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From Briefing.com: 4:20 pm : Equities ended the day with slim losses causing the S&P 500 to slip 0.2%. Though stocks saw little change at the outset of the session, sellers were able to take control within the first 30 minutes, and drive the major averages to their respective lows.

The early broad-based weakness came about as the dollar index spiked to its highs in the 80.20 area. The sharp move took place after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi voiced concerns over the strength of the euro. The common currency weakened immediately following his remarks, falling to its session low near 1.3400 against the greenback.

The morning dollar strength had a negative impact on commodities and commodity-related stocks. As such, the materials sector was pressured, and ended as the weakest performer today. The SPDR Materials Select Sector ETF (XLB 39.15, -0.21) shed 0.5%.

High-beta sectors underperformed for the duration of the day. Technology stocks lagged despite the outperformance from Apple (AAPL 468.22, +13.52). The largest tech stock saw intraday strength after activist investor, David Einhorn, said the company has a cash problem, thinking it can never have enough of it, and its preferred stock should yield 8.0%. Shares of Apple spiked to fresh highs in afternoon trade after the company responded to Mr. Einhorn's comments by saying it will "thoroughly evaluate" the proposal.

Elsewhere in technology, microprocessor manufacturers lagged as disappointing earnings from Peregrine Semiconductor (PSMI 9.41, -1.57) weighed. The broader PHLX Semiconductor Index ended lower by 0.6%.

In notable tech earnings, Akamai Technologies (AKAM 35.26, -6.32) plunged 15.2% after the company missed on the top line and issued cautious revenue guidance.

Today, retailers reported their same store sales for the month of January. While most names reported results ahead of the Retail Metrics consensus, their stocks received a mixed investor response. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 67.47, -0.31) settled lower by 0.5%.

While retailers and discretionary stocks traded in-line with the broader market, consumer staples outperformed. The sector was the top advancer thanks to relative strength of cigarette producers. The largest industry component, Philip Morris (PM 89.82, +2.13), rose 2.4% after beating on earnings.

Defensive-minded trade also favored the utilities sector which held slight gains throughout the day. Sector component Exelon (EXC 31.37, +0.39) added 1.3% despite guiding first quarter earnings below consensus. However, the electricity producer expects a better second half with full-year 2013 earnings in-line with analyst expectations.

As mentioned earlier, the materials (-0.6%) sector was the weakest, followed by energy (-0.5%), financials (-0.4%), and telecoms (-0.4%). Meanwhile, consumer staples (+0.5%), and utilities (+0.2%) outperformed.

Volume was below-average with just 664 million shares changing hands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

The day's economic data did little to influence the trading sentiment. Initial claims were reported at 366,000, which puts the figure right inside of last year's 350,000-400,000 range.

Meanwhile, the 2.0% drop in fourth quarter productivity was the result of a very small increase in output (0.1%) combined with a solid increase in hours worked (2.2%).

Lastly, unit labor costs increased 4.5% after declining 2.3% in the third quarter. That was the biggest increase in unit labor costs since increasing 6.4% in Q1 2012.

Tomorrow, the December trade balance will be reported at 8:30 ET while December wholesale inventories will be announced at 10:00 ET. Among notable earnings, CBOE Holdings (CBOE 34.30, +0.07) and Louisiana-Pacific (LPX 20.49, +0.25) will report their quarterly results ahead of the opening bell.DJ30 -42.47 NASDAQ -3.35 SP500 -2.73 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 934/1.87 bln/1519 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1283/663.7 mln/1706

3:30 pm :

Mar crude oil fell off its session high of $97.21 per barrel and into negative territory as the dollar index gained strength on ECB President Mario Draghi's concerns over the recent rise in the euro as he discussed trade imbalance. The energy component brushed a session low of $95.55 per barrel and settled with a 0.8% loss at $95.84 per barrel.
Mar natural gas fell for the first time this week following weaker than anticipated inventory data that showed a draw of 118 bcf when a draw of 128 bcf was expected. It traded as high as $3.43 per MMBtu in early morning action but tumbled to a session low of $3.28 per MMBtu moments before settling 3.8% lower at $3.29 per MMBtu.
Apr gold traded in volatile fashion as investors digested President Draghi's comments. The yellow metal slid to a session low of $1663.40 per ounce as the dollar index rose. Despite recovering into positive territory and brushing a session high of $1683.90 per ounce, gold pulled-back as it headed into afternoon pit trade and ultimately settled 0.4% lower at $1671.40 per ounce.
Mar silver also fell to a session low of $31.30 per ounce following Draghi's comments and later climbed to a session high of $31.90 per ounce. Like gold, it lost steam in late morning action and closed 1.4% lower at $31.40 per ounce.

4:23PM Microchip beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus; Co raises quarterly dividend to $0.353, from $0.352 (MCHP) 33.49 -0.51 : Reports Q3 (Dec) earnings of $0.41 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.39; revenues rose 26.4% year/year to $416 mln vs the $411.78 mln consensus.

Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.45-0.49, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.42 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $420.2-432.47 mln vs. $416.85 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:13PM Amtech Systems misses by $0.10, misses on revs (ASYS) 3.96 0.00 : Reports Q1 (Dec) loss of $0.44 per share, $0.10 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.34); revenues fell 61.9% year/year to $9.4 mln vs the $10.33 mln consensus.

At December 31, 2012, the Company's total order backlog was $14.7 million, compared to total backlog of $18.7 million at September 30, 2012. Total backlog at December 31, 2012 includes $10.1 million in solar orders and deferred revenue, compared to solar backlog of $13.8 million at September 30, 2012. Foreign exchange caused a $0.4 million increase in backlog in the December 2012 quarter due to the strengthening of the Euro versus the US dollar. Backlog includes deferred revenue and customer orders that are expected to ship within the next 12 months.
Gross margin in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 was 15%, compared to negative 63% sequentially and 29% in the first quarter of fiscal 2012. The negative gross margin in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 reflects $9.2 million of inventory write-downs and losses on inventory purchase commitments. The lower margins compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2012 resulted primarily from lower sales volumes.

4:12PM Amtech Systems receives ~ $5.3 mln in new solar orders for its diffusion processing systems (ASYS) 3.97 +0.01 : Co announced that its solar subsidiary, Tempress Systems, Inc., has received approximately $5.3 million in new solar orders for its diffusion processing systems from one of its key customers, a top tier solar company in Asia, for their new multi-hundred megawatt capacity expansion. These systems are expected to ship within the next six months.

4:12PM Solera beats by $0.05, beats on revs; raises FY13 EPS in-line, raises FY13 revs above consensus (SLH) 55.41 : Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.69 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.64; revenues rose 7.2% year/year to $209.23 mln vs the $201.99 mln consensus. Co issues raised guidance for FY13, sees EPS of $2.60-2.66 from prior guidance of $2.52-2.60 vs. $2.61 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; raises FY13 revs to $829-835 mln from prior guidance of $810-818 mln vs. $816.45 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $90.5 million, a 6.7% increase over the prior year second quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $84.9 million. After adjusting for FX Changes, Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter increased by 8.8% over the prior year second quarter Adjusted EBITDA; Adjusted EBITDA margin for the second quarter was 43.3%, a 23 basis point decrease over the prior year second quarter Adjusted EBITDA margin of 43.5%.

4:12PM Tessera Tech misses by $0.01, beats on revs (TSRA) 17.55 -0.29 : Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.24 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.23); revenues fell 6.2% year/year to $53.2 mln vs the $51.51 mln consensus.

2013 Company Cost Cutting Efforts
The Company has reviewed its corporate general and administrative expense in relation to its two operating businesses and has determined that it is appropriate to take steps to reduce corporate G&A spending in the range of 17% to 21% by the end of year 2013 as compared to 2012. These cost reductions are in addition to the cost-cutting measures announced in November 2012. The Co has determined that the Silent Air Cooling business is not a strategic fit for its ongoing business, and management will be looking at a possible sale of, or other strategic alternatives for, this business. In February 2013, the Company announced a salary freeze until the summer, when compensation will be reevaluated.

4:08PM Riverbed Technology reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (RVBD) 20.10 -0.21 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.29 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of $0.29; revenues rose 17.0% year/year to $238.7 mln vs the $234.83 mln consensus.

"Revenue dollars grew more than $111 million for the full year, with most of that growth from WAN optimization. Performance management was the fastest growing product line, underpinning our strategic decision to acquire OPNET. Looking ahead, we will benefit from continued growth in our WAN optimization business and performance management product suite. I am very optimistic as we enter our first year as a billion-dollar-plus revenue company."

3:38PM Apple issues statement: As of next week co will have executed $10 bln of $45 bln repurchase plan (AAPL) 457.60 +2.90 : "By early last year, Apple's cash balance had built to a point beyond what we needed to run our business and maintain flexibility to take advantage of strategic opportunities, so we announced a plan to return $45 billion to shareholders over three years. As of next week we will have executed $10 billion of that plan.

We find ourselves in the fortunate position of continuing to generate large amounts of cash, including $23 billion in cash flow from operations in the last quarter alone.

Apple's management team and Board of Directors have been in active discussions about returning additional cash to shareholders. As part of our review, we will thoroughly evaluate Greenlight Capital's current proposal to issue some form of preferred stock. We welcome Greenlight's views and the views of all of our shareholders.

As a part of our efforts to further enhance corporate governance and serve our shareholders' best interests, Proposal #2 in our proxy includes some recommended changes to our articles of incorporation. These changes were recommended independently of Greenlight's proposal and would not preclude Apple from adopting their concept. Contrary to Greenlight's statements, adoption of Proposal #2 would not prevent the issuance of preferred stock. Currently, Apple's articles of incorporation provide for the issuance of "blank check" preferred stock by the Board of Directors without shareholder approval. If Proposal #2 is adopted, our shareholders would have the right to approve the issuance of preferred stock. As such, Proposal #2 has the support of many of our shareholders.

We remain committed to having an ongoing dialogue with our shareholders to get perspectives around return of capital and driving shareholder value."

8:34AM Apple: Greenlight Capital urges Apple shareholders to oppose co's proposal that would impede Apple's ability to unlock shareholder value (AAPL) 457.35 : Greenlight Capital announced that it is urging fellow shareholders of Apple Inc. (AAPL) to oppose the Company's attempt to amend its corporate charter. Greenlight is voting AGAINST Proposal 2 in Apple's proxy, which would eliminate preferred stock from Apple's charter and thus restrict the Board's ability to unlock the value on Apple's balance sheet. Greenlight is asking all shareholders to also vote AGAINST Proposal 2 at the upcoming Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on February 27, 2013.

A shareholder since 2010, Greenlight believes Apple is a phenomenal company filled with talented people creating iconic products that consumers around the world love. However, like many other shareholders, Greenlight is dissatisfied with Apple's capital allocation strategy. Greenlight believes that the amendment to Apple's charter in Proposal 2 unnecessarily limits the Board's flexibility to distribute preferred stock as a means of unlocking shareholder value. As such, Proposal 2 does not merit shareholder support. "We believe Apple must examine all of its options to unlock the growing value of its balance sheet for all shareholders," said David Einhorn, President of Greenlight.

"Over the past several months, we have had an ongoing dialogue with Apple regarding one option to do so, namely the creation of a new security, a perpetual preferred stock that would be distributed at no cost to Apple's existing shareholders, and would provide an attractive, sustainable dividend while preserving Apple's financial resources to pursue its business strategy."

Yesterday, in response to Greenlight notifying Apple that it intended to contest Proposal 2, management offered to re-evaluate Greenlight's idea, but refused to withdraw the charter amendment to eliminate preferred stock. Greenlight is hopeful that when Apple and its advisers review the idea afresh, it will see the merits and act to unlock value for all shareholders.

Nonetheless, Greenlight believes that eliminating preferred stock from the Company's charter hinders Apple's ability to implement value creating options. Mr. Einhorn continued, "Apple should unlock shareholder value through the distribution of perpetual preferred stock. We ask shareholders to vote against Proposal 2, thereby expressing to Apple and its Board their support for unlocking value and significantly improving Apple's current capital allocation policy."

Texas Instruments (TXN) introduced a low-voltage power management unit with the fastest start-up time of under 10 mS for demanding instant-on automotive applications, such as graphical cluster, infotainment and advanced driver assistance systems.

TranSwitch (TXCC) announced that the co's HDplay transceiver has been designed into Edge I&D's new Interactive LED-LCD Display Whiteboards.

1:31AM Micron prices $270 mln of its 1.625% convertible senior notes due 2033 and $270 mln of its 2.125% convertible senior notes due 2033 (MU) 7.95 :
1:09AM Advanced Semi reports Jan consolidated net revenues of NT$16.61 bln, +22.5% YoY, down 12.6% sequentially (ASX) 4.03

08:40 am Peregrine Semi downgraded to Perform at Oppenheimer following earnings: . Oppenheimer downgrades PSMI to Perform from Outperform and removing its $24 tgt. PSMI reported 4Q revenue/EPS of $63.0M/$0.19 vs. consensus $62.3M/$0.21. First-quarter guidance of $44.5M (down 30% Q/Q) is starkly below consensus $57.2M. Opco is incrementally concerned with the increasing competitive threat from SWKS/RFMD. Its checks indicate SWKS won the ASM in iPad Mini. The threat that SWKS proliferates this ASM across 2013 iPhone/iPad refreshes significantly clouds PSMI's visibility and creates uncertainty/volatility in the shares. At the same time, Opco believes RFMD has bolstered its position in antenna tuning.

RealD (RLD) reported third quarter GAAP loss of $0.08 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ consensus GAAP Estimate of ($0.10); revenues fell 4.3% year/year to $46.9 mln vs the $49.31 mln consensus. Estimated box office generated on RealD-enabled screens(1) for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 was $643 million ($299 million domestic, $344 million international). In the third quarter of fiscal 2012, estimated box office generated on RealD-enabled screens was $532 million ($256 million domestic, $276 million international).

TriQuint Semi (TQNT) reported fourth quarter earnings of $0.04 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ consensus of $0.02, while revenues rose 2.9% year/year to $233.6 million versus the $222.76 million consensus. Co issued downside guidance for the first quarter with EPS of ($0.14)-(0.12), excluding non-recurring items, versus the $0.00 Capital IQ consensus and revenues of $180-190 million versus the $205.28 million Capital IQ consensus.

Yelp (YELP) reported a fourth quarter loss of $0.08 per share, $0.07 worse than the Capital IQ consensus of ($0.01), while revenues rose 65.5% year/year to $41.2 million versus the $40.26 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for the first quarter with revenues of $44.0-44.5 versus the $44.53 mln Capital IQ consensus. The company issued upside guidance for fiscal year 2013 with revenues of $210-212 million versus the $207.31 million consensus. Cumulative reviews grew 45% year over year to more than 36 million at the end of 2012. Average monthly unique visitors grew 31% year over year to approximately 86 million. Active local business accounts grew 68% year over year to approximately 39,800. Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2012 was approximately $1.8 million, compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $15,000 for the fourth quarter of 2011. "We believe 2013 will be a tipping point for our brand in Europe as Yelp continues to become a trusted local resource. Our mobile strategy will remain a top priority as engagement increases, and we will continue to focus on the business owner, creating more ways to measure the value of Yelp leads."

Akamai Tech (AKAM) reported fourth quarter earnings of $0.54 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ consensus of $0.49, while revenues rose 16.7% year/year to $377.87 million versus the $381.12 mln consensus. Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $173 million, up from $157 million in the prior quarter, and $148 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Adjusted EBITDA margin for the fourth quarter was 46%, up a point from the prior quarter and consistent with the same period last year. The company also announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a $150 million extension of its share repurchase program, effective for a 12-month period beginning on February 1, 2013. During the fourth quarter of 2012, under its current share repurchase program, the Company spent approximately $30 million repurchasing 0.8 million shares of its common stock, at an average price of $37.53 per share.

Digital River (DRIV) reported fourth quarter earnings of $0.31 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ consensus of $0.28, while revenues fell 9.6% year/year to $101.3 million versus the $98.2 mln consensus. The company issued downside EPS guidance for the first quarter with EPS of $0.18-0.22, excluding non-recurring items, versus the $0.25 consensus and revenues of ;$101-104 million versus the $98.03 million consensus.