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Market Update 110301

4:30 pm : A spike in oil prices amid percolating geopolitical tension in the Middle East prompted participants to pare their positions. Their steady selling effort left stocks to settle at session lows with sharp losses.

The tone of trade in the early going was actually positive, but buyers began to lose interest as Europe's major bourses drifted lower, even though Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the broader eurozone all posted solid PMI Manufacturing data. A jump in oil prices before the open of pit trade also undermined early strength.

Oil prices rallied 2.7% to settle at $99.63 per barrel, a two-year closing high. Even after the close oil prices flirted with $100 per barrel in electronic trade. Oil's strength started with morning reports that Saudi Arabia sent tanks into neighboring Bahrain, where social unrest continues to be of concern in a region largely responsible for the world's oil supply. Indicative of the tensions surrounding the region, Saudi Arabia's stock market slumped 7%.

As oil prices pushed higher, participants pressed stocks lower, eventually spurring a broad-based sell-off that left more than 90% of the S&P 500 in the red. That took the Volatility Index up close to 15%.

Precious metals rallied as many sought safety. Silver settled with a 2.0% gain at $34.41 per ounce and gold gained 1.4% to close at $1431.20 per ounce. Silver extended its climb after the close of pit trade so that the continuous contract hit a new 30-year high above $34.60 per ounce. Gold prices hit a record high above $1434 per ounce after pit trade ended.

Although precious metals were strong, materials stocks dropped 2.3% for the worst loss of any major sector. Financials weren't far behind; they dropped 2.2%. Fifth Third (FITB 13.95, -0.65) was one of the financial sector's weakest performers following news that the SEC has subpoenaed the regional bank in connection with certain commercial loans.

The SEC also sent a subpoena to Las Vegas Sands (LVS 43.70, -2.94) in regard to compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. CNBC reported that the SEC has filed suit against former Goldman Sachs (GS 161.31, -2.47) Board Member Rajat Gupta regarding allegations of insider trading. Gupta reportedly will step down from the Board of Procter & Gamble (PG 62.74, -0.31).

Economic data did nothing to stymie selling efforts today. The ISM Manufacturing Index for February hit a multi-year high of 61.4 to exceed the Briefing.com consensus of 60.5. However, construction spending for January fell 0.7%, which is a bit steeper than the 0.6% decline that had been broadly anticipated.

Fed Chairman Bernanke delivered his semi-annual monetary policy report to the Senate Banking Committee this morning. He was optimistic of the economic outlook, but made no new revelations.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Materials (-2.3%), Industrials (-2.2%), Financial (-2.2%), Consumer Discretionary (-1.8%), Tech (-1.7%), Telecom (-1.7%), Energy (-1.5%), Utilities (-1.0%), Health Care (-0.7%), Consumer Staples (-0.5%)DJ30 -168.32 NASDAQ -44.86 NQ100 -1.5% R2K -2.0% SP400 -1.7% SP500 -20.89 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 618/2.22 bln/2032 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 724/1.18 bln/2298

3:30 pm : It was a very eventful session for commodities, as events in the Middle East sent jitters through select commodity markets, including the hypersensitive crude oil market.

Precious metals rallied for 1.8% today, led by a 2% rally in May silver, which closed at $34.41 per ounce. April gold futures gained 1.4% to close at $1431.20 per ounce. Both metals rallied on the flight to safety. Gold traded to a fresh all-time high at $1433.40, in after hours trade, besting its Dec 7 highs by $2.30. Silver traded to a new ~30 yr high at $33.82.

April WTI crude oil rallied for 2.7% to close at $99.63 per barrel, its highest close in ~2.5 yrs. Concerns about the unrest in the Middle East and further potential supply disruptions sent the WTI contract back toward $100 in the final minutes of trade. April natural gas shed 3.9% to close at $3.88 per MMBtu. Prices fell as bearish fundamentals continue to undermine any upward momentum. DJ30 -144.71 NASDAQ -42.40 SP500 -17.79 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 566/1.7 bln/2071 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 736/796.4 mln/2256

3:00 pm : This session's selling effort has taken more than 90% of the names in the S&P 500 to a loss. Although stocks are still down sharply, they have started to make a slight turn up from session lows.

The dollar has caught a bid after drifting along near the neutral line during morning and early afternoon trade. It now leads a basket of competing currencies by 0.3%. DJ30 -144.78 NASDAQ -46.06 SP500 -18.42 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 584/1.57 bln/2033 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 746/722 mln/2233

2:30 pm : This afternoon's steady descent continues to take stocks deeper into negative territory. The S&P 500 is still well above last week's low near 1294, though.

Amid the intensified selling, volatility has heated up. As such, the Volatility Index, often dubbed the Fear Gauge, is now up almost 10%.

Widespread weakness among stocks and increased volatility has taken Treasuries into higher ground so that the benchmark 10-year Note is now up about five ticks. The yield on the Note is now just above 3.40%. DJ30 -144.18 NASDAQ -46.22 SP500 -18.81 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 656/1.44 bln/1945 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 808/660 mln/2158

2:00 pm : Stocks continue to trade with weakness. Broad pressure has even kept many automakers in the red, despite strong monthly sales results. Ford Motor (F 14.68, -0.37) said that its U.S. retail sales for February increased by 23%. Chrysler reported a 13% annual increase in February sales. General Motors (GM 32.64, -0.77) reported a 49% year-over-year surge in February auto sales. Nissan Motor (NSANY 20.62, +0.22) reported U.S. sales for February increased almost 32% year over year.DJ30 -121.89 NASDAQ -36.94 SP500 -15.24 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 695/1.31 bln/1879 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 856/589 mln/2089

1:30 pm : Stocks have slipped to a new session low. The effort has been broad based and left all 10 major sectors to trade with a loss.

Of the major sectors, financials and industrials have been hit the hardest. Those two sectors are down 1.7% each. Fifth Third (FITB 13.86, -0.74) has been one of the heaviest burdens on the financial sector, while Textron (TXT 26.18, -0.89) is atop the list of declining issues in the industrial sector. Fifth Third disclosed that the SEC has subpoenaed the company in connection with certain commercial loans.

At the other end of things, consumer staples stocks have limited their collective loss to just 0.1%. Lorillard (LO 78.30, +1.53) is a leader in that group. According to the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, menthol cigarettes do not increase health risks. DJ30 -99.41 NASDAQ -32.17 SP500 -13.51 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 752/1.21 bln/1826 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 917/535 mln/2012

1:05 pm : Trade today started on a modestly positive note, but the mood among participants has turned negative amid a spike in oil prices.

Early participants had looked to add to the prior session's varied gains, but their conviction was challenged as oil prices pushed higher in response to concerns about increased geopolitical tensions related to reports that Saudi Arabia sent tanks into neighboring Bahrain, where there is continued social unrest. Oil prices pushed as high as $99.18 per barrel, but have since pulled back a bit to trade at $98.75 per barrel with a 1.8% gain.

Oil's push higher has triggered a rather concerted selling effort, which has left the three major equity averages to trade at session lows with sizable losses.

Higher oil prices have been especially problematic for airline stocks and transportation stocks. Both groups are down 2%.

Even the energy sector has been imbued by broader weakness. The sector is currently down 0.8%.

Such weakness has caused the Volatility Index to climb more than 6%. A few major European countries posted solid manufacturing data early this morning. The latest domestic manufacturing data featured a stronger-than-expected February ISM Manufacturing Index of 61.4, which is the highest reading since 2004.

Construction spending for January fell 0.7%, though. It had been broadly expected to drop 0.6%.

Remarks from Fed Chairman Bernanke in his semi-annual monetary policy to the Senate Banking Committee haven't had any real impact on trade. DJ30 -88.78 NASDAQ -29.53 SP500 -11.97 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 795/1.12 bln/1768 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 956/490 mln/1941

12:30 pm : The S&P 500 has offered technical support at the 1315 line, which is where stocks continue to sit. Amid the increasingly widespread weakness, eight of the 10 major sectors are in the red -- five of them are down by more than 1%. Consumer staples (+0.2%) and health care (unch.) are the only two sectors not in the red.

Treasuries haven't made much of a move in response to the stock market's slip. Instead, the benchmark 10-year Note is still down with a slight loss.

However, precious metals have attracted safety seekers. In turn, gold prices are up 1.3% to $1428 per ounce while silver prices are up 2.0% to $34.48 per ounce. DJ30 -82.65 NASDAQ -29.00 SP500 -11.84 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 761/1.00 bln/1763 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 943/440 mln/1951

12:00 pm : Sellers have redoubled their efforts in recent trade. All three of the major equity averages are now at session lows. The move lower coincides with a jump in oil prices to $99 per barrel, which translates to a 2.1% gain and makes for a fresh session high.

As an aside, CNBC has reported that the SEC has filed suit against former Goldman Sachs (GS 162.53, -1.25) Board Member Rajat Gupta regarding allegations of insider trading. It was also disclosed today that Las Vegas Sands (LVS 43.70, -2.94) was subpoenaed by the SEC in regard to compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. DJ30 -80.94 NASDAQ -26.25 SP500 -10.85 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 901/883 mln/1592 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1101/382 mln/1777

11:30 am : Oil and gas drillers are among this year's best performers. As a group they are up more than 22% year to date. Today the group is lagging, however; they are collectively down 0.5% as the broader market reacts negatively to a 1.5% jump in oil prices to $98.50 per barrel. Higher oil prices had helped prop up energy stocks in the early going.DJ30 -38.60 NASDAQ -14.39 SP500 -6.14 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1054/743 mln/1393 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1311/323 mln/1546

11:00 am : Increased selling pressure recently took all three major equity averages into negative territory, but stocks are trying to retrace the move. They have yet to return to positive ground, however.

During the first few minutes of trade all 10 of the major sectors were in positive territory. Now, only consumer staples (+0.5%), health care (+0.3%), and utilities (+0.3%) make up the only major sectors that currently sport any kind of a gain.

The recent fit of weakness has caused volatility to pick up, such that the Volatility Index is presently up almost 5%. DJ30 -15.55 NASDAQ -8.74 SP500 -3.27 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 829/594 mln/1589 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1099/263 mln/1732

10:30 am : The Dollar Index has moved higher in recent trade, which has added selling pressure on select commodities. Currently, the CRB Commodity Index remains around 0.5% higher.

Cotton futures rose limit-up in overnight trade, primarily due to strong China demand. May cotton futures are currently up 7 cents (or 3.7%), the exchange limit, at $1.9823/lb. Soft commodities are mixed this morning with coffee +0.7%, cocoa +0.2%, orange juice -0.1% and sugar -2.0%. Overnight, the grains complex was also mixed as soybeans rose +0.4%, corn +0.03% and wheat -0.7%.

In the energy markets, natural gas is the worst performer in the CRB Index after gaining 4.3% over the past two session. Natural gas with just slightly lower before selling off sharply about 30 minutes after pit trading began. It fell to new session lows of $3.91 per MMBtu and remains near those lows, currently down 3% at $3.92 per MMBtu.

However, the rest of the energy complex showing solid gains this morning. April crude oil has been in positive territory for the majority of today's session and pushed to new session highs of $98.77 per barrel a few minutes before pit trading began. Currently, crude is up 1.5% at $98.39 per barrel. April RBOB gasoline is +1.7%, while April heating oil is +1.5%.

Precious metals are also higher with silver leading with over 1% in gains. Both gold and silver have trended steadily higher all session and are just below session highs. April gold hit $1424.50 per ounce in recent trade and is currently up 0.9% at $1422.70 per ounce. May silver rose to new session highs of $34.50 per ounce and is now 1.4% higher at $34.30 per ounce.DJ30 -35.38 NASDAQ -16.51 SP500 -5.47 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 843/407.3 mln/1521 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1146/188.2 mln/1628

10:05 am : Stocks are mixed after an early slip. The latest round of headlines has had little immediate impact on trade.

The ISM Manufacturing Index for February came in at 61.4, which is not only better than the 60.5 that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com, but also the highest reading since 2004.

Construction spending for January fell 0.7%, which is a bit steeper than the 0.6% decline that had been broadly anticipated.

Prepared remarks from Fed Chairman Bernanke for his semi-annual monetary report to the Senate Banking Committee have just hit newswires.

Advancing Sectors: Consumer Staples (+0.7%), Energy (+0.6%), Utilities (+0.4%), Health Care (+0.3%)
Declining Sectors: Financial (-0.5%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.3%), Telecom (-0.3%), Materials (-0.3%), Industrials (-0.3%), Tech (-0.2%),DJ30 +19.83 NASDAQ -0.08 SP500 +1.34 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 965/202 mln/1290 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1374/108 mln/1286

09:45 am : The major equity averages are up with meager gains in the early going. Selling interest has intensified with oil's latest upward push, which has taken the commodity to a 1.6% gain at $98.50 per barrel.

Higher oil prices have helped energy stocks, however. The sector is up 0.6%, which is second only to the consumer staples sector's 0.7% gain.

With oil prices up, airline stocks have fallen to a sharp loss. The group is collectively down 1.4%. In a similar vein, the Dow Jones Transportation Index is down 0.8%. DJ30 +8.17 NASDAQ -3.86 SP500 +0.57

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +5.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +10.70. A jump in oil prices toward $98 per barrel and a downward drift among Europe's major bourses in the wake of some decent data have undermined early buying interest, but stock futures still point to a positive start to today's session. Corporate news has been less of a broad market concern than Fed Chairman Bernanke's semi-annual monetary policy report to the Senate Banking Committee at 10:00 AM ET, although Bernanke is unlikely to reveal any new outlook or stance on macro conditions. Also on the way are construction spending figures for January and the ISM Manufacturing Index for February, both of which are due at 10:00 AM ET.

09:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +4.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +10.00. Futures for the S&P 500 continue to hold on to a modest lead over fair value. Meanwhile, Germany's DAX is currently up 0.3% after pulling back from a gain of 1.2%. BMW, Linde AG, and Adidas continue to provide support, but Man SE and Siemens (SI) have weighed heavily on trade. Germany's final PMI Manufacturing Index for February came in at 62.7, up from 62.6 in the preliminary reading and 60.5 in the prior month. France's CAC is currently up just 0.1% after it had been up as much as 0.9%. Total (TOT), Societe Generale, and BNP Paribas have been offsetting strength in Sanofi-Aventis (SNY), LVMH Moet Hennessey, and ArcelorMittal (MT). France's February PMI Manufacturing Index improved in the final reading to 55.7 from 55.3 in the preliminary reading and 54.9 in the prior month. Britain's FTSE is now off by 0.2% after it had been up as much as 0.8%. HSBC (HBC) continues to come under pressure following its disappointing earnings report yesterday. BG Group and BP Plc (BP) have also weighed on trade today. Vodafone (VOD), Rio Tinto (RIO), and BHP Billiton (BHP) have provided support, though. The February PMI Manufacturing Index for the United Kingdom came in at 61.5, just as it did in January. The final February PMI Manufacturing Index for the broader eurozone came in unrevised at 59.0, but up from the 57.3 posted for the prior month.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei advanced 1.2% on the back of broad strength. Fanuc Corp, Fast Retailing, and Honda Motor (HMC) were primary leaders. Sumitomo Realty, Trend Micro, and Fujitsu Ltd. were laggards. According to data, Japan's jobless rate held steady at 4.9% in January. Mainland China's Shanghai Composite closed with a 0.5% gain. China Petroleum (SNP) and PetroChina (PTR) were standouts for their leadership. China Oilfield faltered, though. China reported that its PMI Manufacturing Index for February slipped to 52.2 from 52.9 in January. Hong Kong's Hang Seng staged a 0.3% gain amid broad support. China Mobile, Cheung Kong, and CNOOC (CEO) led the advance, but HSBC suffered its worst single-session loss on the Hang Seng in almost one year.

08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +4.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +9.70. Stock futures are trying to reclaim some of their earlier gains, but the move remains challenged by higher oil futures prices, which are still up a strong 0.7% at $97.60 per barrel. Precious metals are also in strong shape this morning; gold was last quoted with a 0.9% gain at $1422 per ounce while silver is up an even more impressive 1.7% to $34.39 per ounce. Strength in the aformentioned commodities follows concerns about social and geopolitical tensions of the Middle East spreading into Saudi Arabia, which has reportedly sent tanks into neighboring Bahrain. Meanwhile, the dollar is mired near the neutral line.

08:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +4.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +8.70. Stock futures are currently up only modestly over fair value. Strength has waned as Europe's major bourses drift off of their session highs following the release of some generally solid manufacturing readings. A jump in oil prices to a 0.9% gain at $97.85 per barrel has also added selling pressure. The upturn in oil prices coincides with word of increased geopolitical tension in the Middle East -- specifically that Saudi Arabia is sending tanks to Bahrain. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index tumbled 7% in its latest round of trade. There isn't much in the way of meaningful corporate news this morning, but construction spending data for January is due at 10:00 AM ET. The ISM Manufacturing figure for February is also due then. Fed Chairman Bernanke is also scheduled to begin his semi-annual monetary policy report to the Senate Banking Committee at 10:00 AM ET.

07:53 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +3.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +8.00.

http://finance.yahoo.com/marketupdate/update

5:45PM The St. Joe Company postpones filing of annual report on Form 10-K (JOE) 25.18 -1.60 : The St. Joe Company (JOE) announced that it will file on March 2, 2011, a Notification of Late Filing on Form 12b-25 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pertaining to its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.

5:36PM Comfort Sys USA beats by $0.09, beats on revs (FIX) 12.99 -0.28 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.17 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.08; revenues rose 22.6% year/year to $314.6 mln vs the $285.3 mln consensus.

5:32PM JBT Corp beats by $0.06 (JBT) 19.03 +0.06 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.56 per share, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.50; revenues rose 17% year/year to $287.0 mln vs the $271.8 mln consensus. The co expects continued improvement in market conditions for most product lines, with improvements varying significantly by region. Due to continued high levels of global economic and political uncertainty, the co will consider providing full-year earnings guidance when it reports first quarter earnings.

5:27PM Investors Bancorp announces fourth share repurchase program (ISBC) 13.74 +0.20 : Investors Bancorp (ISBC), the holding company for Investors Savings Bank ("Bank"), announced that its Board of Directors approved the Co's fourth share repurchase program which authorizes the repurchase of an additional 10% of the Co's outstanding shares of common stock or ~3.9 mln shares. The new repurchase program will commence immediately upon completion of the third repurchase plan of ~4.3 mln shares of which 785,844 remain available as of December 31, 2010.

5:27PM Solar Capital reports in-line (SLRC) 24.20 -0.30 : Reports Q4 (Dec) net investment income of $0.51 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.51 consensus.

5:12PM Starwood Property Trust misses by $0.01 (STWD) 23.00 -0.39 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.37 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.38. The Company's GAAP book value per share at December 31, 2010 was $18.70. On a fully diluted basis, the Company's GAAP book value at December 31, 2010 was $18.26 per share. The fair value of the Company's financial assets at December 31, 2010 was ~$35 million in excess of the carrying value of the Company's investment portfolio as of the same date, which represents a premium of $0.48 per share over the Co's GAAP book value as of December 31, 2010, or $18.74 per fully diluted share net of minority interest.

5:09PM Walter Energy to name Western Coal CEO Calder as its Chief Executive Officer; Western Coal nominates three to serve on Walter Energy Board Of Directors (WLT) 116.85 -4.16 : Walter Energy (WLT) announced that it would name Western Coal's (TSX: WTN) Chief Executive Officer Keith Calder chief executive officer of Walter Energy, effective upon the closing of the acquisition of Western Coal by Walter Energy, which is expected to be completed April 1, 2011. Calder would succeed Walter Energy Interim CEO Joe Leonard. Leonard will continue as interim CEO through the closing and will continue to serve as a member of the Walter Energy Board of Directors.

5:09PM TeleTech misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides FY11 revs in-line (TTEC) 21.70 -1.08 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.28 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.29; revenues fell 0.1% year/year to $280.4 mln vs the $278.5 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees FY11 revs growing ~5-6%, which calculates to ~$1.15-1.16 bln vs. $1.13 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.

5:07PM SemGas signs agreement with Eagle Energy Company (SEMG) 32.10 -0.01 : SemGas(R), L.P., a subsidiary of SemGroup Corp (SEMG), announced it has signed an agreement with Eagle Energy Co to gather and process natural gas from its dedicated acreage in Region 1 of the Anadarko Basin in Northern Oklahoma. The agreement will include the installation of a 30,000 mcf/day cryogenic plant at its Hopeton, OK facility to support Eagle's drilling activities into the Mississippi and Hunton geological formations.

5:06PM Sina beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs in-line (SINA) 82.00 +0.33 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.46 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.45; revenues rose 12.0% year/year to $110 mln vs the $104.6 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $93-96 mln vs. $95.18 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

5:04PM Myriad announces new $100 mln share repurchase program (MYGN) 18.50 -0.02 : Co announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a third $100 million stock repurchase program. In connection with this stock repurchase authorization, the Company has entered into an accelerated share repurchase (ASR) agreement with J.P. Morgan under which it will repurchase ~$50 million of its common stock. During the past twelve months, the Company has returned $200 million to shareholders through the completion of its previously authorized stock repurchase programs.

5:02PM Cal Dive Intl reports Q4 net loss of $0.03 per share, ex items, Thomson Reuters consensus breakeven; Q4 revenues rose 9% y/y to $161 mln, consensus $126 mln (DVR) 6.80 -0.08 : Backlog: Contracted backlog was $191.5 million as of December 31, 2010 compared to backlog of $233.4 million at September 30, 2010 and $183.0 million at December 31, 2009.

5:02PM Mecox Lane: SINA and DongXiang enter into agreements to acquire shares of Mecox Lane and Memorandums of Understanding for strategic cooperation (MCOX) 5.68 +0.31 : Co announces that Sina (SINA)and a subsidiary of China Dongxiang entered into separate agreements to acquire an aggregate of 117,505,755 ordinary shares (equivalent to 16,786,535 ADSs) of Mecox Lane from two major shareholders of Mecox Lane, Maxpro Holdings Limited and Ever Keen Holdings. Each of Mecox Lane's ADSs trading on the Nasdaq Global Market represents seven ordinary shares. Under the share purchase agreements, SINA will purchase 76,986,529 ordinary shares, or approximately 19% of the issued and outstanding shares of Mecox Lane, and DongXiang will purchase 40,519,225 ordinary shares (equivalent to 5,788,460 ADSs), or approximately 10% of the issued and outstanding shares of Mecox Lane. The purchase price is US$0.8571 per share, equivalent to US$6.00 per ADS. The selling shareholders also agreed to grant SINA and DongXiang options to purchase 48,254,173 ordinary shares (equivalent to 6,893,453 ADSs) and 18,306,117 ordinary shares (equivalent to 2,615,159 ADSs) of Mecox Lane, respectively. The options are exercisable during a two-year period starting from the closing date of the above share purchases and the exercise price is US$1.1429 per ordinary share, equivalent to US$8.00 per ADS.

4:56PM MSCI announced its intention to seek repricing of its existing $1.2 bln senior secured term loan (MSCI) 34.79 -0.71 : Co announcesits intention to seek repricing of its existing $1.2 billion senior secured term loan, maturing in 2016, to benefit from lower interest rates currently available in the senior secured debt markets and to amend certain covenants in its senior secured credit facility. In connection with the repricing, the existing term loan would be replaced with a $1.125 billion senior secured term loan, and MSCI would prepay approximately $90 million of the existing term loan. The company anticipates the repricing process will be completed in the next two weeks. However, there can be no assurance that the company will be able to effect the repricing.

4:52PM Airgas signs three-year supply contract with TDIndustries (ARG) 62.24 -0.34 : Co announced that it has signed a three-year supply agreement with TDIndustries, the south's leading mechanical construction and facilities operations services provider. Airgas will provide the Dallas, TX-based company with industrial gases, and welding and safety products, as well as leased safety equipment from Oilind Safety and leased welding equipment, welder certification trailers, generators, and compressors from Red-D-Arc Welderentals. Oilind Safety and Red-D-Arc are Airgas companies.

4:46PM Wonder Auto announces its financial restatements to FY2008 and FY2009; co announces cutoff error; it should not impact guidance (WATG) 6.66 -0.20 : Co announced that the co has concluded on Feb 23, 2011 that its financial statements as of and for the years ended Dec 31, 2008 and 2009, included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec 31, 2009, as well as the financial statements included in its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, June 30 and September 30 during each of the years 2008 and 2009, should no longer be relied upon due to a cutoff error regarding timing of revenue in such periods. The co is continuing to evaluate the impact of the cutoff errors on its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, June 30 and Sept 30, 2010. Although the co has not completed its analysis, it currently is expected that the net effect of these adjustments on the co's financial statements will be an increase in revenues and income in 2008 and 2009 for the reasons described below. Historically, the co has disclosed in its Annual Report that "revenue from sales of its products is recognized when the significant risks and rewards of ownership have been transferred to the buyer at the time when the products are put into use by its customers, the sales price is fixed or determinable and collection is reasonably assured." During 2008 and 2009, two of the co's significant subsidiaries recorded period sales and cost of sales based on when usage reports were provided by the customers. The periods covered by the usage reports, however, did not always exactly correspond to the financial reporting periods. As a result of these cut-off errors, sales, cost of sales and net income for individual financial reporting periods (annually and quarterly) have been misstated. The co and its subsidiaries are implementing accounting procedures designed to permit the co to report its financial results consistent with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"). As a result of these changes, the co's revenue for 2008 and 2009 is expected to increase from what previously was reported as a result of the shifting of revenue from 2009 to 2008 and from 2010 to 2009. The co's net income for 2009 and 2008 also are expected to increase as a result of these changes. In addition, the co continues to expect to meet the previously announced guidance for revs and profit in its press release dated Nov 9, 2010. Cutoff error occurred; however, it should not impact our ability to meet our 2011 guidance. (Stock is halted)

4:41PM Wonder Auto Tech halted, news pending (WATG) 6.66 -0.20 :

4:38PM Dycom misses by $0.04, misses on revs (DY) 16.89 -0.37 : Reports Q2 (Jan) loss of $0.03 per share, $0.04 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.01; revenues rose 0.9% year/year to $218.2 mln vs the $224.2 mln consensus. "Our second quarter revenues and margins were adversely impacted by difficult weather conditions across the country. Yet despite these results, we remain confident that business is improving. During the quarter we grew backlog, lowered our cost of capital through the refinancing of our senior subordinated notes and completed two acquisitions which add to our growth potential."

4:37PM Approach Resources acquires additional interests in the Permian Basin for $76 mln (AREX) 31.12 -1.43 : Co announced that it has acquired the remaining 38% working interest in its Cinco Terry operating area in the Permian Basin, Crockett County, Texas, from two non-operating partners ("Working Interest Acquisition"). As a result of the Working Interest Acquisition, our total working and net revenue interests in Cinco Terry are now ~100% and 76%, respectively. The purchase price was $76 mln , subject to usual and customary post-closing adjustments, with an effective date of December 1, 2010. The Working Interest Acquisition was funded with borrowings under our revolving credit facility and cash on hand. The Co's borrowing base under the credit facility is $150 mln. After the Working Interest Acquisition, outstanding borrowings under our credit facility were $67 million.

4:35PM American Intl confirms agreement with MetLife (MET) to permit sale of MetLife Equity Securities acquired by AIG In ALICO sale (AIG) 36.70 -0.36 : This agreement will allow AIG, subject to market conditions, to sell the securities and use the proceeds to accelerate payments to the Treasury on Treasury's preferred interest in the special purpose vehicle ("SPV") through which AIG holds the MetLife securities. The expected proceeds also may allow AIG to reduce the balance due to the Treasury on its preferred interest in the SPV that holds AIG's remaining interest in AIA Group Limited ("AIA"), depending on the value of the MetLife securities at the time of the sale.

4:33PM Hovnanian Entrpr misses by $0.21, beats on revs (HOV) 3.89 -0.19 : Reports Q1 (Jan) loss of $0.82 per share, $0.21 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.61); revenues fell 21.0% year/year to $252.6 mln vs the $245.4 mln consensus. Contract backlog, as of January 31, 2011, excluding unconsolidated joint ventures, was 1,196 homes with a sales value of $367.6 million, a decrease of 25% and 27%, respectively, compared to Janua In the first quarter of fiscal 2011, home deliveries through unconsolidated joint ventures were 47 homes, compared with 38 homes during the first quarter of 2010. "While we were encouraged by the typical seasonal increase in both traffic and net contracts during January, it is still too early to tell how this spring selling season will compare to last spring's net contracts when the federal homebuyer tax credit was still available."

4:31PM Brown-Forman to sell Fetzer Vineyards to Vina Concha y Toro S.A. for $238 mln; projected to increase fiscal 2011 earnings per share in the range of $0.20 - $0.30 (BF.A) 68.50 -0.54 : Co announces that the company has completed the strategic review of its Hopland, California-based wine assets. As a result, Brown-Forman has agreed to sell Fetzer Vineyards to Vina Concha y Toro S.A. for $238 million. The sale of Fetzer Vineyards is expected to close in April 2011 and projected to increase fiscal 2011 earnings per share in the range of $0.20 - $0.30. This transaction is subject to regulatory clearance in the U.S. and customary closing conditions.

4:30PM MetLife plans to offer 68.57 mln shares of its common stock to the public (MET) 46.04 -1.32 : Co announces plans to offer 68.57 mln shares of its common stock to the public. ALICO Holdings, a subsidiary of American International Group (AIG), is also offering 78,239,712 shares of MetLife common stock to the public, for a total offering of 146,809,712 shares. Concurrently with the common stock offerings, AIG is also offering 40 mln common equity units of MetLife. MetLife intends to use all of the proceeds from the offering of its 68.57 mln shares of common stock to repurchase and cancel the 6,857,000 shares of contingent convertible preferred stock owned by AIG.

4:30PM McDermott wins contracts totaling more than $700 mln. (MDR) 22.39 -0.56 : The contracts in the Arabian Gulf, Indian Ocean and Caspian Sea are included in co's fourth quarter 2010 backlog, and have a combined value in excess of $700 mln.

4:22PM Fushi Copperweld retains financial and legal advisors to consider proposal by a group headed by co's Chairman and Co-CEO, Li Fu, to take co private (FSIN) 9.59 -0.14 : Co announces that the Special Committee of its Board of Directors, formed to consider, among other things, a proposal by a group headed by the Company's Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Li Fu, to take the Company private, has retained BofA Merrill Lynch as its financial advisor and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP as its legal advisor to assist the Special Committee in its consideration of such matters. Co does not intend to disclose developments regarding these matters unless and until its Board of Directors determines there is a need to update the market.

4:20PM Automatic Data acquires AdvancedMD (ADP) 49.39 -0.61 : Co announces announced that it has acquired AdvancedMD. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah with approximately 200 employees, AdvancedMD has achieved rapid and sustained growth since its founding in 2002. Financial terms were not disclosed.

4:19PM House passes stop gap bill to avert shutdown; approves plan with $4 bln in spending cuts; vote was 335 in favor-- CNBC (ECONX) : Big win for the G.O.P. as the $4 bln in cuts equate closer to its budget cuts then the Democratic plan.

4:17PM Casella Waste acquires a MSW landfill in McKean County, PA out of bankruptcy proceedings on February 24 for $500K in cash and the assumption of certain contractual obligations (CWST) 7.08 -0.25 :

4:17PM TiVo misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 revs below consensus (TIVO) 9.82 : Reports Q4 (Jan) loss of $0.30 per share, $0.02 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.28); revenues fell 8.4% year/year to $41.4 mln vs the $41 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $36-38 mln vs. $41.95 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. The expected sequential decrease in service and technology revenue is being driven by an anticipated $4-5 mln decrease in technology rev compared to the prior quarter. Technology rev can vary significantly from quarter to quarter, and may not be reflective of the level of technology revenues in future quarters in fiscal 2012. TiVo anticipates Q1 net loss to be in the range of ($35)-(37) mln (consensus ($23.0 mln)), and an Adjusted EBITDA loss to be in the range of ($25)-(27) million. TiVo expects to see lower TiVo-Owned net hardware losses compared to the prior quarter, a sequential increase in R&D spend, and finally, it anticipates total legal expenses, including expenses related to litigation, will significantly increase from its Q4 level of ~$7.6 million.

4:16PM Altera reaffirms Q1 revs guidance, sequentially down 1-5%, in-line with consensus (ALTR) 41.23 -0.63 : Co reaffirms Q1 revs of a sequential decline of 1-5%, which calculates to ~$533.2-549.8 mln vs. $537.2 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. The company continues to believe that the Industrial Automation, Military & Automotive vertical market will be up sequentially in the first quarter, while sales in the company's other vertical markets will be flat to down.

4:16PM Mitcham Ind announces that it has agreed to purchase 3000 channels of Sercel's UNITE cable-free land acquisition system; financial terms not disclosed (MIND) 11.11 +0.03 :

4:16PM Datalink to offer common stock in offering pursuant to effective shelf registration statement for 2.2 mln shares by Datalink and 800K shares by selling shareholders (DTLK) 6.58 -0.17 : Datalink intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for potential acquisitions of other businesses that will complement its current business model and growth plans. Any amount of the net proceeds of this offering not used for acquisitions will be used for general corporate purposes. Datalink will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling shareholder. Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC and Canaccord Genuity Inc. will act as joint book-running managers for the offering.

4:16PM RenaissanceRe announces Chief Executive Officer, Neill A. Currie, has adopted a pre-arranged stock trading plan in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 (RNR) 66.21 -0.81 : The plan established for Mr. Currie contemplates the sale, over time, of up to 150,000 fully vested common shares of co, leaving him with a significant ongoing stake in the co.

4:15PM Developers Diversified Rlty enters into an agreement in connection with the sale of 9.5 mln of its common shares in a public offering (DDR) 14.00 -0.30 : The co anticipates using the net proceeds it receives from the forward equity sale plus $60 mnn from the exercise of warrants to purchase the co's common shares by Mr. Alexander Otto and certain members of his family for the redemption of $180 million of the co's 8% Class G preferred shares. The offering will consist of 4.75 mln common shares to be borrowed and sold by Citigroup Global Markets and 4.75 million common shares to be borrowed and sold by Morgan Stanley & Co.

4:13PM United Stationers approved initiation of quarterly cash dividend of $0.26 per pre-split share ($0.13 per post-split share) (USTR) 66.31 -1.11 :

4:13PM Paragon Shipping reports Q4 revenues fell to $26.9 mln compared to $35.0 mln in prior year, Thomson Reuters consensus $26.8 mln; net income was $0.08 per share, consensus $0.07 (PRGN) 3.13 -0.02 :

4:12PM McDermott misses by $0.10, misses on revs (MDR) 22.39 -0.56 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.19 per share, $0.10 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.29; revenues fell 28.7% year/year to $539.6 mln vs the $732.8 mln consensus. The YoY decrease was primarily due to lower revenues of $126.6 million in the Asia Pacific segment and $96.2 million in the Middle East segment. The lower revenues in the Asia Pacific segment were due to significant customer-approved change orders that were recorded in the 2010 fourth quarter which, as a result of the added scope, reduced the percentage complete of two major projects and lowered the revenue and income recognized in the period. However, the overriding impact of the change orders is that the contract values have increased and the combined expected profit at completion improved for these projects during the quarter. Within the Middle East segment, the reduced revenues were primarily due to fewer barge days on our major construction vessels as a result of the substantial completion of the Qatar pipeline projects.

4:11PM Aon announces pricing by Canadian subsidiary of Cdn$375 mln of Its 4.76% senior unsecured debentures due March 8, 2018 (AON) 51.89 -0.75 : The issuer intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the debentures for the repayment of its Cdn$375 million 5.05% debt securities due April 12, 2011.

4:11PM eResearchTech beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs in-line; guides FY11 EPS in-line, revs in-line (ERES) 6.37 +0.02 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.12 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.10; revenues rose 94.4% year/year to $44.9 mln vs the $43.3 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.04-0.07 vs. $0.11 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q1 revs of $40-43 mln vs. $43.26 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $0.40-0.50 vs. $0.49 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $178-188 mln vs. $180.62 mln Thomson Reuters consensus... The co also announced a change in its trading symbol, co will trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "ERT" effective March 7, 2011.

4:10PM ERT to change trading symbol to 'ERT' effective March 7 to properly align business brand (ERES) 6.37 +0.02 :

4:08PM Crude oil spikes another 40 cents in electronic trade; now up $3.41 to $100.38 (COMDX) :

4:08PM MAKO Surgical misses by $0.06, misses on revs (MAKO) 20.08 -0.52 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.26 per share, $0.06 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.20); revenues rose 66.3% year/year to $14.8 mln vs the $16.7 mln consensus.

4:08PM Qlik Tech misses by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs in-line; guides FY11 EPS below consensus, revs above consensus (QLIK) 25.99 -0.17 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.15 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.16; revenues rose 31.7% year/year to $81.4 mln vs the $69.6 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q1, sees EPS of ($0.05)-($0.03) vs. $0.03 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q1 revs of $52-55 mln vs. $53.19 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $0.32-0.35 vs. $0.39 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $280-290 mln vs. $267.96 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:07PM National Interstate increases quarterly dividend to $0.09 per share, up from $0.08 (NATL) 20.57 -0.27 :

4:07PM Babcock & Wilcox beats by $0.09, beats on revs (BWC) 33.92 +0.15 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.45 per share, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.36; revenues rose 2.4% year/year to $705.2 mln vs the $687 mln consensus.

4:07PM SandRidge Energy announces tender offer and consent solicitation for its 8.625% senior notes due 2015 (SD) 10.67 -0.14 : Co announced that it has commenced a cash tender offer to repurchase any and all of the outstanding $650 mln aggregate principal amount of its 8.625% Senior Notes due 2015 and a solicitation of consents to certain proposed amendments to the indenture governing the Notes.

4:06PM Mitel Networks announces the execution of a new, five-year contract with the New York City Department of Education worth ~$43 mln (MITL) 5.69 -0.01 :

4:05PM Advent Software announces acquisition of Syncova, terms not disclosed (ADVS) 28.04 -0.96 :

4:05PM Scientific Games reports Q4 loss, beats on revs (SGMS) 9.00 +0.05 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $1.74 per share, including several non-cash charges, does not compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.04; revenues fell 8.9% year/year to $212.1 mln vs the $202.3 mln consensus. Co states, "Our fourth quarter results reflected the impact of the sale of our Racing Business and accounting for the new structure of our Italian joint venture. We also incurred several non-cash charges, including a valuation allowance for our U.S. deferred tax assets in the quarter. While these items make comparability to prior periods challenging, we are pleased with our underlying performance metrics, including revenue growth on a consolidated basis in our core lottery and gaming businesses and solid margins. We are also encouraged by signs of improving retail sales in U.S. instant tickets and lottery systems, along with positive sales trends in China and Italy and increased gross win per machine per day in our Global Draw business. While we are pleased with these trends, we view 2011 as a year of investment for the company."

4:05PM Big 5 Sports beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS below consensus (BGFV) 13.70 -0.24 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.25 per share, excluding $0.07/share legal charge, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.23; revenues fell 4.6% year/year to $226.7 mln vs the $228.7 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.15-0.22 vs. $0.24 Thomson Reuters consensus. For 1Q11, the co expects same store sales in the negative low single-digit to positive low single-digit range

4:05PM Dean Foods' Joseph Scalzo, President & Chief Operating Officer, Departs (DF) 10.20 -0.36 : Co announced that Joseph E. Scalzo, President and Chief Operating Officer, left the company February 25. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gregg Engles is assuming Scalzo's operating responsibilities, and executives previously reporting to Scalzo will now report directly to Engles. The Company does not intend to name a replacement for Scalzo.

4:04PM Fortegra Financial reaches a joinder agreement with WFC as a new lender under co's existing revolving credit facility with SunTrust with a revolving commitment of $30 mln, increasing the size of the facility to $85 mln (FRF) 11.30 -0.10 :

4:04PM McCormick & Schmick's misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides FY11 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (MSSR) 10.03 -0.24 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.22 per share, $0.02 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.24; revenues rose 3.4% year/year to $91.6 mln vs the $91.3 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $0.35-0.40 vs. $0.52 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $345-355 mln vs. $361.05 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:03PM Verifone beats by $0.04, beats on revs; raises Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus; guides FY11 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (PAY) 44.61 -0.83 : Reports Q1 (Jan) earnings of $0.43 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.39; revenues rose 27.0% year/year to $283.8 mln vs the $270.1 mln consensus. Co raises guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.42-0.43 vs. $0.40 Thomson Reuters consensus; raises Q2 revs of $280-284 mln vs. $276.13 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $1.75-1.80 vs. $1.70 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $1.15-1.16 bln vs. $1.14 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:03PM Merck announces that its ISENTRESS demonstrated durable reductions in HIV-1 viral load and sustained tolerability (MRK) 32.46 -0.11 : Co announces that new Phase III data showed that adult patients with HIV-1 infection maintained undetectable viral loads and increases in CD4 cell counts at three years of treatment with ISENTRESS (raltegravir) tablets in combination therapy, comparable to treatment with efavirenz in combination therapy. The new data demonstrated that the antiviral efficacy and safety profile of ISENTRESS seen at weeks 48 and 96 of treatment in this study were sustained through week 156. Data also showed that patients in both treatment arms of this study experienced similar changes in body fat composition. Additionally, ISENTRESS in combination therapy demonstrated less impact on lipids [total, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol] and triglycerides at week 144.

4:03PM Continental Resources announces public offering of 10 mln shares of common stock (CLR) 68.32 -1.21 : Co announced that it and certain selling shareholders intend to offer 10,000,000 shares of the Company's common stock to the public, of which 9,170,000 shares would be sold by the Company and 830,000 shares would be sold by the selling shareholders, pursuant to the Company's effective shelf registration statement. BofA Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.

4:03PM CNinsure reports Q4 net revenues of $68 mln, up 26% y/y, Thomson Reuters consensus $69 mln; income per ADS $0.37, consensus $0.34 (CISG) 17.88 +0.30 : Net margin was 28.2% for the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to 26.4% for the corresponding period of 2009. CNinsure expects its net income attributable to the Company's shareholders, excluding non-recurring investment income incurred by business combination achieved in stages and the estimated strategic spending on e-commerce insurance, to grow by approximately 20~23% for the first quarter 2011 compared to the corresponding period of 2010. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

4:02PM B&G Foods beats by $0.08, beats on revs (BGS) 15.01 +0.01 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.28 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.08 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.20; revenues rose 4.6% year/year to $141.9 mln vs the $138.9 mln consensus. This $6.3 million increase was attributable to unit volume and sales price increases of $4.6 million and $1.8 million, respectively, partially offset by an increase in coupon expenses of $0.1 million. EBITDA for fiscal 2011 is expected to be ~$123.0 to $126.0 million. B&G Foods expects to make capital expenditures of ~$11.0 million in the aggregate during fiscal 2011.

4:02PM CAI Intl beats by $0.13, beats on revs (CAP) 20.32 -0.86 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.57 per share, $0.13 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.44; revenues rose 64.7% year/year to $25.2 mln vs the $23.8 mln consensus.

4:01PM Blackboard approves a share repurchase program that authorizes the co to repurchase up to an aggregate of $100 mln of its common stock (BBBB) 34.48 -0.53 :

4:01PM FMC Tech signed 5 year frame agreement with BP to provide subsea production systems and life-of-field services for their worldwide subsea development projects (FTI) 91.88 -2.17 :

4:01PM Courier to close its manufacturing plant in Stoughton, Massachusetts on April 30 due to competitive pressures and technology shifts affecting the one-color paperback books in which the plant specializes (CRRC) 13.98 -0.29 : In connection with the closing, co estimates pre-tax restructuring costs of approximately $6 mln for severance, pension withdrawal liabilities and other expenses. In addition, the facility's lease obligates Courier to pay an aggregate of $2.7 mln through 2015, although the company is pursuing options to reduce those costs. Overall, Courier expects the cash impact of the closing to be approximately $3 mln over the remainder of fiscal 2011 with the majority of the remaining cash impact spread over 5-20 years.

3:47PM April WTI crude oil trades through $100 in electronic trade; now up $3.09 to $100.06 (COMDX) :

3:40PM Chico's FAS correction: We incorrectly attributed a CHSCP news to Chico's; Chico's did not announce letters of intent with local grain partners to build shuttle train loading elevators (CHS) 13.65 -0.09 : Our 15:17 comment has been deleted.

3:37PM Capital Gold sent a letter to its stockholders urging them to vote for the merger with Gammon Gold (GRS) (CGC) 5.61 +0.17 :

3:26PM CBOT Agriculture and Ethanol and ICE Exchange Sugar Closing Prices (COMDX) : May corn finished up 4.5 cents to $7.355/bu, May wheat fell 6.75 cents to close at $8.1025, May soybeans rose 10.5 cents to close at $13.7525, Mar ethanol closed up 0.002 at $2.594, while May world sugar futures closed down 0.19 cents to 29.26 cents.

3:21PM CBOE Holdings reports February trading volumes; the Feb avg options contracts per day increased 18% y/y (CBOE) 28.23 -1.37 : The new alternative all-electronic market, combined, totaled 95.1 mln contracts, an average daily volume (ADV) of 5.0 mln contracts. Futures trading on CBOE Futures Exchange in February set a new monthly volume record for the second straight month; nearly 790K contracts were traded, an ADV of 41,565 contracts. CBOE total options for February 2011 total ADV was a 14% increase from 4.25 mln contracts per day in February 2010 and a 5% decrease from January 2011 ADV of 5.13 mln contracts.

3:12PM Nasdaq Comp -49 retests its 50 day sma (QQQQ) : Last week the index tested and penetrated its 50 sma/ema but only on an intraday bias with it closing above both Wed/Thurs. Today's steady retreat has brought the index back to its 50 sma at 2731 (session low 2730) which it has not closed below since early last Sep

3:11PM Key Energy prices a registered public offering of $475 million aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes due 2021; notes will bear interest at a rate of 6.75% per year, payable semi-annually in arrears, beginning September 1 (KEG) 14.94 -0.56 :

3:01PM Dendreon reports Q4 EPS of ($0.64) vs ($0.49) Thomson Reuters consensus; revs $25.0 mln vs $24.80 mln Thomson Reuters consensus (DNDN) 33.22 -0.37 :

3:00PM Limited bounce in recent trade for stock indices -- Dow -145, S&P -18, Nasdaq Comp -46 (SPY) : The S&P will have to clear 1310 and 1314 to improve the negative pattern that has developed today (recent bounce high 1310).

2:57PM Phillips-Van Heusen and Ritmo Mundo have entered into a licensing agreement (PVH) 58.84 -1.17 : Ritmo Mundo will market and distribute watches for men and women under PVH's IZOD brand in North America. The agreement provides for an initial term of five-years, with a three-year renewal at PVH's option.

2:40PM In electronic trade, gold futures trade to new all time high at $1433.40; now up $22.00 to $1431.90 (COMDX) :

2:37PM NYMEX Energy Closing Prices (COMDX) : Crude oil settled higher by $2.66 to $99.63, natural gas dropped 16.2 cents to close at $3.877, heating oil rallied for 8.33 cents to finish at $3.0222, while RBOB gasoline gained 8.94 cents to end at $2.9821 (all April contracts)

2:31PM Trending action continues with stock indices extending to another round of new session lows -- Dow -148, S&P -19, Nasdaq Comp -46 (SPY) : The Dow has now dropped as much as 186 points off its opening session high.

2:24PM April WTI crude continues to push higher heading into the close; now up $2.57 to $99.54 (COMDX) :

2:15PM Crude spikes to highs with ~15 min left in pit trade; now up $2.34 to $99.30 (COMDX) :

2:09PM Chemed announces a five-year $350 million credit agreement for new revolving credit facility (CHE) 64.56 -0.88 : Co enters into a new Credit Agreement for its Revolving Credit Facility. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. acted as the Administrative Agent and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as Lead Arranger and Sole Bookrunner for this transaction. Bank of America, NA was the Syndication Agent and PNC Bank, N.A. and RBS Citizens, National Association were the Co-Documentation Agents. Terms of the Credit Agreement consist of a five-year $350 million revolving credit facility. The interest rate on this Credit Agreement has a floating rate that is currently LIBOR plus 175 basis points. An expansion feature is included in this Credit Agreement that provides Chemed the opportunity to increase its revolver and/or enter into term loans for an additional $150 million.

2:01PM Citrix Systems and Skype announce partnership to deliver web and audio conferencing capabilities (CTXS) 68.61 -1.55 :

2:01PM Nordson declare 2-for-1 stock split (NDSN) 107.92 -0.99 : Co announces that its board of directors has declared a 2-for-1 stock split, in the form of a 100-percent stock dividend, effective April 12, 2011 for all shares outstanding at the close of business on March 25, 2011. As a result of the 2-for-1 stock split, the number of shares outstanding increases from 34 million to 68 million.

1:54PM Atlantic American declares a special cash dividend of $0.02 per share that will be payable on or about April 30 to shareholders of record as of March 31 (AAME) 2.10 +0.06 :

1:41PM Crocs: Federal Court dismisses securities class actions against Crocs (CROX) 17.29 -0.36 : Co announced that the United States District Court for the District of Colorado yesterday entered an Order granting Crocs' motion to dismiss the plaintiffs' Corrected Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint in In re Crocs, Securities Litigation, Civil Action No. 07-cv-02351-PAB. This litigation started in 2007, when various plaintiffs filed federal securities class action claims against the company and some of the company's current and former officers and directors. The Order dismissed all claims and ends the consolidated class action litigation that had been pending in the federal court.

1:35PM COMEX Metals Closing Prices (COMDX) : April gold rallied for $18.40 to close at $1428.30, May silver gained 58.5 cents to end at $34.405, while finished higher by 0.7 cents to $4.485.

1:29PM Crude oil ticking back toward session highs $99.18; currently higher by $2.02 to $98.99 (COMDX) :

1:27PM Stock indices slip under midday ranges to set fresh session lows -- Dow -110, S&P -14, Nasdaq Comp -35 (SPY) :

1:15PM UNITIL announced its non-regulated business affiliate Usource, has been selected to represent Lonza Incorporated's energy requirements (UTL) 22.81 :

1:03PM BJ Restaurants remains on track to open as many as 12 to 13 new restaurants during 2011 (BJRI) 35.90 -0.04 : Co currently has six new restaurants under construction for planned openings later this year. "Additionally, our real estate pipeline continues to be in excellent shape, and our development team is currently finalizing several new restaurant locations for potential 2012 openings."

1:01PM Ameresco entered into an energy savings performance contract with the New Paltz Central School District (AMRC) 14.18 -0.24 : Co has entered into an energy savings performance contract with the New Paltz Central School District. The co will provide energy efficiency upgrades to four New Paltz schools: New Paltz High School, New Paltz Middle School, Lenape Elementary School and Duzine Elementary School. The project is expected to save the district $258,461 annually.

12:44PM April gold ticks to fresh highs at $1431.50; now up $20.10 to $1430.00 (COMDX) : Note that all time highs in the continuous contract is $1431.10.

12:29PM Gold GLD, Silver SLV, Copper JJC continue to display relative strength as stock indices weaken further (TECHX) : More defensive Staples XLP, Pharma PPH are also outperforming the market on a relative basis.

12:18PM Nat gas to fresh lows; now off 15.7 cents to $3.88 (COMDX) :

12:07PM Equity Lifestyle Properties prices a public offering by selling stockholders of 8 mln shares the 8.034% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (ELS) 57.65 -0.39 : Co announces the pricing of a public offering by selling stockholders of 8,000,000 shares of the Company's 8.034% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share, liquidation preference of $25.00 per share, at a price of $24.75 per share. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, are acting as joint book-running managers of the public offering.

12:06PM Downside extension brings second level support in play for S&P -10 and Nasdaq Comp -26 (SPY) : Support noted in The Technical Take for the S&P is at 1315/1313 (session low 1315), and 2751/2745 Nasdaq Comp (session low 2753).

12:05PM Gold, silver continue to push higher (COMDX) :

* April gold now higher by $19.50 to $1429.40.
* May silver up 68 cents to $34.50.

11:58AM Nasdaq Comp -23 joins Dow -75 and S&P -10 at new session lows, Crude Oil Futures edge to minor new session high (QQQQ) :

11:57AM Crude oil to fresh highs at $98.95; now up $1.95 to $98.92 (COMDX) :

11:51AM Fresh session lows for Dow -60 and S&P -8.6, Nasdaq Comp -20 holding just above thus far (SPY) :

11:50AM streetTRACKS Gold Shares push higher intraday as it begins to close in on its early Dec/all-time intraday high of $139.54 (GLD) 139.31 +1.65 :

11:47AM Energy Select Sector slips to new session low, Oil Service OIH hovering just above its session low of 163.06 (XLE) :

11:44AM Mylan Labs confirms first-to-file patent challenge relating to Vivelle-Dot (MYL) 22.79 -0.08 : Co confirms that the company has been sued by Vivelle Ventures LLC, Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NVS) in connection with the filing of an Abbreviated New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Estradiol Transdermal System, USP, 0.025 mg/day, 0.0375 mg/day, 0.05 mg/day, 0.075 mg/day and 0.1 mg/day. This product is the generic version of Vivelle-Dot, which is indicated for the treatment of symptoms associated with menopause, the treatment of hypoestrogenism and the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

11:33AM Stock indices retreat off mid-morning bounce highs -- Dow -47, S&P -6.7, Nasdaq Comp -15 (SPY) : Relative sector weakness on this move has been most notable in: Oil Service OIH, Energy XLE, Finance XLF, Disk Drive.

11:21AM Dow Chemical unit receives first international patent for lead commercial event in herbicide tolerant traits (DOW) 36.98 -0.18 : Dow AgroSciences, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (DOW), announced the publication of an international patent application for its lead commercial herbicide tolerance event in corn. The corn event is part of Dow AgroSciences' innovative new class of herbicide tolerant traits, and is planned to be commercialized in the 2012-2013 timeframe.

11:01AM Stock indices extending bounce off lows/support (SPY) : Noted supports/oversold posture in the 10:24/10:35 updates with the recovery extended in recent trade -- Dow -9 is 49 points off the low, S&P -1.7, Nasdaq Comp -5.3

10:47AM J. Crew confirms stockholders approve acquisition by TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners (JCG) 43.57 +0.45 :

10:47AM Textron's subsidiary,Textron Financial Corporation, authorizes a plan to withdraw listing of the co's 5.125% Notes due August 15, 2014 from the NYSE (TXT) 26.58 -0.51 :

10:45AM General Motors Feb sales +49% (GM) 33.14 -0.36 : Co reported Feb total sales in the United States rose 49% as dealers reported 207,028 deliveries for the company's four brands. During the month, retail sales rose 70% - the highest year-over-year gain in the company's history. Retail sales of GM's cars, trucks and crossovers all rose at least 59% or more during the month, up 76%, 74% and 59%, respectively.

10:35AM Bidz.com announces dismissal with prejudice of the Federal derivative lawsuit against it (BIDZ) 1.62 +0.02 : Co announced the United States District Court for the Central District of California, dismissed without leave to amend the Federal Derivative lawsuit against it and its board members. On February 24, 2011, the Court granted Bidz' motion to dismiss the lawsuit for the plaintiffs' failure to adequately allege that a pre-suit demand on the Board of Directors would have been futile.

10:35AM Some downside follow through for stock index but continuing to try and hold near first level supports -- Dow -40, S&P -6.4, Nasdaq Comp -19 (SPY) : Additional minor downticks but the three majors are attempting to stabilize near first level supports noted in The Technical Take amid very short term oversold indicators.

10:32AM Arcelor Mittal announces pricing of $3 bln bond issue (MT) 36.27 -0.40 : Co completed the pricing of three series of US dollar denominated notes, consisting of USD 500,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 3.75% Notes due 2016, USD 1,500,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 5.50% Notes due 2021 and USD 1,000,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 6.75% Notes due 2041. The proceeds to ArcelorMittal, amounting to ~3 bln, will be used to refinance existing indebtedness.

10:30AM Office Depot partners with Xerox (XRX) to offer managed print services to customers across Europe (ODP) 5.21 -0.10 :

10:26AM VimpelCom announced the English Commercial Court's decision which will allow the March 17, 2011 Special General Meeting of Shareholders to go forward as planned (VIP) 14.15 +0.03 :

10:24AM S&P -4.8 and Nasdaq Comp -12 probe first level support (SPY) : Noted support at 1320/1319 S&P (session low 1321) and 2770/2763 Nasdaq Comp (session low 2767) in The Technical Take and have seen a test in recent action. The outperforming Dow -29 has thus far held above a similar level at 12175/12163 (session low 12185).

10:17AM Sector weakness in recent trade noted in Housing XHB, Materials XLB, Ag/Chem MOO, Casino BJK, Copper JJC (TECHX) :

10:09AM Nat gas continues to fall; now down 11.6 cents to $3.921 (COMDX) :

10:08AM Minor downticks/new session lows in recent trade with Dow -13 and S&P -2.3, joining Nasdaq Comp -7.2 in the red (SPY) :

10:01AM Stock indices set minor new pullback lows just prior to the data with fractional slippage noted thereafter -- Dow +14, S&P +0.5, Nasdaq Comp -2.8 (SPY) :

9:56AM Gold, silver tick to new highs (COMDX) :

* April gold now higher by $14.20 to $1424.10.
* May silver now up 62 cents to $34.44.

9:54AM Coca-Cola notches new session high of 64.84, slightly above its Feb range top high of 64.75 (KO) 64.80 +0.88 :

9:54AM Opening Point Gainers/Losers (TECHX) : Point Gainers: AZO (+7.61), MA (+3.34), LO (+3.13), DRQ (+2.22), CERN (+2.52), IBN (+2.39), UHS (+2.29), BTU (+1.91), UCO (+1.81), MRO (+1.80), TECD (+1.73)

Point Losers: CEDC (-7.22), GDOT (-4.33), CRM (-4.20), PCLN (-4.24), TNS (-3.03), YOKU (-2.81), FFIV (-2.60), FDP (-2.73), OPEN (-2.47), WRC (-2.40), DGI (-2.33)

9:50AM Relative Sector Weakness (TECHX) : Relative sector weakness (underperforming the S&P) has been noted in Finance XLF, Reg Bank KRE, Airline FAA, Retail XRT, Discretionary XLY, Computer-Hardware, Disk Drive, REITs IYR, Solar TAN, Casino BJK.

9:49AM Cameron signs non-exclusive Global Agreement with BP for the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Operational Support for Subsea Production Systems. (CAM) 59.75 +0.62 :

9:44AM Stock indices slip back after minor opening gains as Crude Oil jumps higher -- Dow +9, S&P +1, Nasdaq Comp -3.8 (SPY) :

9:42AM April WTI crude oil to fresh highs at $98.57; now higher by $1.53 to $98.50 (COMDX) :

9:41AM iShares DJ Telecom edged slightly above Monday's high, pauses near its 50 sma at 23.32 -- session high 23.34 (IYZ) 23.23 -0.07 : T, CTL, LUK, PCS, Q, S, VZ, WIN, NIHD, VMED.

9:41AM Natural gas drops ~4 cents to lows; now off 5.8 cents to $3.979 (COMDX) :

9:37AM Guggenheim Solar displays relative weakness (TAN) : SOL -13.6% is pacing the way after reporting, currently vacillating slightly above its 200 ema/sma following at 9.40/9.38 (session low 9.50) -- LDK -3.6%, CSIQ -3.5%, JKS -3.5%, TSL -2.2%, YGE -2%, STP -1.9%, FSLR -1.6%. TAN is hovering slightly above its 200 ema at 8.03.

9:32AM April WTI crude oil moves to fresh highs at $98.19; now higher by $1.13 to $98.10 (COMDX) :

9:31AM Perrigo announces arrival of the FDA for reinspection related to the Allegan (AGN) facility warning letter (PRGO) 76.39 -0.04 : Co announced that, as part of the anticipated follow-up to the warning letter Perrigo received on April 30, 2010, the Detroit Office of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has arrived at their Allegan facility for the re-inspection.

9:25AM Fuwei Films comments in response to Department of Commerce's first round antidumping decision (FFHL) 5.08 : Co announced that it has submitted to the U.S. Department of Commerce a response outlining perceived factual errors made by the Department in calculating its final results in the first-round antidumping case. Under the subject of merchandise in the first round of anti-dumping administrative review, film manufactured by Fuwei and sold to the United States is cited from November 6, 2008 to October 31, 2009. In the decision, the Department sought to impose an anti-dumping duty of 30.91% on Fuwei. This means that Fuwei and its clients could be obliged to pay additional anti-dumping duties. In addition, the products of Fuwei could be limited in their access to the U.S. market in subsequent years. Fuwei believes that the final results contain certain errors which are clearly ministerial inaccuracies as they result from a misstatement by the Department in regards to the data which was inaccurately interpreted and therefore should be corrected.

9:24AM Cotton futures rise the exchange limit overnight; the May contract is currently up 7 cents (or 3.7%) at $1.9823/lb primarily driven by strong China demand (BAL) 102.99 :

9:16AM Versar receives new Iraq training contract for ~$1.5 mln (VSR) 3.60 :

9:15AM Apricus Biosciences announces that the European Patent Office will grant a patent for the company's MycoVa product for treating onychomycosis (APRI) 5.36 :

9:11AM Encore Capital prices offering of 2.45 mln shares of common stock by JCF FPK I LP, Red Mountain Capital Partners II and Red Mountain Capital Partners III at $26.00/share (ECPG) 27.23 :

9:09AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* FIRST announced that, in cooperation with PTC (PMTC), it has expanded the international rollout of the FIRST Tech Challenge program to India, China and Eastern Europe.
* Rite Aid Corporation (RAD) received notice from the New York Stock Exchange that the company has regained compliance with the exchange's share price listing requirement.
* Agilent Technologies (A) announced it has acquired BIOCIUS Life Sciences, Inc., developer of the unique RapidFire high-throughput mass spectrometry drug-screening platform for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical markets. Financial details were not disclosed.
* Albemarle Corporation (ALB) will increase prices of ETHANOX and ETHAPHOS antioxidants as well as antioxidant blends by up to 15% on shipments beginning March 1, 2011, or as contracts allow.
* Fiserv (FISV) announced that it has acquired Credit Union On-Line Inc, a credit union service organization that runs an outsourced version of the XP2 account processing solution from Fiserv.

9:08AM The Hanover Insurance Grp increases quarterly dividend by 10% to $0.275 per share (THG) 46.47 :

9:07AM Coca-Cola exercises its option to acquire the remaining portion of Honest Tea; financial terms not disclosed (KO) 63.92 : Co announces that it has exercised its option to acquire the remaining portion of Honest Tea. The move completes a transaction which began three years ago when co, led by the Venturing and Emerging Brands unit of Coca-Cola North America, purchased a minority stake in the co. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

9:04AM Rite Aid received notice from NYSE that the company has regained compliance with the exchange's share price listing requirement (RAD) 1.31 :

9:04AM Exeter Resource options project adjacent to Caspiche Gold-Copper Porphyry, Chile; preliminary drill testing is expected to commence in early March, 2011 (XRA) 5.33 : Co announce that it has entered into an option agreement with Xstrata Copper to acquire 100% of the Sideral project adjacent to its Caspiche gold-copper porphyry property in the Maricunga gold district of Chile. The Sideral property covers 1,190 hectares (2,941 acres) and is located immediately east of Exeter's Caspiche tenure of 1,260 hectares (3,114 acres). Previous exploration has highlighted anomalous gold-copper surface geochemistry coincident with geophysical (electrical) anomalies comparable to those that define the Caspiche Porphyry. Additional electrical geophysical work and sampling has already begun on the property to further expand and define these anomalies. Preliminary drill testing is expected to commence in early March, 2011.

9:03AM Chesapeake Lodging Trust prices 12.5 common shares offering at price of $17.75 per share for ~$212.2 mln of net proceeds (CHSP) 18.60 : Co announced it has priced its public offering of 12,500,000 common shares at a public offering price of $17.75 per share, for a total of approximately $212.2 mln of net proceeds, after deducting the underwriting discount and other offering costs. Deutsche Bank Securities, Wells Fargo Securities, J.P. Morgan Securities and KeyBanc Capital Markets are the joint book-running managers for the offering. RBC Capital Markets, Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, and JMP Securities are co-managers for the offering.

9:02AM Illinois Tool acquires SOPUS Products' Car Care Business; Terms of the transaction were not disclosed (ITW) 54.10 : SOPUS Products' Car Care business includes such well known brands as Rain-X, Black Magic and Gumout, among others. 2010 revenues were approximately $300 million.

9:01AM GenMark Diagnostics dismisses patent lawsuit against Caliper Life Sciences (CALP) (GNMK) 4.11 : Co announces that it has dismissed a lawsuit in the Northern District of California pending since November 2010 that requested declaratory relief that it does not infringe three U.S. patents on microfluidic technology allegedly owned by Caliper Life Sciences (CALP). The suit sought Declaratory Relief that GenMark does not infringe on 3 patents and that these patents are invalid.

9:01AM Zoran issues open letter to shareholders; says proposed merger with CSR offers stockholders significant premium and upside potential (ZRAN) 11.21 : Co issued a letter to shareholders urging support to "prevent Ramius from jeopardizing the value creation potential of the proposed merger of Zoran and CSR. As we recently announced, Zoran is proposing to merge with CSR in an all stock transaction which offers Zoran stockholders a significant premium -- the implied price per share being offered by CSR represents a premium of approximately 39.9% to the closing price of Zoran and a premium of approximately 89% to the enterprise value of Zoran net of cash as of February 18, 2011, the last business day before the merger announcement."

8:56AM L-3 Comms announces that it has adjusted the conversion rate for its 3% Convertible Contingent Debt Securities due 2035 (LLL) 79.29 : Co announces that it has adjusted the conversion rate for its 3% Convertible Contingent Debt Securities due 2035 in connection with the regular quarterly dividends of $0.40 per share of the Company's Common Stock paid on each of September 15, 2010 and December 15, 2010 and the regular quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share of the Company's Common Stock expected to be paid on March 15, 2011. The new conversion rate is 10.2263 shares of Common Stock of the Company per $1,000 principal amount of the Securities, effective for conversions on or after March 1, 2011.

8:56AM Alaska Comms announces David Wilson, currently executive VP and CFO will transition his role as CFO to Wayne Graham, one of co's founding members and previous CFO, effective April 1 (ALSK) 10.19 :

8:51AM Acme United acquires Pac-Kit Safety Equipment Company; acquisition is expected to be accretive in 2011 (ACU) 10.05 : Co announces the acquisition of Pac-Kit Safety Equipment Company, a leading manufacturer of first aid kits for the industrial, safety, transportation, and marine markets. Pac-Kit's revenues in 2010 were ~$5.4 million. Acme United purchased the accounts receivable, inventory, equipment, brands, historical records, and photographs for $3.4 million. The acquisition is expected to be accretive in 2011.

8:50AM K-V Pharmaceutical intends to offer $200 million of senior secured notes due 2015 in a private placement, subject to market conditions. (KV.A) 8.11 : Co intends to offer $200 million of senior secured notes due 2015 in a private placement. Co intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the Notes to repay in full the Company's outstanding obligations under its credit agreement with U.S. Healthcare I, L.L.C. and U.S. Healthcare II, L.L.C. (including the payment of related premiums) and terminate the related future loan commitments, to establish an escrow reserve for one year of interest payments on the Notes and for general corporate purposes.

8:44AM Western Gas Partners prices its public offering of 3,550,000 common units representing limited partner interests at $35.15 per unit (WES) 36.24 :

8:39AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* BioSpecifics Technologies (BSTC) announced that Pfizer (PFE) received approval from the European Medicines Agency to market XIAPEX in Europe for the treatment of Dupuytren's contracture, a debilitating disorder resulting from excessive collagen deposition that causes contractures of the fingers, and is expected to be available for use in some European markets later this year.
* Hercules Technology Growth Capital (HTGC) provided a portfolio update for the first quarter 2011. ~$42.0 million in closed commitments through February 2011 One completed initial public offering by portfolio company Pacira Pharmaceuticals Completed InfoLogix sale generating the largest single gain in Firm's history of ~$8.0-$8.5 million.
* Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) announced plans for a new manufacturing facility in China within the Suzhou Science and Technology Town - part of the company's strategy to aggressively expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The new facility, scheduled for completion in early 2012, will develop and manufacture laboratory instruments, equipment and consumables for China's growing life sciences markets.
* Mad Catz (MCZ) and Electronic Arts (ERTS) announced an agreement to produce branded PC and console videogame accessories based on 'The Sims' franchise. The agreement grants Mad Catz non-exclusive rights to produce and market a wide range of videogame accessories for PC, Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, Sony (SNE) PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, Wii, Nintendo DS (NTDOY) and Nintendo 3DS systems.
* Potlatch Corporation (PCH) plans to withdraw the listing of its common stock from the Chicago Stock Exchange. Potlatch's common stock will continue to be listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market, its primary listing exchange, under ticker symbol PCH.
* ePlus (PLUS) announced that its subsidiary, ePlus Technology has joined the Vblock partner ecosystem, a community of partners that are qualified to augment, resell, and deliver VCE's Vblock Infrastructure Platform.
* Harman (HAR) unveilied an innovative navigation solution for Mercedes-Benz that blends the flexibility of portable navigation devices with the convenience of complete driver cockpit integration.

8:34AM RXi Pharmaceuticals prices an underwritten public offering of 6,000,000 units at a price to the public of $1.35 per unit for gross proceeds of $8.1 million (RXII) 1.70 :

8:33AM Dupont Fabros Tech commences an underwritten public offering of its Series B Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (DFT) 24.42 : Co announces it has commenced an underwritten public offering of its Series B Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock. The co intends to use all of the net proceeds from the offering together with borrowings under its $100 mln revolving credit facility to develop the second phase of its CH1 data center in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

8:32AM PNM Resources misses by $0.02; guides FY11 EPS above consensus (PNM) 13.31 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.03 per share, $0.02 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.01). Co issues upside guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $0.80-0.92 vs. $0.77 Thomson Reuters consensus. "The recent approval of new rates for TNMP will provide the utility an opportunity to earn its allowed return on equity in the near future. Regarding PNM, if regulators approve the pending stipulation that was filed Feb. 3, PNM would be on a path of earning its allowed return on equity and improving its credit metrics."

8:31AM KC Southern announces conversion of outstanding series D preferred stock into common stock (KSU) 53.82 :

8:31AM Novavax awarded contract valued at up to $179 mln to develop pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccines for U.S. government using recombinant VLP technology (NVAX) 2.60 : Co announced that it has been awarded a contract valued at up to $179 mln by the Office of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the advanced clinical and manufacturing development of recombinant vaccines for the prevention of seasonal and pandemic influenza.

8:29AM WSP Holdings appoints Choon-Hoi Then as Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective March 1st, 2011 (WH) 1.34 :

8:18AM Exterran Holdings prices a previously announced secondary offering of 5.25 mln common units representing limited partner interests in Exterran Partners at $28.65 per common unit (EXH) 22.70 : Wells Fargo Securities, BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital, J.P. Morgan and RBC are acting as joint book-running managers.

8:13AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Brightpoint (CELL) announced that its subsidiary, Brightpoint Australia Pty, has entered into a distribution services agreement with GN Netcom Asia Ltd. Under the terms of the agreement, Brightpoint will distribute the company's award-winning range of Jabra car speakerphones and mobile headsets in the Australian retail channels.
* Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) has been awarded a contract for cyberspace operations supporting the U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific to provide cyberspace science, research, engineering and technology integration. The contract has a total potential value of $200 million.
* Seattle Genetics (SGEN) and Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company announced that they have initiated a phase I clinical trial of brentuximab vedotin in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma patients. Brentuximab vedotin is an antibody-drug conjugate directed to CD30, which is highly expressed in ALCL.
* World Energy Solutions (XWES) introduced The Seven Levers of Energy Management, a new strategic framework that provides Commercial & Industrial, Institutional and Government customers a clear and comprehensive approach to lowering their energy costs.

8:09AM Forest City announces that President and CEO Charles A. Ratner will become Chairman and will be succeeded as President and CEO by David J. LaRue, currently Executive VP and COO (FCEA) 18.90 : The changes are a part of co's succession planning process and will be effective following co's annual meeting of shareholders on June 10, 2011.

8:07AM Pulse Electronics confirms that it has received an unsolicited proposal from Bel Fuse (BELFB) to acquire all of the outstanding shares of co for $6.00 per share (PULS) 6.04 : Co's Board of Directors will review the proposal, consistent with its fiduciary duties, in consultation with its financial and legal advisors. "There is no need for Pulse Electronics shareholders to take any action at this time."

8:07AM CVS Caremark: Larry Merlo assumes the role of CEO and Pres succeeding Thomas Ryan who will remain Non-Executive Chairman until his retirement in May (CVS) 33.06 : Co announced today that Larry J. Merlo has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer. Merlo, now President and Chief Executive Officer of CVS Caremark, succeeds Thomas M. Ryan who will remain Non-Executive Chairman until his retirement at the company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders in May of 2011. CVS Caremark previously announced that upon Ryan's retirement as Chairman in May 2011, it intends to elect Dorman as the next Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of CVS Caremark at the 2011 Annual Meeting. Dorman has been on the CVS Caremark Board of Directors since 2006.

8:05AM Oncothyreon presents preclinical data on irreversible PI3 kinase inhibitor PX-866; demonstrates that the primary metabolite of PX-866 is highly active against important targets for the treatment of solid tumor cancers (ONTY) 3.17 : Co announced the presentation of preclinical data on PX-866, its irreversible inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Special Conference "Targeting PI3K/mTOR Signaling. "These data demonstrate that the primary metabolite of PX-866 is highly active against the alpha and beta isoforms of PI3K, which are important targets for the treatment of solid tumor cancers... The promising pharmcodynamic and clinical effects demonstrated at low doses in Phase 1 evaluation further support the potential for this product candidate, and we look forward to sharing initial Phase 2 clinical data from our ongoing trials later this year."

8:04AM Viacom announces early results of its cash tender offer for a portion of its outstanding 6.25% Senior Notes due 2016 and an increase in the aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes sought thereunder (VIA) 51.14 : Co announces the results to date for the previously announced cash tender offer for a portion of its outstanding 6.25% Senior Notes due 2016 and an increase in the aggregate principal amount of 2016 Notes sought thereunder from up to $500 mln to $576,488,000. All other terms and conditions of the tender offer remain unchanged.

8:03AM CenterPoint reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; guides FY11 EPS below consensus (CNP) 15.86 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.29 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.29; revenues fell 8.7% year/year to $2.1 bln vs the $2.19 bln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $1.04-1.14 vs. $1.18 Thomson Reuters consensus.

8:03AM JA Solar to supply 110 mw of solar products to Solar-Fabrik AG in 2011 (JASO) 7.06 :

8:03AM Diamondrock Hospitality beats by $0.01, misses on revs; guides FY11 FFO below consensus (DRH) 11.76 : Reports Q4 (Dec) funds from operations of $0.22 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.21; revenues rose 19.1% year/year to $209.3 mln vs the $211.7 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY11, sees FFO of $0.60-0.62 vs. $0.72 Thomson Reuters consensus.

8:03AM Shaw Group receives full notice to proceed on a new gas-fired facility at Duke Energy's (DUK) Dan River Steam Station in North Carolina; contract amount undisclosed (SHAW) 39.72 : Co announces it received full notice to proceed on a new gas-fired facility at DUK's Dan River Steam Station in North Carolina. Scheduled to begin operation in late 2012, the new 620-megawatt natural gas-fired combined-cycle generating unit will replace two older units at the facility. At the peak of construction, the project will employ more than 400 workers. The undisclosed value of the contract will be included in co's Power segment's backlog of unfilled orders in the second quarter of fiscal year 2011.

8:02AM Endeavour Silver expands indicated and inferred Silver-Gold-Zinc-Lead Resources at the Parral Project (EXK) 7.39 : Co released an NI 43-101 resource estimate for its Parral Project located adjacent to the city of Hidalgo de Parral in Chihuahua State, Mexico. The indicated and inferred resources were expanded significantly as a result of Endeavour's exploration drilling program in 2010. The Parral Project is situated within the famous silver district of Parral and covers about 1.1 kilometers of strike length along the Esmeralda zinc-lead-silver-gold vein system on the El Cometa and San Juanico properties. A total of 9,954 meters of core drilling were completed in 34 drill holes on the San Juanico properties in 2010 in order to define the expanded resources.

8:02AM Interactive Intelligence acquires Agori Communications in an all-cash transaction (ININ) 34.41 : Co acquired Agori Communications, GmbH, a Frankfurt, Germany-based reseller of the Interactive Intelligence multichannel contact center solutions in an all-cash transaction. For the year ended Dec. 13, 2010, Agori recorded revenues of $4.5 mln before deductions for amounts paid to Interactive Intelligence for licenses and support.

8:01AM CIT Group to redeem additional $500 million of 2013 Series A Notes (CIT) 43.32 : Co announces that it will redeem an additional $500 million of its 7% Series A Second Lien Notes maturing in 2013. After this redemption, approximately $1.1 billion principal amount of the 2013 Series A Notes will remain outstanding.

7:54AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Science Applications International Corporation (SAI) announced it was awarded a prime contract by the U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific to provide technical services in support of cyberspace operations. The multiple-award, indefinite-delivery indefinite quantity contract has a two year base period of performance, three one-year options, and a total contract ceiling value of $219 million for all awardees, if all options are exercised. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif.
* Pharmaceuticals (NPSP) announced the randomization of the last patient in REPLACE, its Phase 3 registration study of NPSP558, a bioengineered form of human parathyroid hormone.

7:47AM Jacobs receives new NASA contract with potential total of $500 mln; also appointed to Carry Out Major Flood Study of River Shannon; terms not disclosed (JEC) 50.06 : Co announces that it received a test, evaluation and support team contract from NASA in support of NASA's White Sands Test Facility. The award includes a three-year base period with two one-year options and represents a potential maximum value of $500 mln if all options are exercised. Additionally, co announces that it was awarded the Shannon Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management study, a major study of flooding on the River Shannon, by the Office of Public Works in Ireland. The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland. Officials did not disclose the contract value.

7:47AM Standard Pacific enters into a new $210 million unsecured revolving bank credit facility (SPF) 4.00 : The new three-year facility, which closed on February 28, 2011, matures in February 2014 and has an accordion feature under which the aggregate commitment may be increased up to $400 million, subject to the availability of additional bank commitments and certain other conditions. The new facility was arranged by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners.

7:44AM Level 3 plans to offer $300 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes that will mature in 2019 (LVLT) 1.40 : Co announces that its subsidiary, Level 3 Financing, plans to offer $300 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes that will mature in 2019 and will bear interest at a fixed rate in a proposed private offering to qualified institutional buyers. The net proceeds from the offering of the notes, together with cash on hand, will be used to redeem a portion of Level 3 Financing, Inc.'s outstanding 9.25% Senior Notes due 2014.

7:42AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* EMCOR Group (EME), a Fortune 500 leader in mechanical and electrical construction, energy infrastructure and facilities services for a diverse range of businesses, announced that its Gibson Electric & Technology Solutions subsidiary has been awarded a contract for the installation of the power and technology systems for the Palos Community Hospital Surgery and Bed Pavilion in Palos Heights, Illinois.
* LHC Group (LHCG) entered into a home health joint venture with CHRISTUS Continuing Care, which is part of CHRISTUS Health, to provide home health services in Texarkana, Texas, and the surrounding communities.
* Zogenix (ZGNX) announced that data from a Phase 4 clinical study of SUMAVEL DosePro Needle-free Delivery System will be presented in two posters at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, to be held April 9 - 16, 2011 at the Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu, HI.



7:38AM Domino's Pizza reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (DPZ) 16.87 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.40 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.40; revenues rose 3.7% year/year to $480 mln vs the $381.3 mln consensus, due primarily to higher volumes and commodity prices in supply chain, higher same store sales in both domestic and international stores and store count growth in international markets. The co's domestic same store sales grew 6.3% YoY, and 9.9% for the full year, due to increased store traffic and sustained positive consumer response to its improved pizza and the effectiveness of its advertising. Further, the co's annual domestic store growth in 2010 was positive for the first time since 2007. Co sees long term comestic omp growth of 1-3%, international comp growth of 3-5% and global retail sales +4-7%;

7:33AM Geron announces preclinical study data showing positive effects of GRNCM1, co's cardiomyocyte product (GERN) 4.95 : Co announces preclinical study data showing positive effects of GRNCM1, Geron's cardiomyocyte product derived from human embryonic stem cells, in a small animal model of acute heart damage. Administering GRNCM1 by injection into the heart resulted in greater resistance to induced arrhythmias, halted adverse cardiac remodeling and preserved mechanical function compared to controls. The results suggest that GRNCM1 positively impacts cardiac function through several mechanisms, leading to overall increased cardiac output and decreased arrhythmias in the acute infarct setting.

7:32AM Poniard Pharma receives Clinical Trial Application approval from the Chinese State FDA (SFDA) to conduct two Phase III clinical studies of its lead product candidate, picoplatin (PARD) 0.35 : Co announced that it has received Clinical Trial Application (CTA) approval from the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) to conduct two Phase III clinical studies of its lead product candidate, picoplatin, in the treatment of second-line small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and second-line ovarian cancer in the People's Republic of China. The approval of both Phase III protocols by SFDA allows for the inclusion of Chinese clinical sites in developing and executing global registration trials within these disease settings. Picoplatin has demonstrated promising clinical activity in both SCLC and ovarian cancer. The Company is currently exploring strategic alternatives aimed at optimizing shareholder value and expects that CTA approval will provide additional flexibility with respect to potential picoplatin development opportunities.

7:32AM Novo-Nordisk A/S: Valeritas receives FDA 510(k) clearance for the V-Go disposable insulin delivery device for use with NovoLog (NVO) 126.66 : NovoLog is a registered trademark of Novo Nordisk A/S.

7:31AM Celsion announces ThermoDox preclinical data publication and presentations at upcoming scientific conferences; "preclinical research has shown an impressive ability to concentrate doxorubicin" (CLSN) 2.46 : "Our preclinical research has shown an impressive ability to concentrate doxorubicin in tissue heated by Philips' non-invasive, MR-Guided HIFU technology, thus expanding the area of treatment in a targeted manner... The combination of ThermoDox and HIFU is a very promising development pathway with the potential to fill a significant gap between surgery and systemic chemotherapies in the treatment of certain cancers. These studies, conducted at leading research centers in the U.S., Canada and Europe, provide further support for our continued investment in expanding the oncology indications that can be addressed by ThermoDox."

7:31AM Qualcomm and Gameloft enter into strategic relationship for HD mobile games (QCOM) 59.58 : Co announced it has signed an agreement with Gameloft, an industry leader in developing and publishing digital and online video games, to deliver an enhanced mobile gaming experience for top Gameloft game titles. Qualcomm has collaborated with Gameloft to optimize Gameloft's premier HD mobile games for Qualcomm's current and future generation Snapdragon processors, such as the MSM 8x55 and dual-core MSM8x60.

7:31AM IMAX and Dreamworks (DWA) sign pact for 2 films in 2011 (IMAX) 26.51 : DreamWorks Animation (DWA) and IMAX announce that the studio's two upcoming releases, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots will open in digital IMAX theatres in IMAX 3D.

7:31AM FTI Consulting Acquires Certain Practices of LECG Corporation (XPRT); terms were not disclosed (FCN) 32.99 : FTI Consulting, Inc. also confirmed it continues to evaluate the possible acquisition of several additional practice groups from LECG. No definitive agreement has been entered into with respect to the other practice group transactions under discussion, and accordingly no assurance can be given that any agreement will be signed or any other LECG practice groups will be acquired.

7:30AM Ceradyne $18.3 mln contract award for enriched zirconium diboride (CRDN) 38.23 : Co announces a three-year contract award to Boron Products, a wholly owned subsidiary of co, of ~$18.3 mln for the supply of B-10 enriched zirconium diboride to Westinghouse Electric Company-Nuclear Fuels Division for nuclear fuel applications. Approximately $6.0 mln of the total award is included in co's existing revenue guidance for 2011.

7:24AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* KemPharm announced that it has filed an Answer and Counter-Claims against Shire LLC , a subsidiary of Shire plc (SHPGY). KemPharm's Answer denies the allegations of Shire's Complaint, raises affirmative defenses, and makes claims for unfair competition, antitrust violations and other relief.
* Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA) announced that the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has set a trial date of September 7, 2011 in the Company's ongoing patent infringement litigation against Momenta Pharmaceuticals (MNTA) and Mylan Pharmaceuticals (MYL) regarding their purported generic versions of COPAXONE.

7:10AM April WTI crude oil spikes ~65 cents off the flat line to its best levels of the morning; currently higher by 71 cents to $97.68 (COMDX) :

7:08AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Arteris and CEVA (CEVA) announced that Arteris has joined the CEVAnet partner program, bringing multi-core interconnect expertise to the comprehensive third-party technology offerings for CEVA DSP cores. In addition, CEVA has licensed Arteris' advanced FlexNoC interconnect IP for optimizing CEVA's future multi-core platforms.
* Neuralstem (CUR) announced that the first subject was dosed yesterday in a Phase Ia trial to evaluate the safety of its drug, NSI-189, which is being developed for the treatment of major depressive disorder and other psychiatric indications.
* Top Image Systems (TISA) announced that Nemo Personal Finance has extended its use of eFLOW within the business to incorporate a wider range of document types to help it further improve document security.
* Novavax (NVAX) announced an agreement to license its proprietary, recombinant virus-like-particle vaccine technology to LG Life Sciences. Under the agreement, LGLS receives an exclusive license to manufacture, develop and commercialize influenza vaccines using Novavax's recombinant VLP technology in South Korea. LGLS also receives a non-exclusive license to manufacture, develop and commercialize influenza VLP vaccines in certain emerging market countries.
* ProLogis (PLD) announced it signed first-quarter leases in previously unleased space totaling ~1.2 million square feet (113,800 square meters).

7:08AM Rigel Pharms beats by $0.03 (RIGL) 6.99 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.33 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.36). Co had no rev. As of December 31, 2010, Rigel had cash, cash equivalents and available for sale securities of $177.3 million, compared to $133.3 million as of December 31, 2009. Rigel expects to end 2011 with ~$105.0 million in cash, cash equivalents and available for sale securities, which is expected to be sufficient to fund operations into 2013.

7:08AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Arteris and CEVA (CEVA) announced that Arteris has joined the CEVAnet partner program, bringing multi-core interconnect expertise to the comprehensive third-party technology offerings for CEVA DSP cores. In addition, CEVA has licensed Arteris' advanced FlexNoC interconnect IP for optimizing CEVA's future multi-core platforms.
* Neuralstem (CUR) announced that the first subject was dosed yesterday in a Phase Ia trial to evaluate the safety of its drug, NSI-189, which is being developed for the treatment of major depressive disorder and other psychiatric indications.
* Top Image Systems (TISA) announced that Nemo Personal Finance has extended its use of eFLOW within the business to incorporate a wider range of document types to help it further improve document security.
* Novavax (NVAX) announced an agreement to license its proprietary, recombinant virus-like-particle vaccine technology to LG Life Sciences. Under the agreement, LGLS receives an exclusive license to manufacture, develop and commercialize influenza vaccines using Novavax's recombinant VLP technology in South Korea. LGLS also receives a non-exclusive license to manufacture, develop and commercialize influenza VLP vaccines in certain emerging market countries.
* ProLogis (PLD) announced it signed first-quarter leases in previously unleased space totaling ~1.2 million square feet (113,800 square meters).

7:08AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Arteris and CEVA (CEVA) announced that Arteris has joined the CEVAnet partner program, bringing multi-core interconnect expertise to the comprehensive third-party technology offerings for CEVA DSP cores. In addition, CEVA has licensed Arteris' advanced FlexNoC interconnect IP for optimizing CEVA's future multi-core platforms.
* Neuralstem (CUR) announced that the first subject was dosed yesterday in a Phase Ia trial to evaluate the safety of its drug, NSI-189, which is being developed for the treatment of major depressive disorder and other psychiatric indications.
* Top Image Systems (TISA) announced that Nemo Personal Finance has extended its use of eFLOW within the business to incorporate a wider range of document types to help it further improve document security.
* Novavax (NVAX) announced an agreement to license its proprietary, recombinant virus-like-particle vaccine technology to LG Life Sciences. Under the agreement, LGLS receives an exclusive license to manufacture, develop and commercialize influenza vaccines using Novavax's recombinant VLP technology in South Korea. LGLS also receives a non-exclusive license to manufacture, develop and commercialize influenza VLP vaccines in certain emerging market countries.
* ProLogis (PLD) announced it signed first-quarter leases in previously unleased space totaling ~1.2 million square feet (113,800 square meters).

7:06AM ArQule beats by $0.02, misses on revs; guides FY11 below consensus (ARQL) 6.37 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.13 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.15); revenues rose 3.2% year/year to $7.5 mln vs the $8.3 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY11, sees EPS of ($0.66)-(0.75) vs. ($0.61) Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $27-32 mln vs. $44.17 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. For 2011, ArQule expects net use of cash to range between $40 and $45 million. Co expects to end 2011 with between $85 and $90 million in cash and marketable securities. This guidance includes certain milestone assumptions from corporate partnership agreements. Co plans to advance our earlier-stage proprietary pipeline through the following activities: Conclusion of the Phase 1 trial with ARQ 621 (Eg5 inhibitor); Substantial completion of enrollment in the Phase 1 trial with ARQ 736 (an inhibitor of the RAF kinases); Completion of pre-clinical development of a candidate from our FGFR program; Advancement of recently expanded ArQule Kinase Inhibitor Platform discovery collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo.

7:06AM Bridgepoint Education beats by $0.08, beats on revs; guides FY11 EPS below consensus, revs in-line (BPI) 19.72 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.45 per share, $0.08 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.37; revenues rose 46.0% year/year to $192.4 mln vs the $181.3 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $2.18-2.22 vs. $2.54 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $870-885 mln vs. $871.27 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co expects total student enrollment to be between 81,000 and 82,500 at December 31, 2011.

7:06AM AutoZone beats by $0.28, beats on revs (AZO) 257.95 : Reports Q2 (Feb) earnings of $3.34 per share, $0.28 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $3.06; revenues rose 10.3% year/year to $1.66 bln vs the $1.63 bln consensus. Domestic same store sales, or sales for stores open at least one year, increased 7.1% for the quarter. For the quarter, gross profit, as a percentage of sales, was 50.9% (vs. 50.0% for last year's quarter). The improvement in gross margin was attributable to higher margins on merchandise gross (45 bps) and lower shrink expense (39 bps). The increased merchandise gross margins continued to benefit this quarter from increased penetration of Duralast product sales and lower acquisition costs. Under its share repurchase program, AutoZone repurchased 1.5 mln shares of its common stock for $394 mln during the second quarter, at an average price of $257 per share. The co's inventory increased 7.0% over the same period last year, driven by an increase in store count and continued strategic investments in hard parts assortment.

7:05AM Gold and silver futures are trading at their best levels of the morning (COMDX) :

* April gold currently higher by $10.40 to $1420.30.
* May silver is up 55 cents to $34.37.

7:04AM Extreme Networks CFO resigns to pursue other ventures; initiates search for replacement (EXTR) 3.92 : Co announces that Bob Corey has resigned as CFO and Executive VP to pursue other endeavors. The co will be retaining a search firm and initiating a search for a replacement.

7:03AM HiSoft Tech misses by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs above consensus; guides FY11 EPS below consensus, revs above consensus (HSFT) 24.77 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.10 per share, excluding non-recurring items but including a bad debt provision, $0.02 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.12; revenues rose 63.5% year/year to $42.5 mln vs the $42 mln consensus. Record high revenues in the fourth quarter of 2010 were primarily driven by strong demand and client momentum, including increased wallet-share from several of the co's major global clients. Co issues mixed guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.18-0.19, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.21 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q1 revs of $43-44 mln vs. $42.81 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $0.84-0.88, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.91 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of at least $198 mln vs. $189.51 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

7:03AM Invesco Mortgage Capital beats by $0.04 (IVR) 23.34 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.00 per share, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.96. The Company also reported its book value per share as of December 31, 2010 was $20.49, compared to $20.28 per share as of September 30, 2010.

7:02AM Pluristem Therapeutics provides results of a pre-clinical study demonstrating that the local administration of PLX cells following muscle injury; resulted in significant improvement in the recovery of muscle function compared with control group (PSTI) 2.47 : Co announces the results of a pre-clinical study demonstrating that the local administration of PLX cells following muscle injury resulted in significant improvement in the recovery of muscle function when compared with the control group. This study suggests that PLX cells have the potential to treat both accidental and intentionally induced muscle injuries. The data from the study indicates that PLX cells can be used in several categories of muscle injury, including accidental injuries, such as those incurred during athletic activity, as well as intentional injuries, such as after the incision of a skeletal muscle during surgery.

7:02AM Natus Medical beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS in-line, revs in-line; reaffirms FY11 EPS guidance, revs guidance (BABY) 15.86 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.24 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.21; revenues rose 23.0% year/year to $63.2 mln vs the $61.6 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.10-0.12 vs. $0.11 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q1 revs of $56.5-58.5 mln vs. $57.28 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $0.77-0.80 vs. $0.78 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $247-250 mln vs. $248.01 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

6:58AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Comverse Technology (Pink Sheets: CMVT) announced that Charles Burdick, the company's current non-executive Chairman of the Board, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, replacing Andre Dahan, who will be resigning as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a director effective March 4, 2011.
* Ampal-American Israel Corporation (AMPL) announced that the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communication has been obtained in connection with the previously announced definitive share purchase agreement to sell all of the outstanding shares of 012 Smile Telecom, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merhav-Ampal Energy, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Ampal, to Partner Communications Company (PTNR).

6:51AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Level 3 Communications (LVLT) announced it has been selected by Crytek GmbH, one of the world's leading independent development studios for interactive entertainment, to provide content delivery network services as well as high-speed IP to support the co's website content delivery needs.
* Atmel (ATML) announced a new fully integrated platform of easy-to-use development tools for its fast-growing community of over 100,000 users of 8- and 32-bit AVR embedded microcontroller.
* Elbit Systems of America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Elbit Systems (ESLT) received a $12.7 mln delivery order for Integrated Helmet and Display Sight System spares from the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command.

6:47AM Tengion announces pricing of $31.4 million private placement (TNGN) 2.72 : Co announces that it has entered into definitive agreements with certain investors in connection with a PIPE financing transaction pursuant to registration exemptions under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Medtronic (MDT) participated in the financing and, as part of its investment, secured a right of first refusal on Tengion's lead preclinical program, the Neo-Kidney Augment, through October 31, 2013. Upon the closing of the transaction, Tengion will receive gross proceeds of $31.4 million in exchange for the issuance to such investors of 11,079,250 shares of Tengion common stock and warrants to purchase 10,460,875 shares of Tengion common stock. The warrants will be exercisable for a period of five years from the date of their issuance at an exercise price of $2.88 per share.

6:47AM MarineMax acquires Treasure Island Marina's retail sales and brokerage operation in Panama City, Florida; no terms were disclosed (HZO) 9.03 :

6:45AM Isle of Capri proposes to issue of $300 million in aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes due 2019 ( (ISLE) 9.25 :

6:44AM Ziopharm Oncology reports Q4 EPS of ($0.25) vs ($0.24) Thomson Reuters consensus on revs of $0.00 vs $0.00 consensus (ZIOP) 6.10 :

6:33AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD), and KBA AG of Wuerzburg, Germany announced an agreement to develop, manufacture and sell next generation piezoelectric digital inkjet printing solutions to the packaging, securities, commercial, and newspaper segments.
* Cogo Group (COGO) announced a wind turbine contract win since the acquisition of MDC Tech in late January. The contract was signed in February with key customer, DongFang Turbine Co., Inc., and is valued at ~$1.5 million.

6:28AM Fortress Investment beats by $0.09 (FIG) 6.71 : Reports Q4 (Dec) pre-tax distributable earnings of $0.24 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.15. "Our fourth quarter and full year results were very solid, and reflect broad momentum that has carried into 2011." Assets under managementof $44.6 billion as of December 31, 2010, up 42% from $31.5 billion as of December 31, 2009.

6:25AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Xerox Corporation (XRX) announced the acquisition of Concept Group, expanding its reach in the small and medium-sized business market in the U.K. Concept Group, a supplier of digital document solutions, has nine locations throughout the U.K.
* Glu Mobile (GLUU) announced that the company will expand its third party development resources through gPartners - a network of strategic relationships with top global independent mobile and social game developers.
* ADTRAN (ADTN) announced that its NetVanta Unified Communications solutions can now be deployed in virtual environments utilizing VMware. The ability to operate in a virtualized environment will now allow partners and customers to use NetVanta UC in a broader variety of business and deployment scenarios.

6:25AM Boyd Gaming misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line (BYD) 10.69 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.08 per share, $0.02 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.06); revenues fell 1.5% year/year to $551.9 mln vs the $553.8 mln consensus.

6:24AM Tech Data beats by $0.20, beats on revs; sees double digit FY12 EPS growth (TECD) 49.58 : Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $1.63 per share, $0.20 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.43; revenues rose 13.3% year/year to $7.12 bln vs the $6.87 bln consensus. The weakening of certain foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar negatively impacted the year-over-year fourth-quarter net sales comparison by ~6 percentage points. Sequentially, net sales for the fourth quarter ended January 31, 2011, increased 15.5 percent over the third quarter, with minimal impact from foreign currencies. Tech Data's Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program for up to $100 mln of the co's common stock. Outlook: "Looking ahead to Q1, we expect continued YoY growth in both regions on a local currency basis, although the seasonal sequential decline in sales may be slightly higher than the prior year due to the strength of our consumer sales in 4Q11. We believe our continued focus on balanced, responsible growth and improving the quality of our earnings should once again deliver YoY double-digit growth in operating income, net income and earnings per share in FY12 (EPS growth cons: +8%)."

6:20AM Key Energy intends to offer up to $450 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2021 in a registered public offering (KEG) 15.50 : The net proceeds from the notes offering, along with borrowings under Key Energy Services' revolving credit facility, will be used to fund the repurchase of any and all of Key Energy Services' outstanding 8 3/8% Senior Notes due 2014 pursuant to its previously announced tender offer. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, BofA Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co.

6:18AM Ituran Location and Control beats by $0.02, beats on revs (ITRN) 15.95 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.28 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.26; revenues rose 20.8% year/year to $40.7 mln vs the $38 mln consensus.

6:11AM Fresh Del Monte misses by $0.04, misses on revs (FDP) 28.58 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.07 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.11; revenues fell 6.4% year/year to $816.7 mln vs the $878 mln consensus. The decrease in net sales was the result of the Company's previously announced rationalization of its melon program; lower volume of pineapple due to inclement weather conditions in the Company's pineapple production areas in Central America; and lower sales in the Company's other product and services business.

6:08AM ReneSola reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs below consensus (SOL) 11.05 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.69 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.69; revenues rose 7.7% year/year to $386.4 mln vs the $365.7 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $310-330 mln vs. $341.75 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. The co states it achieved record return on equity of 34.4% for the full year 2010. For the full year 2011, the co expects total solar wafer and module shipments to be in the range of 1.6 GW to 1.7 GW, representing an increase of 35% to 44% year-over-year.

5:34AM CTC Media beats by $0.02; beats on revs (CTCM) 21.04 : Reports Q4 (Dec) EPS of $0.48 vs $0.46 Thomson Reuters consensus; revs increased 23% YoY to $222.3 mln vs $217.6 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:06AM Forest Labs receives FDA approval of Daliresp as a treatment to reduce the risk of COPD exacerbations in patients with severe COPD associated with chronic bronchitis (FRX) 32.40 : Co announces that Daliresp was approved by the FDA as a treatment to reduce the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations in patients with severe COPD associated with chronic bronchitis and a history of exacerbations. The efficacy and safety of Daliresp was evaluated in eight clinical studies including 9,394 adult patients. Daliresp 500 mcg once daily demonstrated a significant reduction in the rate of moderate or severe exacerbations compared to placebo. Daliresp reduced the rate of moderate or severe exacerbations by 15% in one trial and by 18% in the trial. Daliresp will be available nationwide in the second calendar quarter of 2011.

1:54AM Tower Group beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (TWGP) 27.18 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.84 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.83; revenues rose 59.9% year/year to $372.9 mln vs the $376.1 mln consensus. Co reports gross premiums written and produced increased by 32.6% to $433.9 mln in the fourth quarter and by 38.2% to $1.5 bln for the full year. In the fourth quarter 2010, the net loss ratio was 59.9% compared to 62.0% for the same period last year. For the full year, the net loss ratio was 60.7% compared to 55.6% in 2009. Book value per share of $26.22 at December 31, 2010 represents an increase of 12.3% since year end 2009.

1:49AM Range Resources beats by $0.05, misses on revs (RRC) 54.30 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.19 per share, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.14; revenues fell 0.1% year/year to $246.5 mln vs the $264.1 mln consensus.

1:39AM Syngenta to divest materials protection business; terms not disclosed (SYT) 67.32 : Co announces it has signed an agreement to divest its Materials Protection business to Lanxess. Lanxess will purchase intellectual property, registrations and regulatory data specific to Materials Protection. Co will grant Lanxess access to related active ingredients and technologies through exclusive licensing and supply agreements. Employees and fixed assets are not part of the divestment. Co's Materials Protection business had sales of ~$25 mln in 2010. The transaction is expected to close in April 2011. Financial details have not been disclosed.

1:33AM Silver Standard acquires interest in the San Luis Project for CAD17 mln (SSRI) 27.14 : Co announces it has entered into an agreement with Esperanza Resources to purchase Esperanza's interest in the San Luis project. Co will acquire Esperanza's interest in the San Luis project for CAD17 mln in cash, the transfer to Esperanza of the 6.459 mln shares of Esperanza currently held by co, and a 1% net smelter return royalty. Upon completion of the acquisition, co will own 100% of the San Luis project and exploration properties.

1:32AM Juniper Networks prices $1 bln Senior Notes offering (JNPR) 44.00 : Co announce the the pricing of $300 mln aggregate principal amount of its 3.100% Senior Notes due 2016, $300 mln aggregate principal amount of its 4.600% Senior Notes due 2021 and $400 mln aggregate principal amount of its 5.950% Senior Notes due 2041. Co intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, which may include working capital, capital expenditures, other corporate expenses, share repurchases and acquisitions of products, technologies or businesses.

1:25AM First Ind. Rlty files prospectus to sell up 10 mln shares of common stock through 'at the money' equity offer (FR) 11.21 : Co announces that it has filed a prospectus supplement under which it may from time to time sell up to 10 mln shares of its common stock through an "at-the-market" equity offering program, with an aggregate gross sales price of up to $100 mln. The co intends to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, which may include repayments or repurchases of debt.

1:16AM Linn Energy prices 16 mln units at $38.80 per unit for net proceeds of ~$596 mln (LINE) 38.83 : Co announces pricing of its public offering of 16 mln units of its limited liability co interests at a price to the public of $38.80 per unit. The co expects to receive net proceeds from the offering of ~$596 mln (or ~$685 mln if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional units in full). The co intends to use the proceeds to fund its pending acquisitions of oil properties in the Williston Basin and Permian Basin and to fund a portion of its pending tender offer for the co's Senior Notes due 2017 and Senior Notes due 2018 and related expenses. Any remaining net proceeds are expected to be used for general corporate purposes.

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