.11 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1743/275 mln/641 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2020/130 mln/697

09:45 am : Stocks are up nicely in the first few minutes of trade. The opening advance has taken all three major equity averages to new two-year highs.

Strength is broad based, but defensive-oriented issues like health care (-0.1%) and telecom (-0.3%) are lagging. Energy (+0.8%), industrials (+0.8%), and Financials (+0.7%) are in the best shape.

Strength among stocks has put added pressure on Treasuries, which are down for the sixth straight session. That has the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note moving closer to 3.70%, which hasn't been touched since May. DJ30 +57.41 NASDAQ +13.68 SP500 +6.64 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1702/190 mln/629 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2012/95 mln/651

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.00. Stock futures suggest that this week's trade will start slightly higher. Strength among Europe's major bourses has acted as a positive backdrop in the absence of data and the dearth of earnings reports this morning. There have been a couple of merger-and-acquisition items of interest. In particular, Pride International (PDE) confirmed that it will be acquired by Ensco (ESV) with a mix of cash and stock for $41.60 per share, or a premium of about 21% over its closing price last week. Beckman Coulter (BEC) will be acquired with cash by Danaher (DHR) for $83.50 per share, or a premium of about 11% over its closing price last week. Outside of equities, the dollar is up 0.3% against a collection of competing currencies. Meanwhile, commodities are mixed, and Treasuries continue to grapple with sellers.

09:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +3.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.50. Commodities are a bit mixed at the moment. Specifically, oil prices are down 0.6% to $88.50 per barrel in the first few minutes of pit trade. Natural gas prices are down 2.5% to $4.20 per MMBtu. Precious metals are in better shape with gold sporting a 0.3% gain at $1351.90 per ounce and silver up 0.6% to $29.24 per ounce. Collective action among commodities has the CRB Commodity Index up 0.2%.

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +4.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.80. Futures for the S&P 500 have benefited from a bit of buying in recent activity, but strength still isn't as pronounced as it is in Europe. Germany's DAX is up 0.8%, which puts it at a new three-year high. It is currently led by Adidas, Infineon Tech, and BMW. HeidelbergCement is a laggard. France's CAC set a fractionally improved two-year high earlier this morning. It has since eased back a bit, but broad-based buying has helped it hold on to an enviable 0.9% gain. Total (TOT), Carrefour, and Pernod-Ricard are the only three names in the 40-member Index that have failed to find higher ground. Societe Generale is presently a primary leader in the advance. Natural resource plays like Rio Tinto (RIO), BP Plc (BP), Xstrata, and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) have helped lift Britain's FTSE to a 0.7% gain. Vodafone (VOD) has been left behind, however.

In Asia, China's Shanghai Composite remains closed for holiday observance. Hong Kong's Hang Seng re-opened for trade, though; it fell to a 1.5% loss. HSBC (HBC), Esprit Holdings, Cathay Pacific Air, and Hang Seng Bank were the only four issues in the 45-member Index to make gains. Heavyweights CNOOC (CEO), PetroChina (PTR), China Mobile, and China Construction Bank hampered action the most. Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.5%. Credit Saison and KDDI Corp were a couple of key leaders while TDK Corp and Sony Corp logged losses. As for data, Japan reported that its Leading Index for December came in at 101.4, up from 100.6 in November.

08:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.00. Stock futures followed Europe's major bourses higher earlier this morning. They have since drifted off of their best levels, although action in Europe remains decidedly positive. A renewed bid for dollar has the pulled the Dollar Index out of the red to a narrow gain, which puts it on pace for its fourth straight advance after falling in seven of the eight preceding sessions. The pace of earnings announcements is slow this morning. Among the more notable reports, Humana (HUM) missed earnings expectations, but issued a strong forecast. Loews Corp (L) posted an upside surprise. As for other corporate activity, Beckman Coulter (BEC) will be acquired with cash by Danaher (DHR) for $83.50 per share, or a premium of about 11% over its closing price last week. The only item on today's economic calendar is the December Consumer Credit report, which is due at 3:00 PM ET.

06:42 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +3.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.30.

06:42 am : Nikkei...10592.04...+48.50...+0.50%. Hang Seng...23553.59...-355.40...-1.50%.

06:42 am : FTSE...6041.92...+44.50...+0.70%. DAX...7278.29...+62.00...+0.90%.
http://finance.yahoo.com/marketupdate/update

7:01PM A.O. Smith CFO retires (AOS) 42.83 +0.03 : Terry M. Murphy, executive vice president and chief financial officer of A. O. Smith Corp (AOS), has announced he plans to retire from the global manufacturer of electric motors and water heaters effective May 1. The company also announced that John J. Kita senior vice president-corporate finance and controller, will succeed Murphy on May 1. In his current position, Kita oversees the accounting, financial planning, tax, and risk management functions. Kita originally joined A. O. Smith as assistant treasurer in 1988 and was elected vice president, treasurer and controller in 1996. He was named senior vice president in 2006.

6:59PM Exclusive distribution agreement between NanoSteel and Grant Prideco for Hardbanding Material has ended (NOV) 77.71 +1.26 : The NanoSteel Co announced the exclusive distribution agreement between itself and Grant Prideco, a division of National OilWell Varco, for a hardbanding weld overlay product has ended. During the term of the agreement, Grant Prideco was provided the exclusive right to sell NanoSteel's patented SHS7272GP* alloy, known in the industry by the Grant Prideco trademark Platinum HB.

6:46PM Ecopetrol: Ex-Im Bank approves nearly $1 bln in financing to support U.S. exports to Colombia's Ecopetrol (EC) 41.72 +0.33 : The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has given final approval to a $420 million medium-term loan guarantee facility and a $459.8 million long-term loan guarantee facility to help finance the sale of goods and services from various U.S. exporters to Ecopetrol S.A., Colombia's national oil company. Ecopetrol will use the financing to buy the products and services from U.S. companies large and small, to develop oil and gas reserves, improve existing oil field production and upgrade refineries. The company plans to significantly increase petroleum production to 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2015.

6:40PM United Continental Holdings reports January 2011 operational performance for United and Continental (UAL) 26.42 +0.77 : Co reported January 2011 operational results for United Air Lines and Continental Airlines, Inc. United and Continental's combined consolidated traffic (revenue passenger miles) in January 2011 increased 0.4 percent versus pro forma January 2010 results on a consolidated capacity increase of 0.4 percent. The carriers' combined consolidated load factor was flat compared to the pro forma results from the same period last year. United and Continental's January 2011 combined consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) increased an estimated 10.5 to 11.5 percent compared to the pro forma results from January 2010, while mainline PRASM increased an estimated 11.5 to 12.5 percent compared to the pro forma results from the same period last year.

6:12PM Cameco adds new uranium supply from Finland (CCJ) 41.39 -0.49 : Cameco (CCJ) has signed two agreements to buy uranium produced at the Sotkamo nickel-zinc mine in eastern Finland owned by the Talvivaara Mining Company Plc. (LSE: TALV). Talvivaara expects production of uranium at the Sotkamo mine to be approximately 900,000 pounds (U3O8 equivalent) or 350 tU per year once the mine ramps up to full production. The production capacity for uranium extraction at the Sotkamo mine could be increased if Talvivaara proceeds with its stated intention to increase production of nickel and zinc concentrate at the mine through use of its unique bioheapleaching process. CCJ has and will continue to provide technical assistance to Talvivaara in the design, construction, commissioning and operation of the uranium extraction circuit to be constructed at the Sotkamo operation. Talvivaara plans to start construction of the uranium extraction circuit in the coming months and complete it in 2012. Proceeding with construction and operation of the uranium circuit requires a number of permits that Talvivaara is seeking from Finnish regulators. Under the first agreement with Talvivaara, CCJ will provide an up-front investment, to a maximum of $60 million (US), to cover the construction cost of the uranium extraction circuit. Cameco's capital contribution will be repaid through the initial deliveries of uranium concentrates under the first agreement.

6:00PM FMC Corp beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus; guides FY11 EPS in-line (FMC) 81.08 0.87 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.07 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.03; revenues rose 12.2% year/year to $810.5 mln vs the $774.7 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $1.35-1.50, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.56 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $5.35-5.75, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $5.55 Thomson Reuters consensus.

5:52PM Heritage Oaks Bancorp beats by $0.02 (HEOP) 3.65 +0.02 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.00 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.02).

5:43PM Ellington Financial announced that its estimated book value per common share as of January 31, 2011 was $24.91, or $24.34 on a diluted basis (EFC) 22.60 +0.15 :

5:41PM Western Refining announces temporary suspension of refining operations at its El Paso refinery due to extreme weather conditions (WNR) 15.41 +0.42 : WNR announced that on February 2, 2011, it temporarily suspended refining operations at its El Paso refinery due to inclement weather in El Paso and related curtailment of electricity by the local utility. The El Paso refinery experienced some freeze-related damage and the Co has begun the necessary repairs to resume operations. Management anticipates beginning startup of certain processing units in approximately three to five days and is working with its customers and suppliers to address any interruptions that may arise from this event.

5:41PM Tier Technologies reports Q1 (TIER) 5.72 +0.17 : Reports Q1 (Dec) (0.06), $0.03 worse than the Thomson Reuters dual-analyst est of ($0.03); revenues rose 0.3% year/year to $33.0 mln vs the $33.9 mln dual-analyst est.

5:39PM Clifton Savings Bancorp announces the postponement of its pending conversion and public offering (CSBK) 12.11 +0.24 : CSBK, the holding co for Clifton Savings Bank, announced today the postponement of its second step conversion and offering following the issuance by the Office of Thrift Supervision of a "Needs to Improve" rating to Clifton Savings Bank as a result of its recent Community Reinvestment Act ("CRA") examination. The Company filed its applications for conversion on December 15, 2010 which are currently pending before the OTS. The OTS staff recently informed the Company that it is not in a position to approve the applications at this time given the issuance of the "Needs to Improve" CRA rating.

5:21PM Wausau Paper beats by $0.06 (WPP) 8.63 +0.15 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.14 per share, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.08; revenues rose 1% year/year to $260.2 mln vs the $ 259.6 mln consensus.

5:19PM BioMed Realty beats by $0.02, beats on revs (BMR) 18.20 +0.10 : Reports Q4 (Dec) funds from operations of $0.30 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.28; revenues rose 19.0% year/year to $105 mln vs the $102.3 mln consensus.

5:18PM DST Systems beats by $0.04, beats on revs (DST) 49.07 +0.29 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.07 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.03; revenues rose 6.3% year/year to $424.9 mln vs the $409.8 mln consensus.

5:16PM Owens & Minor beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides FY11 EPS in-line, revs in-line (OMI) 30.62 +0.46 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.53 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.51; revenues rose 1.5% year/year to $2.07 bln vs the $2.06 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $1.95-2.10 vs. $2.04 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs growth of 3-5%, which calculates to ~$8.4-8.5 bln vs. $8.39 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.

5:13PM Owens & Minor announces 13% increase in dividend for Q1 2011 and a $50 mln share repurchase program (OMI) 30.62 +0.46 :

5:11PM LECG announces extended waiver of compliance with debt covenants and receipt of indication of interest to acquire the firm (XPRT) 1.70 +0.05 : Co announced that it has obtained a limited duration waiver from its current lenders relating to LECG's compliance with certain financial covenants under its term credit facility. LECG also announced the receipt of an indication of interest to acquire the firm. On Feb 1, 2011, the co entered into a Ninth Amendment and Limited Duration Waiver to the co's Credit Agreement with the Bank of Montreal and the syndicate bank members under that facility. The Limited Duration Waiver waives LECG's compliance with certain financial covenants under the Term Credit Facility and is effective through Feb 28, 2011. The Limited Duration Waiver is the third the co has received since Nov 15, 2010. The Term Credit Facility matures on March 31, 2011 and ~$27.8 million is outstanding under the facility. The co does not have sufficient resources to repay amounts outstanding under the facility at this time. The non-binding indication of interest sets the enterprise value of LECG at $104 million, on a cash free, debt free basis. This implies a value of up to $1 for each outstanding share of common stock after repayment of the co's existing debt and redemption of the co's Series A Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock.

5:08PM Flagstone Reinsurance announced that its loss estimate due to the flooding in Australia that occurred in December 2010, is expected to be $10 mln, net of reinstatement premiums and retrocession (FSR) 12.31 +0.07 :

5:00PM Gilead Sciences announces notification of ANDA filing for Tamiflu (GILD) 38.38 -0.41 : Co announced receipt of a Paragraph IV Certification Notice Letter advising that Natco Pharma Limited submitted an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting permission to manufacture and market a generic version of Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) 75 mg capsules. In the Notice Letter, Natco alleges that a patent associated with Tamiflu - U.S. Patent Number 5,763,483 - owned by Gilead Sciences is invalid, unenforceable and/or will not be infringed by Natco's manufacture, use or sale of the product described in its ANDA submission. GILD is currently reviewing the Notice Letter and has 45 days from the date of receipt to commence a patent infringement lawsuit against Natco. Such a lawsuit would restrict the FDA from approving Tamiflu's ANDA for up to 30 months or until a district court decision that is adverse to Gilead, whichever occurs first. Tamiflu is protected by this patent, which is listed in the FDA's Approved Drug Products List, and the patent would need to be invalidated or not infringed upon before a generic version of Tamiflu could be marketed without liability for patent infringement. Tamiflu was invented by Gilead Sciences and licensed to F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd in 1996.

4:56PM Aspen Insurance beats by $0.31, beats on revs (AHL) 30.74 +0.37 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.02 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.31 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.71; net earned premiums rose 4.9% year/year to $499.7 mln vs the $446.5 mln consensus. Aspen Insurance Company anticipates gross written premium for 2011 to be $2.1 billion +/- 5%, premium ceded to be between 8% and 12%. Given current market conditions, the Company anticipates gross written premium for 2011 to be $2.1 billion +/- 5%, premium ceded to be between 8% and 12% of gross earned premium and the combined ratio to be in the range of 93%-98% including a cat load of $170 million assuming normal loss experience in the year. The Co expects the effective tax rate in 2011 to be in the range of 8% to 12%.

4:54PM Kratos Defense and Security announces proposed public offering of common stock (KTOS) 14.01 +0.02 : In connection with the offering, Jefferies & Co., Inc. is acting as sole book-running manager, B. Riley & Co., LLC is acting as lead manager and Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., Imperial Capital and Noble Financial Capital are acting as co-managers.

4:52PM Parkway Prop beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides FY11 FFO in-line (PKY) 18.10 +0.26 : Reports Q4 (Dec) funds from operations of $0.65 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.63; revenues fell 4.3% year/year to $62.3 mln vs the $62.2 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees FFO of $2.35-2.50 vs. $2.49 Thomson Reuters consensus. The 2011 outlook is based on the core operating, financing and capital assumptions: An average annual same-store occupancy range of 83.5% to 85.0%; Parkway's share of recurring same-store net operating income decrease of 5.0% to 8.0% on a GAAP basis and decrease of 9.0% to 12.0% on a cash basis; share of lease termination fee income of approximately $4.9 million or $0.22 per diluted share; proportionate share of total recurring capital expenditures for building improvements, tenant improvements and leasing commissions is expected to be in the range of $34.0 million to $37.0 million; Net general and administrative expenses are expected to be in the range of $7.0 million to $8.0 million, including an estimate of $300,000 for expenses related to litigation.

4:50PM Pioneer Natural Resources beats by $0.09, misses on revs (PXD) 95.00 -0.75 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.51 per share, excluding $0.87 in gains, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 13.1% year/year to $471.8 mln vs the $543.5 mln consensus. Co issues Q1 guidance as follows: Production is forecasted to average 114 MBOEPD to 118 MBOEPD. Production costs are expected to average $11.75 to $13.75 per BOE, based on current NYMEX strip commodity prices. DD&A expense is expected to average $13.50 to $15.00 per BOE. Total exploration and abandonment expense is forecasted to be $25 million to $35 million, primarily related to exploration wells, including related acreage costs, and seismic and personnel costs.

4:46PM Brown & Brown beats by $0.01, beats on revs (BRO) 24.67 +0.01 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.22 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.21; revenues rose 7.3% year/year to $229.9 mln vs the $226.1 mln consensus.

4:41PM Illinois Tool receives court decision in Australian tax case; "there will be a significant allowable tax deduction" (ITW) 55.23 +0.98 : Co announced that on February 4 the Federal Court of Australia issued a favorable decision regarding the Company's dispute with the Australian Taxation Office over income tax deductions in connection with an intercompany financing transaction. As a result, there will be a significant allowable tax deduction. Given the complexity of the issues in the proceedings, the Federal Court of Australia directed the parties to submit orders to implement the Court rulings by February 18, 2011. However, the exact amount will not be determined until the Court issues its final order, which is expected before the end of the Company's first quarter.

4:40PM Quantum reports U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reaffirms its Data Deduplication Patent (QTM) 2.86 +0.03 : Co announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has notified the company of its intent to issue a reexamination certificate confirming the validity of the company's 5,990,810 patent (the "'810 patent"), the foundational patent in the area of variable-length data deduplication. Deduplication greatly reduces the cost of retaining, managing and transferring data by eliminating redundancies in stored data. The reexamination of the patent resulted from a request initiated by a third party in May 2009.

4:37PM SMSC issues statement in response to announcement by CNXT of receipt of unsolicited proposal from Golden Gate Private Equity (SMSC) 24.56 +0.17 : "We continue to believe that the combination of Conexant (CNXT) and SMSC provides for a highly complementary merger of talent and technology that is in the interests of Conexant stockholders, customers and employees... We believe that SMSC and Conexant together have the opportunity to take advantage of economies of scale and drive profitable growth, and that our proposal would provide Conexant stockholders with the opportunity to participate in the future success of the combined company." Under the terms of the merger agreement, SMSC will have an opportunity to propose changes to the agreement in the event that Conexant determines that another proposal is superior to the SMSC transaction.

4:34PM PPG Industries' industrial coatings business announced that its MLP80000 primer coating meets the new U.S. MIL-DTL-32348 Type I military specification for chemical-agent-resistant powder primers (PPG) 86.09 +0.24 :

4:34PM Exide Tech beats by $0.11, beats on revs (XIDE) 10.45 +0.49 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.38 per share, includes items, $0.11 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.27; revenues rose 7.2% year/year to $800.3 mln vs the $752.4 mln consensus. "Virtually all of our markets continue to show improving trends. We are also pleased with the customer wins we have announced recently, some of which will positively impact the fourth quarter. In spite of higher lead costs as we entered our fiscal fourth quarter, we anticipate Adjusted EBITDA for the final quarter of fiscal 2011 will exceed results for the prior year comparable period."

4:33PM Lincare reports EPS in-line, revs in-line (LNCR) 27.37 -0.22 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.48 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.48; revenues rose 4.0% year/year to $422.1 mln vs the $425.4 mln consensus. The co estimates that the 4.0% increase in net rev the fourth quarter of 2010 was comprised of ~8.0% inter acquisition growth offset by ~4.0% negative impact from million of Medicare payment changes during the fourth quarter of 2010.

4:32PM Pharmasset reports 1Q11 net loss per share of ($0.69) vs. ($0.57) Thomson Reuters consensus; revenue was $200K vs. $600K consensus (VRUS) 49.33 -0.17 : Co states, "We have maintained the momentum of 2010 into 2011 by initiating the interferon sparing ELECTRON trial, as well as a 7977 and 938 combination trial. As we look to better define the role of nucleotide analogs in the future treatment of HCV, we and our partners are planning three interferon-free studies in the first half of 2011, including our own proprietary nucleotide analog combination trial with 7977 and 938. While other DAA combination trials have been impacted by the development of resistance, our nucleotide analog trials continue to demonstrate good antiviral activity, safety and a high barrier to resistance."

4:32PM Entree Gold announces entree gold intersects 988 metres of copper mineralization at Ann Mason (EGI) 3.09 +0.05 : Co announces that it has received assay results from its first diamond drill hole completed on the Ann Mason deposit in the Yerington district of Nevada. This hole (EG-AM-10-001) returned 987.8 metres averaging 0.31% Cu or 0.38% copper equivalent, including a higher grade section of 340 metres averaging 0.40% Cu or 0.51% CuEq. The hole bottomed in strong mineralization averaging 0.41% Cu or 0.53% CuEq over the last 35.8 metres, indicating the continuation of mineralization to greater depths. With completion of this hole, copper mineralization has been extended for 325 metres below the limit of the current resource.

4:31PM Intel is resuming shipments of the Intel 6 Series Chipset for use only in PC system configurations that are not impacted by the design issue; no change to updated outlook (INTC) 21.69 : Co announces that it is resuming shipments of the Intel(R) 6 Series Chipset for use only in PC system configurations that are not impacted by the design issue. Only computer makers who have committed to shipping the Intel(R) 6 Series Chipset in PC system configurations that are not impacted by the design issue will be receiving these shipments. This resumption of shipments of the Intel 6 Series Chipset is not changing the company's updated first quarter 2011 and full-year financial Outlook published on January 31st. In parallel, Intel has started manufacturing on a new version of this support chip. Intel now expects to begin shipping the new parts in mid February.

4:30PM Breitburn Energy commences 4 mln share common unit offering representing limited partner interests in the Partnership (BBEP) 22.18 +0.05 :

4:30PM Conexant receives an unsolicited, written proposal from a private equity firm, Golden Gate Private Equity, to acquire co at a price in the range of $2.35 to $2.45 per share in cash (CNXT) 2.10 +0.02 : As previously announced, co entered into a definitive merger agreement on January 9, 2011 with Standard Microsystems Corporation (SMSC) and a wholly owned subsidiary of SMSC pursuant to which co stockholders would receive for each share of co common stock $1.125 in cash and a fraction of a share of SMSC common stock equal to $1.125 divided by the volume weighted average price of SMSC common stock for the 20 trading days ending on the second trading day prior to closing, but in no event more than 0.04264 nor less than 0.03489 shares of SMSC common stock.

4:21PM One Liberty Properties announces that it is offering 2.7 mln shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering (OLP) 16.44 : Co intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to repay indebtedness and for general corporate purposes, including to fund the future acquisition of properties. Deutsche Bank Securities is acting as sole book-running manager for the offering.

4:21PM Healthcare Services Group misses by $0.01, beats on revs (HCSG) 17.16 +0.63 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.14 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.15; revenues rose 10.7% year/year to $202.1 mln vs the $199.4 mln consensus.

4:19PM Rovi completed a $750 million Senior Secured Credit Facility financing (ROVI) 64.77 +1.09 : The Credit Facility consisted of a $450 million five year Term Loan A tranche and a $300 million seven-year Term Loan B tranche. The Term Loan A bears interest, at the Company's election, at either prime plus 1.5% per annum or three month LIBOR plus 2.5% per annum. The Term Loan B bears interest, at the Company's election, at either prime plus 2.0% per annum or three month LIBOR plus 3.0% per annum, with a LIBOR floor of 1.0%.

4:19PM LPL Investment beats by $0.02, beats on revs (LPLA) 33.75 -0.15 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.42 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.40; revenues rose 11.6% year/year to $820 mln vs the $796.8 mln consensus. The strong revenue growth in the quarter was driven by double-digit growth in the Company's advisory fee and asset-based revenues, combined with modest growth in transaction-based fees, as well as market appreciation.

4:18PM Gartner beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides FY11 EPS in-line, revs in-line (IT) 36.59 +0.32 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.39 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.38; revenues rose 16.3% year/year to $382.3 mln vs the $380.1 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $1.29-1.41 vs. $1.37 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $1.43-1.48 bln vs. $1.46 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. "We achieved record levels of new business and contract value, our client and wallet retention metrics improved for the fifth consecutive quarter, and many of our other key business metrics continued to accelerate during the fourth quarter. We delivered double-digit revenue, normalized EBITDA and EPS growth for the full year 2010 and expect to deliver double-digit growth across those measures in 2011 as well."

4:18PM Advent Software beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q1 (Mar) revs in-line; guides FY11 (Dec) revs in-line (ADVS) 30.68 +0.78 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.21 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.20. Co issues in-line guidance for Q1 (Mar), sees Q1 (Mar) revs of 74-76 vs. $73.84 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11 (Dec), sees FY11 (Dec) revs of 307-314 vs. $312.12 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:16PM Orbitz renews contract through 2015 With ITA Software (OWW) 4.83 +0.02 :

4:15PM Zygo reports Q2 EPS of $0.32, including gain of $0.11 vs. ($0.07) in last year's quarter; revs rose 38% to $36.1 mln (ZIGO) 11.53 +0.63 :

4:13PM Becton Dickinson beats by $0.06, misses on revs; guides FY11 EPS in-line, revs in-line (BDX) 85.64 +1.14 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $1.35 per share, incl ~$0.07 related to the timing of certain tax benefit, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.29; revenues fell 1.4% year/year to $1.84 bln vs the $1.89 bln consensus. Co reaffirms in-line guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $5.45-5.55 vs. $5.51 Thomson Reuters consensus; reaffirms FY11 revs growth of about 4%, which calculates to ~$7.67 bln vs. $7.72 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:12PM Pennant Investment to make a public offering of 7.5 mln shares of its common stock (PNNT) 13.04 +0.08 : Co expects to use the net proceeds for general corporate or strategic purposes, including repayment of outstanding indebtedness and funding investments in accordance with its investment objectives. Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, are acting as joint bookrunning underwriters. FBR Capital Markets & Co., Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, INC., Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and RBC Capital Markets, LLC are acting as co-managers.

4:12PM Comstock reports Q4 (Dec) results, misses on revs (CRK) 27.10 +0.48 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.45 per share, may not be comparable to the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.22); Included in the net loss for the fourth quarter of 2010 is a loss of $25.8 million before income taxes ($16.8 million after tax) resulting from the sale of the Company's Mississippi properties in the quarter. Excluding this loss on the divestiture, the net loss for the fourth quarter of 2010 would have been $3.8 million or 8 cents per share. Revenues fell 21.0% year/year to $72.6 mln vs the $78.2 mln consensus.

4:12PM Badger Meter reports EPS in-line, misses on revs (BMI) 40.73 +0.09 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.42 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 14.9% year/year to $64.8 mln vs the $66.3 mln consensus.

4:11PM Two Harbors Investment to transfer listing of common stock to New York Stock Exchange (TWO) 10.14 +0.01 : Co announces that it has received authorization to transfer the listing of its common stock from the NYSE Amex to the New York Stock Exchange. The Company anticipates that trading will begin on or about February 11, 2011 under its current ticker symbol "TWO."

4:11PM Time Warner Tcom reports EPS in-line, revs in-line (TWTC) 18.07 +0.30 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.11 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.11; revenues rose 5.5% year/year to $324.8 mln vs the $323.8 mln consensus.

4:11PM Veeco Instruments beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; guides FY11 EPS above consensus, revs in-line (VECO) 45.14 +0.57 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.62 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.61; revenues rose 151.9% year/year to $300 mln vs the $302.2 mln consensus. Reports Q4 gross margins of 50.2% vs 50.3% consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $1.02-1.39 vs. $1.45 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q1 revs of $215-265 mln vs. $292.56 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for FY11, sees EPS of greater than $5.00 vs. $4.96 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of greater than $1 bln vs. $1.09 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. "Q1 2011 revenues will be lower than Q4 2010 because we are planning to ship 12-20 MOCVD reactors in the new MaxBright "cluster" format, and will not be recording any revenue on these systems in the first quarter. Timing of revenue is also being impacted by the longer order-to-revenue cycle times associated with the high percentage of business currently coming from China, primarily due to customer facility readiness. The average time to convert orders to revenue is currently several months longer in China than in other regions."

4:10PM PartnerRe beats by $0.15, beats on revs (PRE) 82.35 -0.70 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.52 per share, $0.15 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.37; revenues fell 13.3% year/year to $1.3 bln vs the $835.8 mln consensus. Co says "We saw a continuation of moderately declining pricing and terms in the January 1, 2011 renewals. As planned, we optimized the combined portfolio including the former PARIS RE business to improve balance and risk-adjusted returns. In the current market, this led to the non-renewal of some business and restructuring of other business. Although current market conditions remain challenging, our strong capital position, global franchise and broad capabilities position us well to take advantage of any opportunities as they arise."

4:10PM Casella Waste announces early settlement of tender offer and consent solicitation and notice of redemption of notes (CWST) 7.67 -0.18 : Co announces the early settlement of its previously announced cash tender offer and consent solicitation with respect to the 9.75% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2013 of the Company. As of 17:00 ET on February 4, 2011, $166,830,000 of the principal amount of the Notes had been validly tendered and not withdrawn, which represented ~85.55% of the outstanding aggregate principal amount of the Notes. Today, co accepted for purchase and made payment for all of the Notes that were validly tendered at or prior to the Consent Time. Holders of Notes who tendered their Notes at or prior to the Consent Time received $1,003.75 for each $1,000 in principal amount of the Notes validly tendered, plus any accrued and unpaid interest up to, but not including, the Early Settlement Date.

4:09PM Pzena reports Jan AUM of $16.1 bln vs $15.6 bln as of Dec 31, 2010 and $13.7 bln yr ago (PZN) 7.28 +0.04 :

4:08PM Innophos Holdings beats by $0.06, beats on revs (IPHS) 35.09 +0.56 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.86 per share, $0.06 better than the two analyst estimate of $0.80; revenues rose 30.6% year/year to $192.2 mln vs the $185.5 mln consensus. Co states, "With continued strong demand for phosphate fertilizers, the key Innophos raw materials, phosphate rock and sulfur, have risen steadily in 2010 and further increases in market prices are indicated for the first quarter 2011. At current first quarter 2011 market prices, management's expectation is for year over year raw material cost increases at the upper end of the previously indicated $10 to $15 million range per quarter. Of this, $3 million was realized in the fourth quarter 2010; a similar increase is expected for the first quarter 2011 and the remaining increase is expected to take effect in the second quarter 2011..."

4:07PM Triangle Capital announces commencement of public offering of 2.5 mln shares of common stock (TCAP) 20.48 -0.03 : The underwriters of this offering are Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc., Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, BB&T Capital Markets, a division of Scott & Stringfellow, LLC, Janney Montgomery Scott, LLC, and JMP Securities LLC.

4:07PM KEYW Holding beats by $0.03, misses on revs (KEYW) 12.73 -0.43 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.04 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.01; revenues rose 142.1% year/year to $29.3 mln vs the $31.9 mln consensus.

4:07PM Luminex beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides FY11 revs in-line (LMNX) 18.05 +0.36 : Reports Q4 (Dec) GAAP earnings of $0.07 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.05; revenues rose 7.9% year/year to $41.2 mln vs the $38.1 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees FY11 revs of $163-170 mln vs. $166.40 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:07PM Herley Industries to be acquired by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) for $19/share in cash (HRLY) 16.22 -0.20 : HRLY announces that it has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) for $19.00 per share in cash. The transaction will be accomplished through an all-cash tender offer and second-step merger, and will have a total value of approximately $270 million. The acquisition is not conditioned on Kratos being able to obtain financing. The acquisition is expected to close during the first quarter of 2011.

4:06PM Blackbaud reports EPS in-line, revs in-line (BLKB) 26.70 +0.31 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.27 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.27; revenues rose 10.1% year/year to $87 mln vs the $86.8 mln consensus. The co also announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a cash dividend of $0.48 for 2011, an increase from $0.44 paid in 2010.

4:06PM Becton Dickinson to acquire Accuri Cytometers; expected to close during the third quarter of fiscal year 2011 (BDX) 85.60 +1.10 : Co announces that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Accuri Cytometers, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company that develops and manufactures personal flow cytometers for researchers. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

4:03PM UDR announces 10% increase in common dividend to $0.80 (UDR) 23.68 +0.32 :

4:03PM Synchronoss Tech beats by $0.02, beats on revs (SNCR) 31.15 +0.82 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.21 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.19; revenues rose 43.8% year/year to $51.2 mln vs the $48.8 mln consensus.

4:03PM Horsehead Holding announces it has completed a preliminary feasibility study to construct a 150K ton/year zinc plant; initial work has commenced on basic design and engineering (ZINC) 13.85 +0.44 : Initial work has commenced on basic design and engineering and a site selection effort aimed at identifying a location for the plant is in progress. The goal is to produce zinc at much lower costs, to significantly reduce air emissions and to provide opportunities for co to not only serve its traditional hot-dip galvanizing and zinc oxide markets, but to also serve the broader market for special high grade zinc and the continuous galvanizing market as well.

4:02PM Clear Channel Outdoor misses by $0.06, misses on revs (CCO) 14.82 +0.53 : Reports Q4 (Dec) net of breakeven, $0.06 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.06; revenues rose 3.9% year/year to $793 mln vs the $805 mln consensus.

4:02PM Neoprobe Corporation common stock approved for listing on NYSE Amex (NEOP) 3.09 +0.12 : The co's common stock, which currently trades on the OTC Bulletin Board, will begin trading on the NYSE Amex on or about February 10, 2011.

3:33PM Semiconductor lagging, holds thus far at first level support (SMH) 35.69 -0.12 : The sector has underperformed as the market slipped back modestly off early highs this afternoon but it has thus far held at first level support noted in The Technical Take at 35.63/35.55 (session low 35.58). A sustained push back through 35.85/35.95 is needed over the short term in order to neutralize the weaker price action off the early high.

3:31PM CMS Energy's Consumers Energy and Detroit Edison announce a $800 mln maintenance and upgrade project in northwest Michigan (CMS) 19.43 +0.08 : Co's Consumers Energy and Detroit Edison, co-owners of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant, announce a major maintenance and upgrade project that will mean significant investment in northwest Michigan, 100 construction jobs per year and increase the plant's power generation by 16 percent. Each utility will invest ~$40 million per year over 10 years. The $800 million project will generate 100 construction jobs each year for six years.

3:25PM Source Capital increases quarterly distribution to $0.75 from $0.60 (SOR) 56.82 +0.82 : Co approved a 25% increase in the regular quarterly distribution on the Company's common stock to 75 cents a common share, payable Mar. 15, 2011, to shareholders of record as of the close of business Feb. 25, 2011. The previous rate was 60 cents a common share.

3:01PM Circor announces that the U.S. District Court of Delaware has affirmed the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's confirmation of the amended pre-negotiated Chapter 11 reorganization plan filed by its wholly owned subsidiary, Leslie Controls (CIR) 43.18 +0.81 : Co also announces that, in connection with the Bankruptcy and District Court review and approval, all appeals previously lodged by certain of Leslie's insurers have been resolved, and the amended plan was unopposed.

2:56PM Additional afternoon slip in stock indices -- Dow +69, S&P +7.9, Nasdaq Comp +15.92 (SPY) : Relative weakness has been noted in Semi SMH, (see 14:48), Materials XLB, Networking IGN, Casino BJK, Solar TAN, Disk Drive.

2:55PM L-3 Comms initiates full redemption of its outstanding 5 7/8% senior subordinated notes due 2015 (LLL) 79.05 +0.47 : Co announced that L-3 Communications Corporation, its wholly owned subsidiary, has initiated a full redemption of its outstanding $650 mln 57/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due in 2015. The Notes will be redeemed on March 9, 2011, at a redemption price of 101.958% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest to March 9, 2011.

2:48PM Semiconductor Hldrs ETF continues slide off midday highs back into the red (SMH) 35.76 -0.05 : ALTR -0.3%, AMAT -0.7%, AMD -1.2%, ATML -1.8%, BRCM -0.8%, NSM -1.4%, NVLS -0.6%, SNDK -0.5%

2:46PM CBOT Agriculture and Ethanol and ICE Exchange Sugar Closing Prices (COMDX) : March corn finished down 3.5 cents to $6.75, March wheat rose 5 cents to close at $8.5875, March soybeans fell 9 cents to close at $14.245, Feb ethanol closed up -0.01 at $2.403, while March world sugar futures closed up 0.04 cents to 32.68 cents.

2:35PM NYMEX Energy Closing Prices (COMDX) : Crude oil settled lower by $1.55 to $87.48, natural gas shed 20.1 cents to close at $4.109, heating oil ended lower by 0.94 cents to $2.7073, while RBOB gasoline finished higher by 1.57 cents to $2.451 (all March contracts).

2:32PM Seeing some intraday relative sector weakness as the stock indices hover near tight afternoon range lows -- Dow +73, S&P +9, Nasdaq Comp +20 (SPY) : Underperforming in recent action are Networking IGN, Energy XLE, Oil Service OIH, Ag/Chem MOO, Casino, Steel SLX, Restaurant.

2:16PM Stock indices slip slightly under midday range lows -- Dow +76, S&P +9.2, Nasdaq Comp +20 (SPY) : As noted near midday the upside momentum had slowed but selling interest remained limited. Intraday supports noted previously for the S&P come into play at 1318 to 1316.

2:00PM Goodrich received a follow-on contract from Defense Logistics Agency Aviation to supply over 1,600 carbon brakes and over 1,400 boltless wheels (GR) 93.54 +0.45 : Co received a follow-on contract from Defense Logistics Agency Aviation to supply over 1,600 carbon brakes and over 1,400 boltless wheels for the U.S. Air Force C-130 aircraft fleet. Deliveries will begin in October, 2011.

1:43PM WPCS Intl receives contract from the Connecticut State Police for 400 in-car digital video systems to be installed over the next three years; terms not disclosed (WPCS) 2.80 -0.04 :

1:31PM COMEX Metals Closing Prices (COMDX) : April gold finished lower by 70 cents to $1348.30, March silver gained 20.6 cents to close at $29.265, while March copper ended down 1.05 cents to $4.569.

1:15PM ManTech receives $488 million contract to sustain U.S. Military's Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) family of vehicles (MANT) 41.51 +1.01 :

1:03PM Stock indices vacillating slightly under late morning highs -- Dow +78, S&P +10.2, Nasdaq Comp +24 (SPY) : Noted in the 11:46 update that the upside momentum was slowing amid an extended intraday posture. While the indices have slipped off the highs, pressure has been virtually non-existent thus far (19 Dow points, just 2 S&P points). Initial intraday supports for the S&P during any additional backing and filling are at 1318 to 1316. Next resistances are at roughly 1325 (trendline off the Aug/Nov highs) and 1328/1330 (short term extension targets).

1:01PM United Tech announces that Cox Communications has installed four of its new generation 400 kilowatt stationary fuel cells at Cox facilities in San Diego and Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif (UTX) 83.71 +1.19 :

12:44PM Travelzoo confirms it has surpassed 22 mln subscribers worldwide (TZOO) 41.92 -3.28 : Since the beginning of the year, Travelzoo added 540,000 net unduplicated subscribers in Europe and North America.

12:29PM Crude oil trades to new lows at $87.87; now off $1.13 to $87.90 (COMDX) :

12:08PM Natural gas to fresh lows at $4.141; now off 16.3 cents to $4.147 (COMDX) :

12:01PM Infinera announces that it has been chosen by Infracom, an Italian service provider, for an upgrade to its backbone network; terms not disclosed (INFN) 8.75 +0.30 :

11:58AM Cotton futures hit limit-up after ICE raises daily maximum exchange move (BAL) 88.81 +4.76 : Cotton futures are now up 7 cents (or +4.2%) at $1.7486/lb, the most it can rise in a day. The IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) raised the limit that cotton can rise/fall (limit-up/limit down) today, but this new rule will only apply when cotton prices are $1.7001 or higher.

Today's strength is primarily due to strong China demand, a current near-term theme, but is also getting a boost today from strong India sales. The Cotton Corp. of India said cotton sales grew by 5.7% in the season from October 1.

11:46AM Fractional new session highs for stock indices, upside momentum slowing amid intraday extended posture -- Dow +85, S&P +11, Nasdaq Comp +25 (SPY) :

11:35AM Hasbro opened on the defensive after reporting but has bounced more than 5% off the low to probe its 50 ema at 45.85 -- session high 45.82 (HAS) 45.70 +0.88 :

11:23AM China North East Petroleum Correction: Q4 oil production +19% QoQ to 161K barrels; FY10 production -20% YoY to 723K barrels (NEP) 5.15 -0.10 :

11:09AM Intellipharmaceutics Intl retained the services of Doll Consulting to assist the Company with the commercialization of products in its controlled-release generic drug portfolio (IPCI) 3.96 -0.06 : Co announced it has retained the services of Doll Consulting, to assist the Company with the commercialization of products in its controlled-release generic drug portfolio and its 505 New Drug Application (NDA) portfolio.

11:08AM Steady advance continues -- Dow +88, S&P +10.8, Nasdaq Comp +23 (SPY) : Gains are broad based with relative strength (outperforming the S&P) in recent trade noted in: Oil Service OIH, Materials XLB, Disk Drive, Computer-Hardware, Silver SLV, Gold Miners GDX, Energy XLE, Restaurant, Utility UTIL.

11:05AM Cliffs Natural Resources notches new session high of 91.56, vacillating between its Jan peak and last wk/52-wk highs at 91.42/91.68 (CLF) 91.55 +1.28 :

11:02AM Flextronics & eSolar announce partnership for design services (FLEX) 7.97 +0.01 : eSolar announced that it has entered into an agreement with Flextronics for design services relating to next generation heliostats and solar collector systems. Flextronics plans to provide electromechanical design services from its location in Plano, Texas to support the future requirements of eSolar.

10:52AM Silver jumps ~20 cents to highs of the session; now up 26.1 cents to $29.31 (COMDX) :

10:39AM Bristol-Myers announced that the FDA has approved an update to the labeling for Reyataz (BMY) 25.90 +0.21 :

10:33AM Solitario Resources announce drilling results on its advanced Mt. Hamilton project situated at the southern end of the prolific Battle Mountain gold trend in eastern Nevada (XPL) 3.47 -0.03 : Co announce drilling results on its advanced Mt. Hamilton project situated at the southern end of the prolific Battle Mountain gold trend in eastern Nevada. The project is a joint venture between Solitario and Ely Gold and Minerals. The recently completed eleven-hole, 6,250-foot core drilling program that began in late-November 2010 was designed to provide feasibility-level geotechnical, metallurgical, hydro-geologic and additional resource information at the Centennial gold deposit. A Feasibility Study for production at Centennial is targeted for completion in the third quarter of 2011.

10:33AM Another round of minor new session highs for the stock indices -- Dow +72, S&P +9.2, Nasdaq Comp +19.3 (SPY) : The Nasdaq Comp and S&P have extended to short term second level resistances at 2785/2790 and 1320/1321, respectively.

10:31AM Crude oil bouncing off lows to trade back toward flat; now off 15 cents to $88.88 (COMDX) :

10:25AM Lockheed Martin receives a $339.6 mln contract option from the U.S. Navy for the fifth satellite in the Mobile User Objective System constellation (LMT) 81.15 +0.44 :

10:08AM Cintas acquires CodeShred, a document shredding company that services to further expand its presence in the New York metro area; co also recieves the Business Integrity Commission license for its New York City Document Management operations (CTAS) 29.07 +0.17 :

10:07AM Raytheon awarded $107 million contract for space fence preliminary design (RTN) 51.13 +0.93 :

10:05AM Financial Select Sector SPDR notches new session high of 16.77, flirting with last wk/Jan/10 month highs at 16.79/16.76 (XLF) 16.76 +0.15 :

10:03AM Potash lift up toward Friday's peak at 183.79, last week/52-wk high is at 185.01 (POT) 183.73 +2.29 :

10:01AM Comtech Telecom receives $1.0 mln order to support fielded U.S. government satellite communication systems (CMTL) 28.22 +0.32 :

10:01AM Harris receives $10 million order to provide international customer with secure networked tactical communication system (HRS) 47.99 +0.63 :

9:59AM Relative Sector Strength (TECHX) : Sectors that have displayed relative strength (outperforming the S&P) in recent trade include: Airline FAA, Solar TAN, Disk Drive, Finance XLF, Reg Bank KRE, Energy XLE, Oil Service OIH.

9:59AM Crude oil drops to fresh lows; now down 83 cents to $88.20 (COMDX) :

9:49AM Lagging Russell 2000 approaching its Jan peak at 807.89 -- session high 807.45 (IWM) : The Russell 2000 index has lagged behind the S&P for the last two months but it outperforming this morning bringing its Jan peak into play (See The Technical Take for chart).

9:46AM Opening Point Gainers/Losers (TECHX) : Point Gainers: BEC (+7.27), PDE (+5.94), AAPL (+3.06), FFIV (+2.87), FSLR (+3.06), BWA (+3.26), WLT (+2.89), CNA (+2.56), JOE (+2.55), LZR (+2.35), L (+2.05), CMG (+2.72)

Point Losers: WYNN (-2.24), EL (-2.34), ESV (-1.93), SYY (-1.52), ALGN (-1.26), ROST (-0.97), DVN (-1.15), WY (-0.95), UNH (-0.89), QCOR (-0.92)

9:45AM Mechel Steel signs $210 mln loan to finance construction of second line at Sibirginskaya Mine at Southern Kuzbass Coal (MTL) 33.72 +0.23 : Co announces it has signed a loan agreement to finance construction of the second line at the Sibirginskaya mine. According to the terms of the agreement, Transcreditbank OAO grants Southern Kuzbass Coal Company OAO a loan of 6.189 billion rubles ~$210.4 million dollars.

9:43AM Mkt Vctrs Global Agribusiness working back toward its Jan high and last week's 52-wk peak at 57.02/57.12 -- session high 56.90 (MOO) 56.84 +0.31 : AGU, ADM, DE, MON, POT, SYT, MOS, SQM, BRFS.

9:37AM Early Sector Strength (TECHX) : A firmer start for the market averages with Solar TAN +1.7% (YGE, LDK, JKS, STP, CSIQ, JASO, SOL), Mining XME +1%, Auto Parts +1%, Disk Drive +1%, Oil Service OIH +0.6%, Refiners (VLO, FTO, TSO, ALJ, HOC, SUN), Drillers (ATW, NE, DO, RIG, NBR), Machinery providing leadership.

9:36AM BioSpecifics Tech amends its rights agreement (BSTC) 26.16 -0.49 : Co announced that its Board of Directors has amended its Rights Agreement (the "Rights Agreement"), adopted May 14, 2002 and previously amended June 19, 2003 (the "Amendment"). The Amendment increases the ownership threshold for determining "Acquiring Person" status under the Rights Agreement from 15% to 18% and extends the "Final Expiration Date" for an additional two years, to May 31, 2014.

9:31AM LTC Properties entered into a purchase agreement to acquire one skilled nursing property with 98 licensed beds and an adjacent property for $11.5 mln (LTC) 27.35 +0.21 : Co entered into a purchase agreement to acquire one skilled nursing property with 98 licensed beds and an adjacent property that provides a continuum of care comprising 20 licensed skilled nursing beds, 40 assisted living units, 34 independent living units and 19 cottages and patio homes. The properties are located in South Carolina and the aggregate purchase price is $11,45 mln. The transaction is scheduled to close on or about February 28, 2011. Simultaneous with the purchase, the co will lease the properties, under a 10-year triple net master lease, to an unrelated third-party operator. This acquisition will be financed by the use of funds from the Company's unsecured line of credit. Co further announced that the projected GAAP revenues provided from the acquisition of these properties for calendar years 2011 and 2012 are $966,000 and $1,160,000, respectively, which includes non-cash straight-line rent of approximately $103,000 in 2011 and 2012.

9:30AM Tenet Healthcare and Aetna (AET) sign new national multi-year agreement (THC) 6.74 +0.07 : Under this agreement, which took effect January 1, 2011, members of Aetna commercial and Medicare Advantage health plans will be able to continue receiving covered health care services from Tenet facilities and physicians. The agreement includes all of Tenet's 49 hospitals as well as Tenet's 81 freestanding diagnostic imaging centers and ambulatory surgery centers nationwide.

9:30AM Trinity Industries announces that its subsidiary, Trinity Industries Leasing Compan, has renewed its $475 million railcar leasing warehouse facility through February 2013 (TRN) 28.44 :

9:21AM Open Text awarded framework agreement for government digital data management in the UK; financial terms not disclosed (OTEX) 55.64 :

9:21AM Natural gas drops to fresh lows at $4.161; now off 14.4 cents to $4.166 (COMDX) : Session lows are nat gas' worst since late Dec.

9:15AM Neenah Paper to call $65 mln of 2014 Notes (NP) 19.59 : Co announces that it has elected to conduct an early redemption of $65 mln in aggregate principal amount of its 7.375% Senior Notes due in 2014. There are currently $223 mln of Notes outstanding with a call premium of 2.458% as of the date of the Partial Redemption. Following the Partial Redemption there will be $158 mln of Notes outstanding. The Partial Redemption is expected to be financed by ~$40 mln of cash on hand, with the remainder from borrowings under the co's existing $100 mln revolving credit facility. The co currently has nothing drawn against this facility. Following the transaction, interest expense on the 2014 Notes will be reduced by ~$5 mln per year.

9:12AM Yongye Intl. responds to "misconceptions" in recent Seeking Alpha article; says efficacy of its products has been confirmed by large scale tests (YONG) 7.28 : Co responds to "misconceptions regarding its products and business model contained in a recent article posted on the website Seeking Alpha". Co believes that the author drew conclusions based inadequate research and a number of misunderstandings regarding Yongye and its products. "The efficacy of our product has been confirmed by large scale tests held at Chinese government farms. Shengmingsu has won top awards for consecutive years at one of China's top agricultural trade shows, the China Yangling Agricultural Hi-Tech Fair. Yongye also possesses the Fertilizer License certified by China's Ministry of Agriculture."

9:11AM China MediaExpress responds to "misleading and inaccurate allegations"; has made available on its investor website a detailed letter to shareholders from its Founder and CEO (CCME) 13.89 : From the letter: "During the week of Chinese New Year, CCME's stock was the subject of an attack by short sellers that caused volatile swings in its stock price. Management and CCME's Board of Directors are keenly aware of their responsibility to protect our investors from these reckless and baseless attacks and, accordingly, the Company's board has authorized the engagement of outside counsel and other consultants to advise it with regard to appropriate countermeasures... The Company will actively resist the efforts of these short sellers. First and foremost, the company categorically denies the allegations made in these publications. We also note that the attacks are continuing and we fully expect to continue to have to take appropriate countermeasures."

9:09AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* AstraZeneca (AZN) and Targacept (TRGT) announced initiation of a Phase 2b clinical trial of TC-5214, a nicotinic channel blocker, as a "switch" monotherapy treatment for patients with major depressive disorder who do not respond adequately to initial antidepressant therapy.
* Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC, a subsidiary Marsh Inc. (MMC), announced the acquisition of Hampton Roads Bonding, a surety bonding agency for commercial, road, utility, maritime, and governmental contractors in Virginia. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
* SkyPeople Fruit Juice (SPU) revealed four new Hedetang juice labels for a 500ml bottle to retail customers and distributors at the Company's launch event in Xi'an on December 28, 2010 and has now begun shipping to their customer bases in Xi'an and Beijing.
* WestJet and Delta Air Lines (DAL) announced the immediate start of an interline agreement. This agreement allows WestJet and Delta customers to purchase connecting flights on one ticket, receive boarding passes for all segments at their first check-in, and tag bags through to their final destination.
* Blackboard (BBBB) and Sony (SNE) Electronics announced they have seen strong momentum in customer adoption of the Blackboard Transact contactless campus card solution.
* A123 Systems (AONE) announced an order from AES Gener for 20MW of A123's advanced energy storage solutions for a spinning reserve project in Northern Chile.

9:08AM Todd Shipyards: Vigor Industrial announces 77% tender in offer for shares of Todd Shipyards Corporation; extends offer to satisfy closing conditions (TOD) 22.06 : The cos announced that Vigor's wholly owned subsidiary, Nautical Miles, has extended the expiration date for its tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Todd at a price of $22.27 per share net to the holder in cash until Feb 11, 2011 from February 4, 2011. Vigor also announced that as of February 4th the conditions set forth in its financing commitments had been satisfied, including the execution of definitive loan agreements with its senior and mezzanine debt lenders on terms consistent with the respective commitments and the deposit by Mr. Foti of $2 million in escrow to be used to purchase senior subordinated notes, except for those customary conditions which by their nature can only be satisfied simultaneously with the closing.

9:02AM Callon Petroleum intends to offer 9 mln shares of its common stock (CPE) 9.19 : Co intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions, 9 mln shares of its common stock, par value $0.01 per share. In connection with this offering, Callon will grant the underwriters an option to purchase 1,350,000 additional shares of common stock to cover any over-allotments. Callon intends to use the net proceeds to fund a portion of its 2011 capital budget and for general corporate purposes, including possible future acquisitions. Callon also intends to use $35.0 mln of the net proceeds to redeem $31.0 mln of its outstanding 13% Senior Notes due 2016 and pay the associated redemption premium.

9:01AM Orient Paper provides appraisal and capacity check update; the Appraisal Firm estimated the aggregate annual production capacity of these three lines to be 300K tons (ONP) 5.10 : The Appraisal Firm estimated the currently operating corrugating medium production line and two offset printing paper production lines aggregate annual production capacity of these three lines to be 300,000 tons. In the most recent filing, it disclosed that its total production capacity was ~280,000 tons (not including the two digital photo paper lines). Co subsequently demolished a 34,000 tons per annum production line in June 2010. In addition, with respect to these three lines, the Appraisal Firm appraised their aggregate current fair market value, in continued use, at ~RMB 224 mln (or ~$33.4 mln). The net book value of these lines and ancillary equipment as included in the books and records as of December 31, 2010 is RMB 201 mln (or ~$30 mln). With respect to the two digital photo paper coating lines, the Appraisal Firm report appraised the current fair market value, in continued use, of the two lines and ancillary equipment at ~RMB 87 mln (or ~$12.7 mln). The co acquired these coating lines and equipment for a total purchase price of RMB 93 mln (or ~$13.6 mln) in November 2009. The net book value of the coating lines and the equipment as included in the books and records as of December 31, 2010 is ~RMB 88 mln (or ~$12.9 mln). With respect to the new corrugating medium production line and related facilities still under construction, the Appraisal Firm indicated that the estimated annual production capacity of 360,000 tons as reasonable. Co previously announced the construction of this new line with an annual capacity of 360,000 tons in a press release dated April 12, 2010.

8:56AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Ecopetrol S.A. (EC) announced that it has proven the presence of hydrocarbons at the exploratory well Tinkhana-1, located in the block known as Western Area (Area Occidental) in Putumayo.
* Daimler AG selected Research Frontiers' (REFR) patented SPD-Smart light-control technology for one of its latest Mercedes-Benz innovations: the MAGIC SKY CONTROL panoramic glass roof. The first Mercedes-Benz vehicle model to offer the MAGIC SKY CONTROL glass roof as an option will be the new Mercedes-Benz SLK which debuted on January 29, 2011.
* Kimber Resources (KBX) announced assay results from a program of comprehensive channel sampling of surface trenches at the Veta Minitas deposit at its Monterde Project in Mexico. Highlights of surface trench assay results were included in the press release. Co also announced results from the first four holes of its reverse circulation drilling program at the Carmen deposit at its Monterde Project in Mexico. The purpose of this first phase of the planned 30,000 metre drill program of reverse circulation and diamond drilling is to expand and upgrade mineral resources within the proposed open pit at Carmen.

8:53AM Newfield Expl says proved oil reserves at year-end 2010 totaled more than 200 MMBbls, a 20% increase YoY (NFX) 74.69 : Co announces that its proved oil reserves at year-end 2010 totaled more than 200 MMBbls, a 20% increase over year-end 2009 proved oil reserves. The significant rise in the quantity of proved oil reserves contributed to more than an 80% increase in the present value of Newfield's proved reserves, discounted at 10%, which totaled $6.8 billion at year-end 2010.

8:43AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Moser Baer Technologies, a U.S. subsidiary of Moser Baer India and Universal Display (PANL), announced that the two cos have agreed to terms of a Memorandum of Agreement for technology licensing, material supply and technology assistance to support Moser Baer Technologies' initiatives in white OLED lighting. This agreement follows a program that the two cos announced last year in which the cos received $4 mln from the U.S. Department of Energy to design and build the first white OLED lighting pilot manufacturing facility in the United States.
* Diversified Agency Services, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC), announced that it has acquired Communispace Corporation, the research pioneer of online consumer insight communities for the world's leading brands.
* iRobot Corp. (IRBT) announced it has received international orders totaling $4.4 million in the first quarter of 2011 for the delivery of 27 iRobot 510 PackBot tactical mobile robots and spare parts.

8:37AM DeVry commented on the unofficial trial three-year cohort default rates (DV) 52.99 : Co commented on the unofficial trial three-year cohort default rates issued by the U.S. Department of Education for its institutions for fiscal year 2008. The three-year data for the cohort year 2008 covers the fiscal years ending September 30, 2008, 2009 and 2010, and therefore do not completely account for the significant investments made in student services in recent years. The three-year rates are for informational use only and not subject to the same sanctions as the two-year rates. In addition, because these are unofficial rates and serve as preview data only, institutions may not submit challenges or appeals that normally apply and they do not reflect certain adjustments that may be made to official rates. "While the cohort default rate represents borrowers that meet these definitions during the three-year measurement period, the vast majority ultimately repay their loans... DeVry has continued to make significant investments in student services, which include resources such as student success coaches and financial literacy counselors. Our schools remain focused on helping students understand and meet their financial responsibilities."

8:34AM TD Ameritrade reports monthly metrics: An average of 452,000 client trades per day, +7% YoY (AMTD) 20.76 : Co announces metrics for January 2011. Monthly activities included: 1) An average of 452,000 client trades per day in January 2011, up 7 percent from January 2010 and up 25 percent from December 2010; 2) Approximately $394.5 billion in total client assets as of January 31, 2011, up 25 percent from January 2010 and up 2 percent from December 2010; 3) Average spread-based balances of $59.6 billion, up 16 percent from January 2010 and up 2 percent from December 2010.1; and 4) Average fee-based balances of $76.7 billion, up 31 percent from January 2010 and up 4 percent from December 2010.1

8:33AM Response Genetics appoints Christine Meda as the co's president (RGDX) 2.30 : Co announces the addition of Christine Meda as the co's president. Kathleen Danenberg, who held this position previously, will continue to act as CEO. Most recently, Meda was president and CEO of Arcxis Biotechnologies.

8:32AM Mercury General misses by $0.85, misses on revs (MCY) 42.94 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.15 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.85 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.70; revenues fell 3.2% year/year to $655.6 mln vs the $674.3 mln consensus. Results in 4Q10 were negatively impacted by catastrophic rainstorms in California and homeowner's losses in Florida as a result of sinkhole claims. The Company estimates that losses resulting from the California rainstorms were approximately $25 mln. The Florida homeowners line of business incurred an underwriting loss of approximately $19 million in the fourth quarter, which includes a premium deficiency reserve of $6 mln. The Company is in the process of withdrawing from the Florida homeowners market and intends to provide the mandated 180 day non-renewal notice to its ~8,000 Florida homeowners policyholders beginning March 2011. The co expects the withdrawal to be complete in the second half of 2012. The co's combined ratio (GAAP basis) was 109.9% in the fourth quarter of 2010 and 100.7% for the year compared with 98.1% and 96.9% for the same periods in 2009.

8:32AM Imperial Sugar misses by $0.18, misses on revs (IPSU) 12.00 : Reports Q1 (Dec) loss of $0.75 per share, $0.18 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.57); revenues rose 30.8% year/year to $227.4 mln vs the $249.4 mln consensus.

8:32AM Verizon confirms iPhone 4 availability this Thursday (VZ) 36.31 : Co announces beginning at 7 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 10, iPhone 4 will be available at more than 2,000 Verizon Wireless Communications Stores nationwide and Apple's retail stores. iPhone 4 is available for a suggested retail price of $199.99 for the 16 GB model and $299.99 for the 32 GB model with a new two-year customer agreement. Customers can subscribe to a Nationwide Talk plan (beginning at $39.99 for 450 minutes) or a Nationwide Talk and Text plan (beginning at $59.99 for 450 minutes and includes unlimited text, picture and video messaging), as well as an unlimited Email and Web data plan for $29.99 per month.

8:31AM ZBB Energy announces that the NYSE Amex has accepted its compliance plan for continued listing (ZBB) 1.13 :

8:26AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Emeritus Corporation (ESC) announced the signing of an agreement with Columbia Pacific Advisors to manage the three communities for a monthly fee equal to 5% of gross revenues .
* Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (HOT) has signed agreements with Faik Celik Turizm, a division of Faik Celik Holding, to develop two new hotels in Turkey.
* XDx announced that it has entered into a multi-year agreement with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH) to provide heart transplant patients eligible for XDx's AlloMap test with the convenience of having their blood drawn at participating LabCorp sites across the United States.
* i365 Inc., A Seagate Company (STX), announced partnerships with three leading IT Solutions Providers that will now offer EVault Cloud-Connected storage solutions deeper into their respective customer bases.
* Discover Financial Services (DFS) and Banco Popular de Puerto Rico announced that they signed an agreement to expand Discover card acceptance in Puerto Rico.
* Symantec (SYMC) announced the Encryption Solutions Specialization, which provides Symantec partners with a demonstrated expertise in Symantec Encryption solutions with unique benefits designed to help increase their competitive advantage, improve recognition by customers and drive more revenue. Co's partners achieve the Encryption Solutions Specialization by completing sales and technical accreditation for Symantec's encryption products, including PGP Encryption and Symantec Endpoint Encryption.
* WestJet and Delta Air Lines (DAL) announced the immediate start of an interline agreement. This agreement allows WestJet and Delta customers to purchase connecting flights on one ticket, receive boarding passes for all segments at their first check-in, and tag bags through to their final destination.
* OSI Systems (OSIS) announced that its Healthcare division, Spacelabs Healthcare, has received an ~$2.3 million contract from Princeton HealthCare System.
* ARCADIS (ARCAD) announced that Malcolm Pirnie, the water division of ARCADIS, has been selected to support Veolia Water for managing the water sector in the country of Oman.
* The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin (LMT) a $107 mln follow-on contract for the next phase of Space Fence, a program that will increase space situational awareness and enhance safety for both manned and unmanned space operations. Under the 18-month contract, Lockheed Martin will further develop and prototype its ground-based radar system design in preparation for a final Space Fence production contract next year.
* Sasol (SSL) shareholders are advised that the JSE has approved the listing of 2,838,565 Sasol BEE ordinary shares of no par value on the BEE Segment of the Main Board of the JSE with effect from the commencement of trading on Monday, 7 February 2011.
* Strategic Hotels & Resorts (BEE) announced that the company has closed a definitive agreement to recapitalize the joint venture that owns the Hotel del Coronado. The recapitalization transaction values the hotel at ~$590 million.
* ArcelorMittal (MT) and Nunavut Iron Ore Acquisition announced that they have taken-up an additional 89,710,019 common shares of Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation under their outstanding offer of C$1.50 per Common Share and C$0.10 per common share purchase warrants issued pursuant to a warrant indenture dated 31 January 2007 of Baffinland.

8:23AM Copa Holdings released preliminary passenger traffic statistics for Jan 2011 says ASMs rose 24% YoY, while RPMs rose 20.7% YoY (CPA) 56.93 :

8:12AM Ivanhoe Energy reports it has been assigned 220 mln barrels of 3P reserves at Tamarack Project (IVAN) 3.44 : Co announces that probable and probable plus possible reserves have been recognized for the Tamarack Project. GLJ Petroleum Consultants has assigned estimated probable plus possible bitumen reserves of 220 mln barrels and probable bitumen reserves of 176 mln barrels to Tamarack. Along with the reserves additions, the independent 2010 evaluation recognized 345 mln barrels of best estimate contingent resource. Co holds a 100% working interest in this Project which is expected to produce at ~40,000 barrels per day for at least 30 years.

8:10AM Circor acquires Valvulas S.F. Industria e Comercio Ltda; SF generated ~$20 million in revs in 2010 and co expects that the acquisition will be accretive to earnings in the first year; terms of the agreement were not disclosed (CIR) 42.37 :

8:09AM Live Nation acquires remaining equity stake in Front Line Management Group for total of $116.2 mln; Liberty acquires 1.8 mln shares of co's stocks for 18.8 mln in cash and agrees to purchase additional 5.5 mln for $57.7 mln in cash (LYV) 10.48 : Co announces that it has acquired substantially all of the remaining equity stake in Front Line Management Group, Inc. that it did not previously own for total consideration of $116.2 million in cash and stock.The cash portion of the transaction totaled $56.5 million and was funded with cash on hand. The remaining $59.7 million was paid using newly-issued shares of Live Nation common stock. As a result of the transaction, Live Nation will consolidate the entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Of the total shares issued, Mr. Azoff received 1.8 million shares of common stock and Madison Square Garden received 3.9 million shares of common stock. Co also announces that it has entered into an agreement with Liberty, whereby Liberty has acquired 1.8 million shares of Live Nation common stock for $18.8 million in cash. Liberty also agreed to purchase an additional 5.5 million shares of common stock for consideration of $57.7 million in cash.

8:05AM Endwave to be acquired by GigOptix (OTCBB: GGOX) in share conversion (ENWV) 2.24 : Under the terms of the merger agreement, all outstanding shares of Endwave common stock, including those issuable upon settlement of outstanding restricted stock units, and outstanding in-the-money Endwave stock options, will be converted into shares of GigOptix common stock such that immediately after the merger, such shares represent ~42.5% of all outstanding GigOptix common stock. Based on the number of shares of Endwave and GigOptix common stock outstanding as of January 31, 2011, ~9.1 million shares of GigOptix common stock will be issued to holders of Endwave common stock, registered stock units and stock options. The issuance of shares will be made pursuant to an effective Registration Statement on Form S-4 to be filed shortly with the Securities and Exchange Commission. GigOptix will continue its best efforts to list GigOptix common stock on NYSE Amex or another national securities exchange.

8:03AM Sysco misses by $0.03, reports revs in-line (SYY) 29.85 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.44 per share, $0.03 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.47; revenues rose 5.8% year/year to $9.38 bln vs the $9.47 bln consensus. "Our financial results for the second quarter reflect the unfavorable impact of certain market conditions and operational challenges that we were unable to fully overcome in the near term. Specifically, accelerating and significant food cost inflation negatively impacted our customers' purchasing budgets, contributed to increased gross margin pressure and meaningfully increased our selling expense. In addition, higher year over year pension and fuel costs also adversely impacted our ability to grow operating earnings over the prior year."

8:03AM Matrix Service beats by $0.03, beats on revs; narrows FY11 EPS guidance (MTRX) 11.12 : Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $0.20 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.17; revenues rose 16.6% year/year to $175.3 mln vs the $162.5 mln consensus. The increase of $1.4 million was due to higher revenues, partially offset by lower gross margins which decreased to 11.3% in the second quarter of fiscal 2011 compared to 12.3% in the comparable period a year earlier. The decrease in gross margins was due to lower direct margins partially offset by the favorable effect of improved recovery of construction overhead costs in the second quarter of fiscal 2011. Consolidated backlog decreased $29.2 million, or 7.4%, to $366.0 million as of December 31, 2010 compared to $395.2 million as of September 30, 2010. The December 31, 2010 backlog remains above the fiscal 2010 year end backlog of $353.2 million. Co narrows guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $0.60-0.75, prior $0.60-0.80,vs. $0.71 Thomson Reuters consensus. Matrix Service expects the second half of fiscal 2011 to be consistent with the first half of the fiscal year, with the fourth quarter being much stronger than the third quarter. Further, the Company expects gross margins to increase slightly in the last half of the fiscal year.

8:02AM PriceSmart announces that for the month of January 2011, net sales increased 22.8% to $130.7 million from $106.4 million yr ago (PSMT) 36.53 : Co announced that for the month of January 2011, net sales increased 22.8% to $130.7 million from $106.4 million in January a year earlier. For the four months ended January 31, 2011, net sales increased 22.3% to $693.5 million from $567.1 million in the same period last year. For the four weeks ended January 30, 2011, comparable warehouse sales for warehouse clubs open at least 12 full months increased 17.1% compared to the same four-week period last year.

8:02AM DepoMed reports results of Phase 1 Trial of twice-daily formulation of DM-1992 in Parkinson's Patients; DM-1992 was well tolerated in the study (DEPO) 9.87 : Co announced that in its second Phase 1 pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic study in Parkinson's patients, DM-1992, Depomed's investigative novel gastric-retentive, extended-release formulation of levodopa/carbidopa, maintained therapeutic blood levels of levodopa over 24 hours in a twice-daily formulation. Two distinct twice-daily formulations of DM-1992 were tested in the study. Both formulations are projected at steady state to consistently maintain levodopa blood levels above the efficacious threshold of 300ng/mL for 24 hours, as mean levodopa blood levels after 24 hours exceeded 300ng/mL. DM-1992 was well tolerated in the study.

8:02AM Pride Intl confirms it will be acquired by Ensco (ESV) for $41.60/share in cash and stock deal (PDE) 34.38 : Ensco (ESV) and PDE jointly announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Ensco will combine with Pride in a cash and stock transaction valued at $41.60 per share based on Ensco's closing share price on 4 February 2011. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Pride stockholders will receive 0.4778 newly-issued shares of Ensco plus $15.60 in cash for each share of Pride common stock. Ensco expects the combined company to realize annual pre-tax expense synergies of at least $50 million for full year 2012 and beyond. The combination is projected by Ensco management to be immediately accretive to Ensco earnings and cash flow per share before synergies. Based on the closing price of each company's shares on 4 February 2011, the estimated enterprise value of the combined company is $16 billion. The total estimated revenue backlog for the combined company is approximately $10 billion.

7:54AM Ur-Energy announces CAD$30 mln bought deal common share financing with 10 mln common shares priced at CAD $3.00/share (URG) 3.23 :

7:43AM Partner Comms announces receiving a lawsuit and a motion for the recognition of this lawsuit as a class action; total amount claimed is estimated by the plaintiffs to be ~NIS 560 mln (PTNR) 18.92 :

7:35AM Transdigm Group beats by $0.30, beats on revs; raises FY11 EPS, rev guidance (TDG) 79.25 : Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.89 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.30 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.59; revenues rose 30.2% year/year to $240 mln vs the $237 mln consensus. Co raises guidance for FY11, EPS to $3.70-4.09, excluding non-recurring items, from $3.48-3.90, vs. $3.78 Thomson Reuters consensus; revs to $1.193-1.225 bln from $1.16-1.22 bln vs. $1.21 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Organic net sales growth was ~10.6%. The acquisitions of Dukes Aerospace, Semco Instruments and McKechnie Aerospace accounted for the balance of the sales increase.

7:32AM Toronto-Dominion Bank Comments on OSFI's Advisory on the Phase-Out of Non-Qualifying Capital Instruments under Basel III; co currently expects to exercise a regulatory event redemption right only in 2022 (TD) 79.31 : Co announces that it has reviewed and analyzed the advisory released by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, clarifying the phase-out of non-qualifying capital instruments under Basel III and OSFI's expectations with respect to the use of redemption rights under regulatory event clauses in non-qualifying capital instruments. Based on the rules set out in OSFI's advisory, co currently expects to exercise a regulatory event redemption right only in 2022 in respect of the TD Capital Trust IVTM Notes - Series 2 outstanding at that time.

7:18AM A.D.A.M. Inc. shareholders have approved the Agreement and Plan of Merger with subsidiary of Ebix (EBIX) (ADAM) 7.45 : Under the terms of the merger agreement, at the closing of the merger, each share of common stock of A.D.A.M. will be converted into the right to receive 0.3122 shares of common stock of Ebix.

7:17AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced publication of the BLISS-52 study of BENLYSTA in autoantibody-positive patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus in The Lancet.
* Northern Trust (NTRS) announced that it has received approval from the Finansinspektionen and the UK Financial Services Authority to offer asset management products and services to investors across the Nordic region, directly from its Stockholm office.
* Descartes Systems Group (DSGX) announced that industry-standard PC*MILER|Worldwide 24.1 routing, mileage and mapping software has been successfully tested and integrated with the latest release of Descartes Transportation Manager.
* Rudolph Technologies (RTEC) announced that it has received multiple system orders from a major Asian foundry and an IDM with fabrication facilities in the U.S. for its latest MetaPULSE-G opaque metrology tool.
* Salix Pharmaceuticals (SLXP) and Progenics Pharmaceuticals (PGNX) announced that they have entered into an exclusive worldwide (except Japan) agreement by which Salix has licensed rights to RELISTOR (methylnaltrexone bromide).
* Ormat Technologies (ORA) announced that its subsidiary, Ormat Nevada has completed a $24.9 million tax equity transaction with JPM Capital Corporation (JPM).

7:06AM Genoptix FTC grants early termination of the waiting period applicable to the cash tender offer by Novartis (NVS) to purchase all outstanding shares of common stock of $25.00 per share (GXDX) 24.93 :

7:05AM MF Global intends to offer $250 mln aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2016 (MF) 8.32 : Co announces it intends to offer $250 mln aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2016. Co expects to use a portion of the net proceeds from the offering of the convertible notes to fund the cost of entering into the convertible note hedge transactions described below. Co also expects to use the remainder of the net proceeds from the offering to repay outstanding indebtedness under its $1.2 bln revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes.

7:05AM Albany Molecular misses by $0.01, beats on revs (AMRI) 4.89 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.16 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.15); revenues rose 12.0% year/year to $48.6 mln vs the $47.9 mln consensus.

7:03AM Emergent Group to be acquired by Universal Hospital for $8.46 per share (LZR) 6.06 : Co announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Universal Hospital Services, whereby it will make a cash tender offer of $8.46 per share for all outstanding shares of Emergent Group after a customary "go-shop" period of 21 days. UHS has estimated that the total enterprise value of the transaction including debt assumption is approximately $70 million. Assuming that UHS acquires at least 65% of the outstanding shares on a fully diluted basis, UHS intends to promptly take appropriate action to merge Emergent Group into a wholly-owned UHS subsidiary and pay all-non-tendering holders of Emergent Group the same consideration per share as paid in the tender offer. The directors and executive officers of Emergent Group, holding in the aggregate ~47% of the outstanding shares, have agreed to tender their shares in the tender offer unless it is terminated as a result of a superior proposal. The tender offer is expected to commence in early March 2011. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition. The companies expect to close the transaction within 45 to 90 days.

7:03AM Beckman Coulter to be acquired by Danaher for $83.50 (BEC) 75.17 : BEC and Danaher announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Danaher will acquire all of BEC's outstanding common stock for $83.50 per share in cash (without interest), representing an approximate 45% premium over the closing price of Beckman Coulter's common stock on December 9, 2010 before rumors of an acquisition entered the marketplace. The transaction is valued at approximately $6.8 billion, including debt assumed and net of cash acquired. open for a minimum of 20 business days following commencement of the Offer. The Offer is expected to be conditioned upon, among others, at least a majority of the outstanding Beckman Coulter shares being tendered, as well as the satisfaction of other customary conditions. The transaction is structured as a tender offer for all outstanding shares of Beckman Coulter followed by a merger.

7:03AM Lorillard beats by $0.07, beats on revs (LO) 75.00 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.74 per share, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.67; revenues rose 9.4% year/year to $1.02 bln vs the $1 bln consensus.

7:02AM Wesco Financial Corp. to be acquired by Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A); the transaction values the 19.9% of Wesco not owned by Berkshire at ~$547.6 million (WSC) 380.67 : The merger agreement provides that each share of Wesco common stock not owned by Berkshire Hathaway will be converted into the right to receive an amount, either in cash or Berkshire Class B Common Stock, at the election of the shareholder, equal to: (i) $386.55, plus (ii) an earnings factor of $.98691 per share per month from and after February 1, 2011 through and including the anticipated effective time of the merger, plus or minus (iii) the change in net unrealized appreciation of Wesco's investment securities and the amount of net realized investment gains or losses with respect to Wesco's investment securities from February 1, 2011 to the close of business on the second full trading day prior to the date of the special meeting of the shareholders of Wesco to vote on the transaction, minus (iv) the per share amount of cash dividends declared with respect to Wesco's common stock having a record date from and after February 4, 2011 through and including the anticipated effective time of the merger, and minus (v) certain fees and expenses incurred by Wesco in connection with the transaction.

7:02AM Chesapeake Energy to sell its Fayetteville Shale assets and investments in Frac Tech Holdings and Chaparral Energy as Part of Its 2011-12 "25/25 Plan;" proceeds could exceed $5.0 bln (CHK) 30.06 : Co announces that, as part of its 2011-12 strategic and financial "25/25 Plan," the co has decided to sell all of its Fayetteville Shale assets, as well as its equity investments in Frac Tech Holdings and Chaparral Energy. If these sales are completed, co anticipates that the combined pre-tax proceeds could exceed $5.0 bln. Co owns 25.8% of Frac Tech and 20.0% of Chaparral. In light of co's plan to reduce its long-term debt by 25% in 2011-12, the co plans to use the net proceeds from these sales and its previously announced Niobrara joint venture to retire ~$2.0-3.0 bln of its shorter-dated senior notes and to also reduce borrowings under its revolving bank credit facility. The amount of senior notes retired will depend in part on co's ability to acquire its senior notes in the market or through tender offers.

7:00AM Mercury Computer announces proposed offering of 4 mln common shares (MRCY) 18.77 : Co announces that it intends to offer 4,000,000 shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. Jefferies & Company, Inc. and Lazard Capital Markets LLC are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Gleacher & Company Securities, Inc., Merriman Capital, Inc. and Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. are acting as co-managers for the offering.

6:53AM Venoco to offer a $500 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due 2019 (VQ) 21.01 :

6:50AM Venoco intends to offer 4 mln shares of common stock to the public through an underwritten offering (VQ) 21.01 : Co intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to reduce certain indebtedness and/or for general corporate purposes. BofA Merrill Lynch and BMO Capital Markets will act as joint book-running managers for the offering.

6:41AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Reliv (RELV) introduced a new energy shot, Reliv 24K, that delivers healthy energy and mental focus, relieves stress.
* Cognizant (CTSH) announced plans to further expand its real estate construction program in India. As part of the expansion program, Cognizant will invest more than $500 mln through the end of 2014 to expand its owned campus footprint with the addition of over 8 mln square feet, which will have the capacity to house over 55,000 employees.
* SAP AG (SAP) announced a major update in its portfolio of on-demand solutions: Feature pack 2.6 for the SAP Business ByDesign solution has been generally available since February 1, 2011, offering a slate of new capabilities.
* Integra LifeSciences (IART) announced today the launch of Integra Allograft Cancellous Sponge, a compressible bone graft composed of 100% cancellous bone.
* Ashford University, an academic institution owned by Bridgepoint Education (BPI), has formed a new articulation agreement with Las Vegas, New Mexico-based Luna Community College.
* L & L Energy (LLEN) announced that it has secured the exclusive right to market super compliance coal from the Bowie Mine for export to China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea.
* Hydrogenics Corporation (HYGS) announced that the Company has received contracts for the delivery of nine electrolyzers to customers in Africa and Asia.

6:34AM Hasbro beats by $0.07, misses on revs (HAS) 44.82 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.99 per share, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.92; revenues fell 7.0% year/year to $1.28 bln vs the $1.3 bln consensus. "Over the past several years, Hasbro has leveraged its growing profitability and healthy balance sheet to make significant investments in our future, and in 2010 we achieved our highest operating profit margin in 25 years. In addition, we are sharing our success with our shareholders as evidenced by our recent dividend increase and the $637 million investment we made in buying back shares in 2010. We expect to begin seeing the return from many of our recent investments, supporting our belief that we should be able to grow revenues and earnings per share in 2011."

6:32AM Crawford declares quarterly dividend of $0.02 on both Class A and B shares (CRD.A) 2.91 :

6:31AM Venoco announces total proved oil and gas reserves as of 12/31/2010 were 85.1 million barrels of oil equivalent at SEC benchmark pricing of $79.43 per barrel of oil and $4.38 per thousand cubic feet of natural gas (VQ) 21.01 : Co's production in 2010 was ~6.7 MMBOE or 18,241 BOE per day.

6:28AM Almaden Minerals recommences drilling at Almaden's Ixtaca Project (AAU) 3.82 : Co announces that two drill exploration and definition program is now underway at the co's wholly owned Ixtaca gold-silver project located in Puebla State, Mexico. Co's goal for 2011 at Almaden is to outline the potential of the Ixtaca Zone through a minimum CAD2 mln drill program. Also, co states drilling in 2011 is designed to explore the size potential of the Ixtaca zone. Drilling is also planned on other targets on the property that have the potential for vein mineralisation similar to that of the Ixtaca Zone.

5:44AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Denver-based Alcohol Monitoring Systems filed suit today in Colorado's Federal District Court asserting that Boulder-based BI Incorporated, a pending acquisition of The GEO Group (GEO), has infringed multiple patents with their BI TAD system.
* Callon Petroleum (CPE) announced that the arbitration panel reviewing its claims against the joint interest owner in the Entrada Project had delivered its final decision in which it ruled that the company was not entitled to recover any damages.
* Columbia Bank (COLB) announced the opening of its 85th retail branch, which opened January 31, 2011, in Everett, Wash.
* Chrome Systems, a subsidiary of DealerTrack (TRAK), annouced a solution offering an online finance payment calculation service for automotive industry portals and websites.
* Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, owned by Churchill Downs (CHDN) announced its second purse increase of the season , boosting overnight purses 5% while also increasing the prize money for three Louisiana Derby Day stakes.
* Wipro Gallagher Solutions, a unit of Wipro (WIT) announced the unveiling of its NetOxygen loan origination system to the Australian mortgage market.
* Best Buy (BBY) has launched a multi-media campaign to promote its new Buy Back Program and a special week-long offer to "future proof" technology purchases for free.
* Canon USA, a unit of Canon (CAJ), introduced two new telephoto lenses: EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM and EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM.
* Nidec (NJ) announced that the co has started realigning its China-based sales subsidiaries to lay the foundation for future sales network expansion in China.
* Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC) announced the immediate availability of five new comprehensive Intellectual Property Suites to accelerate the design of electronic systems in a variety of industries using the award winning LatticeECP3 FPGA family.
* Fundtech (FNDT) announced that Intesa Sanpaolo Group Services has selected Global CASHplus to provide global cash and liquidity management services to its corporate clients around the world.
* RADCOM (RDCM) announced that MTN, a leading Pan-African Tier-I mobile operator, has chosen RADCOM's Omni-Q Service Assurance solution to monitor one of MTN's mobile networks in East Africa. This marks RADCOM's first step into the prestigious circle of leading African telecommunications service providers.
* BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, part of NY Mellon (BK), announced the launch of its new Fair Value Pricing offering, allowing clients to undertake a revaluation of equity and futures positions in markets that have closed prior to the valuation point of the fund.

5:39AM Inovio Pharma unveils needle-free, contactless electroporation technology for DNA vaccine delivery (INO) 1.28 : Co announces its new generation DNA vaccine delivery technology, which provides the powerful enabling capabilities of electroporation without contacting the skin. This new method is based on piezoelectricity, which is the generation of an electric field or electric potential by certain materials in response to applied mechanical stress. Employing piezoelectricity in this new technology also provides other desirable benefits. Eliminating the insertion of needles used in the conventional electroporation process and reducing the electrical pulsing to nanoseconds makes this contactless device even more tolerable than current and emerging electroporation device designs. The sensation experienced is similar to the feeling of static electricity. In addition, the nature of piezoelectricity preempts the need for a battery or electrical power source, which would be beneficial for mass vaccinations in the field, particularly in developing countries.

5:21AM Boardwalk Pipeline beats by $0.06, beats on revs; increases quarterly dividend by $0.005 per share (BWP) 32.26 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.45 per share, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.39; revenues rose 8.2% year/year to $302 mln vs the $297.8 mln consensus. Additionally, co declared a quarterly cash distribution per common unit of $0.52 payable on February 24, 2011, to unitholders of record as of February 17, 2011. This represents a $0.005 increase.

3:03AM Pfizer to acquire Ferrosan's Consumer Healthcare Business; terms not disclosed (PFE) 19.30 : Co announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Ferrosan's consumer healthcare business, which includes dietary supplements and lifestyle products, from Altor 2003 Fund GP. Ferrosan's portfolio of products include Multi-tabs, a popular multivitamin brand, Bifiform, a leading probiotic, Fri Flyt/Active Omega, an Omega 3 product, and IMEDEEN premium oral skincare brands. Financial terms were not disclosed.

2:18AM Toreador Royalty provides corporate update; 2010 total production of ~320K barrels of oil (TRGL) 15.02 : Co announces France's Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Energy recently announced their intention to conduct a study on the economical, social and environmental stakes relating to the development of shale gas and shale oil in France. Co has not been notified of any impact this study might have on its unconventional oil exploration, but is monitoring developments and will provide any technical or scientific information it has on the Paris Basin shale oil resource to assist the French government with its study. With regard to 2010 production, co reports 2010 total production of ~320,000 barrels of oil, co considers that its 2P reserves remain essentially flat year-on-year with 2009.

2:13AM Helix BioPharma receives FDA IND approval to conduct a Phase I Clinical Study with its lung cancer drug candidate L-DOS47 (HBP) 2.80 : Co announces that it has received approval for its investigational new drug application from the FDA to perform its planned Phase I clinical safety and tolerability study of its lung cancer drug candidate L-DOS47. The co will now proceed with its remaining pre-study logistical preparations, including preparation and filing with the FDA of the required clinical protocol amendment, with a view to commencing clinical site initiation and patient recruitment activities late spring to early summer of this year.

2:09AM Anadarko Petro makes discovery offshore Mozambique (APC) 78.32 : Co announces the latest in a string of major deepwater natural gas discoveries off the coast of Mozambique. The Tubarao discovery well encountered more than 110 net feet of natural gas pay and no water in a high-quality Eocene-age reservoir that is separate and distinct from the hydrocarbon accumulations in co's three previous discoveries in the Offshore Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin. The partnership plans to preserve the wellbore at Tubarao for potential utilization in future testing. Once operations are complete, the partnership plans to mobilize the rig to the previously announced Windjammer discovery to begin a coring program that will be followed by appraisal drilling in the Windjammer, Barquentine, Lagosta complex.

2:06AM AOL agrees to acquire The Huffington Post for $315 mln (AOL) 21.94 : Co announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire The Huffington Post for $315 mln, ~$300 mln of which will be paid in cash funded from cash on hand. The Huffington Post is privately owned by its two cofounders, as well as a group of investors. The boards of directors of each co and shareholders of The Huffington Post have approved the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the late first- or early second-quarter 2011.

2:03AM EpiCept reports positive results from EpiCept NP-1 Trial in patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (EPCT) 0.75 : CO announces positive results from a Phase IIb trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of EpiCept NP-1 in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. The results of the trial in the intent to treat population demonstrated that the change in average daily neuropathy intensity scores in the NP-1 group achieved a statistically significant reduction in CPN intensity versus placebo, which was the trial's primary endpoint. Additionally, a pre-specified subgroup of the ITT population, those patients who previously received taxane chemotherapy, also showed a statistically significant reduction in average daily neuropathy intensity scores. This subgroup constituted more than 50% of the ITT population. Secondary efficacy endpoints confirmed the superiority of NP-1 vs. placebo. Furthermore, the safety profile of NP-1 was comparable to placebo.

1:57AM Crystallex updates status of Las Cristinas Mine Operating Contract; states it has has been unilaterally terminated (KRY) 0.24 : Co announces that it has received a letter from the Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana that states that the co's Mine Operating Contract for the Las Cristinas Project in Bolivar State, Venezuela, has been "unilaterally terminated" by the CVG. The letter also enclosed a copy of a resolution passed by the CVG on February 3, 2011 which states that the MOC is unilaterally terminated. The resolution cites, as the basis for the termination of the MOC, co's lack of activity to progress the Las Cristinas Project for more than one year. Co is reviewing its position in light of this correspondence and is considering all steps necessary to protect its investment on behalf of all its stakeholders.

1:53AM Ampal-American Israel 12.5% owned pipeline not damaged in explosion and expected to resume within a week (AMPL) 2.02 : Co announces it it has been advised by East Mediterranean Gas, in which co has a 12.5% interest, that contrary to some media reports, EMG's gas pipeline from El-Arish, Egypt to Ashkelon, Israel is intact, and was not damaged by the explosion at a gas metering station in Egypt yesterday. The supply of gas to EMG, and therefore to EMG's Israeli clients, has been interrupted by a fire in a facility not related to EMG. The gas supply to EMG is expected to resume within a week.

1:43AM Endo Pharm issues voluntary, nationwide recall of multiple products that are mislabeled (ENDP) 34.99 : Co issues issues voluntary, nationwide recall of hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen tablets and several other products due to mislabeling. As a result of this mix-up patients may unintentionally take Hydrocodone and acetaminophen tablets, instead of the intended dose of Phenobarbital. No injuries have been reported to date.

1:37AM IAMGOLD reports fatal accident at Rosebel (IAG) 20.76 : Co regrets to report the death of a contractor's employee in an isolated accident this weekend at its Rosebel Gold Mines in Suriname. The accident involved an employee of Major Drilling working at the Rosebel Operation. Investigations led by the Company have been initiated and the Company is working with Major Drilling and local authorities to determine the cause of the accident.
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