Briefing.com: Hourly In Play (R) – 11:00 ET
May 03, 2010 (Briefing.com via COMTEX) -- Hourly In Play (R)
Updated: 03-May-10 11:00 ET
10:54
OIH Oil Service HOLDRS Trust trends lower off the open to challenge Friday's low of 120.72 (120.75 -2.91) -Technical-
Next areas of interest lie below along the 200-day exponential/simple moving averages near 119.48/119.00.
10:39
COMDX Gold and silver are now beginning to react to dollar index strength as both metals pull back from their respective highs
Gold now up $3.20 to $1183.90 and silver is higher by 11.6 cents to $18.755.
10:36
MMC Marsh McLennan subsidiary announces acquisition of Bostonian Group (24.39 +0.17)
Co announced acquisition of Bostonian Group, which has 60 employees and ~$14 mln in annual revenues.
10:35
ICF 1st hour global & sector ETF movers-- REITS & Real Estate lead & VIX Volatility measurements lag through the 1st hour of trading -Technical-
The Actively Traded Leading Global & Sector ETFs:
iShares REITS & real estate- ICF +2.25%, IYR +2.0%, homebuilders & home construction- XHB +1.50%, ITB +2.0%, iShares transports- IYT +1.50%, SPDRS industrials- IYT +1.50%, heating oil- UHN +1.25%, RBOB gas- UGA +1.25%, SPDRS cons. disct.- XLY +1.25%, aerospace & defense- PPA +1.25%
The Actively Traded Lagging Global & Sector ETFs:
VIX vol index- VXX -3.0%, VXZ -1.0%, SPDRS metals & mining- XME -1.75%, oil HLDRS- OIH -1.50%, coal- KOL -1.75%, steel- SLX -1.75%, copper- JJC -1.50%, base metals- DBB -1.50%, basic materials- XLB -0.50%, IYM -1.0%, Euro currency shares- FXE -1.0%, gold miners- GDX -0.75%
10:34
COMDX Dollar index spikes to highs as euro drops to test its 12 month lows at $1.316 (made on April 28); note that 82.20 was providing resistance all morning for dollar index
Precious metals seeing little reaction to move; crude oil is pulling back towards the flat line.
10:34
BP BP extends its gap down open lower intraday as it dips down to challenge the $48.00 area, just above last July's gap at 47.64 (48.00 -4.17) -Update- -Technical-
Entire gap is at 46.94-47.64.
10:26
SNDK 1st hour NASDAQ 100 (NDX) strength & weakness-- Semis (storage) lead closing out the 1st hour of trading -Technical-
NDX 10 Best % Performers:
SNDK, INTU, GRMN, NWSA, FLEX, LINTA, SBUX, MAT, WYNN, BIDU
NDX 10 Worst % Performers:
ILMN, NIHD, JOYG, XRAY, NVDA, QCOM, ATVI, VRTX, RIMM, BMC
NASDAQ TRIN @ +0.70
NASDAQ A/D @ +815
10:24
CAT 1st hour Dow 30 (INDU) strength & weakness-- Machinery & Financials lead closing out the 1st hour of trading -Technical-
INDU 5 Best % Performers:
CAT, JPM, GE, BA, AXP
INDU 5 Worst % Performers:
AA, PFE, WMT
NYSE TRIN @ +1.10
NYSE A/D @ +1350
10:15
SPY Minor new session highs for stock indices -- Dow +93, S&P +9.1, Nasdaq +23 -Update- -Technical-
The S&P held near initial support mentioned in the 09:50 update (see for chart) with it recent pushing to a fresh session high along with the other indices. Sector relative strength on the latest push has been noted in Finance XLF / RKH, Housing XHB, REITS IYR, Retail XRT, Consumer Discretionary XLY, Industrial XLI, Disk Drive, Rail, Restaurant.
10:02
European Markets Update: FTSE (closed); CAC -0.30%; DAX -0.46%
The agreement between the EU and IMF to bailout Greece has done little to excite the markets as Germany has yet to agree to the deal. After the situation in Greece is settled look for the markets to shift their focus to Portugal as their CDS spreads are next widest. Industrials across the globe continue their slide after Beijing announced further efforts to stem real estate speculation in China. Britain's FTSE is closed.
Germany's DAX is up 0.30% led by weakness in the industrials sector. Demag Cranes, the world's largest marker of harbor cranes, was downgraded by analysts after it was announced China would by draining liquidity from the system, shares fell 3%. Industrials are down 1.2%. The damage has been contained as strength in telecom (0.65%) and health care (0.62%) have supported the index.
France's CAC is off 0.46% as weakness is once again prevalent in the industrial sector. Shares in the space are down just over 1% and continue to weigh on the global markets. Health care is moderately lower, also down greater than 1%. Strength can be found in the utilities sector as those shares are collectively up greater than 1.3%.
10:02
SPY Stock indices initially slip slightly after construction spending and ISM data -- Dow +74, S&P +7, Nasdaq +14 -Update- -Technical-
10:01
PEGA Pegasystems announced that Blue Cross BlueShield of Tennessee has selected its SmartBPM Suite and CPM (31.34 -0.33)
10:01
CMTL Comtech Telecom receives $4.8 mln SATCOM equipment order (31.59 +0.35)
09:56
UAUA UAL flight attendants issue statement on merger; new contract with pay, and benefit must be concluded before they can support merger (21.79 +0.20)
09:54
IYR REITS displaying some leadership here -- IYR, SPG, PSA, EQR, MAC, BXP, VNO, CPT, HME -Technical-
09:52
RIG Transocean shares violate the Friday high volume low in early trading (69.75 -2.57) -Update- -Technical-
Another lower low now in play @ 69.64.
09:52
TECHX Opening Point Gainers/Losers -Technical-
Point Gainers: DTG (+6.33), CLH (+4.93), ASF (+4.93), GS (+2.95), AAPL (+2.85), CSTR (+3.15), IHS (+2.38), ITMN (+2.16), ALK (+2.06), GR (+1.69), WLT (+1.66)
Point Losers: BPT (-3.71), BP (-3.42), ENP (-2.28), THOR (-2.70), RIG (-2.34), CLF (-2.39), BTU (-2.41), DRL (-1.98), DO (-1.99), APC (-1.60), FCX (-1.54)
09:51
XJT ExpressJet expects services to UAUA and CAL to remain at industry levels (4.07 +0.07)
09:50
SPY S&P 500 +7 early run pauses just shy of second level resistance -Update- -Technical-
A solid open for the S&P with the early extension stalling just shy of resistance noted in The Technical Take at 1196/1197 (channel, chart point/50% retrace of Thur-Fri slide) -- Click for chat. Intraday support is at 1193/1192 and 1189. The next minor area of interest above is at 1200/1201.
09:47
GET Gaylord Entertain announced that all guests of its resort in Tennessee have been evacuated, also withdraws its 2010 financial guidance (33.75 0.00)
Co announced that all guests from its Tennessee resorts have been evacuated. The co carries business interruption and property insurance with a limit of $50 mln. Co withdrew its previous financial guidance, expects financial impact to be for the next two quarters. (Stock is halted)
09:43
ECONX Reminder: Construction Spending and ISM Index data due out in about 17 min at 10:00ET
09:42
EHTH eHealth announced earlier it has acquired the private company PlanPrescriber Inc. for $28.7 mln in cash (14.24 +0.53)
09:39
BSDM BSD Medical before the open announced the registered direct offering of $2.5 mln of its common stock (1.62 -0.23)
09:37
TECHX Broad based sector strength in early trade -Update- -Technical-
The indices opened firmer and extended amid broad based sector strength. The top performers on a percentage basis include: Solar TAN +1.7%, REITs IYR +1.6%, Rail +1.6%, Airline +1.6%, Bank KBE +1.5%, Semi SMH +1.4%, Casino +1.3%, Paper +1.35, Finance XLF +1.2%, Insurance KIE +1.1%, Disk Drive +1.1%.
09:35
RKT Rock-Tenn before the open announced it will increase the price of Millennium grades of its paperboard products by $40 per ton (52.50 +0.85)
09:30
STEM StemCells before the open announced results from Phase 1 Batten Trial Data, demonstrating HuCNS-SC cells, the transplantation procedure, and the immunosuppression regimen were all well tolerated (1.16 +0.04)
09:27
CSA Cogdell Spencer announces CEO Frank Spencer will step down October 31, 2010 (7.58 )
09:26
JOE St. Joe Company announces it has not had, as of yet, any direct impact from the Deepwater Horizon incident (33.04 )
09:23
On The Wires
BioSante Pharmaceuticals (BPAX) has reinitiated the development of its GVAX Prostate vaccine... Capstone Turbine (CPST) announced it received an order for a C1000 power package from a large producer of specialty meat products in Italy... Curis, Inc. (CRIS) announced that it has successfully completed enrollment and treatment of the last patient in its Phase I clinical trial of CUDC-101.
09:20
VNR Vanguard Natural Resources will acquire oil properties in Mississippi, Texas, and New Mexico for $131 mln from a undisclosed buyer (24.68 )
Co announce acquisition of oil properties in Mississippi, Texas, and New Mexico from an undisclosed buyer. The properties to be acquired have estimated total proved reserves of 4.7 mln barrels of oil equivalent, of which ~96% are oil reserves and 61% are proved developed. At closing of this transaction later this month, net production attributable to the assets being acquired should be ~850 Boe/d.
09:19
Asian Markets Close: Nikkei (closed); Hang Seng -1.41%; Shanghai (closed); Sensex -1.12%
Shares in Japan, and Shanghai were closed. Stocks in Asia traded lower this morning after the European Union and International Monetary Fund agreed to bailout Greece to the tune of $146 bln. The Asian markets continue to pay especially close attention to the actions taken in Beijing to stem real estate speculation. Beijing announced they are raising the reserve-ratio in an effort to drain liquidity from the system by forcing banks to lend out less of their reserves. Japan's Nikkei was closed.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.41% as Chinese bank stocks sold off following the announcement out of Beijing. Shares of ICBC and Bank of China were down 1.2% and 1.5% respectively. Also hit hard by the news were basic materials (-1.85%) as the raising of the reserve-ratio will reduce the demand of industrial metals. The consumer services sector was the hardest hit, with shares within that space losing 2.62%. The lone bright spot was technology which rose 0.35%.
China's Shanghai Composite Index was closed.
India's Sensex dropped 1.12% as basic materials stocks fell by 2.37% following Beijing's announcement. Reliance Infrastructure, Hindalco and Sterlite sold off by more than 3%. Utilities and health care were unable to provide investors with safety as those sectors dropped 1.68% and 1.60% respectively. Every sector was down for the session.
09:19
MAA Mid-America Aptmt will redeem ~50% paid with cash, 6.2 mln shares of its $25.00 par, Class H preferred stock (55.27 )
09:14
COMDX Gold and silver tick to their best levels of the session
Gold now higher by $2.70 to $1183.40; silver up 16.6 cents to $18.805.
09:09
SJR Shaw Comms announced it has entered into agreements to acquire for ~$2.0 billion, 100% of the over-the-air and specialty television businesses of Canwest Global Communications (18.81 )
09:07
LCAPA Liberty Media Capital (44.31 )
Co announced that it has commenced a cash tender offer for up to $400 mln aggregate principal amount of its outstanding 5.70% Senior Notes due 2013.
09:04
ASTM Aastrom Biosciences' U.S. Phase 2b trial RESTORE-CLI has been accepted for presentation following positive interim results (1.62 )
09:04
BBOX Black Box has renewed its agreement with CommScope to deliver CommScope's infrastructure solutions (31.19 )
09:03
ANX Adventrx Pharma will purchase shares of its Series F convertible preferred stock pursuant to direct offering to institutional investors (3.64 )
Co will recognize approx $19.2 mln.
08:59
DSTI DayStar Technologies announces bridge financing of $3 mln (0.31 )
Co announced that it has entered into an agreement with Dynamic Worldwide Solar Energy to provide DayStar with a bridge loan of up to the principal amount of $3 mln. On April 29, 2010, Dynamic funded the first tranche of the Loan in an amount of $650,000. In connection with the funding of the first tranche of the loan, coissued to Dynamic a note in the principal amount of $650,000, convertible at the option of Dynamic into shares of co common stock at $0.30 per share and a warrant entitling Dynamic to purchase 2,166,667 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.70 per share. The funding of subsequent tranches of the loan, up to a maximum of $3 million, will be subject to the discretion of Dynamic and will be on terms comparable to those applicable to the first tranche.
08:59
FTBK Frontier Fincl: Union Bank, National Association, assumes all of the deposits of Frontier Bank after FDIC shuts it down (3.57 )
Frontier Bank was closed Friday by the Washington Department of Financial Institutions, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Union Bank, National Association, San Francisco, California, to assume all of the deposits of Frontier Bank. Union Bank, did not pay the FDIC a premium to assume all of the deposits of Frontier Bank and essentially all of the failed bank's assets. The FDIC and Union Bank, N.A. entered into a loss-share transaction on $3.04 billion of Frontier Bank's assets.
08:57
TRGT Targacept and AstraZeneca ammend 2005 collaboration expanding the TC-5619 development program; Targacept to get $11 mln payment (23.80 )
08:38
EVBN Evans Bancorp announces common stock offering (14.01 )
Co announced today that it intends to sell up to $14.7 mln of common stock in an underwritten public offering. The co plans to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, which will likely include support for organic growth, and may also include financing potential acquisitions.
08:38
CLX Clorox beats by $0.07, reports revs in-line; raises lower end of FY10 EPS guidance, reaffirms FY10 revs guidance; guides FY11 in-line (64.70 )
Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $1.16 per share, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.09; revenues rose 1.2% year/year to $1.37 bln vs the $1.37 bln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for FY10, raises lower end of FY10 EPS guidance to $4.20-4.25 vs. $4.24 Thomson Reuters consensus vs $4.10-4.25 previously; reaffirms FY10 revs up 1-2%, equating to $5.50-5.56 bln vs. $5.54 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $4.50-4.65 vs. $4.63 Thomson Reuters consensus, with revs up 2-4% YoY vs the +3.3% consensus. Gross margin was roughly flat YoY.
08:35
GNK Genco Shipping & Trading announces plan to sign time charter for Supramax vessel
Co announced it has agreed to sign a time charter for the Genco Predator, with Pacific Basin Chartering for between 11 to 13.5 months at a rate of $22,500 per day, less a 5% third-party brokerage commission. The charter is expected to commence on or about May 7, 2010 and is subject to the completion of definitive documentation.
08:35
PPCO Penwest Pharma beats by $0.03, beats on revs (3.51 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.12 per share, $0.03 better than the single estimate of $0.09; revenues rose 66.0% year/year to $8.8 mln vs the $7.9 mln estimate. Co notes that this was their third consecutive profitable quarter, and that they began to receive the full royalty rate for Opana ER during Q1.
08:34
AAPL Apple announces it sold its one millionth iPad (261.09 )
08:33
MCY Mercury General beats by $0.19 (44.99 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.85 per share, $0.19 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.66.
08:33
DTG Dollar Thrifty: Avis (CAR) sends letter to DTG saying it would like to make a "substantially higher offer" (43.99 )
Avis (CAR) announces that it would like to make a "substantially higher offer" for DTG, following DTG's announced deal to be acquired by HTZ for $41 per share. CAR requests access to legal, financial and business due diligence information.
08:33
TAP Molson Coors Brewing increased quarterly dividend to $0.28/share from $0.24/share (44.36 )
08:32
ATK Alliant Tech announces it has received $372 mln worth of orders for ammunitions for the US Army Contracting Command (4.08 )
08:32
PIP PharmAthene appoints Eric I. Richman as interim chief executive officer (1.42 )
Co announced that the co's board of directors has named Eric I. Richman interim chief executive officer replacing David Wright, who has submitted his resignation.
08:31
TIBX TIBCO Software announces a buyback program of up to $300 mln of its outstanding common stock (11.38 )
08:31
KDN Kaydon beats by $0.06, beats on revs (41.63 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.40 per share, excluding a net benefit of $0.5 million, $.01 per share on a diluted basis, for certain tax items, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.34; revenues rose 8.1% year/year to $119.2 mln vs the $111.5 mln consensus.
08:31
SPY Index futures trading on GLOBEX see little reaction following 8:30ET econ. data -Technical-
All contracts still trading in the upper half of the overnight & premarket range
S&P 500 (ES) +5.00
NDX 100 (NQ) +8.25
INDU 30 (YM) +35
08:18
KW Kennedy Wilson announced it has acquired a $41 mln loan portfolio from a larger regional bank (11.07 )
08:16
DW Drew Industries beats by $0.03, beats on revs (25.65 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.33 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.30; revenues rose 105.6% year/year to $146 mln vs the $128.7 mln consensus.
08:11
ECONX Reminder: Personal Income and Personal Spending data due out in about 19 min at 8:30ET
08:10
ALNY Alnylam Pharma announced it has received intent to grant notification from the European Patent Office covering RNAi Therapeutics (16.96 )
08:10
AVT Avnet Announces agreement to acquire Tallard Technologies (31.97 )
Co announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Tallard Technologies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. For 2009, Tallard generated revenue of approximately US $250 million.
08:09
JTX Jackson Hewitt amends credit agreement with lower cost structure (1.68 )
08:07
VASC Vascular Solutions announced the acquisition of Smart Needle and pdaAccess for $5.75 mln from Escalon Medical (ESMC) (9.90 )
08:06
SYY Sysco beats by $0.02, beats on revs (31.54 )
Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $0.42 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.40; revenues rose 2.4% year/year to $8.95 bln vs the $8.75 bln consensus.
08:04
RINO RINO Intl names Ben Wang as new Chief Financial Officer, effective April 27, 2010 (17.22 )
08:04
DDD Scolr Pharma announces receipt of notice of allowance of new U.S. patent (1.21 )
Co announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a notice of allowance for SCOLR's method of forming a tablet, U.S. Patent Application No. 11/906,303. The patent will provide SCOLR with patent protection for the blending and tableting process currently used in their extended release ibuprofen formulation and analogous processes for other active pharmaceutical ingredients susceptible to tackiness.
08:03
ASF Administaff beats by $0.16, beats on revs (22.14 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.09 per share, $0.16 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.07); revenues fell 0.9% year/year to $457.7 mln vs the $424.7 mln consensus, as worksite employees paid per month fell 7.8%, offset by a 7.5% increase in rev per worksite employee.
08:03
ABT Abbott Labs receives FDA approval for CREON to include dosing information for patients with chronic pancreatitis and pancreatectomy (51.16 )
08:02
VRX Valeant Pharmaceuticals beats by $0.05, beats on revs; raises FY10 EPS guidance (45.00 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.64 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.59; revenues rose 30.4% year/year to $232 mln vs the $224.7 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $2.65-2.90 vs. $2.59 Thomson Reuters consensus, and up from prior guidance of $2.45-2.70.
08:02
ARW Arrow Elec beats by $0.16, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (30.50 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.76 per share, $0.16 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.60; revenues rose 23.9% year/year to $4.24 bln vs the $4.08 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.78-$0.86 vs. $0.66 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $4.3-$4.6 bln vs. $4.24 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.
08:02
IDSA Industrial Services announces 50% stock dividend resulting in a 3 for 2 stock split, payable May 31 2010 (18.01 )
08:01
KTOS Kratos Defense and Security awarded $4.4 mln in new Homeland security system contract work (14.25 )
08:01
GMCR Green Mtn Coffee extends tender offer to acquire Diedrich Coffee (72.76 )
Co extends $35.00/share offer to acquire Diedrich Coffee (DDRX). Tender will expire at 12:00 AM EST on May 10, 2010.
08:01
IPGP IPG Photonics beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (17.51 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.07 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.05; revenues rose 12.8% year/year to $51.2 mln vs the $50.7 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.10-0.15 vs. $0.08 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $57-62 mln vs. $54.38 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
07:34
UIS Unisys Completes Sale of Health Information Management Business (28.02 )
Co announced the sale of its health information management business to Molina Healthcare (MOH) for $135 mln in cash. In 2009, the business represented approximately $110 mln in revenues for co.
07:33
AWI Armstrong World Industries beats by $0.11, beats on revs; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (43.55 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.24 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.11 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.13; revenues fell 1.4% year/year to $658.9 mln vs the $639.5 mln consensus, sales were down 4% ex-FX. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.35-1.60 vs. $1.47 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $2.7-2.9 bln vs. $2.74 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Reductions in operating costs more than offset the declining sales.
07:29
On The Wires
Sterling Financial Corporation (STSA), and Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. announced that THL intends to increase the size of its proposed investment in Sterling to $170 million, subject to the approval of the U.S. Treasury under the terms of the previously announced exchange agreement with Sterling. If approved, THL would purchase shares of common stock and shares of a newly-created Series B convertible participating voting preferred stock at a price of up to $0.20 per share of common stock and up to $92.00 per share of Series B stock, each of which would be mandatorily convertible into 460 shares of common stock... R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD) has been awarded a multi-year, multi-million dollar agreement by Thomas Nelson. Under the terms of the agreement, which renews and expands the companies' relationship, RR Donnelley will draw on its global platform to produce Bibles and other religious texts... American Commercial Lines (ACLI) has secured a 3-year agreement with the General Drivers, Warehousemen & Helpers (Teamsters), Local Union No. 89 for employees of its manufacturing division Jeffboat. The agreement, which was ratified by more than 86 percent of the voters, helps to position the shipyard for future growth... CAE (CAE) announced the sale of three full-flight simulators valued at a total list price of ~C$50 million. The sale to Saudi Arabian Airlines was concluded during fiscal year 2010 and brings the total FFS sales for fiscal year 2010 to 20. The sales to Bombardier and to ECFT are CAE's first two for fiscal year 2011... Energy Partners (EPL) was recently informed by the Minerals Management Service that it had regained supplemental waiver status. This significant development means that the Company, due to its strong financial condition, no longer has to post surety bonds in support of decommissioning obligations associated with certain of its federal offshore Gulf of Mexico leases... The Ensign Group (ENSG), announced that an Ensign subsidiary acquired the operating assets of Horizon Home Health and Hospice, a well-regarded home health and hospice agency based in Meridian, Idaho. The Horizon purchase was effective May 1, 2010. Co also announced today that it has acquired Heritage Gardens Healthcare Center, a 140-bed skilled nursing facility in Carrollton, Texas, and Silver Springs Healthcare Center, a 144-bed skilled nursing facility in Houston, Texas. The acquisitions were effective May 1, 2010... Capital Senior Living Corporation (CSU) announced that Midwest Portfolio Holdings II, LP, a joint venture in which the Company held a 15 percent partnership interest, has sold three senior living communities to Health Care REIT (HCN). Upon closing the sale, co leased the communities from HCN. Co previously managed the three communities in the joint venture under long-term management agreements.
07:15
LPNT Lifepoint Hospitals agrees to purchase Sumner Regional Health Systems; if purchase is approved co will review previous guidance (38.18 )
07:15
CLWR Clearwire expands into central Pennsylvania (7.72 )
Co announces the expansion of its sales operations for CLEAR's Internet service throughout Central Pennsylvania including Harrisburg, Reading, Lancaster and York.
07:14
CAST ChinaCast Education announces $29.3 mln direct investment advancing acquisition of third accredited university in China (6.73 )
Co and e-Learning services provider in China, announces the signing of an agreement for a $29.3 million direct investment in the co by Mr. Wu Shi Xin, the owner of Wintown Enterprises Limited, which, after completion of a reorganization, will own 100% of Hubei Industrial University Business College (HIUBC). On receipt of the investment of $29.3 million in cash, CAST will issue to Wu's nominated cos a total of 3.7 mln shares of restricted stock at $7.85 per share, based on a 5% premium on top of the twenty day volume weighted average share price.
07:13
SBUX Starbucks VIA now available in grocery aisles, total availability increasing to 37,000 locations in U.S. by end of June (25.98 )
07:11
COMDX Gold trades to its best level of the morning -also its highest levels since Dec 4- at $1184.00; now higher by $2.30 to $1183.00
07:06
BPI Bridgepoint Education beats by $0.15, beats on revs; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (25.71 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.49 per share, $0.15 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.34; revenues rose 85.2% year/year to $156.1 mln vs the $143.8 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.86-1.88 vs. $1.87 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $688.2-691.2 mln vs. $690.10 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Total student enrollment is expected to be between 69,000 and 71,000. Total student enrollment at BPI increased 56.5% to 65,788 students in Q1. New student enrollments for 1Q10 were up 44.6% YoY.
07:04
ALTI Altair Nanotechnologies transfers interest in AlSher Titania joint venture to Sherwin-Williams (0.58 )
Co announced the signing of a definitive agreement with The Sherwin-Williams Company (SHW) that provides for the transfer of co's 70% share in the AlSher Titania Joint Venture to Sherwin-Williams, who will now own 100% of AlSher Titania.
07:04
SVVS SAVVIS Comm misses by $0.02, beats on revs (17.58 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.21 per share, $0.02 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.19); revenues fell 2.2% year/year to $216.6 mln vs the $214.1 mln consensus. "In the first quarter, revenue and adjusted EBITDA were higher than Street expectations, due to stronger than expected sales, a continued focus on cost savings efforts and lower than expected SG&A spending. However, in order to build on our strong sales trend, we expect to increase our sales and marketing spend, which could impact adjusted EBITDA in Q2." Savvis expects the following for FY10: Adjusted EBITDA of $210-225 million, which narrows the range slightly from previous guidance of $205-225 million.
07:04
CLDA Clinical Data Licenses Adenosine A2A Agonist to Santen for Development of Ophthalmic Treatments; will receive an upfront payment of $2 million followed by milestone payments as well as royalties on product sales (18.68 )
06:59
JNJ Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Healthcare announces voluntary recall of certain OTC Infants' and Children's Products; not being undertaken due to adverse medical events (64.30 )
McNeil Consumer Healthcare, in consultation with FDA, is voluntarily recalling all lots that have not yet expired of certain over-the-counter (OTC) Children's and Infants' liquid products manufactured in the United States. Some of the products included in the recall may contain a higher concentration of active ingredient than is specified; others may contain inactive ingredients that may not meet internal testing requirements; and others may contain tiny particles.
06:46
S&P futures vs fair value: +4.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.00.
06:46
Asian Markets
Nikkei...Holiday......... Hang Seng...20811.36...-297.20...-1.40%.
06:46
European Markets
FTSE...Holiday......... DAX...6211.27...-13.50...-0.20%.
06:39
RPTP Raptor Pharma announces Ph. 2a NASH study meets primary endpoints (2.45 )
06:34
GBX Greenbrier Companies announces 4.5 mln common share offering (16.28 )
06:24
MD MEDNAX reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line (54.94 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.82 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.82; revenues rose 9.5% year/year to $332.9 mln vs the $338.2 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $1.00-1.05, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.04 Thomson Reuters consensus. The co's outlook anticipates same-unit NICU patient volume to be flat, to as much as 1 percent higher YoY for Q2. Q1 same-unit revenue increased by 2.2% YoY.
06:13
IART Integra beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (45.43 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.63 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.57; revenues rose 7.3% year/year to $172.7 mln vs the $171.1 mln consensus. Co reaffirms in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $2.60-2.75, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.68 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $715.0-735.0 mln vs. $726.05 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
06:11
GAS NICOR misses by $0.01, beats on revs; reaffirms FY10 EPS guidance (43.51 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.33 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.34; revenues rose 7.4% year/year to $1.19 bln vs the $0.93 bln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $3.10-3.30, includes $31.7 mln pre-tax net recovery and may not be comparable to $3.05 Thomson Reuters consensus.
06:07
CNA CNA Financial beats by $0.09 (28.12 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.74 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.65.
05:38
United and Continental announce merger; new entity to be named United Continental Holdings with the name of the airline being United Airlin
Continental (CAL 22.35) and United (UAUA 21.60) announce a definitive merger agreement. In the merger, Continental shareholders will receive 1.05 shares of United common stock for each Continental common share they own. United shareholders would own approx 55% of the equity of the combined co and Continental shareholders would own approx 45%, including in-the-money convertible securities on an as-converted basis.
02:13
On The Wires
Ness Technologies (NSTC) and Elbit Systems (ESLT) announce they were awarded through their joint venture NessBit, a contract worth ~$25 mln by the Israeli Ministry of Defense to supply an information management system for the Israeli Air Force... Top Image Systems, (TISA) announces that it was selected by Generali Group Austria to index and classify 60 mln documents received annually
02:07
AAP Biglari Holdings (BH) commences exchange offer for ~1.4 mln shares of Advance Auto Parts; shareholders of AAP will receive 0.1179/shares of BH stock for each share of AAP (45.10 )
01:51
POZN FDA approved VIMOVO from Pozen and AstraZeneca (AZN) (10.85 )
01:48
BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway reports 1Q10 results (77.00 )
Co reports 1Q10 operating earnings of $2.22 bln vs 1.71 bln in 1Q09. Co reports 1Q10 operating earnings, including investment and derivative gains/losses, of $3.63 bln vs $(1.53) bln in 1Q09.
01:44
BMY Bristol-Myers Squibb received a complete response letter from FDA for its drug belatacept (25.31 )
01:41
AUO AU Optronics prevails in patent dispute with LG Display; court concludes LG Display infringed all 4 of AUO's patents (11.59 )
01:39
On The Wires
Samson Oil & Gas Ltd. (SSN) announces that it received binding commitments for a placement of 123,529,412 fully paid ordinary shares at a price of A$0.034 cents per share to raise A$4.2 mln before costs... Solutia (SOA) announces that it has acquired Novomatrix, for $73 mln... Elbit Systems (ESLT) announces that it was awarded a contract from the Israeli Ministry of Defense, worth ~$50 mln... TierOne (TONE), the holding co for TierOne Bank, announces the co and the Bank received notification from the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Bank's primary regulator, that the Bank's application to sell deposits, selected loans and other assets associated with 32 of the Bank's branch offices to Great Western Bank has been denied... Toro Co (TTC) announces it has acquired certain assets from USPraxis; financial terms weren't disclosed.
16:34
CYCC Cyclacel Pharma receives complaint filed by Celgene seeking to avoid certain cyclacel patents (2.30 -0.03)
Co announced that it received a complaint filed by Celgene Corporation (CELG) seeking a declaration from the court that four Cyclacel-owned patents, which claim the use of romidepsin injection in T-cell lymphomas, are not infringed by Celgene's products and are invalid. Cyclacel and its counsel have not had an opportunity to thoroughly review these filings. The four patents cited in the complaint do not involve Cyclacel's clinical development candidates nor its commercial products.
16:33
ENP Encore Energy announces first quarter distribution general partner reviewing strategic alternatives (21.52 )
Co announced that the Board of Directors of its general partner has approved a cash distribution of $0.50 per unit. The distribution is slightly lower than the third and fourth quarter 2009 distribution rate of $0.5375 per unit, due primarily to lower cash settlements on oil and natural gas commodity contracts in the first quarter of 2010... Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR), the ultimate parent of the Partnership's general partner, and the Partnership also announced that they intend to explore a broad range of strategic alternatives to enhance the value of Partnership units, including, but not limited to, those involving a possible merger, sale or other transaction involving the Partnership, Denbury's general partner interest or all or part of the 46% of Partnership units it owns. Today's announcement was initiated in light of the pending sale by Denbury of oil and natural gas properties that would have been logical candidates for possible drop-down transactions with the Partnership. They also intend to explore a sale or other transaction involving one or more of the Partnership's assets, initiated in light of the substantial projected capital requirements required to recognize the full potential value of certain fields owned by the Partnership which are possible CO2 tertiary projects, such as Elk Basin Field. The strategic alternatives process may result in one or more transactions involving the Partnership, Denbury and/or a third party. There is no assurance that a review of strategic alternatives will result in the proposal or completion of any transaction with acceptable terms. The Partnership and Denbury do not expect to update the market with any further information on the process unless and until disclosure is deemed appropriate.
16:32
ISYS Integral Systems announces CFO transition (8.72 -0.65)
Co announced that Bill Bambarger has announced his intention to resign as CFO of Integral Systems, citing personal and health reasons. Mr. Bambarger will remain in his role to assist the Company in the transition process until July 31, 2010. The Company has commenced a search for a new CFO. Paul Casner, President and CEO
16:32
MBRK MiddleBrook Pharma files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (0.30 +0.00)
Co has filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. MiddleBrook will continue to manage and operate its business and assets during the pendency of the bankruptcy case, subject to the supervision and orders of the bankruptcy court and in accordance with applicable provisions of the United States bankruptcy code. In conjunction with the filing, MiddleBrook is seeking customary authority from the bankruptcy court that will enable it to continue operations and deliver products to customers in the ordinary course of business and without interruption.
16:27
PFG Principal Fincl signs agreement with Banco do Brasil (29.22 -1.11)
Co announced that the principal and Banco do Brasil have signed a definitive agreement to extend their pension and long-term asset accumulation joint venture in Brazil. Under the terms, the companies' joint venture, BrasilPrev Seguros e Previdencia, will have the exclusive right to manufacture and distribute products within the Banco do Brasil network for 23 years.
16:19
PMI PMI Group announces closing of common stock and convertible senior note offerings (5.21 -0.46)
Co announced it completed the sale of common stock and convertible senior notes for aggregate net proceeds of approximately $706 million. Upon completion, the cocontributed approximately $586 mlnof the proceeds to PMI Mortgage Insurance in the form of capital and a surplus note. With this capital contribution, PMI is in compliance with minimum policyholders' position and risk-to-capital regulatory capital requirements applicable to mortgage insurers.
16:15
CNIC Copernic announces Quebec renewable energy project (2.72 -0.17)
Co announced that Newlook Industries Corporation has reached agreement with local developers to secure land and facilities for the construction of a methane gas power generation plant in Quebec. The agreement is a first step to the conversion of biomass and residential waste to energy. The process plans to utilize Turbo Plasma Technology for the destruction of harmful emissions. The agreement is conditional upon receipt of a satisfactory power purchase agreement.
16:06
FACE Physicians Formula announces stockholders approve new subordinated debt terms with Mill Road Capital (3.04 0.00)
Co announced that stockholders approved new subordinated debt terms with Mill Road Capital versus those the Company entered into with Mill Road on November 6, 2009. Specifically, they approved the second option, which was to approve modified terms, which were an $8 million subordinated debt principal, a five year term (also measured from November 6, 2009) and borrowing costs based on a 10% cash coupon and 4% payable-in-kind consideration, compounded annually--an extension of the term by one and one-half years and a reduction in the cash coupon of five percentage points versus the subordinated debt closed with Mill Road on November 6, 2009.
16:00
XL XL Capital shareholders approve redomestication to Ireland From the Cayman Islands (17.79 -0.56)
Co announced that at a special shareholder meeting held today its ordinary shareholders approved changing the parent holding company's place of incorporation from the Cayman Islands to Ireland. XL shareholders also approved, among other proposals, the renaming of the co from "XL Capital" to "XL Group". The name change is expected to be made in July 2010.
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