Market Update: 110415 4:35 pm : The stock market settled with a modest gain on Friday. It still finished the week 0.6% lower than where it started.
Today's early action was choppy, but the tone of trade gradually improved as participants settled in after being inundated with a barrage of headlines. Among the more notable news stories, Ireland's debt was downgraded to just above junk status at Moody's, eurozone CPI spiked 1.4% in March while China's CPI for March spiked by 5.4%. China's producer prices increased 7.3% in the same month. The country's GDP was said to have officially increased by 9.7% in the first quarter.
Corporate news wasn't very inspiring. Earnings from Google (GOOG 530.70, -47.81) failed to hit what Wall Street had forecast for the company. Infosys (INFY 63.21, -9.80) disappointed with its downside guidance.
Bank of America (BAC 12.82, -0.31) had a disappointing report of its own. It also announced that it has reached an agreement on mortgage repurchases with Assured Guaranty (AGO 17.60, +3.43).
Domestic data helped stocks stretch to mid-day gains. First off, consumer prices for March increased by 0.5%, which is exactly what had been expected. Excluding food and energy, consumer prices increased by 0.1%, which is a tad less than the 0.2% increase that had been expected.
The New York Empire Manufacturing Survey for April came in at 21.7, which bested both its prior month reading of 17.5 and the Briefing.com consensus call for a reading of 15.0
The preliminary Consumer Sentiment Survey for April from the University of Michigan came in at 69.6, which is greater than the 66.5 that had been expected. The preliminary reading for April is also greater than the 67.5 that was posted for the prior month.
Industrial production for March increased by 0.8%, which is better than the 0.6% increase that had been broadly expected. Capacity utilization came in at 77.4%, as anticipated.
Although stocks were unable to extend their stretch as the S&P 500 encountered resistance near the 1321-1322 zone, their inability to push higher was never met with any kind of negative response. In turn, stocks generally drifted along listlessly during afternoon trade.
Share volume climbed as a result of options expirations. Still, the 1 billion shares that exchanged hands on the NYSE today hardly represents an unprecedented feat. In fact, share volume earlier this year often averages 1 billion shares per year.
3:30 pm : It was a very volatile week for May crude oil, which ended higher by 1.4% to $109.66 per barrel. Crude started the week with two large selloffs, but rebounded nicely from mid-week on and closed posting three consecutive gains. For the week, crude oil shed 2.8%, or $3.13 per barrel. May natural gas had an uneventful session after it chopped around the flat line for most of the day. It closed near flat at $4.20 per MMBtu.
Inflation fears, sovereign debt concerns and the rebound in crude oil, sent the precious metals sharply higher for a second consecutive session. Gold rallied for 0.9% to close at $1486.00 per ounce and has extended that move in electronic trade to notch fresh all-time highs at $1489.10 per ounce. Silver surged 2.2% to end at $42.59 per ounce, bringing its two day total to over 5.5%. It rallied to session, and fresh ~31 year highs, at $42.87 per ounce. DJ30 +50.48 NASDAQ -0.31 SP500 +4.09 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1603/1.4 bln/959 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2058/714.2 mln/892
3:00 pm : Stocks are holding on to varied gains as they enter the final hour of trade. Even though stocks broke free from some choppy trade in the early going to sport their current gains, the effort hasn't been enough to erase the near weekly 2% loss that stocks are headed for.
When participants return next week, they'll have to digest earnings from Citigroup (C 4.42, -0.01), Eli Lilly (LLY 35.98, +0.23), and Halliburton (HAL 46.58, +0.44). DJ30 +72.12 NASDAQ +5.18 SP500 +6.69 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1611/1.29 bln/926 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2090/672 mln/849
2:30 pm : From a technical trader's standpoint, stocks saw a choppy start to the session, but like the previous day, the indices were able to find some traction and then to extend Thursday's rebound off of 50-day averages.
Early action tracked mixed data from abroad, a debt downgrade of Ireland by Moody's, and some disappointing earnings from Google (GOOG 536.06, -42.45) and Bank of America (BAC 12.93, -0.20), but domestic data that featured a pleasing core CPI reading and a strong Empire Manufacturing survey helped to offset early weakness. The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey helped stocks roll higher.
However, the S&P 500 now faces near-term resistance in the 1321-1322 zone, which has already stymied its upward push. Traders should be cognizant of the erratic action that can be seen on an options-expiration Friday, though. DJ30 +79.12 NASDAQ +5.52 SP500 +7.19 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1548/1.21 bln/978 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2014/640 mln/906
2:00 pm : Trading volume continues to climb today. The surge of shares in action is partly due to the barrage of headlines that brought in traders from the sidelines, but it is mostly due to the expiration of monthly options today. Two hours remain before the close of the session and more than 600 million shares have already traded hands on the NYSE.DJ30 +67.92 NASDAQ +2.99 SP500 +6.27 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1538/1.11 bln/962 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2002/602 mln/907
1:30 pm : Stocks have been hit by a recent bout of selling pressure, which has taken the stock market to its lowest level in about 90 minutes. The action has left shares of Google (GOOG 536.06, -42.45) to drop through their session low so that they now trade at their worst level in six months.DJ30 +62.43 NASDAQ +3.62 SP500 +5.99 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1573/1.04 bln/925 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2053/570 mln/848
1:00 pm : A barrage of headlines had stocks stuck in some rather choppy trade during the early going, but buyers have gradually lifted the major averages to solid gains.
Participants initially had a negative reaction to news that Google (GOOG 536.62, -41.89) came short of the consensus quarterly earnings estimate. Fellow tech play Infosys (INFY 63.19, -9.82) also disappointed with its downside guidance.
Bank of America (BAC 12.91, -0.22) had a disappointing report, but news that the bank has reached an agreement on mortgage repurchases with Assured Guaranty (AGO 17.70, +3.53) helped give the stock a bid this morning. It has since rolled over, though. While the downturn in BAC has hampered the financial sector, which is presently up 0.3%, the broader market has been able to make an upward push so that it now sports a solid gain. Health care and energy are the top performing sectors; they are up 1.0% and 0.9%, respectively.
The improved tone of trade has come with help from some relatively solid data. Generally, the March CPI increased an in-line 0.5%, while core CPI increased by a slightly smaller-than-expected 0.1%. Industrial production for March increased by a stronger-than-expected 0.8%
As for surveys, the latest reading on New York Manufacturing spiked more than expected to 21.7. The preliminary Consumer Sentiment Survey for April from the University of Michigan improved more than anticipated to 69.6.
Data from abroad featured news that China's GDP surged by 9.7% in the first quarter, but its CPI for March spiked 5.4% and the PPI spiked 7.3%. The eurozone's CPI for March increased by 1.4%.
Overseas headlines have also featured news that analysts at Moody's downgraded Ireland's debt by two notches to Baa3. That has helped Treasuries make an impressive climb in the face of the stock market's strength. Treasuries have eased back from their session highs, though. DJ30 +79.95 NASDAQ +8.28 SP500 +7.84 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1513/949 mln/959 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1986/535 mln/899
12:30 pm : Stocks have stretched to fresh session highs. The move comes amid some relatively broad buying interest. However, financials have failed to return to the levels that they set in the early going. Instead, financials are up a moderate 0.4%.
Bank of America (BAC 13.00, -0.13) has become a burden to the financial sector after it had actually traded with strength in the early going. Volatility in shares of BAC come in the wake of news of an earnings miss for the most recent quarter and an announcement that the bank has reached an agreement on mortgage repurchases with Assured Guaranty (AGO 17.90, +3.73). The expiration of monthly options is likely adding to volatility. DJ30 +70.68 NASDAQ +4.41 SP500 +6.56 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1517/860 mln/944 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 19894/502 mln/879
12:00 pm : Oil prices have rallied to fresh session highs. The energy component now trades at $109.73 per barrel, up 1.5%.
Despite the spike in oil prices, several drillers remain under sharp pressure. Among them, Transocean (RIG 75.52, -2.47) are Diamond Offshore (DO 74.62, -1.07) are the worst performers. Shares of RIG were actually hit with an analyst downgrade this morning. DJ30 +45.78 NASDAQ +1.63 SP500 +4.86 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1367/765 mln/1051 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1812/465 mln/1002
11:35 am : A recent flurry of buying activity helped push the Nasdaq into positive territory after it had lagged its counterparts for most of the morning. NVIDIA (NVDA 18.83, +0.32) is a primary leader in the Nasdaq; its strength has taken the stock to a new weekly high.DJ30 +37.46 NASDAQ +0.76 SP500 +4.31 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1113/669 mln/1275 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1586/425 mln/1196
11:00 am : Stocks had made a strong upward push on the back of a stronger-than-expected consumer sentiment survey reading, but they have since drifted down from morning highs. The action has left the major equity averages to continue trading with mixed results.
Amid the sloppy trade seen this morning, Treasuries have rallied. The move has the yield on the benchmark 10-year Note down to 3.42%, which is only a couple of basis points above its 10-day low. Renewed strength among Treasuries comes after analysts at Moody's downgraded the debt of Ireland -- a move that has rekindled concerns about conditions among the less fiscally sound countries in the eurozone and its periphery. DJ30 +32.27 NASDAQ -6.04 SP500 +2.73 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 936/521 mln/1416 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1427/365 mln/1330
10:35 am : May crude oil has spent most of the morning in the red. Approx. 45 min ago, crude rallied for almost $1/barrel, which pushed the energy component back into positive territory. In current activity, it's up 0.4% at $108.49/barrel. May natural gas has whipsawed around this morning around the unchanged line and is currently down 0.2% at $4.20/MMBtu.
Precious metals have been in positive territory all morning with silver far outpacing gold. June gold popped ~$8/oz about 45 min ago, as crude was pushing higher, and rose to new session highs of $1482.40/oz. May silver put in a small rally of its own, pushing back near earlier morning highs of $42.72/oz. Gold is now 0.6% higher at $1481.40/oz. and May silver is up 2.4% at $42.65/oz.
Silver (+2.4%) is currently the best performer in the CRB Index, while soft commodities make up the next three best performers (Coffee +1.5%, Sugar +1.5%, Orange juice +1.4%).DJ30 +25.99 NASDAQ -6.45 SP500 +2.57 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1073/392.6 mln/1187 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1682/313.5 mln/1040
10:00 am : The preliminary Consumer Sentiment Survey for April from the University of Michigan came in at 69.6, which is greater than the 66.5 that had been expected. The preliminary reading for April is also greater than the 67.5 that was posted for the prior month.
Stocks have reacted positively to the news. As such, the broad market is back in positive territory after sliding from the open to a slight loss.
09:45 am : The major equity averages are mixed in the first few minutes of trade, but financials are displaying strength after logging outsized losses in each of the past two sessions.
The financial sector entered today's trade with a week-to-date loss of 2%, but the sector is up 0.5% this moning. Investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS 27.13, +0.34) is a current leader in the space, although some of Europe's major investment banks and financial services plays -- Credit Suisse (CS 43.69, -0.55), UBS (UBS 18.42, -0.29), and Deutsche Bank (DB 59.37, -1.20) -- are all under sharp pressure. Bank of America (BAC 13.20, +0.05) is up slightly despite an earnings miss.
Tech stocks have succumbed to a concerted selling effort, though. The sector's 0.8% slide stems from weakness among large-cap issues like Google (GOOG 539.88, -38.63), which is down sharply to a multi-month low in the wake of disapointing earnings.DJ30 -2.18 NASDAQ -13.69 SP500 +0.33 NASDAQ Adv/Dec 821/1284 NYSE Adv/Dec 1365/1158
09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +1.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -4.90. Earlier this morning stock futures had suggested that the market would deepen its week-to-date loss of 1.0%, but the tone of premarket trade has improved with help from a stronger-than-expected New York Manufacturing Survey and an in-line CPI report. The data have helped temper disappointment over earnings misses from Google (GOOG) and Bank of America (BAC). Although domestic CPI didn't see too sharp of an increase, inflationary pressures in China and Europe continue to percolate. Just released, industrial production for March increased by 0.8%, which is better than the 0.6% increase that had been broadly expected. Capacity utilization came in at 77.4%, exactly as expected.
09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -0.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -10.50. Europe's major bourses are mixed at mid-day. The action comes amid news that analysts at Moody's downgraded Ireland's debt rating by two notches to Baa3 from Baa1 and assigned a negative outlook. Still, Ireland's ISEQ has managed to muster a 0.4% gain, thanks to leadership from Irish Life and UTV Media. Allied Irish Bank (AIB) is also in strong shape. Germany's DAX is also up 0.4%, but France's CAC is currently off by 0.3% amid relatively widespread weakness. Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) is one of the worst performers in the CAC after it had outperformed in recent sessions. As for Britain's FTSE, it is up 0.2% at the moment. Man Group has been a strong source of support there, helping offset weakness among banking issues. The latest dose of eurozone data featured a 1.4% increase in CPI for March. It had increased by 0.4% in the prior. The eurozone trade deficit for February totaled 1.5 billion euros, down sharply from 14.8 billion euros in January.
China's Shanghai Composite closed with a 0.3% gain, even though concerns about further interest rate increases were stoked by the country's latest data. According to reports, China's first quarter GDP increased by 9.7%. It had increased by 9.8% in the first quarter of 2010. The country's CPI for March spiked by 5.4%, which is up sharply from the 4.9% increase that was witnessed for the same period one year ago. Producer prices increased 7.3% during March. They had increased by 7.2% for the same month one year ago. Retail sales surged 17.4% in March. They had increased by 11.6% for the same period one year ago. Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled flat in its final session of the week. Several property stocks extended their losses from the prior session. Japan's Nikkei lost 0.7% on Friday. Tokyo Electric Power was a primary source of weakness. Fast Retailing and Isuzu Motors put together impressive gains, though. Japan's latest data indicated that industrial production for February increased by 1.8% after a mere 0.4% increase in the prior month, but capacity utilization for February increased 2.9% after a 3.6% increase in January.
08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -0.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -9.70. Stock futures have benefited from a little bit of buying interest on the back of the latest dose of data. Consumer prices for March increased by 0.5%, which is exactly in line with what had been expected, on average, among economists surveyed by Briefing.com. Excluding food and energy, consumer prices increased by 0.1% in March. They had been widely expected to increase by 0.2%. The New York Empire Manufacturing Survey for April came in at 21.7. That exceeds both the Briefing.com consensus call for a reading of 15.0 and the prior month reading of 17.5.
08:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -3.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -14.00. Stock futures point to a modestly lower start for the final session of the week. The action comes after Google (GOOG) came short of the consensus earnings estimate for its most recent quarter. The stock has also been slapped with a downgrade by analysts at Citigroup. The stock is down about 5% ahead of the open. Infosys (INFY) is down an even sharper 8% in premarket trade. Its drop comes in response to disappointing guidance, which has overshadowed in-line earnings results. Dow component Bank of America (BAC) posted its latest results this morning. Although its earnings were less than what Wall Street had expected, the stock was recently quoted with a 0.9% gain in premarket trade. The company company supplemented financial results with news that it has reached an agreement on mortgage repurchase claims with monoline insurer Assured Guaranty (AGO), which is up 13% ahead of the open. As for overseas action, trade has been mostly mixed amid news that Moody's downgraded Ireland and a flurry of data out of China. A substantial dose of domestic data is on tap. Market participants get their first taste at the bottom of the hour, when the latest CPI and Empire Manufacturing figures are released. Treasury International Capital data follows at 9:00 AM ET, then Industrial Production at 9:15 AM ET. The preliminary Consumer Sentiment Survey for April from the University of Michigan will be posted at 9:55 AM ET.
06:25 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -2.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -10.70.
06:25 am : Nikkei...9591.52...-62.40...-0.70%. Hang Seng...24008.07...-5.90...0.00.
4:46PM Zoo Entertainment resumes trading; now at $4.41 (ZOOG) 4.40 -0.16 :
4:45PM Golden State Water Co announces notice of redemption of notes (AWR) 35.68 +0.92 : Co announced that it has issued a notice of redemption of its 7.65% Medium-Term Notes, Series B, due 2025. The Notes will be redeemed at a price of 101.913% of the outstanding principal amount of the Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date. The redemption date is May 5, 2011. GSWC intends to finance this redemption using a portion of the net proceeds of the issuance of its 6.00% Notes due 2041, which were issued on April 14, 2011.
4:35PM CryoLife amends tender offer related to its proposed acquisition of Cardiogenesis Corp; reduces shares sought to 49.9% of outstanding shares (CRY) 5.65 +0.06 :
4:33PM PPL WEM Holdings plc announces proposed senior notes offering (PPL) 27.00 +0.25 : WEM Holdings plc ("PPL WEM") announced that sometime next week it intends to offer up to $960 mln aggregate principal amount of senior notes, consisting of senior notes due 2016 and senior notes due 2021. The use of proceeds for the offering is partial repayment of the bridge loan incurred in connection with PPL Corporation's recent acquisition of Western Power Distribution (East Midlands) plc (formerly known as Central Networks East plc) and WPD Midlands Holdings Limited (formerly known as Central Networks Limited), parent of Western Power Distribution (West Midlands) plc (formerly known as Central Networks West plc).
4:32PM Mannatech announces status of stock pledge (MTEX) 1.55 +0.08 : Co has received information regarding the status of Marlin Ray Robbins' shares of the Co's common stock pledged by him. Marlin Ray Robbins is a member of the Mannatech Board of Directors. In 2005, Mr. Robbins pledged 1.4 million of his shares of Mannatech common stock to Triangle Equities, which has since been placed in receivership along with related entities, as a result of an action filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC and the receiver allege Triangle Equities was part of a fraudulent stock-based loan scheme in which it would fraudulently liquidate stock pledged by borrowers such as Mr. Robbins. In a related matter, Triangle Equities Director Michael Spillan was recently indicted for securities violations as a result of such loan program. Given a recent court filing by the receiver proposing to resolve the outstanding claims of the borrowers, including Mr. Robbins, against Triangle Equities, it appears unlikely that Triangle Equities still holds the shares or that Mr. Robbins will regain possession of the shares which were pledged to Triangle Equities. The allegations of the receiver will be heard by the court in the receivership on June 28, 2011.
4:31PM FMC increases soda ash prices in South Africa (FMC) 85.35 +0.75 : FMC Wyoming Corp announced that effective immediately, or as contract terms permit, it will increase the price of its Grade 260 "dense" soda ash sold to South African customers by $30 per metric ton and will increase the price of its Grade 100 "light" soda ash sold to South African customers by $50 per metric ton. This increase is necessary for FMC to recover increasing costs and continue to invest in its operations as the global demand for soda ash increases.
4:16PM Integra Bank to resume trading at 16:30 ET (IBNK) 0.20 -0.01 :
4:16PM Papa John's announced the resignation of J. Jude Thompson as President, Co-Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors (PZZA) 31.75 +0.38 : Co announced the resignation of J. Jude Thompson as President, Co-Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors. Thompson, who has been a director of Papa John's since 2008 and an officer of the company since 2009, is leaving to spend time focusing on his interests in Arison Insurance Services, a Louisville-based insurance agency, and to pursue other opportunities.
4:15PM Agria's CFO resigns (GRO) 1.33 -0.04 : Co announced that Christopher Boddington, Chief Financial Officer, has resigned effective April 18, 2011. Mr. Boddington stepped down from his position to pursue other opportunities and not as a result of any disagreement with the Company regarding financial or accounting practices. The Co has initiated an executive search for a new Chief Financial Officer.
4:14PM Altair Nanotechnologies to resume trading at 16:30 ET (ALTI) 1.50 -0.06 :
4:14PM Zoo Entertainment halted, news pending (ZOOG) 4.40 -0.16 :
4:05PM Corcept Therapeutics announces NDA submitted to the FDA for the use of CORLUX in Cushing's Syndrome; NDA Submission Supported by Positive Phase 3 Data (CORT) 4.32 +0.04 :
4:04PM Integra Bank reported it was delisting its common stock from NASDAQ and that the stock is expected to begin trading on the OTCQB Marketplace effective on May 2, 2011 (IBNK) 0.20 -0.01 :
4:01PM UniTek Global Services completes debt refinancing (UNTK) 9.99 +0.05 : Co announces that it has completed its previously announced debt refinancing through the closing of a $100 million term loan and $75 million revolving credit facility. The term loan and revolving credit facility include accordion features of $50 million and $25 million, respectively, to provide the Company with additional financial flexibility to support potential strategic acquisitions and organic growth.
4:01PM Blyth Industries announces increase in ViSalus Sciences investment (BTH) 44.26 +0.82 : Co announces that it has closed on the second phase of its acquisition of ViSalus Sciences and now owns 57.5% of the company. Blyth made its initial investment in ViSalus in August 2008.
4:00PM Altair Nanotechnologies received notification that Inversiones Energeticas is terminatating contract signed in Feb 2011 for the 10 Megawatt ALTI-ESS advanced battery system (ALTI) 1.49 -0.07 : Co announced that it received notification from Inversiones Energeticas, S.A. de C.V. that it was exercising its right to terminate the contract signed in February 2011 for the 10 Megawatt ALTI-ESS advanced battery system for frequency control. According to the termination letter, INE's action was based upon notice it recently received from SIGET, the government entity that regulates the electric utility market in El Salvador. SIGET stated that the application of this new technology is not feasible in the short term as no procedures exist in the policies of the wholesale electricity market in El Salvador that regulate the operation of systems like the ALTI-ESS. (stock halted)
3:56PM Ameresco states that policy is not to comment on unusual market activity (AMRC) 15.30 0.80 :
3:43PM CVS Caremark reached a $17.5 mln settlement agreement concerning how its CVS/pharmacy retail pharmacies submitted reimbursement claims in certain states (CVS) 35.90 +0.27 : Co announced "that it has reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, and a number of state Attorneys General to resolve a civil complaint concerning how its CVS/pharmacy retail pharmacies submitted reimbursement claims in certain states for prescriptions filled for "dual eligible" patients who have coverage under both Medicaid and a third party insurance plan. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company has expressly denied engaging in any wrongful conduct and has settled the matter to avoid the expense and uncertainty of protracted litigation. The settlement calls for payment by the Company of an aggregate amount of $17.5 million to be allocated among the federal government and ten participating states, which include Alabama, California, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada and Rhode Island.
3:37PM Tutor Perini announced that is has received new contracts and task orders totaling $327 mln (TPC) 25.44 +0.51 :
3:28PM Stock indices slip a bit further off early afternoon highs -- Dow +51, S&P +4.5, Nasdaq Comp -0.1 (SPY) : Relative sector weakness on this move has been noted in Oil Service OIH, Energy XLE, Disk Drive, Steel SLX, Software IGV, Industrial XLI.
3:18PM Swisher Hygiene entered into securities purchase agreements to sell 9,857,143 shares of its common stock at a price of $7.70/share, for aggregate proceeds of $75.9 mln (SWSH) 10.05 +0.20 : Co announced that it has entered into a series of arm's length securities purchase agreements to sell 9,857,143 shares of the company's common stock at a price of US$7.70 (Cdn. $7.40) per share, for aggregate proceeds of US$75.9 mln (Cdn. $73.0 mln) to certain funds of a global financial institution. Swisher Hygiene intends to use the proceeds from the private placement to further its organic and acquisition growth strategy, as well as for working capital purposes. (stock halted)
3:16PM Stock indices slip to minor new afternoon pullback lows -- Dow +51, S&P +4.4, Nasdaq Comp +0.5 (SPY) :
3:13PM Apple slumps to fresh session lows, eyeing its mid-March reaction low of 326.26 (AAPL) 328.55 -3.87 :
2:42PM NYMEX Energy Closing Prices (COMDX) : Crude oil settled higher by $1.55 to $109.66, natural gas shed 0.5 cents to close at $4.207, heating oil gained 3.1 cents to end at $3.22, while RBOB gasoline rallied for 4.55 cents to finish at $3.2802 (all May contracts).
2:37PM Stock indices edge higher in recent trade Dow +79 just under midday high -- S&P +7.3, Nasdaq Comp +5.7 (SPY) : Relative sector strength in recent action has been noted in Retail XRT (GME), Rail, Housing XHB, Materials XLB, Industrial XLI, Casino BJK.
2:33PM CBOT Agriculture and Ethanol and ICE Exchange Sugar Closing Prices (COMDX) : Continuous corn futures fell 14 cents to $7.41/bu, cont. wheat rose 4 cents to close at $7.45, cont. soybeans were flat at $13.32, cont. ethanol closed lower by 0.02 cents at $2.64, while cont. world sugar futures closed flat at 25.00 cents.
2:19PM As expected, House passes 2012 budget plan brought by Paul Ryan (ECONX) :
2:17PM Taseko Mines issues comment on the recently announced senior notes issuance (TGB) 5.60 +0.03 : Co issues comment on the recently announced senior notes issuance for total proceeds of $200 mln that closed today. The Notes, due 2019, will bear an annual interest rate of 7.75%. Taseko intends to use the proceeds of the Notes to fund Gibraltar Development Plan 3. GDP3 is a $235 million expansion project that will increase Gibraltar's annual copper production by ~60 million pounds to 180 million pounds, as well as increase annual molybdenum metal production by two million pounds (all production figures reflect 100% amounts, Taseko's share is 75%). Engineering and procurement has commenced on GDP3. Construction is expected to begin mid-2011, with commissioning to occur in December of 2012.
1:32PM COMEX Metals Closing Prices (COMDX) : June gold finished higher by $13.70 to $1486.10, while May silver rallied for 88.6 cents to close at $42.55, while May copper ended lower by 2.25 cents to $4.2615.
1:30PM Calumet Specialty Products announces pricing of $400 mln private Placement of Senior Notes Due 2019 (CLMT) 21.70 +0.22 : Co announced the pricing of their private placement under Rule 144A to eligible purchasers of $400 mln in aggregate principal amount of 9 3/8% senior unsecured notes due 2019. The offering size was increased to $400 mln from $375 mln. Calumet intends to use the net proceeds from the private placement to repay in full all of the outstanding borrowings under its existing senior secured term loan facility, as well as all accrued interest and fees, and for general partnership purposes.
1:29PM Angeion authorizes to purchase up to an additional $2 million of its outstanding shares of common stock (ANGN) 4.78 +0.05 :
1:23PM Wells Fargo slips slightly under mid-morning/session low, hovering just above yesterday's 4 month low of 30.10 -- session low 30.11 (WFC) 30.12 -0.03 : Note that its 200 ema comes into play at 29.95.
12:47PM Adobe Systems flirting with this week's peak and the top of its 10 day range at 34.71 -- session high 34.71 (ADBE) 34.69 +0.36 :
12:42PM Semiconductor Hldrs ETF notches minor new high of 34.35, probing its 50 ema at 34.36 and Tuesday's gap between 34.37-34.48 (SMH) 34.35 +0.28 :
12:26PM Gold, silver pulling back from highs (COMDX) :
* Gold now up $13.70 to $1486.10. * Silver higher by 96.1 cents to $42.625.
12:14PM Fresh session highs for the major averages -- Dow +75, S&P +6.8, Nasdaq Comp +5.1 (SPY) :
12:12PM Mkt Vectors Gold Miners ETF probing morning high at 61.87 (GDX) 61.83 +0.19 : Yesterday's peak and the top of its narrowing four day trade range are at 62.00 and 62.19, respectively -- ABX, FCX, AEM, GG, HMY, KGC, NEM, BVN, AUY, EGO, AU, GFI.
12:05PM Oil Service HOLDRS Trust displaying intraday relative strength, working up toward its three day range high at 156.48/156.65 (OIH) 156.32 +0.35 :
11:58AM Crude oil new highs at $109.73; now up $1.61 to $109.72 (COMDX) :
11:57AM Dow sets fractional new session high, S&P +4.7 and Nasdaq Comp +1.4 test their highs but have not confirmed yet (SPY) :
11:49AM Empire Resorts extended rights offering until May 20, prior April 29 (NYNY) 0.78 -0.02 : Co has extended rights offering until May 20, 2011 in order to ensure shareholders have adequate time to evaluate and consider the impact of recent announcement of the exclusivity agreement to negotiate with other parties for the development of the Concord site located in Sullivan County, New York, including any changes in the market price of common stock as a result thereof.
11:34AM Gold, silver, crude all continue to move slowly higher, with all three contracts recently notching fresh highs (COMDX) :
* Gold currently higher by $13.40 to $1485.80 (highs at $1487.00). * Silver up $1.066 to $42.73 (highs at $42.805). * Crude at $109.35, up $1.24 on the day (highs at $109.49).
11:25AM New session high for Nasdaq Comp -0.6, Dow +37 and S&P +3.9 working up toward morning peaks (SPY) : Relative sector strength noted in 11:21 update has helped underpin on the recent push.
11:21AM Relative Sector Strength (TECHX) : Seeing some intraday relative sector strength in recent trade in Reg Bank KRE, Finance XLF, Internet FDN, Retail XRT, Networking IGN, Disk Drive, Gold GLD, Silver SLV, Gold Miners GDX. Stock indices are range trading above morning pullback lows, watching to see if this sector relative strength sparks any follow through interest now.
11:01AM BE Aerospace wins Lufthansa program; initially valued in excess of $100 million (BEAV) 36.06 0.00 :
10:51AM Crude oil to new highs at $109.16; now up $1.05 to $109.16 (COMDX) :
10:49AM Silver follows gold, notching fresh ~31 yr highs at $42.755; now up $1.066 to $42.73 (COMDX) :
10:48AM Gold continues its rally to fresh all-time highs at $1484.40; now up $10.10 to $1482.50 (COMDX) :
10:45AM Steel Dynamics and LaFarga Group announce joint venture and $39 mln facility (STLD) 17.71 -0.21 : The co and LaFarga Group jointly announced the creation of a new partnership which will operate under the SDI LaFarga name. Plans include the construction of a $39 million facility which will produce copper wire rod from recycled copper. The venture utilizes various grades of recycled copper scrap as its primary raw material in the production of higher margin copper wire rod. As an intended provider of a portion of the copper scrap to the new venture, Steel Dynamics benefits from a new alternative domestic market for its recycled copper. Historically, a large portion of Steel Dynamics copper scrap is exported to China.
10:42AM Massey Energy breaks above yesterday's three week low bar high in recent trade, working back toward its 50 sma at 64.45 -- session high 64.27 (MEE) 64.22 +1.22 :
10:40AM Titan Machinery announces agreement to acquire Carlson Tractor and Equipment (TITN) 27.67 -0.67 : Co announces that it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Carlson Tractor and Equipment. The acquisition consists of two construction locations in the Minneapolis suburbs of Rosemont and Rogers, Minnesota. This three generation business, currently lead by Rich and Ron Carlson, has provided heavy, medium, and light construction equipment, heavy duty land clearing equipment, wood and waste processing equipment, and aggregate processing equipment. The brands include New Holland Construction, Kobelco, Kawasaki heavy construction, Peterson Pacific grinders and chippers, Seppi, and Barko land clearing equipment, and several lines of crushing and screening equipment. Revenues for fiscal 2010 were $13.5 million.
10:33AM Financial Select Sector SPDR lags after opening upticks, slips to minor new session low (XLF) 16.11 -0.02 :
10:22AM Stock indices stall shy of initial levels (SPY) : A solid push off morning pullback lows following the better sentiment data has, however, stalled in recent trade just shy of initial levels of interest and slipped back. First level resistance from The Technical Take for the S&P +2 and Dow +26 at 1321/1322 and 12335/12350, respectively (session highs 1219.98, 12333) held while the lagging Nasdaq Comp -8 faltered after nearing the flat line at 2760 (session high 2758.78). A limited and overlapping slip back that remains above morning pullback lows would be a constructive intraday set-up.
10:18AM Research In Motion trends higher off the opening towards this week's high of 55.07 (RIMM) 54.83 +0.91 :
10:08AM Gold spikes to fresh highs at $1481.90, new all-time highs; now up $7.60 to $1480.00 (COMDX) :
10:07AM Oracle announces its intention to move OpenOffice.org to a community-based project (ORCL) 33.95 +0.15 :
10:06AM DuPont confirms it was cleared to complete tender offer for Danisco shares (DD) 54.29 +0.19 : Co announces it is now cleared to complete the tender offer by DuPont Denmark Holding ApS to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Danisco at a price of DKK 665 in cash per share following today's regulatory approval by China's Ministry of Commerce. DuPont Denmark Holding ApS is a wholly owned and fully controlled subsidiary of DuPont. All regulatory conditions have now been met and the fully financed tender offer can be completed on April 29, 2011.
10:02AM Fresh session highs for Dow +36 and S&P +4.4, Nasdaq Comp -5 is 11 points off its low (SPY) : GOOG lifts slightly off support at 538/537 noted in the 09:44 update.
9:58AM Amylin Pharma extends gap higher start near its 50 sma at 12.73 -- session high 12.73 (AMLN) 12.68 +1.42 :
9:56AM Stock indices lift off morning pullback lows after better sentiment data -- Dow +9, S&P +1.4, Nasdaq Comp -10 (SPY) :
9:55AM Opening Point Gainers/Losers (TECHX) : Point Gainers: AME (+2.59), AGO (+2.62), KNL (+1.73), CDE (+1.72), BPL (+1.60), HOGS (+1.43), WYNN (+1.64), CBST (+1.49), DRN (+1.34), MAT (+1.36), WTW (+1.20)
9:45AM Dow -2.3 and S&P -0.1 follow Nasdaq -13 back into the red (SPY) :
9:44AM Google sets minor new session low of 541.40 (GOOG) 541.44 -37.10 : The next short term support zone is at 538/537 (50% retrace of July 2010-Jan 2011 rally, extension target).
9:41AM Apple slides firmly lower in early trade, probes its early week/April lows at 330.20/330.02 -- session low 330.12 (AAPL) 330.42 -2.00 :
9:34AM S&P +2.4 and Dow +20 edge slightly above yesterday's high, Nasdaq -7.2 pressured by Semi/GOOG (SPY) :
9:31AM China Valves Tech announced that one of its subsidiaries, has made progress in the R&D of a leakage control device for water supply networks (CVVT) 4.11 +0.03 :
9:08AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
* EMS Defense & Space, a division of aero connectivity and mobile resource management leader, EMS Technologies, (ELMG), announced a follow-on contract to design and fully integrate a power divider and a splitter combiner assembly for the seventh flight set of the Wideband Global SATCOM satellite architecture. * Danaos Corporation (DAC) announced that on April 15, 2011, it took delivery of one more newly built containership, the Hanjin Constantza, expanding its operational fleet to a total of 54 containerships aggregating 246,929 TEU. * Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (CY) announced an agreement with the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India, under which Cypress will extend support for the institute through 2014. Cypress will donate new PSoC 3 and PSoC 5 development kits and software to the PSoC lab, at BITS, Pilani. * Sparton Corporation (SPA) announced that its Complex Systems business received an initial contract manufacturing award from Tampa Microwave, located in Tampa, Florida. * Abbott (ABT) announced it filed a submission for clearance by the FDA for a fully automated vitamin D assay performed on its widely used ARCHITECT testing system.
9:03AM K12 announces Technology Crossover Ventures will invest $125 mln in co to accelerate expansion; investment of $125 mln was structured as a private placement of 4 mln shares of common stock at a price of $31.46 per share (LRN) 34.18 : Co announces that Technology Crossover Ventures has agreed to purchase a minority stake in K12 to support the company's accelerated expansion strategy. The investment of $125 million was structured as a private placement of 4 million shares of common stock at a price of $31.46 per share. Co's growth strategy builds on its $200 million investment in online curriculum and its proprietary technology platform.
9:02AM Inspire Pharm: Merck (MRK) commences tender offer for all outstanding shares of co for 5.00 per share (ISPH) 4.97 : Merck (MRK) announces the commencement of the tender offer for all outstanding shares of co for $5.00 per share in cash without interest and less any applicable withholding taxes. The tender offer is scheduled to expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, on May 12, 2011.
9:01AM Albemarle will increase prices of SAYTEX CP-2000 flame retardant by $0.35/kg on all shipments or as contracts allow (ALB) 57.83 :
9:01AM Amylin Pharma to present data showing investigational Metreleptin treatment led to long-term improvements in diabetes (AMLN) 11.26 : Co announced results from a new analysis of an ongoing, long-term research study of the investigational drug metreleptin, an analog of the human hormone leptin, for the treatment of lipodystrophy. In the study, which has been ongoing for more than 10 years, researchers at the NIH are examining the effect of metreleptin on several metabolic abnormalities, including diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia, in patients with rare inherited or acquired forms of lipodystrophy. Adverse events were generally consistent with known co-morbid conditions of lipodystrophy or expected pharmacological effects of metreleptin.
8:57AM Fresh lows for crude oil heading into the open of pit trade at $107.24; now lower by 80 cents to $107.31 (COMDX) :
8:50AM RXi Pharmaceuticals prices 11.95 mln units at $1.00 for gross proceeds of $12 mln (RXII) 1.16 : Co announces that it has priced an underwritten public offering of 11.95 mln units at a price to the public of $1.00 per unit for gross proceeds of ~$12 mln. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $1.00 per share. The shares of common stock and warrants are immediately separable and will be issued separately such that no units will be issued. Co intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include working capital, capital expenditures, research and development expenditures, clinical and pre-clinical trial expenditures, commercial expenditures, acquisitions of new technologies or businesses that are complementary to its current technologies or business focus, and investments.
8:49AM Charles Schwab beats by $0.01, beats on revs (SCHW) 18.22 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.20 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.19, on revs of $1.21 bln vs $1.18 bln consensus. "Although still choppy, the environment is improving and investors are actively engaged with us across all our businesses... Overall, approximately $800 billion of the client assets currently at Schwab are either enrolled in one of our advisory offerings or under the guidance of an independent advisor, up 16% from a year ago... New brokerage account openings totaled 224,000, net new assets totaled $25.1 billion excluding a large clearing outflow, and total client assets reached a record $1.65 trillion at month-end March, up 10% from a year ago. "
8:48AM NuStar Energy Agrees to Purchase Assets of AGE Refining from the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy trustee for $41 mln; projected to be immediately accretive to earnings and distributable cash flow (NS) 66.39 :
8:47AM Genuine Parts beats by $0.05, beats on revs (GPC) 54.01 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.80 per share, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.75; revenues rose 14.3% year/year to $2.97 bln vs the $2.85 bln consensus. "We are pleased to report another period of solid sales and earnings growth for the Company and are especially encouraged by the positive sales momentum in all four of our business units. Our Automotive Group produced a 9% sales increase for the second consecutive quarter, which reflects the solid execution of our sales initiatives combined with the positive fundamentals of the aftermarket. Our Industrial and Electrical businesses continue to turn in the strongest results among our four business segments. Sales for Motion Industries, our Industrial Group, were up 24% in the quarter, and EIS, our Electrical Group, generated a 39% increase. Both Motion Industries and EIS sell into the manufacturing sector of the economy, which began its recovery in 2010 and continues to perform well today."
8:43AM Gold, silver pulling back as dollar rallies (COMDX) :
* Gold currently up $1.00 to $1473.40. * Silver now up 46 cents to $42.13.
8:39AM Polymet Mining reports on the status of the environmental review of its NorthMet copper-nickel-precious metals project located in northeastern Minnesota; (PLM) 2.02 : Co and the lead agencies - Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, US Forest Services and US Army Corps of Engineers - expect to finalize detailed modeling work plans by early May. The project, which includes the simplified metallurgical process and reduction in capital costs that the Company announced on February 2, 2011, will then be modeled to evaluate the environmental impacts. Once final modeling confirms that the project meets state and federal standards required for it to be permitted, the third party contractor hired by the DNR will prepare a preliminary supplemental draft Environmental Impact Statement. The preliminary SDEIS will be reviewed by the lead agencies, cooperating agencies and PolyMet, before being finalized for publication and public comment.
8:33AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
* Trius Therapeutics (TSRX) announced it has been awarded a research contract by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, part of the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration, for the development of novel antibiotics directed against multi-drug resistant bacterial pathogens. Co may receive up to $3.0 mln over three years in support of its development efforts. * The Dreyfus Corporation, part of BNY Mellon Asset Management (BK), announced that it is expanding its emerging markets offerings by launching the Dreyfus India Fund.
8:32AM Popular Inc announces agreement to settle shareholder derivative claims (BPOP) 3.10 : Co announces that it and the plaintiffs and named defendants have entered into a memorandum of understanding in connection with the settlement of two shareholder derivative actions. Under the terms of the memorandum of understanding, subject to certain customary conditions, including court approval of a final settlement agreement, in consideration for the full and final settlement and release of all defendants, Popular has agreed, for a period of three years, to maintain or implement certain corporate governance practices, measures and policies, as set forth in the memorandum of understanding. Aside from the payment by or on behalf of Popular of approximately $2.1 million of attorneys' fees and expenses of counsel for the plaintiffs, the settlement does not require any cash payments by or on behalf of Popular or the defendants. The parties intend to file a joint request to approve the settlement.
8:31AM Opexa Therapeutics presents Tovaxin data demonstrating a significant improvement in Annualized Relapse Rate compared to those on placebo (OPXA) 1.83 : Co presents clinical data highlighting important efficacy data from Opexa's Phase IIb TERMS clinical trial in a subpopulation of patients that had previously not been exposed to or taken any drugs for the treatment of their MS. In this treatment-free or "naive" subpopulation, patients treated with Tovaxin demonstrated a significant improvement in Annualized Relapse Rate compared to those on placebo. In patients who had at least one relapse in the 12 months prior to enrolling in the study and who had no previous exposure to MS therapy, Tovaxin reduced their ARR by 64% compared to placebo. The overall ARR for Tovaxin-treated patients dropped to 0.18 relapses/patient per year by the end of the 52-week study. Additionally, 76% of Tovaxin-treated patients remained relapse-free at one year compared with 60% of placebo patients.
8:20AM Republic Services announces redemption of 7.125% senior notes due 2016 (RSG) 29.87 : The Notes will be redeemed at a price equal to 103.563% of the principal amount of the Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest up to, but not including, the Redemption Date. The company expects to incur a charge upon extinguishment of the Notes of approximately $82.7 million, of which $21.4 million is the cash premium. This charge will be reflected in its second quarter 2011 financial results.
8:11AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
* InfoSonics (IFON) announced first shipments of its verykool R80 handset to customers in Latin America. * China Green Agriculture (CGA) announced that Gufeng signed a fertilizer export contractwith Beijing Baofengnian Agricultural Material. Gufeng will export 30,000 Metric Tons of compound fertilizer products through Baofengnian, representing 6% of Gufeng's recently expanded annual fertilizer production capacity. Gufeng will ship all the compound fertilizers required by the Agreement from its Beijing factory by June 15, 2011. * Norton by Symantec (SYMC) released the 2012 beta versions of Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security, which are now available for free download from the Norton beta website. The Norton 2012 betas improve on performance and protection in what are already the industry's fastest and lightest security products. * Centene Corporation (CNC) announced that Celtic Group's subsidiary has renewed its contract with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to serve Commonwealth Care members, effective July 1, 2011. The financial impact of the renewal of the Commonwealth Care contract was already assumed in co's 2011 financial guidance. * Stillwater Canada, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stillwater Mining Company (SWC), announced that it has entered into a voluntary agreement with the Ontario Ministry of Environment to have the Marathon PGM-Copper Project be subject to the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act.
8:07AM Pfizer announced top-line results from the ORAL Scan Phase 3 study of tofacitinib; study met all primary endpoints at the 10 mg BID dose, showing statistically significant changes versus placebo in reducing signs and symptoms of RA (PFE) 20.49 : PFE announced top-line results from the ORAL Scan Phase 3 study of tofacitinib, formerly known as tasocitinib. The ORAL Scan study met all primary endpoints at the 10 mg BID dose, showing statistically significant changes versus placebo in reducing signs and symptoms of RA; in reducing the progression of structural damage, as measured by change from baseline in modified Total Sharp Score at six months; in improving physical function, as measured by mean change in HAQ DI at three months; and in reaching DAS28-4 <2.6 at six months. For the 5 mg BID dose, the study demonstrated statistically significant improvements versus placebo in ACR20 response rates at six months, but the difference from placebo in mTSS did not reach statistical significance at six months. Due to the pre-specified step-down statistical procedure, no further testing was performed on HAQ DI and DAS28-4 <2.6 for the 5 mg BID dose. No new safety signals emerged in the ORAL Scan study. The efficacy and safety profile of tofacitinib in this study remains consistent with that seen previously in the clinical program.
8:04AM Synta Pharma enters into $35 mln registered direct offering of 7.2 mln shares of common stock at $4.89 (SNTA) 4.89 : Net proceeds are expected to be ~$35 mln. Approximately 22% of the shares are committed to purchases by insiders of the co, with the remainder being purchased by institutional investors. The offering is expected to close on or about April 20, 2011.
8:04AM AT&T: ALFA to acquire AT&T equity in Mexican telecom operator Alestra (T) 30.29 : The cos announced they have reached an agreement for ALFA to acquire AT&T's 49% stake in Alestra, S. de R.L. de C.V. (Alestra), the Mexican telecom company. Once this acquisition is completed, ALFA will be the sole shareholder of Alestra. The equity sale is expected to close in the second quarter of 2011, subject to regulatory approvals from Mexican authorities. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.
8:04AM Webster Financial beats by $0.07 (WBS) 21.33 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.36 per share, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.29. Total non-performing loans were $261.9 mln, or 2.38 percent, of total loans at March 31, 2011 compared to $273.6 mln, or 2.48 percent, at December 31, 2010. Total deposits were $14.1 bln at March 31, 2011 compared to $13.6 bln at December 31, 2010.
8:02AM POZEN announces preliminary injunction ordered in POZEN Treximet patent litigation (POZN) 5.82 : Co announced that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has granted a preliminary injunction ordering Par Pharmaceutical (PRX) not to make, use, sell, offer to sell, or import into the United States a generic version of sumatriptan/naproxen sodium that competes with Treximet sold by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in the US under an exclusive license from the co. The order was entered in connection with the patent infringement lawsuit pending among the co and Par, Alphapharm, Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA), and Dr. Reddy's (RDY) relating to the submission to the FDA of Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) by the four generic companies and the generic companies' plans to market sumatriptan and naproxen sodium products pursuant to such ANDAs, which the cocontends infringe three of its patents covering Treximet.
8:02AM Tongjitang Chinese Medic announces closing of merger and intent to delist from the NYSE (TCM) 4.44 : Co announced today that it requested that trading of its ADSs on the NYSE be suspended.
8:02AM Knoll reports EPS in-line, revs in-line (KNL) 19.58 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.20 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.20; revenues rose 26.0% year/year to $220.9 mln vs the $222.6 mln consensus. First quarter 2011 gross margin (gross profit as a percentage of net sales) decreased to 31.0% from 32.3% in the same quarter of 2010. The decrease from the first quarter of 2010 resulted from price deterioration, transportation inflation, and raw material inflation. The strengthening of the Canadian dollar and Euro also negatively affected our gross margin. "We have now seen three consecutive quarters of strong orders and sales growth across all our product categories with systems showing the greatest improvement this quarter. Since systems has lagged the other categories in the recovery and declined the most during this recession, this improvement bodes particularly well for us because of our strong systems position."
8:01AM Pulse Electronics sends letter to shareholders (PULS) 5.90 : Co says "Through its unsolicited, uncertain and opportunistic takeover proposal and related nomination of hand-picked directors to the Pulse Board, Bel Fuse (BELFA) is attempting to capture the significant current and future value that rightly belongs to all shareholders. We urge you to vote "FOR ALL" your Company's dedicated nominees... to discard any gold proxy card sent to you by Bel Fuse."
8:01AM ULURU presents data that confirms Altrazeal clinical benefits; research data supports reduction in biofilm formation (ULU) 0.07 : Co presensts scientific data confirming the clinical benefits of Altrazeal. The presentation demonstrates the unique properties of Altrazeal; including controlled release of actives and the ability to affect biofilm formation. The data shows that it is possible to reduce biofilm formation by changing particle sizes and the materials used to produce dressings. Also, the data demonstrates that the material composition of Altrazeal and the size of the nanoparticles in the formulation have been optimized to reduce biofilm formation.
7:36AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
* Intellicheck Mobilisa (IDN) announced a new patent issued from the US Patent Office that strengthens and expands IDN's commanding and exclusive lead in technology related to the authentication systems of drivers licenses. * Wi-LAN announced that Cisco Systems (CSCO) and WiLAN have signed a new patent license agreement pursuant to which Cisco receives a multi-year license to virtually all of WiLAN's patent portfolio. Terms of the agreement are confidential.
7:32AM Zhongpin annousigns strategic cooperation agreement with China Construction Bank; China Construction Bank will provide ~RMB 10 bln in loans and financial services to assist the company in its growth (HOGS) 14.21 :
7:31AM Alliance Data provides private label performance update for March 2011; avg receivables down 4% YoY (ADS) 83.61 : Co reports avg receivables (in thousands) of $ 4,968,459, down 4% YoY and down 4% MoM. Reports net charge offs of Net charge-offs as a percentage of average receivables 7.9%.
7:31AM Intl Game Tech has entered into a new $750 mln, 5-yr credit facility with a syndicate of banks which replaces its existing $1.2 bln credit facility (IGT) 15.58 :
7:30AM Zale announces SEC advised co that it has completed its investigation of co and does not intend to recommend any enforcement action against co (ZLC) 3.82 :
7:25AM Silver futures are extending their rally this morning and have recently notched fresh ~31 yr highs at $42.685; currently higher by 92 cents to $42.58 (COMDX) :
7:23AM Nestle reports Q1 sales; Full-year outlook unchanged (NSRGY) 59.80 : Co reported in the first three months of 2011, sales amounted to CHF 20.3 bln, consisting of 6.4% organic growth, including 4.9% real internal growth. "The first quarter of 2011 saw a number of high-impact events ranging from civil unrest and natural disasters to extreme volatility in raw material prices. Nonetheless, our strong momentum, both in organic growth and our drive for improved efficiency and effectiveness, enables us to confirm our full-year guidance: to achieve the Nestle Model of organic growth between 5% and 6% and a margin improvement in constant currencies."
7:19AM Bronco Drilling to resume trading at 7:30 ET (BRNC) 10.40 : (CHK)
* Merck (MRK) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and its subsidiary Centocor Ortho Biotech announced that the companies have reached agreement to amend the distribution rights to REMICADE (infliximab) and SIMPONI (golimumab), which treat chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. This agreement concludes the arbitration proceeding Johnson & Johnson initiated in May 2009, requesting a ruling related to the distribution agreement following the announcement of the proposed merger between Merck and Schering-Plough. * Rentrak Corporation (RENT) announced a multi-year StationView Essentials contract with WDBD-TV, the FOX affiliate in Jackson, Mississippi.
7:09AM Magic Software will report its financial results for Q1 of 2011 on Thursday, April 28th, 2011, earlier than previously announced (MGIC) 6.22 :
7:09AM IAMGOLD reaches an agreement to sell its 18.9% interest in the Tarkwa and Damang gold mines in Ghana, West Africa to Gold Fields (GFI) for $667 million (IAG) 21.92 :
7:09AM Bank of America misses by $0.10, reports revs in-line (BAC) 13.13 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.17 per share, $0.10 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.27; revenues fell 15.9% year/year to $26.88 bln vs the $26.69 bln consensus. Results for the most recent quarter were positively affected by lower credit costs, gains from equity investments, and higher asset management fees and investment banking fees. These factors were partially offset by higher legacy mortgage-related costs, higher litigation expenses, and lower sales and trading revenue from the record levels reported in the first quarter of 2010. Tangible book value1 per share rose to $13.21 in the first quarter of 2011, up from $12.98 at the end of 2010 and $11.70 in the first quarter of 2010. Regulatory capital ratios remained strong with the Tier 1 common ratio at 8.64% at March 31, 2011, compared to 8.60% at December 31, 2010, and 7.60% at March 31, 2010. The increase from the fourth quarter of 2010 was largely due to higher retained earnings and a reduction in risk-weighted assets, partially offset by an increase in the co's disallowed deferred tax asset (27 basis points of Tier 1 common). The tangible common equity ratio1 rose to 6.10% at March 31, 2011 from 5.99% at December 31, 2010 and 5.22% at March 31, 2010. The provision for credit losses declined 61% from the year-ago quarter as net charge-offs fell for the fourth consecutive quarter, reflecting improved credit quality across most consumer and commercial portfolios. The allowance for loan and lease losses to annualized net charge-off coverage ratio improved in the first quarter of 2011 to 1.63 times, compared with 1.56 times in the fourth quarter of 2010 and 1.07 times in the first quarter of 2010. "Strong growth in deposit balances and positive contributions from five of our six businesses reflect the steady improvement in the broader economy [mortgage biz the outlier]."
7:02AM Bronco Drilling to be acquired by Chesapeake Energy (CHK) for $11/share in cash in a deal valued at approx $315 mln (BRNC) 10.40 : Chesapeake Energy (CHK) and BRNC announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for CHK to acquire BRNC for approximately $315 million, including debt, net working capital and outstanding warrants. Under the agreement, Chesapeake will make a cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Bronco's common stock at a price of $11.00 per share. Following the closing of the transaction, Chesapeake will integrate Bronco's 22 rigs into Chesapeake's wholly owned subsidiary, Nomac Drilling, which currently owns 95 drilling rigs available for service, of which 90 are currently drilling under contract for Chesapeake. The co is currently operating a total of 160 drilling rigs and plans to end 2012 utilizing approximately 200 drilling rigs. "Chesapeake believes that the acquisition of Bronco should satisfy the vast majority of Chesapeake's anticipated rig investment needs through 2012."
7:01AM Sunrise Senior Living prices $75 million of its 5.00% junior subordinated convertible notes due 2041 (SRZ) 9.00 : The notes will be unsecured junior subordinated obligations of the Company and bear interest in cash at the rate of 5.00% per annum. The notes will be convertible into shares of the Company's common stock at an initial conversion rate of 92.2084 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Notes.
7:00AM IFM Investments (Century 21 China) signs Xuzhou franchise agreement (CTC) 2.90 : Co signs a regional franchise agreement with an independent third party to operate its business under the CENTURY 21 brand in Xuzhou city, one of the largest cities in Jiangsu province with a population of ~9 million residents. The regional sub-franchisor is a real estate developer that has its main projects in Jiangsu province and a strategy to grow into real estate brokerage services.
7:00AM Alkermes: BYDUREON Recommended for Approval in Europe (ALKS) 13.41 : Eli Lilly and Company (LLY), together with Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) and Alkermes (ALKS), announce that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has issued a positive opinion recommending approval of exenatide 2 mg powder and solvent for prolonged release suspension for injection (proposed trade name BYDUREON) in the European Union for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in combination with certain oral therapies. The CHMP's positive opinion is now referred for final action by the European Commission, which has the authority to approve medicines for the European Union. The Commission usually makes a decision on CHMP recommendations within two to three months.
6:55AM Longwei Petroleum CFO responds to investor concerns in exclusive interview; says co will exceed FY11 guidance of $500 million in revenues and $70 million in net income (LPH) 1.52 : CFO states in a Q&A session: "We think that any investor that does their homework will find that we are not only trading below our current book value of $1.81 per share, but based on our fiscal year-end June 30, 2011 forecasted adjusted earnings of $0.62 per share, we are also trading at a multiple of approximately 2.75 times our TTM earnings on a fully diluted basis... (Do you believe you will meet your revenue and earnings guidance for fiscal 2011?) Yes, with less than three months remaining in our fiscal year, we believe we will exceed our target numbers. We projected $500 million in revenues and $70 million in net income. Our improved outlook is based on the fact that China recently announced a 500 RMB increase per metric ton in petroleum prices, which drives up our top and bottom lines. The increase also adds over $2.5 million USD in value to our current inventory...."
6:43AM Majestic Capital announced last night delay in filing annual report on SEC Form 10-K (MAJC) 0.38 : Co filed Form 12b-25 with the SEC on March 31, 2011 but will not be able to file its Form 10-K within the 15 day extension period due to: * co's expectation that the California Department of Insurance will place Majestic Insurance Company, co's primary insurance subsidiary, into conservatorship on or about April 20, 2011; * the need to evaluate co's business and financial position in view of the foregoing and its impact on various disclosures to be made in co's Annual Report on Form 10-K; and * in light of the above factors, the additional time required to allow the Company's independent registered public accountants to complete the audit of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2010.
6:40AM Universal Travel announced last night that it received notification that its independent accountants, Windes, had resigned its engagement with co effective April 9, 2011 (UTA) 3.96 : Co announces it has engaged EFP Rotenberg & Co, LLP as its independent registered public accounting firm with immediate effect to take over from Windes & McClaughry Accountancy Corporation. On April 10, 2011, the Company received notification that its principal independent accountants, Windes, had resigned its engagement with the Company effective April 9, 2011. Windes' resignation as the Company's principal independent accountant was accepted by the Audit Committee on April 11, 2011. Windes had informed the Company in its resignation letter that it was no longer able to complete the audit process. Windes stated this was due in part to the Company's management and/or the Audit Committee being non-responsive, unwilling or reluctant to proceed in good faith and imposing scope limitations on Windes' audit procedures. Windes also stated that it had lost confidence in the Board of Director's and the Audit Committee's commitment to sound corporate governance and reliable financial reporting. Prior to its resignation, Windes raised the following issues, some of which may be considered to be disagreements, encountered during the audit, including issues related to the authenticity of confirmations, a loss of confidence in confirmation procedures carried out under circumstances which Windes believed to be suspicious; issues concerning the lack of evidence of certain tour package contracts and related cash payments. As a result, Windes had requested authority to perform additional audit procedures and the above issues to be addressed by an independent Audit Committee investigation. (Stock is halted)
6:36AM STAG Industrial prices 13.75 mln share IPO at $13, below the $15-17 expected range (STIR) :
6:10AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
* Acacia Research (ACTG) announced that its subsidiary Advanced Processor Technologies has entered into a settlement and license agreement with Neutronome Systems resolving patent litigation that was pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. * Headwaters (HW) announced that in the case of Boynton v. Headwaters the Federal District Court for the Western District of Tennessee confirmed the 2009 and 2010 trial results and entered final judgment consistent with the jury verdicts previously disclosed in the amount of $16,011,771. * Ashford University, owned Bridgepoint Education (BPI) has introduced a new Bachelor of Arts degree in Real Estate Studies designed to support a career in the real estate field.
6:02AM Mattel reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (MAT) 25.74 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.05 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.05; revenues rose 8.2% year/year to $951.9 mln vs the $903.7 mln consensus. During Q1, the co repurchased 4 mln shares of its common stock at a cost of ~$100 mln.
5:47AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
* Hertz (HTZ) has signed an agreement with Mitsubishi Motors in the UK to add the pure-electric vehicle i-MiEV city car to the fleets of Hertz and car sharing club Connect by Hertz in the UK. * Raytheon (RTN) completed the first flight test of a Standard Missile-3 Block IA against an intermediate range ballistic missile. The test also demonstrated the SM-3 Block IA's ability to engage a ballistic missile target when launched on remote. * Lockheed Martin's (LMT) Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system successfully tracked and engaged an intermediate range ballistic missile using data from a remote AN/TPY-2 radar during a test off the coast of Hawaii.
4:45AM CNOOC Ltd Chairman resigns; appoints Wang Yilin as new Chairman, effective immediately (CEO) 253.80 :
4:06AM Infosys reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs in-line; guides FY12 EPS below consensus, revs in-line (INFY) 73.01 : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.70 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.70; revenues rose 23.6% year/year to $1.6 bln vs the $1.63 bln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.62-0.63 vs. $0.69 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q1 revs of $1.643-1.659 bln vs. $1.65 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for FY12, sees EPS of $2.83-2.88 vs. $3.10 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY12 revs of $7.13-7.25 bln vs. $7.25 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co states: "We expect the demand environment to be normal this year for the industry."
3:36AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
* InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced the opening of the Holiday Inn San Jose Escazu, in San Jose, Costa Rica. * SGI (SGI) announced that it has been selected to provide services and select products in support for a new 1.3 petaflop high performance computing system being installed at the International Fusion Energy Research Center in Rokkasho, Japan. * Five cases were filed on behalf of plaintiffs whose DePuy ASR XL Acetabular Hip Replacement Systems have failed. DePuy Orthopaedics is division of Johnson and Johnson (JNJ). * Coeur d'Alene Mines (CDE) announced that it has received assurances from the Morales Administration in Bolivia that its San Bartolome mine is not subject to any proposed nationalization in Bolivia. * Agria (GRO) announced that the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office has granted consent to Agria in connection with its takeover offer and shareholding in PGG Wrightson. * Global Sources (GSOL) announced the launch of its first Online Sourcing Fair. * Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a United Technologies co (UTX), demonstrated its continued support of national security by helping to boost into orbit a spacecraft for the U.S. government. * AU Optronics (AUO) and Japan's Sharp (SHCAY) signed a patent cross license agreement. Both parties have agreed to license to the other specified patents owned by each party.
2:30AM Sequans Communications prices 7.7 mln ADS IPO at $10.00, below the $11.00-13.00 expected range (SQNS) :
1:59AM iGATE prices $770 mln of 9% senior notes due 2016 to fund Patni (PTI) acuiqistion (IGTE) 17.19 :
1:56AM Elli Mae prices 7.5 mln share IPO at $6.00 per share, in-line with revised expectation of $6.00 (prior $9.00-11.00) (ELLI) :
1:51AM Maui Land & Pineapple Co. receives notice it is no longer on its 'Watch List' and is now considered back in compliance (MLP) 5.25 :
1:49AM CEMEX S.A. reports significant progress in sustainable development commitments (CX) 8.76 : Co announces significant progress in many key performance indicators related to its global sustainable development strategy, highlighting important achievements in major areas such as sustainable construction, workplace safety, environment and climate change, biodiversity and wilderness preservation. The key highlights are: 1) introduction of a carbon footprint tool; 2) achievement of a 20.5% reduction on CO2 net emissions per ton of cement produced relative to its 1990 baseline; and 3) co significantly increased the use of lower-carbon alternative fuels.
1:41AM Halozyme Therapeutics reports study results indicating co's ultrafast insulin generates faster-in and faster-out profile for Type 1 Diabetes patients using insulin pumps (HALO) 6.45 : Co announces results from a study in type 1 diabetes patients who receive their insulin treatment with a pump demonstrating that Aspart-PH20, a formulation of co's rHuPH20 with the active ingredient in NovoLog, accelerates insulin absorption and shortened its duration of action. These preliminary results represent the first reported experience in a clinical trial where patients received rHuPH20 enzyme combined with an insulin analog as a continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion over 72 hours administered with an insulin pump. So far, the overall safety and adverse event profiles for Aspart-PH20 and aspart alone were comparable and both treatments were well tolerated. Additional parameters important for pump use are being tested, with data available later in 2011. "The initial results from Halozyme's first pump study show that the faster pharmacokinetic and glucodynamic findings consistently demonstrated with mealtime subcutaneous insulin injections are also observed in the CSII setting."
1:36AM Adeona Pharma's clinical study of reaZin meets primary outcomes of increasing serum zinc and decreasing serum free copper (AEN) 1.73 : Co announces top-line results from its clinical study evaluating reaZin for the dietary management of Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment. The clinical study met the primary outcome of increasing serum zinc and decreasing serum free copper. In addition, secondary outcomes of mental status as measured by three standardized cognitive tests all favored the treatment group versus the placebo group. The treatment group showed significant reductions in serum free copper levels and elevations in serum zinc levels over the placebo group, resulting in a highly statistically significant change in the free copper to zinc ratio (-20.8%), the primary outcome of the clinical study. Results reported from Part 2 of this clinical study demonstrated that reaZin was safe and well tolerated by subjects in the treatment group and dropouts were equivalent across the treatment and placebo groups. These results confirm the previously reported results from Part 1 of the clinical study that demonstrated reaZin was well tolerated and superior to Galzin, an FDA-approved zinc preparation.
1:35AM Kraton Performance Polymers increase prices in Asia Pacific region of $200/t for Kraton SBS, and OE SBS polymers and compounds, effective May 1, 2011 (KRA) 39.82 :
1:31AM Apt Inv & Mgt files Registration Statement and updated prospectus supplement for existing at the market offering program (AIV) 24.99 : Co announces it filed an automatic shelf registration statement for co and AIMCO Properties, which was filed to replace the existing shelf registration statement expiring this month. In connection with the new shelf registration statement, co filed a new prospectus supplement relating to its existing At-the-Market offering program. The existing ATM program originally provided for Aimco to sell up to 7 mln shares of its common stock from time to time, of which 2.1 mln shares have been sold and 4.9 mln shares remain available for sale thereunder.
1:24AM Primerica prices 12 mln shares of common stock held by subsidiary of Citi (C) at $22.75 (PRI) 23.42 : Immediately following completion of the offering, Citigroup (C) will beneficially own between ~20.7-23.1% of co's outstanding common stock, depending on whether and the extent to which the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option. All of the shares are being sold by C, and they will receive all of the net proceeds from the offering.
1:18AM United Fire & Casualty provides preliminary estimate for assumed reinsurance losses; impact on after-tax earnings would be ~$6.5 mln, or .25 cents per share (UFCS) 20.57 : Co announces that it will record $10 mln in pre-tax losses related to certain first quarter catastrophe losses incurred in the co's assumed reinsurance portfolio. In 1Q11, co expects assumed premiums of ~$1.5 mln. The estimated losses for these catastrophe events would be expected to contribute ~9.8 percentage points to the first-quarter property casualty combined ratio. The impact on after-tax earnings would be ~$6.5 mln, or .25 cents per share.
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