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Market Update 110304

4:30 pm : A late flurry of buying lifted the Dow almost 90 points in less than 30 minutes, but stocks still finished the day with marked losses as participants looked past an encouragng jobs report to focus on oil's climb to a new two-year high.

The highly anticipated monthly payrolls report was posted prior to the open of today's trade. It indicated that in February nonfarm payrolls increased by 192,000 and private payrolls increased by 222,000. Economists polled by Briefing.com had expected, on average, increases of 185,000 and 198,000, respectively. What's more, upward revisions to prior month data helped trim the headline unemployment rate to a 22-month low of 8.9% from 9.0% in January.

A couple of disappointing features of the jobs report were that average hourly earnings were unchanged from the prior month and that average weekly hours worked held steady at 34.2. That is likely to contain consumption, despite the strength of the headline numbers.

Any enthusiasm for the jobs report was restrained by another spike in oil prices. Oil hit a new two-year high of $104.60 per barrel during pit trade before it closed at $104.42 per barrel with a 2.5% gain. Even after pit trade ended oil prices continued to climb so that they came within striking distance of $105 per barrel. The risk of spreading social unrest and political turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East has given oil its momentum, which earned the energy component a weekly gain of about 6%.

Concern about the factors underpinning oil's spike, and the higher price itself, prompted many participants to dump stocks and seek safety in precious metals, such that silver prices set a new 30-year high of $35.41 per ounce before they closed at $35.22 per ounce with a 2.6% gain and gold hit a record high of $1432.80 per ounce before they settled at $1431 per ounce with a 1.0% gain.

Neither the dollar nor Treasuries garnered much interest from safety seekers, though. The greenback actually gave up 0.1% to a collection of competing currencies. Treasuries finished higher, but to varying degrees. Still, the benchmark 10-year Note saw its yield move below 3.50%.

At session lows, the Dow was down 1.5%, the Nasdaq was down 1.1%, and the S&P 500 was down 1.4%. However, each of the major averages was able to slash losses in half with the late resurgence of buying interest. There were no clear catalysts to account for the move, but it made for a rather strong finish to what otherwise would have been an entirely weak session for stocks.

Although the broad market was able to recoup a large part of its loss, financials still logged a 1.3% loss, which made them the worst performing sector. Investment banks and brokerages (-2.3%) weighed most heavily on the sector.

Health care stocks managed to finish with only a fractional loss. They were supported by a 2.4% gain among shares of life science tools and services.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Health Care (-0.1%), Consumer Staples (-0.5%), Utilities (-0.6%), Energy (-0.6%), Tech (-0.7%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.7%), Materials (-0.7%), Telecom (-0.7%), Industrials (-1.2%), Financials (-1.3%)DJ30 -88.32 NASDAQ -14.07 NQ100 -0.5% R2K -0.5% SP400 -0.7% SP500 -9.82 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 912/1.92 bln/1697 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1029/1.04 bln/1928

3:30 pm : Oil prices set a new record high of $104.60 per barrel in the April contract just before they closed with a 2.5% gain at $104.42 per barrel. For the week, the energy component climbed 6.7%, which was primarily underpinned by continued concern about social and political volatility in North Africa and the Middle East.

Natural gas prices finished 0.7% higher at $3.81 per ounce. That put an end to its three-session slide. Still, natural gas prices ended the week down about 5%.

Precious metals benefited from a flight to safety as stocks encountered renewed selling interest. Silver prices set a new 30-year high of $35.41 per ounce before they closed at $35.22 per ounce with a 2.6% gain. Gold hit a record high of $1432.80 per ounce and settled just off of that mark at $1431 per ounce with a 1.0% gain.

Cotton futures also climbed to a new record high as prices went limit up to almost $2.13 per pound.

Although it finished off of its session high, the CRB closed with a 0.6% gain for its sixth straight advance. DJ30 -171.61 NASDAQ -28.11 SP500 -17.98 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 823/1.47 bln/1783 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 805/685 mln/2143

3:00 pm : Stocks are attempting to push up from their session lows, but there is still plenty of ground to cover before they can completely undo this session's sell-off.

With only an hour left in the day, stocks are headed for a weekly loss of just 0.1%. That would make for an unimpressive follow up from the 1.7% lost during the course of last week's trade.

Particicipation continues to be strong. Only once in the past nine sessions has daily trading volume been below one billion shares. With more than 600 million shares traded so far, today's total volume should be in line with that of recent sessions. DJ30 -126.21 NASDAQ -19.61 SP500 -12.77 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 743/1.45 bln/1854 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 718/632 mln/2242

2:30 pm : Stocks remain stuck at session lows as crude oil prices push to new two-year highs of $104.60 per barrel as the end of pit trade approaches.

Monster Worldwide (MWW 15.84, -1.15) is currently the worst performing stock in the S&P 500. Its near 7% slump follows news of an analyst downgrade. In the face of widespread weakness, JDS Uniphase (JDSU 27.19, +2.05) is up 8% even though there is no clear catalyst to account for its strength. DJ30 +150.57 NASDAQ +26.46 SP500 +16.10 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 716/1.27 bln/1880 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 666/585 mln/2271

2:00 pm : Stocks are threatening to break down and drop another level as they test the bottom of their recent trading range. Weakness this session has left 90% of the names in the S&P 500 to trade with losses.

Airline stocks are among the hardest hit. They surged 2.4% in the prior session as oil prices ran into selling pressure, but oil's 2.0% spike this session has sent the Amex Airline Index to a 2.1% loss. Also sensitive to higher oil prices, the Dow Jones Transportation Index has fallen to a 1.5% loss. DJ30 -158.71 NASDAQ -26.22 SP500 -16.46 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 792/1.16 bln/1791 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 693/540 mln/2226

1:30 pm : Stocks continue to trade at session lows, leaving the S&P 500 to hug the 1315 line. Pressure remains steady while oil prices stay above $104 per barrel with a 2% gain.

Even as oil prices remain elevated energy stocks have been imbued by broad market weakness. In turn, the energy sector is down 1.2%, which is on par with what the S&P 500 has lost this session.

Health care stocks have managed to limit their loss to 0.6%, or about half of what the broad market has surrendered. Its relative strength stems from gains by issues in the life and science tools space, which are actually up 1% in the face of broader market weakness. DJ30 -154.28 NASDAQ -26.31 SP500 -16.37 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 780/1.08 bln/1782 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 657/500 mln/2274

1:00 pm : Stronger-than-expected increases in nonfarm and private payrolls has mattered little to a market that is taking its cues from oil prices, which set new two-year highs this morning.

Prior to the open market participants made note of news that during February nonfarm payrolls increased 192,000 and private payrolls increased 222,000, both of which exceeded the Briefing.com consensus projection. With payrolls for the prior month revised upward, the headline unemployment rate slipped to 8.9% for the first time since April 2009.

Although those figures were encouraging, stocks still started the session in mixed fashion as market participants diverted their attention to rising oil prices. Sellers quickly took control as oil prices climbed to new record highs around $104.32 per barrel. Oil prices currently trade with a 2.0% gain at $104 per barrel.

With oil prices still at elevated levels, stocks remain mired near session lows amid widespread weakness. This session's loss hasn't quite undone the prior session's spike, which was the strongest single-session spike for the S&P 500 in three months.

Industrials were the strongest performing sector in the prior session, but they are seeing some of the stiffest selling pressure today. After their 2.4% spike yesterday, industrial stocks are down 1.8% this session.

Worse still, financials have fallen to a 1.9% loss. M&T Bank (MTB 87.65, +0.23) is the only name in the entire financial sector that has managed to muster a gain.

Pressure against stocks has supported an interest in traditional safe havens like precious metals. As such, gold prices are up 1.0% to $1430 per ounce silver prices are up 2.6% to $35.20 per ounce. Silver set a 30-year high of almost $35.32 per ounce earlier this session. DJ30 -155.75 NASDAQ -26.03 SP500 -16.30 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 792/987 mln/1748 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 615/458 mln/2300

12:30 pm : Steady selling pressure has taken the stock market to a new session low. The downturn has not yet undone the prior session's surge, though.

Volatility had been up only modestly this morning, but the recent sell-off has sent the Volatility Index more than 6% higher for the day. Whipsaw swings in the VIX have been a common theme for the past couple of weeks. DJ30 -164.50 NASDAQ -27.71 SP500 -16.72 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 807/865 mln/1712 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 658/406 mln/2219

12:00 pm : Stocks are testing session lows as sellers redouble their efforts. Although weakness is widespread, financials (-1.6%) are driving the downturn.

Precious metals remain strong as some seek their safety. Gold continues to trade with a 1% gain at $1431 per ounce and silver continues to trade with a 2.7% gain at $35.23 per ounce.

There hasn't been any meaningful support for the dollar, though. It currently trails a collection of competing currencies by 0.1%.

Meanwhile, Treasuries have only attracted modest buying interest. In turn, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note is still above 3.50%.DJ30 -97.40 NASDAQ -15.84 SP500 -11.26 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 945/750 mln/1517 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 830/355 mln/2020

11:30 am : The stock market is still stuck in the red, but it remains off of its session low. That said, the financial sector has descended deeper into negative territory so that it now trades with a 1.2% loss. With that, the financial sector is on track for a 1.4% weekly loss while the broad market is on pace for a 0.3% weekly gain.

Despite the stock market's slip this session, Treasuries have only seen mixed interest. More specifically, the benchmark 10-year Note is up 10 ticks, but at the longer end of the yield curve the 30-year Bond is flat. DJ30 -57.63 NASDAQ -8.95 SP500 -7.69 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 850/630 mln/1582 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 771/302 mln/2086

11:00 am : A recent push by oil prices to new two-year highs above $104 per barrel prompted participants to intensify their selling efforts so that stocks were sent to session lows. Oil's slip off of its session high has helped alleviate selling pressure against stocks, but the major averages all remain in the red with modest to marked losses.

Financials now represent the worst performing sector in the S&P 500. They have fallen to a collective loss of 1.1%, which has been largely driven by weakness in diversified banks (-1.5%) and investment banks and brokerages (-1.8%). Diversified financial services firms (-1.3%) aren't far behind. DJ30 -49.50 NASDAQ -7.09 SP500 -6.32 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 858/492 mln/1531 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 733/237 mln/2076

10:30 am : Only minutes ago oil prices in the continuous contract set new two-year highs of $104.09 per barrel, but they have eased back a bit so that the commodity now trades at $103.65 per barrel with a 1.7% gain. Oil prices are now up about 13% year to date.

Natural gas has benefited from a solid bid of its own. The energy component currently trades at $3.80 per MMBtu with a 0.5% gain.

Precious metals are up with impressive gains. Specifically, gold prices are up 1.0% so that the yellow metal trades at $1430.80 per ounce, which is only about $10 shy of the record high that it set earlier this week. Silver prices are up an even stronger 2.8% to $35.26 per ounce, which is less than $0.02 shy of the 30-year high that they set recently.

Cotton futures prices are limit up so that they trade at almost $2.13 per pound. The move marks their sixth straight advance and puts the commodity at a record high.

Overall strength among commodities has the CRB Commodity Index up 0.8%, which marks its sixth straight gain and its twelfth in 13 sessions. During that time the CRB has advanced a cumulative 5.1%. DJ30 -52.60 NASDAQ -10.86 SP500 -6.97 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 750/360 mln/1607 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 674/173 mln/2105

10:00 am : Factory orders for January increased by 3.1%, which is greater than the 2.1% increase that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. Orders for the prior month were revised upward to reflect an increase of 1.4%.

There hasn't been any real reaction to those numbers. Instead, the stock market continues to chop along listlessly with narrow losses.

Advancing Sectors: Telecom (+0.4%), Health Care (+0.1%), Energy (+0.1%)
Unchanged: Consumer Staples, Consumer Discretionary
Declining Sectors: Industrials (-0.6%), Financial (-0.5%), Utilities (-0.2%), Materials (-0.1%), Tech (-0.1%)DJ30 -7.83 NASDAQ -3.26 SP500 -1.92 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 744/160 mln/1430 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 907/92 mln/1744

09:45 am : Each of the major equity averages is down with a modest loss in the first few minutes of trade. Weakness is more pronounced among industrial stocks, which are down 0.6% after they sector had outperformed with a 2.4% advance in the prior session.

During the prior session's spike, which was Wall Street's best performance in three months, telecom stocks advanced only 0.2%. However, this morning the sector has found favor, such that it is up 0.4% while the rest of the market trades in the red. DJ30 -14.08 NASDAQ -8.29 SP500 -3.06 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 923/50 mln/1104 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1120/45 mln/1322

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -3.30. Oil prices in the continuous contract set a new two-year high of $103.57 per barrel earlier this morning. They have since eased back to $103 per barrel, but still sport a gain of more than 1%. That has overshadowed a stronger-than-expected February nonfarm payrolls number, which was initially met with a positive, but fleeting, response. Corporate news has been less of a concern to broad action ahead of the open. Factory orders figures for January, due at 10:00 AM ET, are also likely to carry little impact on trade.

09:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -0.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -1.50. Domestic markets appear to be headed for a flat start as higher oil prices overshadow an encouraging jobs report. As for overseas action, Henkel AG, Allianz (AZ), and BMW have helped lift Germany's DAX by 0.2%, which puts the German bourse on pace for a 0.7% weekly gain. Volkswagen and Daimler (DAI) have lagged, though. In France, the CAC has fallen to a 0.2% loss. Total (TOT) and Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) have offered leadership, but Carrefour and GDF Suez have hampered the broader market's overall performance. The CAC is now down 0.4% for the week. After it outperformed its counterparts in the prior session, Britain's FTSE is up 0.3% with the help of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and AstraZeneca (AZN), along with Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) and BP Plc (BP). The FTSE is currently headed for a weekly gain of 0.4%.

Overnight action in Asia was strong as the major markets there rallied in the wake of Wall Street's spike on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei put together a 1.0% gain, which helped it finish the week 1.6% higher. The latest leg higher was led by the tech sector's 1.4% advance. Fanuc Corp and TDK Corp were individual leaders. Mainland China's Shanghai Composite climbed to a 1.4% gain on the back of a broad-based bid that gave advancing issues an 8-to-1 advantage over decliners. PetroChina (PTR) and China Petroleum (SNP) were primary leaders. Industrial & Commercial Bank and Ping An Insurance complemented their efforts while China CSSC Holdings and Ningbo Port displayed weakness. The Shanghai Composite climbed 2.2% for the entire week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.2% with broad support. Tencent Holdings sat atop a long list of advancing issues that included all but three of the 45 names in the Hang Seng -- HSBC (HBC), Power Assets, and China Resources Land logged the only losses. Despite such broad-based strength, the Hang Seng couldn't close above its 50-day average. Still, it ended the week 1.7% higher than where it started.

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -0.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: flat. Stock futures have pulled back after a positive knee-jerk response to the latest official jobs report. According to data, nonfarm payrolls increased 192,000 in February. The consensus among economists polled by Briefing.com had called for an increase of 185,000. Private payrolls increased by 222,000, which is greater than the increase of 198,000 that had been broadly expected. As an aside, nonfarm payrolls for January were revised upward to reflect an increase of 63,000, while private payrolls were revised upward to reflect an increase of 53,000. The headline unemployment rate for February fell from 9.0% to 8.9%, which is less than the 9.1% that had been widely anticipated. An 8.9% unemployment rate was last seen in April 2009. Average hourly earnings were unchanged from the prior month, but had been expected to increase by 0.2%, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com. Average weekly hours worked also held steady at 34.2.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +0.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +2.80. Premarket trade has been rather choppy, but stock futures currently sport a narrow lead over fair value with help from abroad -- Europe's major bourses have added to their prior session gains after Asia's major averages all advanced 1% or more in the wake of Wall Street's strongest gain in three months. However, caution among morning traders has contained strength in stock futures. Vigilance on the part of premarket participants precedes the monthly nonfarm payrolls report, which is due at the bottom of the hour. A bounce in oil prices has also hampered early strength; the energy component is up 0.9% to $102.80 per barrel in electronic trade. Corporate news flow has been slow and without much consequence. Factory orders figures at 10:00 AM ET are also likely to receive only part of the market's attention.

06:39 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +0.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: flat.

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

4:57PM TETRA Tech explores strategic alternatives for its E&P business (TTI) 15.03 -0.14 : Co announced that it has expanded the scope of strategic alternatives it is willing to consider with respect to its oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) business conducted through its wholly owned subsidiary, Maritech Resources, Inc. (Maritech). This announcement follows the disclosure on February 25th in the Company's fourth quarter 2010 earnings release that one of the long-term strategies of the Company was the sale of certain non-core Maritech properties. The Company has also disclosed that Maritech recently sold certain oil and gas properties which collectively accounted for approximately 11% of Maritech's December 31, 2010 proved reserves. The Company does not presently intend to disclose any developments regarding these strategic alternatives unless and until its Board of Directors has approved a material transaction. The Company is utilizing the services of a financial advisor in this process. There can be no assurance that a transaction will result from this process.

4:54PM OCZ Tech files for $100 mln stock offering (OCZ) 7.90 -0.21 :

4:35PM Teck announces coal shipment agreement with Westshore (TCK) 55.63 +0.15 : Co announced that it has reached agreement with Westshore Terminals Limited Partnership ("Westshore") on terms for the shipment of steelmaking coal from Teck's mines in British Columbia and Alberta for a four year term from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2016. The new agreement contemplates Teck shipping 16 million tonnes of coal in the initial contract year, and larger amounts in subsequent years when Teck's production is scheduled to increase, all at fixed rates through Westshore. The commercial terms of the contract are confidential.

4:07PM Ecopetrol and Occidental reach agreement on autonomy of Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline; Ecopetrol will control 100% of the transportation system (EC) 42.61 +0.58 : Ecopetrol S.A. (EC) and Occidental de Colombia have reached an agreement giving Ecopetrol control of the Cano Limon-Covenas oil pipeline. The conditions in the association contract pertaining to the field remain unchanged.

4:05PM AT&T Announces Chief Financial Officer will retire effective June 1, 2011 (T) 21.92 -0.21 : Co announced that Rick Lindner, chief financial officer, will retire effective June 1, 2011. He will be replaced by AT&T Controller John Stephens, a 19-year company veteran.

3:52PM April WTI pulls back ~30 cents from highs; now up $2.69 to $104.60 (COMDX) :

3:48PM Choppy afternoon trade continues with minor new afternoon bounce highs established in recent trade -- Dow -114, S&P -12, Nasdaq -17 (SPY) :

3:36PM April WTI pushing toward $105 in electronic trade; now up $2.97 to $104.88 (COMDX) :

3:24PM Stock indices slip back off bounce highs amid new highs in oil -- Dow -165, S&P -17, Nasdaq Comp -25 (SPY) :

3:16PM April WTI, in electronic trade, continues to push higher, notching fresh highs at $104.75; now up $2.80 to $104.71 (COMDX) :

3:01PM Additional afternoon recovery -- Dow -133 now 47 points off low, S&P -13, Nasdaq Comp -20 (SPY) :

2:45PM Some market upticks off afternoon lows -- Dow -149 has lifted 28 points, S&P -15, Nasdaq -25 (SPY) : Relative sector strength on this move has been noted in Networking IGN, Pharma PPH, Retail XRT. Weakness on a relative basis in Gold Miners GDX, Solar TAN, Semi SMH.

2:39PM Index Change Reminders (INDXCH) : S&P SmallCap 600 constituent Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates (VSEA) will replace J.Crew Group (JCG) in the S&P MidCap 400 index, and Prestige Brands Holdings (PBH) will replace Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates in the S&P SmallCap 600 after the close of trading today.

2:39PM NYMEX Energy Closing Prices (COMDX) : Crude oil settled higher by $2.51 to $104.42, natural gas ended up 3 cents to $3.808, heating oil gained 3.62 cents to close at $3.0855, while RBOB gasoline finished up 1.72 cents to $3.0434 (all April contracts).

2:10PM Crude notches new highs at $104.60; now up $2.59 to $104.50 (COMDX) :

2:04PM April WTI crude oil trades to new highs at $104.40; now up $2.46 to $104.37 (COMDX) :

1:41PM COMEX Metals Closing Prices (COMDX) : April gold rallied for to close at $1431.00, May silver surged 89.3 cents to settle at $35.22, while May copper ended off 0.45 cents to $4.4855.

1:38PM Nissan Motor announces record U.S. market share of 9.3% in Feb (NSANY) 20.37 -0.34 : These gains add to the company's continued string of U.S. market share advances, including a gain of 0.4 percentage points in 2010 calendar year when NNA placed amongst the top three fastest growing automotive manufacturers in the U.S.

1:36PM Varian Medical and ScandiDos AB announce that the companies have signed a non-exclusive distributor agreement (VAR) 70.29 -1.17 :

1:30PM April WTI crude oil pulling back from $104 area; currently higher by $1.94 to $103.85 (COMDX) :

1:05PM Allegiant Travel reports February 2011 traffic (ALGT) 42.10 -0.50 : Co reported preliminary passenger traffic results for February. Passegers increase 1.9% YoY, RPM decreased 1.3% YoY, ASM decreased 3% YoY, and the co's load factor of 93% ose 0.6% YoY.

1:01PM Donaldson to build new manufacturing facility in Aguascalientes, Mexico (DCI) 56.50 -0.66 : Co announces that construction will begin on another manufacturing facility in Aguascalientes, Mexico. This new 140,000 square foot facility will manufacture air filters for the Company's growing markets in the Americas. Donaldson's existing plant in Aguascalientes, which currently manufactures both air and liquid filters, will specialize in liquid filters upon the completion of this new air filter plant.

12:44PM S&P -15.9 trying to get some traction off support noted earlier (SPY) : Noted in the 12:15 update that was watching the 1314/1313 area for a possible midday stabilization attempt. The index slipped to 1312.89 with some limited upside seen. Follow through to/through 1318 and the 1320/1321 area is needed to improve the negative pattern. Next intraday support is at 1310.

12:29PM Dejour Enterprises has completed waterflood construction, commenced water injection into the Woodrush Halfway oil pool as planned (DEJ) 0.45 +0.08 : "We are pleased with the successful implementation of this milestone project that completes the development of the Halfway oil pool both on time and on budget. This waterflood is expected to increase the recovery of the oil in the pool from 17% to 42% of original oil in place and provide sustained, economic oil production for the next several years, allowing Dejour to focus on other highly accretive oil projects in northeast BC and in the US,"

12:28PM CPEX Pharmaceuticals receives letter from Athyrium Capital Management (CPEX) 27.71 -0.49 : "The March 2, 2011 letter by Nathaniel August to the Board of Directors for CPEX Pharmaceuticals, which was included in the Schedule 13D filed by The Mangrove Partners Fund, L.P., Mangrove Partners, Mangrove Capital and Nathaniel August, is an incomplete and inaccurate description of the conversation between Jeffrey Ferrell of Athyrium Capital Management and Mr. August. The Letter does not reflect the views of Athyrium Capital Management. Athyrium has no interest in funding a recapitalization for CPEX and is fully committed to its lending agreement with FCB I LLC. In light of the foregoing, Athyrium intends to have no further contact with Mangrove or any other shareholder regarding the proposed merger transaction or any alternative financing transaction for the Company in lieu of the proposed merger transaction."

12:26PM S&P -16 extends to intraday support (SPY) : Noted intraday support at 1314/1313 as a zone to watch for a potential midday stabilization attempt. The index hit 1313.36 in recent trade but only limited interest has developed thus far. The next short term area if unable to find any traction is near 1310.

12:16PM New highs for April WTI at $104.32; now up $2.26 to $104.17 (COMDX) : IEA, in its oil market update, says after the evacuation of western oil production crews, Libyan output levels are difficult to ascertain, although their latest information suggests around 1.0 mb/d out of a prevailing 1.6 mb/d of crude production has been shuttered.

12:15PM Downside extension out of mid-/late morning trading ranges -- Dow -145, S&P -15, Nasdaq Comp -23 (SPY) : Watch 1314/1313 support zone for possible midday stabilization attempt.

12:09PM April WTI remains near highs at onset of afternoon trade; currently higher by $1.96 to $103.87 (COMDX) :

12:06PM Piedmont increases quarterly dividend to $0.29 per share, up from previous quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share (PNY) 29.84 -0.31 :

12:00PM Harris awarded $289 mln contract by the Government of Alberta, Canada, for the Alberta first responders radio communications system (HRS) 46.33 -0.41 :

11:59AM Stock indices weakening intraday, Dow -94 and S&P -11.1 set new lows, Nasdaq Comp -15 probing range lows (SPY) : Relative sector weakness has been noted in Retail XRT, Housing XHB, Discretionary XLY, Finance XLF, Reg Bank KRE, Industrial XLI.

11:32AM Echelon secures $16 mln smart grid project for NRGi in Denmark (ELON) 8.69 -0.11 :

11:15AM Longer term look at Crude Oil and S&P (TECHX) : Crude Oil futures surged off the Mid-Feb lows and has extended to a new 30 month high today at 104.09. While intraday swings in oil have, to a certain extent,led to inverse reactionsin the S&P, a longer term look shows a generally positive correlation between the two during the 2008 to 2011 period (Click for weekly chart).

11:08AM Crude oil moving back toward highs; now up $1.91 to $103.82 (COMDX) :

11:04AM KVH Industries announced that Vroon has chosen the KVH TracPhone V7 and its mini-VSAT Broadbandsm network for the more than 125 in-house managed vessels in its fleet (KVHI) 14.18 -0.08 :

11:01AM Further intraday recovery gains for stock indices -- Dow -44, S&P -6, Nasdaq Comp -7 (SPY) :

11:01AM Apache and EOG Resources (EOG) announce they have awarded KBR the Front End Engineering and Design contract for the planned natural gas liquefaction and export facility on British Columbia's west coast (APA) 109.77 -1.32 :

10:58AM EnerNOC: FERC issues declaratory order, rejects the joint statement by PJM and its market monitor, and affirms existing PJM rules (ENOC) 20.55 +1.44 : Co announces that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has addressed EnerNOC's Petition for Declaratory Order filed on February 22, 2011. FERC's Order resolves the uncertainty created by the February 4, 2011 Joint Statement issued by PJM and its Market Monitor, and upholds existing PJM market rules.

10:39AM Stock indices lift off session low as crude oil slips back under the 104 level -- Dow -56, S&P -7.8, Nasdaq Comp -12.3 (SPY) : S&P trying to stabilize near a minor support noted in the 10:11 update at 1321 (session low 1320.64). Intraday resistance to clear from here to begin to improve the price pattern is at 1326/1327.

10:34AM TearLab receives communication from the FDA indicating that the data submitted by co was not sufficient to gain approval of its CLIA Waiver categorization application for the TearLab Osmolarity System (TEAR) 2.01 -0.16 : "While we are evaluating the FDA's letter to determine a clear path towards CLIA waiver, we believe that the success of our recently announced Laboratory Director for Moderate Complexity Program gives us the flexibility and time to consider all of our regulatory options... With FDA 510(K) approval, Medicare reimbursement and more than 120 doctors having already completed all of the Program steps - 20 of which having received their Lab Director's certifications to-date - we are fully engaged in our U.S. commercialization program."

10:28AM Relative sector weakness as stock indices extend pullback -- Dow -73, S&P -9.5, Nasdaq Comp -15 (SPY) : Underperforming the S&P in recent trade are: Energy XLE, Oil Service OIH, Ag/Chem MOO, Steel SLX. and to a lessor extent Semi SMH, Finance XLF, Software IGV,

10:22AM Crude oil breaks through $104 to notch highs at $104.09; now up $2.13 to $104.04 (COMDX) :

10:13AM Crude approaches $104; now up $1.90 to $103.81 (COMDX) :

10:11AM New session lows for Dow -47, S&P -6.5 and Nasdaq Comp -10.4 with oil setting a new high (SPY) : Noted S&P test of 1327/1325 support and the stabilization but that it needed to clear intraday resistance at 1330 (09:49 update). It hit 1329.64 and rotated lower to set a new low of 1324. The initial support from here is at yesterday's morning low (1321) with the next short term support zone of interest at 1319/1317

10:10AM Crude to fresh highs; now up $1.80 to $103.71 (COMDX) :

10:05AM SPDR Retail edges just slightly above seven day range top at 49.45 after mixed start and pauses -- session high 49.53 (XRT) 49.39 +0.03 : GPS +1.2%, JCP +1.8%, TGT +0.7%, SHLD +3.4%, DLTR +1.7%, NFLX +3.6%, LTD +0.9%.

10:01AM Stock indices lift slightly after stronger orders data -- Dow -5, S&P -1.4, Nasdaq Comp -2.8 (SPY) :

9:55AM Opening Point Gainers/Losers (TECHX) : Point Gainers: NFLX (+5.47), COO (+4.62), LXU (+3.04), GCO (+2.85), DRC (+2.40), SBNY (+2.29), SPRD (+2.02), HMIN (+1.52), HSFT (+1.50), WLT (+1.62), A (+1.57)

Point Losers: CF (-3.14), BSQR (-2.44), NPTN (-2.7), GS (-2.37), DPM (-1.86), ROSE (-1.88), EVEP (-1.92), MSG (-1.82), AMZN (-1.72), PXP (-1.51)

9:55AM Industrial Spdr displays intraday relative weakness in recent trade (XLI) 37.03 -0.25 : BA -1.3%, FDX -1.3%, TYC -1.3%, CAT -0.9%, EMR -0.6%, GE -0.5%, HON -1%, UPS -0.9%, UTX -0.5%, LMT -0.9%.

9:49AM S&P -1.7 tests/pauses at first level support (SPY) : Noted first level support for the S&P 500 in The Technical Take at 1327/1325 and we have seen a test of this area in early trade and a stabilization. Intraday initially watching the 1330 level for a read on the strength of this bounce attempt.

9:45AM Silver above $35 with session highs at $35.12; now up 77.3 cents to $35.10 (COMDX) :

9:39AM Stock indices open on a mildly weaker note -- Dow -14, S&P -2.9, Nasdaq Comp -6.9 (SPY) : Some early relative weakness (underperforming the S&P) has been noted in Finance XLF, Reg Bank KRE, Housing XHB, Airline, Coal KOL, Semi SMH, Solar TAN.

9:31AM LML Payment Systems settles litigation with Citigroup (C); C agreed to pay $7.5 mln in connection with the agreement (LMLP) 5.74 +0.02 : Co announced that it has entered into a Settlement and License Agreement with Citigroup with respect to litigation filed by LML in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging that Citi infringed U.S. Patent No. RE40,220. Citi agreed to pay $7.5 mln in connection with the agreement

9:18AM Kayne Anderson announces NAV of $28.73 as of Feb 28 (KYN) 31.23 : As of February 28, 2011, the co's net assets were $2.0 bln, and its net asset value per share was $28.73. As of February 28, 2011, the co's asset coverage ratio under the 1940 Act with respect to senior securities representing indebtedness was 416% and the co's asset coverage ratio under the 1940 Act with respect to total leverage (debt and preferred stock) was 336%.

9:05AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Cree, Inc. (CREE) announced a two-year extension of the strategic agreement signed with Zumtobel Lighting GmbH in 2008. The companies continue to work together to bring industry-leading LED lighting to Europe.
* Agenus Inc. (AGEN) announced that the company received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Staff of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC on March 3, 2011 indicating that the company is not in compliance with Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 5550 because the bid price for the company's common stock has closed below the minimum $1.00 per share requirement for 30 consecutive business days.
* Medtronic (MDT) announced the European launch of the Achieve Mapping Catheter, an intra-cardiac electrophysiology recording catheter, which has received the CE (Conformite Europeenne) Mark.
* China Intelligent Lighting and Electronics (CIL) announced that its LED street lamps have passed the International Commission on Illumination's 127-1997 Standard Test, conducted by National Lighting Test Center. China Intelligent's LED street lamps have already passed tests conducted by Bureau of Quality and Technology Supervision of Dongguan City, Guangdong Province.

9:03AM Thermogenesis prices 2.25 mln shares of common stock at $2.00 and warrants to purchase 1.125 mln shares at $2.64 (KOOL) 2.62 : Co announces it has determined the pricing for an offering of shares and warrants. The Company intends to sell 2.25 mln shares of common stock at $2.00 per share and warrants to purchase an aggregate of 1.125 mln shares of common stock at a price of $2.64 per share.

9:01AM Abbott Labs reports positive results from Phase 2 study of Atrasentan for treatment of diabetic kidney disease (ABT) 48.35 : Co reportes results from a Phase 2, 8-week dose-ranging study using low doses of atrasentan in patients with diabetic kidney disease were published this week in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The published study results suggest that atrasentan, used in conjunction with renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, may reduce albuminuria for patients with type 2 diabetes.

9:00AM Curtiss-Wright awarded $66 mln contract for U.S. Navy Virginia-class submarine program (CW) 38.22 : Co announced that it has been awarded a contract, that when fully funded, is expected to be in excess of $66 mln to provide valves that meet the demanding needs for the next six U.S. Navy Virginia-Class submarine nuclear propulsion systems.

8:57AM Dynex Capital prices a public offering of 8 mln shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $10.35 per share for total gross proceeds of $82.8 million (DX) 10.72 :

8:46AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Yongye International (YONG) has partnered with Stanford University to jointly develop innovative programs to help address rural poverty, education, nutrition and health issues in China... American Greetings (AM) European subsidiary, UK Greetings, has acquired Watermark Publishing. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Watermark has ~$40 million of annual revenue and employs about 250 associates.
* Sonoco (SON) will increase the base price of its nailed wood reels by 23%, effective April 3, 2011. For most customers, however, the net impact will be 4 percent vs. 2010 prices.
* Grifols S.A. and Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp. (TLCR) announced that the outside date under their merger agreement for closing their pending merger transaction has been extended to June 30, 2011. Grifols has extended the financing and financing commitments from its lenders to June 30, as well.

8:43AM EV Energy prices a public offering of 3 mln common units at $44.42 per unit (EVEP) 46.30 : Assuming no exercise of the over-allotment option, the Partnership expects to receive net proceeds from the offering of approximately $130.3 million, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses, and including the Partnership's general partner's proportionate capital contribution. RBC Capital Markets, Citi, Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, Raymond James and Wells Fargo will act as joint book-running managers of the underwritten offering of common units.

8:35AM Resolute Energy provides production and cost guidance; announces 2011 capital budget; reports 2010 reserves were 64.7 MMBoe, an increase of 5% (REN) 18.20 : Co issued guidance concerning anticipated production and costs for 2011 and announced its 2011 capital budget. Resolute also provided detail on its year-end 2010 reserves and production. Total production for 2011 is expected to be between 2.95 and 3.05 mln equivalent barrels of oil, or a full-year average of approximately 8,000 to 8,400 Boe per day. Resolute anticipates that its DD&A rate for 2011 will be approximately $19.00 to $19.25 per Boe of production. As of March 1st, Resolute had in place oil derivatives for 2011 covering 4,500 Bbl per day in a combination of swaps and collars such that the co has an effective NYMEX floor price of $67.32 per Bbl and an effective NYMEX ceiling price of $90.65 per hedged Bbl. In addition, Resolute has natural gas derivatives of approximately 2,750 MMBtu per day at a CIG weighted average price of $7.92 per MMBtu.

8:33AM April WTI crude oil ticking up towards ~2.5 yr highs at $103.41; currently higher by $1.27 to $103.18 (COMDX) :

8:33AM MCG Capital beats by $0.01, beats on revs; raises Q4 dividend $0.01 (7.1%) to $0.15 (MCGC) 7.28 : Reports Q4 (Dec) DNOI of $0.17 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.16; revenues rose 0.9% year/year to $23.5 mln vs the $22.3 mln consensus. This decrease was composed of a $1.3 million decrease in interest and dividend income primarily resulting from a reduction in the Company's average portfolio balance and changes in the composition and average balance of loans on non-accrual status. "Overall we are pleased with the volume of originations that we were able to close during the fourth quarter, the level of equity monetizations that occurred during the quarter and after year-end, the increase in our fourth quarter net operating income and distributable net operating income and the repositioning of low-yielding assets. Based on our results for the quarter and the full year, we will be increasing our dividend to $0.15 per share for the fourth quarter."

8:33AM CAE Inc and Lider Aviacao to form a joint venture company (CAE) 13.12 : Co announced an agreement to form a joint venture company that will provide advanced, simulation-based, helicopter pilot training in South America in early 2012. The new joint venture company will purchase the first full-motion Level D CAE 3000 Series full-flight simulator (FFS), which will replicate the Sikorsky S-76C++ aircraft. This brings the total number of FFS sales that CAE has announced so far during fiscal year 2011 to 23.

8:33AM Lizhan Environmental appoints Shan Cui to the position of CFO effective immediately to replace Angell Chang, who is resigning for health reasons (LZEN) 3.21 : Co announces the appointment of Shan Cui to the position of Chief Financial Officer effective immediately in replace of Angell Chang, who is resigning for health reasons. Most recently, from 2010 to 2011, CUI served as a managing director of Capital First International.

8:32AM Gulf Resources provides final update on internal controls assessment; co believes internal control is improved after implementing the recommendations made by Deloitte (GFRE) 9.01 : Co announced that its internal control consultant Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu has issued a final report regarding the internal control assessment performed. The management believes that the Company's internal control is improved after implementing the recommendations made by Deloitte. "As a NASDAQ-listed company, it has always been our goal to continuously improve our internal controls and corporate governance. The engagement of Deloitte is a testament of the management's commitment to strict internal control and proper financial reporting. It helped us to embrace good corporate governance and ensure better compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act," said Mr. Xiaobin Liu, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Resources. "We believe the final report by Deloitte will enhance shareholder confidence in Gulf Resources as we continue to commit to best practices in corporate governance."

8:32AM Fabrinet prices a secondary public offering of 7,211,000 ordinary shares at $28.50 per share (FN) 29.56 :

8:31AM Whirlpool will be reaffirming its FY11 outlook at Raymond James conference (WHR) 82.35 : Briefing note: Co previously guided on Feb 2 for FY11 EPS of ~$12.00-13.00, which includes impact of ~$4.00 per share from U.S. energy tax credits they expect to earn during 2011 as a result of recent tax legislation in the U.S., vs. $11.88 Thomson Reuters consensus, which also includes the impact.

8:31AM Gilead Sciences announces FDA removes warning about potential liver injury from boxed warning of prescribing information for co's Letairis (GILD) 39.99 : Co announces that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a change to the prescribing information for Letairis, the company's once-daily treatment to improve exercise ability and delay clinical worsening in pulmonary arterial hypertension patients with predominantly WHO Functional Class II-III symptoms. This change removes language concerning the potential risk of liver injury from the Boxed Warning. In conjunction with this label update, PAH patients receiving Letairis are no longer required to obtain monthly liver function tests.

8:22AM DCP Midstream prices an underwritten public offering of 3.2 mln common units representing limited partner interests at $40.55 per common unit (DPM) 41.96 : The offering was increased from the previously announced 3,100,000 common units to 3,200,000 common units. Wells Fargo Securities, Barclays Capital, BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi and Morgan Stanley acted as joint book-running managers for the offering.

8:20AM Cowen Group announced a plan to spin-off its Value and Opportunity business (COWN) 4.20 :

8:16AM Endo Pharm's subsidiary, Qualitest, receives FDA approval for emoquette, an oral contraceptive for prevention of pregnancy (ENDP) 36.28 :

8:11AM Lannett comments on a recent Bloomberg News story (LCI) 5.60 : "Over the last decade, Lannett has never 'failed' an inspection, and none of the FDA inspections resulted in a warning letter. All of the infractions observed by FDA inspectors were characterized as "minor" and resolved with response (with the exception of the most recent observations, also characterized as "minor" and which the company expects to resolve shortly.) The most recent FDA inspection of Lannett's Philadelphia manufacturing facilities concluded with zero observations."

8:03AM Orbital Sciences' Launch of Taurus XL Rocket is Unsuccessful (ORB) 18.47 : Co announced that the launch of its Taurus XL rocket, which lifted off earlier today at 2:09 a.m. (PST), from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California carrying the company-built Glory satellite for NASA, was unsuccessful. Preliminary indications are that the rocket's payload fairing, a clamshell mechanism that encases the satellite as it travels through the atmosphere, failed to separate from the rocket. The previous time a Taurus XL rocket was launched was in 2009 for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) mission. That launch also resulted in a failure due to a fairing separation problem. Since that time Orbital redesigned and tested the fairing separation system. Orbital will immediately convene a failure investigation board that will include representative from the company and NASA to determine the cause of today's launch failure. Orbital believes that it is likely that sufficient data was gathered to be able to determine the cause of the fairing separation failure.

8:02AM Pfizer announces primary endpoints met in second Phase 3 clinical trial of Tofacitinib in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (PFE) 19.76 : Co announces that the ORAL Sync Phase 3 study of tofacitinib, formerly known as tasocitinib, an investigational, novel, oral JAK inhibitor, being studied in moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis, met its primary endpoints by showing statistically significant changes versus placebo in reducing signs and symptoms of RA, as measured by ACR20 response rates at six months; in improving physical function, as measured by mean change in HAQ DI at three months; and in reaching DAS28-4(ESR) <2.6 at six months. The safety profile of tofacitinib was consistent with that seen previously in the clinical program, and no new safety signal was detected. A full analysis of efficacy and safety data will be submitted to a future scientific meeting.

8:02AM UDR Announces revises conversion rate for 4.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2035 (UDR) 23.85 : Co announces that the conversion rate for the company's 4.00% Convertible Senior Notes Due 2035 is 38.8650 shares of our common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Notes. On March 2, 2011, UDR announced that it is calling for redemption all of its outstanding 4.00% Convertible Senior Notes Due 2035.

8:02AM Cardero Resource will acquire all of the outstanding securities of Coalhunter not already held by Cardero (CDY) 1.99 : Co and Coalhunter Mining announce that the companies have entered into a LOI whereby co will acquire all of the outstanding securities of Coalhunter not held by co. Co currently holds ~45.5% of the common shares of Coalhunter, which holds a 75% interest in the Carbon Creek Metallurgical Coal Deposit. Co will issue 0.8 of a common share for each outstanding common share of Coalhunter, including all Coalhunter common shares issuable on the exercise of the 14,000,000 currently outstanding special warrants, resulting in the issuance of ~22,470,147 CDY shares. Co will acquire all of the 5,820,500 outstanding Coalhunter share purchase warrants and will issue in exchange CDY warrants to purchase 4,656,400 CDY shares at a price equal to 125% of the current exercise price, with the CDY warrants expiring on the earlier of the current expiry date and two years after the completion of the Transaction.

8:02AM BioSante to raise $25.1 million in registered direct offering (BPAX) 2.15 : Co has received commitments from several institutional investors to purchase $25.1 million of securities in a registered direct offering. Co has agreed to sell an aggregate of ~12.2 million shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase up to ~4.0 million additional shares of its common stock. Each unit, consisting of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase 0.33 of a share of common stock, will be sold for a purchase price of $2.0613, a premium to the closing price on the day before pricing. Rodman & Renshaw acted as the exclusive placement agent for the transaction. Oppenheimer, Roth Capital Partners, JMP Securities and Trout Capital acted as financial advisors.

8:01AM Pinnacle announces Chief Financial Officer to leave Mar. 31 to pursue other opportunities (PNK) 13.05 : Co announces that Stephen Capp, Exec VP and CFO, has decided to leave the co, effective March 31, 2011, to pursue other opportunities. The co anticipates appointing a successor to Mr. Capp by March 31, 2011.

8:01AM Chemtura increases prices on its Reofos BAPP and RDP flame retardants by up to 18%, and its range of Reofos isopropylated phosphate flame retardants and Kronitex phosphorus flame retardants by up to 16% in all regions (CHMT) 15.83 :

8:01AM Cardica Receives European CE Mark for Initial Microcutter Surgical Cutting and Stapling Device (CRDC) 3.32 : Co announces that an initial Microcutter surgical cutting and stapling device developed by Cardica has received CE Mark certification. As an integral part of the multi-step CE marking process, Cardica has obtained a Full Quality Assurance certification for its Microcutter design and manufacturing processes. With this certification, after successful completion of development, Cardica can apply the CE Mark to the first Microcutter product that Cardica expects to commercialize, the Microcutter XPRESS 3, and will be able to apply the CE Mark to future devices within the Microcutter product line that comply with the certified design and manufacturing processes in the same manner.

8:01AM Madison Square Garden misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line (MSG) 29.71 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.42 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.43; revenues rose 5.0% year/year to $432.7 mln vs the $435.4 mln consensus.

7:59AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Reach Messaging announced that the co has entered into an agreement with Wizzard Media (WZE) whereby WZE will use the co's Interactive Ad Solution to advertise on its mobile phone applications. Additionally, WZE has agreed to a $150,000 equity investment in Reach Messaging.
* Huron Consulting Group (HURN) announced the launch of its residential mortgage loan review service, which supports banks and other lending institutions dealing with large scale, loan-related lawsuits, investigations, and regulatory inquiries.
* Orange 21 (OTCBB: ORNG) announced that on February 28, 2011, it entered into a stock purchase agreement and registration rights agreement with Harlingwood, LLC. Pursuant to the SPA, the Company sold and issued to the Investor 712,121 shares of the Company's common stock in exchange for $1,174,999, or $1.65 per share.
* Acacia Research Corporation (ACTG) announced that a subsidiary has acquired a patent for application authentication technology.

7:46AM Exar exits 10Gb ethernet NIC market; co estimates this action will reduce Non-GAAP operating expenses going forward by ~$3.0 mln per quarter (EXAR) 6.52 : Co announces it is changing its plans to participate in the data center virtualization market and will stop development of 10 Gigabit Ethernet Network Interface Cards. Co estimates this action will reduce Non-GAAP operating expenses going forward by ~$3.0 mln per quarter from our current quarterly guidance range as early as the June quarter, which co expects to enable Non-GAAP profitability in fiscal 2012. This action is expected to reduce net sales for the current quarter by ~$1.0 mln. In addition, co estimates restructuring costs to be ~$11.8-13.6 mln comprised of an ~$8.0 mln charge for the impairment of intangible assets and $3.8-5.6 mln primarily related to inventory and severance costs. For purposes of Non-GAAP reporting, we will exclude restructuring costs.

7:44AM IDEX Corp extends subsequent offering period for shares of Microfluidics International (MFLU) until 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 10 (IEX) 42.06 :

7:34AM Delia*s reaffirms fiscal 2010 year-end cash, inventory and capital expenditure guidance (DLIA) 1.65 : Co previously guided for year-end cash, including restricted amounts, to range from $35 -40 million.

7:33AM Bronco Drilling beats by $0.07, beats on revs (BRNC) 8.95 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.06 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.01); revenues rose 134.6% year/year to $37.3 mln vs the $36.7 mln consensus. Results for Q4 2010 were adversely affected by several non-recurring charges. These charges were related to the divestment of certain mechanical drilling rigs and ancillary drilling equipment, a loss related to Bronco MX, final expenses related to discontinued operations and an increase in the value of warrants issued. These items resulted in an after-tax loss of ~$0.15 per share and are excluded.

7:33AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* ISTA Pharmaceuticals (ISTA) announced it filed a Citizen Petition with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on March 1, 2011.
* Patriot National Bancorp (PNBK) announced the Sale of Non-Performing Assets and the closure of four branch offices.
* Equal Energy (EQU) provided an update on its operations and a summary of December 31, 2010 year end independent reserves engineers' reports: average production was 9,100 boe per day, within our guidance of 9,000-9,200 boe per day.
* TeleCommunication Systems (TSYS) announced that U.S. Cellular has extended its agreement to offer "Your Navigator," powered by TCS.
* Graham Corporation (GHM) announced that it has been awarded three orders totaling ~$4.6 million for condensers, ejectors and liquid ring vacuum pumps to be installed in facilities in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and India.



7:32AM Bronco Drilling beats by $0.07, beats on revs (BRNC) 8.95 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.06 per share, excluding $0.15 in non-recurring items, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.01); revenues rose 134.6% year/year to $37.3 mln vs the $36.7 mln consensus. Revenue days for the quarter increased to 2,152 from 2,060 for the previous quarter and 1,049 for the fourth quarter of 2009. Utilization for the fourth quarter of 2010 was 96% on 24 operating rigs compared to 65% on 34 operating rigs for the previous quarter and 31% on 37 operating rigs for the fourth quarter of 2009. Average daily cash margin for our land drilling fleet for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 was $6,008 compared to $4,960 for the previous quarter and $3,072 for the fourth quarter of 2009.

7:32AM CPEX Pharmaceuticals: 5.7% shareholder Mangrove Partners responds to erroneous CPEX assertions; believes its analysis and intentions were inaccurately portrayed in co's letter to stockholder (CPEX) 27.75 : Mangrove Partners, owners of 149,373 shares representing ~5.71% of the outstanding shares of co, believes its analysis and intentions were inaccurately portrayed in CPEX's March 2, 2011 letter to stockholders, which appears to use scare tactics in order to pressure stockholders into accepting an inadequate price for their shares. "We are frustrated that CPEX seems to simply disavow their own figures in an effort to scare stockholders into accepting an offer that undervalues CPEX but provides management with lucrative change of control payments and its advisors with substantial fees." Mangrove Partners opposes the proposed merger based on the following factors: Inadequate Price - the merger represents only 3.6x 2011 forecast operating profit and is a discount to the debt being raised by the acquirer, conflicted management, and faulty fairness opinion.

7:25AM Silver Wheaton beats by $0.04, misses on revs; provides 2011 outlook; declares inaugural quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share (SLW) 43.72 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.35 per share, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.31; revenues rose 65.1% year/year to $149.6 mln vs the $154.9 mln consensus. The co estimates, based upon its current agreements, to have 2011 attributable production of 27-28 mln silver equivalent ounces, including 15,000 ounces of gold. This represents a 15% increase compared to 2010. Total cash costs in 2011 are anticipated to be ~$4 per silver equivalent ounce, unchanged from 2010. By 2015, based upon its current agreements, annual attributable production is anticipated to increase by 80% to ~43 mln silver equivalent ounces, including 35,000 ounces of gold.

7:03AM Bovie Medical settles litigation with Salient Surgical and Medtronic (MDT); settlement calls for co to exit the monopolar and bipolar saline-enhanced RF device business; MDT will make a one-time payment to Bovie of $750K (BVX) 2.65 :

7:02AM First Ind. Rlty prices 8.9 mln shares of common stock at $11.4/share (FR) 11.86 :

7:01AM Goodrich Petroleum repurchases $123 mln of Convertible Notes (GDP) 19.73 : Co announces the repurchase in a privately-negotiated transaction of $123 mln aggregate principal amount of its outstanding 3.25% convertible senior notes due 2026 at 101.25, plus accrued interest, for $126 mln. The repurchase was made using a portion of the net proceeds from the co's recently-completed offering of $275 mln aggregate principal amount of its 8.875% senior notes due 2019.

7:00AM Assisted Living Concepts announces continued private pay strategy successes; completes re-financing (ALC) 37.04 : Co refinances $120 million revolving credit facility scheduled to expire in November 2011 with a five-year $125 million revolving credit facility expiring in February 2016.

6:33AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Amtech Systems (ASYS) announced that its solar subsidiary, Tempress Systems, has increased its share of the solar diffusion market to ~40% and has been ranked number one in revenue in calendar 2010 for process tools used in c-Si cell diffusion for the solar market, based on analysis contained within Solarbuzz's PV Equipment Quarterly of trended quarterly tool revenue.
* Acacia Research (ACTG) announced that a subsidiary has acquired a patent for application authentication technology.
* Trimble (TRMB) introduced the Trimble TSC3 handheld controller for construction, a powerful and rugged addition to the portfolio of controllers for heavy and highway contractors.

6:01AM Newpark Res to Acquire Australian Drilling Fluids Business From Rheochem for ~AUD23.8 mln (NR) 7.51 : Co announces it has entered into a definitive agreement with Rheochem PLC to acquire its drilling fluids and engineering services unit. Co will pay ~A$23.8 mln at closing. Additional consideration may be payable based on financial results of the acquired business over a one-year earnout period, up to a maximum total consideration of AUD45 mln. Co expects to fund the acquisition price, including any earnout payment, from cash on hand. In the most recently completed fiscal year ended June 30, 2010, Rheochem's drilling fluid services segment generated revenues of AUD20.3 mln and EBITDA of AUD3.6 mln.

5:21AM Camelot Information Sys beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs above consensus; guides FY11 EPS below consensus, revs above consensus (CIS) 19.74 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.24 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.22; revenues rose 49.3% year/year to $60 mln vs the $53.9 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.09 vs. $0.13 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q1 revs of ~$50 mln vs. $47.18 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for FY11, sees EPS of ~$0.85 vs. $0.87 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of ~$250 mln vs. $241.02 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:25AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Copa Airlines, subsidiary of Copa Holdings (CPA) became the first airline in Latin America to take delivery of a Boeing Next-Generation 737 airplane with the new Boeing Sky Interior.
* The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved the pending merger between CenturyLink (CTL) and Qwest Communications (Q). As part of the approval process, the companies committed to investing a minimum of $50 mln in broadband infrastructure in Minnesota over five years.
* Starz, a unit of Liberty Starz (LSTZA), has completed a transaction resulting in a Canadian investor group purchasing a majority stake in the award-winning Starz Animation Toronto.
* Volcano (VOLC) announced that it received clearance to market the Eagle Eye Platinum digital IVUS catheter in Japan.

3:10AM NYSE Euronext provides Feb trading volumes; global derivatives +7.8% YoY (NYX) 36.22 : Co announces trading volumes for its global derivatives and cash equities exchanges for February 20111. Global derivatives average daily volume of 8.9 mln contracts traded per day in February 2011 increased 7.8% YoY. The increase in global derivatives ADV versus prior year levels was driven primarily by a 33.4% increase in U.S. equity options ADV, partially offset by a 9.8% decrease in European derivatives ADV. Cash equities ADV in February 2011 was mixed, with European cash ADV increasing 22.9% and U.S. cash trading volumes decreasing 13.7% from February 2010 levels.

2:24AM Cadence Pharma beats by $0.01 (CADX) 7.51 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.33, $0.01 better than $0.34 Thomson Reuters consensus; reports no revs, as expected. Co currently estimates that OFIRMEV will be on formulary at approximately 800-1,000 hospitals by December 31, 2011. Co believes that this penetration would represent approximately half of the total U.S. IV analgesic market opportunity for OFIRMEV.

2:10AM Air Transport Services Group reports in-line earnings; beats on revs (ATSG) 8.06 : Reports Q4 (Dec) EPS of $0.19 vs $0.19 Thomson Reuters consensus; revs decreased 28.7% YoY to $178.6 mln vs $173.2 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. "Our primary goal for 2011 is the deployment of the nine Boeing 767 freighters which will enter service by year end. This will bring the total of our 767 freighters in revenue service to 39, with a balance of customer placements between either long-term dry leases or shorter-term ACMI and CMI arrangements...We also will continue to opportunistically acquire more passenger aircraft we can convert and profitably deploy into freighter service, including 767 medium wide-body and 757 narrow-body aircraft, either on a leased or ACMI basis."

1:42AM Midas prevails in its defense of the vast majority of claims that MESA and Mobivia (MDS) 8.20 : Co announces it prevailed in its defense of the vast majority of claims that MESA and Mobivia had asserted as to co's obligation to invest under the ASA in Midas Europe. The tribunal has awarded MESA EUR17.45 mln (~$23.4 mln) plus interest of 5% from June 12, 2009, in connection with MESA's claim that Midas failed to cooperate in the improvement of IT systems in the European operations. Because MESA failed to prevail in the majority of its claims, the tribunal ordered MESA to pay 85% of co's legal and other arbitration expenses and co to pay 15% of MESA's expenses, resulting in MESA being required. The co expects that the accrual of this award will have an ~$23.0 mln negative impact on operating income, an approximate $12.0 mln negative impact on net income, and an ~$0.85 negative impact on earnings per share for both the fourth quarter and full-year 2010 results. At the end of fiscal 2010, the co had $62.7 mln outstanding under its $125 mln revolving line of credit. While sufficient availability would otherwise exist to fund the award, the recording of this loss will cause the co to violate certain financial covenants under the credit agreement which would cause a default, thereby preventing co from drawing on its revolver. The co has notified all of its lenders that it will need a waiver of this violation. The co believes it has a favorable relationship with its lenders, and believes that the lenders will accommodate this request.

1:36AM Dresser-Rand signs Share Purchase Agreement to acquire Grupo Guascor; expected to be accretive in 2011 (DRC) 18.43 : Co announces that it has signed a Share Purchase Agreement to acquire Grupo Guascor S.L. for an enterprise value of EUR500 mln ($690 mln) in a cash and stock transaction. The enterprise value includes the assumption of ~EUR125 mln ($172 mln) in net debt. "From a financial standpoint, the accelerated growth by combining technologies and market channels is expected to generate returns in excess of our cost of capital, with accretion of at least $0.05 and $0.40 per share in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Synergies are estimated to be ~$30 mln of operating income per year on a run rate basis in the third year following closing."

1:33AM Teleflex receives 510(k) clearance for expanded use of VPS Technology (TFX) 59.00 : Co announces that its VasoNova subsidiary has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market the company's VPS peripherally inserted central catheter tip location technology as an alternative to chest x-ray or fluoroscopy in adult patients when the guidance indicator shows a blue bullseye. The co began shipping product in January to hospitals in the United States.

1:31AM Sterling Bancorp prices 3.5 mln shares of common stock at 9.60 (STL) 10.13 : The proceeds from the offering will qualify as tangible common equity and Tier 1 regulatory capital, and will be used by the co for general corporate purposes, including the repurchase of the co's TARP Capital Purchase Program preferred shares, separately or together with the warrant for common shares, held by the U.S. Dept of the Treasury, the financing of possible acquisitions or the extension of credit to, or the funding of investments in, the co's subsidiaries.

1:28AM MEMC Elec prices private offering of $550 mln of 7.750% Senior Notes due 2019 (WFR) 13.07 : The co plans to use the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital, capital expenditures, the construction of solar power projects, and acquisitions, investments, strategic transactions and joint ventures.

1:24AM Northstar Realty upsizes and prices private offering of $150 mln of Exchangeable Senior Notes due 2031 (NRF) 5.46 : Co announces the operating partnership through which NorthStar conducts its operations, has priced a private offering of $150 mln aggregate principal amount of the operating partnership's 7.50% exchangeable senior notes due 2031, which represents an upsizing of $50 mln from the previously announced amount. Co expects to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes to purchase or repay its indebtedness and for general corporate purposes.

1:17AM Continental Resources prices 10 mln shares of common stock by co and certain selling shareholders at $68.00 (CLR) 69.41 : The offering included 9,170,000 shares sold by the co and 830,000 shares sold by selling shareholders. The net proceeds to the co from the offering of ~$600.2 mln are expected to be used to accelerate the co's multi-year drilling program by funding its increased 2011 capital budget and to repay all amounts outstanding under the co's $750 mln revolving credit facility. The co will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the shares by the selling shareholders.

1:11AM Alico provides initial field testing at its proposed Keri Road Sand Mine Site; preliminary testing indicates good potential for possible future mining of moderate quality frac sand (ALCO) 27.52 : Co announces it has completed initial field testing at its proposed Keri Road Sand Mine Site in Hendry County, Florida situated on ~886 acres of the co's land. The purpose of the initial field test was to conduct a preliminary assessment to determine the Project Site's potential as a fracturing sand mine. The preliminary testing indicates good potential for possible future mining of moderate quality frac sand at the Project Site. Project Site is believed to contain as much as 94 mln tons of potential future frac sand reserves. At this time, Alico has not obtained the necessary permits to mine the Project Site.

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