Briefing.com: Hourly In Play (R) – 21:00 ET
Apr 21, 2010 (Briefing.com via COMTEX) -- Hourly In Play (R)
Updated: 21-Apr-10 21:00 ET
18:53
GTN Gray Television announces pricing of $365 mln of senior secured second lien notes due 2015 (3.78 +0.38)
Co announced that it has priced its previously announced offering of $365 mln aggregate principal amount of 10 1/2% senior secured second lien notes due 2015. The sale of the notes is expected to be completed on April 29, 2010, subject to customary closing conditions. The notes were priced at 98.085% of par.
18:32
TER Teradyne beats by $0.10, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (12.18 +0.04)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.33 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.23; revenues rose 173.3% year/year to $329.6 mln vs the $302.7 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.45-0.52 vs. $0.24 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $390-420 mln vs. $314.98 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
18:26
SPG Simon Property Group announces $1.1 bln in new capital commitments for General Growth recapitalization (86.99 +2.33)
SPG announced that it has received $1.1 bln in new capital commitments from ING Clarion Real Estate Securities, Oak Hill Advisors, RREEF and Taconic Capital Advisors to support a recapitalization of General Growth Properties (GGP) ("GGP"). These commitments are in addition to the previously announced $2.5 bln proposed investment by SPG and $1 billion co-investment commitment by Paulson & Co. SPG's firm, fully financed proposal would be at the same per-share price as the Brookfield-sponsored proposal but without the expensive and highly dilutive equity warrants that GGP proposes to issue to Brookfield, Pershing Square and Fairholme Capital.
18:06
CNI Canadian Natl Rail ordered to appear before Surface Transportation Board to explain grade crossing delay data discrepancy (62.69 -0.31)
CNI reported that on April 21, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) released an April 20 Decision requiring officials from Canadian National Railway (CN) to appear before the Board on April 28, 2010 to explain a gross discrepancy in the number of reported incidents of blocked grade crossings on the EJ&E. In its mandated monthly operations report to the STB for the months of November and December 2009, CN had reported a total of only 14 instances when grade crossings were blocked for 10 minutes or more. In fact, an audit of CN's own technology showed that in that two-month timeframe, grade crossings were blocked in 1,457 instances at 85 different crossings along the EJ&E.The discovery of the discrepancy was due to TRAC's frequent requests throughout 2009 to the STB to increase its audit oversight of CN's mandatory reports.
18:06
DST DST Systems beats by $0.19, reports revs in-line (43.25 +0.55)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.11 per share, $0.19 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.92; revenues rose 3.5% year/year to $409.4 mln vs the $405.6 mln consensus.
18:01
GPN Global Payment announces departure of James G. Kelly COO, effective June 30 2010
17:52
UTX United Tech: COMAC selects Hamilton Sundstrand to provide C919 electric system (76.93 +2.73) -Update-
Commercial Aviation Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) has selected Hamilton Sundstrand to provide the electric power generation and distribution systems for its new C919 aircraft. Hamilton Sundstrand is a subsidiary of United Technologies (UTX). The work is worth more than $1 bln in revenue over the life of the program. The 150-class C919, which is expected to enter into service in 2016, will be China's first large commercial jetliner.
17:47
GIFI Gulf Island Fab beats by $0.13 (21.17 -0.01)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.31 per share, $0.13 better than the First Call consensus of $0.18; revenues fell 11.3% year/year to $69.3 mln vs the $61.7 mln consensus.
17:34
KRO Kronos Worldwide announces a price increase for all titanium dioxide products sold in Europe (1673 -0.06)
Co announced a price increase for all titanium dioxide products sold in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Turkey. Effective May 15, 2010, prices for all Kronos? titanium dioxide products sold in Western Europe will be increased by 100 Euro per metric ton. Effective May 15, 2010 prices for all Kronos titanium dioxide products sold in Eastern Europe and in Turkey will be increased by 150 Euro per metric ton (or equivalent in other currencies).
17:34
WASH Washington Trust beats by $0.02 (20.04 +0.14)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.32 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.30. Nonperforming assets (nonaccrual loans, nonaccrual investment securities and property acquired through foreclosure) amounted to $27.5 million, or 0.95% of total assets, at March 31, 2010, compared to $30.5 million, or 1.06% of total assets, at December 31, 2009. Net interest income increased by $1.1 million, or 6%, from the fourth quarter of 2009 and by $2.0 million, or 13%, from the first quarter of 2009, reflecting improvement in the net interest margin. Total loans grew by $18 million in the first quarter of 2010, with the largest increase in commercial loans. Commercial loans increased by $14 million in the first quarter.
17:30
NGD New Gold announces 44% increase in gold sales, 8% decrease in Cash cost and $72 mln increase in cash in Q1 of 2010 (5.26 +0.02)
Co announces 2010 first quarter gold sales of 80,020 ounces at a total cash cost of $472 per ounce, net of by-product sales. The preliminary production, sales and total cash cost information provided are approximate figures and may differ slightly from Q1 earnings results. New Gold is also pleased to reiterate its 2010 full year guidance of 330,000 to 360,000 ounces of gold production at a total cash cost of $445 to $465 per ounce sold, net of by-product sales. Results presented below are for the period of ownership for the Mesquite Mine (June 1, 2009): Gold sales increased by 44% to 80,020 ounces from 55,397 ounces in the same period in 2009; Total cash cost(1) decreased 8% to $472 per ounce sold, net of by- product sales, from $513 per ounce sold in the same period in 2009; Gold production increased 41% to 77,215 ounces from 54,938 ounces in the same period in 2009; Cash balance increased by $72 mln from year-end 2009 to $344 mln at March 31, 2010; Fully repaid the remaining $27 mln of the Mesquite Term Loan Facility. Mesquite Mine Successfully Increasing Production and Reducing Costs: Gold sales in the first quarter at Mesquite increased by 51% to 49,502 ounces from 32,715 ounces sold in the first quarter 2009. Gold production was 44,034 ounces compared to 33,660 ounces in the same period in 2009. Total cash cost per ounce of gold sold for the first quarter of 2010 was $550 compared to $573 in the same quarter of 2009. The Mesquite Mine is forecast to produce 145,000 to 155,000 ounces of gold in 2010 at total cash cost of $540 to $560 per ounce sold. Peak Mines Continues to Deliver with Record Low Cash Cost: Gold sales in the first quarter at Peak Mines were 17,394 ounces compared to 20,856 ounces sold in the first quarter of 2009. Gold production was 20,243 ounces compared to 20,629 ounces in the same period in 2009. Total cash cost per ounce of gold sold, net of by-product sales, for the first quarter was $136 compared to $337 in the first quarter of 2009. Peak Mines remains on target to produce 90,000 to 100,000 ounces of gold and 15 to 17 mln pounds of copper in 2010. Total cash cost is forecast to be $360 to $380 per ounce sold, net of by-product sales. The full year total cash cost assumption is based on a by-product copper price of $2.75 per pound. New Afton on Track to Contribute Significantly: New Gold's primary development project continued on schedule during the first quarter and is expected to commence production in the second half of 2012... El Morro Project Update: New Gold's 70% joint venture partner on the El Morro Project, Goldcorp Inc., continues to work through the permit review process for the project with a target to begin construction in early 2011.
17:22
RJF Raymond James beats by $0.03, beats on revs (30.03 +0.08)
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.45 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 24.1% year/year to $734.4 mln vs the $703.4 mln consensus. "The more striking comparison is to the immediately preceding December quarter. Net revenues are up 7 percent and net income 30 percent. The Private Client Group, Capital Markets and Raymond James Bank all contributed to the increase. Of our four major segments, only Asset Management Group results trailed the preceding quarter due to a few annual performance fees received last quarter. Excluding the performance fees recorded in the December quarter, Asset Management revenues were up by 5 percent. In Capital Markets, while Fixed Income revenues and profits declined, Equity Capital Markets more than offset the decline."
17:10
GPK Graphic Packaging International announces expansion of Biomass Energy usage in Macon, GA (3.86 -0.03)
Co announced plans to expand utilization of biomass energy in its paperboard mill located in Macon, Georgia. Detailed engineering studies and permitting are in progress. Presently biomass energy generates over 90% of the mill's process steam and 60% of its electric power. The project will take several years to complete, making the Macon mill self-sufficient from an electrical power and steam generation standpoint. Biomass energy will help stabilize and reduce energy costs and dependency on fossil fuel based alternatives.
17:07
HNI HNI beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line (32.13 +1.58)
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.06 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.10); revenues fell 8.4% year/year to $363.5 mln vs the $361.7 mln consensus. Co said, "We are encouraged by the recent trends in both the hearth and office furniture markets. We will continue to strengthen our businesses by investing in selling and growth initiatives, improving operations, resetting cost structure and fiercely managing cash. I am excited and optimistic about the future. The company is financially strong and well positioned to benefit disproportionately as the markets improve."
17:04
NEU NewMarket reports net income of $2.78 per share, 16 cents better than $2.62 Thomson Reuters consensus; revenue was $395 mln, up aprox 15% y/y, $390 mln consensus (112.17 -0.78)
17:03
GGG Graco beats by $0.09, beats on revs (32.23 +0.47)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.34 per share, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.25; revenues rose 19.4% year/year to $164.7 mln vs the $146.1 mln consensus. Gross margin rate of 54 percent was 71/2 percentage points higher than last year's first quarter rate. Co said, "This year's first quarter results are significantly better than last year's low-point, but are still below our pre-recession results of 2008. We're encouraged by the business tempo in our international markets, especially in developing countries. While we're pleased with the improvement in our Lubrication segment, a return to historical operating margins will require significant additional volume as we continue to invest in growth initiatives. We remain cautious about the short-term base business prospects for our Contractor segment in North America and Western Europe as the residential recovery is still weak and commercial construction markets remain depressed. Nevertheless, we're optimistic that our new product introductions in Contractor may provide some upside to the difficult end-market conditions as the year progresses."
17:03
MTSN Mattson reports 1Q10 net loss of ($0.22) vs. ($0.22) Thomson Reuters consensus; revenue increased 350% y/y to $25.2 mln vs. $23.6 mln consensus (5.32 +0.07)
17:01
NE Noble Corp beats by $0.10, misses on revs (41.59 -0.32)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.43 per share, $0.10 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.33; revenues fell 6.2% year/year to $840.9 mln vs the $856.2 mln consensus. "In spite of the continued strength in oil prices throughout the quarter, the contracting environment remains challenging," said David W. Williams, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Nevertheless, we believe Noble remains well positioned. We have a strong backlog with quality customers, liquidity in excess of $1.4 billion, and we remain diligent in our attention to controlling costs. As we enter our 90th year of business, we will continue to focus on advancing our culture of safety, maintaining high levels of service for our customers and delivering value to our shareholders."
17:00
SHFL Shuffle Master CEO Takes Temporary Medical Leave of Absence (8.78 unch)
Co announces that Chief Executive Officer Timothy Parrott will be taking a temporary medical leave of absence, effective immediately, while he continues treatment for an intestinal infection. Mr. Parrott contracted the infection in the course of ongoing treatments for a cancerous growth on his liver. It is expected that Mr. Parrott will be on leave for approximately 4 to 6 weeks and will resume his normal duties upon his return. During his leave, Mr. Parrott will continue to serve as a member of the Company's Board of Directors. The Company also announced that, in the interim, a Management Committee consisting of Messrs. Linster Fox, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; David Lopez, Executive Vice President; Jerry Smith, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary; and Roger Snow, Executive Vice President, has been selected by the Board of Directors, with Mr. Parrott's full support and approval, to be responsible for the day-to-day business decisions for the Company, and to perform the principal executive functions of the CEO position during Mr. Parrott's absence. Mr. Parrott will continue as the Company's CEO and remain involved in major strategic decisions during his absence.
16:54
BGG Briggs & Stratton announces Chief Financial Officer transition plan (21.86 +0.18)
Co announces its Board of Directors elected David Rodgers as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer succeeding James Brenn effective June 28, 2010. Mr. Brenn will remain a Senior Vice President after June 28, 2010 and provide assistance to Mr. Rodgers until his retirement in December 2010.
16:53
MEE Massey Energy beats by $0.11, beats on revs (43.79 +0.09)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.39 per share, $0.11 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.28; revenues fell 10.4% year/year to $688.6 mln vs the $631.5 mln consensus. Produced tons sold in the first quarter of 2010 totaled 8.5 mln compared to 10.8 mln in Q1 of 2009. Metallurgical coal shipments were 2.4 million tons in the quarter, up 33% year over year. Industrial coal shipments were also up nearly 29%. However, shipments of utility coal were down 37% as electric utilities continued the draw down from previously high stockpile levels. In addition, weather-related production issues, weather-related power outages and disruption of rail and ocean transport significantly impacted Massey's production and shipments during the first two months of the quarter. Excluding the second quarter integration of the Cumberland operations, Massey expects full year 2010 produced coal shipments to be in the range of 35.0-37.0 mln tons, with average produced coal realization now between $70.50 and $72.00 per ton. Because the Company is uncertain as to the impact of the force majeure levels that will be triggered by the UBB tragedy and the potential for related impacts on other sales due to quality switching and contract buyouts, these estimates may need to be revised as more details become known. Average cash cost per ton for the full year 2010 is expected to be in the range of $54.00-57.00, excluding charges related to the Upper Big Branch mine tragedy. Other income is expected to be between $70.0-120.0 mln. Capital expenditures for 2010 are expected to be ~$300 mln. Financial results for Q2 2010 will include a charge related to the tragic accident at the Upper Big Branch mine. While MEE anticipates further analysis will be required, the Co estimates the range of loss to be $80-150 million for charges related to the benefits being provided to the families of the fallen miners, costs associated with the rescue and recovery efforts, insurance deductibles, possible legal and other contingencies. Co lowered its 2010 coal shipped tons guidance, excluding Cumberland, to 35-37 mln, down from 37-41 mln and raised its avg price per ton to $70.50-72.00, up from $67-70.
16:50
QMM Quaterra accelerates expiry of warrants (1.86 +0.11)
Co announced that it has given notice to the holders of non-transferable common share purchase warrants of the company. The terms of the warrant provide that in the event that at any time after 4 months from the date of issue of the Warrant, the Company's Common Shares have achieved or exceeded a closing price of US$1.00 for a 10 trading day consecutive period on the NYSE Alternext US or its successor, the Company may accelerate the warrant's expiry date.
16:49
DCTH Delcath trading up a point at 11.85 after resuming trading... see 16:17 comment for Phase III Trial results news (10.85 +0.25) -Update-
16:47
KITD KIT digital announces it intends to offer shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering (12.97 -0.14)
16:41
ATLS Atlas Energy Inc. and Reliance Industries Jointly acquire over 42,000 additional acres (36.08 -0.51)
announced today that Atlas and Reliance Industries Limited ("Reliance") have agreed to acquire, through a series of transactions for the benefit of the joint account of Atlas and Reliance, 42,344 highly prospective Marcellus Shale acres.This acreage is contained within the area of mutual interest Atlas has established with Reliance, and Reliance has agreed to exercise its right to acquire its 40% interest in the new acreage. Substantially all of the acreage to be acquired is held by production and is either contiguous with the joint venture's existing acreage or is in concentrated blocks of acreage. The Company believes that it will be able to drill over 450 horizontal wells on this acquired acreage assuming 1,000 foot spacing between lateral wells.
16:39
MCRI Monarch Casino & Resort beats by $0.11, beats on revs (10.16 +0.34)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.15 per share, $0.11 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.04; revenues rose 5.5% year/year to $34.4 mln vs the $32 mln consensus. During the quarter, the Co paid down the balance outstanding under its credit facility by $7.5 mln which decreased the outstanding balance of the credit facility from $48.5 million at December 31, 2009 to $41.0 mln at March 31, 2010.
16:37
HBI Hanesbrands beats by $0.14, beats on revs; raises FY10 rev guidance above consensus, raises FY10 EPS guidance (29.84 +0.74)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.37 per share, $0.14 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.23; revenues rose 8.2% year/year to $927.8 mln vs the $911.1 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $2.15-2.27 vs. $2.17 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $4.12-4.20 vs. $4.09 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. The co continues to expect slightly more than 5 percentage points of growth from retail shelf-space gains. Based on strong first-quarter performance, the co expects sales growth of at least 1 to 3 percentage points from an overall increase in consumer spending and retailer inventory restocking. The co's significant retail shelf-space gains contributed ~6 percentage points of sales growth, while ~2 percentage points of growth was driven by increased retail sell through, retailer inventory restocking, and foreign currency exchange rates. "We are off to a strong start to 2010 as a result of our investment in our brands and in our supply chain during the recession. Our brands are stronger than ever, gaining significant retail shelf space across all channels of trade. We expect to maintain this momentum throughout 2010."
16:36
NTGR NETGEAR resumes trading (28.72 +0.67) -Update-
16:36
SLM SLM Corp reports Q1 (Mar) results (13.12 +0.36)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.39 per share, may not be comparable to the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.29. "As we expected, first-quarter results improved as the financial storm has receded," said Albert L. Lord, vice chairman and CEO. "Ironically, one quarter before the government takes over loan originations, Sallie Mae broke its own FFELP origination record, a testament to the service provided by our talented employees. Of more immediate concern, however, is the unpleasant task of reducing our work force by 2,500 persons and restructuring our operations."
During the quarter, the company repurchased $1.3 billion of unsecured debt, resulting in an after-tax gain of $57 million ($.11 per diluted share). Core earnings net interest income after provision for loan losses was $343 million in the first quarter, compared to $320 million in the prior quarter and $80 million in the year-ago quarter. The company originated $7.7 billion in federal student loans in the first quarter, up 16 percent from the year-ago quarter. Private education loan originations were $840 million in the first quarter, compared to $1.5 billion one year ago, a reflection of tightened underwriting and significant increases in federal programs. The company continued to improve its balance sheet strength during the quarter. It completed a $1.6 billion private education loan securitization and issued $1.5 billion in senior unsecured notes, the first such issuance in 21 months. Subsequent to the quarter end, the company closed a $1.2 billion federal student loan securitization at the most favorable terms since 2007.
16:34
LHO LaSalle Hotel reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (25.30 +0.86)
Reports Q1 (Mar) funds from operations of $0.02 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.02; revenues fell 6.2% year/year to $120 mln vs the $116.9 mln consensus. "While we continue to expect 2010 to be a challenging year, we are encouraged by the recent improvement in demand within the industry and our portfolio," said Michael D. Barnello, President and Chief Executive Officer of LaSalle Hotel Properties. "Our hotels are experiencing steady increases in booking activity in both the group and transient segments."
16:34
MKSI MKS Instruments beats by $0.14, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (21.00 unch)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.58 per share, $0.14 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.44; revenues rose 32.7% year/year to $198.1 mln vs the $180 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.56-$0.66 vs. $0.49 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $205-$220 mln vs. $189.67 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:33
HCBK Hudson City Banc beats by $0.02 (14.51 0.00)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.30 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.28. Net income amounted to $148.9 million for the first quarter of 2010, as compared to $127.7 million for the first quarter of 2009, an increase of 16.6%. The provision for loan losses amounted to $50.0 million for the first quarter of 2010 as compared to $45.0 million for the linked fourth quarter of 2009 and $20.0 million for the first quarter of 2009. Annualized return on average assets and annualized return on average shareholders' equity for the first quarter of 2010 were 0.98% and 10.96%, respectively, as compared to 0.93% and 10.21%, respectively, for the first quarter of 2009. Net interest rate spread and net interest margin were 1.97% and 2.20%, respectively, for the first quarter of 2010 as compared to 1.75% and 2.06%, respectively, for the first quarter of 2009.
16:31
EXPO Exponent Inc beats by $0.05 (29.74 -0.07)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.42 per share, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.37; revenues fell 0.7% year/year to $59.4 mln vs the $52.1 mln consensus. Co said, "For fiscal year 2010, we expect to improve EBITDA margins while growing revenue before reimbursements in the low single digit."
16:31
NBL Noble Energy announces double mountain exploration results in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (77.77 -0.89)
Co announced that the Double Mountain exploration well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico reached the targeted Lower Miocene objective and found noncommercial quantities of hydrocarbons. Drilled to a total depth of 33,815 feet on Green Canyon 555, the well is currently being plugged and abandoned. BHP Billiton (BHP) operated the well with 70 percent interest and Noble Energy had the remaining 30 percent.
16:31
MLNX Mellanox Tech beats by $0.05, beats on revs (25.44 +0.06)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.29 per share, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.24; revenues rose 2.0% year/year to $36.2 mln vs the $35.4 mln consensus. Gross margins in 1Q10 were 75.1%, compared with 75.6% in 4Q09 and 76.3% in 1Q09. Co states, "We are pleased to report quarterly year-over-year growth in revenue of 61 percent and GAAP net income up 148 percent," said Eyal Waldman, chairman, president and CEO of Mellanox Technologies. "We continue to see growing worldwide adoption of our 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapters, and our industry-leading end-to-end InfiniBand connectivity solutions, including switch systems, adapters and cables in high-performance computing, enterprise, financial, Cloud, Web 2.0 and storage markets."
16:30
MUR Murphy Oil announces termination of production sharing contracts for blocks L and M in Malaysia (60.83 -0.85)
Co announced that it has been informed by PETRONAS that following the execution of the exchange of letters between Malaysia and the Sultanate of Brunei on March 16, 2009, the offshore exploration areas designated as Block L and Block M are no longer a part of Malaysia. As a consequence, the production sharing contracts covering Blocks L and M, awarded in 2003 to PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd and Murphy, were formally terminated by letter dated April 7, 2010. Murphy's potential participation in replacement production sharing contracts covering these areas is under discussion.
16:27
TBI TrueBlue beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs in-line (17.04 +0.88)
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.05 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.08); revenues rose 6.9% year/year to $239.9 mln vs the $237.3 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.03-0.08 vs. $0.05 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $265-275 mln vs. $265.92 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:25
BXP Boston Prpts establishes ATM stock offering program (77.04 +0.04)
Co announced that it has established an "at the market" stock offering program through which it may sell up to an aggregate of $400 million of its common stock. The stock would be offered through BNY Mellon Capital Markets, LLC, BofA Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, who will be acting as sales agents. Michael LaBelle, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, stated "With the completion of our bond issuance on April 19, 2010, we have approximately $1.8 billion of cash and our full $1.0 billion line of credit available to us. While we see no immediate need to utilize the program, the establishment of this program adds another option to our extensive array of funding alternatives providing additional efficiency and flexibility in our balance sheet management." The program would allow the Company to sell up to $400 million of its common stock from time to time through the sales agents for a three-year period.
16:25
DCTH Delcath to resume trading at 16:45 -- see 16:17 comment for Phase III Trial results news (10.90 +0.25)
16:23
CMG Chipotle Mexican Grill beats by $0.24, beats on revs (126.75 +2.67)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.19 per share, $0.24 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.95; revenues rose 15.6% year/year to $409.7 mln vs the $397.2 mln consensus. The growth in revenue was the result of new restaurants not in the comparable base and a 4.3% increase in comparable restaurant sales. Comparable restaurant sales growth was driven by increased traffic in the quarter. For 2010, management expects 120-130 new restaurant openings; mid single digit comparable restaurant sales growth; and an effective tax rate of approximately 38.5%
16:23
EC Ecopetrol approves the commercial viability of the Quifa Field (28.16 +0.62)
Co approved the commercial viability of the Southwest Quifa Field, located in the Meta district, within the Quifa Partnership Contract Area. The commercial viability declaration means that, after evaluating the field's potential and the results obtained during the exploration and testing stages, Ecopetrol has decided to take part in the commercial development of the field together with the operator, Meta Petroleum. At present, Ecopetrol has an average daily production at the Meta district of approximately 198 thousand barrels per day, mainly from direct fields and shares in fields run jointly with other companies. The commercial viability of the Southwest Quifa field is part of Ecopetrol's strategy to incorporate reserves in adjacent areas to production fields and contributes towards reaching a production of one million equivalent barrels (oil and natural gas) by 2015.
16:22
URI United Rentals beats by $0.04, misses on revs (10.70 -0.03)
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.57 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.61); revenues fell 19.5% year/year to $478 mln vs the $484.2 mln consensus. Co said, "As conditions improve over time, the results of our strategic initiatives around customer segmentation and service, as well as our strong liquidity position and industry-leading scale, will be defining advantages. We are well prepared to benefit from the recovery with ample capital to invest in growth."
16:22
LRCX Lam Research beats by $0.12, beats on revs (39.99 -0.42)
Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $0.94 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.12 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.82; revenues rose 29.9% year/year to $632.8 mln vs the $623.8 mln consensus. quarter. Ongoing gross margin for the March 2010 quarter was $292.9 million or 46.3%, compared to ongoing gross margin of $218.5 million, or 44.8%, for the December 2009 quarter. The sequential increase in gross margin was primarily due to improved factory utilization as a result of increased business volume and a more favorable product mix. Ongoing operating expenses for the March 2010 quarter remained essentially flat compared with the December 2009 quarter. "Shipments for the March 2010 quarter represented an all-time high for Lam Research reflecting market share gains in both our etch and clean businesses, supported by strong operational performance of the factory and supply chain".
16:22
ISIL Intersil beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (16.75 +0.01)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.22 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.20; revenues rose 60.2% year/year to $189.4 mln vs the $185 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.23-0.26 vs. $0.22 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $200-208 mln vs. $191.43 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. "The industrial and communications end markets continued their strong recoveries, while our computing end market performed better than anticipated due to strength in the worldwide PC business," said Dave Bell, Intersil's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Inventories remain stable at historically low levels and our manufacturing capacity has kept lead times much lower than many of our competitors."
16:21
CYH Community Health beats by $0.01, misses on revs (40.82 -0.58)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.75 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.74; revenues rose 8.5% year/year to $3.16 bln vs the $3.21 bln consensus. "Looking ahead, our primary focus for 2010 will be on leveraging our existing assets and improving our operations by focusing on the key areas for success in our business - a proven operating model, disciplined expense management, a successful physician recruitment program, and strategic capital investments. While we acknowledge the changing dynamics in today's healthcare marketplace, we remain confident in our ability to execute our strategy and deliver favorable results."
16:20
FSCI Fisher Communications enters license and consulting agreement with ACME Television for "The Daily Buzz" TV program (14.73 -0.50)
16:20
OKS ONEOK partners to invest more than $400 mln in new growth projects (64.98 )
Co announced that it will invest approximately $405 million to $470 million between now and the end of 2011 for projects in the Bakken Shale in the Williston Basin in North Dakota and the Woodford Shale in Oklahoma. These projects are part of the previously announced $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion of growth projects the partnership has identified for investment between now and the end of 2015.
16:20
NFLX Netflix beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs above consensus; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (86.98 -0.09)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.59 per share, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.54; revenues rose 25.3% year/year to $493.7 mln vs the $493.1 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.62-0.73 vs. $0.68 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $517-525 mln vs. $516.21 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $2.41-2.63 vs. $2.51 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $2.11-2.16 bln vs. $2.1 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Netflix ended Q1 of 2010 with ~13,967,000 total subscribers, representing 35% year-over-year growth from 10,310,000 total subscribers at the end of Q1 of 2009 and 14% sequential growth from 12,268,000 subscribers at the end of Q4 of 2009. Net subscriber change in the quarter was an increase of 1,699,000 compared to an increase of 920,000 for the same period of 2009 and an increase of 1,159,000 for Q4 of 2009. Gross subscriber additions for the quarter totaled 3,492,000, representing 45% year-over-year growth from 2,413,000 gross subscriber additions in Q1 of 2009 and 25% quarter-over-quarter growth from 2,803,000 gross subscriber additions in the fourth quarter of 2009. Of the 13,967,000 total subscribers at quarter end, 98%, or 13,622,000, were paid subscribers.
16:19
EBAY eBay beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS and revs below consensus; reaffirms FY10 EPS and revs guidance (26.29 -0.11)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.42 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.41; revenues rose 8.7% year/year to $2.2 bln vs the $2.18 bln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.37-0.39, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.40 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $2.15-2.20 bln vs. $2.21 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.63-1.68, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.67 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $8.8-9.1 bln vs. $9.12 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. The increase was due to growth in the Payments and Marketplaces businesses, as well as a positive impact from foreign currency movements against the U.S. dollar. Non-GAAP operating margin decreased slightly to 30.6% for the quarter, compared to 30.7% for the same period last year, as productivity gains were offset by faster growth in the company's lower margin PayPal business and lower take rates.
16:19
ADG Allied Defense announces further postponement of special meeting of stockholders (6.43 +0.14)
Co announced that, after consulting with Chemring Group PLC, it has postponed the date of its special meeting of stockholders to approve its pending merger with Chemring currently scheduled for April 22, 2010 to May 6, 2010.
16:18
FWRD Forward Air reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (27.79 -0.22)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.12 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.12; revenues rose 10.8% year/year to $107 mln vs the $103.6 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.20-0.24 vs. $0.17 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs up 13-18% y/y to $112.6-117.6 mln vs. $108.38 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. "We are pleased to report that the trends of improved freight volumes and resulting profitability we experienced in the fourth quarter of 2009 continued throughout the first quarter of 2010. These continuing trends provide further encouragement that we have entered a period of sustained recovery."
16:17
NVLS Novellus beats by $0.05, beats on revs (26.65 +0.05)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.47 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 179.3% year/year to $276.2 mln vs the $265.5 mln consensus. Co said, "There continues to be strong demand for personal computers from both the consumer and corporate sectors. This bodes well for continued capacity expansion in the semiconductor industry. We are very pleased with our strong operating performance this quarter and believe we can continue to improve on all key financial metrics. Looking forward, we expect our business prospects to continue to be good."
16:17
DCTH Delcath announces Phase III Trial results exceed primary endpoint expectations (10.85 +0.25) -Update-
Co announced that its Phase III National Cancer Institute (NCI)-led multi-center clinical trial has successfully met the study's primary endpoint of extended hepatic progression-free survival (hPFS) in patients with melanoma metastases to the liver based on an independently corroborated intent-to-treat analysis. Comparing treatment with the Delcath PHP System(TM) with melphalan to Best Alternative Care (BAC), based on independent core lab review of patient scans, the statistical analysis revealed that the PHP patients had a statistically significant longer median hPFS of 214 days compared to 70 days in the BAC arm (p=0.001). This reflects a 144-day prolongation of hPFS over that of BAC control arm, with less than half the risk of progression and/or death in the PHP group compared to the BAC group (Hazard Ratio = 0.46). James F. Pingpank, MD, FACS, Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a lead Principal Investigator of the Phase III trial, will present full trial data on June 5th at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO) 2010 Annual Meeting. The endpoints announced today are results of the independent core lab analysis, which will be submitted to support Delcath's New Drug Application (NDA) for its drug and proprietary treatment system to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Delcath expects to initiate its rolling NDA submission to the FDA within the next 30 days. "We believe that these data support that the Delcath PHP System may provide a significantly better treatment option for patients suffering from melanoma metastases in the liver... With the treatment arm having a median hPFS of more than three-fold that of the control arm, we easily exceeded our expectations of clinical trial success. This is a major step forward in our plan to introduce what we believe is an effective treatment for patients who currently have very few viable options." (Stock is halted)
16:15
TGT Target stores to sell Amazon Kindle (56.93 +0.79)
Co announced it will begin selling Amazon's (AMZN) Kindle. Kindle available at its flagship downtown Minneapolis store and 102 south Florida stores beginning April 25, rolling out to more Target stores later this year.
16:15
ATLS Atlas Energy, Inc. Announces Closing of $1.7 Billion Marcellus Shale Joint Venture with Reliance Industries (36.08 -0.51)
Co announced today that it closed its joint venture transaction with a wholly owned affiliate of Reliance Industries Limited. Atlas transferred an interest in its Marcellus Shale position equal to 120,000 net acres in a transaction valued at $1.7 billion. The joint venture is effective immediately. Reliance paid approximately $340 million in cash at closing and an additional $1.36 billion will be paid in the form of a drilling carry. Atlas will serve as the development operator for the joint venture. Pursuant to the agreement, Reliance has acquired a 40% undivided interest in approximately 300,000 net acres (120,000 net to Reliance) of undeveloped leasehold held by Atlas, and Atlas will retain a 60% undivided interest in the acreage. In addition to funding its own 40% of drilling obligations, Reliance has agreed to fund 75% of Atlas' respective portion of drilling and completion costs until the $1.36 billion drilling carry is fully utilized.
16:15
THRX Theravance reports Q1 revenues of $5.7 mln compared to Thomson Reuters consensus of $7.9 mln; net loss was $0.35 per share compared to a loss of $0.29 per share consensus (16.17 -0.69)
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $225.4 million as of March 31, 2010.
16:14
DCTH Delcath halted - news pending (10.85 +0.25)
16:14
LEG Leggett & Platt beats by $0.08, beats on revs; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (23.14 +0.50)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.27 per share, ex-items, $0.08 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.19; revenues rose 13.7% year/year to $816.4 mln vs the $710.3 mln consensus. Co raises guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $0.95-1.30 vs. $1.07 Thomson Reuters consensus, up from $$0.75-1.15; sees FY10 revs of $3.1-3.4 bln vs. $3.12 bln Thomson Reuters consensus, up from $2.9-3.3 bln. "We are encouraged to see market improvement and sales growth during the first quarter. That growth, combined with last year's significant cost reduction efforts, led to meaningful earnings improvement. Gross margin remained over 20%, despite a noteworthy increase in steel costs during the first quarter."
16:13
FNF Fidelity National Announces a 20 Percent Increase to its Quarterly Cash Dividend to $0.18 (15.50 +0.05) -Update-
16:13
VRTX Vertex Pharm beats by $0.10, misses on revs (39.35 -1.15)
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.70 per share, $0.10 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.80); revenues fell 6.7% year/year to $22.4 mln vs the $29.7 mln consensus. Vertex Pharm reaffirmed its 2010 non-GAAP net loss of ~$600 million, as provided on Feb 4, 2010.
16:13
SFG StanCorp Fin reports Q1 EPS of $1.04 vs $1.20 Thomson Reuters consensus (49.44 -0.57)
Earnings for the first quarter of 2010 included a non-cash charge of $1.0 million, or $0.02 per share, resulting from reduced deductibility of retiree health care costs under the recently passed federal health care legislation. "We are pleased by our earnings for the first quarter, with group claims experience in line with last year," said Greg Ness, president and chief executive officer. "We are encouraged by our strong first quarter group insurance sales and our steady persistency levels that were in line with our expectations. We have a solid foundation to build on, and as the economy recovers, we expect to see organic growth return to our customer base."
16:13
TWLL Techwell misses by $0.08, reports revs in-line (15.48 +0.03)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.07 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.08 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.15; revenues rose 95.1% year/year to $20.1 mln vs the $20 mln consensus.
16:12
TNK Teekay Tankers provides update to first quarter dividend guidance and impact of accretive acquisition on dividend run-rate (12.39 -0.01)
- First quarter dividend expected to be in the range of $0.33 to $0.37 per share, in-line with guidance provided in early-March 2010, up from $0.26 per share paid in previous quarter, primarily due to higher spot tanker rates - Recent vessel acquisitions expected to be approximately 15 percent accretive to 2010 dividend distributions - Further strengthened Company's financial position through reduction in financial leverage and increase in liquidity - Approximately 59 percent of fleet now trading under fixed-rate charters for remainder of 2010. The Company's first quarter dividend, which is currently anticipated to be between $0.33 and $0.37 per share, will not be impacted by the follow-on offering completed in early April 2010, and is expected to be paid in late May 2010.
16:11
AMGN Amgen beats by $0.06, misses on revs; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (58.71 -1.47)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.30 per share, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.24; revenues rose 8.6% year/year to $3.59 bln vs the $3.65 bln consensus. Adjusting for impact of US healthcare reform, 2010 revenue and EPS expected to be towards lower end of guidance. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $5.05-5.25 vs. $5.15 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $15.1-15.5 bln vs. $15.28 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Amgen Q1 Drug Sales and Thomson Reuters Consensus: Enbrel $804 mln vs. $856 mln; Neulasta $863 mln vs. $847 mln; Aranesp $627 mln vs. $635 mln; Epogen $623 mln vs. $642 mln; Neupogen $316 mln vs. $313 mln. The Company still expects the 2010 adjusted tax rate to be in the range of 20 percent to 21 percent and capital expenditures to be approximately $600 million.
16:11
UWBK United Western Bancorp, Inc. Announces Retirement of William D. Snider, Chief Financial Officer (1.63 -0.01)
Co announced that William D. Snider has retired from the Company as chief financial officer and from all other day-to-day roles with the company and its subsidiaries. Mr. Snider will continue to serve as a director of the company. The Company is considering both internal and external candidates to replace Mr. Snider in the future.
16:10
FNF Fidelity National misses by $0.05, misses on revs (15.48 +0.03)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.07 per share, $0.05 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.12; revenues fell 9.9% year/year to $1.21 bln vs the $1.29 bln consensus. Co said, "This quarter was a typical seasonally impacted beginning to the year, as we started slow in January coming out of the holiday season and built momentum as we made our way into the month of March. Open order counts were relatively stable during the quarter, after the first two weeks of January, as we averaged between 8,500 and 8,800 open orders per day from the second half of January through March. Closed order counts were seasonally soft during the first quarter and were further impacted by new RESPA closing requirements."
16:09
ETFC E*TRADE beats by $0.01, credit costs decline (1.82 +0.05)
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.02 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.03); revenues rose 8.0% year/year to $537 mln but may not be comparable to the $242.5 mln consensus. Total customer assets increased to $162 billion, from $153 billion in the prior quarter and $110 billion in the prior year. Net operating interest income was essentially flat from the prior quarter at $320 million, as a $1.4 billion sequential decline in average interest-earning assets to $42.4 billion was offset by a 10 basis point expansion in the net interest income spread. First quarter provision for loan losses decreased $24 million from the prior quarter to $268 million. Net charge-offs in the quarter were $288 million, a decrease of $36 million from the prior quarter. The allowance for loan losses declined by $20 million to $1.2 billion, or six percent of gross loans receivable, at quarter end. For the Company's entire loan portfolio, special mention delinquencies (30-89 days) declined by four percent and at-risk delinquencies (30-179 days) declined by eight percent in the quarter. During the quarter, the Bank generated $45 million of Tier 1 capital and $48 million of risk-based capital. As of March 31, 2010 the Company reported Bank Tier 1 capital ratios of 6.83 percent to total adjusted assets and 13.08 percent to risk-weighted assets.
16:09
FFIV F5 Networks beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (66.96 +1.00)
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.56 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.54; revenues rose 33.7% year/year to $206.1 mln vs the $199.6 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.57-0.59 vs. $0.56 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $214-219 mln vs. $206.93 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Reflecting both the high number of service maintenance contracts generated by new product sales and the high renewal rate on existing maintenance contracts, deferred revenue increased to $226.5 million, up 7% from the prior quarter and 41 percent from the second quarter a year ago.
16:09
SBUX Starbucks beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides FY10 EPS above consensus (25.39 +0.13)
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.29 per share, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.25; revenues rose 8.6% year/year to $2.53 bln vs the $2.41 bln consensus. Co issues rasies guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.19-1.22 up from $1.05-1.08 vs. $1.12 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co reports non-GAAP operating margin expanded to 17.8% in Q2 FY10 compared to 10.4% in the corresponding period of fiscal 2009. The margin expansion was primarily driven by lower store operating expenses, increased sales leverage, the closure of underperforming company-operated stores, and increased labor productivity.
16:08
PLCM Polycom beats by $0.04, beats on revs (32.00 +0.17)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.29 per share, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.25; revenues rose 22.7% year/year to $276 mln vs the $263 mln consensus. Co states, "In the first quarter, strong customer demand drove sharp year-over-year growth in revenues, backlog and deferred revenues. As a result of this strong operating performance and working capital management, we generated positive operating cash flow of $21 million, representing Polycom's 49th consecutive quarter of positive operating cash flow. We exited Q1 with $470 million in cash and investments and no debt."
16:08
DGLY Digital Ally receives international contracts from South America and Middle East (1.94 +0.08)
Co announced the recent receipt of a major contract from a South American country and an initial pilot order from a Middle Eastern country. The Company also reported the receipt of two statewide contracts during March and April 2010. A Digital Ally sales agent in South America recently received a contract for 700 DVM-750 Digital In-Car Video Systems from the Highway Patrol Division of a South American country. The name of the country was not disclosed. The Company expects to ship between 100 and 200 systems per month over the next four to six months in accordance with the installation and training schedule of the Highway Patrol in such country.
16:06
KIM Kimco Realty and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board announce joint venture (15.31 +0.19)
Cos announced that they have formed a joint venture to acquire prime neighborhood shopping centers throughout the U.S. The initial investment of $370 million includes five former PL Retail properties which Kimco purchased during the fourth quarter of 2009. These properties are located in well-established neighborhoods and anchored by national retailers including Costco and Wal-Mart. CPPIB will acquire a 45% interest in the venture and Kimco will retain a 55% interest in addition to acting as the operating partner. As the operating partner, Kimco will manage the properties and earn asset management and other customary fees for a joint venture of this size and scope. CPPIB and Kimco intend to grow their joint venture over time through the acquisition of additional retail properties or portfolios.
16:06
CTXS Citrix Systems reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (49.83 +0.39)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.40 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.40; revenues rose 12.2% year/year to $414 mln vs the $408.5 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.44-0.45 vs. $0.45 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $430-440 mln vs. $428.56 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.88-1.91 vs. $1.90 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $1.765-1.78 bln vs. $1.77 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Also, the Board of directors authorizes $400 million increase to share repurchase program.
16:06
QCOM Qualcomm beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (42.63 -0.66)
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.59 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.57; revenues rose 8.1% year/year to $2.66 bln vs the $2.63 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.51-0.55 vs. $0.55 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $2.5-2.7 bln vs. $2.66 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $2.21-2.32 vs. $2.31 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $10.4-11.0 bln vs. $10.77 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co guides FY10 CDMA-based device average selling price range to approx. $182 - $188. "We delivered strong financial results this quarter, driven by healthy 3G device shipments and greater than expected demand for our chipsets. 3G subscribers have now surpassed 1 billion worldwide and with the 3G auction process underway in India, the 3G footprint continues to expand globally... Calendar year 2010 3G device shipments are progressing in line with our expectations, and although we're continuing to operate in a competitive chipset pricing environment, we're positioned to continue to grow share through new partner engagements and our broad, industry-leading 3G chipset roadmap. Our business is executing well and we are pleased to be raising our earnings guidance for the fiscal year."
16:06
KMP Kinder Morgan Prtnrs increases quarterly distribution to $1.07/share from $1.05/share (68.00 +0.46)
16:05
ADS Alliance Data beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line; reaffirms FY10 EPS guidance (68.21 -0.05)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.38 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.36; revenues rose 9.3% year/year to $663.5 mln vs the $570.2 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $1.30 vs. $1.30 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co expects double-digit revenue growth for the company with the potential for each of the three segments to generate double-digit growth compared to the prior year. Consistent with the first quarter of 2010, it expects Private Label and Epsilon to provide positive double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth. While LoyaltyOne is expected to report significant year-over-year adjusted EBITDA growth, it is expected to be flat to the prior year after the exclusion of a foreign exchange translation loss from the second quarter of 2009. Historically, the second quarter tends to be the softest of the four quarters. Epsilon is strongest in the second half of the year, and Private Label tends to have compression in gross yields in the second quarter as customers pay down revolving balances with tax refunds. Co also reaffirms guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $6.00 vs. $6.02 Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:05
TCBI Texas Capital beats by $0.02 (20.33 +0.24)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.21 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.19. Demand deposits grew 11% and total deposits increased 7% on a linked quarter basis and grew 63% and 46%, respectively, from Q1 2009 -- Loans held for investment remained consistent on a linked quarter basis and total loans decreased 2% on a linked quarter basis; grew 11% and 13%, respectively, from Q1 2009. Co said, "As a result of the overall economic downturn, we have experienced increases in levels of non-performing assets and exposure to credit losses during the first quarter of 2010. Provision for credit losses, valuation allowance and direct write-downs related to other real estate owned ("OREO") totaled $15.4 million in first quarter of 2010 compared to $8.5 million in the first quarter of 2009 and $16.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2009." Excluding the expense related to the valuation allowance increase, our efficiency ratio improved to 56.7 percent in the first quarter of 2010 from 59.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 and from 63.0% in the first quarter of 2009.
16:05
TSCO Tractor Supply beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (69.18 +1.25)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.25 per share, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.21; revenues rose 9.3% year/year to $710.9 mln vs the $709.4 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $3.48-3.60 vs. $3.60 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $3.44-3.50 bln vs. $3.5 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Gross margin increased 13.9% to $228.9 million, or 32.2% of sales, compared to $201.0 million, or 30.9% of sales, in the prior year's first quarter.
16:05
EQIX Equinix misses by $0.08, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 revs in-line; guides FY10 revs above consensus (100.62 +1.36)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.35 per share, $0.08 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.43; revenues rose 2.5% year/year to $248.6 mln vs the $246.4 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $258-$260 mln vs. $258.54 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees FY10 revs of $1.065-$1.08 bln vs. $1.06 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. For FY10 co sees total year cash gross margins are expected to be in the range of 64% to 65%. Cash selling, general and administrative expenses are expected to be in the range of $210.0 and $220.0 mln. Adjusted EBITDA for the year is expected to be between $470.0 and $480.0 mln. Capital expenditures for 2010 are expected to be in the range of $450.0 to $510.0 mln, comprised of approximately $100.0 mln of ongoing capital expenditures related to customer installation expenditures, new product innovation solutions, internal ERP system solutions and increased investment in IBX reliability. Expansion capital expenditures are expected to range between $350.0 and $410.0 mln.
16:04
ISIL Intersil donates 100,000 square-foot wafer fabrication facility to the University of Central Florida (16.74 +0.01)
Co announced that it will donate a high-technology semiconductor wafer fabrication facility and the land it occupies to the University of Central Florida. The gift consists of 100,494 square feet (9,336 square meters) of office space, manufacturing and cleanroom facilities, plus a 5 acre (2 hectare) property. In addition, Intersil will provide utilities and assist with operating expenses during the first three years of UCF's ownership, enabling a turnkey solution for the university. The entire donation is valued at approximately $13 million.
16:04
SCSS Select Comfort reports Q1 EPS of $0.14 vs $0.09 Thomson Reuters consensus; revs $158 mln vs $140.60 mln Thomson Reuters consensus (9.32 +0.67)
Select Comfort sees FY10 EPS of $0.45-0.50 vs $0.39 Thomson Reuters consensus. This outlook assumes a continuation of recent sales trends, adjusted for normal seasonality, for the balance of 2010. The company expects to generate positive same-store growth throughout the year, although it anticipates that the rate of growth will slow as year-over-year comparisons become more difficult, specifically in the back half of the year.
16:03
RCRC RC2 beats by $0.02, beats on revs; reaffirms FY10 EPS guidance (18.52 +0.38)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.15 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.13; revenues rose 2.1% year/year to $88.1 mln vs the $82.9 mln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.35-1.45 vs. $1.41 Thomson Reuters consensus. The co also ests that diluted earnings per share in the second quarter of 2010 will likely be similar to 2010 first quarter results (Q2 consensus is $0.16). The 2010 first quarter gross margin increased to 44.0% as compared with 40.2% in the prior year first quarter primarily due to favorable product mix, lower input costs and favorable foreign currency exchange rates.
16:02
NTGR NETGEAR beats by $0.18, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs in-line (28.72 +0.67)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.48 per share, $0.18 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.30; revenues rose 39.2% year/year to $211.6 mln vs the $202.7 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $190-200 mln vs. $196.63 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:02
STR Questar considering spin-off of exploration & production business (45.86 +0.01)
Co announced that it is considering a possible tax-free spin-off of the company's natural gas and oil exploration and production (E&P) business. The new E&P company would be comprised of Questar subsidiaries Questar E&P Company, Questar Gas Management, and Questar Energy Trading. After the spin-off, Questar Corporation would remain an integrated natural gas company comprised of subsidiaries Wexpro Company, Questar Pipeline, and Questar Gas Company.
16:01
KNX Knight Transportation reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (21.61 +0.65)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.15 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.15; revenues rose 11.4% year/year to $165.7 mln vs the $159.2 mln consensus. "We continue to actively evaluate strategic opportunities that can create value for our stakeholders without undue risk. We have significant financial flexibility and a strong balance sheet, with $531.1 million of stockholders' equity, $114.9 million in cash and short term investments, and zero debt at March 31, 2010."
16:01
AFFX Affymetrix beats by $0.02, beats on revs (8.21 -0.21)
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.07 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.09); revenues rose 2.0% year/year to $80.2 mln vs the $78.9 mln consensus.
16:01
EQIX Equinix continues expansion of Dutch operations with opening of second IBX data center in Amsterdam (100.50 +1.24)
Co announced the expected May 1, 2010 opening of the first phase of its new Amsterdam (AM2) International Business Exchange(TM) (IBX(R)) data center, which has been under development since November 2009. The first phase represents an expected investment of approximately $40.0 million and provides 480 cabinets equivalents. The second phase is targeted for completion during the third quarter of 2010 and is expected to provide an additional 520 cabinets equivalents. A third phase, to be timed to meet market demand, will provide an additional 500 cabinet equivalents. Equinix's investment into the purpose-built AM2 IBX data center represents the company's fourth facility in The Netherlands, including two IBX data centers located in Enschede and Zwolle, and is part of the company's $2.0 billion investment to expand operations between 2007 and 2010.
16:01
HUBG Hub Group beats by $0.03, beats on revs (31.38 +0.39)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.23 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.20; revenues rose 18.5% year/year to $417 mln vs the $377.9 mln consensus. "All three business lines showed solid growth, and we look forward to taking this positive momentum into the quarters ahead."
15:45
XHB Late day global & sector ETF movers... Homebuilders & Home Construction lead & Biotech still lags -Technical-
The Actively Traded Leading Global & Sector ETFs:
homebuilders & home construction- XHB +2.75%, ITB +2.0%, VIX vol index- VXX +2.25%, regional banks- KRE +1.75%, silver- SLV +1.50%, iShares REITS & real estate- ICF +1.50%, IYR +1.50%, aerospace & defense- PPA +1.50%, livestock commods- COW +1.50%, iShares S Korea- EWY +1.25%, heating oil- UHN +1.25%, SPDRS US retailers- XRT +1.25%, platinum- PGM +1.0%, PTM +0.75%
The Actively Traded Lagging Global & Sector ETFs:
biotech- BBH -4.0%, IBB -1.75%, XBI -1.75%, solar power- TAN -2.50%, airlines- FAA -2.50%, healthcare- XLV -1.75%, IYH -1.75%, pharma HLDRS- PPH -1.75%, China 25- FXI -1.50%, semis- XSD -1.25%, SMH -1.25%, IGW -1.25%
15:41
Earnings Calendar
Today after the close of the many companies scheduled to report: AMGN, CMG, CTXS, ETFC, EBAY, FFIV, MEE, NFLX, QCOM, SNDK, and SBUX. Tomorrow before the open of the many companies scheduled to report, some of the bigger names include: BBT, FITB, GR, HSY, MAR, NOK, NUE, BTU, PENN, PM, PEP, RTN, LUV, TCB, UNP, VZ, and ZMH.
15:40
Conferences and Shareholder/Analyst Meetings of Interest
Events of interest for tomorrow, April 22, include: CXO, PXD at Capital One Southcoast Oil Day. Fed/Treasury: BoJ's Shirakawa
15:26
IWM Russell 2000 outperforming this afternoon as its sets a fresh session high of 724.13 -Technical-
The 52-wk peak from last week for the cash index is at 725.13. The IWM session high is 72.46 with its 52-wk close/intraday highs at 72.43/72.58.
15:19
JBT JBT Corp awarded $6.6 mln Halvorsen Loader support order by the U.S. Air Force (18.96 -0.15)
Cp announced that the United States Air Force (USAF) awarded JBT AeroTech a one-year $6.6 million engineering and logistics services order for the Halvorsen 25K Loader. This order is to provide continued worldwide support of the over 400 Halvorsen loaders that JBT AeroTech has delivered to the USAF.
14:58
AAPL NASDAQ 100 (NDX) leaders & laggards moving towards today's final hour of trading-- Personal Computers still lead & Biotech still lags -Technical-
NDX 100 best % Performers:
AAPL +5.75%, VMED +3.50%, EXPD +2.50%, CHRW +2.25%, GENZ +1.50%, AMZN +1.50%, FWLT +1.50%, NTAP +1.25%, STX +1.25%, APOL +1.0%, SPLS +1.0%
NDX 100 Worst % Performers:
GILD -9.50%, YHOO -5.0%, CELG -3.50%, FSLR -3.25%, NVDA -3.0%, VRTX -3.0%, AMGN -3.0%, ALTR -2.75%, LLTC -2.50%, BIIB -2.50%, XLNX -2.25%, QCOM -2.25%
NASDAQ TRIN @ +0.85
NASDAQ A/D @ -415
14:55
BA Dow 30 (INDU) leaders & laggards moving towards today's final hour of trading-- Aerospace still leads & Big Pharma still lags -Technical-
INDU 30 Best % Performers:
BA +3.75%, UTX +2.75%, PG +0.50%, MMM +0.25%
INDU 30 Worst % Performers:
MRK - 3.50%, BAC -2.0%, INTC -2.0%, T -1.75%, JPM -1.50%, PFE -1.25%
NYSE TRIN @ +1.85
NYSE A/D @ -200
14:42
COMDX NYMEX Energy Closing Prices
June crude oil settled lower by 17 cents to $83.68, May natural gas shed 1.8 cents to close at $3.957, May heating oil gained 2.33 cents to finish at $2.2035 and May RBOB gasoline ended higher by 0.18 cents to $2.2827.
14:42
SALM Salem Comms to acquire WWRC-AM in Washington, D.C. (5.36 +0.09)
14:39
COMDX CBOT Agriculture and Ethanol and ICE Exchange Sugar Closing Prices -Update-
July corn closed higher by 3.25 cents to $3.5875 per bushel, July soybeans closed higher by 12.5 cents at $9.9450 per bushel, July wheat closed 0.5 cents higher at $4.99 per bushel, May ethanol closed higher by $0.02 cents at $1.585, July world sugar futures closed 0.09 cents higher to 16.69 cents.
14:30
TECHX S&P 500 & INDU 30 slide to new session lows this afternoon but the COMPQ has not confirmed as that index still holds above the 2490 a.m. LoD -Technical-
13:47
RLRN Renaissance Learning, Inc. increases quarterly dividend from $0.07 to $0.08 (15.55 -0.24)
13:42
FTR Frontier Communications: Illinois Commerce Commission approves Frontier Communications' acquisition of Verizon (VZ) local wireline operations (7.83 -0.02)
13:33
CDY Cardero Resource Baja IOCG project update (1.32 -0.03)
Co provided an update on the Baja IOCG Project in Baja California Norte, Mexico where drilling on the San Fernando West target area has commenced. Drilling to date has significantly increased the co's understanding of the large copper-bearing system and has resulted in a re-prioritization of drill targets on the Western flank the large property. This phase of the drill program consists of five drillholes, the first of which has been completed, intersecting more than 100 metres of highly fractured, brecciated and potassic-sodic-calcic altered rocks containing trace copper mineralization. The remaining drillholes will test a series of multi-element IOCG pathfinder geochemical anomalies where surface mapping has highlighted abundant brecciation of the volcanic rocks. The area is essentially untested with only one drillhole on the eastern fringe of the geochemical-structural anomaly over approximately 3 kilometres strike length. The Company also announces that it has acquired an additional 1,035,723 common shares of International Tower Hill Mines at a cost of CAD 6.00/share, in the recent non-brokered private placement by ITH completed earlier this month. The co now holds an aggregate of 4,582,523 common shares of ITH, representing approximately 6.99% of the outstanding common shares.
13:32
COMDX COMEX Metals Closing Prices
June gold ended higher by $4.80 to $1144.00, May silver finished up 8.9 cents to $17.91 and May copper gained 2.15 cents to close at $3.535.
13:08
HRS Harris awarded $72 mln contract to support expansion of VA's consolidated billing and collection services (49.93 +0.25)
13:01
Tamalpais Bancorp (TAMB) announced that its shares will be delisted from NASDAQ (0.49 0.00)
12:45
IYR Midday global & sector ETF movers... REITS/real estate lead & Biotech lags -Technical-
The Actively Traded Leading Global & Sector ETFs:
iShares REITS & real estate- ICF +2.50%, IYR +2.25%, homebuilders & home construction- XHB +2.50%, ITB +1.75%, commercial banks- KBE +1.75%, regional banks- KRE +1.50%, silver- SLV +1.50%, livestock commods- COW +1.50%, gold miners- GDX +1.25%, platinum- PGM +1.25%, PTM +0.75%, nat gas- UNG +1.0%, ag commods- DBA +1.0%, iShares S Korea- EWY +1.0%, commods- DBC +1.0%, DJP +1.0%
The Actively Traded Lagging Global & Sector ETFs:
biotech- BBH -3.75%, IBB -2.0%, XBI -1.75%, solar power- TAN -2.0%, airliners- FAA -1.75%, semis- XSD -1.50%, SMH -1.25%, IGW -1.25%, healthcare- XLV -1.50%, IYH -1.50%, China 25- FXI -1.50%
12:40
SPY Stock indices extend push off late morning lows through short term barriers -- Dow +21, S&P +1.1, Nasdaq +2.1 -Update- -Technical-
Relative sector strength on this move (outperforming the S&P) has been noted in Commodity Index, Materials XLB, Gold Miners GDX, Energy OIH / XLE, Steel SLX, Coal KOL, Ag/Chem MOO, Solar TAN, Housing XHB, REITs IYR.
12:34
GLD streetTRACKS Gold Shares push to fresh highs as it lifts up into yesterday's high of 112.21 (112.50 +0.94) -Technical-
GDX, AEM, IAG, NEM, GG, GFI, RGLD, GOLD, AUY, KGC
12:33
COMDX Gold and silver trade to new session highs; gold now higher by $7.70 to $1146.90 and silver is currently up 18.9 cents to $18.01
12:32
AAPL Midday NASDAQ 100 (NDX) leaders & laggards-- Personal Computers still lead & Biotech still lags -Technical-
Early Afternoon NDX 100 Best % Gainers:
AAPL, VMED, CHRW, EXPD, STX, GENZ, AMZN, APOL, FLIR, CTXS, FWLT
Early Afternoon NDX 100 Worst % Performers:
GILD, YHOO, FSLR, CELG, VRTX, AMGN, ALTR, XLNX, NVDA, MICC, CEPH
NASDAQ TRIN @ +0.80
12:30
BA Midday Dow 30 (INDU) leaders & laggards-- Aerospace leads & Big Pharma lags -Technical-
Early Afternoon INDU 30 Best % Gainers:
BA, UTX, PG, HPQ, JPM, MMM, CSCO
Early Afternoon INDU 30 Worst % Performers:
MRK, INTC, T, JNJ, KFT, TRV, PFE, IBM
NYSE TRIN @ +0.85
12:19
GCBC Greene County Bancorp raises cash dividend to $0.175 per share from $0.17 per share (14.91 -0.33)
12:16
XHB Intraday Relative Strength in Housing XHB and REITs IYR as they edge to new session highs -Update- -Technical-
LEN, MDC, MTH, PHM, SPF, TOL, KBH, DHI, NVR, RYL, MHK, CPT, AIV, EQR, PCL, PLD, SPG, VNO, KIM, MAC, BXP, PSA, PEI.
12:05
GBG Great Basin Gold enters into ore purchase agreement with Newmont (1.78 +0.02)
Co announced that they have entered into an ore purchase agreement with Newmont Mining Ltd (NEM) to sell up to a maximum of 50,000 ore tons, but not less than 35,000 ore tons. The Company plans to immediately send 40,000 tons in terms of this agreement. In terms of the agreement, Newmont will settle 75% of the estimated value of the ore within 5 days after delivery at a fixed metal price of US$1,000/oz for gold and US$17/oz for silver. The outstanding amount will be settled once all metal has been crushed and final assays received. The Company expects to recover approximately 28,000 gold eqv oz with estimated net proceeds of US$26.3 million in terms of this agreement.
12:01
European Markets Closing Prices: FTSE: 5723.4 -60.3 -1.0%, DAX: 6230.4 -33.9 -0.5%, CAC: 3977.7 -49.0 -1.2%, Spain's IBEX: -2.1%, Portugal's PSI: -2.3%
12:01
FDA announced draft guidance that would expand transparency and disclosure
The FDA announced draft guidance that would expand transparency and disclosure when the agency grants a conflict of interest waiver to permit an individual's participation at an FDA advisory committee meeting. The draft guidance would expand the information disclosed about waivers prior to committee meetings. Specifically, the FDA proposes to post online the name of the company or institution associated with the financial interest along with the type of conflict of interest. Scientific advisory committees provide expert advice on significant scientific, technical, and policy matters to assist in the FDA's mission to protect and promote the public health. The committees provide advice on specific regulatory decisions, such as product approvals, and general policy matters, including regulations and guidance.
12:00
SON Sonoco Products declared $0.28/share quarterly common stock dividend, an increase from $0.27/share (33.10 +0.10)
11:55
FAA Airlines Index -XAL, FAA - drop to new lows for the week -Technical-
Weighing on the sector today are: LCC -4.2%, AAI -7.2%, XJT -2.9% (testing 50 sma again), AMR -4.3% (new two month low), DAL -3%, UAUA -2.9%, CAL -3.3% (broke under 50 sma/ema), JBLU -2.5%, LUV -1.7%, ALK -3.5%.
11:46
SPY S&P -3.3 hovering slightly above support -Update- -Technical-
The index slightly has slightly cleared first level support noted in The Technical Take at 1203 (session low 1202.40) and stabilized. Intraday unless it can work back through 1205.50/1206 it remains vulnerable. Initial support below is at 1200/1199 (38% retrace of Mon-Wed run, psych, congestion) with the 50% retrace at 1197 -- Click for chart.
11:41
MMP Magellan Midstream increased quarterly cash distribution to $0.72 per unit, up from $0.71 per unit (47.90 -0.15)
11:38
IMAX IMAX signs theatre deal in China (18.90 -0.14)
Co announced that Zhejiang Xinyuan Cultural Industry Group Co., Ltd, a large government-run cultural enterprise in the People's Republic of China, has signed an agreement to install a digital IMAX theatre system at the exhibitor's new 16-screen multiplex in the city of Hangzhou, the capital of China's Zhejiang province. The theatre is scheduled to open in late June 2010. There are currently 26 IMAX theatres open in China, and this deal brings the total number of IMAX theatres scheduled to be open in China to 50 by 2012.
11:34
XCO Exco Resources announces agreement to acquire Common Resources (18.85 -0.94) -Update-
Co announced an agreement to purchase Common Resources, jointly with BG Group plc (BRGYY), for ~$446 mln in cash. Common owns producing assets, gathering lines and acreage in Shelby, San Augustine and Nacogdoches Counties, TX. Common's Eagle Ford assets are not part of the acquisition. Before closing, Common will sell or otherwise distribute its Eagle Ford assets to a third party. EXCO and BG Group will each acquire 50% of Common. The development of these assets will be governed by the existing joint venture with BG Group, including BG Group funding 75% of EXCO's 50% of Haynesville and Bossier drilling and completion costs subject to the limitations in the original joint venture. EXCO's net acquisition price of $223 million, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, will be financed with borrowings under its credit agreement. The acquisition is expected to close on May 12, 2010, and has an effective date of February 1, 2010.
11:31
SMH Relative Sector Weakness -Update- -Technical-
Sectors underperforming the S&P is it slips to a new low include: Semi SMH, Shipping SEA, Gold Miners GDX, Coal KOL, Solar TAN, Steel SLX, Ag/Chem MOO.
11:28
SPY Stock indices slide to new session lows -- S&P -3.2, Dow -5, Nasdaq Comp -8.3 -Update- -Technical-
11:28
PAL N Amer Palladium increases bought deal financing to C$87 mln (4.94 -0.32)
Co has increased its previously announced cross-border bought deal financing to 17,400,000 units. The syndicate of underwriters co-led by Cormark Securities Inc. and Haywood Securities have agreed to purchase an additional 2,400,000 units from the Company on a bought deal basis at a price of C$5.00 per Unit for aggregate additional gross proceeds of C$12,000,000. Total aggregate gross proceeds for the unit financing are now expected to be approximately C$87,000,000.
11:08
GM confirms it paid back government loans in full, announces investment in Fairfax, Detroit Hamtramck
General Motors Company Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre today announced that GM has made its final payment of $5.8 bln to the U.S. Treasury and Export Development Canada, paying back its government loans in full, ahead of schedule. The U.S., Canadian, and Ontario governments, as part of the launch of the new GM, provided loans of $8.4 bln and took equity stakes in the new company. Today's payment of $5.8 bln ($4.7 bln to the U.S. Treasury and $C1.1 bln to Export Development Canada) completes the payback of these loans.... Strong sales of new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac products are fueling a steady increase in production as GM works to meet growing customer demand. Sales for GM's four brands are up 36 percent through March versus the same period in 2009, and many newly introduced cars and crossovers - including Chevy Equinox, Camaro and Traverse; GMC Terrain and Acadia; Buick LaCrosse; and Cadillac SRX - remain in short supply at GM dealers.
10:55
KBALB Kimball Int'l Poland operation achieves medical certification; Registration to ISO 13485 assures customers of compliant production (7.63 -0.14)
Co announced that the its newest production facility near Poznan, Poland has achieved the necessary requirements for FDA registration and ISO 13485 certification. Both the quality certification and FDA registration help broaden the Poland facility's package.
10:46
CSCO Cisco Systems hovering slightly under last week's high and its 52-wk high from yesterday at 27.44/27.45 -- session high 27.40 (27.35 +0.17) -Technical-
10:46
AOL AOL edges out to 52-week highs above $29.23 (29.27 +1.18) -Technical-
10:43
KRE streetTRACKS KBW Reg Bank sets new session high of 28.57, hovering just under last week/52-wk peak at 28.65 (28.56 +0.38) -Technical-
BOH, CVBF, FMER, FULT, MBFI, ONB, PACW, SBNY, SIVB, UMPQ.
10:40
XHB 1st hour global & sector ETF movers... Homebuilders lead & Biotech lags through the 1st hour -Technical-
The Actively Traded Leading Global & Sector ETFs:
homebuilders & home construction- XHB +1.50%, ITB +0.50%, commercial banks- KBE +1.50%, heating oil- UHN +1.0%, platinum- PGM +1.0%, PTM +0.75%, iShares S Korea- EWY +1.0%, gold miners- GDX +1.0%, regional banks- KRE +1.0%, livestock commods- COW +1.0%, iShares REITS & real estate- ICF +1.0%, IYR +0.75%, US bonds- TLT +0.50%, silver- SLV +0.50%
The Actively Traded Lagging Global & Sector ETFs:
biotech- BBH -3.50%, IBB -1.50%, XBI -1.0%, solar power- TAN -2.25%, semis- IGW -1.50%, SMH -1.50%, XSD -1.25%, China 25- FXI -1.50%, steel- SLX -1.50%, clean energy- PBW -1.25%, base metals- DBB -1.0%, iShares France- EWQ -1.0%, BRIC countries- BKF -1.0%, iShares Brazil- EWZ -1.0%, coal- KOL -1.0%
10:33
SPY Stock indices slip back off highs, currently holding near yesterday's afternoon range lows -- S&P +0.2, Dow +11, Nasdaq -1 -Update- -Technical-
10:32
TECHX 30-yr Yield -TNX- on defensive amid bid for Treasuries, slides back to March gap -Update- -Technical-
Highlighted the early decline in the TYX (bid for U.S. Treasuries) in The Technical Take this morning following the poor auction in Germany. Thus far the TYX has been able to stabilize near support mentioned at its March gap between 4.63 and 4.60 (session low 4.63) -- Click for TYX chart. Strength in Treasuries has boosted the longer term Treasury ETF (TLT) above both its Oct-April trendline and 50 day sma/ema -- Click for TLT chart.
10:31
MDAS MedAssets selected by Cullman Regional Medical for revenue cycle management services (21.64 -0.29)
Co announced that it entered into a transformational revenue cycle agreement with Cullman Regional Medical Center, based in Cullman, Ala. to improve the provider's business office operations. MedAssets will provide the hospital with a comprehensive set of revenue cycle technology and service solutions that will result in accelerated cash flow, improved net revenue and offer greater insight into Cullman Regional Medical Center's overall revenue cycle.
10:30
OIH Crude oil drops to lows following inventory data; currently lower by 31 cents to $83.53
10:28
AAPL 1st hour NASDAQ 100 (NDX) leaders & laggards-- Personal Computers lead & Biotech lags through the 1st hour -Technical-
NDX 100 Best % Performers:
AAPL +5.50%, AMZN +2.0%, GENZ +1.75%, VMED +1.50%, CHRW +1.50%, SNDK +1.25%, STX +1.0%, FLIR +1.0%
NDX 100 Worst % Performers:
GILD -10.25%, YHOO -5.0%, CELG -3.0%, FSLR -3.0%, LINTA -2.75%, NVDA -2.75%, ALTR -2.25%, MICC -2.0%
NASDAQ TRIN @ +0.70
NASDAQ A/D @ -310
10:25
BA 1st hour Dow 30 (INDU) leaders & laggards- Aerospace leads & Big Pharma lags through the 1st hour -Technical-
INDU 30 Best % Performers:
BA +3.50%, UTX +1.0%, BAC +1.0%, XOM +0.50%, CVX +0.25%, CSCO +0.25%
INDU 30 Worst % Performers:
MRK -1.50%, INTC -1.50%, T -1.50%, TRV -1.0%, DD -0.50%, CAT -0.50%, JNJ -0.50%
NYSE TRIN @ +0.65
NYSE A/D @ +155
10:16
XOM Exxon Mobil edges above both its 200-day ema/sma at 69.22/69.29 for first time since Dec -- session high 69.43 (69.42 +0.45) -Technical-
10:15
COIN Converted Organics receives re-order from Matosantos Commercial Corp, co's distributor to Walmart and other retailers for its organic fertilizer (1.13 -0.04) -Update-
Co announced today that the Company received a re-order for its all-natural, organic fertilizers from Matosantos Commercial Corporation, the Company's exclusive distributor to Walmart (WMT) in the Caribbean, which in January 2010 placed its initial order for Converted Organics' Lawn & Turf 8-1-4, Flower & Garden 4-1-8 and Indoor & Container(TM) 4-1-8 organic fertilizer products.
10:13
SMH Semiconductor Hldrs displays relative weakness as it drops as much as 1.5% off its early high before stabilizing (29.95 -0.28) -Technical-
INTC -1.3%, ALTR -1.3%, AMAT -1.3%, LLTC -1.4%, NSM -1.3%.
10:10
BIIB Biogen Idec a weak performer in the NDX 100 with biotech weakness as price probes potential 200-day EMA support just below current levels @ 52.65 (52.82 -1.09) -Update- -Technical-
Current LoD @ 52.77.
10:09
UTX United Tech notches a new session high of 74.78 after reporting, working up toward its three week range top/52-wk peak at 74.97 (74.76 +0.55) -Update- -Technical-
10:03
SPY S&P 500 tests/pauses near its 52-wk close high from last week at 1211.67 -- session high 1210.99 -Technical-
The 52-wk intraday high is slightly above at 1213.92.
10:01
DAL Delta Air Lines signs long-term strategic agreement with Global Avia Logistics to support the Nordwind Airlines Fleet (12.97 -0.19)
Co announced that the it has signed a long-term strategic contract with Global Avia Logistics to support the overhaul and repair services of Nordwind Airline's Pratt & Whitney 2000 Series engines and GTCP 331-200 auxiliary power units. The engine and APU maintenance will support Nordwind's Boeing 757 fleet, which is operated in Asia and Europe.
09:59
AMGN Amgen tests support at its 50-day ema (59.12 -1.06) -Technical-
Noted relative weakness in the IBB in the 09:37 update with AMGN continuing to weaken in recent trade leaving it back at its 50-day ema at 59.04 (session low 59.07). It late March reaction low is just under at 59.96 with the 50-day sma not coming into play until 58.53.
09:52
TECHX Opening Point Gainers/Losers -Technical-
Point Gainers: AAPL (+14.87), CYBS (+6.20), PII (+4.31), AMZN (+3.78), TUP (+3.42), MANH (+3.04), CPY (+2.54), BA (+2.91), CMA (+2.61), TPX (+2.25), GS (+2.13)
Point Losers: BIDU (-7.15), CREE (-4.97), GILD (-4.56), VITC (-3.36), EW (-3.25), FSLR (-3.21), PLXS (-2.91), RTP (-2.70), CSIQ (-2.57), EDU (-2.54)
09:51
BA Boeing launches higher off its open towards the late March peak of 74.53 (74.33 +2.92) -Update- -Technical-
09:51
DIA Dow +32 set a new high for the week of 11151, hovering just under last week's 52-wk peak at 11154 -Technical-
Initial resistances above are at 11183 (70.7% retrace of May 2008 to March 2009 slide) and 11200.
09:46
GENZ Genzyme beats by $0.04, misses on revs; expects to complete negotiations with FDA regarding consent decree in Q2 (53.44 -0.14)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.37 per share, ex-items, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.33; revenues fell 6.5% year/year to $1.07 bln vs the $1.14 bln consensus. Genzyme previously received a draft consent decree from the FDA regarding its Allston manufacturing plant. The draft provides for an up-front disgorgement of past profits of $175 million. Because this is a likely outcome, Genzyme booked this expense in the first quarter. In addition, if the Allston fill/finish facility is still operating after deadlines for domestic and exported products, the draft provides for disgorgement of 18.5 percent of revenues from sales of products manufactured and distributed from Allston after those deadlines. Genzyme and the FDA are having discussions regarding appropriate deadlines for moving fill/finish operations, as well as the details of the disgorgement provisions. Finally, if fill/finish operations are moved from Allston but certain remediation actions relating to overall cGMP compliance are not met by deadlines over the coming years in a remediation plan to be approved by the FDA, the draft provides for a payment of $15,000 per day per violation until the compliance milestones are met. Genzyme is actively negotiating with the FDA the terms of the consent decree and expects that the negotiations will be completed during the second quarter. After finalization of the consent decree, Genzyme will provide an update, including revised 2010 financial guidance.
09:46
TAN Claymore Solar ETF displays relative weakness -Technical-
Sector is on the defensive in early trade -- CSIQ -11.4%, TSL -4%, STP -3%, FSLR -2.2%, YGE -2.8%, SPWRA -3.1%.
09:43
ZAGG ZAGG has signed an agreement with Gazelle (3.05 +0.08)
Gazelle will power a ZAGG-based website at zagg.gazelle.com that offers trade-in and recycling services for electronics. Interested parties will be able to submit their old electronic devices, including laptops, cell phones, GPS devices, digital cameras and over 30,000 models of electronics in over 20 different product categories. In return, the sender will receive a ZAGG gift card equal to the value of the product.
09:42
TECHX Nasdaq 100 testing its 52-wk high from last week at 2040.49 -- session high 2039.44 -Update- -Technical-
09:42
COMDX Gold, silver moving back towards overnight highs; gold currently higher by $5.40 to $1144.60, silver is up 14.9 cents to $17.97
09:40
BBH Biotech HOLDRs ETF plunges to early lows, breaking beneath 200-day EMA & SMA support in the early going (98.83 ) -Technical-
The space is being pressured by declines in high profile names like GILD -9.5%, AMGN -1.25%, GENZ -1.50%, CELG -2.0%, BIIB -1.25%.
09:40
QMM Quaterra announced recent drilling significantly expanded extent of copper mineralization at its MacArthur copper project (1.82 +0.07)
Co announced that recent drilling has significantly expanded the extent of copper mineralization at its 100%-owned MacArthur copper project in the Yerington district, Nevada. A total of 19,110 feet have been drilled in 32 reverse circulation holes and three deep core holes since the program recommenced in December 2009. The Company's 2009-2010 reverse circulation drilling program is targeting locations on a 500 feet by 500 feet grid to extend the known resources of the project while investigating the open margins of the higher grade intercepts in undrilled areas around the MacArthur pit.
09:37
IBB iShares NASD Biotech displaying relative weakness in early trade (90.97 -1.31) -Technical-
The sector has weakened in opening trade leaving it at the bottom of its now month long narrowing trading range lows at 90.99 and 90.77 (session low 90.93) -- AMGN, GILD, TEVA, CELG, VRTX, BIIB, GENZ, ILMN, MYL, MYGN, PRGO, DNDN, ONXX, REGN.
09:37
FFDF FFD Financial Corporation board approves 25,000 share stock repurchase (13.50 0.00)
09:37
AMZN Amazon.com runs higher off the open as it lifts up into its recent Apr momentum/all-time high of 147.17 (147.96 +3.72) -Technical-
09:33
XLE Energy Select Sector early minor push, hovering near yesterday's peak at 60.76 (60.68 +0.14) -Technical-
Note that its 52-wk high from Jan is slightly above at 60.87 -- CVX, COP, DVN, XOM, MRO, OXY, SLB, RIG, APA, XTO, APC.
09:33
AAPL Apple finds resistance in fresh all-time high territory off of the $260.00 area, currently pulling back a quick 4 pts from opening highs (256.50 +11.63) -Update- -Technical-
09:32
RNIN Wireless Ronin announces Scott Koller will assume responsibilities as the Company's President and COO (2.18 -0.03)
Co announced that effective May 7, 2010, Scott Koller will assume responsibilities as the Company's President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). James C. (Jim) Granger will remain the Company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) through December 31, 2010, unless extended by mutual agreement.
09:25
On The Wires
GP Strategies (GPX) has been awarded a contract by Okaloosa County, Florida, to design, conduct and evaluate a full-scale exercise for emergency responders. The contract is funded under a State of Florida and U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant. Staff from GP's Homeland Security, Defense and Emergency Management Team held an initial meeting on April 8, 2010 for the exercise scheduled to occur on May 6, 2010... GlobalOptions Group (GLOI) announced that Digital Realty Trust has signed a contract extension which extends its strategic partnership with SafirRosetti's Technology Design Consulting group, to provide ongoing security system support and administration for Digital's global data center portfolio... Icagen (ICGN) announced that results from a study of ICA-105665 in patients with photosensitive epilepsy will be presented. The topline results of the study were the subject of a previous press release by Icagen. In preclinical testing, ICA-105665 has demonstrated a broad spectrum of activity in seizure models, including models of treatment-resistant seizures, as well as efficacy in certain models of pain. Positive results in a Phase IIa study in patients with photosensitive epilepsy were recently reported... Barnes & Noble (BKS) announced that its website, BN.COM, will expand its reach via a content partnership between its online books and arts magazine, the Barnes & Noble Review, and Salon.com.. MGM MIRAGE (MGM) has announced that its Board of Directors will submit to its shareholders a proposal to rebrand the company as MGM Resorts International. This brand evolution would preserve the Company's connection to its renowned entertainment legacy while more accurately reflecting its collection of signature resorts and its global reach... China XD Plastics Company (CXDC) entered into a District Entry Agreement and a Memorandum with Harbin Economic and Technological Development Zone Administration to relocate its manufacturing facilities and change its address of business of record and tax registration. Following the relocation of 7 of the Company's manufacturing lines to the Ha Ping Road Centralized Industrial Park, and upon the completion of the business and tax registration, the Administration will pay China XD Plastics a total of RMB 20 million as business relocation subsidies... Novell (NOVL) announced IBM (IBM) is delivering a portfolio of software appliances across IBM brands, all powered by SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. Leveraging the SUSE Appliance Program from Novell, this broad-based initiative enables IBM to deliver "plug and play" appliances that lower the cost and complexity of deploying applications for small and medium-sized businesses.
09:16
CNAM China Armco Metals announces $10 million private placement (6.95 )
Co announces announced it entered into a definitive agreement on April 20, 2010, to sell common stock to institutional investors in a private placement for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $10 million. Under the terms of the offering, the Company will sell 1,538,464 shares of common stock in the aggregate at a price of $6.50 per share. The purchasers will also receive warrants to purchase 1,538,464 shares of common stock in the aggregate which are exercisable commencing 181 days following issuance for a period of five years and have an exercise price of $7.50 per share.
09:16
COIN Converted Organics announces registered direct offering of $2.544 mln in common stock and warrants with single institutional investor (1.17 )
Under the terms of the transaction, co will issue to the investor 2.4 mln shares of its common stock and five-year warrants to purchase 1,163,362 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.06/share.
09:12
OFIX Orthofix International comments on competitor's statements on investor call (37.68 )
Co states "it responded to public comments made yesterday by NuVasive, Inc. during their first quarter earnings call stating that a dispute has been initiated against the Company. The comments indicated that the dispute apparently concerns the defense of patents acquired by NuVasive. NuVasive has not been in contact with the Company, nor has the Company received any information from NuVasive regarding the dispute. "At best, we find both the NuVasive announcement and the forum for the announcement questionable. We prefer to compete in the marketplace so that we can continue to bring next generation technologies to the market for the benefit of patients and surgeons who treat them. It is Orthofix's policy to respect the intellectual property rights of others, and we are prepared to vigorously defend ourselves against any allegations to the contrary"
09:11
KMGB KMG Chemicals Announces Pricing of 1 mln share Common Stock Offering by Chairman at $17.50/share (19.64 )
...
09:08
CSKI China Sky One Medical Announces the Commercial Launch of Two New Products, estimated to have a market size of over $300 million each (14.46 )
...
09:05
TMP Tompkins Finl increases quarterly dividend to $0.34 from $0.309 (38.45 ) -Update-
09:04
SGEN Seattle Genetics and Agensys reported preclinical data with ASG-5ME; in models of human prostate and pancreatic cancer,ASG-5ME was found to have potent and long lasting antitumor activity
The co and Agensys reported preclinical data with ASG-5ME, an antibody-drug conjugate that is being co-developed by both companies for the treatment of solid tumors. In models of human prostate and pancreatic cancer, ASG-5ME was found to have potent and long lasting antitumor activity. Data presented at AACR show that AGS-5 is significantly expressed on more than 80 percent of samples derived from patients with prostate, pancreatic and gastric cancers. In preclinical models, ASG-5ME induced long-term regression of established prostate, pancreatic and colon cancer xenografts (Abstracts #2590 and #4393). Seattle Genetics and Agensys expect to initiate phase I clinical trials of ASG-5ME during 2010.
09:03
CYBI Xbox confirms actions to defend intellectual property (1.61 )
Co announced that it has decisively responded to infringements of its intellectual property rights related to its patented Plate Loaded Leg Press and the company's pending patent applications for the Bravo Functional Trainer. CYBEX conducted investigations during the recent International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) trade show in San Diego, CA, which uncovered four separate violations of its intellectual property. CYBEX immediately responded by demanding that the offending parties cease and desist from manufacturing, selling or importing into the US products which incorporate CYBEX intellectual property, and each party has agreed to comply with this demand.
09:03
SHAW Shaw Group awarded a multi-phase contract with Saudi Electricity Company (37.34 )
Co has been awarded a multi-phase contract with Saudi Electricity Company. Under the contract, Shaw will perform a three-phase study to define and recommend operational improvements at 53 power plants throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Once the study is complete, Shaw expects to contract with Saudi Electricity Company to provide the modification services for those plants.
09:03
TMP Tompkins Finl reports Q1 EPS of $0.78 vs $0.66 Thomson Reuters consensus (38.45 )
"We are extremely proud to report on these strong results for the first quarter of 2010. The $0.78 of earnings per share for the quarter represents our strongest first quarter ever. While we have not been immune to the challenges of the difficult economic environment, we are pleased that the commitment to our strategy and our values has proven to be a successful model, even in these challenging times and we remain committed to lending in support of economic growth in the communities we serve."
09:02
RTN Raytheon awarded $19 mln U.S. Navy missile launcher contract (59.32 )
The U.S. Navy's Naval Air Systems Command has awarded Raytheon Company an $18.9 million firm-fixed-price contract to produce LAU-115D/A and LAU-116B/A missile launchers. The launchers are used on Navy F/A-18E/F and E/A-18G aircraft. They provide the structural and electrical interfaces that allow the aircraft to carry and launch missiles such as the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) and AIM-9X Sidewinder. The launchers will be built at the Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC facility in Indianapolis, Ind. Work on this contract is expected to be completed in September 2012.
09:02
MTN Vail Resorts says season to date, total lift ticket rev through April 18, 2010 increased approx 4.6% YoY (43.64 )
Co reports certain ski season metrics for the comparative periods from the beginning of the ski season through Sunday, April 18, 2010, and for the prior year period through Sunday, April 19, 2009, which includes interim period data and is subject to fiscal third quarter end review and adjustments: Season to date total lift ticket revenue through April 18, 2010, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period, increased approximately 4.6% compared to the prior year season to date period ended April 19, 2009; Season to date total skier visits for the company's five mountain resorts through April 18, 2010, increased approximately 2.3% compared to the prior year season to date period ended April 19, 2009; Season to date ski school revenue through April 18, 2010, for the company's five mountain resorts increased approximately 8.3% compared to the prior year season to date period ended April 19, 2009; Season to date retail/rental revenue through April 18, 2010, increased approximately 8.1% compared to the prior year season to date period ended April 19, 2009; Season to date dining revenue through April 18, 2010, for the company's five mountain resorts increased approximately 2.5% compared to the prior year season to date period ended April 19, 2009.
09:00
STEM StemCells plans to advance to second clinical trial in batten disease (1.17 )
Co announces that it has submitted a protocol to the FDA for initiation of a second clinical trial of its proprietary HuCNS-SC human neural stem cells in neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, which is also often referred to as Batten disease. The Company completed a Phase I clinical trial in NCL in January 2009 and reported the results to the FDA in September 2009.
09:00
PTEK PokerTek announces it reaches EBITDAS positive for first time in 1Q10 (0.82 )
Co reports EBITDAS positive in 1Q10 compared to an EBITDAS loss of $675,146 in the prior year period. PokerTek CEO and CFO Mark Roberson commented, "We are pleased to have reached EBITDAS positive for the first time in our company's history. The improvement in our financial results is directly attributable to the many new strategies we implemented over the past nine months to drive profitable growth..."
09:00
AKRX Akorn announces FDA approval to re-launch Erythromycin Ophthalmic Ointment USP 3.5 g (1.90 )
Co announces that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval of the company's Abbreviated New Drug Application supplement for Erythromycin Ophthalmic Ointment USP 3.5 g. The company intends to begin shipping the product immediately. Raj Rai, the Interim Chief Executive Officer of Akorn stated, "We identified an opportunity to re-launch Erythromycin as ongoing market shortages have made this an attractive product which is complementary to the other ophthalmic ointments Akorn currently sells." According to IMS Health, the annualized U.S. sales for Erythromycin 3.5 g based on 4Q09 data, were approximately $26 mln.
09:00
YUII Yuhe International refinances long-term bank loans at favorable 6ates (9.20 )
Co announced that the they extended the maturity dates of its RMB 56 million (approximately $8.2 million) bank loans to the first quarter of 2013. In addition, the interest rate on these loans was reduced to a fixed annual interest rate of 7.56% compared to the previous rates which varied between 8.64% and 13.82%. The balance of Yuhe's bank loans was approximately $10.8 million as of March 31, 2010. The new terms for the bank loans will reduce the company's average bank loan interest rate from 10.8% to 7.8%. The company's incurred interest prior to any capitalized interest will decrease from RMB 8.2 million (approximately $1.2 million) per annum to RMB 5.9 million (approximately $0.86 million) per annum. "We successfully renewed our bank loans at a lower interest rate because of our long term relationships and credibility with our local banks and thanks to China's recent policy to decrease the benchmark interest rate."
09:00
CDCS CDC Software expects solid growth in first quarter 2010 application sales and total recurring revenue compared to first quarter 2009 (10.55 )
Co announces that, based on preliminary financial projections and estimates, it expects Q1 application sales to increase by approximately 14% to $8.2 million from $7.2 million in 1Q09. Total Non-GAAP recurring revenu is also expected to increase by approximately 13% to $27.4 million in the first quarter of 2010 from $24.2 million in the first quarter of 2009. First quarter 2010 license revenue is expected to be $7.9 million, and Total Contract Value for new SaaS contracts secured in the quarter is expected to be about $300,000.
08:55
MITI Micromet achieves milestone under BiTE antibody collaboration with Bayer Schering Pharma (8.03 )
Co announecs that it has achieved a milestone under its collaboration agreement with Bayer Schering Pharma AG. The milestone was triggered by Micromet's achievement of pre-clinical proof of concept for a BiTE antibody for the treatment of solid tumors. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement Micromet is primarily responsible for the pre-clinical development of the BiTE antibody, and will collaborate with Bayer through the completion of phase 1 clinical trials. Bayer is responsible for product development beginning in phase 2, and for all manufacturing and commercialization activities. Micromet is entitled to receive progress dependent milestone payments of up to 285 million Euros and up to double digit royalties on net sales. In addition, Micromet will be reimbursed for its R&D expenses.
08:52
DSX Diana Shipping announces time charter contract for m/v Clio, anticipated to generate ~$17.3 million of gross revenue (15.17 )
Co announced that it has entered into a time charter contract with Daelim Corporation, Seoul, for one of its Panamax dry bulk carriers, the m/v Clio, at a gross charter rate of $25,000 per day for a period of minimum twenty three to maximum twenty five months. The charter is expected to commence during the first half of May 2010. This employment is anticipated to generate approximately $17.3 million of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the charter.
08:34
BPOP Popular Inc beats by $0.02 (3.91 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.13 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.15). The ratio of allowance for loan losses to loans held-in-portfolio was 5.53% at March 31, 2010, compared with 5.32% at December 31, 2009. The principal item impacting the financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, when compared with the quarter ended December 31, 2009, was a reduction in the provision for loan losses of $112.6 million. This decrease in the provision for loan losses reflects lower net charge-offs by $74.6 million, mainly in the Puerto Rico construction and commercial loan portfolios, and in the United States mainland home equity lines of credit portfolio, combined with higher reserve provisioning during the fourth quarter of 2009, particularly for the commercial loan sector. Also, the decrease in the provision for loan losses for the first quarter of 2010 relates in part to a reduction of approximately $635 million in loans held-in-portfolio, principally in the U.S. mainland. "While these results reflect a slight improvement in credit trends, we remain cautious for 2010 due to the complicated economic environment in Puerto Rico and the slow recovery in the United States. We continue to reinforce our asset management, servicing and workout teams. In spite of the economic headwinds, our revenue line has remained stable and we have implemented a number of measures to control costs."
08:32
RWC Relm Wireless Receives $500,000 Service Contract From U.S.D.A. Forest Service (3.51 )
Co announced that it has been awarded a contract from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service (USFS) to service and repair RELM two-way land mobile radios. The initial period of the contract is one year, which commenced on April 16, 2010, and may be extended for up to four additional one-year periods. The estimated maximum value of the contract is $500,000 but may vary depending on the agency's needs. The contract provides for service on an as-needed and when-needed basis.
08:32
TIN Temple-Inland beats by $0.01, misses on revs (23.20 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.01 per share, ex-items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.00); revenues fell 3.8% year/year to $905 mln vs the $919.9 mln consensus. "In Corrugated Packaging, we delivered solid operating results as cost improvements and rising volumes somewhat offset dramatically higher input costs in the quarter. Our quarter-end inventories were at the lowest first quarter-ending levels since 2002. We began implementing Box Plant Transformation II in the quarter and announced the closure of three converting facilities. In Building Products, we improved our operating results compared with fourth quarter 2009 and generated positive EBITDA. Rising lumber prices were partially offset by higher fiber prices in the quarter. Looking ahead to the second quarter, we will benefit from improving box demand, higher prices, easing input costs and the box plant transformation in our Corrugated Packaging operation. In Building Products, pricing and demand is improving for all our products, and we anticipate a return to profitability in the second quarter."
08:32
<p>FCF First Commonwealth misses by $0.20 (7.54 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.15 per share, $0.20 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.05. The net loss was primarily the result of a $45.0 million provision for credit losses in the quarter. The higher provision primarily resulted from updated collateral valuations for a commercial real estate loan in Florida that was placed in nonaccrual status during the third quarter of 2009, an out-of-market commercial loan that migrated to nonaccrual status during the first quarter of 2010 and continued deterioration in a western Pennsylvania commercial loan that was placed in nonaccrual status in the fourth quarter of 2009... "We will continue to be aggressive in addressing problem credits and the dramatic deterioration in collateral values, particularly in markets outside of Pennsylvania that are experiencing significantly higher stress. These are large, complex loans that by their nature require time to work through, especially in the current economic period. They also represent hard lessons for local community banks about the risks of reaching outside of their markets for growth."
08:32
HGRD Health Grades reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; reaffirms segment guidance (6.59 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.06 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.06; revenues rose 20.2% year/year to $14.9 mln vs the $15 mln consensus. Gross margins for 1Q10 was 83% vs 82% in 1Q09. Operating margins for 1Q10 and 1Q09 were approximately 20%. Co reaffirms its full year guidance for ratings and advisory revenue growth of 20% over 2009 with an operating margin of between 19% to 22%.
08:31
ESLR Evergreen Solar announces the pricing of $165 million of its 13% convertible senior secured notes due 2015 (1.25 )
The notes will mature on April 15, 2015 unless earlier converted, repurchased or redeemed. Interest will be payable semi-annually at a rate of 13% per annum on each April 15 and October 15, beginning on October 15, 2010.
08:31
LGF Lions Gate Entertainment urges shareholders to reject the Icahn Group's offer and not tender their shares (6.80 )
Co has determined, by unanimous vote of the directors present and upon the unanimous recommendation of the Special Committee of the Board, that the unsolicited amended tender offer from Carl Icahn and certain of his affiliated entities (the "Icahn Group") to purchase up to all of the common shares of Lionsgate for U.S.$7.00 per share is financially inadequate, opportunistic and coercive and is not in the best interests of Lionsgate, its shareholders and other stakeholders.
08:31
MCGC MCG Capital Announces Debt Repurchase (6.50 )
Co announced that it had repurchased for $4.4 million in a privately negotiated transaction, a total of $8.0 million of its outstanding debt securities under MCG's debt securitization through MCG Commercial Loan Trust 2006-1, a wholly owned subsidiary. In connection with this repurchase, MCG expects to record a $3.6 million gain on the extinguishment of debt during the quarter ending June 30, 2010. To date, MCG has repurchased an aggregate of $30.6 million of its outstanding debt securities under the MCG Commercial Loan Trust 2006-1 for $10.5 million.
08:21
POM Pepco Hldgs confirms to sell Conectiv Energy's generation assets (16.25 )
Co announced it has reached an agreement to sell its Conectiv Energy power generation assets to Calpine Corporation, for $1.65 billion, plus the value of the fuel inventory at closing (estimated to be $50 million) and subject to various closing adjustments. The sale is expected to close by the end of June 2010. The sale does not include Conectiv Energy's load service supply contracts, energy hedging portfolio, certain tolling agreements, and several other non-core assets. PHI expects to liquidate the remaining contracts and assets within the next 12 months. The proceeds from the liquidation, combined with the return of collateral posted under the contracts, will further enhance the value of the transaction to the firm.
08:20
AVII AVI BioPharma reaffirms guidance for 2010 (1.24 ) -Update-
The co confirmed its guidance for 2010. In particular, for 2010, AVII provides guidance for expenditures for operations, net of government funding and other collaborative efforts, to be approximately $23 million to $27 million. The Company believes it will continue to receive funding from government and other sources to pursue the development of product candidates, and has assumed certain revenues from these awards in providing this guidance. As previously announced, if the Company does not continue to receive the funding from its current contracts, its guidance may change.
08:17
CPN Calpine to purchase conectiv energy fleet for $1.65 billion (12.17 )
Co announced that it has agreed to purchase 4,490 MW of power generation assets from Pepco Holdings, Inc. for $1.65 billion plus adjustments. The purchase of the Conectiv Energy fleet, which includes 18 operating power plants and one plant under construction, is expected to close by June 30, 2010. "The Conectiv acquisition represents a unique opportunity to transform our company by expanding our portfolio with scale in one of the most robust competitive markets in the country, giving us even greater geographic diversity that we expect will enhance value for our shareholders."
08:17
BRKL Brookline Bancorp reports Q1 EPS of $0.11 vs $0.11 Thomson Reuters consensus (10.85 )
Net interest income was $4.0 million, or 21.1%, higher in the 2010 first quarter than in the 2009 first quarter due primarily to a higher portion of interest-earning assets being funded by lower cost deposits and a more rapid decline in rates paid on interest-bearing liabilities than in the yield on interest-earning assets.
08:16
AVII AVI BioPharma appoints David Boyle interim President and CEO (1.24 )
08:14
AMB AMB Property reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (27.73 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) funds from operations of $0.31 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.31; revenues fell 3.3% year/year to $158 mln vs the $151.1 mln consensus.
08:12
MS Morgan Stanley reports Q1 (Mar) results, beats on revs (30.45 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.03 per share, which includes a $0.21 tax benefit and may not be comparable to the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.57; revenues rose 213.4% year/year to $9.08 bln vs the $7.94 bln consensus. The annualized return on average common equity from continuing operations was 17.1% in the current quarter, or 13.1% excluding the effect of the discrete tax benefit. Compensation expenses of $4.4 billion increased from $2.0 billion a year ago due to the inclusion of MSSB2 and higher net revenues. The Firm's compensation to net revenue ratio for the current quarter was 49%, compared with 68% a year ago. Sales and trading net revenues were $4.1 billion, compared with $1.4 billion last year. The increase reflected the effect of the improvement in Morgan Stanley's debt-related credit spreads in the prior year, as well as higher results in Fixed Income. Global Wealth Management delivered net revenues of $3.1 billion, with client assets of $1.6 trillion and 18,140 global representatives. Net new assets for the quarter were $5.8 billion. Morgan Stanley's average aggregate trading and non-trading VaR was $169 million, compared with $187 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. Average trading VaR was $143 million compared with $132 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.9 At quarter-end, Morgan Stanley's trading VaR was $143 million, compared with $135 million in the prior quarter, and the aggregate trading and non-trading VaR was $167 million, compared with $187 million in the prior quarter. Morgan Stanley's Tier 1 capital ratio, under Basel I, was approximately 15.0% and Tier 1 common ratio was approximately 8.2%.
08:12
FCX Freeport-McMoRan beats by $0.09, misses on revs; announces increase in cash dividend (80.80 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $2.00 per share, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.91; revenues rose 67.7% year/year to $4.36 bln vs the $4.49 bln consensus. Q1 consolidated copper sales of 960 mln pounds were higher than the January 2010 estimate of 890 mln pounds but below the 1Q09 copper sales of 1.0 bln pounds. The favorable variance to the Jan 2010 estimate primarily reflects the timing of sales from North America copper mines. 1Q10 consolidated gold sales of 478 thousand ounces were lower than the Jan 2010 estimate of 490 thousand ounces and the first-qtr 2009 gold sales of 545 thousand ounces, reflecting lower gold ore grades at Grasberg resulting from planned mine sequencing. Consolidated molybdenum sales of 17 mln pounds in the first quarter of 2010 were higher than first-quarter 2009 sales of 10 mln pounds and the Jan 2010 estimate of 15 mln pounds because of improved demand in the metallurgical and chemicals sectors.... Projected sales volumes for 2010 approximate 3.8 bln pounds of copper, 1.8 mln ounces of gold and 62 mln pounds of molybdenum, including 830 mln pounds of copper, 270 thousand ounces of gold and 15 mln pounds of molybdenum in the second quarter of 2010...FCX's Board of Directors authorized an increase in the cash dividend on common stock from an annual rate of $0.60 per share to $1.20 per share ($0.30 per share quarterly). The first quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share is expected to be paid on August 1, 2010.
08:10
SPPI Spectrum Pharma announces Belinostat data presentation at 101st annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (5.05 )
The co announces results of a pre-clinical study conducted by the National Cancer Institute of belinostat in the treatment of small-cell lung cancer that was presented in a poster session on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), being held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. "Based on the data presented today at AACR, we believe belinostat may be an effective treatment option for small-cell lung cancer," said Rajesh C. Shrotriya, MD, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. "While we continue to enroll patients into the 100-evaluable patient registrational trial for belinostat in peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), being conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment by the FDA, we are exploring potential clinical trial design options for the treatment of lung cancer."
08:08
FCX Freeport-McMoRan announces increase in quarterly dividend to $0.30/share from $0.15/share (80.80 ) -Update-
08:08
OSIS OSI Systems announces Spacelabs Healthcare introduction of CardioExpress (29.14 )
Co announced that its Healthcare Division, Spacelabs Healthcare, has introduced globally CardioExpress(R), the Company's latest product in its range of ECG devices. The Spacelabs CardioExpress(R) SL12 and SL6 Resting ECG units offer clinicians convenience and flexibility assuring fast and accurate interpretive 12-lead ECG acquisition. Both devices integrate with Sentinel, Spacelabs Healthcare's Cardiology Information Management System, for measurement, interpretation and reporting. Features include a clear touch screen, USB bar code scanner compatibility and storage of 200 ECGs.
08:06
COP ConocoPhillips opts out of Yanbu Refinery Investment (57.40 )
Co informed the Saudi Arabian Oil Company it will end participation in the new refinery project being built in Yanbu Industrial City.
08:06
MCD McDonald's beats by $0.07, beats on revs (70.34 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.03 per share, excluding a $0.03 charge related to store closings in Japan, including a $0.05 benefit from FX, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.96; revenues rose 10.5% year/year to $5.61 bln vs the $5.52 bln consensus. Global comparable sales increased 4.2%, with the U.S. up 1.5%, Europe up 5.2% and Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa up 5.7%. Combined operating margin improved 220 basis points to 29.8%. For the first quarter, the U.S. business drove sales and market share increases by providing outstanding value across the entire menu, contributing to the segment's 12% operating income increase. For the first quarter, performance in France, Russia and the U.K. drove Europe's operating income up 23% (14% in constant currencies). Across the segment, McDonald's continued to outperform the informal eating out market and gain market share. Europe's themed food events, three- and four-price tier menus, restaurant reimaging and daypart expansion fueled the segment's strong performance. Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa's (APMEA) ongoing commitment to compelling, everyday value, locally-relevant products and emphasis on operations excellence drove positive comparable sales in nearly all markets. APMEA's operating income increased 27% (9% in constant currencies), led by results in Australia and China.
08:05
DT Deutsche Telekom intends to delist its ADSs from the NYSE and to deregister and terminate its reporting obligations with the SEC; main purpose of delisting is to reduce complexity in financial reporting and administrative costs (13.51 )
08:05
NYB NY Comm Bancrp misses by $0.01 (17.93 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.29 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.30. "The merits of our growth-through-acquisition strategy were evident in our first quarter performance, as our operating earnings rose 42.2% year-over-year to $126.1 million and, on a diluted per-share basis, were up more than 11% to $0.29. The highly accretive nature of our AmTrust Bank acquisition in early December is also reflected in several other performance metrics, including the 42.4% increase in our net interest income, the 150% increase in our non-interest income, and the expansion of our net interest margin from 2.89% to 3.41%, year-over-year."
08:04
OB Onebeacon Insurance releases preliminary estimates of first quarter 2010 underwriting results (17.39 )
Co estimates that its first quarter GAAP combined ratio will be 112%, including ~$44 mln, or 10 points, of pretax catastrophe losses primarily associated with March Northeast U.S. storms. Of the estimated $44 mln of current accident year catastrophe losses, roughly $10 mln were incurred in its ongoing Specialty Lines business. OneBeacon estimates that its first quarter Specialty Lines GAAP combined ratio will be 97%, including 4 points of catastrophe losses. The majority of the catastrophe losses were incurred in businesses the company is exiting, including $21 mln in non-specialty Commercial Lines Runoff business and $13 mln in Traditional Personal Lines, which the company agreed to sell in February 2010. The sale of the Personal Lines business is expected to close in the second quarter of 2010. In December 2009, the company sold its non-specialty Commercial Lines business in a renewal rights transaction.
08:04
ZSTN ZST Digital Networks announces signing of two new GPS contracts (7.10 )
Co announced that it has entered into agreements with Henan Chong Hing Automobile Sales Ltd. and ShangQiu City Security Services Ltd. to provide Global Positioning System hardware installation and monthly call center services. The combined value of the two contracts is approximately US$1.6 million (RMB11.3 million), which includes first year service fees of approximately US$0.2 million (RMB1.3 million). As part of the agreements, ZST will supply and install GPS tracking units for Henan Chong Hing and ShangQiu city's vehicle fleets. As part of the service offering, both companies will have access to ZST's 24/7 call center, which provides direction, information and emergency support for subscribers. "The signing of these two new contracts highlights the growth opportunity in the GPS market, while further diversifying our revenue stream. We expect that the hardware revenue generated from these two new contracts will have an impact on our top line, helping to build momentum in our second fiscal quarter, while the service component of these contracts will generate recurring service fee revenue over the life of the contracts."
08:03
CHRW C.H. Robinson misses by $0.01, beats on revs (58.90 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.50 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.51; revenues rose 22.9% year/year to $2.07 bln vs the $1.96 bln consensus. "Our truck net revenues, which consist of truckload and less-than-truckload ("LTL") services, decreased 5.7 percent in the first quarter of 2010. Our truckload volumes increased 22 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the first quarter of 2009. Our truckload net revenue margins decreased due to higher transportation costs, higher fuel prices, and lower pricing to our customers, exclusive of the impact of fuel. Excluding the estimated impacts of the change in fuel, our truckload pricing to our customers decreased approximately three percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the first quarter of 2009. Our truckload transportation costs increased approximately three percent, excluding the estimated impacts of fuel. Our LTL net revenues increased approximately 20 percent. The increase was driven by an increase in total shipments of approximately 40 percent, partially offset by decreased net revenue margin and lower revenue per shipment. Our revenue per shipment declined due to price declines, including lower average weight per shipment...The trends of margin compression and strong volume growth during the first quarter of 2010 have continued into the first three weeks of April, with our total net revenue activity approximating that of the first quarter."
08:03
MDT Medtronic receives FDA approval for new indication for complete SE vascular stent (45.17 )
Co announces that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the Complete SE Vascular Stent System to be used for the treatment of peripheral arterial disease in the iliac arteries, major blood vessels within the pelvis that supply blood to the lower extremities. The Complete SE Vascular Stent System features several advances, including a dual-deployment delivery system with a triaxial design. The new delivery system is made up of an inner shaft, a retractable sheath and a stabilizing sheath that reduces friction and allows the retractable sheath to move back freely. This decreases the amount of force required to deploy the stent, thereby making deployment easy and precise.
08:03
DNDN Dendreon presents data at American Association for Cancer Research supporting mechanism of action of PROVENGE (38.71 )
Co announced the presentation of additional data from the Phase 3 IMPACT (IMmunotherapy for Prostate AdenoCarcinoma Treatment) clinical trial showing evidence of immune responses in patients treated with PROVENGE (sipuleucel-T) and supporting its proposed mechanism of action. The data were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 101st Annual Meeting 2010 in Washington, D.C. Data presented from 237 patients who participated in the immune monitoring protocol in the IMPACT study demonstrated that PROVENGE: Generated antigen-specific responses, including responses to prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), an antigen expressed in prostate cancer tissue, that were not seen following treatment with placebo; Triggered both cellular and humoral immune responses in vivo that were first detected at six weeks after dosing and persisted at 26 weeks after dosing; Induced a T-cell response as further evidenced by antibody isotope class switching from IgM to IgG, suggesting the induction of immunologic memory; and Demonstrated a cytokine profile indicative of T-cell activation in ex vivo culture over the course of therapy, with marked increases in IL-2, IFNgamma, TNFalpha, and IL-17. "There is clear evidence that PROVENGE primes the T-cell component of the immune system in vivo through ex vivo activation, generating a successful and long-lasting immune response."
08:03
PJC Piper Jaffray misses by $0.25, misses on revs (43.68 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.29 per share, excluding a $5.2 million (or $0.26 per diluted common share) write-off of a deferred tax asset related to a restricted stock grant that vested at a share price lower than the grant date share price, $0.25 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.54; revenues fell 17.5% year/year to $109.6 mln vs the $129.9 mln consensus. "As our results show, we had a slow start to the year in equity financing and public finance underwriting. However, fixed income institutional brokerage rebounded from the lower sequential fourth quarter and financial advisory revenues improved," said Andrew S. Duff, chairman and chief executive officer. "We believe our first quarter results understate the strength of our firm and momentum in our equity financing business. We remain committed to our ROE goal and confident in our prospects for 2010."
08:02
CREG China Recycling Energy announces additional $13.69 mln raised for Erdos power generation project completion (4.00 )
Co announces the second expansion of the Low Carbon Fortune-Energy Recycling No. 1 Collective Capital Trust Plan has been completed by Beijing International Trust Co., Ltd. on April 15, 2010. The Second Expansion of the Plan raised 93,120,000 yuan (approx $13.69 mln) through the sale of 93,120,000 trust units sold at 1 yuan per unit.
08:02
INFI Infinity Pharmaceutical initiates randomized clinical trial of ipi-926 in pancreatic cancer and reports new preclinical data at AACR (6.60 )
08:02
CLDX Celldex Therapeutics presents data for novel cancer antibody program (7.35 )
Key findings presented in the poster demonstrate that Celldex: -- Generated and characterized a panel of fully human anti-CD27 monoclonal antibodies (mAb); -- Developed mice with transgenic expression of human CD27. These transgenic mice were shown to be suitable to evaluate the therapeutic potential of candidate therapeutic antibodies; -- Using the CD27-transgenic mice, demonstrated that the human anti-CD27 mAb enhanced antigen-specific T cells activation and proliferation; -- Using the CD27-transgenic mice, demonstrated that the human anti-CD27 mAb increase the numbers of functional antigen-specific T cells responding to immunization with a dendritic cell-targeted vaccine; and -- Showed that human anti-CD27 mAb inhibited the growth of human tumor cells expressing CD27 in a mouse tumor model.
08:01
PPHM Peregrine Pharma announces three data presentations at AACR (4.05 )
Co announces three data presentations at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 demonstrating the breadth of potential applications for the co's phospholipid-targeting technologies. Peregrine's lead phosphatidylserine -targeting antibody bavituximab is currently in Phase II clinical trials in non-small cell lung cancer and advanced breast cancer, with additional results expected by mid-year 2010.
08:01
VRX Valeant Pharmaceuticals to acquire pharmaceutical company in Brazil for $56 mln (41.87 )
The co announces that it has signed a binding agreement to acquire a privately-held pharmaceutical company located in Brazil, for 97 million Brazilian reals (approximately $56 million). The company primarily focuses on branded generics and over the counter (OTC) products and had annual sales of approximately 49 million Brazilian reals in 2009. Over the past five years, the company has delivered a compound annual growth rate of approximately 15% in Brazilian reals. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2010 and will be accretive to Valeant in 2010.
08:00
WFC Wells Fargo beats by $0.03, misses on revs (33.69 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.45 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 1.8% year/year to $21.4 bln vs the $21.71 bln consensus. Fee income up 7 percent year over year, led by 20 percent growth in trust and investment fees, 7 percent growth in insurance revenue and 14 percent growth in processing and other fees. Net interest margin of 4.27 percent, up 11 basis points from a year ago, highest among large bank peers. Mortgage application pipeline of $59 billion at March 31, 2010, up $2 billion from December 31, 2009. Provision expense down $583 million from prior quarter and currently expected to continue to decline over the course of 2010; provision for credit losses equaled net charge-offs in first quarter. Net charge-offs declined $83 million to $5.3 billion. Early-stage delinquencies improved across major consumer loan portfolios, including home equity, auto dealer services, credit card and Wells Fargo Financial consumer real estate and auto portfolios. Allowance for credit losses increased to $25.7 billion, primarily due to $693 million addition to allowance upon adoption of FAS 167; allowance at 3.3 percent of loans and almost 5 times quarterly net charge-offs. Tier 1 capital of $98.3 billion and Tier 1 capital ratio of 10.0 percent, up from 9.3 percent at December 31, 2009. Noninterest income was $10.3 billion, up 7 percent from a year ago. On a linked-quarter basis, noninterest income was down $895 million due primarily to lower net mortgage hedge results, seasonality and two fewer days in the quarter. Noninterest expense of $12.1 billion, which included $380 million of merger integration costs and $11.7 billion of all other expense, was down from $12.8 billion in fourth quarter 2009.
07:59
On The Wires
Hawaiian Airlines (HA) and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District 142 announced that union members have approved the new four-year contract negotiated last month between the co and union leadership... Silence Therapeutics announces that the Company and AstraZeneca (AZN) have agreed to a one-year extension of their ongoing small interfering RNA delivery collaboration... Willdan Group (WLDN) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Willdan Energy Solutions, was awarded a $7.9 mln energy efficiency contract by Orange and Rockland Utilities to implement its new energy efficiency program for small business customers... Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) announced that it has shipped nearly 600,000 8-inch 0.25-micron AEC-Q100 grade 1 qualified embedded flash wafers targeted at a wide variety of automotive applications, accounting for over 720 mln microcontrollers... VocalTec Communications (VOCL) announced that Telecommunications Group Vega deployed VocalTec's solutions for the provision of Class-5 VoIP services across 5 regions in the Ukraine... SmartSynch, a smart grid infrastructure company utilizing standard Internet Protocol communications via public wireless networks, and AuthenTec, (AUTH), a provider of security, identity management and touch control solutions, announced a partnership to provide an additional layer of fortification to SmartSynch's smart grid infrastructure solutions. SmartSynch has selected AuthenTec's carrier-grade network security solution, the QuickSec/IPsec toolkit, to provide standards-compliant authentication, confidentiality, and data integrity for its smart grid solutions.
07:57
R Ryder System beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides Q2 (Jun) EPS in-line; guides FY10 (Dec) EPS in-line (43.63 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.24 per share, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.20. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2 (Jun), sees EPS of $0.45-0.50 vs. $0.46 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10 (Dec), sees EPS of $1.85-1.95 vs. $1.86 Thomson Reuters consensus. "We have begun to see some improvement in customer demand, primarily in our transactional Fleet Management Solutions products. We expect to see improving demand and pricing for our transactional commercial rental product throughout the year, as well as the benefit of actions taken to right-size the fleet in 2009. Used vehicle results should continue to improve due to lower inventory levels and better pricing. However, customers still remain cautious about making long-term financial commitments in the current business environment. Therefore, we have not yet seen a similar improvement in our contractual full service lease product, which historically lags our transactional services during a recovery. In our Supply Chain Solutions business, we expect the improvement of automotive volumes to continue to contribute to our performance through the remainder of the year. Lastly, our strong balance sheet positions us very well to pursue organic growth, acquisition opportunities, and stock repurchases."
07:47
CNH CNH Global sees FY14 revs of $19.8 bln vs. $16.0 bln Thomson Reuters Consensus; sees FY14 mid-range trading profit margin 10.5% (32.09 ) -Update-
07:44
On The Wires
LaserCard Corporation (LCRD) will join Thomas Greg and Sons, a leading Latin American provider of security printing, documents and services, at Cards 2010 South America, to jointly present their counterfeit-resistant government ID solutions... Evolving Systems (EVOL) announced that its Latin American Dynamic SIM Allocation solution customer has placed an order to expand the use of its current system incorporating significant functional enhancements and distributed hardware architecture... American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) announced that it has received another follow-on order for 30 sets of wind turbine power electronic components from Ulsan, South Korea-based Hyundai Heavy Industries. AMSC expects to complete shipments under this new order by June 30, 2010.
07:39
BA Boeing beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; guides FY10 EPS, revs in-line (71.41 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.70 per share, including a $0.20 charge, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.64; revenues fell 7.8% year/year to $15.22 bln vs the $15.23 bln consensus. Current period results reflect solid performance across core businesses and a previously disclosed $0.20 charge on health care legislation. Co issues guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $3.50-3.80, including a $0.20 charge, vs. $3.84 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $64-66 bln vs. $65.04 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Guidance is unchanged other than adjusting for the $0.20 charge on health care legislation. "Our outlook remains attractive, and we are focused on executing well and delivering on our commitments to customers." The 787 program continued flight testing during the quarter, as an additional two airplanes joined the two airplanes already in the flight test program. The Dreamliner completed key flight test milestones such as flutter, stall and ground-effect tests. On March 28, the static test unit successfully completed the ultimate load test with a fully pressurized cabin. First delivery is expected in the fourth quarter of 2010. Total firm orders for the 787 at quarter-end were 866 airplanes from 57 customers. The 747-8 program began its flight test program during the quarter, completed initial airworthiness testing, and ended the quarter with three airplanes in the flight test program. Initial delivery is expected in the fourth quarter of 2010. The company continues to expect that 2011 revenue will be higher than 2010, primarily driven by projected 787 and 747-8 deliveries (consensus is for a ~10% increase in revs in 2011). Combining higher projected deliveries with spending plans for R&D investments and other factors, operating cash flow in 2011 is expected to be greater than $5 billion. (Briefing.com note: Analyst estimates include the impact of the previously announced health care charge)
07:37
CRM Salesforce.com to acquire Jigsaw for $142 mln in cash (84.48 )
Co announces it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Jigsaw, a crowd-sourced data services co. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. CRM will pay an approx $142 mln cash purchase price, plus a performance-based contingent earn out of up to 10% of the purchase price. The deal is expected to close in Q211, subject to customary closing conditions. The acquisition is expected to have no material impact to salesforce.com's fiscal first quarter results. The transaction will affect salesforce.com's results in its fiscal second through fourth quarters. GAAP revenue from the acquisition, is expected to be approx $10-15 mln and non-GAAP revenue, excluding the deferred revenue write-down related to the transaction, is expected to be approx 17-22 mln. The transaction is also expected to reduce salesforce.com's GAAP EPS by approx $0.20 to $0.22, and non-GAAP EPS by approx $0.06 to $0.08 in FY11.
07:35
T AT&T beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line (26.66 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.59 per share, excluding non-cash charges, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.55; revenues rose 0.3% year/year to $30.65 bln vs the $30.72 bln consensus. Co reports: 1.9 million net gain in total wireless subscribers, the highest first-quarter total in the co's history, to reach 87.0 million; 1.07 percent postpaid churn and 1.30 percent total churn, both at best-ever levels. A 10.3 percent increase in wireless service revenues, with postpaid subscriber ARPU (average monthly revenues per subscriber) up 3.9 percent; the fifth consecutive quarter with a YoY increase in postpaid ARPU. 29.8 percent growth in wireless data revenues, up $947 million vs the year-earlier quarter to $4.1 billion. Co also reports substantial wireless margin expansion. 29.9 percent wireless operating income margin, up from 26.9 percent in the year-earlier quarter; 44.5 percent wireless OIBDA service margin versus 42.5 percent in the year-earlier quarter. "We're off to a great start to the year, and our fundamental outlook for the business continues to be quite positive. AT&T continues to set the pace in mobile broadband, the industry's number one growth driver, and our wireless business continues to perform at a high level, with improved margins, lower churn and overall revenues growing at a healthy clip. AT&T has outstanding mobile broadband capabilities today and a terrific technology path forward to lead the next wave of wireless innovation and growth. We're investing and executing aggressively to deliver on that potential."
07:35
VSI Vitamin Shoppe beats by $0.05, beats on revs (23.25 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.32 per share, excluding $0.01/share pretax loss on extinguishment of debt, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.27; revenues rose 11.0% year/year to $191.6 mln vs the $188.6 mln consensus. The Company reiterated its outlook for 2010. Vitamin Shoppe expects to spend approximately $22 million in total capital expenditures while opening approximately 42 new stores. Co sees continued comparable store sales growth in line with industry growth in the mid-single digits. Co sees inventory growth at a rate less than total sales growth.
07:34
NITE Knight Capital Group reports March volume (14.44 ) -Update-
Co recorded average daily equities share volume in March 2010 of 125.7 mln, up ~22.5% from 102.6 mln in February 2010, and up ~103.2% from 61.8 mln in March 2009... Knight's equities volumes were as follows: Average daily U.S. equities dollar volume traded in March 2010 was $25.4 bln, down ~4.4% from $26.5 bln in February 2010 and up ~17.3% from $21.6 bln in March 2009. Average daily U.S. equities trade volume in March 2010 was 3.5 mln, down ~5.6% from 3.7 mln in February 2010, and down ~20.4% from 4.4 mln in March 2009. Average daily U.S. equities share volume in March 2010 was 11.0 bln, up ~21.0% from 9.1 bln in February 2010, and up ~93.7% from 5.7 bln in March 2009.
07:34
STJ St. Jude Medical beats by $0.07, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus; guides FY10 EPS above consensus (41.00 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.75 per share, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.68; revenues rose 11.3% year/year to $1.26 bln vs the $1.23 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.73-0.75 vs. $0.71 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $2.80-2.85 vs. $2.78 Thomson Reuters consensus. "First quarter results reflect the benefit of our recent restructuring. Sales met or exceeded the high end of our guidance in three of our four businesses. Operating margin improved by 250 basis points versus the first quarter one year ago. Adjusted earnings per share grew 29%. We entered the second quarter with good momentum and with major new product launches scheduled for the remainder of the year."
07:33
MRK Merck obtains exclusive rights to market and distribute MassBiologics' tetanus-diphtheria vaccine in the U.S. (36.06 )
MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Merck & Co., Inc. announced that they have entered into an agreement that provides Merck with exclusive rights to market and distribute MBL's tetanus and diphtheria toxoids adsorbed (Td) vaccine in the United States, with the exception of Massachusetts, where MBL will continue distributing the vaccine. "Adult vaccination is an important element in Merck's commitment to help people be well, and we are delighted to partner with MBL to add tetanus-diphtheria vaccine to our broad U.S. portfolio of adult vaccines."
07:32
SFD Smithfield Foods will provide update at investor meetings; anticipates solid Q4 results in its Pork segment (15.86 )
In advance of the investor meetings, the company stated that it anticipates solid results in its Pork segment in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010, but remarked that fresh pork and packaged meats margins will reflect the impact of higher raw material costs versus a year ago. Smithfield also indicated that it does not expect its fourth quarter Hog Production segment results to reflect the benefits of the recently and dramatically improved live hog production environment because of significant mark-to-market losses on a portion of its lean hog hedged position. Smithfield noted that these losses are the result of the sizeable and unexpected run-up in the futures curve for lean hogs for the summer and fall months of 2010. At the same time, the company reiterated its favorable outlook for this segment in fiscal 2011.
07:32
CYBS CyberSource to be acquired by Visa (V) for $26.00/share or $2 bln (19.44 )
Cos announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Visa to purchase CyberSource, a leading provider of electronic payment, risk management and payment security solutions to online merchants at a price of $26.00 per share, or total consideration of approximately $2.0 billion to be paid with cash on hand. Visa expects this transaction to be approximately $0.04 to $0.05 dilutive to its fiscal fourth quarter 2010 earnings per share on a GAAP basis, due to acquisition-related amortization and one-time transaction costs. Visa expects this transaction to be slightly dilutive to its fiscal full-year 2011 earnings per share on a GAAP basis, primarily related to amortization of intangible assets.
07:32
MEG Media General misses by $0.18, misses on revs (12.32 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.75 per share, $0.18 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.57); revenues fell 0.1% year/year to $158.9 mln vs the $160.7 mln consensus. For the second quarter, the company expects a continued improvement in segment operating results, which will be more than offset by higher interest expense and tax expense. In 2009, the second quarter benefited from a $7.1 million gain on the sale of Media General's CW affiliate in Jacksonville, Fla. For the second quarter of 2010, Media General expects the decline in publishing revenues to continue to moderate. Broadcast revenues are expected to increase by about the same rate as the first quarter, based on stronger Political spending as state primaries begin. Total operating expenses in the second quarter are expected to increase 3-4 percent, reflecting the absence of furlough days in 2010 and increased support of new revenue initiatives.
07:31
TLB Talbots announces approval for NYSE Amex listing of warrants (15.86 )
Co announced that the warrants to acquire shares of Talbots common stock issued in Talbots' offer to exchange each outstanding BPW Acquisition Corp. warrant for shares of Talbots common stock or Talbots warrants have been approved for listing on the NYSE Amex. Trading is expected to commence on the NYSE Amex today, April 21, 2010, under the ticker symbol "TLB.WS."
07:31
CRAY Cray Wins $20 Million Supercomputer Contract for Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (6.79 )
Co announced it has signed a contract with the Foundation for Space Technology, Applications and Science (FUNCATE), which is responsible for the procurement of high performance computers in Brazil. The purpose of the contract is to provide the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) with a new Cray XT6 supercomputer for weather forecasts and climate studies. INPE is the company's first Cray XT customer in Brazil and, upon installation of the new Cray XT6 system, the country will be home to one of the largest numerical weather prediction and climate research centers in the world.
07:18
ST Sensata Tech reports Q1 EPS of $0.44 vs $0.41 Thomson Reuters consensus; revs $377.1 mln vs $361.97 mln Thomson Reuters consensus (19.85 )
Sensata Tech sees Q2 EPS of $0.41-0.44 vs $0.37 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees revs $370-390 mln vs $361.77 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. "We had a very strong first quarter. We saw our fourth consecutive quarter of growth in net revenue and our second quarter of year over year growth. We had momentum coming into 2010 and we feel our first quarter results reflect this momentum." Mr. Wroe added, "The growth in our business during the first quarter compared to the first quarter of 2009 came from increased content in the applications we serve (13%), mature market growth (14%), emerging market opportunities (14%), inventory replenishment (16%), and the remainder in pricing, foreign exchange and other variables."
07:18
NT Nortel (NRTLQ) unit entered into a share purchase agreement with Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
Co announced that its principal operating subsidiary Nortel Networks Limited has entered into a share purchase agreement with Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (ERIC) for the sale of its 50% plus 1 share interest in LG-Nortel Co. Ltd., the company's Korean joint venture with LG Electronics Inc. ("LG Electronics"), for a purchase price of US$242 million in cash subject to certain purchase price adjustments.
07:13
LH Laboratory Corp misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY10 EPS and revenue in-line (80.24 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.30 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.31; revenues rose 3.3% year/year to $1.19 bln vs the $1.19 bln consensus. Co reaffirms in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $5.35-5.55, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $5.46 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co reaffirms FY10 revenue guidance; sees growth of 2.5-4.5% (translates into approx $4.81-4.91 bln vs $4.87 bln Thomson-Reuters consensus).
07:09
EMC EMC beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides FY10 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (19.41 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.26 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.24; revenues rose 23.5% year/year to $3.89 bln vs the $3.71 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.18 vs. $1.14 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $16.5 bln vs. $16.04 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. "During the first quarter, we saw customers move forward with increased confidence, focusing not only on cost cutting initiatives, but beginning new innovative projects in their traditional and virtual data center infrastructures. This helped us clearly achieve the 'triple play' we projected last quarter by gaining market share while investing for the future and increasing profitability. Looking ahead, we remain confident that we'll continue to execute on all three of these areas."
07:09
MCO Moody's beats by $0.03, beats on revs; reaffirms FY10 EPS guidance (27.12 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.47 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.44; revenues rose 16.6% year/year to $476.6 mln vs the $456.2 mln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.75-1.85 vs. $1.87 Thomson Reuters consensus. "Moody's first quarter results reflected strong activity in corporate and financial institution debt markets, largely driven by high-yield bond and loan issuance. Despite good first quarter performance, we are reaffirming our full-year 2010 EPS guidance of $1.75 to $1.85 due to uncertainty that issuance levels later in the year will continue to overcome weakness in some areas of structured finance."
07:08
AAI Air Tran Holdings beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line (5.80 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.09 per share, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.13); revenues rose 11.7% year/year to $605.1 mln vs the $606.2 mln consensus. Excluding $4.7 million in unrealized gains on future fuel hedges, the net loss for the quarter would have been $16.7 million dollars or $0.12 per diluted share. The impact of historic winter snowstorms along the Eastern Seaboard and more than a 50 percent increase in fuel expenses offset record total revenues for the first quarter. AirTran Airways experienced significant revenue improvement that accelerated through the quarter with total unit revenues increasing by a solid double-digit margin year-over-year in March... AirTran Airways' unrestricted cash position at quarter's end was $534 million and its revolving line of credit was undrawn. Based on current cost and revenue trends, AirTran Airways' outlook for the second quarter 2010 relative to the prior year is as follows: Available seat miles (ASMs): increase ~4.0%; Total unit revenue per ASM to increase 13.0 to 14.0 percent; Average economic cost per gallon of fuel, all-in: $2.37 to $2.42; Non-Fuel unit operating cost per ASM: increase 4.0 to 4.5 percent; and Non-Fuel unit operating cost per ASM, Full Year 2010: increase 4.0 to 5.0 percent
07:03
RINO RINO Intl secures $8.1 million loan from Pudong Development Bank of Shanghai for Shougang BOT Desulphurization Project (19.52 )
07:02
TWO Two Harbors Investment announces pricing of public offering of 11.5 mln shares of Common Stock at $8.90/share (9.10 )
07:02
ISLN Isilon Systems announces National Center for Genome resources scales sequencing services using Isilon IQ (10.33 )
07:01
RIG Transocean Reports Fire on Semisubmersible Drilling Rig Deepwater Horizon (92.03 )
Co reported a fire onboard its semisubmersible drilling rig Deepwater Horizon. Transocean's Emergency and Family Response Teams are working with the U.S. Coast Guard and lease operator BP Exploration & Production, Inc. to care for all rig personnel and search for missing rig personnel. A substantial majority of the 126 member crew is safe but some crew members remain unaccounted for at this time.
07:01
ATMI ATMI beats by $0.05, beats on revs (20.99 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.25 per share, excluding one time tax benefit, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.20; revenues rose 128.1% year/year to $85.3 mln vs the $82.2 mln consensus. Co says "We believe our revenues during the quarter grew at a rate greater than the overall market, due to strength in our life sciences products and evidence of some localized SDS(R) inventory stocking, Volume, favorable product mix and continued cost control resulted in an increase in gross margin to 48.9%. We generated $19.5 million in cash from operations. Our business model and strong balance sheet provide us financial and strategic flexibility to take advantage of opportunities in the marketplace. As previously announced, increased research and development investment related to our high productivity development platform will cause quarterly R&D spending to increase by approximately $3 million for the remaining quarters of 2010."
07:00
BRKR Bruker Corp.'s BEST subsidiary RI Research Instruments awarded $7.7mln linear accelerator contract from DoE Brookhaven National Laboratory (15.15 )
Co announced the award of a $7.7 million contract from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory. The contract is for the turn-key supply of a 200 MeV electron injection linear accelerator for BNL's next-generation National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS-II).
07:00
ICFI ICF International awarded two new agreements to support energy efficiency and other clean energy initiatives (24.30 )
Co has been awarded two new Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs) by UT-Battelle to support U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) State Energy Program (SEP) and Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) recipients. The BOAs have an aggregate ceiling of $8.5 million and a term of 30 months.
06:49
DGX Quest Diagnostics beats by $0.02, misses on revs; reaffirms FY10 EPS guidance, lowers rev growth forecast (59.60 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.00 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.98; revenues fell 0.1% year/year to $1.81 bln vs the $1.87 bln consensus. Co reaffirms FY10 EPS of $4.10-4.30, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.22 Thomson Reuters consensus; lowers rev growth forecast to +1-2% from +3-4% previosuly, which comes to FY10 revs of $7.53-7.60 bln vs. $7.7 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Revenue per requisition increased 2.3% and clinical testing volume, measured by the number of requisitions, decreased 2.6%. Severe weather is estimated to have reduced growth in clinical testing revenues and volume by 1%. "Our business remains strong, despite being negatively impacted by severe weather and softness in the marketplace. We saw continued growth in gene-based and esoteric testing, and generated strong cash from operations. In addition, we are taking actions to accelerate growth and further manage our costs. After adjusting for the first quarter weather and charge, our full-year EPS guidance remains unchanged."
06:41
MAGS Magal Security receives the first payment from a $13.5 mln prison security upgrade project (3.84 )
06:40
IMMR Immersion Corp appoints Victor Viegas Chief Executive Officer (5.82 )
06:37
STI SunTrust Banks beats by $0.12, misses on revs (30.19 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.46 per share, $0.12 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.58); revenues fell 14.2% year/year to $1.9 bln vs the $2.01 bln consensus. Total revenues remained soft due primarily to lower mortgage production volume and income and mark-to-market losses on the co's fair value public debt vs gains in the first quarter of 2009. Noninterest income in the current quarter was adversely impacted by lower mortgage production and higher mortgage repurchase charges compared to the first quarter of 2009. The current quarter also included $20 million of mark-to-market losses on the co's debt and related hedges carried at fair value, while the first quarter of 2009 reflected $113 million in mark-to-market gains. For 1Q10, the provision for credit losses was $862 million. The provision for credit losses in the current quarter was $132 million lower than 1Q09 and $112 mln lower than 4Q09, continuing the trend of declining provision over the last year. Net charge-offs in the first quarter of 2010 were $821 million, approx equal to the amount in 4Q09 and $211 million higher than 1Q09. Charge-offs in the current quarter include $51 million of incremental charge-offs associated with the transfer of $211 million of nonperforming residential mortgage loans to loans held for sale.
06:34
LMT Lockheed Martin beats by $0.11, reports revs in-line; guides FY10 EPS in-line, reaffirms FY10 revs guidance (84.97 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.45 per share, $0.11 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.34; revenues rose 2.5% year/year to $10.64 bln vs the $10.62 bln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for FY10, co lowered EPS to $7.00-7.20 to reflect the $0.25 charge from legislation that eliminates the tax deduction for benefit
costs reimbursed under Medicare Part D; and a net $0.10 per share improvement in the Corporation's outlook primarily due to higher investment income vs. $7.19 Thomson Reuters consensus; reaffirms FY10 revs of $46.25-47.25 bln vs. $46.94 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.
06:30
S&P futures vs fair value: +0.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +9.50.
06:30
Asian Markets
Nikkei...11090.05...+189.40...+1.70%. Hang Seng...21510.93...-112.50...-0.50%.
06:30
European Markets
FTSE...5745.75...-38.00...-0.70%. DAX...6264.85...+1.00...0.00.
06:27
KEY KeyCorp beats by $0.19 (8.58 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.11 per share, $0.19 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.30). Key's provision for loan losses was $413 mln for the first quarter of 2010, compared to $847 mln for the year-ago quarter and $756 mln for the fourth quarter of 2009. Net loan charge-offs for the quarter totaled $522 mln, or 3.67% of average loans. These results compare to $460 mln, or 2.60%, for the same period last year and $708 million, or 4.64%, for the previous quarter. Tier 1 common equity and Tier 1 risk-based capital ratios of 7.53% and 12.96%, respectively.
06:27
ECA EnCana beats by $0.07, beats on revs (31.75 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.39 per share, excluding commodity hedging gains, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.32; revenues fell 3.7% year/year to $3.54 bln vs the $1.67 bln consensus. Co reports cash flow of $1.2 billion, or $1.57 per share. Total production was 3.3 Bcfe/d. Natural gas production was 3.1 Bcf/d. Natural gas liquids and oil production was about 24,000 barrels per day (bbls/d). Operating and administrative costs were $1.02 per thousand cubic feet equivalent (Mcfe). ECA announces goal to double production per share in the next five years.
06:17
CLRT Clarient announces new data indicate effectiveness of Clarient's Pulmotax test for lung cancer (2.76 )
Co announces that data from a new study suggest that the Clarient Insight Dx Pulmotax assay may effectively predict which lung cancer patients will respond favorably to chemotherapy. The study, titled "TLE3 expression is predictive of response to chemotherapy in NSCLC," included 368 samples from carcinoma patients. The majority of advanced-stage patients who were treated with chemotherapy received a treatment regimen containing a taxane class agent. Pulmotax is a single antibody immunohistochemistry test created to detect the expression of TLE3 in non-small cell lung cancer. Prior data have linked TLE3 expression specifically to response to taxane therapy in breast and ovarian carcinoma patients.
06:15
PII Polaris Inds beats by $0.13, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus; guides FY10 EPS above consensus (59.89 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.59 per share, $0.13 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.46; revenues rose 15.9% year/year to $361.7 mln vs the $320.2 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.63-0.67 vs. $0.56 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co raises guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $3.48-3.60 up from $3.15-3.30vs. $3.30 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co says sales for the full year 2010 are now expected to grow in the range of 8 to 11% up from 1-3% previously. For the second quarter of 2010, the co expects total sales to increase in the range of 14 to 17% primarily due to continued strength in ORV, Victory motorcycles and international retail sales to consumers.
06:15
LUFK Lufkin Industries beats by $0.01, misses on revs (87.54 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.40 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.39; revenues fell 17.0% year/year to $127.1 mln vs the $130.4 mln consensus. Oilfield revenues for the first quarter of 2010 decreased 19% to $89.9 million, compared to $111.7 million in the first quarter of 2009, but were flat from the fourth quarter of 2009. Oilfield's new business bookings increased 688% from a year ago and 39% from the prior quarter. Oilfield's backlog doubled to $86.5 million at the end of the first quarter from $43.3 million at the end of 2009, due to order activity in the Bakken and West Texas regions.
06:10
NITE Knight Capital Group misses by $0.04, misses on revs (14.44 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.30 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.34; revenues rose 15.8% year/year to $284.2 mln vs the $302.1 mln consensus.
06:10
ORCC Online Resources names John Dorman interim CEO (4.10 )
Co announces that John Dorman, co-chairman of the company's Board of Directors, has been named interim chief executive officer. He succeeds president and chief operating officer Raymond Crosier, who had been serving as interim chief executive officer while the company conducts a search for a permanent CEO. Mr. Crosier has resigned from the company, effective immediately, to pursue other interests.
06:09
HRB H & R Block reports tax season results through April 15 (18.11 +0.11)
Co released its final tax season update for fiscal 2010. Tax Season Results for March 1 - April 15, Same-office tax returns prepared in retail operations increased 0.8% compared to the prior year, while total returns prepared grew by 0.3%. Total retail returns prepared fell 1.7% and the net average retail fee per tax return declined by 1.2% over the prior year. Total digital tax returns prepared by H&R Block grew by 5.9%. "Our second half results reflect improvement in the overall industry, as well as in our own performance, Our retail business showed a significant reduction of market share loss during the second-half of the tax season. Our digital offerings grew by nearly 6% during this period, driven by software sales and Free-File Alliance returns." Tax Season-to-Date Results through April 15 Same-office tax returns prepared in retail operations fell 4.0% and total tax returns prepared were down 4.9% over the prior year. Total retail returns prepared declined by 6.6%, while the net average retail fee per tax return increased 1.0%. Aggregate tax preparation fees for retail operations fell 5.5% to $2.61 billion. Total digital tax returns prepared by H&R Block were down 0.6%, driven by a 6.1% decline in software-based returns that was entirely due to the company's decision to exit two unprofitable distribution channels. Online returns grew by 2.6%, while returns prepared through the FFA increased 4.7%.
06:08
FCFS First Cash beats by $0.01, beats on revs; reaffirms FY10 EPS in-line (23.52 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.36 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.35; revenues rose 20.9% year/year to $97.2 mln vs the $93 mln consensus. Co reaffirms in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.53-1.59 vs. $1.59 Thomson Reuters consensus. The majority of 2010 revenues will be derived from pawn operations, with only 11% to 13% of revenues expected to be from U.S. short-term loan and credit services operations. In 2010, the co is on target to open 65 to 75 new stores, the majority of which will be in Mexico. All of the anticipated 2010 store openings will be pawn stores.
04:35
CNH CNH Global beats by $0.11, beats on revs (32.09 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.16 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.11 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.05; revenues rose 6.1% year/year to $3.24 bln vs the $2.94 bln consensus. Worldwide agricultural industry retail unit sales increased 14% compared to 1Q09. Global retail tractor sales rose 14% and global retail combine sales fell 2% for the quarter. Tractor and combine sales rose slightly in North America while they declined sharply in Western Europe, where economic conditions continue to be challenging. Latin America saw significant increases in both tractor and combine markets on strong growth and commodity prices. Rest of World markets saw significantly stronger tractor sales, and weaker combine volumes. CNH anticipates that global agriculture equipment markets will be flat to up 5% in 2010. The CNH outlook for the global construction equipment markets is for an increase of approxi 15-20% in 2010.
02:10
ELN Elan beats by $0.04, beats on revs (7.56 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) net of breakeven, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.04); revenues rose 26.7% year/year to $310.5 mln vs the $298.6 mln consensus. In the first quarter of 2010, revenue from the BioNeurology (formerly referred to as Biopharmaceuticals) business grew by 26% while revenue from the Elan Drug Technologies business increased by 28% compared to the first quarter of 2009. The increase in revenue from the BioNeurology business was driven by the growth of Tysabri. Elan's recorded sales of Tysabri increased 25% to $198.8 million for the first quarter of 2010, from $158.7 million for the first quarter of 2009, consistent with the 28% growth in global in-market net sales of Tysabri to $291.9 million in the first quarter of 2010 from $227.5 million in the first quarter of 2009. The increase in revenue from the EDT business was principally due to the launch of AmpyraTM Extended Release Tablets, which was approved by the FDA in January 2010, and which is globally licensed to Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR).
01:13
IBKC IberiaBank beats by $0.01, beats on revs (62.62 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.66 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.65; revenues rose 93.0% year/year to $99.8 mln vs the $96 mln consensus. At March 31, 2010, the allowance for loan losses was 1.11%, up compared to 0.96% at December 31, 2009. In accordance with GAAP, the assets acquired in the FDIC-assisted transactions were marked to market at consummation, including estimated loan impairment. Excluding the acquired loans, the bank's ratio of loan loss reserves to loans increased from 1.25% at September 30, 2009, to 1.36% at December 31, 2009, and to 1.53% at March 31, 2010. IBKC reported net charge-offs of $5 million in 1Q10, compared to $2 mln in 4Q09. The ratio of net charge-offs to average loans was 0.36% in the 1Q10, compared to 0.18% in 4Q09. The elevated charge-offs in the first quarter were primarily due to valuations on appraisals of collateral securing various loans. The co recorded a $13 mln loan loss provision in 1Q10, compared to $9 mln in 4Q09 and covered net charge-offs by 2.6x. Management considers the loan loss reserve adequate to absorb credit losses inherent in the loan portfolio at March 31, 2010.
00:54
On The Wires
Limited Brands (LTD) announces that it has increased its previously announced offering of $300 million aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes due 2020 to $400 million. The 2020 Notes were priced at 100% of the aggregate principal amount to yield 7% at maturity... CNOOC Ltd (CEO) announces that Huizhou oilfields, which suspended production after being hit by Typhoon Koppu in September 2009, have restarted production in full scale. Currently the operations of Huizhou oilfields are running smoothly, with daily production of 45,000 barrels of oil and over 40 million cubic feet of natural gas... Syngenta (SYT) announces that it received deregulation of MIR162, the Agrisure Viptera trait, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture... Cell Therapeutics (CTIC) announces the European Medicines Agency Pediatric Committee recommended the co submit an updated Pediatric Investigation Plan for pixantrone following discussions with the co about the preclinical and clinical pixantrone data, including PIX301, and the desire to explore the potential benefits pixantrone may offer to children with hematologic cancer; co expects to submit a revised PIP to the EMEA by the end of 2Q10... SAP (SAP) to acquire TechniData AG, a provider of product safety and environmental, health and safety solutions; financial terms weren't disclosed... AngloGold (AU) secures a $1 bln, four-year unsecured revolving credity facility... Gold Fields (GFI) announces that it has started the depth extension of the South Deep Ventilation Shaft, a milestone in the development of South Deep, the newest mine in Gold Fields' South African portfolio.
18:47
BNVI Bionovo announces patent issuance for Bezielle for metastatic breast cancer (+0.44 +0.02)
Co announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent covering a method of using Bionovo's proprietary drug candidate Bezielle (BZL101) for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. The patent issued today is Bionovo's second issued patent, with over 70 other patent applications currently pending.
18:38
FFIC Flushing Fin beats by $0.02 (13.65 +0.15)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.27 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.26. Net charge-offs were 0.29% of average loans.Co recorded a $5.0 million provision for loan losses, non-performing assets increased $5.3 million on a linked quarter basis to $98.5 million at March 31, 2010, regulatory capital ratios at March 31, 2010 were 8.97% for core capital and 13.67% for risk-weighted capital, book value per common share increased to $11.84 at March 31, 2010 and tangible common equity to tangible assets increased to 8.45% at March 31, 2010.
18:38
NPO Fairbanks Morse engine to supply emergency diesel generator sets for planned nuclear reactors in Texas (31.13 +0.34)
Fairbanks Morse Engine, an EnPro Industries (NPO) co, announced that it has been awarded a contract to supply six safety related Fairbanks Morse Colt-Pielstick PC2.6B Emergency Diesel Generator sets (EDGs) to Toshiba America Nuclear Energy (TANE) for installation at Units 3 & 4 of the STP Nuclear Operating Company in Matagorda County, Texas.
18:26
WU Western Union expands U.K. network by signing major retail chain Martin McColl (17.40 +0.10)
By September 2010, Western Union national and international money transfer services will be offered at 700 Martin McColl stores throughout the country.
18:11
CFR Frost Investment Advisors surpasses $2 bln in mutual fund assets (57.79 +0.99)
18:00
INFN Infinera beats by $0.03, beats on revs (10.00 +0.29)
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.07 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.10); revenues rose 43.2% year/year to $95.8 mln vs the $93.6 mln consensus.
17:58
HBHC Hancock Holding misses by $0.07 (43.20 +0.68)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.40 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.47. Total assets at March 31, 2010 were $8.57 billion, down $131.6 million or 1.5 percent, from $8.70 billion at December 31, 2009. Compared to March 31, 2009, total assets increased $1.47 billion, or 20.7 percent. Net charge-offs for 2010's first quarter were $13.3 million, or 1.06 percent of average loans, down $0.4 million from the $13.6 million, or 1.24 percent of average loans, reported for the fourth quarter of 2009.
17:34
RNST Renasant misses by $0.01 (17.44 +0.02)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.17 per share, $0.01 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.18. Co said, "During the first quarter of 2010 we saw positive trends as our net interest margin increased, our core deposits grew and we were able to hold noninterest expenses relatively flat compared to the fourth quarter of 2009. As anticipated, our first quarter results reflect the challenging environment for the financial services industry as well as the national economy. Total deposits grew to $2.71 billion at March 31, 2010, representing a 5.35% increase from December 31, 2009 and a 0.91% increase since March 31, 2009. Total assets as of March 31, 2010 were approximately $3.64 billion, a slight increase since December 31, 2009 and a 4.04% decrease from March 31, 2009. Despite a decline in mortgage loan production during the first quarter of 2010 that affected noninterest income, early second quarter 2010 production is showing encouraging signs. In addition, we experienced growth in debit card revenue as well as gains in revenue from our trust division during the first quarter of 2010."
17:28
RUSHA Rush Enterprises beats by $0.02, misses on revs (15.39 -0.14)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.06 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.04; revenues fell 6.3% year/year to $308.4 mln vs the $314.6 mln consensus. The co said, "We believe 2010 will be another difficult year, but see encouraging signs of recovery in the general economy and specifically in our industry. Our employees worked diligently to control expenses throughout this prolonged downturn. We are seeing signs that lead me to believe Rush will experience an upturn in business in 2010 which will allow our employees to focus on servicing our customers in an expanding market... we are encouraged that we are seeing initial signs of recovery in our parts and service business. Rush Truck Centers' parts, service and body shop revenues increased 10.0% compared to the fourth quarter of 2009... However, we expect 2010 will be another difficult year for truck sales... Looking forward, we expect truck orders to increase in the second half of 2010 which will lead to a strong recovery in retail sales in 2011, 2012 and 2013."
17:09
TUP Tupperware beats by $0.14, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus; guides FY10 EPS above consensus (48.36 +1.21)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.76 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.14 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.62; revenues rose 20.4% year/year to $557.1 mln vs the $546.7 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.95-1.00, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.93 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees revs growth of 12-14%, including a positive impact from exchange rates. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $3.68-3.78, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.56 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees revs growth of 8-10% including a 2% benefit from foreign exchange.
17:06
MAA Mid-America Aptmt sees Q1 funds from operations of $0.96-1.00 vs $0.91 Thomson Reuters consensus (51.68 +0.49)
The co said that based on preliminary results, Mid-America expects to report Funds from Operations, or FFO, between $30.1 million and $31.6 million, representing a range of $0.96 to $1.00 per diluted share/unit vs $0.91 Thomson Reuters consensus, for the first quarter of 2010. This compares to Mid-America's FFO guidance of $0.86 to $0.96 per diluted share/unit. Net income available to common shareholders is expected to be between $5.3 million and $6.7 million, representing a range of $0.18 to $0.23 per diluted share for the same period. Al Campbell, Chief Financial Officer, said, "Same-store property operating performance was better than our forecast due to solid occupancy, strong collections performance, and better than anticipated fee income. Interest expense was also slightly better than expected due to the continued favorable rate environment. While our first quarter operating results supports the view that markets are stabilizing, the continued weakness in the employment market as we enter the important summer leasing season suggests the need for caution in forecasting the balance of the year. We will give further guidance with our quarterly earnings release on May 6th."
17:01
ETH Ethan Allen declares cash dividend (22.12 +0.53)
Co announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share which will be payable to shareholders of record as of July 9, 2010 and paid on July 26, 2010.
17:00
SPIR Spire appoints Robert Lieberman as Chief Financial Officer (3.90 +0.11)
16:55
TSFG South Fincl Group beats by $0.09 (0.91 +0.01)
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.40 per share, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.49). Nonperforming loans declined to $374.2 mln, representing the third consecutive quarterly decline. Net charge-offs declined to $87.8 mln from $142.9 mln in the prior quarter, representing the second consecutive quarterly decline. The provision for credit losses of $95.1 mln exceeded net charge-offs by $7 mln, increasing the allowance for credit losses to 4.75% of loans held for investment compared to 4.45% in fourth quarter 2009. Potential problem loans increased to $944 mln from $936 mln at December 31, 2009 and $554 mln at March 31, 2009.
16:51
TMO Thermo Fisher Scientific prices offering of senior notes (54.20 +0.79)
Co announced today that it has priced the previously announced offering of $450 million aggregate principal amount of 3.20% Senior Notes due 2015 and $300 million aggregate principal amount of 4.70% Senior Notes due 2020 at an issue price of 99.587% of the principal amount of the 2015 notes and 99.96% of the principal amount of the 2020 notes, respectively. The issuance of the notes is expected to close on April 27, 2010. The notes will pay interest on a semi-annual basis. The company plans to use the proceeds of the offering to redeem all floating rate convertible senior debentures due 2033 that remain outstanding on May 10, 2010, the redemption date selected by the company, and to settle in cash any 2033 Convertible Notes presented for conversion on or prior to May 6, 2010. The redemption has been separately announced by the company.
16:47
OHI Omega Health exercises option to acquire 63 additional facilities from CapitalSource (19.87 +0.27)
Co announced that it has exercised its option to acquire 63 additional long-term care facilities from affiliates of CapitalSource (CSE) The aggregate consideration to be paid at the closing under the option agreement, which is expected to occur in June 2010, is approximately $295 mln, consisting of approximately: $34 mln in cash to sellers, and repayment of $261 mln of debt at closing. The 63 facilities owned by the entities to be acquired at the Option Closing, representing 6,607 available beds located in 19 states, are part of 30 in-place triple net leases among 18 operators. The 30 leases generate approximately $34 mln of annualized revenue.
16:39
PAL North American Palladium announces C$75 Million cross-border bought deal financing of units (5.26 +0.08)
Co entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters co-led by Cormark Securities Inc. and Haywood Securities Inc.under which the Underwriters have agreed to purchase 15,000,000 units from the company on a bought deal basis at a price of C$5.00 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately C$75,000,000. Each Unit will consist of one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant shall entitle the holder to acquire an additional common share at a price of C$6.50 during the period ending 18 months following the closing of the offering.
16:38
PNRA Panera Bread raises Q1 and FY10 guidance (83.28 +0.12)
Co raises guidance for Q1 (Mar), sees EPS of $0.81-0.82 vs. $0.77 Thomson Reuters consensus, up from $0.74-0.76 previously, with co-owned same-store cafe comps of +10%, franchise operated comps of +9%. Co raises guidance for FY10 (Dec), sees EPS of $3.40-3.44 vs. $3.44 Thomson Reuters consensus, up from $3.26-3.34 previously. The co is raising its fiscal 2010 Company-owned comparable bakery-cafe sales growth target to 6.5% to 7.5% from the 4.5% to 6.5% target range provided in February. "Our 10% growth in comparable bakery-cafe sales in Q1 and our anticipated 42% to 44% increase in EPS in Q1 2010, on top of the 39% year-over-year growth in EPS we generated Q1 2009, validates our commitment to invest in our business to benefit the customer in the face of the recession. Simply put, our strategy is working and our customers are responding to Panera with enthusiasm."
16:36
AAPL Apple beats by $0.88, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs above consensus (244.59 -2.48)
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $3.33 per share, $0.88 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $2.45; revenues rose 48.7% year/year to $13.5 bln vs the $12.04 bln consensus. Co reports Q2 gross margins of 41.7% vs Street est of 40.1%, up from 39.9% in the year-ago quarter. Co reports 10.89 mln iPods sold in Q2 vs Street est of ~9.7 mln, 8.75 mln iPhones sold in Q2 vs Street est of ~7.3 mln, and 2.94 mln Macs sold in Q2 vs Street est of ~2.9 mln. Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $2.28-2.39 vs. $2.70 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $13.0-13.4 bln vs. $12.97 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. International sales accounted for 58% of the quarter's revenue. "We're thrilled to report our best non-holiday quarter ever, with revenues up 49 percent and profits up 90 percent," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We've launched our revolutionary new iPad and users are loving it, and we have several more extraordinary products in the pipeline for this year." Stock is halted.
16:36
BBNK Bridge Capital reports net operating income of $365K up 10% y/y; (9.60 +0.14)
Net interest margin increased 53 basis points, or 12%, to 5.05% for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, compared to 4.52% for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. Net interest margin was 4.68% for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. The Company recorded a provision for loan losses of $1.3 million, primarily to reflect growth in the loan portfolio. This resulted in an allowance for credit losses representing 2.76% of gross loans at March 31, 2010, compared with 2.78% at December 31, 2009 and 2.77% one year earlier. At March 31, 2010, the allowance for credit losses represented coverage of 122.23% of nonperforming loans, compared to 94.14% at December 31, 2009 and 73.68% at March 31, 2009. Nonperforming assets decreased to $19.8 million, or 2.31% of total assets, as of March 31, 2010, from $23.5 million, or 2.79% of total assets, at December 31, 2009.
16:35
FLWS 1-800-FLOWERS.COM announces amended and restated bank credit facility; Co prepays $12 mln, reducing term loans to $60 mln (3.15 -0.02)
Co announced that on April 16, 2010, it entered into an amended and restated credit agreement with a syndicate of banks and other financial institutions led by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. The new credit facility includes a prepayment of $12 million which reduces the Company's outstanding term loan debt to $60 million. In addition, the amended and restated agreement reduces the Company's revolving credit line from a previous commitment of $125 million (seasonally adjusted to $75 million) to a commitment of $75 million (seasonally adjusted to $40). The Company currently has zero borrowings under the revolving credit line and believes that the credit line, together with cash flows from operations, will be more than sufficient to fund its working capital requirements going forward.
16:34
LPTH LightPath sees Q3 revs of $2.7 mln compared to $1.7 mln for the same period in fiscal 2009 (2.50 +0.17)
Co projected results for its third quarter of fiscal 2010 include: Backlog scheduled to ship within the next 12 months is $3.9 mln, an increase of $501,000 as compared to the backlog on March 31, 2009, and an increase of $1.6 mln as compared to the Cash on hand as of March 31, 2010 was $543,000 as compared to $906,000 on December 31, 2009 and $580,000 on June 30, 2009. Revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 is $2.7 mln compared to $1.7 mln for the same period in fiscal 2009 and up $500,000 or 22% from the quarter ended December 31, 2009. Co says "LightPath continued to capitalize on the strength in the Telecom and Industrial Laser tool markets. During the third quarter of fiscal 2010 our order activity remained healthy as evidenced by the 70% increase in the backlog scheduled to ship within the next 12 months when compared to the June 30, 2009 backlog. Our quote activity for new orders has continued to increase with the number of quotes up 10% over the second quarter, giving us two consecutive quarters with increases of 10% or higher. We have increased our production rates in China resulting in a 22% increase in revenue for the third quarter compared to the second quarter of the current fiscal year."
16:34
REVU The Princeton Review completes agreement with the National Labor College (3.41 +0.06)
Co announced the signing of agreements with the National Labor College to form a strategic relationship to assist the National Labor College in bringing high-quality bachelor degree completion and certificate programs to the AFL-CIO's 11.5 million members and the working adults in their families. Under the agreements signed today, the parties have formed a new limited liability company owned 49% by The Princeton Review and 51% by the National Labor College. Under the agreements, The Princeton Review will contribute $20.75 million of capital to the limited liability company in various installments through July 1, 2012.
16:34
CAL Continental Air dispatchers ratify agreement on new labor contract (21.94 -0.04)
Co announces that its dispatchers have ratified a new four-year collective bargaining agreement with the airline.
16:32
NUVA NuVasive reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (44.32 +1.29)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.21 per share, ex-items, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.21; revenues rose 36.4% year/year to $109.1 mln vs the $107.8 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS, ex-items, of $1.13-1.25 vs. $1.19 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $480-500 mln vs. $488.20 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Sees operating margin of ~17%.
16:32
VASC Vascular Solutions beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY10 revs in-line (9.48 +0.26)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.08 per share, excluding litigation gains, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.07; revenues rose 15.2% year/year to $18.2 mln vs the $17.8 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.09-0.10 vs. $0.10 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $18.7-19.0 vs. $18.86 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co reaffirms in-line guidance for FY10, sees FY10 revs of $76-78 mln vs. $76.46 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $0.53-0.57, including $0.13 in gains, may not be comparable to $0.53 Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:31
FULT Fulton Fincl reports EPS in-line (10.95 +0.14)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.13 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.13. "We were pleased to see the continuation of our positive earnings momentum in the first quarter. The results of our allowance allocation process enabled us to again reduce the provision for loan losses," said R. Scott Smith, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer. "Despite slower loan demand and lower yields on earning assets, we were able to increase net interest income. The net interest margin expanded significantly as funding costs continued to decline. We believe that further stabilization in our credit quality, along with a rebound in overall economic activity, can provide the impetus for further earnings improvement. I want to again express my gratitude to our 3,950-member team for their unwavering commitment and dedication to positioning this company for future growth."
16:30
BMI Badger Meter reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (39.16 +0.00)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.36 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.36; revenues fell 5.4% year/year to $61.8 mln vs the $61 mln consensus. "The decline in first quarter earnings reflected lower sales and higher commodity costs, particularly copper. The gross profit margin was 37.6% for the first quarter of 2010, compared to 40.1% for the first quarter of 2009. Selective price increases and ongoing cost controls helped to offset some of the impact of the volume declines and higher commodity costs. The slowdown in sales we experienced in 2009 carried into January and February of 2010, however orders increased significantly in March. Many water utilities had been delaying their purchasing decisions while waiting to see if they would receive federal stimulus funding for infrastructure improvements. The allocation of stimulus funds by each state in mid February was followed by a sharp up-tick in orders and shipments for our products. These higher order and sales levels have continued into the second quarter."
16:28
AAPL Apple halted ahead of earnings (244.59 -2.48) -Update-
16:25
FOE Ferro announces further restructuring of European plastics manufacturing (9.48 -0.07)
Co announced additional restructuring actions to reduce costs related to the Company's European plastics manufacturing. This action is the latest restructuring step in a group of projects that were initiated in connection with Ferro's equity offering in November 2009. As a result of this action, plastics manufacturing in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, will be consolidated into Ferro's existing operations in Almazora, Spain and the Rotterdam plant will be closed. In total, ~44 positions are expected to be eliminated as a result of the restructuring. The actions are expected to be completed during the quarter ended June 30, 2010. The Company expects to record net charges of ~$6 million in the three-month period ended June 30, 2010, related to the costs of this restructuring action. The charges include ~$6 million in severance costs, a $2 million accrual for site environmental remediation activities and other charges of ~$1 million, partially offset by a pension curtailment gain of ~$3 million. Cost estimates do not include gains or losses related to possible settlement of the pension plan. The initiatives are expected to generate pre-tax cost and expense savings of ~$5 million on an annual basis.
16:23
NBR Nabors Ind reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (20.35 +0.69)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.21 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.21; revenues fell 20.1% year/year to $902 mln vs the $877.5 mln consensus. "Rig activity in this unit improved slightly in the last quarter. As the year progresses, we plan to restart many of our idle rigs which, when combined with recent contract awards for incremental rigs, yields higher visibility toward modestly improving results throughout the balance of this year and a much improved 2011 outlook.. We anticipate margins to be flat for the balance of this year, with some improvement next year. "Internationally, we expect this quarter's results to represent the bottom, although the $16 million reduction in operating income relative to what consensus implies was much deeper than we previously expected. This was due to lower activity, project deferrals and contract execution delays in numerous venues, the most significant being in Mexico and Saudi Arabia, followed by Algeria. The reductions in these three areas, partially offset by improved results in other areas, yields a reduction in forecasted 2010 operating income of $50-$60 million."
16:21
GSK GlaxoSmithKline: Genmab A/S reached a milestone for Arzerra under the terms of its collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (39.43 +0.05)
Genmab A/S reached a milestone for Arzerra (ofatumumab) under the terms of its collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). A milestone payment of ~$16 million was triggered by the European Commission's granting of a conditional marketing authorization for ofatumumab for the treatment of refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
16:21
FLS Flowserve receives valve orders from China Nuclear Power Engineering (115.02 +0.21)
The co announces a multimillion-dollar order from China Nuclear Power Engineering Co. for main steam isolation valves (MSIVs) and main feedwater isolation valves (MFIVs) and feedwater motor-operated valves. The order was booked in the fourth quarter of 2009. The valves were purchased for use at Taishan Units 1 and 2, Chinese EPR (CEPR) pressurized water reactors that are currently under construction in Guangdong Province, China and scheduled for commercial operation in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
16:21
ALTR Altera beats by $0.10, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs above consensus (26.75 +0.68)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.50 per share, $0.10 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.40; revenues rose 52.0% year/year to $402.3 mln vs the $396.7 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees Q2 sequential revs growth of 8-12%, which calculates to ~$434.5-450.6 mln vs. $400.80 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:21
DRYS DryShips Inc. Announces $150 Million convertible senior notes offering (6.49 +0.29)
Co announced that it has commenced a public offering of $150 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes. notes. The underwriter for the offering will also have the option to purchase up to $22.5 million principal amount of additional notes solely to cover any over-allotments. The notes are being offered as additional notes under an indenture, as supplemented by a supplemental indenture, pursuant to which the company issued $460,000,000 aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes on November 25, 2009. The notes currently offered and those previously issued will be treated as a single series of debt securities under the indenture. The company intends to use the proceeds from the offering for vessel acquisitions, working capital and other general corporate purposes.
16:19
HOMB Home Bancshares beats by $0.27 (28.25 -0.20)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.56 per share, $0.27 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.29. Net interest income for the first quarter of 2010 was a quarterly record for the Company, increasing 14.2% to $24.9 million compared to $21.8 million for the first quarter of 2009. Net interest margin, on a fully taxable equivalent basis, was 4.26% in the quarter just ended compared to 3.93% in the first quarter of 2009, an increase of 33 basis points. The Company's ability to improve pricing on our deposits and hold the decline of interest rates on earning assets to a minimum allowed the Company to improve net interest margin. Non-interest expense for the first quarter of 2010 was $18.6 million compared to $19.3 million for the first quarter of 2009. Excluding the $1.1 million and $742,000 of merger and acquisition expenses for the first quarter of 2010 and 2009, respectively, non-interest expense for the first quarter of 2010 improved by $1.0 million or 5.5% when compared to the first quarter of 2009. Non-performing non-covered loans were $37.8 million as of March 31, 2010, of which $28.1 million were located in Florida. Non-performing non-covered loans as a percent of total non-covered loans were 1.93% as of March 31, 2010 compared to 2.05% as of December 31, 2009. Company's allowance for loan losses was $42.8 million at March 31, 2010, or 2.19% of total non-covered loans, compared to $43.0 million, or 2.20% of total non-covered loans, at December 31, 2009.
16:18
PNSN Penson Worldwide plans $200 mln senior second lien secured notes offering (10.40 +0.03)
16:17
SGMS Scientific Games awarded Kentucky lottery primary instant ticket contract (14.27 -0.01)
Co announced it has been selected as the primary vendor to supply instant tickets to the Kentucky Lottery Corporation. The contract, which will begin in June 2011, has an initial term of five years and allows for extension options of up to ten years. Scientific Games was chosen in an open and competitive procurement process and revenue to Scientific Games will be based on a percentage of retail sales.
16:16
SYK Stryker beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides FY10 EPS in-line (57.48 +0.96)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.80 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.78; revenues rose 12.4% year/year to $1.8 bln vs the $1.75 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $3.20-$3.30 vs. $3.27 Thomson Reuters consensus. If foreign currency exchange rates hold near current levels, the co anticipates net sales will be favorably impacted by approximately 1% to 2% in the second quarter of 2010 and by approximately 0.5% to 1.5% for the full year of 2010. Orthopaedic implants sales increased 6.4% on a constant currency basis, while MedSurg equipment sales increased 12.2% on a constant currency basis.
16:14
CSII Cardiovascular Systems announced that it has established a $25 mln credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank and up to $4 million in convertible debt with Partners for Growth (5.33 -0.05)
16:13
OFG Oriental Fincl Grp misses by $0.10 (15.86 +0.54)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.41 per share, $0.10 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.51. "We continued to perform well in a very challenging environment from both a financial and credit point of view... Oriental produced solid results, and our stockholders' equity increased $134 million from December 31, 2009, due to our recent capital raise, net income for the quarter, and an improvement in the fair value of our investment securities portfolio... Oriental's niche market approach to the integrated delivery of services to mid and high net worth clients continued to perform well as the Group expanded market share based on its service proposition and capital strength, as opposed to using interest rates to attract loans or deposits... As a result of our capital raise and performance this quarter, we are well positioned for growth in the Puerto Rico banking market."
16:12
SPF Standard Pacific announces proposed offering of $200 mln of senior notes due 2018 (5.38 +0.14) -Update-
The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to purchase through a tender offer any and all of the Company's outstanding 2013 notes and to redeem any such notes that are not validly tendered and accepted for payment in the tender offer, with any remaining proceeds to be used to repay approximately $73.2 million of the Company's outstanding intercompany indebtedness.
16:11
CPTS Conceptus reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; reaffirms FY10 EPS and revenue guidance
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.08 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.08); revenues rose 22.8% year/year to $33.4 mln vs the $33.9 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.00-0.03 vs. $0.08 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $39.5-41 mln vs. $41.16 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $0.50-0.55 vs. $0.53 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $160-165 mln vs. $162.30 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:11
PVH Phillips-Van Heusen announces offerings of 4.5 mln shares of common stock and senior notes to finance acquisition of Tommy Hilfiger and repurchase outstanding notes (62.43 -0.41)
The co announces that it is commencing an offering of 4,500,000 shares of common stock (plus an additional 675,000 shares of common stock pursuant to a 30-day option granted to the underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any). In addition, the company announced today that it is commencing an offering of $525.0 million of senior unsecured notes due 2020. Both offerings are being made pursuant to the company's automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 20, 2010 and pursuant to separate preliminary prospectus supplements, each of which will also be filed with the SEC.
16:09
VMW VMware beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs above consensus; guides FY10 revs above consensus (56.52 +0.96)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.32 per share, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.28; revenues rose 34.7% year/year to $633.5 mln vs the $592.5 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $635-665 mln vs. $607.65 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees FY10 revs of $2.625-2.725 bln vs. $2.53 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:08
GILD Gilead Sciences beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line (45.07 -0.67)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.99 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.96; revenues rose 36.3% year/year to $2.08 bln vs the $2.07 bln consensus. Drug sales: Truvada $657.8 mln vs. $680 mln consensus; Atripla $692.9 mln vs. $720 mln consensus; Viread $180.7 mln vs. $169 mln consensus; Ambisome $77.0 mln vs. $74 mln consensus.
16:08
SUPX Supertex raises Q4 rev guidance to $20.3-20.7 mln vs $18.51 mln Thomson Reuters consensus (28.95 +0.08)
Gross margin may be slightly lower than the third fiscal quarter because substantial amounts of higher cost inventory built during previous periods of lower wafer fab capacity utilization were sold during the fourth quarter. The Company would expect improvement in gross margin corresponding to the significantly increased wafer fab capacity utilization in the fourth fiscal quarter to be realized in future quarters. (Gross margin was 47.9% in Q3; consensus calls for 49.0% in Q4)
16:08
TPX Tempur-Pedic beats by $0.13, beats on revs; guides FY10 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (31.24 +0.62)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.44 per share, $0.13 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.31; revenues rose 43.4% year/year to $253.9 mln vs the $224.4 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.70-1.85 vs. $1.55 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $1.02-1.06 bln vs. $983.39 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co also says "In addition to our increased financial guidance for 2010 we believe we are well positioned for substantial growth in sales, earnings and cash flow, with limited capital expenditures, over the next several years. After considerable evaluation of our capital structure, we continue to view share repurchases as an excellent means to return value to shareholders over the long term."
16:08
JNPR Juniper Networks beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (31.45 +0.27)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.27 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.26; revenues rose 19.4% year/year to $912.6 mln vs the $906.1 mln consensus. JNPR's operating margin for the first quarter of 2010 increased to 17.6% on a GAAP basis from 10.6% in the same quarter a year ago. Non-GAAP operating margin for the first quarter of 2010 increased to 23.2% from 16.4% in the same quarter a year ago.
16:07
WCN Waste Connections beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (35.17 +0.44)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.35 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.34; revenues rose 17.1% year/year to $307.5 mln vs the $304.9 mln consensus. "We are extremely pleased with our results in the quarter as we once again exceeded the upper end of our expectations. Positive organic growth, strong recycled commodity prices, and acquisitions completed since the year-ago period contributed to 20+% increases in both adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization and earnings per share. We're encouraged by improving volume trends throughout the quarter and continue to believe that organic volume growth could turn positive by the third quarter".
16:06
MGI MoneyGram makes $30 mln debt prepayment on its tranch B loan (3.41 +0.11) -Update-
16:05
CREE Cree beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides JunQ above consensus (82.17 +2.10)
Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $0.47 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.44; revenues rose 78.5% year/year to $234.1 mln vs the $223.5 mln consensus. CREE reports non-GAAP gross margin of 48.1% vs the 47.1% consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q4 (Jun), sees EPS of $0.48-0.51, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.47 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q4 revs of $255-265 mln vs. $241.8 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:05
OKS ONEOK Partners increases quarterly distribution to $1.11/ from $1.10/share (64.90 +0.69)
16:05
TSS Total System beats by $0.03, beats on revs; raised FY10 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus; co announced new stock repurchase plan (16.42 +0.14)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.26 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.23; revenues rose 1.6% year/year to $415.4 mln vs the $407.2 mln consensus. Co raised guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $0.96-0.98 vs. $0.95 Thomson Reuters consensus, up from $0.95-0.97; raised FY10 revs to $1.71-1.75 bln vs. $1.63 bln Thomson Reuters consensus, up from $1.62-1.65 bln. TSYS also announced today a new stock repurchase plan to purchase up to 10 million shares of TSYS stock.
16:04
MRTN Marten Transport beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line (20.72 -0.33)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.18 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.15; revenues rose 3.2% year/year to $125.8 mln vs the $125.7 mln consensus. Co states, "As evidence of the success of our multi-faceted business model, our logistics revenue, net of intermodal fuel surcharges, grew to $27.6 million in the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 21.7% from $22.7 million for the 2009 quarter. Logistics revenue consists of revenue from our internal brokerage and intermodal operations and revenue associated with our 45% interest in MW Logistics, LLC, a third-party provider of logistics services..."
16:03MANH Manhattan Assoc beats by $0.15, beats on revs (27.31 +0.41)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.36 per share, $0.15 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.21; revenues rose 21.5% year/year to $73.9 mln vs the $63.1 mln consensus. "We posted strong operating results in the first quarter of 2010 and are pleased with the market's enthusiasm for the latest releases of our platform-based Supply Chain Optimization solutions."
16:02
PLXS Plexus beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (39.66 +2.229)
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.51 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.49; revenues rose 26.3% year/year to $491 mln vs the $486.4 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.54-0.60 vs. $0.54 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $520-545 mln vs. $506.81 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. "Our pace of new business wins continued at a strong level. During the second fiscal quarter we won 18 new manufacturing programs that we currently anticipate will generate approximately $137 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production over the coming quarters. Our engineering services business continued to build a healthy backlog, winning approximately $16 million of new programs during the second fiscal quarter. All new business is subject to risks around the timing and ultimate realization of the anticipated revenues."
16:02
AQQ American Spectrum Realty announces one-for-one stock dividend (19.01 -0.24)
16:01
ESLR Evergreen Solar Announces Proposed $165 Million Convertible Senior Secured Notes Offering (1.22 +0.04) -Update-
Co announced its intention to offer $165 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior secured notes due 2015, subject to market conditions and other factors. Evergreen Solar will use the net proceeds from this offering for the purchase of a portion of its outstanding 4% Convertible Senior Notes due 2013 concurrent with the closing of this offering, and intends to use the remainder of the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, working capital and capital expenditures for further expansion of its manufacturing facility in Wuhan, China.
16:00
CSIQ Canadian Solar expects PV module shipments in the first quarter of 2010 to be approximately 189 MW to 191 MW, with gross margins at 13% to 13.5%. (21.33 +0.40)
Co announced that based on selected unaudited financial results, it now expects PV module shipments in the first quarter of 2010 to be approximately 189 MW to 191 MW, with gross margins at 13% to 13.5%. This compares to prior expectations for shipments of approximately 180 MW to 190 MW and gross margin in the mid-teens. The Company expects to incur a material net foreign exchange loss for the quarter, estimated at US $18 million to US $20 million pre-tax, due to the significant depreciation of the Euro against the U.S. dollar during the quarter. "Demand for our products was very strong in Q1 and we were able to maintain our raw materials prices as well as our processing costs within the expected range for the quarter. The Euro depreciated dramatically during the quarter and we did not have adequate currency hedging to cover our Euro exposure. We have since taken actions to significantly increase our currency hedging, with approximately 85% of our expected Euro exposure for the second quarter of 2010 now protected."
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