Briefing.com: Hourly In Play (R) – 22:00 ET
Mar 30, 2010 (Briefing.com via COMTEX) -- Hourly In Play (R)
Updated: 30-Mar-10 22:00 ET
18:54
Futures are lower after hours with S&P 500 futures 0.56 points below fair value of 1169.06 and Nasdaq 100 futures 1.84 points below fair value of 1965.47
18:45
FGP Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. and Ferrellgas Partners Finance announce underwritten public offering of senior notes (22.91 +0.06) -Update-
Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Ferrellgas Partners Finance announced their intention to commence an underwritten public offering of $280 mln in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due 2020. The exact terms and timing of the offering will depend upon market conditions and other factors.
18:44
CVX Chevron wins arbitration claim against the Government of Ecuador (75.30 +0.07)
Co announced an international arbitration tribunal has ruled in favor of Chevron (CVX) in a claim against Ecuador related to past oil operations by Chevron's subsidiary, Texaco Petroleum Company. The tribunal, administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, found that Ecuador's courts violated international law through their delays in ruling on certain commercial disputes between Texaco Petroleum Company and the Ecuadorian government. Today's ruling is distinct from arbitral claims Chevron and Texaco Petroleum filed against Ecuador in 2009 in connection with the Lago Agrio litigation. In its decision, the tribunal found that Ecuador had violated the United States-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty by failing to provide effective means of asserting claims and enforcing rights. As a result, the tribunal awarded Chevron and Texaco Petroleum Company ~US$700 mln in principal damages and interest as of December 22, 2006, pending further proceedings to determine applicable taxes, compound interest, and costs.
18:43
FUL H.B. Fuller beats by $0.10, beats on revs; guides FY10 revs above consensus (23.32 -0.09)
Reports Q1 (Feb) earnings of $0.38 per share, $0.10 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.28; revenues rose 11.1% year/year to $309.4 mln vs the $295.6 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees FY10 revs growth of 9-11%, which equates to ~$1.35-1.37 bln vs. $1.3 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co said, "we are off to a great start in 2010 and we remain optimistic for the rest of the year. Our sales pipeline is expanding as the result of new wins in the market and more stable global economic conditions are leading to improved volumes with customers. We are now generating substantial positive organic growth and we are committed for this trend to continue throughout 2010 and beyond. Although raw material costs were down about 5% year-over-year in Q1, costs are set to increase ~8% year-over-year in Q2 and 6% for the full-year. Consequently, gross margin in Q2 will likely decline from the historically high level achieved in Q1 and then rebound somewhat in the third and fourth quarters.
18:42
CE Celanese announces emulsions price increases in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (32.43 +0.24)
Co announced that it will increase the price of all pure acrylic and styrene acrylic emulsions sold to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East by EUR150 per ton, effective April 1, 2010, or as contracts allow. This price increase includes all 100 percent acrylic and styrene acrylic emulsions and affects applications including, but not limited to, adhesives, paints and coatings, nonwovens and textiles.
18:41
MDZ MDS Inc announced results of its substantial issuer bid (the "Bid"), which expired at 5 p.m. (Eastern time) on March 29, 2010. (7.97 -0.03)
Co announced that based on preliminary results, MDZ will accept for purchase and cancellation 52,941,176 common shares in the capital of MDS (the "Common Shares") at a purchase price of US$8.50 per Common Share, totalling US$450 million in accordance with the terms of the Bid. These Common Shares represent 44.1% of the Common Shares currently issued and outstanding. After the repurchase, the number of Common Shares issued and outstanding will be ~ 67.2 mln. Approximately 53.1 mln Common Shares were tendered to the Bid at prices at or below the purchase price of US$8.50 per Common Share.
18:40
KRO Kronos Worldwide announces a price increase for all titanium dioxide products sold outside of North America and Europe (14.80 -0.22)
Co announced a price increase for all titanium dioxide products sold outside of North America and Europe including among other areas, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, Africa and Asia. Effective April 15, 2010, prices for all Kronos titanium dioxide products sold outside North America and Europe will be increased by a minimum of US $150 per metric ton. This increase is in addition to the increases previously announced.
18:40
FGP Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. announces 'any and all' cash tender offer for 8.75% senior notes due 2012 (22.91 +0.06)
Co announced that it has commenced a cash tender offer to purchase any and all of the outstanding 8.75% Senior Notes due 2012 issued by the Co and Ferrellgas Partners Finance Corp. (the "Notes") (CUSIP No. 31529MAA6), of which $268 mln in aggregate principal amount was outstanding as of March 30, 2010. The tender offer is made pursuant to an Offer to Purchase dated today, which sets forth a more comprehensive description of the terms of the tender offer.
18:40
CNQ Canadian Natural Resources Limited announces horizon oil sands production (72.47 +0.47)
Co announces monthly production of Synthetic Crude Oil ("SCO") at the Horizon Oil Sands as follows: January 2010 actual is 72,719, February actual is 84,217 and March 2010 forecast of 100,000 to 105,000. The Company continues to target reliable production of 110,000 barrels per day of SCO at the Horizon Oil Sands by the middle of 2010.
17:18
Attention: The In Play service will be down from approximately 5:15 to 6:00 ET in order to implement a software upgrade
17:07
HON Honeywell raises Q1 EPS guidance above consensus; raises FY10 EPS (44.95 +0.08)
Co raises Q1 EPS guidance to $0.45-0.49 vs. $0.44 Thomson Reuters consensus, up from prior guidance of $0.40-0.45. The co also expects to record a one-time, non-cash charge of ~$13 mln after tax in the first quarter of 2010, resulting from the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including modifications made in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. The better than anticipated outlook reflects both stronger orders and sales in several short cycle end markets, including Honeywell's Turbo Technologies and select Automation and Controls Solutions Products businesses, as well as continued execution of strong cost controls. Co said, "We continue to see signs of recovery throughout our portfolio and are encouraged by improving customer order trends in Q1. The strong productivity actions taken last year are continuing to benefit the company, and along with improving economic conditions, the co now expects its earnings to be near the high-end of its full-year guidance range of $2.20-2.40 vs. $2.40 consensus.
17:06
ATSG Air Transport Services Group announces new long-term aircraft and operating agreements with DHL (2.31 +0.07)
Co announced the execution of new long-term agreements under which the subsidiaries of ATSG will continue providing aircraft and operating support to the U.S. portion of DHL's international logistics network. The principal operating agreements are: -- A new five-year Air Transportation Services Agreement between its subsidiary, ABX Air, and DHL, which specifies the terms under which ABX will continue providing 767 aircraft operating support to the U.S. portion of DHL's international logistics network on a primarily fixed-price, rather than cost-plus basis. The agreement covers Crew, aircraft Maintenance and Insurance (CMI) services necessary to initially operate thirteen scheduled Boeing 767 aircraft in DHL's domestic cargo network through March 2015, with an option for the parties to extend the agreement through March 2020. -- Seven-year lease agreements between DHL and Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM), ATSG's aircraft leasing subsidiary, covering thirteen Boeing 767 freighter aircraft, including four aircraft on which DHL held an option to lease under an agreement struck in June 2009. Seven of the thirteen leases are anticipated to become effective in April 2010, with all thirteen targeted to be in place by April 2011, predicated on the conversion schedule for standard 767 freighter door modifications currently underway. ABX Air will provide interim 767 freighter aircraft under similar economic terms as required by DHL until such time as all freighter door modifications are completed.
17:04
LINC Lincoln Educational Services announces public equity offering of 3.0 mln shares by a selling stockholder (26.07 -0.31)
17:02
BLL Ball announced that its joint venture metal can plant near Rio de Janeiro, will start up a second production line early in Q1 FY11 (53.45 -0.60)
17:01
HON now expect our earnings to be near the high-end of our full-year guidance range of $2.20 - 2.40 vs. $2.40 consensus
17:01
HON Raises First Quarter Earnings Per Share Guidance To $0.45 - 0.49 vs. $0.44 consensus
17:00
AIG American Intl: ILFC announces pricing of additional 8.625% senior notes due September 2015 and additional 8.750% senior notes due March 2017 (34.19 -0.26) -Update-
International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), announced that it has priced, and entered into an agreement to issue and sell, subject to certain conditions, an additional $250 million aggregate principal amount of 8.625% Senior Notes due 2015 (the "2015 Notes") and an additional $500 million aggregate principal amount of 8.750% Senior Notes due 2017 (the "2017 Notes" and together with the 2015 Notes, the "Notes") in a private placement pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
17:00
FEIC FEI files suit to collect ~$2.4 mln of receivables owed by Cambridge Global Systems (23.12 +0.33) -Update-
Co announced that it has filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to collect approximately $2.4 mln of receivables owed to FEIC by Cambridge Global Systems of Chantilly, VA. Cambridge Global Systems, a subsidiary of Cambridge Systems, purchased three systems from FEIC on behalf of a U.S. Federal agency and a prime contractor through a set-aside program. FEIC has delivered the systems to its end-user customers. The government agency and its contractors have paid Cambridge Global Systems, but Cambridge has not paid FEIC. FEIC expects to increase its reserve for uncollectible receivables for the full amount of the Cambridge receivable in its first quarter, which ends on April 4, 2010.
16:59
ISBC Investors Bancorp to acquire ~$575 mln in deposits and 17 Millennium Bank branches in New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts (13.11 -0.21)
Co announced that Investors Savings Bank ("Investors"), its wholly-owned subsidiary, has signed a Purchase and Assumption Agreement with Millennium bcpbank to acquire ~$575 mln of deposits and seventeen branch offices in New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts for a deposit premium of 0.11%. Under the purchase and assumption agreement the parties intend to enter into a Loan Purchase Agreement in which Investors will purchase a portion of Millennium's performing loan portfolio. Also under the Purchase and Assumption Agreement the parties will negotiate a Loan Servicing Agreement for Investors to service those loans it does not purchase. This transaction has received approvals from the boards of directors of both companies, and remains subject to regulatory approval. The acquisition is expected to close during the quarter ending September 2010.
16:36
TISI Team misses by $0.04, misses on revs; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (16.76 +0.22)
Reports Q3 (Feb) earnings of $0.06 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.10; revenues fell 0.2% year/year to $104.1 mln vs the $105.8 mln consensus. Co reaffirms in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $0.80-0.90, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.87 Thomson Reuters consensus; reaffirms FY10 revs of $450-460 mln vs. $459.10 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co said, "Due to the continuing profit pressures facing our customers, it remains a challenging market environment. We remain confident that as spending rates return to normal levels, we are well-positioned to continue our long-term business growth. As previously reported, the Audit Committee has been conducting an independent investigation regarding possible violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The independent investigators reported their findings to the Audit Committee in March 2010 and the Company expects the investigation results to be communicated to the SEC and DOJ in TISI's Q4. The independent investigation supports management's belief that any possible violations of the FCPA are limited in size and scope. The total professional costs associated with the investigation are projected to be approximately $3.0 million.
16:33
TCX Tucows surpassed "significant" milestone with 10 million domain names under management (0.75 -0.03)
16:31
CQB Chiquita Brands provides European price & volume update for Q1 2010 (16.51 +0.25) -Update-
The co announces an update on banana pricing and volume for its core European markets during the first quarter 2010. The company is providing this information on a one-time basis in response to recent unusual industry market conditions that have been experienced and reported industry wide. Additionally, the company reaffirmed its full-year 2010 target for comparable income of $110 to $120 million. For the first quarter 2010, European banana pricing, which is set weekly, has not followed the normal pace of seasonal price improvements and are approximately 11% lower than the first quarter of 2009. Pricing did not improve sequentially during the quarter at the same rate as in recent years due to soft demand throughout the company's core European markets. As previously announced, banana pricing in the company's core European markets in January was 2% lower compared to the same period in 2009 on a local currency basis. However, local currency prices in February were lower by 8% than 2009 levels and an estimated 18% lower in March. Volume was lower by approximately 13% during the quarter. "As widely reported in recent weeks, European banana pricing was negatively impacted by the harshest winter weather in 30 years and depressed economic conditions which have affected commerce all over Europe, particularly in the south," said Fernando Aguirre, chairman and chief executive officer. "We expect banana pricing to strengthen in comparison to 2009 levels as the year progresses, as tightening industry supplies in Latin America and Asia begin to restore the balance of supply and demand."
16:31
OIIM O2Micro announces that is has adopted a program to repurchase up to $10 mln worth of ADSs (6.89 +0.26)
16:31
DEPO DepoMed announces submission of New Drug Application for investigational postherpetic neuralgia treatment DM-1796 (3.58 -0.05)
Co announces that its licensee has submitted a New Drug Application for DM-1796 to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the management of postherpetic neuralgia, or pain after shingles. DM-1796 is an investigational, extended release, once-daily tablet formulation of gabapentin designed to reduce dosing frequency and have a low incidence of side effects. The application follows the completion of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 study of 452 PHN patients. The study demonstrated that DM-1796 achieved a statistically significant reduction in average daily pain score associated with PHN versus placebo using the numerical Likert pain scale.
16:28
PLBC Plumas Bancorp appoints Andrew J. Ryback to interim President and CEO of Plumas Bancorp and Plumas Bank. (2.78 +0.38)
Co announced that the employment relationship with Douglas N. Biddle has ended as of March 26, 2010. Mr. Biddle had formerly been the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer. Effective immediately, Andrew J. Ryback will be the interim President and CEO of Plumas Bancorp and Plumas Bank.
16:20
CLR Continental Resources announces pricing of $200 mln, 7 3/8% senior unsecured notes, due 2020 (41.50 +0.27)
16:16
MWE MarkWest Energy announces public offering of 4 mln common units (30.61 -0.44)
16:16
SGI Silicon Graphics announced that Skoda Auto has selected SGI Altix ICE to augment its computer-aided engineering system (10.81 -0.02)
16:12
SAI SAIC misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line; lowers rev, operating margin and earnings growth guidance (18.98 +0.07)
Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $0.31 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.32; revenues rose 6.6% year/year to $2.68 bln vs the $2.69 bln consensus. Co lowers FY11 rev growth guidance to 3-6%, vs. the prior guidance to the low end of its long term goal of 6-9%; consensus is for FY11 rev growth of 6.1%. Co also lowered operating margin guidance to improvement of 10-20 bps from 20-30 bps, and EPS growth to 8-14% from 11-18%... "In December 2009, the company provided initial guidance for fiscal year 2011, which was internal revenue growth at the low end of the company's long term goal of 6 percent to 9 percent, operating margin improvement of 20 to 30 basis points, and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations growth at the low end of the company's long term goal of 11 percent to 18 percent. For fiscal year 2011, the company is now expecting internal revenue growth in the 3 percent to 6 percent range, operating margin improvement of 10 to 20 basis points, and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations growth in the 8 percent to 14 percent range. These operating margin and diluted earnings per share expectations exclude the charges from the previously announced expiration of the Scottish Power IT outsourcing contract, currently estimated to be in the range of $20 to $30 million. "The slower than anticipated pace of new contract awards, coupled with the tougher government contracting environment warrants an update to our previous expectations for fiscal year 2011... While there is substantial growth in submitted proposals awaiting decision over last year, the timing of decisions is uncertain. However, our contract win rates remain strong, and we believe our capabilities and investment focus on the higher growth areas position us well for the future."
16:10
IMMR Immersion Corp: CAE Healthcare acquires Immersion medical simulation product lines and licenses TouchSense technology (4.49 +0.14)
CAE and IMMR announce that CAE Healthcare has acquired part of Immersion's medical simulation business unit. Three product lines are part of the acquisition and will form the core offerings of CAE Healthcare's newly established surgical simulation division. The acquisition of Immersion's assets supports CAE Healthcare's strategy to provide a full range of best-in-class medical education and simulation solutions across a worldwide market. The agreement includes Immersion's Endoscopy AccuTouch, Laparoscopy Virtual Reality (VR), and Endovascular CathLab VR simulators. These surgical simulators allow surgeons to practice procedures and acquire skills to perform minimally invasive surgeries, including bronchoscopies, upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopies and cardiac valve replacements. More than 500 of these systems have been installed worldwide. In addition, Immersion will grant CAE Healthcare a non-exclusive worldwide license for the TouchSenseTM haptic technology in medical training applications... The medical business unit includes more than 30 employees in North America, a network of surgical subject matter experts, as well as 14 distributors and sales offices in Europe, Asia Pacific and South America.
16:09
HHGP Hudson Highland Grp announces 4.2 mln common share stock offering (4.81 +0.03)
16:08
LNDC Landec misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line; lowers FY10 revenue guidance (7.08 -0.10)
Reports Q3 (Feb) earnings of $0.07 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.08; revenues rose 7.8% year/year to $58.1 mln vs the $57.6 mln consensus. Co said, "According to syndicated market data, the overall industry unit volume sales in the fresh-cut vegetable category increased 7% during the nine months ended February 28, 2010 compared to the same period a year ago. For Apio, unit volume sales in the fresh-cut vegetable category for the same nine months ended February 28, 2010 increased 21% compared to the same period last year. We believe that industry unit volume sales in the fresh-cut vegetable category will continue to grow during the next year as long as the economy continues to improve and consumers return to buying fresh, nutritious and conveniently packaged produce products." Co says, despite several non-recurring items in FY09 that are outlined below, our initial guidance was that both revenues and net income are projected to be flat to slightly higher in fiscal year 2010 compared to fiscal year 2009. At this point in time, because of the significant decrease in revenues from Apio's lower margin trading business during the first half of fiscal year 2010, we now expect revenues to be flat to slightly lower than last year and we expect net income to be approximately the same as last year. Co said, "Despite (1) the non-recurring revenues and income in FY09, (2) the lower than expected export revenues during the first nine months of fiscal year 2010, (3) adverse weather in California and Florida in March 2010, and (4) the lower interest income during the first nine months of fiscal year 2010, we believe we can achieve flat to slightly lower revenues and approximately the same net income compared to last year based on the following: a) We expect the fresh-cut vegetable category to continue to grow and we expect to exceed the category growth by continuing to gain market share."
16:07
HCN Health Care REIT prices offering of $300 million of 6.125% senior unsecured notes due 2020 (45.71 -0.12)
16:06
CQB Chiquita Brands announces joint venture with Danone (16.51 +0.25)
The co announces a joint venture with Danone to market fruit beverages based on Chiquita's Just Fruit in a Bottle platform in Europe. Chiquita's partnership with Danone establishes an alliance between two companies whose values and product portfolios represent a rich legacy of bringing branded, innovative, healthy foods to consumers around the world. In only four years, Chiquita's Just Fruit in a Bottle product has become a market leading brand of fruit smoothie in Europe with distribution in 12 countries, generating approximately euro 20 million of sales in 2009. The joint venture will provide Chiquita a new platform to expand its successful branded fruit beverage products in a more effective manner to achieve profitability.
16:05
SCLN SciClone Pharma announces study shows signal of delay to onset of severe OM in higher dose group (3.71 -0.09)
Co announces topline results from the company's phase 2 clinical trial of SCV-07 for the prevention of severe oral mucositis-- a painful, debilitating, and costly toxicity caused by chemoradiotherapy regimens used to treat head and neck cancer. This proof of concept study was intended to provide an estimate of SCV-07's treatment effect and guide further studies of SCV-07 in addressing this serious unmet medical need. Patients receiving the study's higher dose (0.1 mg/kg) of SCV-07 showed a trend towards delay to onset of severe OM, the study's primary endpoint. Patients in the low dose treatment arm (0.02 mg/kg) appeared to do worse than placebo, suggesting that the treatment effect is sensitive to dose. Additionally, SCV-07 was safe and well tolerated with no drug-related serious adverse events reported, indicating that there is potential to administer higher doses of SCV-07 in future clinical studies. Additional data analysis showed a more pronounced clinical benefit for patients in the high dose treatment arm when evaluating the delay to onset of ulcerative OM, an expanded measure of OM.
16:03
ZZ Sealy misses by $0.01, beats on revs (3.64 0.00)
Reports Q1 (Feb) earnings of $0.03 per share, $0.01 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.04; revenues rose 9.6% year/year to $339.6 mln vs the $330.2 mln consensus. Gross margin increased 331 basis points to 41.3% from the prior year quarter, driven by a 202 basis point gain in the Company's U.S. market.
16:02
ACAS American Capital announces extension of lock up agreement (5.05 +0.16)
Co announced today that the lenders under the Company's revolving credit agreement agreed last Friday to extend the termination event date under a Lock Up Agreement involving the credit agreement to May 31, 2010. As previously announced, the Company and each of the lenders under the credit agreement entered into the Lock Up Agreement, which, among other things, provides that the parties will support an out-of-court restructuring of the loans outstanding under the credit agreement and of the Company's private and public unsecured notes. The parties may terminate the Lock Up Agreement if certain events do not occur by the termination event date. By agreement between the Company and the administrative agent under the credit agreement, the termination event date may be extended to June 30, 2010.
16:02
PRS Primus Guaranty comments on Ambac, Monoline CDS Exposure (4.18 +0.10)
Co commented on certain aspects of the credit default swap portfolio of Primus Financial Products related to the credit event announced by International Swaps and Derivatives Association Americas Determinations Committee involving Ambac Assurance Corporation that occurred on March 25, 2010. Primus Financial has no single name CDS notional exposure that references Ambac Assurance. Primus Financial does have CDS exposure to Ambac Assurance Corporation in two of its bespoke tranche portfolios, which are not subject to first loss due to existing subordination levels. The co does not anticipate that Primus Financial will have to make cash settlement payments on its bespoke tranche transaction as a result of the Ambac Assurance Corporation credit event. Primus Financial has single name CDS and bespoke tranche exposure referencing Ambac Financial Group the holding co. Ambac Financial Group has not incurred a credit event. During the first quarter of 2010, Primus Financial reduced its single-name CDS exposure to Ambac Financial Group by $70 mln through credit mitigation transactions at a cost of $19.2 mln. At March 31, 2010, the net notional amount of the single name exposure to Ambac Financial Group is $11 mln to current counterparties. The outstanding net notional amount of single name CDS exposure that Primus Financial has with current counterparties, at March 30, 2010, on four financial guaranty cos, including Ambac Financial Group totals approximately $243 mln. Of this amount, $50 mln notional exposure is scheduled to mature in June 2010. At year-end 2009, the outstanding net notional amount of single name CDS exposure that Primus Financial had with current counterparties on four financial guaranty cos totaled approximately $329 mln.
16:02
OFC Corp Office Props announces offering of $200 million of exchangeable senior notes (41.12 +0.09)
16:01
SRX SRA Intl awarded $500 million blanket purchase agreement for USDA SAP Implementation (21.33 +0.12)
16:01
LVB Steinway Musical raises $27 mln in capital (18.88 -0.20)
Co announces that, pursuant to the previously announced subscription agreement, Samick Musical Instruments Co., Ltd. has exercised its option to purchase an additional 1.7 mln shares of ordinary common stock at an exercise price of $16 per share. Steinway intends to use the proceeds to retire outstanding debt and for general corporate purposes.
15:50
FXI Late day global & sector ETF view... FXI strong & Metals & Miners weak -Technical-
The Actively Traded Leading Global & Sector ETF Plays:
China 25- FXI +1.50%, Nat gas- UNG +1.25%, Clean energy- PBW +1.0%, Base metals- DBB +0.75%, Livestock commods- COW +1.0%, Commod index- GSG +0.75%, BRIC countries- BKF +0.75%, Copper- JJC +0.50%, Semis- IGW +0.50%, XSD +0.50%, SMH +0.25%, Ag commods- DBA +0.50%, iShares Honk Kong- EWH +0.50%, Global shippers- SEA +0.50%, Pound/Sterling currency shares- FXB +0.50%, Oil HLDRS- OIH +0.50%, iShares transports- IYT +0.50%
The Actively Traded Lagging Global & Sector ETF Plays:
SPDRS metals & mining- XME -1.25%, Gold miners- GDX -1.0%, VIX vol index- VXX -0.75%, Wind energy- FAN -0.75%, Commercial banks- KBE -0.75%, Financials- XLF -0.50%, IYF -0.50%, Biotech- XBI -0.50%, IBB -0.50%, BBH -0.50%, iShares homebuilders- & construction- ITB -0.50%, Euro currency shares- FXE -0.50%, Steel- SLX -0.50%, Insurers- KIE -0.50%
15:43
Earnings Calendar
Today after the close look for the following companies to report: EXFO, FSII, FUL, LNDC, SAI, ZZ, and TISI. Tomorrow before the open look for the following companies to report: APWR, AYI, BPZ, CAGC, DG, FTK, LNN, RAD, HEAT, and UNF.
15:37
Conferences and Shareholder/Analyst Meetings of Interest
Events of interest for tomorrow, March 31, include: KAR, LKQX at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Inaugural New York Auto Summit. Fed: Fed's Lockhart, Duke.
15:30
FRME First Merchants builds tangible common equity, receives approval to exchange TARP securities with U.S. Treasury (6.43 +0.05)
Co announced that it has completed a registered direct private placement of common equity totaling 4.2 mln shares raising $24.1 mln. The equity offering is a continuation of the Corporation's capital plan as discussed in its 2009 quarterly conference calls. Management and the Board believe the actions completed under this plan will prove to be the least dilutive path to an improved capital mix. The Corporation announced on form 8-K filed on March 25, 2010 that it received a response from the United States Department of the Treasury expressing its willingness to consent to management's proposed exchange of up to $58 million of the company's cumulative perpetual preferred stock for trust preferred securities. Upon completion of the exchange with the Treasury, expected early in the second quarter of 2010, First Merchants anticipates recording a gain between $10 million to $14 million.
15:28
SMH Semiconductors Hldrs Trust displays relative strength in recent trade amid AMAT +1% run (28.07 +0.12) -Technical-
NVLS +0.8%, ALTR +1.2%, KLAC +1%, LLTC +0.5%.
15:26
MCK Volume Alert: McKesson breaks to fresh highs on a pick up in volume as it lifts up into its Mar range/52-wk high of 65.66 (65.80 +0.64) -Technical-
Stock up over 0.60 cents during the past 10 mins.
15:25
AMAT Applied Materials details plans for growth at analyst meeting, expects FY10 net sales more than 60% higher than FY09 (13.37 +0.06) -Update-
Co today held an analyst meeting to outline its plans for growing revenue and profitability over the next several years. Applied's executive team shared the company's goals of capitalizing on an expected multi-year expansion in the semiconductor industry, increasing market share across its businesses, and driving operational improvements. Applied is seeing growth in demand across a number of its businesses, and the company now expects fiscal 2010 net sales to be more than 60% higher than in fiscal 2009 - compared to its previous forecast of up more than 50%. Sees revs growth of more than 60% (calc to $8.02 bln vs $8.29 bln Thomson Reuters consensus)
15:01
COMDX CBOT Agriculture and Ethanol and ICE Exchange Sugar Closing Prices -Update-
May corn closed lower by 2.5 cents to $3.545 per bushel, May soybeans closed higher by 6.5 cents at $9.74 per bushel, May wheat closed 7.25 cents higher at $4.72 per bushel, May ethanol closed lower by $0.008 cents at $1.582, July world sugar futures closed 0.39 cents higher to 17.77 cents. Note: The USDA will release its annual prospective planting report and quarterly grain stocks report tomorrow at 8:30am ET, which will likely provide significant volatility in agriculture futures tomorrow
14:59
SPY Stock indices extend rebound slightly above midday highs -- Dow +15, S&P +1, Nasdaq +5.6 -Update- -Technical-
Relative sector strength on this move (outperforming the S&P) has been noted in Semi SMH, Housing XHB, Finance XLF / RKH, Airline, Solar TAN, Steel SLX, Ag/Chem MOO, REITs IYR.
14:57
FSLR NASDAQ 100 (NDX) leaders & laggards approaching today's final hour of trading... FSLR strong & STX weak -Technical-
NDX 100 Best % Performers:
FSLR +2.50%, URBN +1.75%, LINTA +1.75%, AAPL +1.50%, CMCSA +1.50%, HSIC +1.50%, AMZN +1.25%, MRVL +1.25%, ATVI +1.25%, VOD +1.0%
NDX 100 Worst % Performers:
STX -3.75%, GRMN -3.25%, CEPH -2.75%, GENZ -1.50%, BIIB -1.50%, APOL -1.25%, RIMM -1.25%, INFY -1.25%, WCRX -1.0%, MYL -1.0%, GILD -0.75%, VRTX -0.75%
NASDAQ TRIN @ +1.10
NASDAQ A/D @ +250
14:56
XRM Xerium Tech: Moody's downgrades Xerium's PDR to D (0.74 +0.12) -Update-
14:54
MMM Dow 30 (INDU) leaders & laggards approaching today's final hour of trading... MMM strong & T weak -Technical-
INDU 30 Best % Performers:
MMM +3.50%, VZ +3.0%, MCD +0.50%, CSCO +0.50%, MSFT +0.50%, HD +0.50%
INDU 30 Worst % Performers:
T -2.0%, TRV -1.50%, BAC -1.0%, MRK -0.75%, BA -0.75%, DIS -0.50%
NYSE TRIN @ +1.35
NYSE A/D @ +130
14:38
COMDX NYMEX Energy Closing Prices
May crude oil settled higher by 20 cents to $82.37, May nat gas closed up 5.9 cents to $3.975, April heating oil gained 0.64 cents to end at $2.1252 and April RBOB gasoline finished higher by 1.38 cents to $2.2751.
14:35
AWK American Water unit, California American Water and Monterey County Public Agencies propose agreement to build a regional water project (21.46 +0.03)
American Water unit, California American Water joined the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, Marina Coast Water District to announce a tentative agreement had been reached to develop a regional water supply project proposed for the Monterey Bay area. The project -- a combination of desalination and underground storage of winter river flows. The key project component will be a 10-mln-gallon-per-day desalination facility located in North Marina and owned by Marina Coast Water District. California American Water will purchase water from the project and will build and own a 10-mile pipeline to deliver water from Marina to its customers on the Monterey Peninsula. California American Water will also construct additional storage facilities required to operate the project as well as infrastructure needed to expand its Aquifer Storage and Recovery program, which captures excess winter flows from the Carmel River and stores them in the Seaside groundwater basin for withdrawal in the dry season. The total cost for the wells, desalination facility, the pipeline and water storage components is estimated between $280 and $390 mln.
14:29
STON StoneMor Partners L.P announces signing an agreement to acquire nine cemeteries in Michigan for $14 mln in cash (19.14 +0.20)
Co announced that it had acquired nine cemeteries in Michigan for an aggregate price of ~$14.0 mln in cash, subject to various post-closing adjustments. The acquisition of these properties is consistent with StoneMor's growth strategy and provides for further utilization of its national operating platform. In conjunction with this transaction, StoneMor will receive control of cemetery merchandise and service trusts of ~$45.0 mln, and perpetual care trusts of approximately $15.0 mln. The merchandise and service liability costs assumed at current cost are ~$16.0 mln. These properties are expected to contribute approximately $9.0 mln to the value of contracts written and $13.0 mln in production-based revenue during their first year of operation. Although there is no assurance of future performance or increased distributions to unit holders, historically, StoneMor has been able to improve revenues and operating profits of acquired properties, and StoneMor's prior acquisitions have contributed to increases in distributions to its unit holders.
14:27
MGI MoneyGram adds 160 Bank Asya locations in Turkey (3.50 -0.01)
Co announced that it has added Bank Asya, a financial institution in Turkey, to its growing agent network to provide MoneyGram money transfer services at 160 branch locations in Turkey.
13:47
WPCS WPCS Intl receives $7.9 mln in new contracts (3.20 +0.11)
Co announced that it has received approximately $7.9 mln in new contracts. The new contracts include projects to be completed for University of California Davis, Kaiser Permanente, State of California, Walsh Construction, NSTAR, The New Britain Transportation Company, The Valley Group, Longmeadow Police Department, University of Connecticut, LGC Wireless, ImClone Systems, Pitney Bowes, Clearwire, Scappoose High School, Acciona North America, Hamilton Township and the City of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The co also received several new international projects including a project for China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau and Rockhampton Regional Council in Queensland, Australia.
13:39
GENZ Genzyme creates COO position and has appointed Executive Vice President David Meeker to this position (51.95 -1.03)
13:33
SPY S&P -1.8 slips back off intraday resistance -Update- -Technical-
Noted intraday resistance in the 1173.50 area in the 11:18 update with follow through above needed to neutralize the weaker pattern off the high. It struggled to push through and after hitting 1173.50 at 12:55 it began to pull back. Reports that Greek auction dealers backed off (see 12:57 update) coincided with the retreat. The 62% retrace of the rally off the low at 1170.67 has held thus far. Intraday now initially watching 1172 in front of the bounce high for a read on the intraday health.
13:32
COMDX COMEX Metals Closing Prices
April gold ended the session lower by $5.70 to $1104.60, May silver closed off 5.7 cents to $17.33, while May copper finished higher by 2.8 cents to $3.5635.
13:08
USGS reports 6.9 magnitude quake in Andaman Islands, India region
13:00
HDNG Hardinge advises shareholders to defer taking any action in response to Romi tender offer (9.05 +0.05) -Update-
Co advised its shareholders to defer taking any action in response to a tender offer by Industrias Romi S.A. offering to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hardinge for $8.00 per share in cash. On February 18, 2010, Hardinge's Board rejected Romi's proposal at the same price. Board will review the tender offer and make a recommendation to shareholders within 10 business days. Co will send to its shareholders a solicitation/recommendation statement describing the reasons for the Board's position and recommendation. Shareholders are urged to read the solicitation/recommendation statement when it becomes available because it will contain important information. Jefferies & Company, Inc. is acting as financial advisor to Hardinge and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is providing legal advice.
12:45
FXI Midday global & Sector ETF view... China 25 strong & Gold Miners weak -Technical-
The Actively Traded Leading Global & Sector ETF Plays:
China 25- FXI +1.50%, base metals- DBB +0.75%, BRIC countries- BKF +0.75%, iShares Brazil- EWZ +0.75%, Livestock commods- COW +0.75%, Pound/Sterling currency shares- FXB +0.50%, Copper- JJC +0.50%. Commod index- GSG +0.50%, Global shippers- SEA +0.50%, iShares Latin America fund- ILF +0.50%, iShares Hong Kong- EWH +0.50%, Oil HLDRS- OIH +0.50%
The Actively Traded Lagging Global & Sector ETF Plays:
Gold miners- GDX -1.0%, Wind energy- FAN -1.0%, SPDRS metals & mining- XME -0.75%, Solar power- TAN -0.75%, Russia- RSX -0.75%, Commercial banks- KBE -0.50%, Capital mkts- KCE -0.50%, India- INP -0.50%, Gold- GLD -0.50%, Biotech- IBB -0.50%, XBI -0.50%, BBH -0.50%, Financials- XLF -0.50%, IYF -0.50%, Casinos- BJK -0.50%
12:41
SEA Have seen some relative strength in Shipping in recent trade -- GNK +4.3%, DSX +3.3%, NM +2.15, EGLE +1.8%, EXP +1.6% -Technical-
12:40
SCANX Stocks making new 52-week highs/lows -Technical-
New highs (306) outpace new lows (69): New 52-week highs trading over 1 mln (average daily volume) include: Apparel (COH, CROX, ZQK), Commercial Services (G, RISK, SCI), Electric (D, NU, PNW), Electronics (BELM, IMAX, TMO, WAT), Food (SFD, SYY, TSN), Insurance (AIZ, AON, PRU, TRV), Lodging (HOT, MAR, WYN), Media (COMCSA, LBTYA, SVMI, TWC, TWX), Mining (TCK, TIE, VALE), Pharmaceuticals (BVF, CAH, MJN, PRGO), Restaurants (CAKE, DENN, MCD) and Telecomm (AMX, ARUN, JNPR)... 52-week lows trading over 1 mln (average daily volume) include: AONE, MDVN
12:09
SPY Stock indices off lows Dow +2.1, S&P -1.2, Nasdaq -0.9 -Update- -Technical-
Relative sector strength on the intraday push off the lows has been noted in Energy XLE / OIH, Retail XRT, Semi SMH, REITs IYR, Shipping SEA, Casino, Solar TAN, Steel SLX, Ag/Chem, Restaurant. As mentioned earlier, watching intraday resistance for the S&P near 1173 for a read on the underlying strength of the market today.
12:05
SO Southern Co subsidiary signed a long-term contract with Waste Management (33.12 -0.22)
Georgia Power recently signed a long-term contract with Waste Management (WM) that will produce electricity from landfill gas. This contract will take effect after Georgia Public Service Commission approval. Georgia Power and Waste Management Renewable Energy entered into a 10-year deal for electricity that will be generated from everyday household trash. The power will come from Waste Management's new energy-generating facility at its Superior Landfill and Recycling Center in Savannah, Ga.
11:55
SPY Trading volume analysis through 2 hours-- NYSE lighter, NASDAQ heavier as markets post slight declines moving towards month end -Technical-
NYSE & NASDAQ total exchange trading volume are diverging at this point in today's session with NYSE running at a lesser clip vs. Monday's tally while NASDAQ paces at a heavier pace at this point. We have mixed market action thus far, with the indices trading from high to low and price now back to the middle of the day's trading range. The much heavier volume on the NASDAQ signals some fund & institutional community activity centering in on tech. names & issues as they close the books on the month & the quarter tomorrow.
As of 11:30a.m. ET, nearly 321M shares have changed hands on NYSE vs. 352M yesterday, an decrease of -9.0%, while over on NASDAQ, 845.5M shares have turned over vs. 717.5B yesterday, an increase of nearly +17.0%.
NYSE 60 min volume chart
NASDAQ 60 min volume chart
11:54
European Markets Closing Prices: FTSE: 5672.3 -38.3 -0.7%, DAX: 6142.5 -14.4 -0.2%, CAC: 3987.4 -13.3 -0.3%, Spain's IBEX: -1.0%, Portugal's PSI: -0.2%
11:29
SCANX Today's biggest point gainers/losers -Technical-
Biggest point gainers: MA (252.29 +4.28), Y (298.80 +18.36)
Biggest point losers: BIDU (600.17 -3.33), ISRG (344.07 -3.72)
11:26
COMDX Continued move higher in dollar index, coupled with sell off in the equity markets, pushes crude oil to new lows
Currently off 29 cents to $81.88.
11:22
XLF Financial Select Sector SPDR vacillating near short term range low at 15.91 after minor breach -- session low 15.89 (15.90 -0.12) -Technical-
Initial support below is in the 15.80/15.72 area.
11:18
SPY S&P 500 cuts the Fri-Tues rally in half and stabilizes -Update- -Technical-
The 50% retracement of this run is at 1169.66 and the session low is 1169.72. Intraday need to see a push back through the 1173.50 area to neutralize the weaker pattern off the morning high (1177.83). Initial support below is at 1167.
11:12
Rumor Round Up
Today continued the recent trend of heavy rumor activity. Intrepid Potash (IPI 30.27 +1.32) shares saw early strength following renewed takeover chatter. Ultra Petroleum (UPL 46.97 +0.33) shares rose renewed takeover chatter circulated. This time the speculated acquirer was Anadarko Petroleum (APC 71.96 +0.43). It was rumored that IBM (IBM 128.46 -0.13) could be interested in Novell (NOVL 5.80). NOVL shares did not react to the rumor. As mentioned before, while many rumors circulate during the day, and the validity of the source of these rumors can be questionable, the speculation may increase volatility in the near term.
11:05
SPY Follow through slippage noted with the stock indices sliding to new session lows amid an intraday pickup in volume -- Dow -6.5, S&P -1.8, Nasdaq -2 -Update- -Technical-
Sectors underperforming the S&P on this move include: Semi SMH, Materials XLB, Finance XLF / RKH, Steel SLX, Gold Miners GDX, Solar TAN.
11:02
GS Goldman Sachs slips to new session low of 171.92 (172.02 -2.02) -Update- -Technical-
An initial support zone below is at 171.64/171.40 which marks Monday's low and its 20-Day ema. A secondary area is near 170/169.90.
10:49
TECHX Relative Weakness -Update- -Technical-
Minor new session low for Finance XLF and Semi SMH in recent trade.
10:49
LO Lorillard issues statement regarding FDA panel public meeting; no differing health risk between menthol and non-menthol products (74.81 -0.07)
Co issued statement regarding the FDA's Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee which is holding its first public meeting this week. "The FDA's scientific advisory committee will be looking at many aspects of regulation but one major challenge will be for committee members to remain focused on an objective analysis of the science surrounding menthol... the science is clear and compelling that there is no differing health risk between menthol and non-menthol products. With respect to public health, using the best methods available to science, it is clear a menthol cigarette is just another cigarette and should be treated no differently."
10:44
GOL GOL Linhas Areas Inteligentes S.A. announces additional information regarding its financial estimates (12.23 +0.17)
Co reports that its SMILES program clients seeing growth of current client base of 6.7 mln to 9.1 mln participants by the end of 2010 (about a 35% increase compared to February 2010 and a 40% increase compared to the 6.5 mln participants in December 2009). Co sees expansion of ancillary revenue to represent up to 20% of net revenue in 2011, considering its financial revenues, due to the expansion of the VoeFacil program, focus on cargo services, Buy on Board, and other products to be launched by GOL and its commercial partners, which will explore its e-commerce platform.
10:40
HUGH Hughes Communications wins statewide broadband services contract in Virginia (27.37 -0.19)
Co announced that it has been awarded a contract by the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, allowing the company to provide satellite broadband technology to public sector entities throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. This multiple award contract is for a term of one year with four additional one-year renewal options. Under the terms of the contract (VA-021110-HNS), Hughes may provide satellite broadband technology to public sector entities located in any zip code in Virginia.
10:40
LVLT Level 3 expands Content Delivery Partner Programme in Europe, providing broadcast and content delivery services (1.58 0.00)
10:35
GDX 1st hour global & sector ETF view... China strong & Gold miners weak -Technical-
The Actively Traded Leading Global & Sector ETF Plays:
China 25- FXI +1.50%, Base metals- DBB +1.25%, Global Timber- CUT +0.75%, iShares Brazil- EWZ +0.75%, Copper- JJC +0.75%, Homebuilders & Construction- ITB +0.50%, XHB +0.75%, Pound/Sterling currency shares- FXB +0.75%, BRIC countries- BKF +0.75%, Oil HLDRS- OIH +0.75%, Casinos- BJK +0.50%, Clean energy- PBW +0.50%, iShares Telecom- IYZ +0.50%, iShares Japan- EWJ +0.50%, Food & Beverage- PBJ +0.50%
The Actively Traded Lagging Global & Sector ETF Plays:
Gold miners- DGX -0.75%, Solar power- TAN -0.50%, VIX vol index- VXX -0.50%, Biotech HLDRS- BBH -0.50%, Yen currency shares- FXY -0.50%, Russia- RSX -0.50%, India- INP -0.50%, iShares Germany- EWG -0.25%
10:35
VSR Versar awarded $7.6 mln contract by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (3.53 +0.75) -Update-
Co was awarded a five-year, $7.6 mln contract to review and evaluate pesticide product and residue chemistry data by the Office of Pesticide Programs, Health Effects Division, of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA's award of this new contract to Versar increases the total number of contracts to six currently managed by Versar's Exposure and Risk Assessment Division.
10:34
COMDX Natural gas ticks to fresh highs at $3.96; now up 3.7 cents to $3.953
10:32
PX Praxair India strengthens its association with steel authority of India Limited (82.41 +0.57)
Co has won a contract for supply of gases to the Bhilai facility of Steel Authority of India Limited, steel manufacturer and a global Praxair India will build, own and operate two cryogenic air separation units, each with a capacity of 1,250 metric tons per day. Scheduled to start up in 2012.
10:28
COMDX New highs in dollar index push gold and silver to fresh session lows
Gold now down $6.80 to $1103.50; silver is off 10.7 cents to $17.28.
10:27
FSLR 1st hour NASDAQ 100 (NDX) leaders & laggards... FSLR strong & CEPH weak -Technical-
NDX 100 Best % Performers:
FSLR +2.0%, AAPL +1.75%, AMZN +1.50%, MRVL +1.25%, HSIC +1.25%, LINTA +1.25%, QCOM +1.0%, FAST +0.75%, KLAC +0.75%, BBBY +0.75%, CMCSA +0.75%
NDX 100 Worst % Performers:
CEPH -3.75%, ENZ -2.50%, RIMM -2.25%, STX -1.50%, ILMN -1.0%, LOGI -1.0%, ADSK -1.0%, BIIB -1.0%, ORCL -1.0%, INFY -1.0%, NWSA -1.0%, GRMN -1.0%
NASDAQ TRIN @ +1.65
NASDAQ A/D @ +505
10:26
DX Dynex Capital announces TALF subscription (9.06 +0.08)
Co announced that it funded $45.8 mln in 'AAA'-rated CMBS issued in 2004 and 2005 that it purchased in March through the Term Asset Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF, program administered by the New York Federal Reserve. The co borrowed $38.0 mln for three years under the TALF program at a rate of 2.72%. With the completion of the March TALF financing, the Federal Reserve has now concluded its financing program with respect to legacy CMBS. In total, under the TALF CMBS program, the co financed $60.8 mln in 'AAA'-rated CMBS issued in 2004 and 2005 with $50.8 mln in three-year funding at a weighted average rate of 2.73% and an estimated leveraged return on invested capital of 14%.
10:24
CIIC China Infrastructure Investment retains Four Points Capital as Strategic Advisor (1.83 +0.12)
Co has retained Four Points Capital as its exclusive strategic business advisor to assist the Company with the comprehensive evaluation and further development of its strategic growth plan. This plan includes the Company's diversification from toll roads and related businesses to energy production and transportation, alternative energy materials, construction, and other infrastructure segments.
10:24
MMM 1st hour Dow 30 (INDU) leaders & laggards... MMM strength & T weakness -Technical-
INDU 30 Best % Performers:
MMM +3.0%, VZ +2.50%, UTX +0.75%, HD +0.50%, MCD +0.50%, HPQ +0.50%
INDU 30 Worst % Performers:
T -1.0%, TRV -1.0%, DIS -1.0%, BA -0.75%, MRK -0.50%, AA -0.50%
NYSE TRIN @ +1.80
NYSE A/D @ +630
10:22
SPY Stock indices drop back quickly off highs holding near yesterday's midday range -- Dow +18 slipped roughly 30 points off high, S&P +1.4, Nasdaq +4.3 -Update- -Technical-
10:16
ASEI American Science & Engineering receives $3.0 mln order from the Middle East for multiple ZBVs (75.08 +0.50)
Co announced the receipt of a $3.0 million order for a Middle Eastern government for multiple Z Backscatter Vans. Configured for harsh environments, the ZBVs will be utilized for counterterrorism applications including securing government facilities and mobile checkpoints. The order includes AS&E provided operator training, service, and warranty; and multiple Forwardscatter units.
10:09
XLB Materials SPDR sets a new session high of 34.33, hovering modestly below March range top/two month high at 34.42 (34.27 +0.23) -Technical-
FCX +2.1%, WY +2.1%, DOW +1.5%, DD +0.5%, AA 0.5%, IP +0.8%, MON +0.8%, NEM +0.8%, PX +0.7%, PPG +0.7%.
10:03
AMN Ameron Int'l: Barington Capital Group sends letter to the Chairman and CEO of Ameron; believes common stock is significantly undervalued (68.26 +0.82)
Barington Capital Group sent a letter last night to James S. Marlen, the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ameron International Corporation (NYSE: AMN). In the letter, Barington states that it believes the Company's common stock is significantly undervalued given Ameron's long list of positive attributes, and presents a variety of measures which it believes will help the Company unlock its value potential. " We believe that Ameron should be managing costs more aggressively in this difficult economic environment... We also believe that the Company needs to significantly reduce its expenditures in the area of executive compensation."
10:03
NYMX Nymox Pharma Phase 3 NX-1207 drug in development for multiple indications, successful in a series of blinded controlled multi-center U.S. clinical trials (3.80 +0.22)
Co outlined the its development program for the lead drug candidate, NX-1207, currently in Phase 3 trials in the U.S. for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The drug has been successful in a series of blinded controlled multi-center U.S. clinical trials where it has been found to produce improvements that are about double that reported for currently approved BPH drugs. Positive results from animal studies have shown the potential for the use of high dosages of NX-1207 for the focal treatment of clinically localized prostate cancer and of primary liver cancer. "The clinical trials of NX-1207 in humans to date have demonstrated an excellent safety profile for NX-1207, with no known serious drug side effects," said the co.
10:03
CMTL Comtech Telecom receives $1.4 mln movement tracking system order for RFID upgrade (32.15 +0.05)
10:02
SPY Stock indices see limited slip and recovery after data -- Dow +34, S&P +3.6, Nasdaq +11.5 -Update- -Technical-
10:01
JW.A John Wiley & Sons: Baker & Taylor signed agreement for its TextStream Digital Print Service for John Wiley & Sons (43.29 +0.41)
Baker & Taylor announced it has signed an agreement for its TextStream Digital Print Service to provide print-to-order services for publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Wiley's wide variety of backlist titles will be available for quick delivery to Baker & Taylor's worldwide network of library and retail customers.
09:57
TECHX New nine month high for the 30-yr yield -TYX- -Update- -Technical-
Steady rise off the Mid-March low led to a breakout which has been extended this morning (4.80 high). A level of technical significance above is at 4.84/4.85 which marks its 52-wk high from last June as well as its down sloping trendline off the 1994 and 2007 highs (Click for chart).
09:54
V Visa launches higher this morning on heavy volume, eyeing last week's high of 91.78 (91.38 +1.14) -Technical-
09:54
TXT Textron unit signs licensing agreement with Federal Defense Industries for Cadillac gage spares (21.85 +0.15)
Co announced a strategic license relationship with Federal Defense Industries, for the sourcing, procurement and sale of Cadillac Gage vehicle spare parts in support of Foreign Military Sale contracts. This license agreement enables Federal Defense Industries to source and supply parts directly to the United States government for the more than 3,000 Cadillac Gage vehicles that have been sold around the world. Textron acquired Cadillac Gage in 1986, merging the business with Textron Marine to form Textron Marine & Land Systems in 1994. The company successfully produced highly mobile and survivable armored vehicle platforms, such as the V-100, V-150 Commando, V-300, and Stingray(R) tank. Currently, the M1117 Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) is in active production at Textron Marine & Land Systems.
09:51
SPY Stock indices probe resistance -- Dow +23, S&P +2.2, Nasdaq +7.6 -Update- -Technical-
Noted initial resistances at 2410/2414 Nasdaq, 1174/1175 S&P and 10915/10925 Dow in The Technical Take and saw a quick test off the open. A limited pause just below has been followed by a secondary push with next resistances at 2420/2425 Nasdaq, 1178 and 1180 S&P and the 10955/10970 area for the Dow.
09:47
CHINA CDC Corp entered into an agreement with a Sichuan (3.05 0.00)
Co announced that it has entered into an agreement with a Sichuan, China-based game development studio to operate and jointly develop Mythical Legend, a 2D turn-based massive multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). Mythical Legend marks the third new local game planned for launch this year by CDC Games.
09:47
VZ Verizon gaps up to retracement and pauses (31.10 +0.65) -Update- -Technical-
Strong gap higher start on news brings the 50% retracement of the Dec/Feb decline into play at 31.22 (session high 31.25). The early Jan/breakdown point is modestly above at 31.42.
09:47
MMM 3M showing early Relative Strength as it launches higher off the opening towards its mid-March peak near 84.00 (83.27 +1.91) -Technical-
09:44
ECONX Reminder: Consumer Confidence data due out in about 16 min at 10:00ET
09:43
TECHX Opening Point Gainers/Losers -Technical-
Point Gainers: AAPL (+4.23), MA (+3.40), DHR (+2.62), ENCO (+2.39), MMM (+1.86), WEDC (+1.49), CRM (+1.32), FSLR (+1.31), HNR (+0.79), LLEN (+0.74), CAST (+0.72)
Point Losers: OXM (-2.26), GNVC (-2.03), CNQR (-1.80), CEPH (-2.01), RIMM (-1.67), MYGN (-1.22), TNDM (-1.35), EHTH (-0.95), SWN (-1.05)
09:41
XLE Seeing some relative weakness in Energy/Commodity in recent trade -- XLE, OIH, UNG, KOL, USO, GLD, GDX, SLV, SLX -Technical-
09:35
MA MasterCard solid early rally near its early March high at 251.89 -- session high 251.63 (251.22 +3.21) -Technical-
09:33
FDX FedEx early run toward its 52-wk close high from mid-month at 92.67 -- session high 92.52 (92.50 +0.27) -Technical-
The 52-wk intraday high is at 92.96.
09:32
SPY Stock indices quickly retest yesterday's highs -- Dow +30, S&P +1.7, Nasdaq +5.7 -Technical-
09:23
CFSG China Fire & Sec Grp appoints Weigang Li new chairman and Brian Lin CEO (13.45 )
Co announced that, due to health reasons, Gangjin Li has resigned from his position of chairman and CEO of China Fire, effective immediately. The co's board of directors has appointed Weigang Li as director and elected him the new chairman of the board. In addition, Brian Lin will reassume his former position as China Fire's CEO, while also serving as acting CFO
09:19
AIG American Intl: ILFC announces proposed offering of additional 8.625% senior notes due September 2015 and additional 8.750% senior notes due March 2017 (34.45 )
International Lease Finance, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American International Group (AIG), announced its intention to offer, subject to market and other conditions, $250 million of additional 8.625% Senior Notes due September 2015 and $250 million of additional 8.750% Senior Notes due March 2017 in a private placement.
09:17
RCON Recon Technology secures ~$744,000 new automation system order for Chinese oil field (6.11 )
Co announced that it has received a new automation system order from China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SNP). Recon received an order valued at RMB 5,080,000 (approximately $744,000) from the Sinopec Xi'nan Oil and Gas Subsidiary in Sichuan Province for Recon's supervisory control and data acquisition system. Recon expects to deliver the system to the oil field in Dazhou city, Sichuan Province in April 2010.
09:15
CBS CBS Corp announces cash tender offer for $500 mln outstanding notes (14.14 )
Co announced that it has commenced a cash tender offer for up to $500 mln combined aggregate principal amount of specified series of its outstanding debt. The terms and conditions of the tender offer are set forth in an Offer to Purchase dated today. In the tender offer, CBS Corporation is offering to purchase, under certain conditions, the 6.625% Notes due May 15, 2011, the 8.625% Debentures due August 1, 2012 and the 5.625% Notes due August 15, 2012
09:11
On The Wires
Kennedy Wilson (KW) announces that it offered and sold 17 units of 5th and Madison, a condominium project located in downtown Seattle, through an auction it conducted on March 28... CVS Caremark (CVS) announces that it has been awarded Specialty Pharmacy accreditation from URAC, a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.... Ethicon Endo-Surgery, a Johnson & Johnson co (JNJ), announces that it has received an irrevocable, unconditional offer from Devicor Medical Products, a portfolio co of GTCR Golder Rauner, to acquire its Breast Care business... FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx (FDX) continues to expand its FedEx International Economy Freight and FedEx International Economy services to more parts of the world. This latest expansion will provide US customers with more reach when shipping worldwide... GLG Life Tech Corporation (GLGL) and Weider Global Nutrition announce that the proceedings commenced by Weider against GLG in the Supreme Court of British Columbia will be dismissed by consent of the parties... Bovie Medical (BVX) announces that it has applied for 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market a new high frequency electrosurgical generator specifically designed for the physician office market... Genpact (G) and Hello Communications announce the signing of multi-year contracts to provide services -ranging from customer service and finance and accounting to IT infrastructure support and back office processing - from Genpact's delivery centers in China... Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN) and Almarai announce that they have agreed to form a pediatric nutrition joint venture.
09:09
WR Westar Energy reached agreement with the DoE for funding under the Smart Grid Investment Grant program (22.19 )
Co announced that it has reached agreement with the DoE for funding under the Smart Grid Investment Grant program. Westar will now move forward with its SmartStar Lawrence project, bringing advanced smart grid technology to the Lawrence, Kan. area. Approximately $40 million in combined funding from the DOE and Westar will complete the project over the next 3 years. The DOE grant provides for reimbursement of more than $19 million of the project cost. As part of the program Westar will report to the DOE on a regular basis the project progress and will be held accountable for achieving project milestones. Reporting is made in a public forum and will be available at www.recovery.gov.
09:06
CGC Capital Gold announced Steve Cooper has been elected non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors (3.34 -0.05)
09:05
GVP GSE Systems receives awards for over $8 million of new contracts in the nuclear sector (5.37 )
Co announces the recent award of multiple contracts totaling over $8 million for nuclear simulation upgrade work in the U.S. and Europe. In the U.S., GSE will provide its updated simulation environment and modeling software for nine simulators and its electrical system models for seven simulators owned by one of the country's largest nuclear utilities. GSE's modeling tools are the standard for this Utility's fleet of simulators and will be used for future simulator upgrades.
09:03
GHM Graham receives $6 million in orders for vacuum systems (18.19 )
Co announces that it has received approximately $6 million in orders for vacuum systems that will be installed at facilities in the U.S., Africa and South America.
09:03
APL Atlas Pipeline reported an update to its hedge positions; total premiums are ~$2.7 mln (14.45 )
Co reported an update to its hedge positions for certain hydrocarbon volumes that it expects to generate in its Mid-Continent processing operations. These new positions include hedges protecting APL's residue natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL) and condensate production volumes for the second half of 2010. The total premiums associated with the options purchased are approximately $2.7 million. In addition, APL's cash flow from its 49% ownership in its Appalachia gathering system is hedged through the natural gas swap and collar positions established by its affiliate, Atlas Energy, Inc., who currently has significant hedge protection through 2013. A summary of APL's entire hedge portfolio through December 31, 2010 is provided at the end of this release.
09:00
SSN Samson Oil & Gas provides operational advice on two projects that are currently underway (0.55 )
Ripsaw #1 which is located 50 miles north-west of Houston in Grimes County, Texas, reached a total depth of 4,820 feet and was evaluated with a set of electric logs. The logs have indicated that the objective horizon was not gas saturated and accordingly the well is being abandoned. Operations at the Gene #1-22H well located in Williams County, North Dakota are underway with the frac crew scheduled to be mobilizing and rigging up today in preparation for operations to commence Wednesday. The Gene #1-22H was drilled as a 5,500 foot horizontal in the Middle Bakken Formation and was completed with a series of external casing packers such that a "plug and perf," 16 stage fracture stimulation can be undertaken.
08:55
COMDX Natural gas drops to its lowest levels of the morning at $3.867; now off 4 cents to $3.876
08:47
HEI HEICO declares 5-for-4 stock split effective April 27, 2010 (50.02 )
08:47
GRS Gammon Gold reports 3-year consolidated operational outlook and updated reserves and resources (8.42 ) -Update-
Co issued a 3-year operational outlook for the years 2010 to 2012 and updated Reserves and Resources statements as at December 31, 2009. In 2010, the Company expects to produce 150,000 to 180,000 ounces of gold and 6.10 to 6.85 million ounces of silver, or 260,000 to 305,000 gold equivalent ounces, using a gold-to-silver ratio of 55:1, from existing operations. Total cash costs for 2010 are expected to be $440 to $475 per gold equivalent ounce using the same ratio... Gammon's total Proven and Probable reserves at year-end 2009 decreased by 412,000 ounces to 2,546,000 gold equivalent ounces, versus 2,958,000 gold equivalent ounces at year end 2008, or a decrease of 14%, using a silver to gold ratio of 58.89:1. Mining depletion of 267,000 gold equivalent ounces accounted for 9% of the net reduction. 2009 year end Proven & Probable Reserves are 67,776,000 tonnes at 0.65 grams per tonne gold, 30 grams per tonne silver for an average gold equivalent grade of 1.17 grams per tonne using a silver to gold ratio of 58.89:1. 2009 year end Proven & Probable Reserve tonnages have increased by 7,886,000 tonnes (an increase of approximately 13%) from the 2008 year end Reserves.
08:44
ECONX Reminder: Case-Shiller 20-city Index data due out in about 16 min at 9:00ET
08:43
COMDX Gold and silver tick lower as dollar index trades back to the flat line; gold is currently lower by $2.50 to $1107.80 and silver is off 4.7 cents to $17.34
08:32
PIP PharmAthene Appoints Eric I. Richman as President and COO (1.44 )
08:31
BIOD Biodel appoints Dr. Errol De Souza as President and CEO and Dr. Charles Sanders as Chairman (4.31 )
The co announces the appointments of Dr. Errol De Souza as president and chief executive officer and Dr. Charles Sanders as board chairman, effective immediately. Dr. Solomon Steiner, who co-founded Biodel in 2003, will become the company's chief scientific officer, devoting his full-time attention to the development of Biodel's product candidates to treat diabetes, and will remain a member of the board.
08:30
CRY CryoLife files for preliminary injunction against Medafor (6.49 )
Co announces that it filed an emergency motion for a preliminary injunction against Medafor in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta division. CryoLife contends that Medafor is improperly attempting to terminate the exclusive distribution agreement between the parties, and CryoLife has requested that the Court enjoin Medafor from proceeding with the termination.
08:30
CIT CIT Group closes new $1 billion funding facility (38.98 )
Co closed a new $1 billion committed U.S. Vendor Finance conduit facility with Barclays Bank PLC as Administrative Agent and three additional banks as committed lenders. This new facility supplements the recently closed $667 million TALF eligible equipment securitization, which also financed Vendor Finance originated assets. These new financings further support CIT's lending to the small business and middle market customers it serves. The new private facility will allow CIT Vendor Finance to fund both existing assets and new originations. The revolving period of the facility expires in March 2011 and the facility has a final maturity in 2018.
08:24
LPTN Lpath completes successful phase I study with ASONEP in cancer patients and achieves $2 million Merck KGaA milestone (0.75 )
Co announced positive summary results of its dose-escalation Phase 1 clinical trial of the investigational drug ASONEP(TM) in cancer patients with a wide variety of solid tumors. Study results included demonstration that lymphocyte counts in the vascular space were reduced in a dose-related fashion. As such, Lpath achieved an objective established by Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany) and received a $2 million payment according to the terms of Lpath's license agreement with Merck KGaA. The summary results also show that the Phase 1 trial met its primary endpoint of identifying safe dose levels for investigation in the Phase 2 setting. ASONEP was well tolerated at all the dose-levels studied, which ranged from 1 mg/kg to 24 mg/kg. More than half the patients that completed the initial four-treatment evaluation period showed stable disease. Durable stable disease was observed in several patients.
08:07
TLVT Telvent awarded EURO 3.7 mln contract over two years to upgrade Daqing-Tieling oil pipeline for PetroChina (PTR) (29.27 )
Cos announced an upgrade and extension of information systems of the Qing-Tie Oil Pipeline (Daqing-Tieling) project managed by PetroChina (PRT). The total value of this two-year contract is over EURO 3.7 million. Telvent will upgrade Qing-Tie Pipeline infrastructure and nine existing control stations. As well, Telvent will control a new parallel pipeline system extension that is 216 Km long with three pump stations. This pipeline is used to transport imported Russian crude oil to the PetroChina Group's refineries in northeastern China.
08:07
On The Wires
Diabetes Care published online the results of the Novo Nordisk (NVO) LEAD 6 extension study, which evaluated the efficacy and safety of switching from exenatide, which is taken twice a day, to once-daily Victoza. Results show that when added to oral antidiabetes drugs, patients who switched from exenatide to Victoza experienced further reductions in A1c and weight loss... Zebra Enterprise Solutions, a division of Zebra Technologies (ZBRA), announces the expansion of its relationship with TagStone through the ZES channel partner program... American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings (AXL) announces that it has begun supplying rear axles for Volkswagen AG's 2010 Amarok, a new double cab pickup that has initially launched for the South American market... MicroStrategy Incorporated (MSTR) announces that Infobright, the analytic database company, has signed a Global Technology Partner agreement with MicroStrategy... Affymax (AFFY) and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Global Research & Development Center announce multiple posters on Hematide/peginesatide have been accepted for presentation at the National Kidney Foundation 2010 Spring Clinical Meeting.
08:06
GRS Gammon Gold beats by $0.05, meets on revenue (8.42 ) -Update-
Reports 4Q (Dec) earnings of $0.16 per share, excludes items, $0.05 better than the $0.11 Thomson Reuters consensus; revenue increased 41.2% year/year to $68.2 mln vs $68.65 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. During the fourth quarter, the co produced 36,829 gold ounces and 1,465,098 silver ounces, or 63,467 gold equivalent ounces at the Company's long-term gold-to-silver ratio of 55:1. Using the realized gold-to-silver ratio of 62:1 reported in the fourth quarter, the co produced 60,407 gold equivalent ounces. The fourth quarter was the best gold and silver production quarter in 2009.
08:06
CMA Comerica has elected not to repurchase warrants from the U.S. Department of the Treasury-- 8-k Filing (37.88 )
Comerica Incorporated has elected not to repurchase from the U.S. Department of the Treasury the warrant that Comerica previously issued to the U.S. Treasury under the Troubled Asset Relief Program's Capital Purchase Program in November 2008. The warrant is to purchase 11,479,592 shares of Comerica's common stock at an exercise price, subject to anti-dilution adjustments, equal to $29.40 per share.
08:03
VRX Valeant Pharmaceuticals announces increase to securities repurchase program (42.11 )
Co announces that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $500 million of its securities, including its outstanding senior notes, convertible debt or common stock under the securities repurchase program approved in October 2008 and increased in May 2009. This repurchase authorization raises the aggregate repurchase authorization to $1.0 billion from $500 million over a period ending in March 2013.
08:03
ABT Abbott Labs and Astra Zeneca (AZN) receive FDA Complete Response Letter on Certriad New Drug Application (53.12 )
ABT announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a complete response letter (CRL) for the New Drug Application (NDA) for CERTRIAD (rosuvastatin / fenofibric acid delayed release) Capsules. The companies are currently evaluating the CRL, will continue discussions with the FDA to determine next steps with respect to the CERTRIAD NDA and will respond to the agency's request for additional information.
08:01
BOFI BOFI Holding announces $13.86 mln common stock offering at $13.00/share (14.00 )
08:01
HOLI HLS Systems announces its nuclear joint venture granted permit to manufacture nuclear island automation and control products (11.20 )
The co announces that its nuclear joint venture, China Techenergy (CTEC), established with China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding (CGNPC), was granted China's first-ever permit to design and manufacture its proprietary nuclear island automation and control systems by National Nuclear Safety Administration of China (NNSA), at a formal ceremony held on March 26, 2010 at CTEC's Beijing headquarter. The nuclear island automation and control product directly affects the nuclear power plant safety and stability, as it is critically pertinent to the emergency shutdown trigger and monitoring and safety control to the nuclear reactors. This permit granted to CTEC, being the breakthrough in China's nuclear power localization progress, signified that CTEC is fully qualified for nuclear station safety-level automation and control product supply.
08:01
CAVO Cavico signs road construction agreement for Noi Bai - Lao Cai Highway (3.98 )
Co announces that its majority owned subsidiary, Cavico Construction and Infrastructure Investment JSC has signed a road construction agreement with Korea-based Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction for the Noi Bai - Lao Cai Highway. The revenue for the contract for Cavico is $2.1 million.
08:00
XRX Xerox Chairman Anne Mulcahy to retire (9.73 )
The co announces that Anne Mulcahy will step down as chairman and a director of the board, effective May 20, the day of Xerox's annual shareholders' meeting. Xerox CEO Ursula Burns will then assume the additional role of chairman.
08:00
BPAX BioSante reports receipt of $2.16 mln in Elestrin Royalty Buydown, and financial results for 2009 (1.87 )
Co announces that it had entered into an agreement with Azur (BioSante's licensee for Elestrin in the U.S.) to monetize its Elestrin royalty stream and certain potential milestones through a royalty and milestone buydown. In 2009, the company received $1.0 mln and the company now reports receiving the balance of $2.16 mln in 1Q10. BioSante maintains the right to receive up to $140 mln in sales-based milestone payments from Azur, based on Elestrin reaching certain predefined sales in a calendar year. Co also reports that its net loss was approximately $47.5 mln or $(1.40) per basic and diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2009, compared to a net loss of $17.4 mln or $(0.64) per basic and diluted share for the same period in 2008. This increase in net loss was due primarily to transaction and non-cash technology related expenses associated with the company's merger with Cell Genesys, which closed in October 2009. As of December 31, 2009, BioSante's cash balance was approximately $29.9 mln as compared to $14.8 mln at December 31, 2008.
07:55
BQI Oilsands Quest appoints Susan MacKenzie as Chief Operating Officer (0.75 )
07:40
On The Wires
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MTU) and Morgan Stanley (MS) announce that they have entered into definitive agreements to integrate their securities operations in Japan, and are expected to commence joint venture operations as of May 1, 2010... Pamrapo Bancorp (PBCI) reports that its subsidiary, Pamrapo Savings Bank, S.L.A., entered into a plea agreement with the United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey and the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve a previously disclosed investigation into Pamrapo Savings Bank, S.L.A.'s Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering compliance program... Trintech Group Plc (TTPA) announces that Calpine Corporation (CPN), a major U.S. power company delivering clean electricity to customers in 16 states across the United States and Canada, has selected its Unity Xtensible Financial Reporting software with embedded support for report tagging and generation of XBRL-compliant financial statements... Savvis (SVVS) announces that its Savvis Symphony Open public cloud infrastructure service is now available to European clients through its UK data center in Slough... Socket Mobile (SCKT) announces with 3M (MMM) Track and Trace Solutions that it will provide method of tracking, locating and managing assets.
07:39
XRM Xerium Tech receives support from lenders for plan to reduce approximately $150 million in debt (0.63 )
07:31
NITE Knight Capital Group to acquire Urban Financial Group, acquisition expected to be cash flow positive immediately following the close and accretive to earnings per share in 2010 (16.02 )
Co announced that it has agreed to acquire Urban Financial Group, a privately-held, independent mortgage co. An originator of direct and brokered residential mortgage loans, Urban Financial is a provider of home equity conversion mortgages (HECM), or reverse mortgages, in the U.S. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The acquisition will provide Knight's fixed income team with a new issue pipeline of HECM mortgage-backed securities (HMBS) for institutional clients. Founded by CEO Bryan W. Hendershot in 2003, Urban Financial is a privately-held, independent mortgage company. The co is an originator of direct and brokered residential mortgage loans, including FHA-insured mortgages. Based in Tulsa, Okla., Urban Financial has 115 employees and branch offices in more than one dozen states. The co currently offers or purchases residential mortgage loans in more than two dozen states.
07:31
YMI YM BioSciences announces early expansion of ongoing CYT387 Phase I/II clinical study based on favorable safety and activity data (1.16 )
The co announces that it has received ethics board approval to expand enrolment in its Phase I/II clinical trial of CYT387 at Mayo Clinic in patients with myelofibrosis, a chronic debilitating condition, where patient's bone marrow is replaced by scar tissue. "The favorable safety and biological activity data we have collected to date in this study gave us the confidence to seek approval for cohort expansion earlier than originally contemplated," said Dr. Ayalew Tefferi, Professor of Hematology at Mayo Graduate School and Chair of the study. Enrolment expansion will facilitate the collection of more safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy data and may assist with planning for subsequent registration-enabling clinical studies for patients with myelofibrosis and other myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).
07:30
ONCY Oncolytics Biotech announces start of enrolment in U.S. Phase 2 SCC lung cancer trial (3.12 )
Co announced that the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center has started patient enrolment in a U.S. Phase 2 clinical trial using intravenous administration of REOLYSIN in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lungs. The primary objective of the Phase 2 trial is to assess the antitumor effect of the treatment regimen in the study population in terms of objective response rates. The secondary objectives are to assess progression-free survival and overall survival for the treatment regimen in the study population; to determine the proportion of patients receiving the above treatment who are alive and free of disease progression at six months; and to assess the safety and tolerability of the treatment regimen in the study population.
07:19
SNY Sanofi-Aventis announces Multaq receives positive recommendation by NICE in new appraisal consultation document (37.37 )
Co announced today that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in England and Wales, has just published a new appraisal consultation document for Multaq indicating its intention to recommend Multaq use for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation.
07:16
UBS UBS says fixed-income revenue to be lower than yesterday's $2.3 bln reported figure (16.17 )
A media report late yesterday indicated that UBS's Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities unit (FICC) would generate revenue of about $2.3 billion in first quarter 2010. Under SIX ad hoc publicity rules, UBS is required to comment on this report. The reported figure is slightly higher than FICC's current first quarter forecast revenues. Because the quarter has not ended and results to date are subject to possible fair value adjustments, including those relating to own credit, this forecast may not be reliable. UBS will issue its first quarter 2010 financial results on 4 May 2010.
07:10
CLDA Clinical Data reports results of Phase I studies of Stedivaze demonstrating safety and tolerability in patients with Asthma and COPD (19.88 )
Co announced results from two Phase I studies of Stedivaze (apadenoson), which demonstrated that Stedivaze was safe and well tolerated in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The selectivity of Stedivaze offers the safe use in the population, accounting for approximately 10 percent of the 7.6M MPI tests performed annually. The co is also actively enrolling patients in ASPECT 1, a Phase III trial designed to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of Stedivaze.
07:08
LAYN Layne Christensen beats by $0.03, beats on revs (28.17 )
Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $0.28 per share, excluding $0.16 in charges from eliminating hourly pension plan liabilites and impairment charges, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.25; revenues fell 1.0% year/year to $227.2 mln vs the $208 mln consensus.
07:02
CAST ChinaCast Education announces agreement to acquire accredited private university in China for $66.2 mln (7.62 )
Co announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") to purchase a 100% interest in the holding company of a private, accredited university in China in cash and/or shares for $66.2 million, which is based on a multiple of the university's 2009 academic year adjusted net income. The acquisition is expected to close within 90 days, subject to US GAAP audited financials and other customary closing conditions. This school was founded in 2003 and established by private investors as an independent, accredited college affiliated with a state-owned university. For the current 2009 academic year which started on September 1, 2009, the college had 9,929 students enrolled on-campus with expected revenues of approximately $15.9 million. The staff includes 511 full-time and part-time teachers and offers fully accredited bachelor degree and diploma courses in industrial engineering design, computer engineering, management, economics, language studies and law. The school has a campus area encompassing 47 acres and over 2.2 million square feet of building floor space.
07:01
HDNG Hardinge: Romi commences tender offer for Hardinge at $8 per share (9.00 )
Industrias Romi S.A. has commenced a fully funded cash tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hardinge for $8.00 per share. The offer and withdrawal rights are scheduled to expire May 10, 2010, unless extended or terminated. The offer is not subject to any financing condition and will be funded entirely from Romi's internal resources. In light of the rejection of Romi's earlier proposal by Hardinge's Board of Directors on February 18, 2010, and the Hardinge Board's continued refusal to discuss a business combination of the two companies, including Hardinge's failure to respond to Romi's attempts to engage in a dialogue in the past few days, Romi has decided to present its offer directly to Hardinge's shareholders.
07:01
ESC Emeritus Corp and Blackstone Joint Venture appointed "Stalking Horse" bidder in Sunwest bankruptcy auction (20.77 )
Co announces that a U.S. District Court Judge has approved an agreement to sell 149 senior housing facilities to the previously announced joint venture between Emeritus, Blackstone Real Estate Advisors, and Columbia Pacific Advisors, an entity affiliated with Emeritus' Chairman and Co-CEO, formed specifically to acquire Sunwest assets. The purchase and sale agreement still remains subject to final bankruptcy court approvals and finalization of loan modifications with secured creditors. The Joint Venture is now the lead or "Stalking Horse" bidder. The bankruptcy court process includes an open bidding period and process that will allow other qualified parties to bid on the portfolio in a predetermined format with an auction date currently set for May 17, 2010 with subsequent confirmation of the plan anticipated by June 2010. The Joint Venture, as lead bidder, will have overbid protection and receive break-up fees if another bidder wins the sale.
07:00
SVNT Savient Pharma announces KRYSTEXXA resubmitted BLA accepted for review by the FDA (14.12 )
Co announced that the FDA has acknowledged receipt of and accepted for review the March 15, 2010 resubmission of the Biologics License Application (BLA) for KRYSTEXXA (pegloticase), a treatment for chronic gout in patients refractory to conventional therapy. The FDA has deemed the resubmission a complete, class 2 response and has established September 14, 2010 as the PDUFA action date. The FDA also acknowledged that the BLA resubmission contains additional chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC), Safety Update, Labeling, Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) and Medication Guide submitted in response to the FDA's July 31, 2009 complete response letter.
07:00
ARTC ArthroCare reports clinical study published regarding plasma disc decompression for the treatment of low back pain associated with contained herniated discs (30.08 )
Co announced the publication of an important clinical trial demonstrating that patients treated with ArthroCare's Plasma Disc Decompression products experienced reduced pain and better quality of life scores compared to patients treated with the current standard care, epidural steroid injections. The multi-center study, which is titled "Plasma Disc Decompression compared with fluoroscopy-guided transforaminal epidural steroid injections for symptomatic contained lumbar disc herniation: A prospective, randomized, controlled trial," was published... The study concluded that patients in the PDD group experienced clinically important improvements compared to patients in the epidural steroid injection group. After a two-year follow-up period, 56 percent of patients in the PDD group did not have a subsequent secondary procedure, compared with only 28 percent of the patients in the epidural steroid group.
06:35
CPIX Cumberland Pharma announces it has submitted a supplemental new drug application to the FDA for the use of Acetadote Injection (11.24 )
Co announces it has submitted a supplemental new drug application to the FDA for the use of Acetadote Injection in patients with non-acetaminophen acute liver failure. Acetadote was launched by Cumberland in 2004 as the first U.S.-approved injectable drug to treat acetaminophen overdose.
06:32
WEDC White Elec Designs to be acquired by Microsemi Corporation for $7/share (5.46 )
Microsemi Corporation (MSCC) announces it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire White Electronic Designs (WEDC) through a cash tender offer at $7.00 per share for a net transaction value of approx $100 million, net of White Electronic's projected cash balance at closing. Microsemi will finance the acquisition using its cash on hand and there will be no acquisition debt incurred in connection with the transaction. Microsemi expects that there will be significant cost synergies from the transaction and that Microsemi can drive gross profit levels to its own corporate target as Microsemi exits lower margin business, drives a richer product mix, and realizes operational and other cost synergies by Microsemi's fourth fiscal quarter, ended October 3, 2010. Based on current assumptions, Microsemi further expects the acquisition to be $0.08 to $0.12 accretive in its full fiscal year 2011.
06:32
MYGN Myriad Genetics announces Federal District Court rules isolated DNA claims are not patentable (24.90 )
Co announces that Judge Robert W. Sweet of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that certain claims covering isolated DNA sequences in seven of the 23 patents covering BRACAnalysis are invalid. Myriad will appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and will continue to vigorously defend this litigation.
06:31
JOEZ Joes Jeans enters into $5.5 mln agreement to license footwear (2.71 )
Co announces it has signed a new license agreement with Burano LLC to manufacture and distribute Joe's branded footwear for women. The initial term of the agreement is for three years with minimum net sales commitments of $5.5 million over the term.
06:29
GRS Gammon Gold provides update on exploration program (8.42 )
Co provides an update on its exploration activities. Gammon also announces that its ongoing exploration programs at Ocampo and El Cubo have been successful in delineating two new gold-silver deposits at Ocampo (Las Molinas and Santa Eduviges); the discovery of five new significant target areas at Ocampo with commercial-grade mineralization; ore-grade mineralization at two target areas at El Cubo and plans to resume drilling at the Guadalupe y Calvo project in the coming months. "The past months have been an exciting time for Gammon's accelerated exploration program on all fronts... We currently have eleven drill rigs working at Ocampo and El Cubo with plans to test at least 12 exploration targets at Ocampo and 10 at El Cubo. We will be adding one drill rig at each of Ocampo and El Cubo in the second quarter, so that with the resumption of drilling at the Guadalupe y Calvo project in April and planned drilling at our new Mezquite Project in Zacatecas, we expect to have 15 drill rigs working in Mexico during the second quarter. Our board-approved budgets for 2010 include 139 kilometres of core drilling for the year, clearly a very aggressive drill program."
06:25
S&P futures vs fair value: +0.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.80.
06:25
Asian Markets
Nikkei...11097.14...+110.70...+1.00%. Hang Seng...21374.79...+137.40...+0.70%.
06:25
European Markets
FTSE...5703.15...-7.50...-0.10%. DAX...6155.44...-1.40...0.00.
06:19
HNR Harvest Natural provides additional test results of the Bar F 1-20-3-2 well (7.27 )
Co announces further results from the flow testing of the Bar F 1-20-3-2 well in Duchesne County, UT. Harvest had provided initial preliminary flow test results during the Company's earnings release conference call on March 16, 2010. Since the last update, Harvest has completed drilling out plugs installed to isolate the six hydraulically fractured oil intervals, and commenced a flow test of the commingled six intervals between 8,200 and 9,600 feet in the Lower Green River and Upper Wasatch formations. The testing program yielded first oil to surface on March 24, 2010, and the well has produced over 4,000 barrels of approximately 42 degree API oil over the first five days of production through March 29, 2010. These production volumes have been achieved as the well is cleaning up, producing load water pumped into the well during the fracing process. The testing is at a current stable production rate of approx 900 barrels of oil per day and 650 mcf of natural gas per day with a flowing surface pressure of approx 1,400 psi. The testing program is expected to continue for another one to two weeks.
01:55
BIOF BioFuel Energy reports 4Q09 results (3.08 )
Reports 4Q (Dec) earnings of $0.21 per share, $0.43 better than ($0.22) single-analyst estimate; revenue increased 35.3% year/year to $120.42 mln vs $92.76 mln single-analyst estimate. Scott H. Pearce, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: "Overall we had a solid fourth quarter. Our entire operations team can be proud of delivering on our first profitable quarter. However, the more recent contraction in margins due to the narrowing of the spread between our cost of corn and the price of ethanol presents challenges for the first quarter of 2010."
01:47
On The Wires
VanceInfo Technologies (VIT) announces an agreement to provide a telecommunications back-end management system for Chuan Wei Company Ltd., a provider of broadband services in Southeast Asia... Avago Technologies (AVGO) announces that on March 15, 2010 Avago filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against STMicroelectronics (STM). Avago alleges that certain STMicroelectronics products infringe four of Avago's patents covering optical navigation technology and is seeks cash compensation and an order preventing further infringement of the technology... Legacy Reserves LP (LGCY) announces Steven H. Pruett, President and CFO, has adopted a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan... Sanofi-aventis (SNY) announces that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in England and Wales, has just published a new appraisal consultation document for Multaq indicating its intention to recommend Multaq use for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation... Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group(MTU) and Morgan Stanley (MS) announce that they have entered into definitive agreements to integrate their securities operations in Japan, and are expected to commence joint venture operations as of May 1, 2010.
01:40
AMKR Amkor announces initial determination in ITC patent infringement case against Carsem (7.11 )
Co announces that the Administrative Law Judge in Amkor's patent infringement case against Carsem in the International Trade Commission has issued a Supplemental Initial Determination. Although the ALJ's ruling did not disturb the prior finding that Carsem Dual and Quad Flat No-Lead Packages infringe some of Amkor's patent claims relating to MicroLeadFrame technology, the ALJ found that some of Amkor's patent claims are invalid and, as a result, the ALJ did not find a statutory violation of the Tariff Act.
18:34
TAYC Taylor Capital Group announces plan to increase capital (12.49 +0.13)
Co announced that it plans to increase its capital by $60 mln during the second quarter of 2010 as part of the Company's overall capital plan. The Co intends to use the proceeds as an ongoing source of strength for Cole Taylor Bank, to better align its capital position to its peers and to support the Co's and the Bank's future growth plans.
18:29
Futures are higher after hours with S&P 500 futures 0.89 points above fair value of 1168.91 and Nasdaq 100 futures 4.72 points above fair value of 1958.78
18:20
GNVC GenVec discontinues Phase 3 clinical trial of TNFerade (2.81 -0.09)
Co announced that it is discontinuing its Phase 3 clinical trial of TNFerade in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer based on results of an interim analysis. This interim analysis of overall survival, conducted after the 184th death (two-thirds of total expected events), was designed to determine whether the study should continue. GenVec has determined, after conferring with its independent Data Safety Monitoring Board, that the PACT trial would not meet the goal of demonstrating persuasive evidence of clinical effectiveness that could form the basis for regulatory approval in the population chosen for study. This randomized, controlled trial compared treatment with TNFerade (in combination with standard of care (SOC)) to SOC alone in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer.
17:46
CAST ChinaCast Education beats by $0.02; guides FY10 revs above consensus (7.70 +0.08)
Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.13 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.11; revenues rose 42% year/year to $16.5 mln vs the $16.5 mln consensus. Co sees FY10 revs fo $78-80 mln vs. $73.7 mln consensus.
17:29
CE Celanese announces price increases for Ticona POM and PBT products in North and South America (32.19 +0.42)
Co announced a price increase of 10 percent in North America and South America for POM products (Hostaform and Celcon) and PBT products (Celanex PBT, Vandar PBT, Impet PET and Riteflex TPC-ET) effective with all shipments beginning on April 15, or as contracts allow.
17:28
AAPL Apple and Verizon move higher following news that AAPL is developing a new iPhone that is compatible with Verizon's network (232.39 +1.49) -Update-
AAPL move over $2 higher at $235.45, while VZ is ~$0.40 higher at $31.10 (See 17:20 and 17:21 posts).
17:22
CB Chubb estimates losses from Q1 catastrophes at ~$290 mln (52.47 +0.24)
Co announced that it estimates losses from Q1 catastrophes, which include the March Northeast U.S. storm, other U.S. winter storms, the Chilean earthquake, the Australian storms, European windstorm Xynthia and other catastrophe events, to be ~$290 mln pre-tax ($189 mln after-tax). These amounts include estimated losses and loss expenses net of reinsurance recoverable and also include estimated reinsurance reinstatement premiums. Of the pre-tax losses, ~$200 mln represents Chubb's estimate for losses from U.S. catastrophes, of which $125 mln was from the March Northeast U.S. storm. Losses from catastrophes outside the U.S. amounted to approximately $90 million pre-tax, of which $70 million was from the Chilean earthquake.
16:49
KHD KHD Humboldt Wedag shareholders have approved the proposed plan of arrangement (14.95 0.00)
Co announces that the shareholders have approved the proposed plan of arrangement with KHD Humboldt Wedag International (Deutschland) AG ("KID"), whereby the Company will distribute, as a first tranche, 26% of the shares of KID. This is the first step in the restructuring of KHD into two distinct legal entities: (1) a mineral royalty company and (2) an industrial plant technology, equipment and service company. The Company will now proceed with the required filings with the registrar under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia). At such time, the Arrangement will become effective and the Company will set out to implement the steps contemplated under the Arrangement.
16:48
CNQR Concur Tech guides Q2 revs or above consensus, raises non-GAAP EPS (43.87 +0.17) -Update-
Co sees Q2 revs at $70 mln or above vs. $70 mln consensus. Co raises pre-tax Non-GAAP EPS to $0.28, up from $0.27 prior guidance.
16:48
CEPH Cephalon receives complete response letter for NUVIGIL for the treatment of excessive sleepiness associated with jet lag disorder (71.75 +1.16)
Co announced that it has received a Complete Response letter from the FDA for its supplemental new drug application for NUVIGIL (armodafinil) Tablets [C-IV] in the treatment of patients with excessive sleepiness associated with jet lag disorder resulting from eastbound travel. Patients taking NUVIGIL (150 mg/day) showed a statistically significant improvement over placebo as measured by the MSLT [p<0.0001] and the PGI-S [p=0.044]. The most common adverse events associated with NUVIGIL treatment (five percent or greater) were headache, nausea, insomnia, diarrhea and palpitations. There were no reports of serious rash observed in the trial participants, and no new safety signals were observed in the clinical trial.
16:45
CNQR raises pre-tax Non-GAAP EPS to $0.28, up from $0.27 prior guidance
16:44
CNQR sees Q2 revs at $70 mln or above vs. $70 mln consensus
16:42
DHR Danaher up ~4.7% to $80.98 just after raising Q1 EPS guidance (77.37 +0.75) -Update-
See 16:39 comment
16:40
OSIP OSI Pharm: Astellas signs confidentiality agreement with OSI (59.30 -0.03)
Astellas Pharma (TSE: 4503) confirmed that it has entered into a confidentiality agreement with OSI Pharmaceuticals (OSIP). Under the agreement, OSI will provide Astellas with access to certain non-public information. This follows Astellas' approach to OSI after OSI's announcement that its board of directors had instructed its management and financial advisors to contact interested third parties regarding a potential transaction. Also, under the confidentiality agreement, until 11.59 p.m. EDT on May 15, 2010, Astellas will not acquire any shares pursuant to its outstanding tender offer, take any further action on the pending litigation initiated by it or file a preliminary or definitive proxy statement in connection with OSI's annual meeting. This agreement will terminate, among other things if OSI enters into or announces its intent to enter into an agreement with respect to an acquisition of OSI. There can be no assurance that an agreement with respect to an acquisition by Astellas for OSI will be reached.
16:39
DHR Danaher raises Q1 EPS guidance above consensus (77.37 +0.75)
Co raises Q1 EPS to be at or above $0.90 vs. $0.83 Thomson Reuters consensus and up from prior guidance of at or above the high end of the range of $0.77-0.82. Co announced that its President and Chief Executive Officer, H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., will comment today on the Co's first quarter 2010 outlook at a meeting with investors in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
16:38
DHR raises Q1 EPS to be at or above $0.90 vs. $0.83 Thomson Reuters consensus and up from prior guidance of at or above the high end fo teh range fo $0.77-0.82
16:37
DHR raises Q1 EPS guidance above consensus
16:32
BEXP Brigham Exploration announces the signing of a purchase and sale agreement to divest a portion of its West Texas proved developed producing assets (16.15 +1.02)
Co announced that it has entered into a purchase and sale agreement to divest a portion of its West Texas assets, consisting primarily of proved developed producing properties, representing ~602,000 barrels of oil equivalent (Boe) as of December 31, 2009, for $14 mln to Legacy Reserves LP (LGCY). In December 2009, production from the subject properties averaged 213 Boe per day. The transaction is expected to close within the next 30 days, subject to customary closing conditions.
16:31
NWBI Northwest Bancshares unit has acquired Veracity Benefit Designs, employee benefits firm (11.59 -0.09)
Northwest Savings Bank has acquired Veracity Benefit Designs, an employee benefits firm. Veracity specializes in services to employer and employee groups, offering group medical, dental, life, accidental death and dismemberment, long term disability, travel accident, and vision plans. Northwest Bancshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for Northwest Savings Bank. Veracity will operate as a subsidiary of Northwest Savings Bank.
16:30
ATI Allegheny Tech announces first quarter 2010 tax charge of $0.05 as a result of U.S. Healthcare legislation (55.73 +2.51)
The co announces that it expects to record a one-time, non-cash tax charge of approximately $5 million, or $0.05 per share, in the first quarter 2010 as a result of the recently-enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed by the President on March 23, 2010, and the subsequent modifications made in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 passed by Congress on March 25, 2010. Under the new legislation, the tax-advantaged subsidy to encourage companies to provide retiree prescription drug coverage has been eliminated. Although the elimination of this tax advantage under the new legislation does not take effect until 2013, ATI is required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles to recognize the full accounting impact in the period in which the Act is passed by Congress and signed by the President. Since future anticipated retiree health care liabilities and related tax subsidies are already reflected in ATI's financial statements, the change in law results in a reduction of the value of the Company's deferred tax asset related to the subsidy. This reduction in value is expected to create a $5 million one-time, non-cash charge to ATI's earnings in the first quarter 2010.
16:21
CNH CNH America LLC and United Auto Workers reach agreement on contract (32.64 +0.79)
Co announced that the United Auto Workers voted to ratify a new six-year contract with the company. The agreement will replace the existing contract which is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2011, and will become effective at the time CNH announces the decision to manufacture additional product lines at the Burlington facility.
16:19
BPZ BPZ Energy expects it will have to limit its oil production from the first five Corvina oil wells in order to comply with the established gas flaring limits (7.24 +0.14)
Co announces that it received a decision from the Hydrocarbons General Bureau, the division of the Ministry of Energy and Mines in charge of hydrocarbons activities in Peru, regarding its previously submitted application for Extended Well Testing on the Company's first five oil wells in the Corvina Field in offshore northwest Peru. In its decision, the DGH approved the Company's application to continue EWT until the first date of commercial production, currently set for May 31, 2010, subject to specific limits on the amount of natural gas flared from each of the first five Corvina wells. Based on the natural gas flaring limits set by the DGH in its decision, the Company expects it will have to limit its oil production from the first five Corvina oil wells in order to comply with the established gas flaring limits. The actual future decrease in production from these five Corvina wells will not be known until the Company fully implements its gas flaring mitigation strategy to optimize oil production while complying with the gas flaring limits, but the Company estimates production from these wells could decrease by as much as 400 to 800 bopd.
16:19
AXS AXIS Capital unit is now actively marketing accident and health insurance coverage in the United States (31.40 +0.50)
16:18
ATPG ATP Oil & Gas announced first oil production from its deepwater Atwater Valley #4 well (18.88 +0.71)
Co announced first oil production from its deepwater Atwater Valley #4 well at the Telemark Hub in ~4000 feet of water. Co initiated production on Sunday after completing a sequence of inspections, certifications, permits and approvals of facilities, structures, safety systems and field development plan systems from required government regulatory bodies including the Minerals Management Service, Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Coast Guard as well as classification of the unit by the American Bureau of Shipping. Co owns a 100% working interest and is the operator of the Telemark Hub.
16:16
RUSHA Rush Enterprises announces agreement to acquire assets of Lake City International; Co to offer Navistar products; co expects transaction to be accretive to future (12.80 -0.18)
Co announced that it signed an agreement to purchase certain assets of Lake City Companies and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates, which operates a commercial truck, bus and agricultural equipment sales, service, parts, finance and leasing business representing multiple brands, including International, Autocar, Mitsubishi Fuso, IC Bus and Collins Bus. Rush had audited revenues of $1.2 bln for the year ending 2009 while Lake City International had unaudited revenues of $121.9 mln. Rush Enterprises estimates that the purchase price for the assets of Lake City International will be ~$76.5 mln, comprised of ~$44 mln for assets and goodwill and $34.5 mln for real estate less a $2.0 mln payment from affiliates of Lake City International for Rush assuming contingent liabilities of ~$4.9 mln. At closing, RUSHA anticipates that it will finance ~$28.5 mln of the purchase price under its floor plan, accounts receivable and lease and rental truck financing arrangements. Co intends to finance a portion of the purchase price of the real estate shortly after the closing of the acquisition. The Co expects the transaction to be accretive to future earnings.
16:11
CRU Crude Carriers took successful delivery of the M/T 'Alexander the Great,' a very large crude carrier (17.15 +0.20)
16:09
CLR Continental Resources announces $200 mln offering of senior notes (41.23 +3.69) -Update-
16:07
ANDS Anadys Pharma announced that two presentations related to ANA598 were scheduled (2.40 +0.02)
Co announced that two presentations related to ANA598, the Company's non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitor in Phase II development for the treatment of hepatitis C... Co will present preliminary antiviral response and safety results from its ongoing Phase II study of ANA598 in HCV patients, in which ANA598 is being dosed for 12 weeks in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin (SOC). For the group receiving ANA598 at 400 mg twice-daily plus SOC, antiviral response and safety data through eight weeks will be presented, which data further confirm the profile demonstrated for ANA598 at 200 mg bid. Antiviral response and safety data for the complete control group receiving placebo plus SOC will also be updated through eight weeks. Data through 12 weeks will be presented for the group that received ANA598 200 mg bid plus SOC... Co will present preclinical data showing enhanced activity and suppression of resistance when ANA598 is combined in vitro with other anti-HCV agents.
16:06
FLIR FLIR Systems announces $13.5 million order from Naval Surface Warfare Center (27.97 +0.06)
Co announces that it has received a $13.5 million order from Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Crane Division for its BRITE Star(R) II multi-sensor target designation systems. The order was pursuant to a previously announced $125.3 million, five year requirements contract.
16:05
WNS WNS announces the departure of Chairman and COO (10.88 -0.54)
The co announces the departure of two senior members of its management team, Ramesh Shah and Anup Gupta, each of whom has decided to seek opportunities outside WNS. Ramesh Shah, who had stepped down as Chairman of the Board in December 2009, has left WNS as of today, March 29, 2010. He has also resigned as a director of WNS (Holdings) Ltd. with effect from the same date. Gupta, formerly the Group Chief Operating Officer, has left WNS as of March 26, 2010.
16:05
TBSI TBS International has taken delivery of the newbuild vessel M/V Dakota Princess (7.22 -0.04)
Co has taken delivery of the newbuild vessel M/V Dakota Princess from China Communications Construction Company Ltd/ Nantong Yahua Shipbuilding Group Co., Ltd on March 26, 2010. The M/V Dakota Princess is the second of a series of six TBS-designed "Roymar Class" 34,000 dwt multipurpose tweendecker vessels that the Company had ordered for a purchase price of $35.4 million per vessel. Of the remaining four vessels, co expects to take delivery of two vessels in 2010 and two in 2011.
16:05
EXM Excel Maritime appoints new COO and new CFO (6.09 +0.22)
Co announced that Mr. Charalampos Mazarakis has been appointed as the Company's Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Mazarakis will assume his position in mid May 2010. The Company also announced that Mr. Pavlos Kanellopoulos has been appointed as the Company's Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Kanellopoulos will assume his position in early April 2010. Mr. Papatrifon, who has been the Chief Financial Officer of the Company since January 2005, is joining the Board of Directors as of April 2010 and will continue to provide the Company with his expertise and insight.
16:05
KBR KBR subsidiary awarded contract for construction of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University's Visitors and Undergraduate Admissions Center (22.24 +0.15)
Co announced that construction is under way and is slated for completion by June 2011.
16:02
SAFM Sanderson Farms announces 2 mln share common stock offering (56.14 +0.10) -Update-
16:02
PACR Pacer Intl announces executive management changes (6.11 +018)
The co announces changes to its executive management team that will facilitate its ongoing transformation from primarily a wholesale focus to a direct to end-customer integrated services model. John Hafferty has been appointed chief financial officer. Prior to joining Pacer, Mr. Hafferty was chief financial officer for the international division of Ozburn-Hessey Logistics, a global freight management company; served as senior vice president, corporate strategy and development for Schenker, Americas, a unit of Schenker Logistics, Co., a global transportation and logistics company; and held various senior positions at United Parcel Service, including executive vice president, UPS Supply Chain Solutions, chief operating officer of UPS Freight Services, and chief financial officer of UPS International Package Operation.
16:02
CNQR Concur Tech announces a $250 mln convertible sr notes offering (43.87 +0.17)
16:01
SAFM Sanderson Farms announces plans for additional new poultry complex in North Carolina (56.14 +0.10)
Co announces that it plans to locate a potential new poultry complex near Goldsboro, North Carolina. The construction of the new complex is subject to various contingencies, including obtaining satisfactory state and local incentives, locating suitable property, obtaining necessary permits and the approval of the Company's lenders of an amendment to its revolving credit agreement permitting, among other things, the capital expenditures for the Goldsboro complex. Sanderson Farms expects to invest ~$94.0 mln in the potential new big bird deboning complex. At full capacity, the plant is expected to employ approximately 1,100 people, require approximately 150 contract growers, and be equipped to process and sell 8.9 million pounds of dressed poultry per week. If all contingencies are met, the Company expects to begin construction of the complex in the second quarter of fiscal 2011 and expects to begin operations in the third quarter of fiscal 2012.
16:01
MDVN Medivation announces 20% reduction in workforce (10.90 -0.21)
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