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Market Update: 1103145
4:30 pm : The stock market dropped dramatically in the early going as participants responded to a global sell-off, but buyers gradually stepped in with a bid that helped stocks slash losses.

The S&P 500 was down as much as 2.7% to a new two-month low this morning, but it settled the session with a more moderate loss on the order of 1%. The opening sell-off stemmed from widespread weakness among the major market averages abroad, namely Japan's Nikkei, which followed up its 6% loss in the prior session with an overnight dive of 10.6%. Explosions at nuclear facilities and threats of radiation have stoked selling in Japan and left the Nikkei to trade at a new one-year low.

The breadth of selling interest left few asset classes unscathed. As such, the CRB Commodity Index sank 3.6% to suffer its worst single-session loss since November. Among the more widely tracked commodities, oil prices dropped 4.0% to $97.18 per barrel. Weekly oil inventory data is due tomorrow morning. Not even precious metals were sparred from the sell-off; gold prices fell 2.2% to $1392.90 per ounce and silver slumped 4.8% to settle pit trade at $34.11 per ounce.

While many commodities came under severe pressure, basic materials stocks were actually leaders in the equity market's rally. The materials sector was down more than 3% at the open, but finished with a loss of less than 0.2%.

Netflix (NFLX 217.11, +15.91) distinguished itself by spiking to a gain of almost 8% as the rest of the market could only cut losses, let alone advance. The move was the stock's strongest in more than a month and was owed to an analyst upgrade at Goldman Sachs.

Amid the stock market's rebound the greenback gave back an early gain for a flat finish. Interestingly, the yen advanced despite the calamity in Japan. It was up 1.1% to 80.75 yen per dollar at the end of the day.

Early strength in Treasuries drove down the yield on the 10-year Note to a three-month low near 3.20%, but strength faded as the stock market rallied. The 10-year Note saw its yield rise to just above 3.30% by day's end.

The latest FOMC statement had little impact on trade. To no real surprise, the FOMC kept its key rate in the range 0.00% to 0.25%. It also announced that it will keep in place its plan to purchase $600 billion of longer-term Treasury securities by the end of the second quarter of 2011 and will continue to reinvest principal payments from its securities holdings.

Even though commodity prices have been coming down during the past few sessions, the FOMC made note that commodity prices are still up significantly since summer. Still, inflation expectations have remained stable and measures of underlying inflation have been subdued. The FOMC also made note that the recovery is on firmer footing and that overall conditions in the labor market appear to be improving gradually.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Utilities (-1.9%), Tech (-1.6%), Financial (-1.2%), Industrials (-1.1%), Health Care (-1.1%), Consumer Staples (-1.0%), Telecom (-1.0%), Energy (-0.8%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.8%), Materials (-0.2%)DJ30 -137.74 NASDAQ -33.64 NQ100 -1.4% R2K -0.9% SP400 -0.7% SP500 -14.52 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 644/2.36 bln/1970 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 638/1.28 bln/2376

3:30 pm : The CRB Commodity Index suffered its worst single-day drop since November with a 3.6% tumble today. That marked its sixth straight loss, which left the CRB to close below its 50-day moving average for the first time since August.

Precious metals were swept into this session's sell-off. That left gold prices to drop 2.2% to $1392.90 per ounce. Silver slumped 4.8% to settle pit trade at $34.11 per ounce.

A 4.0% drop in crude oil prices to $97.18 per barrel had some of the most damaging impact on the CRB. Prices had actually rebounded above $99 per barrel, but failed to sustain the move.

Fellow energy component natural gas actually attracted support. Prices closed pit trade 0.7% higher at $3.94 per MMBtu.DJ30 -104.03 NASDAQ -25.99 SP500 -10.26 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 634/1.89 bln/1948 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 629/904 mln/2369

3:00 pm : The S&P 500 has successfully pushed above the 1280 line so tha it now sits at a fresh session high.

All 10 of the major sectors are still in the red, but the materials sector has managed to cut its loss to just 0.5% after it had been down as much as 3.2%. Most of that move is owed to a run up in diversified metals and mining stocks, which have been led by Freeport McMoRan (FCX 51.16, +2.21). Shares of FCX are up more than 4% after they had started the session with a loss of almost 5%. DJ30 -133.85 NASDAQ -30.84 SP500 -13.53 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 584/1.76 bln/2006 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 579/830 mln/2420

2:30 pm : Stocks slipped in the minutes the initially followed the latest FOMC policy statement, but they have since recovered. The S&P 500 is now back near the 1280 line, where it was rebuffed just a couple of hours ago.

As expected, the FOMC kept its key rate in the range 0.00% to 0.25%. It also announced that it will keep in place its plan to purchase $600 billion of longer-term Treasury securities by the end of the second quarter of 2011. It is also maintaining its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its securities holdings.

As for the verbiage of the latest policy statement, the Committee noted that the recovery is on a firmer footing, and overall conditions in the labor market appear to be improving gradually. Although they noted that commodity prices have risen significantly since the summer, inflation expectations have remained stable, and measures of underlying inflation have been subdued. DJ30 -144.37 NASDAQ -34.80 SP500 -15.33 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 467/1.59 bln/2107 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 439/757 mln/2552

2:00 pm : Stocks have become stuck in a sideways drift. That has made for some rather unexciting afternoon trade. However, things could pick up quickly with the release of the latest FOMC policy statement, which is due at 2:15 PM ET.DJ30 -178.50 NASDAQ -42.10 SP500 -18.63 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 434/1.49 bln/2145 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 367/710 mln/2639

1:30 pm : The S&P 500 recently pushed up to the 1280 line, but it stalled at that point and has since pulled back almost five points. Its inability to extend its rally has hampered the Dow and Nasdaq.

Volatility has started to creep back up amid the stock market's most recent slip. The Volatility Index is now up 15% this session. It is up an even more dramatic 37% for the year. DJ30 -194.36 NASDAQ -44.63 SP500 -20.64 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 431/1.41 bln/2134 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 371/668 mln/2635

1:00 pm : A global sell-off took the S&P 500 down to a new two-month low this morning, but the benchmark Index has been fighting to pare its loss.

Japan's Nikkei dove overnight to a 10.6% loss as participats there panicked amid news that explosions continue to complicate efforts to contain radiation in the wake of a massive earthquake late last week. The loss came on top of a 6% dive in the prior session. The combination of those losses made for the Nikkei's worst back-to-back performance since 1987.

Just about every major foreign market followed the Nikkei lower. In turn, the Dow Jones World Index fell almost 3.8% for its worst single-day slide since a 3.9% drop almost two years ago. That loss has since moderated to a 2.6% decline with help from the rebound effort currently underway among U.S. markets.

The U.S. averages were imbued by weakness abroad and dropped dramatically at the open to their lowest level since the start of 2011. However, selling pressue has eased a bit so that losses are about half of what they were at session lows. That has helped bring down the Volatility Index, which is now up about 13% after it had been up more than 20% this morning.

Although the number of advancing issues remains limited, an analyst upgrade at Goldman Sachs has made Netflix (NFLX 215.21, +14.05) a noteworthy leader in both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

Weakness remains widespread, but the relatively improved tone of trade has pulled some away from the shelter of the dollar. In turn, the greenback is only fractionally against a basket of major foreign currencies after it was up sharply this morning.

Treasuries are still up nicely, but shy of their session highs. As such, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note is up to 3.29%, or almost nine basis points above the three-month low that it set this morning.

Data has been of little interest to market participants, but plenty of attention will turn to the latest FOMC policy statement when it is released at 2:15 PM ET. No change to target rates is expected, so focus will be on the verbiabe of the statement. DJ30 -192.35 NASDAQ 44.81 SP500 -20.34 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 415/1.31 bln/2133 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 343/625 mln/2638

12:30 pm : The S&P 500 has more than halved its loss. Earlier today it had been as low as 1261, which was last seen on January 3, but it is now at 1280 so that it trades with a 16-point loss.

The effort to trim losses has been broad based, but the move has been kindest to materials stocks and energy stocks. Those two sectors are down 0.9% and 1.0%, respectively. Every other sector is down more deeply. DJ30 -169.87 NASDAQ -37.98 SP500 -17.90 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 456/1.18 bln/2086 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 352/570 mln/2618

12:00 pm : The Nasdaq is at a new session high, but it continues to trade with a considerable loss. Large-cap tech issues like Apple (AAPL 345.58, -7.98), Oracle (ORCL 30.83, -0.76), Intel (INTC 20.15, -0.69), and Microsoft (MSFT 25.31, -0.38) have been the heaviest drags on the Nasdaq. In contrast, Netflix (NFLX 216.45, +15.25) has staged an impressive advance in the face of widespread weakness. Its strength is largely owed to an upgrade by analysts at Goldman Sachs.DJ30 -204.27 NASDAQ -44.10 SP500 -21.94 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 387/1.05 bln/2127 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 291/514 mln/2683

11:30 am : Oil prices are still deeply in the red, but in recent trade the energy component has worked its way to $98.50 per barrel, which makes for a session high. That has helped oil-related Exchange Traded Funds like the US Oil Fund (USO 39.66, -1.25) lift to its own session high. USO is still down 3%, though.

Oil's pullback in recent sessions has come as attention shifts from the social and political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa to the prospect for demand loss stemming from the devastation in Japan. Still, oil prices are up more than 7% year to date.DJ30 -211.42 NASDAQ -47.70 SP500 -22.72 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 313/915 mln/2194 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 233/450 mln/2733

11:00 am : Stocks continue to contend with stong selling interest, but they have managed to recoup some of what was lost during this morning's gap down. In fact, the Dow has actually climbed more than 60 points from its session low.

All 30 stocks that make up the Dow are currently in the red. Pfizer (PFE 19.64, -0.17) has managed to limit its loss to less than 1%, which actually makes it a relative leader among blue chips. DJ30 -232.65 NASDAQ -52.53 SP500 -25.65 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 316/750 mln/2175 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 210/385 mln/2725

10:35 am : Global weakness continues to weigh on commodities, many of which are showing sharp losses. In the CRB Commodity Index, excluding aluminum, all components are lower with over half of them down 2% or more. Energy markets are some of today's worst performers. RBOB gasoline is -5.2%, while heating oil is -4.1%.

April crude oil sold off overnight and has been in negative territory since. Session lows of $96.71 per barrel were hit just before 8:00am ET and the April contract currently remains at $97.98 per barrel, down 3.2%. April natural gas was actually in positive territory for a large part of the overnight and morning session. However, about 30 minutes ahead of the open, natural gas sold off sharply, falling into negative territory, and hit new session lows of $3.80 per MMBtu after dropping almost 4%. The energy component is currently 3.8% lower at $3.84 per MMBtu.

Precious metals fell into negative territory overnight and have remained there since. April gold extended losses ahead of the open of pit trade this morning, falling to the current session low of $1380.70 per ounce. May silver followed gold, putting in its own session low of $33.57 per ounce. Currently, gold is down 1.9% at $1398.00 per ounce, while silver is down 4% at $34.38 per ounce.DJ30 -201.62 NASDAQ -56.10 SP500 -23.76 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 219/554.4 mln/2223 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 120/298.0 mln/2796

10:00 am : Widespread weakness has left only a handful of stocks in the S&P 500 to trade with a gain. First Solar (FSLR 152.65, +5.74), Netflix (NFLX 207.43, +6.23), Ryder Systems (R 47.26, +0.06), Gamestop (GME 19.83, +0.01), and Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY 45.38, +0.06) make up the short list.

Insurers are under the most pressure as market participants consider their exposure to Japan in the wake of the country's massive earthquake late last week. Aflac (AFL 49.27, -4.63), Hartford (HIG 24.91, -1.92), MetLife (MET 41.86, -2.90), and Prudential (PRU 57.47, -3.79) represent the four worst performing stocks in the S&P 500 by percent lost.

Advancing Sectors: (None)
Declining Sectors: Tech (-2.9%), Industrial (-2.7%), Financial (-2.6%), Energy (-2.3%), Materials (-2.3%), Consumer Discretionary (-2.0%), Health Care (-1.8%), Utilities (-1.7%), Consumer Staples (-1.6%), Telecom (-1.5%)DJ30 -265.65 NASDAQ -70.34 SP500 -31.28 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 188/272 mln/2184 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 99/174 mln/2787

09:45 am : A dramatic gap down at the open took the S&P 500 to within one point of the 1260 line, which hasn't been touched since the first trading day of this year (January 3). Weakness comes in the wake of an aggressive global sell-off.

Weakness across the world has caused the Dow Jones World Index to drop 3.4%, which currently ties for its worst single-day slide since a 3.9% drop almost two years ago.

Such concerted selling has stoked volatility, such that the Volatility Index, often labeled the Fear Gauge, is up 20%. DJ30 -250.61 NASDAQ -66.51 SP500 -29.24 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 178/144 mln/2138 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 63/47 mln/979

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -33.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -63.50. Concerted selling in the wake of a global sell-off has stock futures down sharply. In fact, stock futures suggest that the major equity averages are headed for new two-month lows. The breadth of selling interest has left few issues unscathed. For instance, not a single name among the 225 stocks that make up Japan's Nikkei made a gain as the Index dove to a 10.6% loss. In Europe, all 30 stocks in Germany's DAX are down, as are all 40 components of France's CAC. Precious metals haven't even attracted support. In turn, the CRB Commodity Index is down 2.5%. The dollar has attracted support, though; it is currently up 0.6% against a collection of competing currencies. Treasuries are up, too. Buying in the benchmark 10-year Note took the yield down to a three-month low of 3.20%, but it is now near 3.25%.

09:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -30.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -58.50. Strong selling ahead of the open continues. The same action has sunk several overseas markets. For example, all 30 of the issues in Germany's DAX are currently down. Such widespread weakness has taken the German bourse to a 5.0% loss. Infineon Tech, BASF, and Daimler (DAI) have been the heaviest drags on trade. Data hasn't helped there; the ZEW Economic Sentiment Survey for March came in at 14.1, down from 15.7 in February. Widespread weakness has also wreaked havoc on France's CAC, which is currently down 4.1% as all 40 of its components trade with losses. Energy giant Total (TOT) continues to come under pressure; it has fallen in seven straight sessions for a cumulative loss of almost 9%. Financial outfits Societe Generarel and BNP Paribas are also under sharp pressure. According to data, France's CPI increased by 0.5% in February after a 0.2% decline in January. Britain's FTSE is presently off by 2.7%. Of its 102 members, only Next Plc has actually pushed into positive territory. BP Plc (BP) has been one of the heaviest drags on overall trade. Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) is down markedly, but has recovered from a near three-month low amid news of its 2011 strategy update.

Japan's Nikkei dropped some 6% yesterday, but then fell another 10.6% last night as participants there reacted fearfully to more explosions at nuclear facilities and warnings of radiation leaks. Not a single name in the Nikkei escaped unscathed, although Toyobo finished flat. The Nikkei is now at its lowest level since April 2009. Imbued by the soured mood in Japan, mainland China's Shanghai Composite closed with a 1.4% loss. PetroChina (PTR), China Petroleum (SNP), and China Life Insurance were among the heaviest drags on trade. Inner Mongolia and Inner Mong Bao displayed strength, though. Hong Kong's Hang Seng descended to levels not seen since September. However, it did manage to close above its 200-day moving average after participants sent the Hang Seng below the technical line for the first time in six months. All 45 members of the Hang Seng settled in the red for a collective loss of 2.9%. HSBC, China Mobile, CNOOC (CEO), and Industrial & Commercial Bank led the move lower.

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -36.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -69.30. The latest dose of data has done nothing to help stock futures recover from their slump. The Empire Manufacturing Survey for March came in at 17.5, which is slightly stronger than the 17.0 that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. The prior month's Survey came in at just 15.4. Separately, import prices for February increased by 1.4% after a 1.3% increase in the prior month. Excluding oil, import prices increased just 0.3% in February. They had increased 0.8% in the prior month.

08:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -33.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -62.80. A global sell-off has sunk stock futures. Overnight losses have been led by Japan's Nikkei, which plummeted more than 10% after it fell 6% in its prior session. The Nikkei now trades at its lowest level in a year as investors continue to show concern for the consequences resulting from the massive earthquake that hit the country late last week. Europe's major bourses have all rolled over, too. Oil has been caught up in the selling effort, such that generic futures contracts are currently pricing the energy component 3.7% lower at $97.40 per barrel in electronic trade. Precious metals have failed to find support among safety seekers. Instead, both gold and silver are under stiff pressure. The dollar and Treasuries have attracted buying interest, though. More specifically, the greenback is up 0.7% against a basket of competing currencies while buying in the benchmark 10-year Note drops its yield down to a its lowest level in three months.

06:32 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -33.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -62.30.

06:31 am : Nikkei...8605.15...-1015.30...-10.60%. Hang Seng...22678.25...-667.60...-2.90%.

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

5:59PM PNM Resources reaffirms 2011 of $0.80-0.92 vs. $0.87 Thomson Reuters consensus (PNM) 14.27 -0.027 : PNM Resources (PNM) management will meet with institutional shareholders this week during several meetings in the Midwest and Northeast. During the meetings, management will affirm the co's 2011 consolidated ongoing earnings guidance range. Co said management also will affirm the 2011 ongoing EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) guidance ranges for First Choice Power of $43 million to $53 million and for Optim Energy of $20 million to $30 million, which represents 100 percent of Optim Energy's estimated results. PNM Resources owns a 50-percent interest of Optim Energy.

5:48PM Xerium Technologies appoints Chief Financial Officer (XRM) 21.69 -0.63 : Co announced the appointment of Clifford E. Pietrafitta to the position of Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Brian Fox, who has served as the Company's Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer on an interim basis since August 13, 2010, has stepped down from those positions. From 1999 to 2010, Pietrafitta, served as Chief Financial Officer of CSS Industries, a consumer products co.

5:46PM Curtiss-Wright issues statement on its nuclear power generation business following recent events in Japan (CW) 34.41 -0.43 : Co said, "While we don't have any plant control equipment at the affected plants, with our long experience and acquired knowledge of the nuclear power generation market, we have been and will continue to work with U.S. and international nuclear regulatory agencies to provide information and assistance to Japan in any way that we can. We would anticipate that the lessons learned from this event will be incorporated into the design and operation of future nuclear power plants worldwide."

5:41PM One Liberty Properties reported Q4 funds from operations (FFO) of $0.35 vs FFO's of $0.49 in last year's quarter; revs rose 9.9% to $10.7 mln (OLP) 14.91 -0.20 :

5:38PM Spire reports Q4 ($0.02) from cont ops vs. ($0.08) in last year's quarter; revs fell 9% to $18.0 mln (SPIR) 5.04 +0.28 :

5:35PM Rush Enterprises acquires certain assets of Asbury Automotive Atlanta, L.L.C. (RUSHA) 18.74 +0.21 : Rush Enterprises announced that its subsidiary Rush Truck Centers of Georgia, Inc. has acquired certain assets of Asbury Automotive Atlanta L.L.C., a subsidiary of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (ABG), which operates commercial truck and bus dealerships in the greater Atlanta, Georgia area under the "Nalley Motor Trucks" name. The acquisition includes the International, Hino, Isuzu, UD, IC Bus and Workhorse franchises in Atlanta, dealership locations in Atlanta and Doraville and a collision center in Atlanta.

5:30PM Eagle Rock announces the resumption of its east Texas oil and gas production (EROC) 9.43 -0.18 : Co announced that a majority of its East Texas oil and gas production has been returned to production following the start up of the Tristream Energy, LLC owned and operated Eustace treating and processing facility. The Partnership's East Texas oil and gas production had been shut-in since Aug 11, 2010 as a result of Tristream's unscheduled shut down of, and extended time for repairs on, the Eustace facility. Co anticipates that its remaining shut-in wells will be returned to production over the next few weeks as the Eustace facility returns to full operating capacity. The Partnership will continually monitor its wells over the coming weeks and months to determine if the extended shut-in has negatively impacted the production or reservoir performance of its assets.

5:29PM Universal Health Services raises 2011 earnings guidance; amends credit agreeement (UHS) 46.97 +0.29 : Co raises 2011 EPS to $3.65-3.80 vs. $3.62 Thomson Reuters consensus, up from $3.50-3.65 prior guidance. Co said it's revising its 2011 full-year guidance issued on February 28, 2011 to reflect the significant reduction in its borrowing costs resulting from the Amendment. UHS announced that the Co has completed an Amendment to the Credit Agreement, dated November 15, 2010. The Amendment provides, among other things, for a reduction in the interest rates payable in connection with borrowings under the Credit Agreement which includes a revolving credit facility ("Revolver") and a Tranche A Term Loan which mature on November 15, 2015 and a Tranche B Term Loan which matures on November 15, 2016. Prior to the effectiveness of the Amendment, we prepaid $125 million principal amount of the Tranche B Term Loan with borrowings under the Revolver.

5:18PM Sinclair Amends and Refinances a Portion of Its Bank Credit Facility (SBGI) 11.66 -0.37 : Sinclair Broadcast Group announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sinclair Television Group has refinanced a portion of its senior secured bank credit facility (the "Bank Credit Agreement") and amended certain of its terms. Under the amendment, Sinclair paid down $45.0 mln of its existing $270.0 mln term loan B. Pricing on the term loan B was reduced by 100 basis points to LIBOR plus 3.00% with a LIBOR floor of 1.00%, which was reduced from 1.50%. The term loan B maturity was extended 1 year to October 29, 2016. Sinclair also raised a new $115.0 mln term loan A that matures March 15, 2016. The term loan A is priced at LIBOR plus 2.25%. A portion of the proceeds from the term loan A was used to pay down $45.0 mln of the term loan B and the remaining proceeds will be used to redeem the Co's outstanding 6% convertible bonds due September 2012. In addition, certain terms of the Bank Credit Agreement were also amended to provide Sinclair more incremental term loan capacity and more flexibility to use its cash balances and the revolving credit facility for restricted payments and television acquisitions.

5:06PM Parker refinances $1.5 bln credit facility over five years (PH) 85.71 -0.30 : PH announced the co has successfully refinanced its syndicated credit facility at $1.5 billion over the next five years. With a total of 21 lenders around the world, solely led by KeyBank National Association, the credit facility is a key component of the company's overall capital structure and supports the issuance of U.S. commercial paper.

5:06PM ACE announces preliminary catastrophe loss estimates at ~$210 mln (ACE) 60.15 -0.94 : Co announced that preliminary net after-tax losses in Q1 for the ACE Group of insurance and reinsurance companies from natural catastrophes, including the New Zealand earthquake, the Australian floods and Cyclone Yasi, and the U.S. winter storms, are estimated to be $210 mln, including reinstatement premiums. Of the total, $115 mln is attributable to the New Zealand earthquake, $80 mln to the Australian events in aggregate, and $15 mln to the U.S. winter storms. Separately, the company estimates net after-tax losses in the first quarter related to the Japanese earthquake event, for both insurance and reinsurance, will range from $200 mln to $250 mln. The loss estimates for the Japanese earthquake event are preliminary given details are still unfolding.

5:04PM Celanese announces ethylene vinyl acetate price increases (CE) 7.48 +0.02 : Co announced that its subsidiary, Celanese EVA Performance Polymers Inc., will increase the price of all grades of Ateva EVA by $0.08/pound and all grades of LDPE by $0.06/pound effective April 15, 2011, or as contracts allow.

5:04PM First Solar announces that Mark Widmar will join the co as CFO (FSLR) 158.91 +12.00 : Co announced that Mark Widmar will join as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), responsible for the co's global financial operations. Widmar will succeed James Zhu, who has been interim CFO since Jan. 1, 2011. Zhu will retain his role as FSLR's Chief Accounting Officer. Widmar joins FSLR effective April 4, 2011, from Graftech International Ltd., a leading global manufacturer of advanced carbon and graphite materials, where he was CFO and President of the Engineered Solutions segment. Prior to joining Graftech in 2006, Widmar worked at NCR Corporation from 2003 as corporate controller and a business unit CFO.

5:03PM AAR Corp beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line (AIR) 26.16 -0.44 : Reports Q3 (Feb) earnings of $0.45 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 49.9% year/year to $451 mln vs the $447.4 mln consensus.

4:52PM Celanese US Holdings LLC announces commencement of exchange offer (CE) 39.98 -0.20 : Co announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Celanese US Holdings LLC, has commenced its offer to exchange up to $600 million principal amount of newly issued 6 5/8% Senior Notes due 2018, registered under the Securities Act of 1933, for a like principal amount of its outstanding, privately placed 6 5/8% Senior Notes due 2018. The newly issued notes will be guaranteed by the Company and certain domestic subsidiaries of the Company.

4:43PM Universal Display misses by $0.07, beats on revs (PANL) 38.18 -1.30 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.14 per share, includes non-cash loss on stock warrant liability, $0.07 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.07); revenues rose 120.4% year/year to $10.8 mln vs the $7.5 mln consensus. "In 2011, manufacturers are expected to add capacity, enabling this technology to be enjoyed more widely by consumers everywhere. To further leverage our extensive intellectual property assets and create value for our shareholders, we are actively pursuing opportunities in the small and large format display markets, as well as the general lighting market where our technology can demonstrably improve OLED performance and efficiency.

4:41PM Rare Element reports inferred mineral resource estimate for Sundance Gold Project; 947K ounces of gold in three deposits contained in 69.3 mln metric tonnes (REE) 10.40 -0.60 : Co announced assay results from the 2010 rotary (reverse circulation) drill program in three previous press releases. Thirty-four rotary drill holes containing 21,605 feet (6,585 m) were drilled during 2010 on near-surface targets within oxide zone mineralization at the Smith, Carbon, and Taylor target areas (Figure 1). Significant intercepts from the 2010 program are listed in Table 2. Gold exploration activity during 2010 focused on: 1) detailed definition of known gold-mineralized targets with in-fill drilling, 2) step-off drilling from known mineralization, and 3) discovery of gold mineralization in new peripheral gold targets. Highlights of the drilling program at Smith include the following gold assay results: SUN 60 85.4 m at 0.89 g/t, including 44.2 m at 1.3 g /t, SUN 62 143.3 m at 0.74 g/t, including 15.2 m at 1.6 g/t and 15.2 m at 1.4 g/t and SUN 64 77.7 m at 0.66 g/t, including 7.6 m at 1.7 g/t... Highlights of the drilling program at Carbon include the following gold assay results: SUN-071 of 0.52 g/t Au over 68.3m (includes 0.96 g/t over 12.2m), SUN-072 of 0.59 g/t Au over 79.3m and SUN-077 of 0.41 g/t Au over 51.8m

4:41PM CN disappointed in court decision on EJ&E grade separation projects (CNI) 72.05 -2.00 : Co expressed disappointment with the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Washington, D.C. denying the co's request to reverse the Surface Transportation Board's order requiring the railroad pay for the majority of the costs associated with two highway grade separation projects.

4:40PM Blount International elects COO (BLT) 14.94 +0.02 : Co announced that David A. Willmott has been elected to the newly created position of President and Chief Operating Officer. Willmott was previously Senior Vice President - Corporate Development and Strategy, an executive officer position. Willmott will work with Josh Collins, Chairman and CEO, in the general oversight and management of the Co, with a particular emphasis on working with senior management to drive growth in the Co's farm, ranch & agriculture and construction end markets. In addition, Willmott will continue to be responsible for Blount's corporate development and strategy functions.

4:37PM L.B. Foster initiates quarterly dividend of $0.025/share (FSTR) 38.46 +0.30 :

4:33PM ChinaEdu misses by $0.04, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 revs in-line (CEDU) 7.48 +0.02 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.06 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.10; revenues rose 5.5% year/year to $15.3 mln vs the $15.2 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $13.8-14.5 vs. $14.15 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:32PM Targa Resources agrees to acquire refined products and crude oil storage and terminaling facility in Channelview, TX (NGLS) 31.79 -0.74 : Co announced that, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Coast Energy Group LLC, it has acquired a refined petroleum products and crude oil storage and terminaling facility (the "Terminal") in Channelview, TX. Located on Carpenter's Bayou along the Houston Ship Channel, the Terminal can handle multiple grades of blend stocks, products and crude. The transaction was paid entirely with cash funded through borrowings under the Partnership's senior secured revolving credit facility. Total value of the transaction is below the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ("HSR") minimum.

4:30PM Fulton Fincl increases qtrly dividend to $0.04/share, from $0.03/share (FULT) 20.86 -0.20 :

4:20PM BPZ Energy misses by $0.05, beats on revs (BPZ) 5.99 -0.15 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.09 per share, $0.05 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.04); revenues rose 147.0% year/year to $37.3 mln vs the $32.2 mln consensus.

4:20PM NVIDIA announces resignation of Chief Financial Officer David White for personal reasons (NVDA) 17.66 -0.54 : Co announces that David White, chief financial officer, has resigned from the company for personal reasons. He will remain an employee through May 31, 2011. Karen Burns, who currently serves as corporate controller and vice president of tax, will serve as interim CFO.

4:17PM Chesapeake Utilities signs agreements with Beebe Medical Center and SPI Pharma for Natural Gas Service in Lewes, DE (CPK) 38.90 -1.38 : Co announces that its Delaware natural gas division has signed agreements with Beebe Medical Center and SPI Pharma, both located in Lewes, Delaware, to provide natural gas service to their facilities. "Chesapeake Utilities has been working steadily to 'reach the beach' with clean-burning natural gas for more than ten years... Commercial customers like Beebe and SPI Pharma are enabling natural gas service to be available sooner in the Five Points and Lewes areas."

4:17PM Gold Resource reports Q4 EPS of ($0.19) vs. (0.16) in last year's quarter; revs were $4.8 mln vs. $0 in last year's quarter (GORO) 24.34 -0.61 : Co said, "as we continue mill optimization, ramp up and production from the co's largest deposit discovered to date, La Arista, we look forward to 2011 as a transformational year for Gold Resource Corp as we target processing higher average grade ore, lower cash costs and greater production levels in 2011."

4:15PM Rambus announces it has renewed its patent license agreement with Toshiba Corporation (RMBS) 19.62 +0.44 : Co announces it has renewed its patent license agreement with Toshiba Corporation. This five year agreement covers Toshiba's products with DRAM memory controllers for SDR, DDR, DDR2, DDR3, and other DRAM devices. Rambus will receive royalty payments based on the shipment of these memory controllers.

4:14PM Eastman Kodak expects to end 2011 with a cash balance of $1.7-1.8 bln, up from $1.5-1.6 bln prior forecast (EK) : Co updates guidance for 2011 cash balance. Previously, co had forecasted a year-end cash balance of $1.5-1.6 billion. With successful completion of its previously announced private placement of $250 million aggregate principal amount of Senior Secured Notes due 2019 , the company now expects to end 2011 with a cash balance of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion.

4:07PM Infinity Pharmaceutical reports Q4 revenues of $13.8 mln compared to $13.5 mln in prior year, Thomson Reuters consensus $16.4 mln; reports net loss of $0.53 per share, consensus -$0.39 (INFI) 5.37 0.00 : Infinity entered 2011 with approximately $345 million in committed capital, which includes slightly over $100 million in cash and investments, $195 million in committed research and development funding from Mundipharma and access to a $50 million line of credit from Purdue. Exclusive of any business development activities, Infinity anticipates a net cash burn of $30 million to $40 million during 2011 and estimates a year-end cash and investments balance ranging from $60 million to $70 million. The anticipated year-end cash and investments balance does not include any amounts that Infinity may draw under the $50 million line of credit. Infinity's financial foundation provides the company with cash runway into 2014 based on its current operating plan, exclusive of any business development activities, enabling the company to advance its pipeline of innovative product candidates to key value inflection points without the need for additional financing.

4:05PM Pacific Sunwear misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus (PSUN) 4.31 +0.12 : Reports Q4 (Jan) loss of $0.33 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.32); revenues fell 10.2% year/year to $263 mln vs the $269.5 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of ($0.35) - ($0.29) vs. ($0.22) Thomson Reuters consensus. Co also sees the change in same-store sales of -3% to +2%; Gross margin rate, including buying, distribution and occupancy, of 18% to 20% versus last year's 22%; SG&A expenses in the range of $67 million to $69 million versus last year's $73 million; and minimal income tax expense for the quarter as the Company no longer records income tax benefits against its operating losses.

4:05PM Syneron Medical forms "Syneron Beauty" subsidiary focused on direct to consumer home-use market (ELOS) 13.12 +0.22 : Co announces the formation of a new subsidiary, Syneron Beauty, which will consolidate the Company's consumer businesses, including the development, sales, marketing and distribution for all of Syneron's consumer products, which include the Company's home-use partnership with Procter & Gamble (PG), the Tanda family of home-use light therapy products, the m home-use hair removal system, and the Fluorinex teeth whitening home-use system. Fabian Tenenbaum, previously Syneron Medical Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Syneron Beauty.

4:04PM Online Resources misses by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs above consensus (ORCC) 6.05 -0.19 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.03 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.04; revenues fell 1.0% year/year to $37.8 mln vs the $36.9 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for Q1, sees EPS of (0.02)-(0.01), may not be comparable to $0.06 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q1 revs of $38.2-38.7 mln vs. $37.66 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:04PM rue21 beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS in-line; guides FY12 EPS in-line (RUE) 31.75 +0.23 : Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $0.44 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.43; revenues rose 22.3% year/year to $190.1 mln vs the $187.8 mln consensus. Comparable store sales increased 1.5% on top of an 8.6% increase for the same period in 2009. Gross margin increased to 35.8% from 35.7% in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009. Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.27-0.29 vs. $0.29 Thomson Reuters consensus. 2010. The Company currently expects a low to mid single digit comparable store sales increase in the first quarter of fiscal 2011. Co issues in-line guidance for FY12, sees EPS of $1.40-1.44 vs. $1.42 Thomson Reuters consensus.

4:03PM Chindex announces new hospital expansion projects in Beijing and Tianjin (CHDX) 16.82 -0.42 : Co announces that UFH has initiated two new development projects designed to add more than 125 beds to the hospital network. Tianjin United Family Hospital and United Family Rehabilitation Center in Beijing are the latest new development projects initiated by UFH. When added to the existing expansion projects, including the soon to be completed expansion of the United Family flagship hospital in Beijing and the Guangzhou Hospital in development, the UFH network would more than quadruple its patient capacity over the next three years.

4:02PM Vera Bradley beats by $0.12, beats on revs (VRA) 33.61 -0.25 : Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $0.39 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.12 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.27; revenues rose 28.6% year/year to $109.4 mln vs the $95.9 mln consensus. By segment, Indirect net revenues increased 6% to $53.7 million, and Direct net revenues increased 61% to $55.7 mln, with comparable-store sales increasing 22.1%. For the quarter, gross profit rose 32% to $61.8 mln, and gross margin improved from 55.3% to 56.5%.

4:01PM Enersys purchases battery manufacturing assets in Greece from Ergon Batteries Ltd. (ENS) 34.70 -0.20 : Co announces that it has finalized the acquisition of certain assets from Ergon Batteries Ltd., a Greek registered company based near Athens. Ergon Batteries manufactures, assembles and distributes lead and nickel based batteries, primarily to the Greek motive power and reserve power markets.

4:01PM FedEx board of directors to propose charter amendment to give shareowners right to call special meetings (FDX) 87.79 -0.84 : Co announces the Board of Directors will submit to shareowners a proposal to amend FedEx's certificate of incorporation to allow holders of 20% or more of FedEx's common stock to call a special meeting of shareowners, subject to certain customary conditions. Currently, only the board of directors may call a special meeting.

4:01PM Education Realty Trust purchases two housing communities adjacent to the University of Virginia (EDR) 7.55 -0.04 : Both communities -- Wertland Square and Jefferson Commons -- are currently 100% occupied and 100% pre-leased for the 2011/2012 academic year and were purchased for an aggregate price of $23 million.

4:01PM Progress Energy provides update on crystal river nuclear plant outage (PGN) 45.23 -0.72 : Co has notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Florida Public Service Commission that final retensioning of tendons within the Crystal River Nuclear Plant reactor building has been temporarily suspended while engineers investigate information from monitoring equipment at the repair site. The suspension will delay the planned April restart of the plant.

3:34PM S&P -12.4 reaches secondary resistance zone (SPY) : Noted in the 09:58 update that the S&P had intraday resistances at 1275 and the 1284/1286 zone. The recent upside extension of the recovery has brought this latter area into play (bounce high 1286) with minor slippage seen. Levels of interest above if follow through develops are at the opening price (1288) with congestion at 1290/1291. Support is at 1280.

3:33PM RAM Energy Resources announces new $250 million revolving credit facility and $75 million new term loan facility (RAME) 1.86 -0.06 : SunTrust Robinson Humphrey is the agent for the revolving facility, and Guggenheim Corporate Funding LLC is the agent for the term loan facility. The revolver will initially bear interest at LIBOR plus a margin of 3.25%, which can range between 2.5% to 3.25% depending on the percentage of borrowing base used. Similarly, the term loan portion of the credit facility initially provides for payments of interest only during its five and one-half year term, with the initial interest rate of LIBOR plus 9.0% with a 2% LIBOR floor.

2:47PM Prana Biotech presented new data on PBT434; Evidence of Novel Neuroprotective Mechanisms With Disease Modification Potential (PRAN) 1.45 +0.06 : Research, Assoc. Prof. Robert Cherny, presented new data on PBT434, co's lead compound in pre-clinical development for Parkinson's Disease on March 12th at the 10th International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases in Barcelona. Unlike most other PD drugs on the market or in development today, PBT434 does not artificially manipulate levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine. The presentation included data from three different animal models supporting the disease modification therapeutic strategy of the drug. "What is so exciting about the development of PBT4343 for Parkinson's Disease is that we hope the drug will treat patients from early diagnosis and minimize dependence on dopamine supplementation which becomes difficult to manage and often ineffective as the disease advances."

2:41PM Fred's comments on recent decline in share price; reaffirms guidance and says trends remain consistent (FRED) 12.49 -0.15 : Co said that trends in its business and store operations remain consistent with those expressed in monthly sales releases for January and February. Additionally, next Thursday, March 24, 2011, the Company plans to announce earnings results. Co continues to expect reported earnings to be in line with the guidance issued for the periods on February 2, 2011, which included Q4 EPS of $0.19 to $0.22 vs $0.21 consensus. Therefore, in light of the decline in its share price, co intends to resume share repurchases under its previously announced stock repurchase program.

2:40PM NYMEX Energy Closing Prices (COMDX) : Crude oil settled lower by $4.01 to $97.18, natural gas gained 2.9 cents to close at $3.943, heating oil dropped 11 cents to end at $2.9538 while RBOB gasoline shed 15.53 cents to finish at $2.805 (all April contracts).

2:31PM Relative sector strength on push to minor new bounce highs (TECHX) : Outperforming the S&P in recent trade are: Semi SMH, Transports IYT, Rail, Industrial XLI, Software IGV.

2:26PM Limited/short lived dip after FOMC headlines with indices back at/near afternoon rebound highs -- Dow -154, S&P -16, Nasdaq Comp -37 (SPY) :

2:22PM CBOT Agriculture and Ethanol and ICE Exchange Sugar Closing Prices; corn and soybeans decline the exchange limit, sugar falls 7.7% (COMDX) : May corn finished down 30 cents (or 4.5%) to $6.36, May wheat fell 54.25 (or 7.5%) cents to close at $6.665, May soybeans lost 70 cents (or 5.2%) to close at $12.70, April ethanol closed higher by 0.122 cents at $2.34, while May world sugar futures closed down 2.14 cents (or 7.7%) to 25.65 cents.

2:02PM Public Service unit will seek approval from the New Jersey Board of Utilities for the North Central Reliability Project to upgrade transmission lines and substations (PEG) 30.87 -0.46 :

2:00PM Park Electrochem reports potential significant supply chain issues in Japan (PKE) 28.52 -0.75 : Co reports that a significant amount of the raw materials used to produce its products are sourced from suppliers and manufacturers based in Japan. Due to the difficulty in obtaining meaningful information regarding the conditions in Japan, the Company can not at this time provide more information about the impact of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on its suppliers in Japan. The

1:48PM Windstream's Windstream Hosted Solution announced that Bojangles' Restaurants has significantly expanded its service contract with co (WIN) 12.77 +0.07 : The latest agreement includes additional colocation capacity in the Windstream Hosted Solutions SAS-70 Type II certified data center, as well as managed services to support Bojangles' growth.

1:47PM Xcel Energy announces plan to repower Black Dog Plant (XEL) 23.58 -0.41 : Co announces that it has asked the Minnesota regulators to approve a certificate of need for a project to retire its last two coal-burning units at the Black Dog plant in Burnsville, Minn., and replace them with natural gas-burning units. Units 1 and 2 were converted to natural gas combined-cycle operation in 2002. "We propose to use the existing Black Dog plant site to meet our customers' energy needs in the most cost-effective way possible.. Repowering this plant with state-of-the-art natural gas technology is more economical than any of the alternatives available to us, makes great use of an existing plant site and existing transmission resources.. The project presents a great opportunity to modernize our power supply in a way that takes advantage of Black Dog's unique location and the infrastructure that has developed there over time."

1:32PM COMEX Metals Closing Prices (COMDX) : April gold ended lower by $32.00 to $1392.90, May silver shed $1.723 to close at $34.117, while May copper finished down 4.75 cents to $4.139.

1:27PM Transact Tech announces that it has entered into a 10b5-1 plan for the purchase of up to 150K shares of TransAct common stock under its current repurchase program (TACT) 10.24 +0.04 :

1:21PM Intel back hovering near session low at 20.05, just above support (INTC) 20.07 -0.78 : A support zone is just below between 20.03 and 19.90. This represents the bull breakout point from last Oct and the 50% retracement of the Aug to Feb surge.

1:08PM Arrow Elec's Richardson RFPD and Maxwell Tech announce the expansion of their mutual business agreement to now include distributing ultracapacitors in the European markets (ARW) 38.50 -0.40 :

1:00PM MasterCard issues statement on Debit Interchange Fee Study Act (MA) 243.92 -4.92 : "We are encouraged by the bipartisan support calling for a study and delay of the Durbin Amendment and if passed, the bill will enable Congress to take the necessary time to examine the Amendment and study its potential effects on consumers... We are confident that a study will show that directing the government to fix prices rather than letting the free market system work will result in higher prices for consumers."

12:49PM Crude pulls back from $99 area; now fown $2.68 to $98.51 (COMDX) :

12:41PM Capital Gold: Gammon Gold (GRS) makes firm and final offer to Capital Gold (CGC) 5.19 -0.15 : Gammon proposed to amend its merger agreement with Capital Gold to increase the cash component of the merger consideration to be paid to Capital Gold's stockholders by $0.30 per share to $1.09. If Capital Gold accepts Gammon's proposed amendment and Capital Gold's stockholders approve the merger involving Gammon Gold, Capital Gold's stockholders will receive 0.5209 Gammon shares and $1.09 in cash for each share of Capital Gold common stock that they hold. The original Gammon deal is unanimously supported by Capital Gold's Board of Directors and has separately been endorsed by the two leading independent proxy advisory firms, ISS and Glass Lewis. Commenting on the proposed amendment, Rene Marion, President and CEO of Gammon, stated: "Our proposed increase in the merger consideration is firm and final. The merger with Gammon is the only effective transaction in front of Capital Gold stockholders to be voted on. Timmins' recent proposed offer does nothing in our view to increase the attractiveness of their company or to reduce the considerable risk and timing delay of their proposed hostile transaction. Ultimately, the decision rests with Capital Gold stockholders, combine with Gammon or forego the premium and remain an independent company." About Gammon Gold

12:30PM Aegerion Pharma reports FDA has granted Orphan Drug Designation for Lomitapide for treatment of familial chylomicronemia (AEGR) 15.54 +0.42 : Co announced it has received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Orphan Product Development for its lead drug candidate, lomitapide, for the treatment of familial chylomicronemia (FC). Lomitapide is currently being evaluated in an ongoing pivotal Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), and the Company expects to launch a separate clinical trial to evaluate lomitapide as a treatment for FC in the second half of 2011.

12:28PM Ntelos Holdings enters into amendment repricing its $751 million term loan (NTLS) 17.97 -0.41 : Co announces that the company had entered into an amendment to the Credit Agreement related to its existing $751 million term loan. The amendment provides for a repricing of the Term Loan and will improve the Company's overall cost of borrowing by reducing the applicable interest rate. The new pricing on the first lien term loan was set at LIBOR plus 3.00%, with a LIBOR minimum of 1% and was entered into at par. The previous pricing was LIBOR plus 3.75%, with a LIBOR minimum of 2%. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and UBS Investment Bank are joint lead arrangers for this transaction.

12:14PM Natural gas to fresh highs, as well, at $3.989; now up 7.1 cents to $3.985 (COMDX) :

12:13PM Crude oil to new intraday highs; now down $2.01 to $99.18 (COMDX) :

12:08PM New rebound highs with S&P -18 and Nasdaq Comp -38 cutting the slide off yesterday's late high in half -- Dow -172 (SPY) : Relative sector strength in recent action has been noted in Solar TAN, Copper JJC, Disk Drive, Energy XLE, Oil Service OIH, Computer-Hardware, Internet FDN.

12:07PM Nektar Therapeutics: AstraZeneca (AZN) announced enrollment of the first patient in the Phase III clinical programme for NKTR-118 (NKTR) 9.06 +0.07 : NKTR-118 is part of the exclusive worldwide license agreement announced on September 21, 2009, between AstraZeneca and Nektar Therapeutics.

11:44AM Nasdaq Comp -44 sets new rebound high, Dow -209 has not confirmed the move (SPY) : The S&P -22 has also reached a new bounce high but it has continued to pause near intraday resistance noted in the 09:58 update at 1275.

11:31AM Stock indices flirting with morning rebound highs -- Dow -210, S&P -22, Nasdaq Comp -48 (SPY) :

11:29AM Crude ticks to its best levels of the morning; now off $2.69 to $98.50 (COMDX) :

11:26AM U.S. Energy announces contracting of full time rig for the Zavanna drilling program; announces that it currently has 14 completed wells and 4 wells awaiting completion with Brigham (USEG) 5.18 -0.25 :

11:19AM 3M Patrick D. Campbell announces retirement; David W. Meline named CFO, effective 4/1 (MMM) 88.72 -2.30 :

11:16AM Williams-Sonoma extends strong post earnings/upgrade run near its Feb/52-wk peak at 38.66 -- session high 38.57 (WSM) 38.50 +3.52 :

11:12AM Terremark Worldwide drops $0.20 on spike in volume following VZ news of second DOJ request (TMRK) 18.79 -0.19 :

11:10AM Terremark Worldwide: Verizon (VZ) extends tender offer for shares of Terremark Worldwide after it received from DoJ a second request for information (TMRK) 18.79 -0.17 : The tender offer, for $19.00 per share in cash without interest and less any required withholding taxes, is being made by Verizon Holdings Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon, pursuant to a previously announced Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated Jan. 27, 2011, as amended, by and among Verizon, Verizon Holdings Inc. and Terremark. Verizon also announced that yesterday it received from the U.S. Department of Justice a second request for information under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the "HSR Act"). Verizon will cooperate with the Department of Justice to comply promptly with the second request for information.

11:02AM Zimmer Hldgs lagging on the rebound attempt but has held near its 50 ema at 59.31 this morning -- session low 59.36 (ZMH) 59.54 -1.48 :

11:01AM eBay expands free listings in auction format (EBAY) 30.29 -0.48 : Co announced new pricing that is making it free to list up to 50 items per month in auctions at any start price, and free to add the "Buy it Now" option to those listings. In addition, eBay is reducing Final Value Fee rates for Store and Fixed Price sellers, and will apply the Final Value Fee to the total amount of a sale - including shipping - to encourage sellers to give buyers free and low-cost shipping.

11:00AM Gold trades to its best levels of the morning; now off $23.00 to $1401.90 (COMDX) : Prices have bounced over 20 points off of session lows at $1380.70.

10:54AM Aspen Insurance announces initial loss estimates for Australian Floods, Cyclone Yasi and New Zealand earthquake and comments on the Tohoku Earthquake (AHL) 26.49 -0.36 : The co's initial estimate of losses from the 2011 Australian Brisbane Floods is in the region of $30 mln post tax and net of reinstatement premiums. Co believes that its losses in respect of Cyclone Yasi, the Victoria Floods and the other Queensland floods are not material. The initial estimate of losses from the February 2011 New Zealand Earthquake is in the region of $60 mln post tax and net of reinstatement premiums and applicable reinsurance, in respect of which co has a fully collateralized retrocession cover of $50 mln excess of $50 mln. This initial loss estimate for the February 2011 New Zealand Earthquake is consistent with an industry loss of $12 bln. Co assumed a total loss to all domestic New Zealand placements for this event which is similar to approach adopted on estimated losses from the September 2010 New Zealand earthquake. The post tax loss estimate for the September 2010 New Zealand earthquake remains $47 mln, net of reinstatement premiums. Co did not have any retrocession in force for the September 2010 New Zealand earthquake... Co has initiated its estimation process in connection with expected claims relating to this event but believes it is too early to issue a loss estimate at this time. However, the Company does not have any known exposure to property damage, business interruption or liability for any nuclear incidents arising from the Tohoku Earthquake.

10:51AM Natural gas back to unchanged mark; now off 0.3 cents to $3.911 (COMDX) :

10:46AM Relative Sector Strength (TECHX) : Sectors outperforming the S&P as the indices extend the morning rebound include: Silver SLV, Steel SLX, Materials XLB, Ag/Chem MOO, Networking IGN, Housing XHB, Retail XRT, Casino BJK.

10:42AM Stock indices extend rebound to new highs -- Dow -206 has bounced roughly 90 points, S&P -23, Nasdaq Comp -52 (SPY) : S&P still vacillating within initial resistance range noted in the 09:58 update at 1271/1275 (rebound high 1273). The more important short term barrier is at 1284/1286.

10:27AM Minor new rebound highs for Dow -220 and S&P -25 -- Nasdaq Comp -59 has not yet confirmed the new high (SPY) : Initial intraday resistance noted earlier for the S&P is in the 1271/1275 area.

10:24AM Crude trades back to $98; now down $3.16 to $98.03 (COMDX) :

10:20AM Gold futures extend bounce off of morning lows and are now approaching the $1400 level; currently off $27.00 tp $1397.90 (COMDX) :

10:20AM SPDR Homebuilders strong relative performer off early low, stalls at yesterday's low/gap top at 17.49 -- session high 17.48 (XHB) 17.45 : The next short term level above is at 17.60/17.63 -- LEN, MDC, MTH, PHM, SPF, TOL, RYL, HOV, DHI, KBH, HD, LOW, SHW, MHK.

10:15AM ICO Global Comm and DISH Networks enter into implementation and restructuring support agreements regarding DBSD North America reorganization (ICOG) 1.92 -0.20 : The co has entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement and Implementation Agreement with DISH Network. Pursuant to these agreements, has agreed to support a proposed amended Investment Agreement between DISH and ICO's subsidiary, DBSD North America, has granted to DISH options to acquire certain ICOG assets, and has agreed to grant to DBSD certain spectrum priority rights. These agreements do not diminish or otherwise alter obligations to Jay & Jayendra nor do they affect in any manner ICO's ongoing litigation with Boeing (BA)... Under the terms of the amended Investment Agreement and related plan of reorganization, DISH will offer to purchase all of the outstanding secured debt in DBSD and will agree to pay all outstanding unsecured creditor claims in full. As consideration for ICO's commitments under these agreements, DISH will pay ICOG approximately $324.5 million, with $35 million paid within five days after Bankruptcy Court approval of the amended Investment Agreement, and all but $10 million of the remainder paid approximately thirty days after such approval. If the Bankruptcy Court approves the amended Investment Agreement between DBSD and DISH, ICOG will enter into a tax matters agreement with DISH that defines various tax related obligations and commitments. The tax matters agreement will not have any significant impact on ICO's existing or future net operating losses. In addition, if DBSD emerges from bankruptcy pursuant to the terms of the related plan of reorganization, ICOG will facilitate DBSD's transition from bankruptcy by entering into a license and radio spectrum coordination agreement with DBSD and a transition services agreement with DBSD.

10:12AM MEMC Elec update following Japan earthquake: employees were safely evacuated; operations at the facility remain suspended; co expects that shipments from this facility will be delayed over the near term (WFR) 12.98 -0.39 :

10:12AM Seeing some relative sector strength in Housing XHB, REITs IYR, Energy XLE, Retail XRT, Rail, Airline FAA, Oil Service OIH (TECHX) :

10:07AM Repros Therapeutics reports results from completed 1 mg dose cohort in low dose Proellex study; statistically significant signals of efficacy observed in 1 mg dose (RPRX) 5.69 -0.47 : Co has completed its internal review of the results obtained for the 1 mg dose from its low dose study of Proellex. No signals of liver toxicity or drug related adverse events were detected over the 10 week dosing period. Twelve women were enrolled in the study and 11 women completed the trial. The one woman that discontinued left the study because she was not able to visit the clinical site weekly, as prescribed by the protocol. Large Phase III clinical studies exhibited severe liver toxicity in a small percentage of subjects that were exposed to the 50 mg dose. As a result of these observations, the program was placed on full clinical hold until the phenomenon could be better understood. After an analysis of all the subjects that had been exposed to Proellex, Repros petitioned the FDA to allow the Company to conduct a low dose trial to assess impact on the liver and signals of efficacy. In the summer of 2010 the FDA moved Proellex to partial hold status to allow for the low dose study.

10:06AM Dentsply resumes trading (XRAY) 34.80 -2.38 : See our 9:36 comment for co's Japan impact.

10:04AM Energy Select Sector stabilized near last week's low and its Mid-Feb trough at 73.03/72.85 -- session low 72.90 (XLE) 73.49 -2.03 : Currently the XLE is attempting to reclaim its 50 day ema/sma at 73.45/73.50 -- CVX, COP, DVN, XOM, HAL, MRO, OXY, SLB, RIG, APA, APC, BHI.

10:00AM Travelzoo reports Asia Pacific surpasses 3 mln subscribers (TZOO) 44.79 -0.22 : Travelzoo Asia Pacific, a licensee of Travelzoo Inc, announces that it has surpassed more than three million subscribers to its p 20 publications in the Asia Pacific region. This represents an increase of close to 1 million subscribers or 50% over that of last year.

10:00AM Comtech Telecom wins $1.2 million order for high-power Ka-band amplifiers for satellite communication terminals (CMTL) 25.57 -0.52 : Co announced that its subsidiary, Comtech Xicom Technology, received a $1.2 million order for high linearity, Ka-band power amplifiers for high-capacity fly-away satellite communication (SATCOM) terminals for the U.S. Military. The market demand for these amplifiers is driven by the continuing deployment of the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite system.

9:59AM Capital Gold: Timmins Gold increases offer for Capital Gold by adding $0.25 cash per share (CGC) 5.11 -0.23 : Timmins Gold announced that it has delivered an increased offer to the Capital Gold Board of Directors for the merger of Timmins Gold and Capital Gold. Under the increased offer, Capital Gold shareholders will now receive 2.27 Timmins Gold common shares and US$0.25 in cash for each share of Capital Gold common stock. The increased offer provides Capital Gold shareholders with total consideration of US$5.89 per Capital Gold share and exceeds the value of the Gammon offer by US$0.47 (or 8.7%) per Capital Gold share, based on closing prices on March 14, 2011.

9:58AM Apricus Biosciences announces formation of clinical advisory board as part of its plans to further the clinical development of Femprox (APRI) 4.24 -0.27 : Co announced the formation of a Male and Female Sexual Dysfunction Clinical Advisory Board a first step to further the development of its product Femprox, for female sexual arousal disorder. It is estimated that there are ~50 million potential sufferers in the U.S. alone (Fitzheny and Sandberg 2005), and that the market value in the U.S. could exceed $4 billion, with only 15% of patients captured on therapy.

9:58AM S&P lifts off Jan lows/flat line for the year at 1262/1257 (SPY) : Noted the run to this zone in the 09:37 update with a modest rebound noted thereafter. Intraday resistance is in the 1271/1275 area (chart points/38% retrace off yesterday's afternoon high) with a more important area at 1284/1286. Short term supports below are at 1246/1244 and 1240/1238.

9:57AM Denison Mining announce that it has closed its previously announced 'bought deal' financing; co has sold to a syndicate of underwriters 18.3 million common shares at CDN$3.55 per common share to raise gross proceeds of CDN$64,965,000 (DNN) 2.28 -0.29 :

9:48AM Maiden Holdings announces that it anticipates minimal, if any, losses related to recent industry events including the Australia floods, New Zealand earthquake, and the earthquake/tsunami in Japan (MHLD) 7.22 -0.11 :

9:46AM Life Partners Holdings Chairman warns shareholders to be cautious in dealing with short-sellers (LPHI) 7.26 -0.16 :

9:42AM Relative strength again in Solar -- FSLR, JKS, SPWRA, YGE, TSL, CSIQ, LDK, STP, SOL, JASO (TECHX) :

9:40AM Nasdaq Comp now negative for the year, flirts with the Mid-Dec range lows near 2617/2613 and edges up modestly -- session low 2618 (QQQQ) : The index closed 2010 at 2652.

9:38AM Harman confirms that its operations were not damaged by the earthquake or tsunami (HAR) 46.19 -1.77 : HARMAN is prepared to continue normal business operations as utility and infrastructure repairs are completed in surrounding areas.

9:37AM VIX Volatility Index spikes 20% on today's selloff, now +4.37 at 25.50 (VXX) 36.44 +3.12 :

9:37AM S&P 500 extends opening decline back toward its Jan lows and unchanged for the year at 1262/1257 -- session low 1261 (SPY) :

9:36AM Dentsply comments on impact of Japan; withdrawing previously issued earnings guidance for 2011 (XRAY) 37.18 -0.22 : Co reported that all of its Japan-based associates are safe following the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami near Japan's northeastern coast of Honshu. DENTSPLY's primary facilities located in Tokyo and Nasu were not in the immediate area of devastation, and did not sustain substantial damage. DENTSPLY has several key suppliers in Japan, including two that are located in the affected region. The Company has been informed that the employees of these suppliers appear to be safe, and that their facilities did not sustain any serious damage. One such key supplier, which is the source of product comprising ~9% of the consolidated net sales in 2010, is located in an evacuation zone. As such, it is not clear when production will resume and product supply will be available from this supplier's facility. Bret W. Wise, DENTSPLY's Chairman and CEO, states, "Our DENTSPLY associates' safety remains our utmost priority. We are currently assessing the impact that this natural disaster will have on our business and working diligently to minimize any disruption to our employees, customers and business partners. While our global business has started the year strong and we remain on track to meet our targets for 2011, the negative impact of the situation in Japan is difficult to quantify at this early stage. As such we are withdrawing our previously issued earnings guidance for 2011 until more information is available. On behalf of the entire Company, I would like to express our deepest condolences to all Japanese citizens as they manage through this tragic event." DENTSPLY is preparing a donation through the International Red Cross to help the Japanese people in this time of distress. (stock is halted)

9:35AM Vringo announces the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued it a patent covering a method for installing personalized software applications (VRNG) 1.78 0.00 :

9:33AM GrafTech Intl announces resignation of Mark R. Widmar, acting CFO, to pursue another career opportunity (GTI) 19.72 -0.76 : Co had already begun a search for a new CFO. Shular, who was GrafTech's CFO prior to becoming CEO, will be acting CFO in the interim.

9:32AM Atlantic American regains compliance with the audit committee composition requirements of the Nasdaq Listing Rules (AAME) 2.11 0.00 :

9:31AM China Green Agriculture receives China Humic Acid Industry Association recommendation for co's humic acid fertilizer products as model anti-drought products (CGA) 7.69 :

9:31AM Ceragon aligns organizational structure following the acquisition of Nera Networks in January 2011 (CRNT) 10.55 -0.49 : Co will reduce its workforce by approximately 200 full-time positions, which will enable the company to achieve its target level of operating expense in the combined business.

9:31AM Merit Medical announces that it has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its ASAP thrombus aspiration catheter (MMSI) 17.35 -0.57 :

9:23AM Rock-Tenn announces a $40 per ton price increase on Classic NewsTM, AngelCote and MillMask coated recycled paperboard products; increases are effective with shipments on April 14 (RKT) 65.45 :

9:20AM Dentsply halted, news pending (XRAY) 37.18 :

9:19AM Dynegy announces extension of advance notice period for director nominations to March 28, 2011 (DYN) 5.44 :

9:10AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* CPI Aerostructures (CVU) announced that it has received a purchase order from Bell Helicopter, a Textron (TXT) company, for the manufacture of various structural panel assemblies for the AH-1Z ZULU attack helicopter.
* Quad/Graphics (QUAD) announced that it will cease production at its Mt. Morris, IL, facility this May as part of its ongoing plan to integrate operations following acquisition of Worldcolor.
* The GEO Group (GEO) announced that its wholly owned U.K. subsidiary, GEO UK, has been selected as the preferred bidder by the United Kingdom Border Agency for the management and operation of the 217-bed Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre located near Glasgow, Scotland. The contract for the management and operation of the existing Centre will have a term of five years effective September 25, 2011 and is expected to generate ~$7.7 million in annual revenues for GEO.
* CA Technologies (CA) and Unisys Corporation (UIS) announced that they have extended their alliance to offer joint solutions that accelerate customers' path from virtualization to the cloud.
* Harris (HRS) has received a $6.1 mln order to supply Falcon II AN/VRC-103 multiband, multimission vehicular radio systems to the U.S. Department of Defense for use in Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicles.
* Ameresco (AMRC) announced that it has entered into an energy savings performance contract with Shenandoah County Public Schools. shop. The $7.3 mln project is expected to provide annual energy savings of $480,000 over a 16-year term.
* Orbitz for Business, the corporate travel group of Orbitz Worldwide (OWW), announced a new partnership with SilverRail Technologies, the leader in online search and booking solutions specializing in passenger rail transportation. The technology partnership enables Orbitz for Business customers to seamlessly plan and book rail travel through the Orbitz for Business tool and makes Orbitz for Business the first major online travel company to announce integrated, online rail capabilities for U.S. business travelers.
* Converted Organics (COIN) was granted an expansion of an additional 62 stores in New Jersey from its national retail customer. Converted Organics All Natural Lawn & Turf Fertilizer will now be sold at a total of 152 major home improvement retail outlets throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Long Island and New Jersey.

9:05AM CoreLogic acquires Dorado Network Systems in a $32 mln all-cash transaction (CLGX) 17.42 : Co announces that it completed its acquisition of Dorado Network Systems Corporation in a $32 million all-cash transaction. Dorado is a recognized leader in collaborative cloud computing applications and architecture to the financial services industry. CoreLogic previously held a 38% equity interest in Dorado.

9:02AM Zhone Technologies announces that it has renewed its credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank; facility provides working capital financing of up to $25.0 mln to support borrowings and letters of credit (ZHNE) 2.35 :

9:01AM Seattle Genetics and Millennium expand antibody-drug conjugate collaboration (SGEN) 14.60 : Co announces that Millennium, a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical has paid an undisclosed fee to exercise an option to designate a second antigen target under the parties' existing antibody-drug conjugate collaboration. Millennium is responsible for research, product development, manufacturing and commercialization of any ADC products resulting from the collaboration. Co is entitled to receive progress-dependent milestone payments and mid-single digit royalties from Millennium on worldwide net sales of any resulting ADC products.

9:01AM Nucor sees Q1 EPS of $0.30-0.35 vs $0.35 Thomson Reuters consensus (NUE) 46.85 : Co sees Q1 EPS of $0.30-0.35 vs $0.35 Thomson Reuters consensus. Projected Q1 results include an estimated LIFO charge of $31 million ($0.06 per diluted share) compared to charges of $24 million in the first quarter of 2010 ($0.05 per diluted share) and $23 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 ($0.04 per diluted share). "As we expected, our profitability has improved each month from the beginning of the quarter to the end of the quarter, as utilization rates increased and as price increases for steel mill products caught up with higher raw material costs. We expect this trend to continue through the second quarter. We continue to believe that end markets are experiencing some real demand improvement; however, some of the improvement is due to steel buyers reacting to increasing steel prices. Improvement in real demand is most evident in products sold to the manufacturing/industrial sector, including special bar quality products, sheet and plate. The most challenging markets for our products continue to be those associated with residential and non-residential construction. While the market for long products continues to be hampered by weak construction markets and some import pressure, particularly in reinforcing bar, we have experienced some demand improvement due to restocking. Nucor and affiliates are manufacturers of steel products, with operating." Briefing.com note: NUE's guidance is not to the downside for the first time since 2Q09 (co guided below expectations for the last 6 consecutive quarters).

8:42AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Cardo is implementing offerings from Ariba (ARBA) to create and enforce an efficient procurement process through which it can not only find opportunities for savings, but convert them to hard-dollar results.
* Trinity Industries (TRN) announced that its subsidiary, Trinity Rail Group, has entered into a supply agreement with GATX Corporation to deliver 12,500 railcars over a five-year period that will include both tank and freight car selections.
* GATX Corporation (GMT) announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase 12,500 newly built railcars that are expected to deliver ratably over a five-year period.
* SPS Commerce (SPSC) and Appolis announced that they have partnered to provide suppliers in the food and beverage, consumer goods and discrete manufacturing a streamlined solution for their warehouse operations.
* VirnetX Holding (VHC) announced that it has submitted a Statement of Patent Holder with the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Standards and European Telecommunications Standards Institute.
* Willis Lease Finance (WLFC) announced it has signed an agreement with BAE Systems Asset Management, whereby BAE Systems will provide certain aircraft acquisition and trading services to Willis Lease covering pre-owned commercial aircraft.

8:40AM Natural gas has now given back all of its earlier gains to trade into negative territory; currently off 2.6 cents to $3.888 (COMDX) :

8:37AM Alliant Energy's subsidiary, IPL, to redeem all of the 1.6 mln outstanding shares of its 7.10% Series C Cumulative Preferred Stock (LNT) 39.21 : Co announces that it issued today a notice of redemption for all of the 1.6 mln outstanding shares of IPL's 7.10% Series C Cumulative Preferred Stock. The redemption will be effective on April 29, 2011. The redemption price will be $25.221875 per share, which is equal to $25.00 plus accrued and unpaid dividends.

8:37AM Cynosure receives international marketing clearances for new cellulite, laser lipolysis products (CYNO) 12.96 : Co announces that two of its newest workstations for laser-assisted lipolysis and non-invasive cellulite reduction have received key international regulatory clearances. Health Canada has issued a Medical Device License authorizing the sale in Canada of the company's SmoothShapes XV system for the temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite. Overseas, the Korea Food and Drug Administration has granted marketing approval to Cynosure's Smartlipo Triplex, the company's minimally invasive technology for fat removal and skin tightening.

8:34AM China HGS receives RMB500 mln (~$76.3 mln) revolving credit facility (HGSH) 2.79 : Co announces that the Company's wholly owned operating subsidiary, Shaanxi Guangsha Investment and Development Group Co., Ltd. entered into a new revolving credit facility totaling approximately RMB 500 million (approximately $76.3 million) with the Hanzhong Branch of China Construction Bank on March 4, 2011.

8:34AM CPEX Pharmaceuticals confirms that it has received an unsolicited, non-binding letter from Mangrove Partners regarding a potential alternative transaction involving a recapitalization of CPEX (CPEX) 28.00 : Co confirms that it has received an unsolicited, non-binding letter from Mangrove Partners regarding a potential alternative transaction involving a recapitalization of CPEX. CPEX has also said that its Board of Directors will review the terms of the Mangrove Letter as soon as practicable in a manner consistent with its duties and the merger agreement with F.C.B I Holdings. The Mangrove Letter requires no action by CPEX stockholders at this time. Until the Board's review is complete, CPEX does not intend to comment further on the Mangrove Letter. As announced on January 4, 2011, CPEX has entered into a definitive agreement with F.C.B under which F.C.B will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of CPEX for $27.25 per share in cash. CPEX is scheduled to hold a special meeting of stockholders on March 24, 2011 to vote on the F.C.B merger agreement.

8:33AM IntercontinentalExchange has extended the duration of its agreement, by 3 yrs, to exclusively offer futures and options contracts based US stock indexes (ICE) 124.80 : Co announces it has extended the duration of its agreement to exclusively offer futures and options contracts based on US stock indexes including the Russell 2000 Index and Russell 1000 Index, as well as expanded the agreement to cover the exclusive listing of futures and options on Russell's international indexes. The agreement has been extended by three years and now runs through June 2017. As a result of the agreement, ICE has updated its financial guidance for depreciation and amortization expense and for interest expense. For 2011, ICE expects depreciation and amortization expense in the range of $126 million to $132 million, with the majority of the expense reduction being realized after the first quarter of 2011. ICE also expects interest expense in the range of $7 million to $9 million per quarter for 2011, with quarterly interest expense trending down throughout the year.

8:33AM AdCare Health Systems signs agreement for five skilled nursing facilities in Arkansas and Missouri; transaction expected to increase co's annualized revenue run-rate by more than $25 mln (ADK) 4.20 : Co announces it has signed a definitive agreement with a private seller for the asset purchase of four skilled nursing facilities in Arkansas and the acquisition of a 10-year lease for one skilled nursing facility in Missouri for an aggregate consideration of $20 mln. The five facilities have 506 beds in total, which generated revenues of more than $25 mln in 2010. The transaction is anticipated to be immediately accretive to co's earnings. Co plans to finance the transaction through a combination of traditional bank financing and loan guarantees by the USDA.

8:32AM Gold drops another ~10 points, silver another ~20 cents, to fresh low (COMDX) :

* Gold now off $42.10 to $1382.80.
* Silver down $2.18 to $33.66.

8:28AM New lows for gold and silver (COMDX) :

* Gold now lower by $33.40 to $1391.50.
* Silver down $1.99 to $33.85

8:26AM Houston Wire & Cable beats by $0.04, beats on revs (HWCC) 11.81 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.16 per share, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.12; revenues rose 47.2% year/year to $93.5 mln vs the $84.9 mln consensus. "Momentum appears to be building for 2011, as the rate of growth in our booked orders in the fourth quarter was greater than our sales. Integration of the two acquired companies is going well and we are on schedule... Gross margins continue improving and we continue gaining market share with the addition of new customers. Project business was good in the fourth quarter and the outlook remains solid."

8:25AM Broadwind Energy announces that it was selected by Goldwind USA to supply ~70 wind turbine towers for the Shady Oaks project (BWEN) 1.25 :

8:15AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* CACI International (CACI) announced that it has been selected as one of 46 prime contractors to provide IT support on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Information Technology Supplies and Support Services contract. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract is for one base year and seven option years and has a ceiling value of $30 billion.
* Accenture (ACN) has been awarded a two year IT services contract by Israel Electric Corporation, Israel's monopoly power supplier.
* MoneyGram International (MGI) announced an expanded agreement with Societe Generale. Via the agreement, Societe Generale will offer its international retail banking network of 3,800 branches in 37 countries the opportunity to provide MoneyGram money transfer services to customers.
* Professional services firm LECG Corporation (XPRT) announced that it expects to sell its European economics consulting, forensic accounting and tax practice groups to FTI Consulting (FCN).
* Mannatech (MTEX) announced it will expand its European presence by opening business operations in the Republic of Ireland, Finland, Estonia and the Czech Republic in the summer of 2011.
* IAC (IACI) announced that Michael Eisner has been elected to the co's Board of Directors, effective March 10, 2011.
* Optimer Pharmaceuticals (OPTR) announced that the USPTO has issued U.S. Patent which covers methods of Clostridium difficile infection treatment with fidaxomicin.

8:13AM Ferrellgas Partners prices an offering of 4.4 mln common units representing limited partner interests at a public offering price of $26.27 per unit (FGP) 27.16 :

8:07AM Northrop Grumman Board approves spin-off of Huntington Ingalls Industries (NOC) 66.32 : Co announces that its board of directors has approved the spin-off of its wholly owned subsidiary, Huntington Ingalls Industries to co's stockholders. Stockholders of record will receive one share of HII for every six shares of NOC common stock they hold. The distribution of HII shares will be made in book entry form and no action or payment by NOC stockholders is required to receive HII shares. No physical share certificates of HII will be issued.

8:05AM Becton Dickinson issues statement regarding impact of Japan Earthquake; manufacturing plant and distribution center in Fukushima are temporarily closed (BDX) 77.67 : The co has operations in Japan led by its Nippon Becton Dickinson headquarters office in Tokyo, and a manufacturing facility and distribution center in Fukushima prefecture. Co confirmed that all of its employees in Japan are safe and that its office in Tokyo is undamaged and functional. The manufacturing plant and distribution center in Fukushima are temporarily closed while the Company assesses damage, which does not appear to be extensive. Co is also in the process of evaluating access to utilities and transportation, which have been impacted throughout Japan due to the earthquake and tsunami. BD sources certain component parts and finished products from third-party suppliers in Japan, and currently believes that inventories of these items will be sufficient to meet global demand until supply chain interruptions are resolved. Revenues in Japan represented ~5% of fiscal year 2010 revenues. Revenues from products manufactured in Japan (Prefillable Syringes and prepared plated media) represented ~1% of fiscal year 2010 revenues. Co is actively engaged with many disaster relief organizations in supporting the humanitarian aid effort.

8:05AM Diana Containerships announces direct continuation of time charter agreement for m/v Sagitta with AP Moller-Maersk; employment is anticipated to generate ~$14.5 mln of gross revs (DCIX) 12.45 : Co announces that it has entered into a time charter contract with AP Moller-Maersk for one of its container vessels, the m/v Sagitta, for a period of minimum 22-25 months at a gross daily rate of $22,000, minus 2.25% commission paid to third parties. The charterer has the option to employ the vessel for a further 11-13 month period at a gross daily rate of $30,000. This employment is anticipated to generate ~$14.5 mln of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the charter. If the charterer exercises its optional period, the charter is expected to generate an additional $11 mln of gross revenue.

8:04AM Sunpower comments on impact to business operations in Japan (SPWRA) 14.65 : Following recent events in Japan, SunPower has communicated with its Japanese suppliers in the affected regions. At this time, the suppliers have indicated that, while certain operations are currently disrupted due to infrastructure issues, they have not sustained major damage to their facilities. Polysilicon from SunPower's Japanese suppliers will account for less than 10 percent of the company's total polysilicon supply for the second quarter of 2011, and SunPower would seek to replace any polysilicon from alternate sources to the extent events in Japan warrant such action. As a result, the company does not expect any change in its 2011 production guidance as a result of this event.

8:04AM Alnylam Pharma reaches settlement in litigation regarding Tuschl patents (ALNY) 10.14 : Co announces the signing of a global settlement agreement among Alnylam, Max Planck Society, the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and the University of Massachusetts resolving their ongoing litigation regarding the Tuschl patents. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, formerly a party to the litigation, has also agreed to the terms of the settlement. As part of the settlement agreement, Max Planck, Whitehead, UMass, and MIT have agreed that future prosecution of the Tuschl I and Tuschl II patent families in the United States should be coordinated and led by a single party. Max Planck will assume that role, in addition to their ongoing leadership in the continued prosecution of the Tuschl II patent family outside the United States. UMass will lead future prosecution of the Tuschl I patent family outside the United States. Further, Alnylam has granted UMass the right to sublicense the U.S. Tuschl II patent family to Merck, subject to certain Alnylam third-party obligations and other limitations, in exchange for a share of certain future sublicense income.

8:03AM SandRidge Energy provides results for its cash tender offer and related consent solicitation for its 8.625% Senior Notes due 2015 (SD) 10.49 : Co announces it has received tenders and consents from holders of ~94.5% of the aggregate principal amount of its 8.625% Senior Notes due 2015, representing $614,224,000 of the Notes.

8:02AM Chipmos Technology: ThaiLin elects to convert notes into common shares (IMOS) 8.22 : Co announced that ThaiLin Semiconductor, a 42.9%-owned subsidiary of the Company's majority owned subsidiary, ChipMOS Taiwan, has elected to convert an aggregate of US$19 million in principal amount of the Company's 10% and 8% Senior Convertible Bonds due 2014 into an aggregate of approximately 4.5 million common shares of ChipMOS after giving effect to the Company's 4 to 1 reverse stock split, at the adjusted conversion prices of US$6.0 per share and US$5.0 per share, respectively.

8:02AM Progenics Pharm reports EPS in-line, misses on revs (PGNX) 5.74 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.57 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.57); revenues fell 87.2% year/year to $2.2 mln vs the $2.3 mln consensus. Decrease in revs reflecting a decrease in reimbursement revenue from Wyeth, now a Pfizer (PFE) subsidiary, resulting from the transition of the Progenics-Wyeth collaboration for RELISTOR, Progenics' drug approved for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation in advanced-illness patients. For the full year 2010, Progenics reported revenues of $8.0 million, compared to $48.9 million for 2009, as a result of both decreased 2010 reimbursement revenue and the 2009 recognition of a $15.0 million upfront payment from Ono Pharmaceutical, Progenics' collaborator for subcutaneous RELISTOR in Japan.

8:01AM Longtop Financial agrees to acquire FNDSoft, a provider of core insurance solutions for property Insurance companies in China; no terms disclosed (LFT) 29.63 :

8:01AM ShengdaTech announces formation of special committee to explain discrepancies and unexplained issues in financial records identified by auditors (SDTH) 3.55 : Co announces that it had appointed a special committee of the Board of Directors to investigate potentially serious discrepancies and unexplained issues relating to the co and its subsidiaries' financial records identified by the Company's auditors in the course of their audit of the consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010.

7:53AM Natural gas, one of the very few advancing commodities this morning, pulls back toward flat line; now up 1.4 cents to $3.928 (COMDX) :

7:53AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Jacobs Engineering Group (JEC) announced that it has received an award from the Jubail Chemical Industrial Company Ltd to provide technical and project management services for its existing epichlorohydrin plant expansion and a new epichlorohydrin plant at the Jubail, Saudi Arabia site.
* Jcobs Engineering (JEC) announced that it was awarded a contract by the United States Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command to support the Program Manager Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle program. Officials estimate the contract value at up to $63 mln over three years, inclusive of options.
* PDI (PDII) announced the signing of an exclusive strategic partnership with Qforma. Through this agreement, PDI will gain access for its pharmaceutical and biotech customers to the most sophisticated modeling tools available in the industry.

7:45AM Gold, silver drop to fresh lows (COMDX) :

* April gold now down $21.90 to $1403.90.
* Silver now off $1.305 to $34.535.

7:44AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Zix Corporation (ZIXI) announced that Manchester Memorial Hospital, an acute community hospital within the Eastern Connecticut Health Network, has finalized a three-year contract renewal for ZixCorp Email Encryption Services.
* Cabot China, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cabot (CBT), has entered into a joint venture with Risun Chemicals. Additionally, Cabot and Risun will invest ~$100 mln to construct a state-of-the-art carbon black manufacturing facility in Xingtai City.
* Cameron (CAM) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Petrobras (PZE), confirming CAM's intent to enhance its research and development efforts in Brazil through a $30 mln investment in R&D facilities at two locations.

7:33AM Intl Flavors issues upside Q1 EPS consensus; expects to achieve long-term financial goals of 4-6% local currency sales growth, 7-9% operating profit growth and 10%+ EPS growth (IFF) 57.99 : Management will also comment that the first quarter of 2011 has started strong. EPS is expected to grow in excess of 10% as the combination of strong sales growth and continued cost discipline is expected to drive results. (This calculates to a Q1 EPS guidance of $0.935 vs $0.910 Thomson Reuters consensus.) For the full year of 2011, the Company is expected to reiterate its belief that operating profit margin should approach their previous long-term stated goal of 18%.

7:31AM Alliance Data provides private label performance update for February 2011; average receivables down 4% YoY (ADS) 78.12 : Co provides metrics for the overall total managed portfolio. For Feb, 2011, co reports Average receivables of $4,932,052, down 4% YoY; Net charge-offs $31,981 which is 7.8% of revenue. Co reports Delinquency rate of 5.4%.

7:23AM Evergreen Energy's Executive Chairman issues open letter to shareholders (EEE) 3.25 : "I would like to take this opportunity to provide you with an update on Evergreen Energy's current status and progress on our strategic objectives... Our testing capacity will slowly and carefully increase in the coming months, and we will also expand our specialist staff on site. I am pleased to report that a number of K-Fuel tests have been completed successfully. There are currently a number of coal companies that are in various stages of advancing testing arrangements, and short-term priority will be given to coal sourced by WPG Resources... We anticipate a London based business development team to be in place a little later in the year. As we move forward with our strategic growth initiatives, we will evaluate opportunities to list Evergreen Energy's securities on additional or alternate exchanges..."

7:14AM FactSet beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line (FDS) 102.16 : Reports Q2 (Feb) earnings of $0.89 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.87; revenues rose 12.9% year/year to $177.6 mln vs the $177 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.90-0.92 vs. $0.90 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $181-184 mln vs. $181.12 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. The 2011 guidance for capital expenditures, net of landlord contributions remains at $22-28 mln. The projected recurring annual effective tax rate is 31.0%.

7:13AM Kid Brands terminates 2 Senior Managers of Subsidiary due to apparent customs violations; expects 1Q11 adjusted earnings to be substantially below what they were for 1Q10 (KID) 9.24 : Co announces it has replaced its President and Managing Director of operations of its LaJobi unit. The Board's investigation has found instances at LaJobi in which incorrect import duties were applied on certain wooden furniture imported from vendors in China, resulting in a violation of anti-dumping regulations. As a result, co issues updated guidance. The co currently estimates that it will incur costs of ~$7 mln relating to customs duty owed and may be assessed a penalty of up to 1x customs duty by U.S. Customs as well as possibly being subject to assessment for additional duties on other items. Co expects 2010 net sales to exceed its previously disclosed outlook of $267 mln vs $273.6 mln Thomson Reuters consensus, amounts owed to U.S. Customs and other costs and expenses relating to the investigation will adversely impact the co's reported income. For fiscal 2011, the co currently estimates that it will achieve approximately mid-single digit net sales growth year-over-year, although sales for the first quarter of 2011 are expected to decline as compared to the similar period in 2010 ($61.5 mln) and substantially all such estimated growth in 2011 is anticipated to occur in the second half of the year. The co is experiencing cost pressures relating primarily to costs of raw materials, third-party manufacturing labor, and freight, which the co is seeking to mitigate through vendor negotiations, product reengineering, new product introductions and select pricing actions. While the co estimates that it will show slight profitability for Q1 2011 adjusted earnings ($0.19 Thomson Reuters consensus), it expects such adjusted earnings will be substantially below what they were for Q1 2010.

7:10AM Williams-Sonoma beats by $0.10, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS, revs in-line; guides Q2 (Jul) EPS, revs in-line; guides FY12 EPS above consensus, revs in-line (WSM) 34.98 : Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $1.08 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.98; revenues rose 9.6% year/year to $1.2 bln vs the $1.19 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.26-0.28, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.27 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q1 revs of $745-765 mln vs. $748.95 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2 (Jul), sees EPS of $0.33-0.36, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.36 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 (Jul) revs of $805-825 mln vs. $811.25 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues guidance for FY12, sees EPS of $2.11-2.19, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.09 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY12 revs of $3.635-3.720 bln vs. $3.65 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co also guides Q3 EPS and rev, Q4 rev in-line, Q4 (FY12) EPS above consensus.

7:04AM DepoMed licenses Acuform Technology and Glumetza data to Boehringer Ingelheim (DEPO) 8.80 : Under the terms of the agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim is responsible for development and commercialization of the product(s). Depomed will receive a $12.5 million license fee, $10 million of which is payable upfront, with an additional $2.5 million payable upon delivery of experimental batches of prototype formulations. Depomed is also eligible to receive additional milestone payments based on regulatory filing and approval events, and royalties on worldwide net sales of product(s). Further details of the agreement were not disclosed.

7:04AM Wesco acquires RECO; acquisition expected to be immediately accretive to earnings (WCC) 59.46 : Co announces that it has acquired the business of RECO, LLC, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. RECO, with annual sales of ~$25 million, is a Siemens automation, controls and electrical distributor, with six branches located in the midwest and southeastern regions of the United States.

7:02AM DSW misses by $0.03, beats on revs; guides FY12 EPS in-line (DSW) 41.21 : Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $0.41 per share, $0.03 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.44; revenues rose 16.4% year/year to $468.5 mln vs the $445 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY12, sees EPS of $2.60-2.75 vs. $2.70 Thomson Reuters consensus. The Company estimates an annual comparable store sales increase of 3% to 5%.

7:01AM CB&I announces Kearl oil sands contract; value of co's work scope is in excess of $900 million, (CBI) 36.10 : Co announces that it has been awarded a contract by Imperial Oil Resources for engineering, procurement and construction work on the Kearl oil sands project in Alberta, Canada. The value of CB&I's work scope is in excess of $900 million, which includes $500 million of incremental work releases booked prior to 2011. CB&I will be responsible for the EPC execution of the bitumen extraction plant and tank farms, as well as the design, supply and construction of additional storage vessels, all of which are expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2012.

7:00AM Williams-Sonoma increases quarterly dividend 13% to $0.17 from $0.15 per share (WSM) 34.98 :

6:42AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Level 3 Communications (LVLT) announced that it has enabled two national intercity rings in southern Europe designed to provide increased connectivity and scalability of services in France and Spain.
* The Independent Directors of Ameron International (AMN) released a statement urging stockholders to reject Barington Capital in its opportunistic effort to place James Mitarotonda on the Ameron Board.
* Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) has signed an agreement with OncoSec Medical providing for the sale to OncoSec of certain non-DNA vaccine technology and intellectual property relating to electroporation technology useful for electrochemical and cytokine based immune therapies for treating solid tumors. OncoSec will pay INO an undisclosed purchase price for the assigned assets and cash fees and a royalty on commercial product sales.
* GLG Life Tech (GLGL) announced a progress update on its China joint venture AN0C. The co selected the Hon Chuan Group as its OEM partner for its bottling and servicing needs for AN0CTM beverage products. Hon Chuan will provide additional anticipated bottling capacity to that already provided through China and Healthy Foods Company at its Xioagang facility.
* CME Clearing Europe, a wholly-owned London-based subsidiary of CME Group (CME), announced that it will begin clearing more than 150 over the counter energy and commodity derivative products beginning Friday, 6 May.
* Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR) announced it has substantially enhanced the fixed income and financing functionality of its leading multi-asset trade processing and settlement solution, Gloss.
* JDA Software Group (JDAS) announced that X5 Retail Group NV has selected the co's category management solutions to increase merchandising effectiveness and revenues across more than 3,000 company-owned store and franchisee locations.

6:33AM On The Wires (WIRES) :

* Ormat Technologies (ORA) announced that it signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with NV Energy to purchase 30 MW of clean, renewable energy generated from the Dixie Meadows geothermal project.
* Time Warner Cable (TWC) announced the launch of the TWCable TV app for the Apple (AAPL) iPad, allowing video customers to stream live linear television to the device at no additional charge.
* Equinix (EQIX) announced that it is constructing a fourth International Business Exchange data center in the Paris metropolitan area.
* Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (RBA) will conduct a multimillion dollar unreserved public auction at the Company's auction site in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 24 - 25, 2011.
* Rainmaker Systems (RMKR) announced it has signed a three-year agreement for customer education sales with a new client, Infoblox.

6:09AM Illumina prices $800 mlnConvertible Senior Notes; authorizes to repurchase up to $425 mln in Common Stock (ILMN) 64.27 : Co announces the pricing of $800 mln principal amount of 0.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016. Co intends to use up to $425 mln of the net proceeds from this offering to purchase shares of its common stock in privately negotiated transactions concurrently with this offering. The co also intends to use between ~$260-390 mln of the net proceeds of the offering to fund conversions of its currently outstanding convertible notes. Co intends to use the balance of the net proceeds for other general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions and additional purchases of its common stock.

6:06AM ShangPharma beats by $0.10, reports revs in-line; guides FY11 revs below consensus (SHP) 12.64 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.32 per share, $0.10 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.22; revenues rose 29.3% year/year to $25.6 mln vs the $25.8 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY11, sees FY11 revs of $111.1-115.6 mln vs. $116.27 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co sees capital expenditure to be $28-32 mln, including $6 mln rolling payment lag impact carried forward from 2010.

6:01AM Royal Dutch Shell publishes 2011 strategy update; sets a new target for 3.7 mln boe/d of production for 2014, +12% from 2010 (RDS.A) 24.08 : In a strategy update report, co announces that it is on track with strategy to improve performance and growth. Co states it expects over $100 bln of net capital investment for 2011-14, some $25-$27 bln per year, in line with previous guidance, to underpin the Upstream growth profile, and co's Downstream strategy. Co also highlights further scope for multi-billion dollar underlying cost reductions in 2011-12 through continuous improvement programmes. Co continues to sell non-core positions to enhance capital efficiency, and as part of funding for future investment. Asset sales proceeds have exceeded $30 bln in the last five years, and are expected to be up to $5 bln in 2011. Co has set a new target for 3.7 mln boe/d of production for 2014, an increase of some 12% from 2010 levels, amongst the highest growth rates in our sector.

5:06AM Ness Tech wins $75 mln contract over 5 years with Barclays Capital to build global technology facility (NSTC) 5.44 :

2:22AM Incyte's Ruxolitinib meets primary endpoint in second Phase III Study (INCY) 13.37 : Co announces that investigational Janus kinase inhibitor, ruxolitinib, has met its primary endpoint of significantly reducing spleen size in patients with myelofibrosis, when compared to best available therapy. The data from Novartis (NVS) COMFORT-II European Phase III trial show treatment with ruxolitinib provided a statistically significant reduction in spleen size in patients with myelofibrosis when compared with best available therapy. A US NDA submission by co and EU Marketing Authorization Application submission by NVS is on track for Q2 2011. Additional clinical studies evaluating ruxolitinib in other hematologic cancers and malignant diseases such as lymphoma and pancreatic cancer are planned for 2011.

1:42AM China Botanic Pharma receives 2011 tax exemption; reaffirms FY11 guidance (CBP) 1.86 : Co announces it has passed the annual High-Tech Enterprise assessment, and that as a result, China Botanic will continue to enjoy a 10% tax exemption and will be entitled to a preferential tax rate of 15% in 2011 which is notably lower than the statutory income tax rate of 25%. For fiscal 2011, co reaffirms guidance and expects to see revenue in the range of $70.6-71.7 mln (no estimates), and after-tax net income of $22.9-23.2 mln (no estimates).

1:19AM Kraton Performance Polymers announces Asia Pacific SBS and SIS price increases of $200/t effective April 1,2011 (KRA) 37.22 :

1:14AM Costco comments on operations in Japan; Tamasakai warehouse will be closed for several months due to damage; all other locations open for business (COST) 71.84 : Co announces that all employees have been accounted for; and all facilities in Japan (nine warehouse locations and one cross-dock facility) have been inspected. Sadly, two people died as a result of the collapse of the parking ramp at the co's Tamasakai warehouse. With the exception of the Tamasakai location, which sustained significant damage, all Japan warehouses are open for business. The Tamasakai location will remain closed for several months pending further inspection and repairs to make sure it is safe for members and employees.
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