Briefing.com: Hourly In Play (R) – 23:00 ET
Apr 23, 2010 (Briefing.com via COMTEX) -- Hourly In Play (R)
Updated: 23-Apr-10 23:00 ET
17:01
ADG The Allied Defense Group announces going concern opinion (5.82 -0.02)
Co announced that its audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on April 7, 2010, contained a going concern qualification from its independent registered public accounting firm, BDO Seidman, LLP.
17:00
CWBS Commonwealth Bankshares announced that it will be formally separating the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer into two positions (3.27 +0.17)
The Boards of Directors of the Company and its subsidiary Bank of the Commonwealth appointed Richard J. Tavss to serve as chair of both Boards, replacing Edward J. Woodard, Jr., who has served as the chair of both Boards since 1988. Woodard will continue to serve as a member of both Boards as well as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and Bank, a position he has held with the Company since 1988 and with the Bank since 1973.
16:33
ESV Ensco plc sells jackup rig for $47 mln (51.95 +1.79)
Co announced that a subsidiary of the Company has sold ENSCO 57, a F&G L-780 MOD II-C design jackup drilling rig built in the early 1980s. The sale price was ~$47 million. As of 31 March 2010, the net book value for ENSCO 57 was ~$30 million. The rig will be reclassified as discontinued operations on Ensco's financial statements as of second quarter 2010.
16:05
SDXC Switch & Data: United States Department of Justice closes its investigation of Switch and Data's merger with Equinix (17.70 +0.08)
16:00
SII Smith Intl confirms status of personnel on deepwater horizon (49.10 +3.19)
The co confirms that five M-I SWACO employees were aboard the Transocean Deepwater Horizon at the time of the incident that occurred in the evening of April 21st. While three M-I SWACO employees have safely returned to their families, two remain missing at this time.
15:59
WLP WellPoint: In response to a letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, WellPoint issues statement on behalf of Angela Braly, Chair and CEO of WLP (57.97 -0.44) -Update-
"I was disappointed to read your letter regarding the media report published in Reuters yesterday as well as your assertion that WellPoint "deliberately works to deny coverage for women diagnosed with breast cancer." Both your statement and Mr. Waas' piece are inaccurate and grossly misrepresent WellPoint's efforts to help prevent, detect, and treat the 1 in 8 of our 34 million members nationwide affected by breast cancer. To be absolutely clear, WellPoint does not single out women with breast cancer for rescission. Period. I am confident you read the detailed statement WellPoint issued yesterday highlighting the many factual inaccuracies and unfounded opinions written by Mr. Waas. In light of the facts we have presented, I am disappointed by your letter and the needless anxiety and fear it has raised amongst our members and associates. Our statement is available to the public at www.wellpoint.com. Rather than re-state those details here, I would like to describe a few of the many WellPoint breast cancer prevention and treatment programs that serve as facts to the contrary of Mr. Waas' article and your letter."
15:55
UNG Late day global & sector ETF movers... Natural Gas leads & Livestock Commods lag in late trading -Technical-
The Actively Traded Leading Global & Sector ETFs:
nat gas- UNG +3.50%, oil HLDRS- OIH +3.25%, homebuilders & home construction- ITB +2.75%, XHB +2.0%, SPDRS oil & gas exploration/production/services- XES +2.0%, XOP +2.75%, airlines- FAA +2.75%, ISE nat gas REVER index- FCG +2.50%, SPDRS metals & mining- XME +2.50%, energy- XLE +2.25%, IYE +2.25%, RBOB gas- UGA +2.0%, crude/WTI oil- USO +1.50%, OIL +1.75%
The Actively Traded Lagging Global & Sector ETFs:
livestock commods- COW -1.50%, ag commods- DBA -1.0%, iShares Australia- EWA -0.50%, VIX vol index- VXX -0.50%, Yen currency shares- FXY -0.50%, US bonds- TLT -0.50%, China 25- FXI -0.50%, SPDRS cons stpls- XLP -0.25%, platinum- PGM -0.25%, PTM -0.50%
15:44
Earnings Preview for the week of Apr 26th-30th
Of the hundreds of companies reporting earnings the week of Apr 26th-30th some of the bigger names include: Monday: MBFI, BLK, CAT, CYOU, HUM, SOHU, TZOO, BSX, CNI, JEC, and TXN... Tuesday: MMM, BEAV, BP, CPLA, CCE, DD, ENR, F, NEM, ODP, TYX, X, UAUA, UA, UPS, WHR, BRCM, BWLD, NSC, and RFMD... Wednesday: AOL, ABX, CP, CMCSA, GLW, DOW, GT, JBLU, NOC, ROK, SAP, S, WLP, BIDU, ESRX, FSLR, GMCR, VRSN, and V... Thursday: BKC, CELG, CME, CL, COP, XOM, K, MJN, MOT, MYL, OXY, OMX, POT, PG, SWY, STRA, TWC, CSTR, DRIV, EXPE, MFE, WFR, MET, and VCLK... Friday: AXL, AVP, CVX, CSUN, CVH, DISCA, JRCC, and LPNT.
15:36
TEVA Teva Pharm provides update on generic Protonix litigation; confirms court's decision (61.52 +0.49)
The co confirms that a jury returned a verdict in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey finding that Nycomed's U.S. Patent No. 4,758,579 is not invalid. The Court has reserved decision on the issue of what, if any, effect to give to the jury's determinations in connection with the obviousness-type double patenting defenses, which Teva has argued is to be decided by the Court. A decision by the District Court judge independent of today's jury verdict would be sufficient to invalidate the patent.
15:34
Conferences and Shareholder/Analyst Meetings of Interest
Some notable events scheduled for the week of April 26-30 are listed below. For a complete list of next week's events, please see the events calendar.
Monday:
- RIMM Capital Markets Day
- ALKS R&D Day
Tuesday:
- FOMC Meets
- M Analyst Meeting
Wednesday:
- COLM, KMX, SBUX, RT at Barclays Retail and Restaurant Conference
- FOMC Rate Decision
Thursday:
- HAR Analyst Meeting
- $32 bln 7-yr Treasury Notes Auction
Friday:
- N/A
15:27
CPEX CPEX Pharmaceuticals advises shareholders to take no action at this time in response to Arcadia unsolicited tender offer (16.85 +1.15) -Update-
Co recommended that its shareholders take no action at this time in response to the announcement by Arcadia Capital Advisors, LLC through RSR Acquisition Co. and its principal Richard Rofe that it has made an unsolicited conditional tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of CPEX for $16.00 per share in cash. Consistent with its fiduciary duties and in consultation with its financial and legal advisors, the CPEX Board will review and consider Arcadia's offer, and within 10 business days, will advise CPEX's shareholders of the Board's position regarding the tender offer as well as its reasons for that position. RBC Capital Markets Corporation is acting as financial advisor to CPEX and Goodwin Procter LLP is acting as legal advisor.
15:10
NEM Newmont Mining receives three million shares of Lydian International as consideration for the sale of its JV interest in the Amulsar Gold Project (53.07 +0.63)
15:08
COMDX NYMEX Energy Closing Prices -Update-
June crude oil settled higher by $1.42 to $85.12, May nat gas rallied for 12.9 cents to close at $4.257. May RBOB gasoline ended up 5.29 cents to $2.3531 and May heating oil gained 3.55 cents to finish at $2.2505.
14:57
SHLD NASDAQ 100 (NDX) leaders & laggards heading into today's final hour of trading-- Retail leads & E~Commerce lags -Technical-
NDX 100 Best % Performers:
SHLD +7.0%, STX +5.75%, SNDK +5.0%, PCAR +3.25%, FLIR +3.0%, WCRX +2.75%, DISH +2.75%, NTAP +2.25%, GILD +2.25%, TEVA +2.0%, LOGI +2.25%
NDX 100 Worst % Performers:
AMZN -4.25%, QCOM -3.50%, APOL -2.50%, QGEN -2.0%, MSFT -2.0%, NVDA -1.75%, RIMM -1.50%, VMED -1.50%, URBN -1.0%, CA -1.0%, EXPD -1.0%
NASDAQ TRIN @ +0.75
NASDAQ A/D @ +370
14:56
SPY Lagging S&P 500 edges above last week's peak to set a new 52-wk high of 1214.83 -Update- -Technical-
14:55
CVA Covanta and Local 369 of the UWUA announce ratification of a collective bargaining agreement and settlement of outstanding disputes (17.13 -0.03) -Update-
14:54
MRK Dow (INDU) leaders & laggards heading into today's final hour of trading-- Big Pharma leads & Software lags -Technical-
INDU 30 Best % Performers:
MRK +5.50%, PFE +3.0%, AXP +2.75%, AA +1.75%, CAT +1.75%, HD +1.50%
INDU 30 Worst % Performers:
MSFT -1.75%, TRV -1.0%, VZ -1.0%, BA -1.0%, KO -1.0%, BAC -0.75%, KFT -0.50%
NYSE TRIN @ +1.25
NYSE A/D @ +880
14:40
MEE Massey Energy responds to The New York Times article (44.23 +1.30)
The co issued the following statement today regarding The New York Times article earlier today. In an article published this morning, The New York Times draws a link between the TECO E3-1 mine and the Upper Big Branch mine operated by Massey Energy. It is especially noteworthy that the Times did not ask to visit any Massey mine through the course of its reporting to get a first hand view of our operations and safety practices. Every mine in the United States is different due to location, operational factors, geologic conditions, size and output volumes. The April 5 tragedy at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia, where 29 members of our company's family of members died, has attracted intense public attention to the accident and our company, and understandably so... Clearly, something went wrong at Upper Big Branch. But we simply don't yet know what it was. If there was improper conduct regarding operations and safety, there will be accountability. What we do know is this: accusations that Massey Energy is indifferent to safety could not be more wrong.
14:38
AA Alcoa Board of Directors elects Klaus Kleinfeld Chairman, CEO (14.09 +0.24)
Co announced that its Board of Directors has elected Klaus Kleinfeld, 52, as Chairman and CEO of the co. Kleinfeld succeeds Alain Belda, 66, who previously announced his plans to retire from the co after more than 40 years of service. The leadership change took place at Alcoa's annual meeting of shareholders today.
14:31
COMDX CBOT Agriculture and Ethanol and ICE Exchange Sugar Closing Prices -Update-
July corn closed lower by 10.5 cents to $3.61 per bushel, July soybeans closed lower by 6.75 cents at $10.0825 per bushel, July wheat closed 6.5 cents higher at $5.045 per bushel, July ethanol closed lower by $0.004 cents at $1.619, July world sugar futures closed 0.39 cents lower to 15.75 cents.
14:19
LNY Landry's Seafood announces pricing of additional $47.0 million of senior secured notes (20.77 -0.15) -Update-
14:13
EQS Equus II Inc. takes action to collect $2.3 mln from Trulite (3.21 +0.11)
Co today that on April 22, 2010, it had taken action to collect $2.3 million owing from Trulite, Inc., a portfolio company of Equus. The loan to Trulite was originated by Paula Douglass. Trulite defaulted on the Loan from Equus on January 26, 2010.
13:58
REXX Rex Energy announces borrowing base increases to $100 mln from $80 mln (12.87 +0.27)
13:53
TOD Todd Shipyards announces U.S. Navy exercise of option for overhaul of USS Ingraham (16.42 -0.18)
Co announced that the U.S. Navy has awarded to its wholly owned subsidiary, Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation, an $8.3 mln modification to previously awarded Contract No. N00024-00-C-8514. This contract modification represents the exercise of an option for dry docking repairs, maintenance and alterations of various ships systems and equipment throughout the USS Ingraham. Work will be performed at Todd Pacific's Seattle shipyard, commencing May 10, 2010 and is expected to be completed September 24, 2010.
13:48
SPY S&P 500 +2.7 holding above intraday support -Update- -Technical-
The index failed at last week's 52-wk high at 1213.92 after a mixed/weaker start but it held above the early low and the 38% retracement of the rally off yesterday's low. Intraday a continued posture above the 1209/1208 area leaves the door open for the upside breakout (Click for chart).
13:41
ASEI American Science & Engineering receives U.S. government award valued at $48.8 mln for ZBV military trailers (76.30 -1.90)
Co announced the receipt of a $48.8 million U.S. government award for a significant quantity of ZBV Military Trailers. AS&E has received the first ZBV Mil Trailer order for $34 million and under the award the U.S. government has an option to procure up to $14.8 million in additional units. The ZBV Mil Trailer is a ruggedized version of the Company's patented, top-selling Z Backscatter Van system and is ideal for screening vehicles for car and truck bombs. The easily relocatable ZBV Mil Trailer will be deployed by the U.S. government for counterterrorism missions in harsh environments.
13:36
COMDX COMEX Metals Closing Prices
June gold rallied for $10.40 to end at $1153.30, May silver closed higher by 19.1 cents to $18.20, and May copper finished up 2.65 cents to $3.513.
13:34
LGF Lions Gate Entertainment amends shareholder rights plan (7.08 +0.19)
The co announces that the company's Board of Directors, after careful consideration, including consideration of the unanimous recommendation of the Special Committee of the Board and in consultation with its financial and legal advisors, has amended its Shareholder Rights Plan, previously implemented by the Board on March 12, 2010. The amended Shareholder Rights Plan provides that the shares held by Carl Icahn and certain of his affiliated entities will be taken into account in the vote at the Special Meeting of Shareholders held on May 4, 2010. Originally, the voting threshold for confirming the Shareholder Rights Plan was a vote of the majority of independent shares represented at the Special Meeting, and now it is a majority of all shares represented at the meeting.
13:00
HON Honeywell to bid marine corps logistics contract (47.00 -0.43) -Update-
The co announces its intention to bid as a prime contractor for the Marine Corps Logistics Support Services (MCLogss) contract and conduct an industry day to attract top-caliber partners on June 3. HTSI will respond to at least ten different task areas, ranging from program management, to maintenance, training and technical data generation. The MCLogss program supports the Marine Corps Logistics Command (LOGCOM), located in Albany, Ga., with innovative and responsive logistics support for multiple centers in the United States.
12:59
DIA Stock indices break above midday bounce high/range top in recent trade -- Dow +23, S&P +2, Nasdaq +0.06 -Technical-
12:45
XHB Midday global & sector ETF movers... Homebuilders & Home Construction still lead & Australia still lags -Technical-
The Actively Traded Leading Global & Sector ETFs:
homebuilders & home construction- XHB +1.50%, ITB +2.50%, oil HLDRS- OIH +2.50%, nat gas- UNG +2.0%, SPDRS oil & gas exploration & services- XES +1.50%, SPDRS metals & mining- XME +1.25%, SPDRS biotech- XBI +1.25%, airlines- FAA +1.25%, silver- SLV +1.25%, gold miners- GDX +1.0%, gold- GLD +1.0%
The Actively Traded Lagging Global & Sector ETFs:
iShares Australia- EWA -1.25%, semis- XSD -1.0%, IGW -1.0%, SMH -0.75%, China 25- FXI -1.0%, BRIC countries- BKF -1.0%, iShares Brazil- EWZ -0.75%, iShares Hong Kong- EWH -0.50%, Ag commods- DBA -0.75%, SPDRS cons stpls- XLP -0.75%, aerospace & defense- PPA -0.75%, Yen currency shares- FXY -0.50%, iShares telecom- IYZ -0.50%
12:35
MCZ Mad Catz enters into multi-year license agreement with Harmonix as global manufacturing and distribution partner for rock band music game peripherals (0.48 +0.03)
Co announced that it has entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with Harmonix Music Systems, to serve as the peripherals partner for the Rock Band franchise. The license agreement grants Mad Catz international rights, wherever Rock Band is sold, to produce and distribute Rock Band music videogame controllers for future iterations of Rock Band during the term of the deal, including the Rock Band 3 for the Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation3 computer entertainment system and Wii system from Nintendo.
12:31
STX Midday NASDAQ 100 (NDX) strength & weakness-- Storage leadership & E~Commerc still lags -Technical-
Early Afternoon % Gainers:
STX, SNDK, SHLD, PCAR, FLIR, DISH, GILD, WCRX, NTAP, MRVL, HSIC, PDCO, TEVA
Early Afternoon % Decliners:
AMZN, QCOM, NVDA, APOL, VMED, QGEN, XLNX, MSFT, JOYG, EXPE, BMC, URBN
NASDAQ TRIN @ +1.15
12:28
AXP Midday Dow 30 (INDU) strength & weakness-- Financial still leads & Software now lags -Technical-
Early Afternoon % Gainers:
AXP, MRK, PFE, CAT, HD, CVX, AA, DD
Early Afternoon % Decliners:
MSFT, TRV, VZ, INTC, KO, WMT, BA, BAC
NYSE TRIN @ +1.60
12:03
Rumor Round Up
We finished off the week with another quiet rumor day. Humana (HUM 45.04 +0.57) traded higher following a rumor that co could be taken over. ARCA Biopharma (ABIO 5.1 +1.60) shares spiked on heavy volume following a rumor the co got approval on their Special Protocol Assessment for Gencaro.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.
12:01
MRK Merck provides information on impact of U.S. health care reform legislation, will reduce revenue by ~$170 million for FY10 (34.26 +0.49)
Co provided information on the expected impact of the recently enacted U.S. Health Care Reform legislation. Accordingly, in Q1 of 2010, Merck anticipates that Medicaid rebates and other impacts will reduce revenue by ~$35 mln. Co also plans to take a first quarter non-cash charge, related to the elimination of a tax benefit for retiree prescription drug coverage, of ~$150 mln, which will be excluded from Q1 2010 non-GAAP earnings per share. For the full year 2010, Merck anticipates that the increased Medicaid rebates and other impacts will reduce revenue by ~$170 mln (consensus calls for revs of $45.8 bln), which includes the first quarter impact of $35 mln mentioned above. The company estimates that the unfavorable sales impact related to the passage of this legislation, in 2011 will be ~$300-$350 mln. Merck continues to target a high single-digit non-GAAP EPS compound annual growth rate for the combined company from 2009 to 2013 when compared to Merck 2009 non-GAAP EPS.
11:48
European Markets Closing Prices: FTSE: 5718.2 +52.9 +0.9%, DAX: 6256.4 +87.7 +1.4%, CAC: 3951.3 +26.7 +0.7%, Spain's IBEX: +0.9%, Portugal's PSI: +0.7%
11:47
SMH Lagging Semiconductor -SMH- vacillating near session low/retracement support (29.90 -0.34) -Technical-
The sector has been a laggard throughout the morning with it holding thus far near the 38% retracement of yesterday's intraday advance at 29.84 (session low 29.83) . Secondary support, if unable to continue to hold here, is at 29.70 (50% retrace), followed by 28.58/29.48 -- ADI -1.8%, ALTR -1.9%, AMD -2.1%, ATML -2.4%, BRCM -1.1%, KLAC -1.7%, LLTC -1.4%, MU +1.1%, MXIM -1.4%, NSM -1.6%, NVLS -1.2%, TER -2.7%, TXN -1.6%, XLNX -2.1%.
11:37
XHB Intraday sector weakness -Update- -Technical-
Sectors that have paced the way lower in recent trade (underperforming the S&P) include Housing (XHB still positive but 2% off high), Internet HHH, Semi SMH, Consumer Discretionary XLY, Coal KOL, Solar TAN, Steel SLX.
11:36
FNBN FNB Corp. (NC): Miller retires from FNB United Corp. (2.33 +0.65)
Co's holding company for CommunityONE Bank, National Association, announced that Michael C. Miller has retired effective Thursday, April 22, 2010. Mr. Miller served as President and CEO and Director of both the holding company and the bank from 1991 until the present. James Campbell, Chairman of the Board, offered thanks and appreciation to Mr. Miller for his 25 years of service to the co. The Board of Directors has appointed R. Larry Campbell, Executive Vice President and COO of FNB United and CommunityONE Bank, to serve as the interim President and CEO. A committee has been appointed to begin the search for a replacement.
11:34
SPY New intraday pullback lows for stock indices -- Dow -13 and S&P -2.5, also new session low for Nasdaq Comp -10.6 -Update- -Technical-
11:32
ORB Orbital Sciences authorizes new $50 million stock repurchase program (19.10 -0.28)
11:25
SIRI Sirius XM Radio announced that a free application for Android-powered smartphones will be available in May (1.12 +0.02)
11:18
COMDX Crude oil puts in new highs at $84.69; now up $0.89 to $84.59
11:18
TECHX Crude Oil vacillating near high for the week -Update- -Technical-
The continuous crude oil futures contract has set a fresh session high in recent trade leaving it near this week's earlier rebound high at 84.64 after two successful tests of support near its 50-day sma/ema (Click for chart).
11:08
LNY Landry's Seafood announced that it intends to offer up to an additional $47 million aggregate principal amount of 11 5/8% senior secured notes due 2015 (20.94 +0.02)
11:05
QQQQ Nasdaq Comp -8.7 slides to minor new session low -Technical-
Relative weakness has been noted in Semi SMH -1.2%, Internet HHH -2.2%, Networking -0.5%. Individual names weighing include: AMZN -3.9%, QCOM -2.9%, VMED -2.7%, APOL -2.5%, XLNX -2.1%, NVDA -2.1%, JOYG -2%, ALTR -2%, TLAB -1.9%, MSFT -1.8%, KLAC -1.8%, MCHP -1.5%.
10:51
PPL PPL Corp Susquehanna Unit 2 shut down for planned repairs (28.31 +0.31)
Co annouced that operators at PPL's Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Luzerne County, Pa., safely shut down the Unit 2 reactor early Friday (4/23) for a planned maintenance outage to repair a heat exchanger tube in a heating system. PPL expects to complete the repairs quickly and have Unit 2 generating electricity again in a few days. Unit 2 had been operating safely and reliably for 341 consecutive days before this shutdown.
10:44
COMDX Gold and silver trade to new highs as dollar index drops into negative territory
Gold up $10.30 to $1153.20 and silver is higher by 11.6 cents to $18.125.
10:35
XHB 1st hour global & sector ETF movers... Homebuilders & Home Construction lead & Australia lag through 1st hour -Technical-
The Actively Traded Leading Global & Sector ETFs:
homebuilders & home construction- XHB +2.50%, ITB +3.50%, oil HLDRS- OIH +2.0%, biotech- XBI +1.25%, BBH +0.50%, SPDRS metals & mining- XME +1.0%, casinos- BJK +1.25%, energy- XLE +0.75%, IYE +0.50%, airlines- FAA +1.0%, nat gas- UNG +0.75%, insurers- KIE +0.50%
The Actively Traded Lagging Global & Sector ETFs:
iShares Australia- EWA -1.50%, semis- XSD -1.25%, SMH -1.0%, IGW -1.0%, China 25- FXI -1.0%, iShares Hong Kong- EWH -0.75%, SPDRS cons stpls- XLP +0.75%, Yen currency shares- FXY -0.50%, aerospace & defense- PPA -0.50%, BRIC countries- BFK -0.50%, iShares telecom- IYZ -0.50%
10:35
SPY Stock indices slipping back off morning highs -- Dow +4, S&P -0.6, Nasdaq -3.7 -Update- -Technical-
The S&P failed to break out to a new 52-wk high and the other indices have edged back as Finance (XLF unch, KBE -0.3%, KRE -0.5%) and Semi SMH -1.1% have not participated.
10:27
SNDK 1st hour NASDAQ 100 (NDX) leaders & laggards-- Semis (memory) lead & E~Commerce lag through 1st hour -Technical-
NDX 100 Best % Performers:
SNDK +4.25%, STX +3.75%, SHLD +4.0%, FLIR +2.50%, PCAR +2.50%, GILD +2.0%, NTAP +2.0%, WYNN +2.0%, MRVL +2.0%, HSIC +1.75%, FLEX +1.50%
NDX 100 Worst % Performers:
AMZN -2.25%, QCOM -2.0%, QGEN -2.0%, ALTR -2.0%, APOL -1.75%, JOYG -2.0%, NVDA -1.75%, VMED -1.50%, MSFT -1.25%, VOD -1.25%, XLNX -1.0%
NASDAQ TRIN @ +0.70
NASDAQ A/D @ +70
10:26
COMDX Pull back in dollar index is helping gold, silver and crude oil trade to session highs
Gold is currently higher by $4.10 to $1147; silver is up 7.1 cents to $18.08 and crude oil is higher by 45 cents to $84.15.
10:24
AXP 1st hour Dow 30 (INDU) leaders & laggards-- Financial leads & Telecom lags through 1st hour -Technical-
INDU 30 Best % Performers:
AXP +4.25%, CAT +1.50%, HD +1.0%, DD +1.0%, CVX +1.0%, AA +1.0%
INDU 30 Worst % Performers:
VZ -1.25%, KFT -1.0%, MSFT -1.0%, BA -0.75%, BAC -0.75%, JNJ -0.50%, KO -0.50%
NYSE TRIN @ +0.75
NYSE A/D @ +650
10:17
K Kellogg announces plans to increase the quarterly dividend by 8% to $0.405 per share beginning with 3Q (53.80 -0.18)
10:14
SHPGY Shire Plc files suit against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (65.95 +0.66)
Co announces that its subsidiary Shire LLC has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industrials (TEVA) for the infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,287,599 and 6,811,794. The lawsuit results from an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) filed by Teva for generic versions of 1 mg, 2 mg, 3 mg and 4 mg guanfacine hydrochloride extended release tablets, INTUNIV, which seeks to market such generic products before the expiration of the '599 and '794 patents. Teva's ANDA did not challenge, and the lawsuit does not currently assert, the third Orange Book listed patent which expires in 2015. The regulatory exclusivity period for INTUNIV runs through September 2, 2012.
10:12
SPY Lagging S&P testing its 52-wk high from last week at 1213.92 -- session high 1213.38 -Update- -Technical-
10:11
BIDU Baidu.com vacillating near session high of 647.50 with its 52-wk peak from last week at 650.00 (647.00 +6.96) -Technical-
10:10
BJK Market Vectors Gaming & Casino ETF nearing last wk/52-wk peak at 27.48 -- session high 27.44 (27.44 +0.27) -Technical-
This is a low volume ETF (avg roughly 20 K per day) but is of interest today given the strength and close proximity to new highs. Sector strength has been noted in: IGT +7.7%, BYI +5.8%, LVS +5.4%, MGM +4%, PENN +3.9%, WMS +3.7%, BYD +3.7%, PNK +2.6%, WYNN +2.6%, MCRI +1.5%, SHFL +1.2%.
10:07
GFED Guaranty Fed. Bancshares names Mark McFatridge new COO of Guaranty Bank (6.13 )
10:05
IBCP Independent Bank Corporation announces commencement of exchange offer for Trust Preferred Securities (1.51 +0.05)
Co announced that it has commenced an offer to exchange up to 180,200,000 newly issued shares of its common stock for properly tendered and accepted trust preferred securities issued by IBC Capital Finance II (Nasdaq: IBCPO), IBC Capital Finance III, IBC Capital Finance IV, and Midwest Guaranty Trust I. The Exchange Offer will expire at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on Tuesday, June 1, 2010, unless extended or earlier terminated by the co.
10:04
CRD.A Crawford unit Broadspire Partners with Medcor to provide injury triage services (3.23 -0.07)
The co and Medcor, a leading injury triage provider, are partnering to implement services to more effectively direct immediate post-injury treatment for employees.
10:03
MSON Misonix announces new distribution agreement for Venezuela (6.43 +0.18)
Co entered into a new, three year, exclusive distribution agreement with Suministros Medicos Multimedicas, based in Caracas, Venezuela, for the distribution of the SonaStarUltrasonic Surgical Aspirator, the BoneScalpel Ultrasonic Bone Cutter, and the SonicOne Ultrasonic Wound Debrider. The agreement provides Suministros with the rights to sell and distribute in Venezuela, and includes minimum purchase requirements.
10:03
MNKD Mannkind reports follow-up safety data show AFREZZA comparable to standard antidiabetic therapy in lung function tests (6.47 +0.22)
Pulmonary function test results (PFTs) in patients treated with AFREZZA (insulin human [rDNA origin]) Inhalation Powder, a well-tolerated, ultra rapid acting insulin, at follow-up measurements were similar to PFT results observed in patients receiving standard antidiabetic therapy, according to data presented today at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists 19th Annual Meeting (Poster #267). Results from the follow-up study suggest that the pattern and magnitude of changes in lung function associated with the use of AFREZZA in patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are not likely due to any structural alterations in the lungs and are not clinically meaningful. "Our findings add to the growing body of clinical evidence that indicates AFREZZA is comparable to standard of care insulin therapy in terms of lung safety," said Peter Richardson, MRCP, Corporate Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, MannKind Corporation. "We are encouraged by these PFT data, which support our belief that AFREZZA, clinically shown to provide glycemic control similar to standard therapy with less risk of hypoglycemia and weight gain, is a promising new option that may address a poorly-met need in diabetes treatment."
10:01
SPY Stock indices jump to new session highs after housing data Dow +25 and Nasdaq +2.9 set new 52-wk highs -Update- -Technical-
S&P +2.3 is flirting with its 52-wk close/intraday highs at 1211/1213.
09:48
PPH Pharmaceutical HOLDRs down for the third session in a row, vacillating near its 200-day sma (63.36 -0.29) -Technical-
The PPH has been a laggard of late with it down as much as 3.9% off Tuesday's high after it failed to clear its 50 day sma resistance. This morning's downside extension has seen it slip as low as 63.20 before attempting to stabilize near its 200-day sma at 63.46
09:48
TECHX Opening Point Gainers/Losers -Technical-
Point Gainers: DECK (+10.00), IDXX (+6.04), AAPL (+3.95), HITT (+4.01), DOV (+3.90), EMN (+3.58), WDC (+3.65), SLB (+3.34), CLF (+3.28), GDI (+2.41), ACTG (+2.46)
Point Losers: PEGA (-5.09), CYMI (-4.08), DV (-4.00), FSLR (-3.50), COL (-3.10), IR (-3.08), AMZN (-2.60), BUCY (-2.02), WL (-2.15), ACUR (-2.11), AMSG (-1.50)
09:46
ECONX Reminder: New Home Sales data due out in about 14 min at 10:00ET
09:43
SPY Choppy start for the indices -- Dow -16, S&P -1.3, Nasdaq -1.7 -Technical-
Energy (OIH +1.8%, XLE +0.3%, Drillers SLB, NBR, BHI, BJS, HAL, NE and Refiners HOC, FTO, WNR, SUN, TSO, VLO) and Housing XHB +1.6% providing early upside leadership.
09:41
PVH Phillips-Van Heusen announces pricing of offering of $600 mln of 7 3/8% senior notes due 2020 (67.99 +0.91)
09:36
KO Coca-Cola lagging of late and down again this morning leaving it back near its low for the week at 54.00 -- session low 54.00 (54.06 -0.25) -Technical-
If a penetration is seen there is an important support below at 54.85/53.78 which marks its early month gap and 200 day sma (provided key support in Feb and early April).
09:35
RYL Ryland Group shares break out a bit above notable chart/price resistance surrounding 25.00 into new 52 week highs (25.25 +.61) -Technical-
This homebuilders is making a move for a possible breakout above multi-month resistance. HoD now @ 25.25.
09:34
SLB Schlumberger extends its gap up higher off the open as it lifts up into its Jan range/52-wk highs of 72.00 (71.85 +3.75) -Update- -Technical-
09:33
WFC Wells Fargo brought together its asset-based lending units in Canada with that of Wachovia (33.68 +0.10) -Update-
Co has brought together its asset-based lending units in Canada with that of Wachovia, uniting them under a common trade name as it did with their U.S. affiliates in December 2009. Going forward, Wachovia Capital Finance Corporation (Canada), Wells Fargo Business Credit Canada ULC and Wells Fargo Foothill Canada ULC will now market under the trade name Wells Fargo Capital Finance. The name change reflects Wachovia's continued integration with Wells Fargo, which acquired Wachovia Corporation on Dec. 31, 2008.
09:33
OIH Oil Service HOLDRS gaps higher off the open and extends above its 52-wk close high from Jan at 132.82 (133.38 +2.29) -Technical-
Its 52-wk intraday high is at 134.45 (SLB +5.5% testiing its Jan/52-wk high at 72.00).
09:31
CVVT China Valves Tech receives $2.0 mln order form Chinese nuclear power co (12.10 )
Co comments that it is "well positioned to meet its guidance to generate $40 million in net income in fiscal year 2010."
09:29
GRT Glimcher Realty announces pricing of $25.00 par, yielding 8.125% on par, priced at $21.51, preferred shares (6.38 )
09:19
GNK Genco Shipping & Trading reached an agreement to extend the time charter for the Genco Marine with STX Pan Ocean for ~11 to 13.5 months at a rate of $20,000 per day, less a 5% third-party brokerage commission (22.79 )
09:13
FPP Fieldpoint Petroleum evaluates drilling opportunity in Lea County New Mexico (2.77 )
Co announced that it has received an offer from Cimarex Energy Co, (XEC) to enter into a farmout agreement covering fifty percent of all the FieldPoint leasehold interest in section 15 of Lea County, NM. The proposal includes drilling the first horizontal well. Section 15 offsets the Korczak well in section 14 and Cimarex already has leasehold interest in section 16. The drilling target would be to horizontal drill in the Bone Spring formation. FieldPoint is aware of at least one horizontal well within approximately 5-10 miles of the subject area that came in producing 400 to 800 barrels of oil per day, but will engage the services of a geologist to evaluate the potential of the leasehold before any decision to proceed is made.
09:11
WLP WellPoint: HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urges WellPoint to immediately stop dropping coverage for women with breast cancer (58.41 )
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent a letter to WellPoint urging them to immediately end their practice of dropping health insurance coverage for women with breast cancer, after Reuters reported that the company "has specifically targeted women with breast cancer for aggressive investigation with the intent to cancel their policies." The Affordable Care Act will ban such rescissions, except in cases of blatant misrepresentation or fraud, beginning this fall. In her letter, Sebelius writes, "WellPoint should not wait to end the unconscionable practice of deliberately working to deny health insurance coverage to women diagnosed with breast cancer. I urge you to immediately cease these practices and abandon your efforts to rescind health insurance coverage from patients who need it most."
09:08
SHS Sauer Danfoss: Special Committee recommends that stockholders reject Danfoss' $14.00 per share offer and withdraws earlier recommendation of Danfoss' previous $13.25 per share offer (15.58 )
The Special Committee of the Board of Directors of the company announces that it is recommending that the Company's stockholders reject the increased offer of $14.00 per common share in the ongoing cash tender offer by Danfoss Acquisition, a wholly owned subsidiary of Danfoss, the Company's majority stockholder, and that the Company's stockholders not tender their shares of the Company's common stock in the offer. The Special Committee also announced that it is withdrawing its earlier recommendation that the Company's stockholders accept the Purchaser's previous offer of $13.25 per common share and tender their shares in that offer. The Special Committee made these determinations after consultation with its financial and legal advisors and consideration of updated projections for the full year 2010, as well as updated projections for 2011 and 2012, prepared by the Company's management reflecting the previously disclosed, stronger-than-expected preliminary first quarter financial results.
09:02
GCA Global Cash Access: summary notice of settlement of global Cash Access Holdings litigation; defendants will cause a total of $5,875,000 to be paid for the benefit of the class members (8.97 )
09:00
PTEK PokerTek announced that it has signed an exclusive distributor for Heads-Up Challenge World Series of Poker Edition tables in South Africa (1.06 )
Co announced that it has signed an exclusive distributor for Heads-Up Challenge World Series of Poker Edition tables in South Africa. PokerTek has already shipped 82 units based on initial orders, and anticipates continued growth in the region. This is the first time Heads-Up Challenge has been placed in the country.
08:51
COMDX Gold and silver also moving lower this morning; sell off coincides with strength in dollar index
Gold is now down $6.10 to $1136.70; silver is off 10.4 cents to $17.905.
08:49
COMDX Crude oil ticking back towards the $83 level in pre-market trade; now off 62 cents to $83.08
08:32
VIST VIST Financial raises $5.2 million in new capital (9.00 )
Co announces that it has entered into purchase agreements which will raise $5.2 million in new capital through the issuance of 644,000 shares of common stock to two institutional investors who specialize in the banking sector, at a price of $8.00 a share.
08:31
EXC Exelon beats by $0.10, misses on revs; guides FY10 EPS in-line (43.65 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.00 per share, $0.10 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.90; revenues fell 5.5% year/year to $4.46 bln vs the $4.73 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, raises bottom end of EPS guidance to $3.70 from $3.60, sees EPS of $3.70-4.00 vs. $3.76 Thomson Reuters consensus. "We continue to manage the factors in our control, such as our focus on strong operations, which resulted in our Generation company achieving a 92.3% nuclear capacity factor in the first quarter, even with five planned refueling outages, and our utilities ComEd and PECO attaining exceptional performance during adverse winter weather conditions."
08:30
GPN Global Payment board approved a new $100 million share repurchase authorization of Global Payments' stock (45.26 )
08:11
UWN Nevada Gold and Casinos to acquire seven mini-casinos in Washington for $11.1 mln (0.90 )
Co announces it has reached an agreement to acquire seven mini-casinos in the state of Washington for $11.1 million. The casinos are currently owned by subsidiaries of Evergreen Gaming Corporation ("Evergreen"), a British Columbia corporation, which is under bankruptcy court protection. The transaction will be financed by cash on hand as well as a $5.1 million note issued to Evergreen's current senior lender.
08:11
ECONX Reminder: Durable Orders data due out in about 19 min at 8:30ET
08:04
FMD First Marblehead misses by $0.22, misses on revs (3.89 )
Reports Q3 (Mar) loss of $0.30 per share, $0.22 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.08); revenues were -$16.8 mln vs the $10.4 mln consensus. The negative revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 were driven primarily by non-cash fair value adjustments to service receivables totaling ($22.0) million. A net adjustment of ($9.5) million can be attributed to changes in performance assumptions for loans in securitized trusts while an additional ($14.7) million can be attributed to the accompanying change in the discount rate. These adjustments were partially offset by accretion of $2.2 million due to the passage of time. Total non-interest expenses for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 were $28.0 million, including a $4.2 million loss on education loans held for sale, as compared to $75.0 million in total non-interest expenses for the third quarter of fiscal 2009, including a $47.6 million loss on education loans held for sale.
08:04
SNWL SonicWALL beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (9.87 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.12 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.10; revenues rose 17.4% year/year to $55.3 mln vs the $52.6 mln consensus. Non-GAAP gross margin in the first quarter was 74.4%, compared to 74.0% in 1Q09. Co issues mixed guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.10-$0.11 vs. $0.11 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $55-$57 mln vs. $54.04 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. The co expects Q2 non-GAAP gross margin to be in the range of 72%-73% of rev.
08:03
HRS Harris awarded $18 mln follow-on production contract for MIDS military tactical communications system (50.53 )
Co has received a two-year, $18 mln follow-on contract from ViaSat Inc. (VSAT) for additional hardware to be integrated into Multifunctional Information Distribution System terminals. MIDS terminals provide military forces with high-capacity, jam-resistant, digital communication links to exchange near real-time tactical information, including both data and voice - among users in the air, on ground and at sea.
08:02
C Citigroup to purchase for cash approx $1.1 bln principal amount of notes (4.87 )
Co notes this action is part of a liability management strategy that utilizes available cash to retire older vintage debt nearing maturity and is expected to have no impact on the bank's structural liquidity. In addition, because the notes are within one year of maturity, the offers will not result in any reduction in Citi's Tier 2 Capital.
08:02
DEP Duncan Energy Partners President and CEO Bachmann resigns; Fowler named as successor (27.79 )
The co announces that Richard Bachmann has resigned as president and chief executive officer of its general partner, effective April 23, 2010. Elected by the DEP board of directors to fill the vacated post is W. Randall "Randy" Fowler, who previously served as the partnership's executive vice president and chief financial officer. Both have served in their current capacities since the formation of the partnership in October 2006. Bachmann, who is resigning in order to devote more time to the Duncan family's private interests, will continue as a member of the DEP board of directors, as will Fowler.
08:02
IPAR Inter Parfums reports Q1 prelim revs and reaffirms FY10 guidance (16.38 )
Co issues upside guidance for Q1 (Mar), sees Q1 (Mar) revs of ~$119.4 mln vs. $103.18 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY10 (Dec), sees EPS of ~$0.78 vs. $0.79 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 (Dec) revs of ~$440 mln vs. $441.13 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
08:01
BNX Banks.com announces change in auditors for FY10 (0.68 )
Co announces it has selected Burr Pilger Mayer to serve as its independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010. B.P.M replaces the Company's previous independent registered accountants, Hacker, Johnson & Smith. The change was recommended by the Company's Audit Committee. The Company and Hacker, Johnson did not have any disagreement on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedures which if not resolved to the satisfaction of Hacker, Johnson, would have caused it to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreement in connection with its report on the Company's consolidated financial statements.
08:01
WL Wilmington Trust misses by $0.40 (20.16 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.44 per share, $0.40 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.04). Despite these positive trends, economic conditions in Delaware are improving more slowly than elsewhere in the mid-Atlantic region. Due to uncertainty about the pace of Delaware's recovery, as well as credit risk rating downgrades, management added $48.3 million to the reserve for loan losses and recorded a provision for loan losses of $77.4 million. The amount of the provision, coupled with $18.0 million of investment securities impairment charges, reduced revenue and resulted in a net loss for the quarter.
08:00
CAVO Cavico makes capital investment into Cavico Renewable Energy Joint Stock Company (3.84 )
The co announces that its subsidiary, Cavico Vietnam, on March 31, 2010, received an investment license for the formation of Cavico Renewable Energy Joint Stock Company, or Cavico CRE. Cavico CRE's main business will focus on developing renewable energy-related projects such as hydroelectric, wind power, solar energy, and biofuels. Cavico CRE requires a total investment of $14 million. An initial investment of $4.2 million will be contributed within 90 days after receiving the investment license. The remaining $10 million will be contributed within three years following the initial start-up. According the share structure, Cavico Vietnam will own 10%, or 2,400,000 shares and Cavico Transport, a subsidiary of Cavico Vietnam, will own 20%, or 4,800,000 shares of Cavico CRE. The founding partners plan to offer the remaining shares of Cavico CRE to outside investors.
07:59
NPBC National Penn reports Q1 EPS of $0.02 vs ($0.01) Thomson Reuters consensus (8.10 )
"National Penn's balance sheet remains strong with capital levels exceeding all regulatory requirements; a further increase in the loan loss reserve, which compares very favorably with banks of our size; and enhanced capital ratios in the quarter. The first quarter provides a strong basis from which to build shareholder value."
07:57
NWE NorthWestern beats by $0.06; reaffirms FY10 EPS guidance in-line (28.85 )
Reports 1Q10 (Mar) earnings of $0.79 per share, $0.06 better than the Thomson-Reuters consensus of $0.73; revenue declined 9.9% year/year to $334.17 mln vs $371.5 mln Thomson-Reuters consensus. Co reaffirms in-line guidance; sees FY10 EPS of $1.95-2.10 vs $1.99 Thomson-Reuters consensus.
07:33
TROW T. Rowe Price misses by $0.02, misses on revs (58.98 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.57 per share, $0.02 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.59; revenues rose 44.7% year/year to $556.2 mln vs the $574.1 mln consensus. "Global fiscal and monetary stimulus have done a great deal to restore confidence in the stability of the world's economies. Investors have also become more confident about the prospects for a sustained - albeit gradual - economic recovery, and companies and consumers are repairing their balance sheets. Valuations, while no longer as compelling as they had been, are reasonable. Although there is still plenty of uncertainty, we remain positive on the market's prospects and believe that equity markets continue to offer attractive opportunities for the long-term investor."
07:33
CMS CMS Energy beats by $0.02, misses on revs; reaffirms FY10 EPS guidance (15.80 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.38 per share, excluding items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.36; revenues fell 6.5% year/year to $1.97 bln vs the $2.2 bln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY10, sees EPS of ~$1.35 vs. $1.35 Thomson Reuters consensus.
07:32
TASR TASER reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (5.61 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.01 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.01); revenues fell 3.3% year/year to $23.8 mln vs the $23 mln consensus. Co says the decrease was driven primarily by fewer significant orders from international customers. This was partially offset by an improvement in the domestic law enforcement business.
07:32
FLIR FLIR Systems beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (30.03 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.35 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.34; revenues rose 5.6% year/year to $287.3 mln vs the $286.6 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.48-1.53 vs. $1.52 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $1.2-1.3 bln vs. $1.24 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. "I am very pleased with our first quarter performance. Our commercial businesses had solid growth year-over-year and Government Systems was little changed, as expected. Gross margins and operating margins remained at near-record levels. Cash flow from operations of $82 million was also excellent," stated Earl Lewis, President and CEO of FLIR. "We are seeing a good recovery in our commercial businesses, and expect them to grow nicely for the remainder of 2010 and beyond. The Government Systems division is on track to meet our expectations as we expand our sales footprint and marketing activities to position us for long term growth. As a company, we continue to focus on efficient operations, broad distribution, high quality products, and leadership in promising growth markets."
07:31
EMN Eastman Chem reviewing strategic options for performance polymers business (67.12 )
Co announced it will review strategic options, including a possible divestiture, for its PET business in the Performance Polymers segment. The company has retained Bank of America Merrill Lynch as its exclusive financial advisor for the strategic review.
07:31
COL Rockwell Collins beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (67.84 )
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.93 per share, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.87; revenues rose 0.4% year/year to $1.14 bln vs the $1.14 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $3.35-3.55 vs. $3.53 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $4.6-4.8 bln vs. $4.65 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. "Market indicators continue their positive vector giving us increased confidence that sequential increases in sales and profits will allow us to achieve our fiscal year 2010 expectations and position us well for fiscal year 2011."
07:31
ONCY Oncolytics Biotech completed Phase I patient enrollment in its Phase I/II clinical trial to investigate the use of REOLYSIN (2.94 )
07:28
On The Wires
NexMed (NEXM) announced that it received delivery confirmation of its response to the CMC concerns raised by Health Canada. Health Canada has a 45-day screening for acceptance process of the Response by their Regulatory Project Management group. The acceptance of the Response triggers a new, 150-day review cycle by the NDS reviewers for a final approval or rejection of the marketing application... Pfizer (PFE) and Medicines for Malaria Venture entered into an agreement for the development, access and delivery of a fixed-dose combination treatment consisting of azithromycin dihydrate and chloroquine phosphate for the Intermittent Preventive Treatment of P. falciparum malaria in pregnancy... Quaterra Resources (QMM) announced that it has granted an aggregate of 300,000 incentive stock options to certain directors, officers, employees, consultants with each option being exercisable between Cdn$1.76 and Cdn$1.80 per share for periods of up five years... Spectra Energy Partners (SEP) announced the board of directors of its general partner declared a quarterly cash distribution to unitholders of $0.42/share for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. This represents a 2.4% increase over the fourth quarter 2009 distribution of $0.41/share paid on February 12, 2010, and a 13.5% increase over the first quarter 2009 distribution of $0.37/share.
07:23
XRX Xerox beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus; guides FY10 EPS in-line (10.45 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.18 per share, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.13; revenues rose 32.8% year/year to $4.72 bln vs the $4.65 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.20-0.22 vs. $0.18 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS in "high end of" $0.75-0.85" vs. $0.81 Thomson Reuters consensus. "Our results reflect improving demand for Xerox's document technology in developing markets and from small and mid-size businesses. In addition, total color revenue grew 11 percent in the quarter with customers increasingly choosing Xerox color multifunction printers as a cost-effective way to get more for less... Equipment sales are still under pressure for large enterprises and the graphic communications market. However, we're seeing an improving trend in enterprises' use of their existing devices, contributing to our annuity stream and indicating some economic stability in corporate environments."
07:21
PRSP Prosperity Bancshares beats by $0.02 (43.13 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.66 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.64. "Our company continues to perform well in the current economic environment," commented David Zalman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our continued focus on our core values of strong credit quality, real relationship based banking, local decision makers and expense control has resulted in another strong quarter."
07:18
GBCI Glacier Bancorp beats by $0.05 (17.69 )
Reports 1Q (Mar) earnings of $0.16 per share, $0.05 better than the $0.11 Thomson-Reuters consensus; revenue fell 2.7% year/year to $75.7 ml vs $86.59 mln Thomson-Reuters consensus.
07:15
IVR Invesco Mortgage Capital sees Q1 EPS of $0.77 vs $0.80 Thomson Reuters consensus (22.20 )
The co announces preliminary estimates of its earnings per share for the first quarter of 2010 and its book value as of March 31, 2010. The Company currently expects its earnings per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 to be approximately $0.77 (Thomson Reuters consensus $0.80) and its book value as of March 31, 2010 to be approximately $20.26 per share, as compared to earnings per share for the quarter ended December 31, 2009 of $1.02 and a book value of $20.39 as of December 31, 2009. The change in earnings per share is primarily attributed to fewer sales of securities within the Company's portfolio in the first quarter of 2010 and the impact on net interest income related to deploying capital from the Company's January 2010 follow-on public offering. The change in book value from December 31, 2009 to March 31, 2010 is principally attributable to modification of the mix of the Company's portfolio of mortgage-backed securities, changes in the valuation of its portfolio, net income, and the impact of the dividend declared in the first quarter of 2010.
07:14
ACO Amcol beats by $0.02, beats on revs (30.60 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.20 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.18; revenues rose 6.4% year/year to $175 mln vs the $167.1 mln consensus. "While we are a long way from where we want to be, we are encouraged with the improving Minerals & Materials business as it was the first to show the impact of the economic slowdown and may be a leading indicator of the improving economic environment. The worst winter in many years slowed the start of the Environmental business but there are many projects that will ship in the months ahead. We will continue to focus on the balance sheet while we look for stronger growth in 2010."
07:10
HON Honeywell beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (47.44 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.50 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.47; revenues rose 2.7% year/year to $7.78 bln vs the $7.58 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $2.30-2.45 vs. $2.42 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $31.5-32.3 bln vs. $31.92 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. "Honeywell's first quarter performance reflects better than expected improvements in many of our end markets, coupled with strong commercial execution and disciplined cost controls," said Honeywell Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dave Cote. "Key short cycle businesses, such as turbochargers and general industrial products, saw good organic growth in the quarter reflecting improved market conditions. We're building a strong backlog of orders and are encouraged by continued penetration of our new products and important contracts won during the quarter. We also continue to benefit from effective execution of our big process initiatives - Honeywell Operating System, Velocity Product Development, and Functional Transformation - contributing to strong operating leverage and margin expansion."
07:08
FTEK Fuel-Tech awarded multiple air pollution control orders totaling $2.2 mln; includes first LNB/OFA project in China (7.39 )
07:08
IDXX IDEXX Labs beats by $0.06, beats on revs; guides FY10 EPS above consensus, revs in-line (60.40 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.55 per share, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.49; revenues rose 13.5% year/year to $268.5 mln vs the $258.8 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $2.23-2.28 vs. $2.22 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $1.1-1.115 bln vs. $1.11 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.
07:07
IVR Invesco Mortgage Capital announces public offering of 9 mln shares of common stock (22.16 )
07:07
JCI Johnson Controls beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides FY10 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (35.01 )
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.40 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.39; revenues rose 31.7% year/year to $8.32 bln vs the $7.92 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.90-1.95 vs. $1.85 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $33.5 bln vs. $33.15 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. "We continue to be encouraged by the steady improvement in the automotive industry and therefore have increased our earnings outlook for 2010... In the first half of our fiscal year we have demonstrated the ability to capitalize on the higher production levels with strong execution occurring in all geographic regions. Strong cash flow from our operations has allowed us to accelerate our investments in growth initiatives across all of our businesses."
07:07
DOV Dover beats by $0.14, beats on revs; guides FY10 EPS above consensus, sees FY10 revs growing in the range of 10%-13% (50.25 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.65 per share, $0.14 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.51; revenues rose 8.9% year/year to $1.6 bln vs the $1.5 bln consensus. The revenue increase was driven by organic revenue growth of 7%, a 5% increase from prior year acquisitions and a 3% favorable impact from foreign exchange. Co issues guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $2.70-$2.95 vs. $2.53 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs growing in the range of 10%-13%, which calculates to approximately $6.35-$6.52 bln (vs. $6.31 bln Thomson Reuters consensus).
07:06
DLA Delta Apparel reports Q3 EPS of $0.34 vs $0.14 YoY, revs rose 26% YoY to $107.9 mln (15.91 )
Based on the stronger than anticipated third quarter sales, the Company now raises its expectations for net sales to be in the range of $400 mln to $405 mln for the 2010 fiscal year. This compares to fiscal year 2009 net sales of $355.2 mln. The Company reiterates its expectations for earnings to be in the range of $1.20 to $1.30 per diluted share compared to $0.76 per diluted share in fiscal year 2009.
07:05
CPEX Richard S. Rofe Announces commencement of all-cash $16.00 per share tender offer for CPEX Pharmaceuticals (15.70 )
07:02
CBI CB&I awarded a redefined FEED contract for Kashagan full-field project development in Kazakhstan (25.45 -0.14)
Co has been awarded an updated front-end engineering and design (FEED) services contract from Shell Development Kashagan B.V. for Phase II of the full-field development of the Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan. The updated contract, valued at GB 170 million (US$293 million), replaces an earlier GB 90 million contract awarded at the end of 2008. The contract includes FEED work for both onshore and offshore facilities and pipelines. It also includes options for early works, detail engineering, procurement services, technical assistance and design/system integrity. Work on the project began in November 2008 and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2011.
07:01
MTRX Matrix Service Co reduces annual guidance for fiscal 2010 (11.28 )
Co announces it has reduced earnings expectations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010 to a range of $0.55 to $0.65 per fully diluted share (consensus is $0.81). This guidance excludes the impact of non-routine charges related to acquired claim receivables and other legal matters. The Company previously announced guidance toward the lower end of the range of $0.80 to $1.10 per fully diluted share, excluding non-routine charges. "Earnings performance during the first half of fiscal 2010 was in line with our expectations, and we projected business activity to pick-up in the second half of the fiscal year. However, our customers continued to defer capital projects and we are experiencing a lower volume of recurring repair and maintenance work. As a result, we will not achieve the earnings guidance provided at the beginning of the fiscal year. We are confident in our long-term strategy and that the addition of key personnel and improvements in our cost structure position the Company to grow as our markets improve." The Company's operating results for the third quarter were also negatively impacted by approximately $4 mln of non-routine charges related to collection activities on claim receivables assumed in a previous acquisition and other legal matters. As a result of market conditions and the non-routine charges, Matrix Service expects operating results for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 to be below our previous expectations. In response to the challenging economic environment, the Company previously reduced annual administrative and overhead costs by $6 mln. During the third quarter, the Company executed an additional $6 mln of cost reductions that will reduce both SG&A and construction overhead costs beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.
06:42
Moody's changes outlook on Iceland's ratings back to stable
06:32
S&P futures vs fair value: +0.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: flat.
06:32
Asian Markets
Nikkei...10914.4...-34.60...-0.30%. Hang Seng...21244.5...-210.00...-1.00%.
06:32
European Markets
FTSE...5702...+37.00...+0.60%. DAX...6235.3...+66.80...+1.00%.
06:27
MDC MDC Holdings misses by $0.10, misses on revs (37.11 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.45 per share, $0.10 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.35); revenues fell 16.4% year/year to $147.1 mln vs the $211 mln consensus. The improvement in operating results was driven primarily by an increase in home gross margin and a decrease in impairments, partially offset by declines in home closings and average selling price. Net orders for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010 improved to 931 homes with an estimated sales value of $257.7 million, compared with net orders for 676 homes with an estimated sales value of $191.0 million during the same period in 2009. The improvement in net orders is attributable to a 90% increase in the average rate of sales per active community, partially offset by a 27% decline in the average number of active communities. During the first quarter of 2010, the cancellation rate decreased to 22% compared with 23% during the same period in 2009. Co ends the 2010 first quarter with 1,234 homes under contract with an estimated sales value of $381.0 million, compared with a backlog of 629 homes with an estimated sales value of $196.0 million at March 31, 2009.
06:25
RLRN Renaissance Learning announces executive succession plan (15.90 )
Co announces a succession plan for Terrance Paul, Chief Executive Officer, and Judith Paul, Chairman of the Board, the husband and wife team who co-founded Renaissance Learning and are its principal shareholders. Mr. Paul intends to step down from his position as CEO and at that point assume the position of Chairman of the Board, currently held by Ms. Paul. At that time, Ms. Paul will be appointed to the position of Vice Chairman of the Board. While the company anticipates that this transition will occur later this year, no definite date has been set and will depend on when Mr. Paul's successor is identified. The Board of Directors has unanimously approved this plan of succession and intends to commence the search for a new CEO immediately.
06:24
SHLD Sears Hldg acquires additional Sears Canada shares and provides financial update (112.89 )
Co announces they entered into agreements to purchase or cause a wholly-owned subsidiary to purchase a total of 18,660,880 common shares of Sears Canada Inc. at a price of C$30.00 per share from Pershing Square, L.P., Pershing Square II, L.P. and Pershing Square International, Ltd. The acquisition is scheduled to close on April 27, 2010. The common shares to be acquired represent approx 17.3% of the outstanding shares of Sears Canada. Co says "As a result of these agreements, we beneficially own an additional 18,660,880 common shares and now beneficially own 97,341,670 common shares, representing approx 90.4% of the outstanding shares of Sears Canada. The purchases are being made as we consider them to be an attractive investment. The purchases are being made in compliance with the private agreement exemption contained in section 100.1(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario) and section 4.2 of Multilateral Instrument 62-104, as the price does not exceed the maximum amount payable under such exemption and the purchases are being made from not more than five vendors. For the quarter-to-date period through April 21, 2010 comparable store sales for our Kmart and Sears stores were as follows: Kmart +3.2%; Sears Domestic +0.3%; Total +1.7%. Kmart's QTD comparable store sales benefited from increases in apparel, home and toys categories. Sears Domestic's comparable store sales reflect increased sales of home appliances which benefited from the launch of new Kenmore products and a federally funded stimulus program to encourage customers to replace less energy efficient appliance products, offset by lower sales in the tools and home electronics categories. They currently expect net income attributable to Holdings' shareholders for the quarter ending May 1, 2010 will be between $0 and $35 mln, or between $0.00 and $0.31 per diluted share (consensus is $0.04). In the first quarter of the prior year, we reported net income attributable to Holdings' shareholders of $26 million, or $0.21 per diluted share. We currently expect to end the quarter with approx $1.8 bln in cash balances (of which approx $500 mln will be domestic and $1.3 bln will be Sears Canada)..."
06:19
LLEN L&L Energy sells HSC subsidiary for strategic alignment (11.35 )
Co announces that it executed on April 18, 2010 an Equity Sale and Purchase Agreement with Guangxi Liuzhou Lifu Machinery, selling its 93% equity ownership in Hon Shen Coal Co. for a total of 41,000,000 RMB or approx $6 mln. L&L's original purchase price was approx $3.86 mln in aggregate for its 93% equity. HSC operates coal washing and coking facilities in Yunnan Province. L&L originally purchased a 65% equity ownership of HSC's coal washing facilities; then increased its equity interest to 93% of coal washing and coking facilities in October 2009. Dickson Lee, CEO of L&L commented, "After the acquisitions in the past few months, this transaction allows a strategic realignment, preparing L&L for other acquisitions. Management believes the transaction would realize potential profit of approx $2 mln before tax, subject to audit."
06:18
SLB Schlumberger beats by $0.01, misses on revs
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.62 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.61; revenues fell 2.4% year/year to $5.6 bln vs the $5.69 bln consensus. Higher oil prices are leading to tangible evidence that operators are contemplating higher levels of activity than originally planned in international markets. We reiterate our comment from the last quarter that we see improvements in some offshore markets notably the UK sector of the North Sea, Latin America and West Africa as well as on land in Russia. In order to prepare for this increase in the latter half of 2010 and in 2011 we have increased our Capex guidance by $400 million, the bulk of which will be aimed at Drilling and Measurements and high-end Wireline technologies. The co's CEO says "...Finally, I am on record as saying that I felt international margins would bottom at the end of the second quarter of 2010. I am pleased to report I was mistaken. International margins appear to have bottomed and are now likely to resume a positive trend--absent any exceptional circumstances..."
06:17
VVI Viad Corp beats by $0.13; guides Q2 EPS below consensus (23.54 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.02 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.13 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.15). Revenues of $224.4 million were down $16.6 million from 2009 (6.9%), reflecting base same-show declines of 10% and negative show rotation of approx $8 million, partially offset by favorable currency translation of approximately $7 million (no consensus estimates). Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of ($0.05)-0.10, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.14 Thomson Reuters consensus. Total revenues in FY10 are expected to remain relatively flat to 2009 revenues, with positive show rotation and new business wins offsetting same-show declines. Revenuein 2Q10 is expected to be in the range of $195 million to $210 million as compared to $213.6 million in the 2009 second quarter (no estimates available). Segment operating income is expected to be in the range of $500,000 to $5.5 million as compared to income of $9.8 million in 2009. The declines from 2009 are expected to be driven primarily by reduced spending by existing brand marketer clients and continued same-show declines, as well as higher expense related to performance-based incentives and corporate costs.
04:16
ABFS Arkansas Best misses by $0.22, beats on revs (31.49 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.85 per share, $0.22 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.63); revenues rose 5.9% year/year to $359.9 mln vs the $353.5 mln consensus.
04:14
EXL Excel Trust prices 15.0 mln share IPO at $14.00/share
02:38
ERIC LM Ericsson misses by SEK 0.38, misses on revs (11.26 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of SEK 0.39 per share, SEK 0.38 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of SEK 0.77; revenues fell 9.1% year/year to SEK 45.1 bln vs the SEK 48.26 bln consensus. "Group sales in the quarter declined -9% year-over-year with lower sales in Networks but with an increase in Global Services," says Hans Vestberg, President and CEO. "Sales for comparable units, adjusted for currency exchange rate effects and hedging declined year-over-year -16%. Voice related sales, such as 2G, continued to decline in the quarter but were partly offset by increased 3G sales. Sales were also impacted by tight industry component supply conditions. "Gross margin improved, positively affected by business mix and continued efficiency gains. Cash flow improved year-over-year. The work to regain profitability in our joint ventures is on track and Sony Ericsson shows improved results year-over-year..."
02:15
COST Costco raises quarterly dividend to $0.205/share from $0.18/share; record date is May 7, 2010 (60.22 )
02:07
BLDR Builders Firstsource misses by $0.02, beats on revs (4.08 )
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.21 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.19); revenues rose 1.1% year/year to $161.4 mln vs the $142.7 mln consensus. Gross margin percentage was 18.2%, down from 21.0%, a 2.8% decline. Specifically, gross margin percentage declined 3.1% due to price and was only slightly impacted by volume (fixed costs in costs of goods sold) and sales mix.
02:04
FAF First American announces exercise of option to acquire Experian's interest in joint venture (36.78 )
Co announces that it has exercised its option to purchase Experian Information Solutions' 20% ownership in the First American Real Estate Solutions joint venture. Under the terms of the option, the exercise price for Experian's ownership interest is $313.8 mln and the transaction will close on Dec. 31, 2010.
01:10
WIT Wipro beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (24.01 )
Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.18 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.17; revenues rose 20.6% year/year to $1.55 bln vs the $1.54 bln consensus. IT Services Revenues were Rs. 52.60 billion ($1.17 bln), representing an increase of 7% over the same period last year. For the quarter ending June 30, 2010, co expects revenues from IT Services business to be in the range of $1.19-1.22 bln.
18:32
CPSI Computer Prgms & Syst misses by $0.05, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (40.19 -0.01)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.27 per share, $0.05 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.32; revenues rose 4.7% year/year to $31.5 mln vs the $32.5 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of ~$0.36-0.38 vs. $0.35 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $35-36.5 mln vs. $33.86 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. CPSI's 12-month backlog as of March 31, 2010, was $116.3 million, consisting of $29.7 million in non-recurring system purchases and $86.6 million in recurring payments for support, Business Management Services, ASP and ISP contracts.
18:27
CRA Celera announces settlement agreement with Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Blue Wave Healthcare Consultants and former BHL Employees (7.25 -0.37)
Celera (CRA) announced that Berkeley HeartLab (BHL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CRA, has entered into a Settlement Agreement with Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. (HDL), Blue Wave Healthcare Consultants, Inc., as well as seven former BHL employees identified in litigation filed by BHL in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. As previously announced, BHL filed this litigation and asserted a number of contractual, tort and statutory claims against the named parties, whose activities have been concentrated in the Southeast. The Settlement Agreement provides for the payment by HDL to BHL of an aggregate amount of ~$7.0 million to be made in a series of payments in 2010 and 2011, with ~$3.8 million to be paid in 2010 and the balance in 2011. The Settlement Agreement also provides for HDL to pay BHL an additional amount in 2011 based on samples HDL receives during 2010 from an agreed upon set of healthcare providers. Celera expects to record all payments from HDL as a separate line item under "legal settlements" in the periods when received and these amounts will be excluded from Celera's non-GAAP earnings.
18:22
NAV Navistar International withdraws lawsuit against California Air Resources Board (49.22 -0.12)
17:58
CVS CVS Caremark: CtW Investment Group files complaint with SEC regarding CVS Caremark insider transactions (36.83 -0.07)
The CtW Investment Group filed a letter of complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission today, seeking an inquiry into insider transactions by CVS Caremark Corporation (CVS) Chairman and CEO Thomas Ryan and other senior executives. Citing sales between August and November 2009 of 1.5 million CVS shares, for a combined profit of $17.3 million, by Mr. Ryan and three other senior executives - Howard McClure, Executive Vice President and then-President of the pharmacy benefit management (PBM) segment, David Rickard, outgoing Chief Financial Officer, and Douglas Sgarro, Chief Legal Officer - CtW expressed concern that the sales may have been made while the executives were in possession of significant non-public information. "What concerns us about these sales is that the executives, including Chairman and CEO Tom Ryan, may have traded their shares at the same time that the Company had not fully disclosed what it knew about how its PBM segment was faring, news that caused CVS share price to plummet when it was finally disclosed to shareholders on November 5," said William Patterson, Executive Director of the CtW Investment Group. "We believe the matter warrants an inquiry by the SEC."
17:57
PVH Phillips-Van Heusen announces pricing of offering of common stock at $66.50/share (67.08 +1.44)
Co announced the pricing of its public offering of 5,000,000 shares of common stock. The shares are being offered at a purchase price of $66.50 per share. The underwriters also hold a 30-day option to purchase an additional 750,000 shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, if any. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the offering of common stock, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, to fund a portion of the purchase price for its proposed acquisition of Tommy Hilfiger B.V. and certain affiliated companies, including related fees and expenses.
17:56
COBZ CoBiz misses by $0.05 (7.13 -0.02)
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.15 per share, $0.05 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.10). The allowance for loan and credit losses (Allowance) was 4.17% of total loans at March 31, 2010, and covered more than 101% of nonperforming loans (NPLs). Nonperforming assets decreased slightly during the first quarter to $100.0 million, or 4.13% of total assets, from $104.5 million or 4.24% of total assets at December 31, 2009. The net interest margin increased 16 basis points (0.16%) to 4.52% for the first quarter of 2010, from 4.36% in the fourth quarter of 2009. The net interest margin increased 14 basis points (0.14%) from 4.38% in the first quarter of 2009. Co said, "As expected, we continued to see a meaningful decrease in Provision expense, with Provision decreasing by 16% on a linked-quarter and 59% from the prior year."
17:49
BWINA Baldwin Lyons reports ceding reinsurers increased the estimates of losses associated with first quarter catastrophes (24.40 0.00)
Co announced that additional information received from its ceding reinsurers has increased the estimates of losses associated with first quarter catastrophes, principally Earthquake Maule (Chile), Windstorm Xynthia (Europe) and Windstorm Victoria (Australia). The initial aggregate loss for these events, as previously announced, was estimated to be in the range of $5.0 million to $6.5 million, net of provisions for associated reinstatement premiums and net of taxes. The updated aggregate estimate of these losses, after tax, is approximately $10.0 million. While this most recent loss estimate is based on an additional month of information available to our reinsurance partners, management cautions that the actual ultimate net impact on the Company's results arising from these catastrophes could differ from this estimate.
17:46
DDR Developers Diversified Rlty reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; lowers FY10 FFO below consensus (13.11 +0.17)
Reports Q1 (Mar) funds from operations of $0.28 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.28; revenues fell 0.5% year/year to $206.7 mln vs the $187 mln consensus. Co lowers guidance for FY10, sees FFO of $1.00-1.05 vs. $1.08 Thomson Reuters consensus, down form $1.05-1.15. The change in guidance is entirely attributed to capital raising activities in the first quarter that were larger than expected and occurred earlier in the year than budgeted. Operational and asset sale assumptions provided in a press release on January 12, 2010 remain the same.
17:30
LTC LTC Properties reported that for Q1 of FY10, the co's results of operations will include a $852,000 provision for doubtful accounts related to this mortgage loan (28.73 +0.54)
LTC announced that on April 20, 2010, the Co received notice from a borrower that the borrower had ceased operations at a private school property in Minnesota. Prior to that notice, the borrower was current with all loan payments. The Company reported that for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, the Company's results of operations will include a $852,000 provision for doubtful accounts related to this mortgage loan. Additionally, the Company reported that this loan represented $230,000 of interest income for the remaining nine months of calendar 2010. LTC stated that it is working with Minnesota counsel to perfect a deed-in-lieu and that the Company has been contacted by at least one other party interested in the property. The Company can give no assurances that this interested party or any party will eventually buy the property or assume the debt should LTC not exercise its deed-in-lieu rights.
17:20
STM STMicroelectronics and Ericsson (ERIC) joint venture reports results (10.44 -0.05)
ST-Ericsson, a joint venture of STMicroelectronics (STM) and Ericsson (ERIC), reported financial results for the first fiscal quarter ending March 27, 2010. Co report Q1 adjusted operating loss of $114 mln; sales increased 8% y/y to $606 mln. Co expects sequential net sales approximately flat with respect to the first quarter 2010, due to the continued ongoing short-term impact of the portfolio transition. Given expected top line and based on the progression of the restructuring plans, the company does not anticipate improvements of operating result to occur until the second half of 2010.
17:18
TCO Taubman Centers misses by $0.03, beats on revs; guides FY10 FFO in-line (43.23 +0.53)
Reports Q1 (Mar) funds from operations of $0.60 per share, $0.03 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.63; revenues fell 3.9% year/year to $151.5 mln vs the $148.4 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees FFO of $2.55-2.75 vs. $2.64 Thomson Reuters consensus.
17:18
CXZ Crosshair Exp. & Mining reports results from Phase I of the vanadium program on the Central Mineral Belt project (0.17 -0.01)
Co announces the last set of results from Phase I of the vanadium program on the Central Mineral Belt (CMB) Project in Labrador. Phase II is set to commence in July 2010 and will consist of sampling the holes that are stored at Crosshair's Armstrong camp in central Labrador. Highlights from recently assayed holes include: 0.278% V2O5 over 43.0 metres (m) (from 24.0m to 67.0m) including 0.369% V2O5 over 10.0m (from 30.0m to 40.0m) in hole C-32, and 0.305% V2O5 over 15.5m (from 54.1m to 69.6m) including 0.450% V2O5 over 4.4m (from 63.2m to 67.6m) in hole ML-15.
17:16
FFIN First Financial beats by $0.05 (54.66 -0.01)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.66 per share, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.61. Net interest income for the first quarter of 2010 increased 2.26 percent to $32.65 million compared with $31.92 million in the same quarter last year. The net interest margin, on a taxable equivalent basis, was 4.69 percent for the first quarter of 2010 compared with 4.76 percent in the same period a year ago and 4.74 percent for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. As of March 31, 2010, consolidated assets for the Company increased 7.42 percent to $3.35 billion compared with $3.12 billion a year ago.
17:15
SJM J.M. Smucker raises its quarterly dividend to $0.40 from $0.35, new annual yield equates to 2.5% (63.01 -0.04)
17:11
EMN Eastman Chem beats by $0.22, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus; guides FY10 EPS above consensus (67.12 +0.43)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.37 per share, $0.22 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.15; revenues rose 38.5% year/year to $1.56 bln vs the $1.29 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $1.50-1.60 vs. $1.19 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $5.00-5.25 vs. $4.51 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co said, ""During the first quarter, there were clear signs of a global recovery in our sales volume. Looking forward, we expect to continue to benefit from improved sales volume and higher capacity utilization which results in lower unit costs. We also expect raw material and energy costs to remain volatile."
17:08
WLT Walter Energy's Board announces 25% quarterly dividend increase to $0.125/share from $0.10/share (93.48 +1.03)
17:07
GVA Granite Constr announces preliminary Q1 results below consensus (34.06 +0.40)
Co expects to report revenues for the first quarter of approximately $220 mln, a 35 percent decline from a year ago, vs $301.65 mln Thomson Reuters consensus, and a net loss in the range of approximately $40-45 mln. "Our first-quarter net loss was driven by several factors, the largest of which was a significant decline in revenue. This decline was due in part to unusually wet weather throughout the West and record-breaking snowfall in the East."
17:05
WAL Western Alliance Bancorp reports Q1 EPS of ($0.03) vs ($0.22) Thomson Reuters consensus (7.34 +0.20)
"I am delighted by our extraordinary growth in low-cost, stable deposits during the quarter and continued improvement in our key performance areas," said Robert Sarver, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Western Alliance. "During the quarter, we increased our margin by 33 basis points, expanded our market share with $468 million in deposit growth, improved credit quality, and made significant enhancements to our risk management structure. Although non-recurring revenue augmented our stronger fundamentals to achieve positive income during the quarter, we are well-positioned to continue to improve our performance and report core operating earnings during the year."
17:05
PDFS PDF Solutions beats by $0.03, beats on revs (4.83 +0.03)
Co reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.06, ex-items, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.03. Revenue rose 50% yr/yr and 3% sequentially to $15.3 mln vs $14.0 mln consensus.
17:03
CYS Cypress Sharpridge Investments beats by $0.01 (12.80 +0.13)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.56 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.55.
17:01
PFE Pfizer discontinues Phase 3 trial of Sutent in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (16.48 -0.12)
Co announced the discontinuation of the SUN 1170 Phase 3 open-label study of Sutent (sunitinib malate) in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer. Following a review by the independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC), the study was discontinued based on a higher incidence of serious adverse events in the sunitinib arm compared to the sorafenib arm and the fact that sunitinib did not meet the criteria to demonstrate that it was either superior or non-inferior to sorafenib in the survival of patients with advanced hepatocellular cancer. No new or unexpected types of serious adverse events were observed in the SUN 1170 trial. The Company has notified SUN 1170 clinical investigators and all involved regulatory agencies of the discontinuation of SUN 1170. Investigators have been instructed to work with all of their patients in the SUN 1170 study on an individual basis to determine an appropriate course of action.
17:01
BMR BioMed Realty prices $250 mln of 6.125% senior unsecured notes due 2020 at 98.977 of face falue (18.66 +0.30)
17:00
ACUR Acura Pharma falls 3 pts to $2.90 upon resumption of trading (5.90 ) -Update-
17:00
AMLN Amylin, Lilly and Alkermes submit reply to FDA complete response letter for BYDUREON (20.54 -0.31)
Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN), Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) and Alkermes (ALKS) announced that the companies have submitted their reply to a complete response letter issued last month by the FDA after review of the New Drug Application submission for BYDUREON (exenatide for extended-release injectable suspension). In accordance with its guidelines, the FDA is expected to classify the complete response as a Class 1 or Class 2 resubmission, and also provide the companies with an updated Prescription Drug User Fee Act target action date within the next two weeks. The companies' reply addresses requests from the FDA primarily related to finalization of the product labeling with accompanying Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy and clarification of existing manufacturing processes.
16:58
JVA Coffee Holding to acquire organic products trading company (4.87 -0.03)
Co announced that the Company and Coffee Holding Acquisition LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Organic Products Trading Company, a Washington corporation. Seller generates annual revenues of approximately $10.0 million. Under the Asset Purchase Agreement, Buyer will purchase the Assets for a purchase price consisting of: a) $450,000 in cash at closing, b) an additional $50,000 in cash if Buyer generates a pre-tax net profit of $300,000 or more within a certain period, which payment will be made on or before June 15, 2011, c) 50,000 shares of Company common stock at closing, d) up to an additional 10,000 shares of Company common stock if Buyer generates a pre-tax net profit of $300,000 or more within certain periods, which payments of up to 5,000 shares each will be made on June 15, 2011 and June 15, 2012, and e) at closing, a cash amount based on the cost of inventory transferred to Buyer.
16:55
BA Boeing confirms that the 787 Dreamliner has begun a series of extreme-weather tests at Valparaiso, Florida (75.59 +1.53) -Update-
16:53
Moody's upgrades the Dominican Republic's government bond rating to B1
16:48
CSTR Coinstar unit Redbox announces distributuion agreement with Twentieth Century Fox & Universal Studios (35.88 +0.41)
Co announced a multi-year distribution agreement that will make DVD and Blu-ray titles from Twentieth Century Fox available for rental at redbox locations following a 28-day window from the home entertainment street date for new Blu-ray and DVD film releases. The agreement also ends the legal dispute between redbox and Fox. Co and Universal Studios have reached a long-term distribution agreement that will make Universal DVD and Blu-ray titles available for rental at redbox locations 28 days after release. The agreement ends the legal dispute between redbox and Universal.
16:47
NWK Network Equipment Technologies promotes David Wagenseller to chief financial officer (5.79 +0.23)
Co announced today that David Wagenseller has been promoted to chief financial officer of the company. Mr. Wagenseller has been the company's acting chief financial officer since November 10, 2009.
16:46
SPH Suburban Propane declares increase in quarterly distribution rate to $0.84/share from $0.835/share (48.73 +0.08)
16:46
LAMR Lamar Advertising announces early settlement of tender offer and consent solicitation for outstanding 7 1/4% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2013 (38.18 +0.13) -Update-
16:45
XCO Exco Resources comments on well control event (19.24 +0.12)
Co commented on a well control event in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. EXCO encountered an unexpected gas flow in a well being drilled on April 18, 2010 at a depth of 1,533 feet, and control of the well was established with standard contingency measures. No injuries or damage to drilling equipment occurred. The source of the unexpected gas flow is under evaluation, and plugging and abandonment procedures are underway.
16:45
AEIS Advanced Energy reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (17.43 +0.91)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.15 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.15; revenues rose 22.9% year/year to $81.6 mln vs the $81.1 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.21-0.31 vs. $0.18 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $92-102 mln vs. $91.31 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:43
CBT Cabot Named was named in an environmental lawsuit filed by residents in Gainesville, Florida, co will defend itself vigorously (32.30 +0.72)
Co was named in an environmental lawsuit filed by residents in Gainesville, Florida. The lawsuit also names Koppers Inc. and Beazer East, Inc. In the past, Cabot operated a business in Gainesville, Florida but ceased operations in 1966. Since 1985, Cabot has worked cooperatively with the federal, state and local regulatory authorities to satisfy Cabot's environmental responsibilities. That work included installation and operation of a multi-million dollar groundwater remediation system that was approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Cabot is fully committed to being a responsible neighbor in the communities where it operates. As to the specifics of the litigation filed earlier this week, Cabot will respond in due course and will defend itself vigorously
16:43
MGEE MGE Energy unit filed to increase electric and natural gas rates for 2011 with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (36.58 +0.07)
16:42
PCG PG&E unit to launch solar energy initiative (43.26 +0.12)
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) said it plans to begin implementing a major new solar photovoltaic program, which the California Public Utilities Commission approved today. The program, once complete, will generate up to 500 megawatts of clean energy, enough to meet the needs of about 150,000 homes in PG&E's Northern and Central California service area.
16:42
SGS Stream Global Services to hire nearly 500 people for its Beaverton, Oregon site (6.85 +0.03)
16:41
BCR C.R. Bard beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (85.32 -1.57)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.25 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.24; revenues rose 9.2% year/year to $650.8 mln vs the $648 mln consensus.
16:40
IGT Intl Game Tech reports EPS in-line, misses on revs (19.60 +0.15)
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.20 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.20; revenues rose 4.6% year/year to $497.7 mln vs the $511.8 mln consensus.
16:40
SPAR Spartan Motors and Utilimaster announce strategic alliance with Isuzu Commercial Truck of America (6.47 +0.18)
Co. announced a strategic alliance with Isuzu Commercial Truck of America. In addition, Spartan's subsidiary Utilimaster Corporation and Isuzu have agreed to develop a next-generation commercial van, utilizing an Isuzu fuel-efficient diesel powertrain.
16:35
ACTG Acacia Research resumes trading (11.55 +0.21) -Update-
16:32
AFFY Affymax instituted a quiet period to curtail discussions in connection with the analysis of Phase 3 results for Hematide (24.24 -0.32)
Co announced that it has instituted a quiet period to curtail discussions with the investor community and the media in connection with the analysis of Phase 3 results for the investigational drug, Hematide, in four clinical trials (PEARL 1, PEARL 2, EMERALD 1 and EMERALD 2) which evaluated Hematide for the treatment of anemia in chronic renal failure patients.
16:31
PLUS ePlus appoints Mark Marron Chief Operating Officer (17.90 +0.04)
16:31
ASR Grupo Aeroportuario Del Sureste reports Q1 results (55.39 +0.29)
For the first quarter of 2010, total passenger traffic declined year-over-year by 3.63%. International passenger traffic declined by 3.52% while domestic passenger traffic declined by 3.86%. The 3.52% decline in international passenger traffic resulted mainly from a decline of 4.03% in international traffic at the Cancun airport. The 3.86% decline in domestic passenger traffic resulted mainly from declines of 35.09% 23.19%, 19.93%, 11.77% and 12.61% in domestic traffic at the Cozumel, Oaxaca, Tapachula, Veracruz and Villahermosa airports, respectively. Net income for 1Q10 increased 9.87% to Ps.375.46 million from Ps.341.73 million in 1Q09. Earnings per common share for the quarter were Ps.1.2515, or earnings per ADS (EPADS) of US$1.0150 (one ADS represents ten series B common shares). This compares with earnings per share of Ps.1.1391, or EPADS of US$0.9238, for the same period last year.
16:31
DOX Amdocs announces $700 million share repurchase program authorized (31.19 +0.20) -Update-
16:31
LAMR Lamar Advertising announces issuance of $400 mln of 7 7/8% senior subordinated notes due 2018 (38.18 +0.11)
16:29
LOCM Local.com beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS and revs above consensus; guides FY10 revs above consensus (7.25 -0.06)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.16 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.13; revenues rose 68.4% year/year and 14% sequentially to $18.6 mln vs the $17.4 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.16-0.17, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.13 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $20-21 mln vs. $18.0 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees FY10 revs of $81-84 mln vs. $74.5 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:28
ASBC Assoc Banc-Corp misses by $0.01 (16.10 +0.47)
Reports Q1 (Mar) ($0.20), $0.01 worse than the First Call consensus of ($0.19). At March 31, 2010, the Co's Tier 1 capital to total average assets ratio was 10.57% and total capital to risk-weighted assets ratio was 18.15%. Provision for loan losses of $165.3 million, with net charge offs of $163.3 million.
16:28
BCO Brinks acquires cash logistics business in Russia (28.40 +0.19)
Co announced that it has acquired a majority stake in a Russian cash processing business that complements the company's acquisition of a CIT business in the first quarter of 2009. With principal operations in Moscow, Brink's now has approximately 500 employees in Russia and offers a full range of CIT, ATM, money processing and Global Services operations for domestic and international markets.
16:28
CYMI Cymer beats by $0.07, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs in-line (39.69 +0.73)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.53 per share, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.46; revenues rose 101.4% year/year to $113.8 mln vs the $106.3 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $115-120 mln vs. $120.01 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. "For Cymer, 2010 represents a year of growth and continued investment in promising new light source and display manufacturing technologies. We anticipate that ArF immersion will continue to represent the majority of our second quarter light source shipments and we expect to ship several KrF sources. We also anticipate that Installed Base Products revenue will increase driven by installed base growth, higher pulse utilization, and a more favorable mix of ArF immersion pulses. We believe our investment in EUV commercialization and TCZ market penetration positions us strategically for future growth and market leadership."
16:27
VICR Vicor reports Q1 EPS of $0.05, revs rose 2.6% YoY to $51.7 mln - no ests (14.96 )
"Our brick components business grew sequentially, with particular strength in its configurable product lines. V-I Chip revenue for the first quarter grew 99% sequentially, while bookings grew at a faster pace as a large customer placed initial production orders for new programs. V-I Chip also received initial orders from other early adopters of Factorized Power. With increased volume, we expect to achieve improvement in product-level profitability, although we do not expect to reach our efficiency and margin targets in 2010. "
16:26
OPLK Oplink Comms beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (19.36 -0.04)
Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $0.22 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.21; revenues rose 9.1% year/year to $33.6 mln vs the $32.8 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.16-0.22 vs. $0.22 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q4 revs of $35-38 mln vs. $34.29 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:25
ACUR Acura Pharma and King Pharmaceuticals provide update on FDA Advisory Committee meeting for Acurox; Committees voted that they do not have enough evidence to support the approval of the NDA Acurox (5.90 ) -Update-
ACUR and King Pharmaceuticals (KG) announced that the FDA Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs and Drug Safety and Risk Management Committees voted that they do not have enough evidence to support the approval of the New Drug Application for Acurox Tablets for the treatment of moderate to severe pain, considering the deterrent effects of niacin as well as the potential deterrent effects of the other features specific to Acurox. The addition of niacin to Acurox was central to the deliberations. The FDA is not bound by the Advisory Committees' recommendation, but may take its advice into consideration when evaluating the NDA for Acurox Tablets. Acura and King will work with the FDA to determine the next steps for the Acurox development program. (ACUR has been halted all day)
16:24
ARTNA Artesian Resrces announces increase annual dividend ammount to $0.7528/share from $0.7492/share (18.14 0.00)
16:24
MATW Matthew's beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line (35.24 -0.93)
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.53 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.50; revenues rose 1.8% year/year to $200.9 mln vs the $199.3 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for FY10, sees FY10 revs of at least the equivalent of 2009, which was $780.9 mln versus the $806.15 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:23
AJG Arthur J. Gallagher beats by $0.04, beats on revs (26.31 +0.55)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.28 per share, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.24; revenues rose 20.3% year/year to $482.4 mln vs the $403.3 mln consensus. "Despite a continued soft insurance pricing market and the impact of the economic downturn, I am pleased that our operations held our adjusted EBITDAC margins in these trying times," said J. Patrick Gallagher Jr., Chairman, President and CEO. "Our team did an excellent job of pursuing supplemental commissions and continued to hold the expense line - both of which helped offset declining organic revenues. I'm also encouraged by the increased M&A deal flow that we're seeing, which we expect will contribute positively to our results later in the year and into 2011. In these difficult times, the Gallagher team is doing tremendous work to provide highly professional advice to our clients around the world."
16:23
INPH Interphase reports Q1 results (2.67 -0.03)
Co reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.34 per share vs an $0.11 profit a year ago. Revenue fell 55% yr/yr to $3.8 mln. There are no analyst estimates.
16:22
WDC Correction: Western Digital beats by $0.16, beats on revs (40.68 +0.39) -Update-
In our 16:17 we incorrectly reported that WDC missed on revs. The company actually beat on revs. WDC reported Q3 (Mar) earnings of $1.71 per share, $0.16 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.55; revenues rose 65.9% year/year to $2.64 bln vs the $2.54 bln consensus. "With market demand stronger than anticipated in the March quarter, our large-scale vertical integration, agile business model and product breadth allowed us to respond to this upside opportunity and again grow our share of the overall hard drive market. We believe that 2010 will continue to be a strong year for digital storage... We will maintain our focus on facilitating our customers' growth and making them successful while at the same time achieving sustained profitability for WD."
16:21
SYNA Synaptics beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q4 revs above consensus (30.50 +0.45)
Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $0.46 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.41; revenues rose 15.5% year/year to $116.2 mln vs the $112.9 mln consensus. PC revenue of $72.9 million represented 63% of total revenue for the quarter and increased 44% from the comparable period last year. Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of $136-146 mln vs. $129.75 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:19
RRR RSC Holdings misses by $0.07, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs in-line (8.92 +0.87)
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.37 per share, $0.07 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.30); revenues fell 25.8% year/year to $260.7 mln vs the $257.4 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $285-300 mln vs. $289.2 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co says business activity in its served markets was down on a year-over-year basis in Q1, while declines on a sequential basis appear to be moderating. Industry wide fleet levels exceed demand and as a result rental rates will continue to be under pressure.
16:18
MSFT Microsoft beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; lowers expense guidance (31.39 +0.05)
Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $0.45 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 6.2% year/year to $14.5 bln vs the $14.39 bln consensus. Microsoft reports Q3 gross margins of 81.0% vs Street est of 78.9%. Microsoft offers operating expense guidance of $26.1-26.3 billion for the full year ending June 30, 2010; prior guidance was for expenses of $26.2-26.5 bln. The results include the deferral of $305 million of revenue relating to the Microsoft Office 2010 Technology Guarantee program. Adjusting for the revenue deferral, third-quarter revenue totaled $14.81 billion, an increase of 8% over the prior year period. "Windows 7 continues to be a growth engine, but we also saw strong growth in other areas like Bing search, Xbox LIVE and our emerging cloud services... Our record third-quarter revenue along with continued rigor on cost management resulted in exceptional EPS growth... Business customers are beginning to refresh their desktops and the momentum of Windows 7 continues to be strong," said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer... We are also seeing tremendous interest in our market-leading cloud services for business."
16:18
CAKE Cheesecake Factory beats by $0.05, beats on revs (30.46 +1.43)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.31 per share, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.26; revenues rose 3.2% year/year to $405.4 mln vs the $399.6 mln consensus.
16:17
GLBL Global Industries names C. Andrew Smith as Chief Financial Officer (7.07 +0.17)
16:16
NCR NCR Corp misses by $0.04, misses on revs; guides FY10 EPS in-line (15.93 +0.61)
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.12 per share including pensions expense which has been included in the past, $0.04 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.08). Co lowers guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $0.39-0.49 down from $0.41-0.51 vs. $0.48 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co also reaffirmed 2010 YoY constant currency rev growth of 2-5%.
16:16
AXP American Express beats by $0.09, beats on revs (46.77 +0.78)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.73 per share, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.64; revenues rose 11.5% year/year to $6.61 bln vs the $6.34 bln consensus. Co's return on average equity (ROE) was 18.0%, up from 16.3% a year ago. Provisions for losses totaled $687 million, down 50 percent from $1.4 billion in the year-ago period. The decline reflected continued improvement in credit quality on the overall portfolio. Total expenses increased 25 percent. Marketing, promotion, rewar cardmember services expenses increased 46 percent from the year-ago period, driven by higher rewards costs and increased investment spending on marketing initiatives. Salaries and employee benefits and other operating expenses increased 2 percent from the year-ago quarter.
16:16
EPAY Bottomline Tech beats by $0.01, beats on revs (19.43 -0.36)
Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $0.24 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.23; revenues rose 19.5% year/year to $39.8 mln vs the $38.8 mln consensus.
16:14
MCRL Micrel beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (12.31 +0.55)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.17 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.14; revenues rose 43.0% year/year to $67.2 mln vs the $64.7 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.19-0.21 vs. $0.14 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs up 12-15% sequentially to $75-77 mln vs. $66.85 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:13
FTI FMC Tech signs multi-year frame agreement with BG Norge (68.08 +1.17)
Co announced that it has signed a multi-year frame agreement with BG Norge, a subsidiary of BG Group, to provide subsea systems for offshore projects. The five-year contract includes provisions for two additional five-year extensions. The agreement also includes an immediate call-off to perform a detailed engineering study related to equipment and services to support the Jordbaer field, located in the Norwegian North Sea.
16:13
OSIP OSI Pharm reports Q1 (Mar) results, misses on revs (58.66 -0.79)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.63 per share, excludes items and may not be comparable to the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.33; revenues rose 13.4% year/year to $106.6 mln vs the $115 mln consensus. OSI Pharm reports Q1 Tarceva sales of $308 mln vs. $325 Thomson Reuters Consensus. Royalties on product licenses of $40 million for the first quarter of 2010 compared to $34 million in the first quarter of 2009 from Roche - for sales of Tarceva.
16:11
HA Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. misses by $0.06, reports revs in-line (7.38 -0.02)
Reports Q1 (Mar) net of breakeven, $0.06 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.06; revenues rose 3.4% year/year to $298.4 mln vs the $296.5 mln consensus. "Despite substantially higher fuel costs and inflationary pressures on other cost lines, Hawaiian managed to break even in what is customarily the weakest quarter of the year," commented Mark Dunkerley, the Company's president and chief executive officer. "Demand is strengthening albeit at a rate less than is being experienced in other regions, and we have measures in hand to reduce the rate of our non-fuel related cost increases which will help improve our results heading into the Summer season.
16:11
WPZ Williams Partners raises per-unit cash distribution to $0.6575/share from $0.635/share (41.50 0.00)
16:10
JJSF J&J Snack Foods beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line (47.17 +0.29)
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.48 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.46; revenues rose 5.4% year/year to $157.4 mln vs the $158.1 mln consensus. "Strong performances by our food service and retail supermarket groups contributed to our record quarter. Our management team continues to strengthen and our innovation efforts are being increased. Despite the current challenges in the economy, we are optimistic for the future."
16:10
HITT Hittite Microwave beats by $0.06, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (46.69 +0.69)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.54 per share, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.48; revenues rose 41.9% year/year to $54.2 mln vs the $51.3 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.57-0.60 vs. $0.47 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $58-60 mln vs. $51.10 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. "Q1 was a solid start to the year," said Stephen Daly, Chairman and CEO. "In addition to our strong financial results, we launched 32 new and innovative products including one new product line. These and our other recently introduced new products will help us to build on our competitive advantage in the markets we serve."
16:10
GDI Gardner Denver beats by $0.10, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS in-line; guides FY10 EPS in-line (48.57 +0.77)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.62 per share, excluding profit improvement initiatives, $0.10 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.52; revenues fell 8.7% year/year to $422.2 mln vs the $422.5 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.60-0.64 vs. $0.62 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $2.75-2.85 vs. $2.61 Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:10
UFPI Universal Forest announced that it is expanding its distribution business in the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle markets (44.48 +2.21)
Co announced that it is expanding its distribution business in the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle markets with the planned addition of Shepherd Distribution Co. to its subsidiary, UFP Distribution, LLC. UFP Distribution expects to close within the next two weeks on the purchase of the assets of the Elkhart, Indiana-based firm, which distributes shingle underlayment, bottom board, house wrap, siding, poly film and other products to manufactured housing and RV customers. Shepherd Distribution has a history of more than 40 years of distribution to the manufactured housing and RV markets. In the last twelve months, it had sales of more than $12
16:10
COLM Columbia Sportswear beats by $0.06, beats on revs; guides FY10 revs above consensus; Fall 2010 order backlog shows 19% increase (59.13 +1.20)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.27 per share, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.21; revenues rose 10.4% year/year to $300.4 mln vs the $285 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees FY10 revs growth of 12-14%, which calculates to ~$1.39-1.42 bln vs. $1.31 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co expects to generate operating margin of ~7%. 2010 gross margins are expected to increase approximately 100 basis points compared to 2009 gross margins of 42.1 percent, due to a higher proportion of full price sales in our wholesale business, an increased proportion of direct-to-consumer sales, and more favorable foreign currency hedge rates, partially offset by a higher proportion of sales to international distributors and increased costs to expedite production and delivery to customers of the greater-than-planned Fall orders.
16:09
PMCS PMC-Sierra beats by $0.02, beats on revs (9.47 +0.08)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.19 per share, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.17; revenues rose 48.9% year/year to $152.8 mln vs the $149.9 mln consensus. "In the first quarter of 2010, we experienced improving demand in our Wide Area Network Infrastructure business and saw the continuation of healthy demand in our Enterprise Storage business as global IT spending improves year over year. Revenue in the first quarter of 2010 was 9% above our previous quarterly revenue peak in the second quarter of 2008, while non-GAAP net income was 46% above the second quarter of 2008."
16:09
MSCC Microsemi reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (17.88 +0.68)
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.26 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.26; revenues rose 4.8% year/year to $118.2 mln vs the $116.5 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.28-0.30 vs. $0.29 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs up 3-5% sequntially, equates to $121.7-124.1 mln vs. $120.35 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. "We are extremely pleased with our second quarter results. As anticipated, we had increases in net sales for all of our end markets accompanied by notable improvements in our gross, operating and net margins. These results, along with an incremental operating cash flow of $28.8 million, continue to demonstrate rock-solid execution in delivering to our shareholders consistently profitable results."
16:08
COF Capital One beats by $0.82, beats on revs (45.55 +0.81)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.40 per share, $0.82 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.58. "We've demonstrated our resilience through the most challenging economic cycle we've seen in generations, and we believe that charge-offs in our consumer lending businesses likely peaked in the first quarter," said Richard D. Fairbank, Capital One's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "While legislative and regulatory uncertainty remains, we believe that we are well-positioned to ramp up our businesses as we emerge from the recession, and to deliver strong and sustainable returns over the long term."
16:08
DECK Deckers Outdoor beats by $0.46, beats on revs (143.65 +7.08)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.37 per share, $0.46 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.91; revenues rose 16.2% year/year to $155.9 mln vs the $145.3 mln consensus. DECK reports Q1 gross margin of 50.0% vs 45.50% consensus; reported 49.84% last qtr and 43.89% a year ago; guided for Q1 gross margin to improve y/y. UGG brand sales increased 14.2% to $104.4 million versus $91.4 million last year. Deckers Outdoor sees Q2 EPS flat vs 15.5% consensus; revs growth of ~25% vs 12.1% consensus. Deckers Outdoor sees FY10 EPS growth of ~11%, prior guidance of ~5%, vs 6.2% consensus; revs growth of ~13%, prior guidance of ~11%, vs 10.3% consensus.
16:07
ARG Airgas announces pricing actions effective June 1, 2010 (63.45 -0.20)
Co announced that beginning June 1, 2010, or as contracts permit, its operating units will increase prices on bulk and packaged gases, and other products and services. Prices will increase, on average, as follows: -- 6 - 9% for all bulk and packaged industrial, medical, and specialty gases -- 5 - 10% for cylinder and bulk tank rental rates -- 3 - 6% for welding hardgoods and safety products
16:07
DV DeVry beats by $0.07, beats on revs (74.25 +1.42)
Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $1.12 per share, $0.07 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.05; revenues rose 28.7% year/year to $504.4 mln vs the $493.3 mln consensus. "We will continue to invest in our programs, services and infrastructure to help our students succeed... We continued to achieve favorable enrollment trends during this quarter, as students were attracted by the value proposition of our educational offerings, which includes high quality programs and services and a strong track record of academic outcomes for students... We remain committed to investing in quality and providing the access and capacity needed to educate our country's workforce to compete in the midst of a tough economy." DeVry University continued to report strong undergraduate enrollment growth, with new enrollments in the spring increasing 24.0% to 17,715 students, compared with 14,288 last year. Total student enrollment increased 25.6% to 66,909 students, compared with 53,259 in spring 2009. For the January 2010 session, graduate coursetakers enrolled in master's degree programs at DeVry University and its Keller Graduate School of Management rose to 22,679, an increase of 16.5% over January 2009. For the March 2010 session, the number of graduate coursetakers was 22,343, an increase of 15.4 percent over prior year. The total number of online undergraduate and graduate coursetakers in the March 2010 session increased 21.5 percent to 67,744 versus 55,745 in the same session a year ago.
16:07
RVBD Riverbed Technology beats by $0.02, beats on revs (29.06 +0.33)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.20 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.18; revenues rose 27.4% year/year to $112.4 mln vs the $109.1 mln consensus.
16:07
SCSC ScanSource beats by $0.03, misses on revs; guides Q4 revs in-line (11.18 +1.86)
Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $0.45 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 27.3% year/year to $496.1 mln vs the $505.7 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of $530-$550 mln vs. $546.55 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:06
AMZN Amazon.com beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs in-line (150.09 +3.66)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.66 per share, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.61; revenues rose 45.9% year/year to $7.13 bln vs the $6.87 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $6.1-6.7 bln vs. $6.43 bln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co sees Q2 operating income of $220-320 mln vs $327.78 mln street consensus. "Kindle remains our #1 bestselling product, and earlier this week, Kindle selection reached 500,000 titles."
16:06
BJRI BJ Restaurants beats by $0.01, beats on revs (27.12 +0.37)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.16 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.15; revenues rose 18.8% year/year to $121.7 mln vs the $115.8 mln consensus.
16:05
SD SandRidge Energy announces extension of credit facility (7.40 +0.09)
Co announced that it has extended the maturity of its credit facility as part of the Company's 2010 financial plan. The amendment and restatement of the $1.75 billion senior credit facility extends the maturity date to April 15, 2014 from November 21, 2011 and affirms the borrowing base at $850 million.
16:05
BXS BancorpSouth misses by $0.10 (23.25 +0.30)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.10 per share, $0.10 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.20. "Based on our first quarter performance, we remain confident of the Company's ability to cope effectively with the current environment. Although we continue to see scattered indicators of economic stabilization and growth, we remain appropriately cautious about the prospects for a sustained economic recovery in 2010. Recognizing that our recent geographic expansion into attractive new markets has provided much of our new loan production, we intend to continue pursuing careful de novo expansion in attractive and familiar markets within or contiguous to our existing geographic footprint. We will also continue to evaluate industry consolidation opportunities that meet our strategic objectives, which include being accretive to our financial results."
16:05
INFA Informatica beats by $0.01, beats on revs (27.61 +0.09)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.21 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.20; revenues rose 23.8% year/year to $135.1 mln vs the $131 mln consensus.
16:05
EZPW EZCORP beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q3 and FY10 EPS above consensus (23.04 +0.38)
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.48 per share, $0.05 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.43; revenues rose 13.0% year/year to $176.6 mln vs the $174.7 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q3 (Jun), sees EPS of approximately $0.39 vs. $0.38 Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees EPS of approximately $1.91 vs. $1.83 Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:05
CB Chubb beats by $0.19, beats on revs (52.31 -0.03)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.14 per share, $0.19 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.95; revenues rose 0.8% year/year to $2.77 bln vs the $2.67 bln consensus.
16:04
LVB Steinway Musical announces change in auditors (19.80 +0.45)
Co announced that Marcum LLP will serve as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm, replacing the Company's previous independent registered public accounting firm, UHY. The Board of Directors of the Company had selected UHY to serve as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal 2010. However, on April 19, 2010 UHY informed the Company that effective April 16, 2010, its New England practice had been acquired by Marcum. As a result of this transaction, UHY declined reappointment as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal 2010 and the Company's Audit Committee appointed Marcum as the successor independent registered public accounting firm on April 19, 2010.
16:04
DOX Amdocs beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line (31.19 +0.20)
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.56 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.55; revenues rose 4.6% year/year to $744 mln vs the $741.4 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.55-0.58, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.56 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $750-765 mln vs. $752.87 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:04
FII Fed Investors misses by $0.05, misses on revs (26.43 -0.19)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.38 per share, $0.05 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.43; revenues fell 25.1% year/year to $233 mln vs the $257.1 mln consensus. Q1 2010 EPS reflects a $0.04 reduction due to the application of the two-class method of computing EPS in connection with the Q1 2010 dividend including the previously announced special dividend.
16:03
WBCO Washington Banking Co. increases quarterly dividend to $0.03 from $0.025 (14.52 +0.48)
Co announced that its board of directors declared a regular cash dividend of $0.03 per common share. The dividend increased from $0.025 the previous quarter, and it is payable May 19 to common shareholders of record on May 4, 2010.
16:03
DGII Digi Intl reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (11.14 +0.05)
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.06 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.06; revenues rose 12.5% year/year to $45.1 mln vs the $44.5 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.07-0.11 vs. $0.08 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $44-48 mln vs. $46.57 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $0.21-0.42 vs. $0.28 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $174-190 mln vs. $182.29 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:02
HOT Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Enters into New Credit Agreement with a $1.5 Billion Revolving Loan Commitment (53.72 +3.67) -Update-
Co announced that it has closed a new $1.5 bln senior credit facility. 2010. The new facility matures on November 15, 2013 and replaces the existing $1.875 billion revolving credit agreement which would have matured on February 11, 2011. The new facility enhances the co's financial flexibility and is expected to be used for general corporate purposes.
16:02
RCKY Rocky Brands beats by $0.09, beats on revs (10.34 +0.14)
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.10 per share, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.19); revenues rose 12.0% year/year to $56.1 mln vs the $51.3 mln consensus.
16:02
LSCC Lattice Semi beats by $0.03, beats on revs (4.55 +0.26)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.10 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.07; revenues rose 27.8% year/year to $70.4 mln vs the $67.5 mln consensus. "While we are pleased to see the progress and results of our efforts, our focus remains the same. If anything, we will continue to be aggressive in pursuit of growth opportunities, improved operational efficiencies and profitability. We remain highly confident in Lattice's competitive position and our ability to capture increased share in the markets we serve."
16:01
HWAY Healthways reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides FY10 revs in-line (16.69 +0.07)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.27 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.27; revenues fell 2.0% year/year to $179 mln vs the $174.1 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees FY10 revs of $677-$718 mln vs. $704.66 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. "We continue to expect to produce positive net cash flows from operating activities for the full year in the range of $80 million to $100 million. We also continue to expect total capital expenditures for the year to be in the range of $45 million to $50 million. Currently, we intend to apply free cash flow generated during 2010 primarily for repayment of debt."
16:01
IBKR Interactive Brokers misses by $0.10, misses on revs (16.15 -0.02)
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.09 per share, $0.10 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.19; revenues fell 28.8% year/year to $211 mln vs the $252.7 mln consensus. "The past quarter was characterized by shrinking volatilities in the equity markets, which continued to impact our market-making results; while our global brokerage business is proceeding to grow along a very high trajectory that remains unparalleled in the industry." Market Making segment income before income taxes was $5.5 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2010, an increase from the prior quarter but a decrease of 95% from the same period last year. Pre-tax profit margin was 7% in this quarter, down from 65% in the same period last year. Low actual volatility, relatively high implied volatility and narrow bid/offer spreads contributed to the decrease in market making profits this quarter. Market Making options contract volume decreased 13% compared to the same period last year, but increased 6% from the prior quarter.
16:01
WGOV Woodward Governor reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY10 EPS in-line, revs in-line (33.12 +0.75)
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.34 per share, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.34; revenues rose 4.4% year/year to $349.4 mln vs the $352.5 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.40-1.60 vs. $1.51 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY10 revs of $1.4-1.5 bln vs. $1.45 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.
16:00
RIG Transocean Provides Update on Semisubmersible Drilling Rig Deepwater Horizon, cause of the fire is unknown (90.37 0.00)
Co provided an update regarding a fire and explosion onboard its semisubmersible drilling rig Deepwater Horizon and reports that the rig sank late in the morning, today. The combined response team was not able to stem the flow of hydrocarbons prior to the rig sinking, and we are working closely with BP Exploration & Production, Inc. and the U.S. Coast Guard to determine the impact from the sinking of the rig and the plans going forward. The U.S. Coast Guard has plans in place to mitigate any environmental impact from this situation. The cause of the fire and explosion is unknown at this time. An investigation into the cause of the incident and assessment of the damage will be ongoing in the days or weeks to come.
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