Briefing.com: Hourly In Play (R) – 12:00 ET

Jul 16, 2010 (Briefing.com via COMTEX) -- Hourly In Play (R)

Updated: 16-Jul-10 12:00 ET

11:55

SPY Another fresh low for stock indices -- Dow -202, S&P -23, Nasdaq -50 -Update- -Technical-

11:46

European Markets Closing Prices

European markets are now closed; stock markets across Europe performed as follows: UK's FTSE: -0.9% Germany's DAX: -1.8% France's CAC: -2.2% Spain's IBEX: -1.7% Portugal's PSI: -1.5%

11:44

TOWN Towne Bank announces acquisition of The Bank of Currituck (15.55 0.19)

Co announced that it has signed a purchase and assumption agreement to acquire all the deposit accounts of The Bank of Currituck and its six banking offices in northeastern North Carolina, including three banking offices on the Outer Banks. The transaction also involves the purchase of a substantial portion of the Moyock-headquartered bank's loan portfolio and all its other banking assets. The transaction is expected to provide TowneBank with ~$173 mln in assets, including approximately $96 mln in performing loans, and ~$173 mln in deposit accounts. In addition to its assumption of the deposit accounts and certain other liabilities, TowneBank has agreed to pay The Bank of Currituck $10 mln in cash, subject to certain adjustments.

11:34

FDO Family Dollar continues to display relative strength, probing its 50 ema at 38.26 -- session high 38.23 -Technical-

11:26

SPY Fresh lows for stock indices -- Dow -189, S&P -22, Nasdaq -46 -Update- -Technical-

Sector laggards on the latest move include: Rail, REITs IYR, Finance RKH / XLF, Casino

11:20

SPY Only limited bounce attempt for stock indices fading as Finance XLF has not participatee -- Dow -175, S&P -20, Nasdaq -43 -Update- -Technical-

10:46

SPY Stock indices edge slightly above their initial morning rebound highs -- Dow -147, S&P -17, Nasdaq -37 -Update- -Technical-

10:35

VXX Global & sector ETF money flows- VIX volatility (VXX, VXZ) leads all sectors through the 1st hour of trading; Financials (KBE, KRE, XLF) remain weak -Technical-

The Actively Traded Leading Global & Sector ETFs:

VIX vol index- VXX +4.75%, VXZ +4.0%, Yen currency shares- FXY +1.25%, US bonds & fixed income- IEF +0.50%, BWX +0.25%, TLT +0.25%, TLH +0.25%, BND +0.25%, livestock commods- COW +0.50%

The Actively Traded Lagging Global & Sector ETFs:

commercial banks- KBE -4.0%, gold miners & junior gold miners- GDX -3.0%, GDXJ -3.50%, regional banks- KRE -3.0%, RKH -3.50%, iShares S Korea- EWY -3.25%, SPDRS metals & mining- XME -3.0%, silver- SLV -3.0%, financials- XLF -2.75%, IYF -2.75%, iShares Australia- EWA -2.75%, wind energy- FAN -2.75%, iShares France- EWQ -2.50%, iShares Canada- EWC -2.50%

10:28

WCRX NASDAQ 100 (NDX) strength & weakness- Pharma name (WCRX) leads the index through today's 1st hour of trading; 97 of 100 components trade negative -Technical-

NDX 10 Best % Performers:

WCRX, JBHT

NDX 10 Worst % Performers:

MAT, GOOG, GILD, NVDA, NWSA, RIMM, FLEX, ERTS, EBAY, CSCO

NASDAQ A/D -1665

NASDAQ TRIN +1.80

10:27

BAC Dow 30 (INDU) strength & weakness- Financials remain the weakest performers in the industrials through today's 1st hour of trading; 30 of 30 components trade negative -Technical-

INDU 5 Best % Performers:

NONE

INDU 5 Worst % Performers:

BAC, AXP, BA, GE, JPM

NYSE A/D -1985

NYSE TRIN +3.05

10:22

FXE Euro Futures -Technical-

Euro Currency Futures extended to/pause near retracement resistance noted yesterday in overnight (Click for Chart). Intraday watching the 1.2955 and 1.2980 levels on the current bounce with sustained action below keeping the weaker short term pattern intact.

10:19

ARD Arena Resources announces stockholder approval of merger with SandRidge Energy (SD) (35.95 +0.66)

10:06

XLF Financial Select Sector early laggerd probes support (14.36 -0.39) -Update- -Technical-

Noted support for the XLF in the 14.43/14.35 area in the 09:43 update and have seen the XLF probe this zone in post data trade (session low 14.36). However, will need to see the 14.45/14.50 area taken out in order to begin to improve the patterns. Initial support below is at 14.22/14.15 (congest/50% retrace of July rally).

10:01

SPY S&P -17 flirts with minor support area at 1077/1076 in post data trade -- session low 1077.92 -Update- -Technical-

The 22 point drop off yesterday late high has left the index near the 1077/1076 zone which marks congestion from last Friday/Monday short term averages and its 20 ema.

09:58

FLS Flowserve acquires Valbart Srl, Italian Valve Manufacturer; dilutive to EPS in 2010 and accretive to EPS in 2011 (90.11 -1.53) -Update-

Co announced it has acquired Valbart Srl, a privately owned Italian manufacturer of trunnion-mounted ball valves (TMBV) used primarily in the oil and gas industry. Valbart was acquired in a cash transaction valued at ~$200 mln, which value includes ~$32 mln of existing Valbart net debt that was repaid at closing. Flowserve funded the transaction proceeds with cash on hand. The other terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. The Valbart acquisition is expected to have a slightly dilutive impact on Flowserve's 2010 earnings per share due to non-cash purchase price accounting effects from inventory revaluation, partially offset by expected favorable operations impact. The acquisition is estimated to be accretive to earnings per share in 2011. (stock is halted)

09:57

COMDX Crude oil drops to its lowest levels of the morning at $75.48; now down $1.02 to $75.60

09:56

SPY Stock indices extend further after below consensus sentiment report -- Dow -137, S&P -16, Nasdaq -31 -Technical-

09:53

FLS Flowserve halted, news pending (90.11 -1.53)

09:43

XLF Financial Select Sector continues to weaken (14.45 -0.31) -Technical-

Noted relative weakness in the sector in an earlier update and it has continued to slide with it testing a support zone at 14.43/14.35 (session low 14.44). This marks yesterday's low, the unchanged line for the year, the 38% retracement of the July rally and this week's low -- BAC -6.2%, JPM -1.5%, AXP -2.3%, COF -2.5%, DFS -2.6%, MA -3.1%, V -4.2%, USB -2.9%, WFC -3.5%.

09:42

ECONX Reminder: Mich Sentiment data due out in about 13 min at 9:55ET

09:35

TECHX Sector Watch -- Early weakness -Update- -Technical-

The indices have dropped off the open with early sector pressure noted in Finance XLF -1.4%, Reg Bank RKH -1.8%, Bank KBE -2.3%, Silver SLV -2.2%, Gold Miners GDX -2.2%, Gold -1.5%, Networking -1.5%, Natural Gas -1.4%, Internet FDN -1.2%, Insurance KIE -1.2%, Coal KOL -1.2%, Oil Service OIH -1.2%, Housing XHB -1.1%.

09:31

ROIAK Radio One announced extensions for exchange offers to July 31 (1.18 -0.05)

09:29

INSU Insituform Tech receives $17.0 mln sewer rehabilitation term contracts in Hong Kong (23.29 )

09:29

ATHN AthenaHealth announced it had been selected to provide its revenue cycle management services to Vohra Wound Physicians (23.93 )

09:28

HDNG Hardinge: Romi comments on conditions to expired tender offer for Hardinge (8.09 )

Industrias Romi S.A. stated that, as previously announced, Romi's tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hardinge expired at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on July 14, 2010. At such time, a total of 5,726,020 shares, representing over 49.3% of Hardinge's outstanding shares, had been validly tendered and not withdrawn. Romi notes that certain conditions to the offer, including the condition requiring that two-thirds of the total outstanding shares of Hardinge be validly tendered and not withdrawn, were not satisfied at the expiration of the offer and Romi did not waive these conditions or extend the offer.

09:09

KNDI Kandi Technologies announces construction has begun on the first battery charging station in Jinhua with funding from the State Grid Corporation of China (3.21 )

Under the new EV business model being implemented by Kandi and its Alliance Partners, consumers will be able to purchase Kandi EVs subsidized by the local and municipal government. Batteries will be made available for the vehicles without cost, and replaced, serviced and maintained by a new service company operated by Kandi, SGCC, and other Alliance partners including China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CEO), and Tianneng Power International, Ltd.

09:01

RVSB Riverview Bancorp announces commencement of common stock offering (2.35 )

Co announced that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of 8,368,201 shares of its common stock. Based on the closing price of the Company's common stock on July 13, 2010, the offering would result in gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $20.0 million.

09:00

DELL Dell announced that it has proposed settlements to the staff of the SEC which the staff has agreed to recommend to the SEC (13.64 )

Co announces that it and Michael Dell, chairman and CEO, have proposed settlements to the staff of the SEC which the staff has agreed to recommend to the SEC, concerning the previously reported SEC investigation, on terms consistent with the settlement framework described in the company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for its fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2010. Any such settlements would be subject to approval by the SEC and a U.S. District Court.

08:57

FII Fed Investors to acquire $17 billion in money market assets from STI's RidgeWorth Capital Management; transaction is expected to occur through a series of closings by year-end (21.04 )

08:56

WCRX Warner Chilcott announces 3-month extension of PDUFA date on next generation Actonel product (23.86 )

Co announces that it has received a communication from the FDA related to its next generation Actonel product delayed-release tablets extending the PDUFA date by three months to allow sufficient time to review additional information solicited by the FDA and previously provided by the Company. The new PDUFA date is October 24, 2010.

08:42

GPC Genuine Parts beats by $0.07, beats on revs (42.15 )

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.78 per share, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.71; revenues rose 12.3% year/year to $2.85 bln vs the $2.7 bln consensus. "our Industrial and Electrical businesses turned in the strongest results. Sales for Motion Industries, our Industrial Group, were up 26% in the quarter and EIS, our Electrical Group, generated a 32% increase. Both Motion and EIS sell into the manufacturing sector of the economy, which is performing well at this time. Our Automotive Group produced another solid quarter. Sales for this group were up 7%, following a 6% increase in the first quarter and we are encouraged by the sequential improvement that we have seen in our Automotive results over the past several quarters."

08:41

ECONX Reminder: Net Long-Term TIC Flows data due out in about 19 min at 9:00ET

08:32

<p>GCI Gannett and Yahoo (YHOO) announce local advertising partnership; GCI will sell Yahoo! advertising inventory as part of its local advertising solution (15.11 )

08:32

On The Wires

Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals (MIPI) announced that it has received a fifth extension of its waiver agreement with its Bond holders, allowing debt restructuring discussions to progress... Stepan Company (SCL) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Stepan Europe S.A.S., has acquired all of the shares of Alfa Systems Sp. z o.o. from its shareholders, Chemitex Holding Limited and Chemovil Holdings Limited.

08:31

COMDX Gold and silver continue to plunge; gold now down $15.40 to $1192.90 and silver is off 32.2 cents to $18.04

08:31

ZN Zion Oil & Gas rights offering ends (4.72 )

08:25

GCI Gannett beats by $0.08, misses on revs (15.11 )

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.61 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.08 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.53; revenues fell 1.6% year/year to $1.37 bln vs the $1.4 bln consensus. "Our strong results this quarter reflect very positive revenue trends for our Broadcast and Digital segments and moderating revenue declines in Publishing as we continued to close the revenue gap in the quarter. Stronger core advertising demand and increased political spending drove revenue growth in Broadcasting while positive revenue results at CareerBuilder and PointRoll contributed to revenue growth in the Digital segment."

08:22

COMDX Gold and silver pull back to their lowest levels of the morning; gold now down $7.30 to $1201.00, while silver is off 15.7 cents to $18.205

08:10

ECONX Reminder: CPI data due out in about 20 min at 8:30ET

08:06

C Citigroup beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line (4.16 )

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.09 per share, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.05; revenues fell 33.3% year/year to $22.07 bln vs the $22.16 bln consensus. Revenues declined $3.4 bln and net income was down $1.7 bln from the first quarter of 2010, largely as a result of lower Securities and Banking and Special Asset Pool revenues. Citicorp Revenues of $16.5 Billion, Net Income of $3.8 Billion; Citi Holdings Revenues of $4.9 Billion, Net Loss of $1.2 Billion. Provisions for credit losses and for benefits and claims declined $2.0 bln QoQ to $6.7 billion, the lowest level since the third quarter of 2007, reflecting continued improvement in credit quality. Citigroup net credit losses declined $422 mln, or 5%, q/q to $8.0 billion, reflecting improvement across most consumer portfolios Net credit losses have declined for four consecutive quarters reaching $11.5 bln in the second quarter of 2009. Book Value per share was $5.33, up from $5.28 in the prior quarter.

08:05

SCHW Charles Schwab beats by $0.02, beats on revs (14.55 )

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.17 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.15; revenues fell 0.5% year/year to $1.08 bln vs the $1.06 bln consensus. Co reports net new accounts for the quarter totaled ~40K, down 24% y/y. Total accounts reached 5.5 mln as of June 30, 2010 up 3% y/y.

08:04

KNL Knoll beats by $0.11, beats on revs (12.82 )

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.22 per share, $0.11 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.11; revenues fell 4.9% year/year to $192.3 mln vs the $177.8 mln consensus. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales decreased to 32.8% in the second quarter of 2010 from 35.0% in the same quarter of 2009. The decrease in gross margin from the second quarter of 2009 largely resulted from price deterioration and unfavorable movements in foreign exchange.

08:02

WBS Webster Financial beats by $0.08 (18.82 )

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.15 per share, $0.08 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.07. Co also reports reduced levels of provision for loan losses and net charge-offs of $32.0 mln and $31.8 mln, respectively, compared to $43.0 mln and $40.3 mln in Q1. Non-performing loans declined by 9% to $317.3 mln compared to $348.8 mln at March 31, 2010. Past due loans declined by 17% to $95.4 mln compared to $114.9 mln at March 31, 2010.

08:02

CDII China Direct issues clarifying press release regarding its acquisition of 80% of ruiming magnesium (1.21 )

Co announced that it has issued this press release to clarify that it has acquired 80% of Taiyuan Ruiming YiWei Magnesium Industry Ruiming Magnesium from Pine Capital Enterprises, Inc. and Taiyuan Yiwei Magnesium Industry. The approval by the board of directors of China Direct Industries was the final step in the acquisition process.

08:01

VECO Veeco Instruments: Neo-Neon places initial order for VECO's K465i MOCVD System (38.46 )

Co announced that Neo-Neon Holdings has ordered its first Veeco TurboDisc K465i Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition system to support its LED manufacturing capacity ramp at its JiangMen, China factory.

08:00

SXE Stanley selected as key team member on $30 mln contract award to support aviation and missile command managed weapon systems (37.41 )

Co announced that it is part of the Intuitive Research and Technology team awarded a five-year, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity task order contract with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development Engineering Center valued at $30 million, with the exercise of four options, to provide technical data management support services.

08:00

CBK Christopher & Banks appoints Michael Lyftogt as Interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer (6.80 )

Mr. Lyftogt replaces Rodney Carter, who has left the Company to pursue other interests. The Company indicated it is commencing a search for a permanent CFO.

07:59

On The Wires

SYNNEX (SNX) announced it has signed a definitive sale agreement to sell certain assets related to its contract assembly business to MiTAC International Corporation... OMNI Energy Services (OMNI) announced the expiration at 12:01 a.m. on July 16, 2010, of the "go shop" period provided for in the previously disclosed Agreement and Plan of Merger dated June 3, 2010 by and among the co Wellspring OMNI Holdings, a Delaware co, and Wellspring OMNI Acquisition Corporation, a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent, providing for the merger of Sub with and into the co, with the co surviving the merger as a subsidiary of Parent... Astrotech Corporation (ASTC) announced a realignment of its corporate structure. The action follows an evaluation of each business and a review of strategic alternatives. Astrotech's corporate realignment includes the termination of James Royston, President of Astrotech Corporation... GLG Life Tech Corporation (GLGL) the signing of a five-year agreement with Grupo Azucarero Mexico the marketing and distribution of GLG's stevia extract products in Mexico.

07:35

COL Rockwell Collins beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; narrow FY10 EPS guidance near high end of range; narrows FY10 rev guidance (56.06 )

Reports Q3 (Jun) earnings of $0.89 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.88; revenues rose 12.0% year/year to $1.21 bln vs the $1.2 bln consensus. Co narrows guidance for FY10, sees EPS of ~$3.50 vs. $3.56 Thomson Reuters consensus, vs. $3.35-3.55 previously; sees FY10 revs of ~$47 bln vs. $4.68 bln Thomson Reuters consensus, vs. $4.6-4.8 bln previously.

07:31

RDI Reading Intl settles tax case with IRS; impact of this settlement with the IRS on Reading is approximately $14.0 million (4.05 )

Co announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Craig Corporation (Craig), has reached an agreement in principle to settle its tax dispute with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) related to Craig's tax year ended June 30, 1997. The impact of this settlement with the IRS on Reading is approximately $14.0 million, resulting in a charge against earnings of $9.5 million for the second quarter.

07:30

DGICA Donegal Group agrees to Acquire Michigan Insurance Company; estimated to be at cost of $39 mln (12.06 )

Co announced the execution of an agreement pursuant to which it will acquire all of the outstanding stock of Michigan Insurance Company, a majority-owned stock subsidiary of West Bend Mutual Insurance Company. Michigan Insurance Company's headquarters are in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It writes various lines of property and casualty insurance exclusively in the State of Michigan. Michigan Insurance Company had direct written premiums of $106.6 mln and net written premiums of $26.7 mln for the year ended December 31, 2009. The purchase price will be calculated based on the GAAP book value of Michigan Insurance Company as of the closing date of the transaction. Co estimates that the consideration payable to the shareholders of Michigan Insurance Company will be approximately $39 mln.

07:30

MIR Mirant and RRI Energy (RRI) receive second request from the U.S. Department of Justice regarding proposed merger (11.08 )

Mirant and RRI Energy are in the process of gathering information to respond to the second request and are working cooperatively with the DOJ as it reviews the merger. Both companies expect the merger to close before the end of 2010.

07:15

TSLA Tesla Motors and Toyota Motor (TM) formalize agreement to develop electric version of RAV4 (19.84 )

Co and Toyota Motor announced that the two companies have signed an agreement to initiate the development of an electric version of the RAV4 as announced in May of this year by Elon Musk and Akio Toyoda. Tesla plans to produce and deliver a fleet of prototypes to Toyota for evaluation within this year. The first prototype has already been built and is now undergoing testing.

07:14

BAC Bank of America beats by $0.05, misses on revs (15.39 )

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.27 per share, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.22; revenues fell 11.0% year/year to $29.15 bln vs the $29.75 bln consensus. Net interest income +11.2% YoY to $12.9 bln. Provision for credit losses fell ~40% YoY to $8.1 bln; Net charge-offs were $1.2 billion lower than Q1 at $9.56 bln ($857 mln higher YoY), reflecting improvement in the consumer and commercial portfolios. Credit quality continued to improve during the quarter, with net charge-offs continuing to decline in most consumer portfolios. Credit quality across most commercial portfolios continued to improve with reservable criticized levels decreasing for the third consecutive quarter and nonperforming loans, leases and foreclosed properties decreasing for the second consecutive quarter. Net charge-offs in the core commercial portfolio declined across a broad range of borrowers and industries.

07:12

MBT Mobile TeleSystems acquired a 100% stake in CJSC Multiregion (21.10 )

Co disclosed that it has acquired a 100% stake in CJSC Multiregion, one of groups of broadband and cable TV providers in the Russian regions, from Cavolo Trading Limited (Cyprus). The purchase price amounts to $123.5 million. Co will also assume debts totaling roughly $94.4 million.

07:04

FHN First Horizon beats by $0.10, beats on revs (12.11 )

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.01 per share, $0.10 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.09); revenues fell 11.0% year/year to $430.1 mln vs the $412.9 mln consensus. Co says overall credit quality improvement in the loan portfolio is primarily attributable to improvement within the C&I portfolio and efforts to wind down the higher-risk non-strategic portfolios. Provision expense dropped $35.0 mln to $70.0 mln while the allowance as a percentage of loans remained strong at 4.55%.

07:01

TSYS TeleComm Sys: U.S. Army funds $2 mln to procure TeleCommunication Systems Deployable Satellite Systems maintenance (4.49 )

Co announced that it has received an additional $2 mln in funding from the U.S. Army for the maintenance of Secret Internet Protocol Router and Non-secure Internet Protocol Router Access Point Very Small Aperture Terminal Satellite Systems deployed outside the United States. This award is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command order that was announced in August 2008.

07:00

IR Ingersoll-Rand expects to report second quarter revenues and EPS above prior company guidance (34.93 )

Co raises guidance for Q2 (Jun), sees EPS of $0.74-0.76, up from $0.62-0.72, vs. $0.70 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 (Jun) revs to increase ~7% to ~$3.7 bln vs. $3.65 bln Thomson Reuters consensus (prior guidance was for revs to increase 3-6%) ."We successfully leveraged the higher volumes with productivity improvements to significantly increase our year-over-year operating margins and surpass our prior earnings forecast."

06:49

QLIK Qlik Tech prices 11.2 mln share IPO at $10.00 per share, above the $8.50-9.50 expected range

06:35

GE General Electric beats by $0.03, misses on revs (15.25 )

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.30 per share, excluding $0.02 in discontinued operations, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.27; revenues fell 4.3% year/year to $37.44 bln vs the $38.37 bln consensus. impacted by lower GE Capital assets, industrial dispositions and lower equipment sales as expected. "Equipment orders increased 17%, including 20% growth in the Energy Infrastructure segment and 14% at Technology Infrastructure. Oil & Gas and Healthcare orders were particular bright spots and helped hold total co orders backlog roughly flat, excluding the impact of foreign exchange... Our Energy and Technology Infrastructure businesses performed as expected, Home & Business Solutions and NBCU turned in good revenue and earnings growth, and GE Capital delivered 93% net income growth as losses have peaked and earnings are rebounding... Segment profit increased 8% compared with 2Q09, as 93% growth at GE Capital, 13% growth at NBC Universal and 59% growth at Home & Business Solutions, more than offset an 11% earnings decline at Technology Infrastructure."

06:28

S&P futures vs fair value: -0.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -2.30.

06:28

Asian Markets

Nikkei...9408.36...-277.20...-2.90%. Hang Seng...20250.16...-5.50...0.00.

06:28

European Markets

FTSE...5258.03...+46.70...+0.90%. DAX...6179.68...+30.30...+0.50%.

06:12

MAT Mattel misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line (23.00 )

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.14 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.15; revenues rose 13.4% year/year to $1.02 bln vs the $1.02 bln consensus.

04:26

AMED Amedisys issues open letter to shareholders (26.76 )

Co announces that it has posted an open letter to shareholders on its website relating to recent events surrounding the co.

04:24

RLD RealD prices 12.5 mln IPO at $16.00/share, above the $13.00-15.00 range estimated in filing

Co increases offering to 12.5 mln shares from estimated 10.75 mln shares.

04:18

On The Wires

Honeywell (HON) announces it has received antitrust clearance from the FTC for its pending all cash tender offer to acquire the shares of Sperian Protection for EUR 117 (dividend attached) per Sperian Protection share, which opened on July 12, 2010... Petroleum Development (PETD) announces that effective July 15, 2010 it will do business as PDC Energy... Sunbelt Holdings announces the acquisition of select real estate assets from the Arizona portfolio of SunCor Development Co., a subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital (PNW)... Dole Food (DOLE) announces the Los Angeles Superior Court dismissed Tellez v. Dole, the last remaining lawsuit brought by Nicaraguan plaintiffs claiming to have been banana workers on Dole-contracted farms in Nicaragua during the 1970s. The dismissal came as a result of the Court's finding that plaintiffs and their representatives engaged in "blatant fraud, witness tampering, and active manipulation."

04:14

EEE Evergreen Energy appoints William G. Gibson Chairman of the Board (0.10 )

18:44

T AT&T and Rainbow Media reach programming agreement (25.00 +0.04)

18:43

LSBX Lawrence Savings Bank is trading 38.2% higher after hours at $19.51 following M&A news (14.12 +0.29) -Update-

18:17

Futures are slightly higher after hours with S&P 500 futures 0.42 points above fair value of 1093.18 and Nasdaq 100 futures 0.16 points above fair value of 1855.34

18:11

VVUS Vivus trading 57% lower at $5.22 following news that VVUS Qnexa drug was not approved (12.11 ) -Update-

18:01

GS Goldman Sachs is trading 5.7% higher at $153.53 in after hours activity (145.22 +6.16) -Update-

17:57

TCK Teck provides additional update on Greenhills incident (32 -0.52)

Co reported that work continues at the Greenhills mine's coal dryer building. The investigation into the cause of the accident that occurred on June 28 continues with review of the data and evidence although no conclusion has been reached yet. The building has now been made safe for entry, and the mechanical inspection of the building has concluded that most of the exhaust side of the dryer system will need to be replaced. An engineering firm has been contracted and is on site as project manager for the rebuild, and they are currently establishing a scope of work and timeline for the rebuild. The current plan is to activate the bypass system around the dryer which will allow the company to produce and ship wet coal for blending with dry coal from other mines. Power is currently being established to the bypass system so the mechanical integrity and operational control of this system can be determined.

17:44

FUN Cedar Fair announces pricing of $405 mln senior unsecured notes (13.00 ) -Update-

Co announced that it priced $405 mln aggregate principal amount of 9.125% senior unsecured notes due 2018 (the "Notes") in a private placement. The Notes will be guaranteed by Cedar Fair's wholly-owned subsidiaries.

17:40

VVUS VIVUS comments on FDA advisory committee panel meeting on QNEXA (phentermine/topiramate) controlled release capsules for the treatment of obesity (12.11 ) -Update-

Co announced that the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted against the following question: "Based on the current available data, do you believe the overall benefit-risk assessment of PHEN/TPM (QNEXA) is favorable to support its approval for the treatment of obesity in individuals with a BMI > 30 kg/m2 or > 27 kg/m2 with weight-related co-morbidities?" The three co-morbidities included hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia. The vote from the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee is a recommendation. The FDA will take the Committee's recommendation into consideration during its review of the current application and will make a determination. The FDA may or may not follow the Committee's recommendation.

17:31

ORN Orion Marine Group announces a project award of ~$26 mln (13.23 +0.12)

17:30

ELN Elan Corporation, plc reaches agreement in principle for settlement of investigation of past Zonegran sales and marketing activities (5.08 -0.21)

Co announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts with respect to the previously disclosed U.S. Department of Justice's investigation of sales and marketing practices for Zonegran (zonisamide), an antiepileptic prescription medicine that Elan divested in 2004. If the agreement in principle is finalized, Elan expects to pay $203.5 mln as part of a comprehensive settlement for all U.S. federal and related state Medicaid claims. Elan has established a reserve of $206.3 mln for this expected settlement and related costs.

17:07

VITC Vitacost.com: Great Hill's consent solicitation succeeds at Vitacost.com (9.21 )

Great Hill Equity Partners received and delivered to Vitacost.com written consents from more than the requisite majority of the outstanding shares of common stock of Vitacost necessary to adopt all three of its proposals in its pending consent solicitation. As a result, following certification of the consents, which is expected to occur promptly, Eran Ezra, Stewart L. Gitler, David N. Ilfeld and Lawrence A. Pabst will be removed as directors of Vitacost and Christopher S. Gaffney, Mark A. Jung, Michael A. Kumin and Jeffrey M. Stibel will be elected to Vitacost's board.

17:06

MTX Minerals Tech announces Douglas Dietrich as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (50.11 -0.33)

Douglas T. Dietrich joined the co as head of Corporate Development and Treasury in August 2007. Before joining co, Mr. Dietrich was vice president, Alcoa Wheel Products--Automotive Wheels, a global division with six manufacturing facilities located in the U.S., Canada, Venezuela, and Russia.

17:05

CJR Corus Entertainment intends to voluntarily delist its Class B Non-Voting Shares from the New York Stock Exchange (18.72 +0.22)

The NYSE accounts for approximately 9% of Corus' global trading volume and, as such, the Company believes its shareholders are provided with sufficient liquidity through the TSX listing.

17:01

PCBC Pacific Capital Bancorp announces appointment of Mark Olson as Chief Financial Officer (0.71 -0.02)

Mr. Olson has more than 20 years of financial services industry experience. He held a number of senior financial management positions prior to joining co. Most recently, Mr. Olson served as Vice President and Finance Director at Goldman Sachs Bank, USA, a commercial banking subsidiary of Goldman Sachs.

17:01

OHI Omega Health announces 12.5% increase in common stock dividend to $0.36/share (20.87 -0.44)

17:00

SE Spectra Energy announces acquisition of Bobcat Gas Storage assets and development project for $540 mln (21.21 -0.01)

Co announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the Bobcat Gas Storage assets and development project (Bobcat) from Haddington Energy Partners III LP and GE Energy Financial Services for $540 mln. In addition to the purchase price, the company expects to invest an additional $400-450 mln to fully develop the facility by the end of 2015. Once fully operational, the high-deliverability salt dome storage caverns in southeastern Louisiana will have a total working gas storage capacity of 46 billion cubic feet (Bcf).

16:57

WPZ Williams Partners and Williams Pipeline Partners L.P. (WMZ) scheduled special meeting to consider the proposed merger on Aug. 31 (45.57 +0.23)

16:56

TGP Teekay LNG Partners announces direct equity placement of approx $51 mln (32.02 +0.62)

Co announced that it has agreed to sell approximately 1.7 mln common units to an institutional investor for net proceeds, including its general partner's proportionate capital contribution, of approximately $51 mln. The partnership intends to use the net proceeds from the sale for general partnership purposes, which may include funding newbuilding deliveries or future vessel acquisitions. After this sale, the partnership will have approximately 54.1 mln common units outstanding.

16:41

LSBX Lawrence Savings Bank to resume trading at 16:45 ET (14.12 +0.29) -Update-

16:37

GS Goldman Sachs: SEC confirms, in press release, that Goldman will pay $550 mln to settle charges related to subprime mortgage CDO charges (145.22 +6.16) -Update-

The SEC announced that GS will pay $550 million and reform its business practices to settle SEC charges that Goldman misled investors in a subprime mortgage product just as the U.S. housing market was starting to collapse... Goldman agreed to settle the SEC's charges without admitting or denying the allegations by consenting to the entry of a final judgment that provides for a permanent injunction from violations of the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933. Click here for the full text.

16:33

LSBX Lawrence Savings Bank: People's United (PBCT) aquires LSBX for $96 mln in cash (14.12 +0.29) -Update-

Under the terms of the transaction, approved by the board of directors of both companies, shareholders of co will be entitled to receive $21 mln cash in exchange for each share of co common stock, representing approximately 153% of co's tangible book value of $13.77 per share at March 31, 2010.

16:31

TXIC Tongxin International updates shareholders on 2009 audit; co will not meet 20-F filing deadline (4.71 -0.06)

Co is unable to publish its Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 within the extended timeframe of July 15, 2010. The Co is in the process of obtaining adequate documentation to support and determine the appropriate accounting treatment of certain related-party transactions of ~US $7.7 mln with a related party, Meihua Bus. Co expects to report 2009 revenues of $121.6 mln (Thomson Reuters consensus is $122.1 mln).

16:31

OME Omega Protein announces update on 2010 fish catch and Gulf oil spill; has filed a claim with BP for reimbursement (4.97 -0.09)

Co's total fish catch (Gulf of Mexico plus Atlantic) was at approximately 89% of the Company's total 2010 fish catch plan. However, the Company's Gulf of Mexico fish catch was at approximately 68% of its Gulf of Mexico 2010 fish catch plan. The Company also has filed a claim with BP for reimbursement of any costs or lost profits resulting from the Deepwater Horizon incident.

16:30

MHGC Morgans Hotel Group successfully refinances London debt in full (6.49 +0.22)

Morgans Hotel Group, the operator and 50% owner of the London joint venture that owns Sanderson and St Martins Lane, today announced that it has successfully refinanced in full the mortgage debt secured by the hotels with a new loan maturing in July 2015. The old loan was scheduled to mature in November 2010. The new financing is a 100 mln pounds Sterling loan secured by the two London hotels and is non-recourse to MHG. The joint venture also entered into a swap agreement that effectively reduced the interest rate by ~100 basis points, due to the currently fav

16:28

SMTB Smithtown Bancorp, Inc. to resume trading at 16:40 ET (3.79 -0.08) -Update-

16:20

CAW CCA Industries reports Q2 ($0.13) vs. $0.10 in the prior year's quarter; revs grew 0.7% to $14.9 mln (5.49 -0.09)

16:18

AMD Advanced Micro beats by $0.05, beats on revs (7.41 -0.03)

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.11 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.06; revenues rose 5.1% year/year to $1.65 bln vs the $1.55 bln consensus. AMD sees Q3 rev up seasonally vs the +7.3% consensus.

16:17

PWX Providence & Worcester RR confirms certain matters with respect to MBTA and Motive Power (12.40 )

Co confirmed part of yesterday's press release by MBTA regarding P&W's agreement with Motive Power concerning its bid to supply MBTA with 20 diesel electric locomotives. Under the terms of a confidentiality agreement dated September 23, 2009, P&W agreed to keep confidential P&W's role as a potential supplier to Motive Power. With award of the work to Motive Power, Inc. the next step is to finalize the terms by which P&W will complete certain services for Motive Power, Inc., including pre-delivery inspection, preparation and the commission of support services.

16:15

NIHD NII Holdings announces the convertibility of its 2.75% convertible notes due 2025 (35.84 +0.97)

Co announced today that its 2.75% convertible notes due 2025 issued pursuant to an indenture issued pursuant to the co and Wilmington Trust Company, as Trustee, dated August 15, 2005, have become convertible today, July 15, 2010, pursuant to section 14.01(a)(iii) of the indenture. Subject to the terms of the Indenture, holders of the Notes may convert the notes into shares of the co's common stock at any time on or after July 15, 2010 at the applicable conversion rate then in effect.

16:14

GOOG Google now trading at $479 after sinking below $471 in wake of EPS miss (494.02 +2.68) -Update-

16:13

DUCK Duckwall-ALCO Stores: Donny Johnson resigned from position as EVP-CFO - 8-K (50.88 +0.98)

In an 8-K out after the close, the co reports on July 12, 2010, Donny Johnson resigned from his position as Executive Vice President-Chief Financial Officer, effective as of August 13, 2010. Mr. Johnson has decided to relocate his family to Tahlequah, Oklahoma in order to be near to his parents and extended family.

16:13

SMTB Smithtown Bancorp announces agreement to merge with People's United Financial for ~$4/share (3.79 -0.08)

The co and People's United Financial (PBCT) announced a definitive agreement under which People's United will acquire Smithtown Bancorp in a cash and stock transaction valued at approx $60 mln, or $4.00 per share. Under the agreement, People's United will acquire Smithtown Bancorp for approx $30 mln in cash and 2.14 mln shares of People's United common stock, valued in the aggregate at approx $30 mln based on the 5-day average closing price of People's United common stock for the period ended July 14, 2010. With respect to second quarter results, the Company announced a loss of $29.2 mln for the second quarter of 2010, or $1.95 per fully diluted share. The loss includes a valuation allowance during the quarter of $15.7 mln against the Company's deferred tax asset at June 30, 2010.

16:07

OKE ONEOK increases the quarterly dividend to 46 cents per share of common stock from 44 cents per share (45.99 +0.30)

16:06

PLCM Polycom beats by $0.02, beats on revs (31.96 +0.51)

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.34 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.32; revenues rose 27.7% year/year to $295 mln vs the $287.5 mln consensus.

16:06

ANGO AngioDynamics beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides FY11 EPS, revs above consensus (15.44 +0.12)

Reports Q4 (May) earnings of $0.14 per share, ex-items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.13; revenues rose 14.2% year/year to $60.3 mln vs the $58 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for FY11, sees GAAP EPS of $0.53-$0.56, may not compare to $0.57 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $230-235 mln vs. $229.95 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Sees gross margin of 58-59%.

16:06

AJG Arthur J. Gallagher announces new $500 mln credit facility (25.77 -0.04)

16:05

KBR KBR Inc. awarded contract for engineering and construction management services at carbo ceramics plant in Georgia (21.35 -0.31)

Co announced that it has been awarded a contract to provide engineering and construction management services for the construction of a new ceramic proppant manufacturing line at the CARBO Ceramics Inc. plant in Toomsboro, Ga. The proppant manufacturing line is designed to produce 250-million pounds-per-year of product at completion. Construction is expected to be completed before the end of 2011. The total installed cost of the project is $62 million.

16:05

GOOG Google misses by $0.07, beats on revs (494.02 +2.68)

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $6.45 per share, $0.07 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $6.52; revenues ex-TAC rose 25.0% year/year to $5.09 bln vs the $4.99 bln consensus. GOOG aggregate paid clicks -3% q/q, Q1: +5%; average cost per click +2% q/q, Q1: +4%. Non-GAAP operating income in the second quarter of 2010 was $2.67 billion, or 39% of revenues. This compares to non-GAAP operating income of $2.17 billion, or 39% of revenues, in the second quarter of 2009.

16:04

ADLR Adolor announces restructuring; to take $2 mln charge in Q3 (1.07 -0.02)

The co announces a reduction in force of 30 employees, or nearly 30% of its workforce, as well as other cost saving initiatives. As a result of the restructuring and other cost savings initiatives, the Company expects to significantly reduce its annualized cash burn. Cash and investments at June 30, 2010 were approximately $62.3 million, which the Company believes will fund currently anticipated operating activities through 2012... Separately, the Company announced that net product sales of ENTEREG for the three months ended June 30, 2010 were $6.3 million, compared to $2.4 million in the second quarter of 2009.

16:04

JBHT JB Hunt Trans beats by $0.04, beats on revs (34.78 -0.23)

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.40 per share, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.36; revenues rose 22.5% year/year to $942.7 mln vs the $911.6 mln consensus.

16:03

JOEZ Joes Jeans reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (2.11 -0.06)

Reports Q2 (May) earnings of $0.01 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.01; revenues rose 50.6% year/year to $25.9 mln vs the $23.1 mln consensus. Co said, "As we continue to grow our new product categories for the Fall of 2010 through the Spring of 2011, we expect to see a meaningful lift in gross margins as we anticipate being able to take advantage of volume thresholds with our factories."

16:03

TCAP Triangle Capital invests $5.5 mln in Hatch Chile (14.61 -0.19)

Co announced that it closed a $5.5 mln investment in Hatch Chile, consisting of subordinated debt with warrants. Hatch Chile is a food products company that distributes branded, green chile based cooking sauces and related canned chile and tomato products for retail customers, primarily in the Southwestern United States.

16:03

CBST Cubist Pharma beats by $0.03, beats on revs (21.60 -0.26)

Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.45 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 28.8% year/year to $168.5 mln vs the $160.9 mln consensus. CBST reports Q2 Cubicin sales of $161.6 mln vs. $153.6 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

16:02

FTEK Fuel-Tech appoints David Collins as Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer (6.28 -0.20)

Mr. Collins joins co with over 22 years of auditing experience with international public accounting firms. Most recently, he served as Audit Partner at Grant Thornton LLP, where he was responsible for assisting companies in capital transactions, mergers and acquisitions, public company filings, and internal control audits.

16:02

TNK Teekay Tankers makes accretive investment in first priority ship mortgage loans; transaction is expected to increase TNK's annual dividend by ~$0.20 per share (12.09 -0.02)

Co announced that it has made a $115 mln investment in 2 three-year term, fixed-rate term loans, which are secured by first priority mortgages on two 2010-built Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) newbuildings (the Vessels) owned by a shipowner based in Asia. The term loans will earn an annual interest rate of 9% and includes a repayment premium feature which provides a total investment yield of ~10% per annum. The transaction is expected to increase TNK's annual dividend by ~$0.20 per share during the period of the investment. Subsequent to this transaction, the Co's remaining liquidity will total in excess of $115 mln. Deutsche Bank AG acted as structuring agent and remains engaged as facility agent and security trustee in the transaction.

16:02

CO China Cord Blood announces cancellation of nine million management incentive warrants (5.05 +0.03)

Co announced the cancellation of its nine mln management incentive warrants plan, which was approved prior to the business combination in 2008.

16:01

CENT Central Garden approves $100 mln share repurchase program (9.96 +0.07)

16:00

GEOY GeoEye Announces exchange offer of up to $400 mln for its senior secured notes due 2015 (32.04 -1.45)

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