Hourly In Play (R)

Updated: 09-Feb-09 13:00 ET

12:38

Crude oil has given back all of this morning's gains and is now trading near the flat line; currently up 5 cents to $40.22

12:30

DIS Walt Disney confirms exclusive long-term distribution agreement with DreamWorks Studios (19.47 +0.02) -Update-

Co confirms it has agreed to enter into an exclusive long-term distribution arrangement with filmmaker and DreamWorks Studios co-founder Steven Spielberg, and partner Stacey Snider, chief executive officer of DreamWorks, to distribute all upcoming live-action motion pictures produced by DreamWorks under their partnership with Reliance BIG Entertainment, part of The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, it was announced today by Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. Under the terms of this arrangement, Disney will handle distribution and marketing for approximately six DreamWorks films each year. The first DreamWorks motion picture to be released under the Touchstone Pictures banner is scheduled to hit theaters in 2010.

12:28

SEED Origin Agritech announces Second Notes Repurchase Agreement (2.38 +0.02)

Co announces that it entered into a Second Notes Repurchase Agreement with Citadel Equity Fund providing for the repurchase and redemption by the co of the remaining portion of the outstanding 1% Guaranteed Senior Secured Convertible Notes due 2012. Co issued the Notes to Citadel in an aggregate principal amount of $40 mln, and repurchased $18.7 mln in principal of those Notes pursuant to a Notes Repurchase Agreement dated July 28, 2008. Pursuant to the Second Notes Repurchase Agreement, co will repurchase from Citadel a portion of the Notes in an aggregate principal amount of $4.7 mln immediately for a repurchase price of $5.0 mln, and will enter into a supplemental indenture to amend the maturity date for the remaining $16.6 mln of the Notes to the end of 2009 for a repurchase price of $104,000 for each principal amount of $100,000 of such Notes. Notes repurchased under the Second Notes Repurchase Agreement will be cancelled.

12:01

GILD Gilead Sciences announces phase I data support development of a fixed-dose combination regimen containing GS 9350, elvitegravir and truvada for the treatment of hiv/aids (51.08 -1.07)

Co announces preclinical data and results from two Phase I studies for GS 9350, an investigational compound being developed as a pharmacoenhancing agent to increase blood levels and allow once-daily dosing for certain medicines, including Gilead's investigational HIV integrase inhibitor, elvitegravir. These data suggest that GS 9350 has significant and selective pharmacoenhancing ability, no antiviral activity against HIV and differentiated biological properties in vitro compared to ritonavir, currently the only drug used to boost certain HIV treatments, including protease inhibitors. Study results also show that GS 9350 effectively boosts elvitegravir, when both drugs are dosed as part of a single tablet complete fixed-dose regimen with Truvada(R) (emtricitabine 200 mg and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg). These data were presented today during an oral session at the 16th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Montreal.

11:58

FBP First Bancorp clarifies mistaken identity with FirstBank Financial Services of Georgia (5.83 -1.08) -Update-

Co announces that it has no relation, business, commercial or otherwise with FirstBank Financial Services of Georgia. On February 6, 2009, FirstBank Financial Services, McDonough, GA was closed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. Subsequently, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was named Receiver.

11:46

European Markets Closing Prices: FTSE: 4313.7 +21.8 +0.5%, DAX: 4672.1 +27.5 +0.6%, CAC: 3138.1 +15.3 +0.5%

11:17

FRME First Merchants announces that is has received preliminary approval for $116 mln from the U.S. Treasury Department to participate in the Capital Purchase Program (16.29 -0.21)

11:05

WFC Wells Fargo to acquire operations of Capital TempFunds (19.14 +0.01)

Co announces Wells Fargo Business Credit has signed a definitive agreement to acquire operations of Capital TempFunds, a division of Capital Business Credit. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. After the acquisition, Capital TempFunds will become part of Wells Fargo Business Credit's Staffing Services Group, which provides accounts receivable financing to staffing companies nationwide.

11:01

ACCL Accelrys and Bayer Technology Services announce their partnership and cooperation in the areas of Material Modeling and Simulation environment (4.06 -0.12)

10:46

SONE S1 Corp's Postilion wins contract for Arab National Bank Smart Card issuance program (6.73 -0.08)

Postilion, a division of S1 Corporation, announces that Arab National Bank has selected the Postilion solution for Card Issuers to manage its card issuance program. In addition to meeting the Bank's EMV compliancy needs, the Postilion solution will provide the Bank with complete lifecycle management for debit cards, including the secure preparation of production files, PIN generation, and account status management. Furthermore, the Postilion solution will help the Bank meet the local SPAN 2 payment processing regulations.

10:36

CSCO Cisco Systems announces offering of senior unsecured notes (16.75 -0.29) -Update-

Co announces that it intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions, senior notes under an automatic shelf registration. Co intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes and to repay $500 mln in aggregate principal amount of its floating rate notes due 2009.

10:31

MTL Mechel Steel announces opening of credit facilities in the amount of $1 bln by Gazprombank (4.78 +0.32)

Co announces that its subsidiaries have been provided with lines of credit totaling $1 bln from Gazprombank OAO. Gazprombank Open Joint-Stock Company has opened credit lines totaling $1 bln for Mechel's subsidiaries. Credit facilities provided will be used mainly for short-term debt repayment. Pursuant to that agreement, Gazprombank OAO participates in fund raising for implementation of the project, with the facilities amounting up to $255 mln.

10:30

DRCO Dynamics Research receives $3.3 mln U.S. Citizenship and immigration services contract (8.24 +0.06)

10:11

STT State Street: Fitch upgrades State Street's support ratings, downgrades Individual and Pfd ratings (30.25 -0.24)

Fitch Ratings has taken various rating actions on State Street Corporation and its primary operating subsidiary State Street Bank and Trust Company, reflecting Fitch's view of STT's increasing importance to the financial system in general, as well as the heightened risk of deferral on preferred level instruments faced by large banks in the current stressed economic environment. Rating actions include the following: Support upgraded to '1' from '5'; Support Floor revised to 'A+' from 'NF'; Preferred stock downgraded to 'BBB' from 'A-'; Individual downgraded to 'C' from 'B/C'.

10:09

S&P downgrades City of Madrid to 'AA-'; outlook still negative

10:09

CNA CNA Financial: Moody's affirms CNA's ratings; revises outlook to negative (11.99 -0.52) -Update-

Moody's affirmed the Baa3 senior debt rating of CNA Financial and the A3 insurance financial strength ratings on Continental Casualty Company and members of its property/casualty insurance intercompany pool. However, the outlook for the ratings has been changed to negative from stable because of continued investment losses resulting in weakness in earnings, and reduced capitalization. "Although CNA's investment portfolio includes a well-diversified mix of municipal, corporate, structured, and alternative instruments, we believe that further losses of meaningful amount are likely to continue in 2009. However, the ultimate economic loss potential in these positions is likely to be significantly less than current market values suggest."

10:08

ICGE Internet Capital signs a multi-year agreement with Whirlpool Corporation (5.38 -0.03)

Co has signed a multi-year agreement with Whirlpool Corporation (WHR). The contract engages ICG Commerce to help drive cost reductions by aggressively attacking $1 bln of indirect expenditures across the U.S. with services that include sourcing, category management and transaction processing.

10:07

IR Ingersoll-Rand names Michael Lamach, President and Chief Operating Officer (16.54 +0.10)

10:06

DIOD Diodes misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q1 revs below consensus (7.75 -0.37)

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.04 per share, $0.01 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.05; revenues fell 19.0% year/year to $87.1 mln vs the $90.9 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs declining 20% sequentially, which calc to ~$69.68 mln vs. $81.22 mln consensus. "Looking at Q1, we expect that the economy and global demand will continue to deteriorate and well beyond the typical seasonality associated with the quarter. As a result of these factors, we estimate that the first quarter revenue will decrease ~20% sequentially,. Furthermore, as a result of the weakened demand, we will reduce our 2009 capital authorizations to a maintenance level of ~2% of revenue, and we plan to reduce inventory, which will further reduce loading at our manufacturing facilities. As a result, we expect Q1 gross margin to be ~16 to 20% and expect to generate positive cash flow from operations as well as positive free cash flow for the quarter... We are implementing further cost reductions while working to maintain strong cash flow. In addition to the 7% headcount reductions initiated in the fourth quarter, we will be reducing headcount by an additional 17% in the first quarter, primarily at our manufacturing operations."

10:05

GM General Motors announces Bob Lutz moves to Senior Advisor Role; will retire at end of 2009 (2.79 -0.05) -Update-

Co announces Robert Lutz, GM Vice Chairman - Global Product Development, will transition to a new role effective April 1, 2009 as Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor. The co also announced that effective April 1, 2009 the GM Board of Directors elected Thomas Stephens, Vice Chairman - Global Product Development, reporting to President and Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson.

09:53

Crude oil notches new highs at $42.35; currently higher by $2.08 to $42.25

09:36

GCOM Globecomm receives initial order and launches Broadband Maritime solution in partnership with Mach6 (5.41 -0.14) -Update-

Co announces that it is launching a Global Broadband Satellite Maritime Solution with an initial order, in partnership with Mach6, from a satellite solutions provider based in the Netherlands.

09:33

GCOM Globecomm Systems beats by $0.02, misses on revs (5.41 -0.14)

Co reported before the bell Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.05 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.03; revenues fell 26.5% year/year to $40 mln vs the $43.6 mln consensus. Co says, "Globecomm's more predictable services revenues, coupled with a solid balance sheet, which includes zero debt, provides the Company with stability during the current economic downturn. Globecomm continues to invest in sales and marketing and sees opportunity on the acquisition front as we look to expand our global network footprint and round out our existing technology offerings. Globecomm has built and manages a highly leveragable service platform providing cutting edge technologies to multiple market segments. We are excited about our future, and look forward to continued profitability. Although we are disappointed by our results at this point in the current fiscal year due to delays in certain anticipated infrastructure bookings, we are encouraged by the recent bookings levels as reflected in our recent announcements and the performance of our service business."

09:33

IOSP Innospec announces completion of $150 mln refinancing (4.37 +0.05)

Co announces that ti has completed its planned refinancing of its existing loan facilities and entered into a new three year $150 mln facilities agreement consisting of a $50 mln term loan, and a $100 mln revolving facility, up to $50US mln of which is available for use by U.S. companies in the Innospec group. These debt facilities are fully syndicated and the participating banks include Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays Bank, Yorkshire Bank and Credit Suisse. This new facility replaces Innospec's existing facility which was due to expire in June 2009.

09:31

CA CA Inc announces that Lockheed Martin (LMT) chose CA SPECTRUM Network Fault Manager as part of the Aegis Open Architecture Weapon System (18.38 -0.13)

09:29

Crude continues its rally and has spiked to new highs at $41.78; now up $1.57 to $41.74

09:13

VPHM ViroPharma: Phase 3 trial evaluating maribavir used as prophylaxis in allogeneic stem cell, or bone marrow, transplant patients did not achieve its primary endpoint (12.21 ) -Update-

The co announces that its Phase 3 trial evaluating maribavir used as prophylaxis in allogeneic stem cell, or bone marrow, transplant (SCT) patients did not achieve its primary endpoint. In the primary analysis, there was no statistically significant difference between maribavir and placebo in reducing the rate of CMV disease. In addition, the study failed to meet its key secondary endpoints. Maribavir was generally well tolerated in this clinical study. The primary endpoint of this Phase 3 study was the incidence of CMV disease, confirmed by an independent endpoint committee, within 6 months post-transplant. The incidence of CMV disease within 6 months was 4.4% for maribavir compared to 4.8% for placebo (P=0.79). The first of four key secondary endpoints was the rate of initiation of anti-CMV treatment within 6 months, which was 37.9% for maribavir compared to 40.5% for placebo (P=0.49). In addition, the incidence of graft-versus-host disease, mortality and CMV disease-free survival was comparable between the groups.

09:11

AVAV AeroVironment launches production of its new digital data link with $16.8 mln order for Raven Systems (39.20 )

09:06

On The Wires

CDC Software, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CDC Corp (CHINA) announces it has signed a binding term sheet to acquire WKD Solutions, a leading provider of supply chain event management and business activity monitoring solutions that helps enterprises improve their supply chain visibility and support their governance, risk and compliance requirements...Starbucks Coffee (SBUX) will introduce a selection of pairings each for $3.95 beginning March 3... Raytheon (RTN) has received a $246 mln Foreign Military Sales contract for Patriot system spares for the United Arab Emirates... EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering (EXFO) announces the acquisition of PicoSolve, a private test and measurement co... MediciNova (MNOV) reaffirmed its proposal to acquire Avigen.

09:05

DDR Developers Diversified Rlty announced updates on asset sales and capital markets activities (4.80 )

Co announced updates on asset sales and capital markets activities. As for Mervyn's Sales, co announces the closing of the sale of five former Mervyns locations to Kohl's. The net sales proceeds were used to repay debt. As for asset sales, the co announces the closing of the sale of Ormond Town Square in Ormond Beach, FL on January 15, 2009. The sale generated $22 mln of net proceeds before closing costs to the Company. Today, co has over $100 mln of assets under contract or subject to letter of intent for sale As for capital markets activities, it repaid in full the outstanding balance of its senior unsecured notes which matured on January 30, 2009. The next senior unsecured debt maturity does not occur until May of 2010.

09:03

SRX SRA Intl awarded $200 mln task order by GSA to provide a full spectrum of communications and information technology services (13.67 )

09:02

GVP GSE Systems announces over $7 million of new work in the nuclear power simulation sector including a major upgrade to the Leningrad nuclear power plant simulator in Russia (6.66 )

09:01

OFIX Orthofix 'raises concerns' about another Ramius nominee for Orthofix Board

Co announces that the Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors, James F. Gero, sent a letter to Ramius LLC raising concerns about another of Ramius's nominees for Orthofix's Board of Director. " Dear Mr. Smith: I am writing to you on behalf of the Board of Directors of Orthofix International to question your nomination of Steven J. Lee to our Board. We wish to register our concern about the perception that might be created by Mr. Lee's presence on our Board. Frankly, we are concerned that Mr. Lee's presence on our Board would detract from the positive steps we have taken related to Orthofix's recent implementation of Integrity Advantage, our Corporate Compliance and Ethics Program. On January 28th, I sent you a letter questioning the nomination of Peter Feld, a 29-year-old Ramius nominee and employee with no health care experience and a strikingly thin record of service on just two Boards: Particularly in a difficult operating environment, it is unclear what value either Mr. Lee or Mr. Feld would bring to our business. Frankly, the Board is deeply troubled by the respective backgrounds of both Mr. Lee and Mr. Feld, as well as Ramius's efforts to impose these two people on our team, our culture and our organization. In addition to Mr. Lee and Mr. Feld, Ramius has also nominated Charles T. Orsatti and J. Michael Egan to our Board. While we think Mr. Lee and Mr. Feld offer no obvious benefit to our broad shareholder base, and would clearly damage our Board and the reputation of our company, we are prepared to formally meet and interview both Mr. Orsatti and Mr. Egan at the earliest available date."

09:01

OMAB Grupo Aeroportuario announces that January '09 traffic decreased 14.8% compared to Jan '08 (8.89 )

08:56

VPHM ViroPharma halted - news pending (12.21 )

08:46

TREE Tree.com CEO and Chairman, Doug Lebda, buys $3.65 mln in common stock at $3.91/share (3.91 )

08:38

On The Wires

The Phoenix Companies (PNX) announces that it has rescheduled its Q4 earnings news release date to Feb 27, 2009. The release and conference call were previously scheduled for Feb 10, 2009... Senomyx (SNMX) announces that it has initiated development activities for S0812 and additional new bitter blockers... Solta Medical (SLTM) announces that they have completed their Software Validation of the Omnify Empower PLM system. The validation supports the meeting of FDA Part 11 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations compliance requirements for electronic product data management for the Thermage solution.

08:35

MCY Mercury General misses by $1.20, misses on revs (41.20 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.48 per share, excluding net realized investment losses, $1.20 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.72; revenues fell 8.3% year/year to $641.6 mln vs the $654.2 mln consensus. Losses incurred during the fourth quarter 2008 were impacted by approximately $20 min of losses related to the Southern California wildfires occurring in October 2008, high loss severity inflation on the California automobile lines of business, adverse development on prior periods loss reserves and poor results from our New Jersey operations.

08:34

KFS Kingsway Fin announces profit warning, intention to exit or sell non-core lines and reaffirms corporate restructuring plan (5.09 )

Co announces that it expects to report a material Q4 loss due to underwriting losses at its subsidiary Lincoln General Insurance Company, impairments to goodwill, further valuation allowance of future tax assets and net realized losses on investments. The company announces it will undertake a strategy that includes: reducing the volatility of the balance sheet to protect the company's capital through the divestiture of the common share equity portfolio; shrinking premium by approx $350 mln to achieve an acceptable level of capital, which will include exiting non-core and/or unprofitable lines of business at Lincoln and Southern United Fire Insurance Company; selling non-core assets and running off of certain business with the objective to free up approximately $200 million in capital; and continuing corporate restructuring plan to focus on core lines of business and reduce expenses in excess of $80 mln. Throughout 2008, terminating unprofitable programs and exiting non-core lines of business was a priority at Lincoln, and as a result of this and other factors, written premiums were reduced by approx $347 mln or 43%. The company announced that it expects to report an underwriting loss of approximately $80 million at Lincoln in the Q4. It is expected that the impact of the aforementioned items will increase the net loss for the qtr to approx $324-$344 mln or approximately $5.88 to $6.24 loss per share, vs First Call consensus of breakeven. The book value of the company is expected to be approximately $8.37-$8.74 per share as at Dec 31, 2008.

08:33

ARE Alexandria RE reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides FY09 FFO below consensus (58.74 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) funds from operations of $1.55 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of $1.55; revenues rose 17.6% year/year to $126.6 mln vs the $114.3 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY09, sees FFO of $6.26 vs. $6.39 consensus.

08:32

CAAS China Automotive announces that it sold 1.3 mln systems and components in 2008 vs 1.1 mln in 2007 (3.05 )

08:31

SSRX 3SBio Inc. appoints Mr. Bo Tan as Chief Financial Officer effective February 1, 2009 (5.38 )

08:31

PVTB PrivateBancorp names Kevin Killips as CFO effective March 6, 2009 (15.86 )

08:28

On The Wires

PPD (PPDI) announces it has entered into an agreement to acquire AbC.R.O., a contract research organization operating in Central and Eastern Europe, which will further strengthen PPDI's presence in a high-growth, emerging region for clinical research... Toreador Resources (TRGL) announces that on Feb 6, 2009, it successfully spudded the Balotaszallas-E-1 well which is located in the Tompa Block in Hungary. The THL Ba-E-1 well, in which TRGL holds a 25% working interest, is planned to be drilled to a total vertical depth of approx 12,500 feet and is expected to take approx 90 days to drill.

08:12

AG AGCO Corp beats by $0.07, misses on revs; guides FY09 EPS in-line, revs in-line (25.04 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.08 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 better than the First Call consensus of $1.01; revenues fell 0.6% year/year to $2.16 bln vs the $2.36 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $3.00-3.25 vs. $3.22 consensus; sees FY09 revs of $7.5-7.8 bln vs. $7.74 bln consensus.

08:10

ROH Rohm and Haas beats by $0.02, misses on revs (56.50 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.69 per share, excluding asset impairments charges and other non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.67; revenues fell 13.4% year/year to $2.03 bln vs the $2.28 bln consensus. results were driven by accelerating market declines that impacted all businesses and regions except Salt. Co says, "We took proactive steps throughout 2008 to remain competitive despite the challenges of a slowing economy, and our performance reflects these efforts. As market conditions continue to weaken, we are implementing additional actions to navigate these difficult times, while remaining focused on positioning our businesses for success when markets recover."

08:08

On The Wires

CoBiz Financial (COBZ) announces that it intends to release earnings for its fourth quarter and year ended Dec 31, 2008, after market close Feb 12, 2009. The co originally scheduled its release for January 22, 2009, after market close... Global Energy Systems (GNH) announces it has acquired the right to purchase landfill gas from Republic Services Global Energy will process the landfill gas to convert it into a saleable energy product. Global Energy paid Republic a total of $3,350,000 for the landfill gas purchase rights and will pay Republic a royalty based on revenues collected from the sale of the processed gas... Comtech (CMTL) announces that its New York-based subsidiary, Comtech P.S.T, has received a $2.8 mln contract for broadband, solid state, high-power RF microwave amplifier systems from an international OEM.

08:03

GTE Gran Tierra Energy announces YE08 Reserves; proved light and medium reserves were 19.238 MMBO NAR (3.50 )

Co announces the results of an independent reserve evaluation of the company's reserves by GLJ Petroleum Consultants effective Dec 31, 2008. Proved light and medium oil reserves are 19.238 MMBO NAR at year-end 2008 compared to 6.418 MMBO NAR at year-end 2007, an increase of 200%. In addition to the above proved light and medium oil reserves, GTE also has year-end 2008 NAR proved gas reserves of approximately 1.2 BC. GTE had no proved gas reserves at year- end 2007. GTE is currently producing approx 12,000 BOPD net after royalty. About 11,000 BOPD net after royalty production is from Colombia and approx 1,000 BOPD net after royalty production is from Argentina.

08:03

GTSI GTSI Corp wins $25 million purchase agreement from the Department of Defense (5.21 )

Co was recently awarded a blanket purchase agreement from the U.S. Department of Defense through the Enterprise Software Initiatives, to protect sensitive data residing on government laptops, mobile computing devices, and removable storage devices, such as USB drives. The $25 mln contract, which reaches all of the Department of Defense, as well as Federal, state and local agencies that utilize GSA's SmartBUY runs for five years with all options exercised.

08:02

RODM Rodman & Renshaw announces that Edward Rubin, the president and a co-founder of Rodman & Renshaw, will succeed Michael Lacovara as chief executive officer (0.65 )

08:02

ITG Investment Tech releases January US trading statistics (23.45 )

The co announces that January 2009 US trading volume was 4.0 billion shares and average daily volume (ADV) was 202 million shares. This compares to 4.1 billion shares and ADV of 185 million shares in December 2008 and 5.2 billion shares and ADV of 245 million shares in January 2008. There were 20 trading days in January 2009, 22 trading days in December 2008 and 21 trading days in January 2008.

08:02

LGND Ligand Pharma earns $1 million milestone payment on progress of drug candidate for Alzheimer's disease (2.54 )

Co announces that it has earned a $1 million milestone payment from Schering-Plough (SGP) related to the progress of Schering-Plough's inhibitor of Ã?-site of APP cleaving enzyme for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, which resulted from a research collaboration with Pharmacopeia

08:01

CRIS Curis announces collaborative agreement between Genentech and National Cancer Institute on GDC-0449 (1.11 )

Co announces that Curis' collaborator Genentech (DNA) and the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis are planning to enter into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement which will allow the NCI to explore GDC-0449, an orally-administered small molecule Hedgehog Pathway Inhibitor, in a number of cancer indications.

08:00

DRYS DryShips announces preliminary agreement with Nordea Bank for a covenant waiver on the $800 mln primelead facility (5.95 )

Co announces that it has reached preliminary agreement with Nordea Bank Finland Plc to obtain a covenant waiver in connection with the $800.0 mln Primelead facility, which was used to partially finance the acquisition of Ocean Rig ASA. As of today, the outstanding loan amount under the facility is $650.0 mln. In accordance with the main terms of the waiver: (i) co will pay a restructuring fee of 0.15% on the outstanding loan amount under the facility plus an amount equal to 1.00% per annum on the loan outstanding for the period from January 9, 2009 until the Effective Date of the waiver agreement; (ii) $75.0 mln of principal repayment due February 2009 will be postponed until May 2009; (iii) the margin on the facility will increase by 1.00% to 3.125% per annum; and (iv) regular principal payments will resume as of August 2009. In addition, among other things, lender consent will be required for the acquisition of DrillShip Hulls 1837 and 1838, for new cash capital expenditures or commitments and for new acquisitions for cash until the loan has been repaid to below $375.0 mln. The waiver agreement Effective Date will not exceed August 12, 2009, at which time co expects to be in compliance with the restructured loan covenants. The agreement is preliminary and is subject to formal approvals by co and the syndicate banks.

08:00

MCD McDonald's reports global comparable sales up 7.1% in January (58.46 )

Co announces that global comparable sales increased 7.1% in January. Systemwide sales for McDonald's worldwide restaurants were up 2.6% for the month, or 9.1% in constant currencies. In the U.S., comparable sales rose 5.4% in January. "Value across the menu along with the popularity of McDonald's core menu and breakfast drove results. In Europe, the U.K., France, and Russia led January's 7.1% comparable sales increase. Across Europe, the combination of premium menu offerings, classic favorites and everyday affordability continue to deliver results."

08:00

CVC Cablevision announces $500 mln debt offering (15.11 )

07:55

FBR discusses worsening delinquency trends in banks

Friedman Billings notes that as expected, bank and thrift call report data from 4Q08 demonstrated accelerating credit deterioration in the 30- to 89-day delinquency trends. They expect industry multiples to be under a great deal of pressure over the next three to six months; continue to recommend reduced exposure to the industry for accounts with shorter-term investment horizons. For investors that must be long banks/thrifts, they continue to recommend HCBK. They are primarily concerned about companies that posted a more material increase in 30- to 89-day delinquencies during 4Q08, with some of the more liquid names including WFC, CATY, BAC, and USB.

07:50

FLR Fluor-led offshore project reaches first gas (41.55 )

Co announces that its consortium with J. Ray McDermott has successfully installed and reached first gas on its production platform for BG Trinidad and Tobago. Fluor provided the 4,267-ton topsides and all gas production facilities for this Poinsettia project with J. Ray McDermott providing the jacket. Located off the northwest shore of Trinidad in water 530 feet deep, the completed platform is the largest offshore facility ever built and installed in Trinidad and Tobago waters.

07:43

On The Wires

Tyler Technologies (TYL) has signed an agreement with the Village of Palmetto Bay, Florida, for Tyler's financial management solution... Aflac (AFL) announced that it is providing expanded detail on its holdings of perpetual debenture securities at aflac.com. The company has elevated additional information to its web site on each Upper Tier 2 and Tier 1 perpetual debenture, including CUSIP numbers for each security, book and market values, ratings and more.

07:34

LO Lorillard beats by $0.16, beats on revs (62.26 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.53 per share, $0.16 better than the First Call consensus of $1.37; revenues rose 13.7% year/year to $1.09 bln vs the $0.93 bln consensus. The increase in gross profit reflects an increase in net sales, partially offset by higher manufacturing costs and higher costs related to the State Settlement Agreements.

07:29

IDEV Indevus Pharm announces PRO 2000 found to "show promise" in large HIV prevention study (5.33 )

Co announces that a National Institutes of Health-sponsored clinical study found that participating women who received PRO 2000, the Company's candidate vaginal microbicide for HIV prevention, had an approx 30% lower risk of acquiring HIV infection than women who received a placebo or no vaginal product. All women participating in the study were offered free condoms and safer-sex counseling. This is the first trial to suggest any microbicide may prevent male-to-female sexual transmission of HIV although the beneficial effect did not reach statistical significance.

07:23

On The Wires

AstraZeneca (AZN), Mayo Clinic, and Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties announced that AstraZeneca has licensed a portfolio of preclinical Triple Reuptake Inhibitor compounds for depression. Financial details were not disclosed... Suffolk Bancorp (SUBK) appointed Edgar F. Goodale, currently Acting Chairman, as Chairman of the Board; and J. Gordon Huszagh, currently Acting President and Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, President and Chief Executive Officer, both effective immediately... Westamerica Bancorporation (WABC) announced its wholly-owned subsidiary bank, Westamerica Bank, entered an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to purchase the assets and assume the deposit liabilities of County Bank... California Bank & Trust, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zions Bancorporation (ZION), announced that the bank has agreed to acquire the banking operations, including all of the deposits, of Alliance Bank in a transaction facilitated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation... Mueller Water Products (MWA) announced that it is continuing to address the impact of the recession. Included in the actions being implemented are temporary plant shutdowns to match production with market demand and to reduce costs. In addition, co has announced pay reductions of 20% for members of the board of directors and most of its executive officers for the next three months. Co also announced lesser reductions in base pay and/or reduced workweeks for other salaried employees.

07:15

HEW Hewitt Associates beats by $0.08, misses on revs; raises FY09 EPS (31.32 )

Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.68 per share, $0.08 better than the First Call consensus of $0.60; revenues fell 2.9% year/year to $770.8 mln vs the $806.6 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $2.45-2.55 vs. $2.40 consensus, prior guidance was $2.35-$2.45. Co says, "We are maintaining our full year operating outlook despite the increasingly difficult economic environment. It is worth noting that we are making some adjustments to our guidance, namely lowering our revenue estimates primarily to reflect foreign exchange volatility and raising ests of diluted earnings per share by ten cents to reflect lower share count expectations and some tax rate benefits." Co sees for FY09 on this underlying basis, excluding the impact of unusual items, low-single digit percentage decline in consolidated net revenue, compared with prior guidance of low-single digit percentage growth and operating income of approximately $420 to $435 mln, unchanged from prior guidance.

07:11

On The Wires

SmartHeat (HEAT) announces that it has been selected by the Chinese government as one of the two main contributors in the drafting of China's national standards for the heat transfer industry... LaBarge (LB) has been awarded a $1.6 mln contract from Northrop Grumman (NOC) to continue to produce electronic equipment for the AN/AAQ-24 Directional Infrared Countermeasure system... Inhibitex (INHX) announces that it has completed its Phase I clinical trials of FV-100... Tessera Technologies (TSRA) announces that Amkor Technologies (AMKR) has paid Tessera $58.8 mln, as per the terms of the International Chamber of Commerce's International Court of Arbitration award to Tessera for Amkor's material breach of its license agreement. The remainder of the entire $64.1 mln award is due by Feb. 15, 2009.

07:10

SHPGY Shire Pharm receives FOSRENOL Paragraph IV notice letters from Barr Laboratories and Mylan (46.02 )

Co announces that it has received Paragraph IV Notice letters from Barr Laboratories and Mylan (MYL) dated 2 and 4 Feb 2009 respectively, advising in each case of the filing of an Abbreviated New Drug Application for a generic version of 500mg, 750mg and 1gm FOSRENOL. Shire is currently reviewing the detail of the Paragraph IV Notice letters from Barr and Mylan, and under the Hatch Waxman Act, has 45 days from the date of each notice letter to determine if it will file a patent infringement suit. If Shire brings suit pursuant to the Hatch Waxman regulations, a 30-month stay of approval will be imposed by the FDA on Barr's and Mylan's ANDA, which will commence on 26 October 2009.

07:08

RPM RPM subsidiary acquires Swiss Sealants Company (12.94 )

RPM International announced that its subsidiary, Tremco illbruck International GmbH, acquired Karochemie AG, a leading supplier of sealants to the construction markets in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. It is expected to be accretive to earnings within one year.

07:04

PRGX PRG-Schultz announces subcontracts with three medicare recovery audit contractors (3.43 )

Co announces that the Co has withdrawn its Government Accountability Office protest of the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor contract awards by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Company also announced today that it has entered into subcontracts with three of the four Medicare RAC contract awardees.

07:04

ENER Energy Conversion beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q3 revs below consensus; guides FY09 revs below consensus (25.75 )

Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.33 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.31; revenues rose 82.8% year/year to $103.1 mln vs the $101.8 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $95-110 mln vs. $120.17 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY09, sees FY09 revs of $395-440 mln vs. $450.61 mln consensus.

07:04

ASF Administaff misses by $0.04, misses on revs (23.66 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.39 per share, $0.04 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.43; revenues rose 5.9% year/year to $426 mln vs the $440.9 mln consensus. Co says, "We are very pleased with Administaff's financial performance in 2008 against the backdrop of a deteriorating economic climate. While the growth of our sales staff is encouraging, we have taken a conservative approach to our 2009 operating plan given the recent weakness in the labor market and the near-term outlook for the economy."

07:03

AMRI Albany Molecular beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus; guides FY09 EPS in-line (9.64 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.10 per share, $0.05 better than the First Call consensus of $0.05; revenues rose 19.5% year/year to $56.4 mln vs the $54.3 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $(0.01)-0.02 vs. $0.11 consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $0.40-0.46 vs. $0.44 consensus. "With regard to our royalty revenues from worldwide sales of Allegra and certain generic forms of Allegra, we expect first quarter royalties of approximately $9.0 to $10.0 million and full year 2009 royalties of approximately $31.0 to $34.0 million."

07:03

WRB W.R. Berkley misses by $0.16, misses on revs (26.00 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) net operating earnings of $0.62 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.16 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.78; revenues fell 22.9% year/year to $1.08 bln vs the $1.19 bln consensus. Co said, "While price competition continues, we are beginning to see selective rate increases in some lines of business. We anticipate consequential improvement in the pricing environment by the end of this year. 2009 will still have substantial underwriting profitability, and we are optimistic that our operating returns will be in line with our targeted annual returns".

07:02

CBI CB&I announces that Lasse Petterson has joined the company as COO (12.10 )

06:46

DVAX Dynavax Technologies announces receipt of communication from the U.S. FDA on Heplisavtm Hepatitis B vaccine (0.62 )

Co announces receipt of communication from the FDA regarding the clinical hold on the two Heplisavtm Investigational New Drug Applications, for healthy adults and patients with end-stage renal disease. In this communication, the FDA has requested additional clinical and safety information which the agency indicated may be helpful in its risk assessment of the two INDs and may assist in finding a development path forward for Heplisav hepatitis B vaccine, not only in ESRD patients but also in healthy adults. This communication followed a Clinical Hold Oversight Meeting held at the FDA on January 8, 2009. Dynavax believes the information requested by the FDA is available and intends to provide this to the agency in the near future.

06:32

HAS Hasbro misses by $0.13, misses on revs (23.54 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.62 per share, $0.13 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.75; revenues fell 5.1% year/year to $1.23 bln vs the $1.27 bln consensus. Co said, "To keep our core brands strong and to drive consumer traffic in the critical selling weeks prior to the holidays, we worked with our global retail partners and put additional promotional programs in place. This resulted in our finishing 2008 in a much better inventory position than we would have otherwise, although it did negatively impact operating profit in the fourth quarter."

06:19

S&P futures vs fair value: -7.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -11.00.

06:19

Asian Markets

Nikkei...7969.03...-107.60...-1.30%. Hang Seng...13769.06...+114.00...+0.80%.

06:19

European Markets

FTSE...4271.99...-19.90...-0.50%. DAX...4633.86...-10.60...-0.20%.

06:01

PARL Parlux Fragrances misses by $0.29, reports revs in-line (2.52 )

Reports Q3 (Dec) loss of $0.22 per share, $0.29 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.07; revenues rose 6.3% year/year to $47.3 mln vs the $47.3 mln consensus.

05:58

BWP Boardwalk Pipeline beats by $0.01, misses on revs (22.51 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.40 per share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.39; revenues rose 21.1% year/year to $205.6 mln vs the $227.1 mln consensus.

03:14

SOHU Sohu.com beats by $0.19, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS above consensus, revs below consensus (45.61 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.35 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.19 better than the First Call consensus of $1.16; revenues rose 86.2% year/year to $121.6 mln vs the $121 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $1.05-1.10, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.01 consensus; sees Q1 revs of $111.5-115.5 mln vs. $117.41 mln consensus. Co reports non-GAAP operating margin of 43%, compared with 38% in Q308. Non-GAAP net margin excluding income tax adjustments $6.0 mln increased to 44% for Q408, compared with 35% in Q308. Sohu estimates brand advertising revenues for Q109 to be between $39.0-41.0 mln. Sohu estimates online game revenues for Q109 to be between $58.0-60.0 mln.

03:05

NYX NYSE Euronext misses by $0.03, misses on revs; announces January '09 trading volumes (22.90 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.52 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.55; pro-forma non-GAAP revenues rose 20.8% year/year to $1.18 bln vs the $1.19 bln consensus. Net revenues benefited from higher volumes, but were negatively impacted by new pricing initiatives which resulted in higher rebates to customers, including Pack Epsilon pricing in Europe, NYSE Arca tiered pricing in the U.S., and NYSE pricing changes made in connection with the introduction of the NYSE new market model designed to attract liquidity to the floor of the NYSE. Foreign exchange variances also negatively impacted net revenues by $55 mln in the quarter, but positively impacted full year net revenues by $25 mln. U.S. cash products handled average daily volume decreased 8.9% to 3.5 bln shares in January 2009. European cash products decreased 29.5% to 1.3 mln transactions in January 2009 from 1.9 mln transactions in January 2008.

02:05

BIIB MS patients treated with TYSABRI remain free of disease activity for two years, according to data publshed in hte Lancet Neurology (52.48 )

Co and Elan (ELN) announce five-times as many multiple sclerosis patients taking TYSABRI were free from disease activity versus placebo in the overall patient population. Results from this retrospective analysis showed that two years after beginning treatment with TYSABRI, 37% of patients remained free of disease activity, compared to 7% of placebo-treated patients. 64%of patients showed no sign of relapse or sustained disability progression and 58% were free of radiological disease activity. Both of these measures were used to define freedom from disease activity in this analysis of the AFFIRM clinical trial. These data were published online today and in the March 2009 issue of The Lancet Neurology. The analysis also suggests that the efficacy of TYSABRI may increase over time. The data show the proportion of MS patients who were free of disease activity in the TYSABRI group were greater in the second year than in the first year, while the number of MS patients in a placebo group free of disease activity stayed about the same in the second year.

01:54

CTRP Ctrip.com beats by $0.09, beats on revs (21.50 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.33 per ADS, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 better than the First Call consensus of $0.24; revenues rose 19.0% year/year to $58.1 mln vs the $57.1 mln consensus. Operating margin was 30% in Q408, compared to 36% in the same period in 2007. Excluding share-based compensation charges (non-GAAP), operating margin was 38%, compared to 42% during the same period in 2007. Gross margin was 77% during Q408, compared to 81% in the same period in 2007. For Q109, co expects to continue the year-on-year net revenue growth at a rate of approx 5-10%.

01:45

ROH Rohm and Haas updates statement on merger with Dow Chemical (56.50 )

Co issues the following statement regarding its merger with Dow Chemical (DOW): Rohm and Haas believes that Dow has the resources and flexibility to live up to its obligations under the merger agreement. Rather than focus on the necessary steps, Dow has embarked on an aggressive campaign in an attempt to frighten our employees, communities and customers with its statements. Rohm and Haas believes that the combination of the two companies will create a strong global competitor to benefit shareholders and all other stakeholders in the long term. These are sentiments often expressed by Dow since last summer. While there are short-term challenges in today's economy, the combined company is well positioned to meet those challenges.

00:43

LLTC Linear Tech revises the charge taken for accelerating the vesting of all 'out-of-the-money' stock options and issues revised Q209 results increasing diluted EPS by $0.05 (25.77 )

Co announces that its previously reported results for Q209 ended December 28, 2008 have been revised to exclude a non-cash charge of $15.0 mln pertaining to accelerating the vesting of stock options for 1.4 mln shares representing all of the "out-of-the-money" stock options previously awarded to its non-officer and non-director employees under its stock option plans. The effect of this change in the Consolidated Statements of Income for the second quarter and the first six month period of FY09 was to increase GAAP operating income by $15.0 mln, GAAP net income by $11.0 mln and to increase GAAP diluted earnings per share by $0.05. These revised results will be included in the co's Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended December 28, 2008 filed this afternoon.

00:00

On The Wires

Amgen (AMGN) announces that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Nplate for the treatment of splenectomised adult chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura patients who are refractory to other treatments; Nplate may be considered as second line treatment for adult non-splenectomised ITP patients where surgery is contra-indicated... Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASX) reports unaudited consolidated net revenues for January 2009 decreased 57.9% year/year to NT3,617 mln and decreased 12.8% sequentially... AU Optronics (AUO) reports preliminary consolidated January 2009 revenue decreased 71.9% year/year to NT13,245 mln and decreased 10.1% sequentially.

17:31

GOL GOL Linhas Areas Inteligentes announces traffic statistics for January 2009 (4.53 0.18)

Co released preliminary passenger statistics for the month of January 2009. Domestic passenger traffic (RPK) for January 2009 increased 4.1% and capacity (ASK) increased 2.7% year-over-year (vs. January 2008). Domestic load factor for the month was 71% and international load factor was 57%. GOL's total system load factor for the month of January was 69%.

17:13

RF Regions acquires its second failed bank in five months from FDIC (4.20 +1.37)

Co announced that it has assumed from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) ~$285 mln in total deposits, including all uninsured deposits, of FirstBank Financial Services, based in Henry County, Ga. This is the second acquisition in five months where Regions has worked with the FDIC to provide a safe harbor for the customers of a failed bank. The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance at the close of business on February 6, 2009, appointed the FDIC as receiver of FirstBank. The FDIC approved the assumption of ~$285 mln in deposits by Regions Bank.

16:31

SXL Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. announces pricing of senior notes (54.82 +0.73)

Co announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sunoco Logistics Partners Operations L.P., priced $175 mln of five-year senior notes, maturing on February 15, 2014, at 99.995 percent of par value. The senior notes will bear interest at 8.75 percent per annum. This offering was made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Partnership intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to repay indebtedness outstanding under Sunoco Logistics Partners Operations L.P.'s revolving credit facility, which was incurred to finance the acquisition of the MagTex products pipeline and terminals system.

16:13

GROW U.S. Global Investors reports 2Q09 EPS of ($0.11) vs $0.16 in 2Q08; revs declined 80% YoY to $2.83 mln (5.39 +0.16)

The company's revenue, net income and earnings per share in the latest quarter were significantly impacted by realized and unrealized losses on corporate investments totaling $3.05 million, or 20 cents per share, on a pre-tax basis. "Our corporate investments lost much of their value in the turbulent markets of 2008, and the writedowns were taken according to accounting rules... These investments are long-term, liquid securities, as opposed to the writedowns of credit derivatives taken by many banks, brokerages and other investment managers as a result of the year-old accounting rule known as FAS 157, which I believe may be amplifying the problems that we've been seeing in financial markets... The potential for further writedowns of our corporate investments is limited, and it's also important to share with you that, unlike many of our asset manager peers, U.S. Global Investors has no corporate debt on our balance sheets."

16:06

BXP Boston Properties, Inc. announces suspension of construction on 250 West 55th Street in New York City (46.93 +4.09)

Co announces that it intends to suspend construction on its new development at 250 West 55th Street in New York City as a result of its inability to conclude a lease transaction with a major law firm with which it has been negotiating over the last year. Agreement on financial terms had been reached with the firm within the last year, but recently the law firm informed the Company that it could not proceed on those terms thereby rendering the project economically infeasible in today's environment. As a result of the decision to suspend construction, the Company expects to reduce its capital commitments through 2011 by approximately $450 mln.

16:05

GGP Gen Growth Prop announces it will report Q4 results Feb 23, two weeks later than previously projected; co will not conduct a conference call (0.81 +0.06)

GGP announced that as a result of its ongoing strategic review of alternatives, it now plans to release earnings for the fourth quarter and full year of 2008 on February 23, 2009, after the market closes, which is two weeks later than the previously projected date. The co will not conduct a conference call this quarter.

16:02

SPAN Span-America Medical announces termination of Hill-Rom Supply contract (9.93 +0.21)

Co announces that Hill-Rom Holdings (HRC) notified the Company that it will cancel its non-exclusive supply contract with Span-America effective April 6, 2009. The current contract provides for Span-America to sell certain lines of private-label support surfaces to Hill-Rom on a non-exclusive basis. The agreement is cancellable by either party for any reason with 60 days written notice.

Copyright 2009 Comtex News Network, Inc. All Rights Reserved Copyright 2009 Briefing.com, Inc. All rights reserved.