Market Update
3:30 pm : Several closely tracked commodities succumbed to selling pressure this session. Specifically, oil prices ended pit trade at $82.79 per barrel for a 0.2% loss. For the week, though, they advanced 4.5%. Elsewhere in the energy complex, natural gas prices tumbled 3.1% to $3.49 per MMbtu. The decline fueled a weekly loss of almost 5%.
Precious metals failed to find favor amid a downturn among equities. In turn, gold prices gave up 1.1% to end the day at $1635.50 per ounce, but they managed to muster a 0.8% gain for the week. As for silver, it slid 3.0% to $31.05 per ounce for the session, but still scored a 3.2% gain for the week. DJ30 +90.21 NASDAQ +3.59 SP500 +4.01 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 715/1.55 bln/1785 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 905/715 mln/2080
3:00 pm : Stocks continue to work their way up from midsession lows. The effort has stocks near their best levels of the afternoon.
Another dose of data was just released, but it has had no real impact on trade. The data showed that consumer credit dropped by $9.5 billion during August. It had been broadly expected to climb by $7.0 billion.DJ30 +9.42 NASDAQ -18.40 SP500 -6.04 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 695/1.45 bln/1800 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 830/655 mln/2160
2:30 pm : Stocks have spent the past hour trying to recover from session lows. Although the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are still stuck in the red, the Dow recently poked back into positive territory.
Financials continue to weigh on broad market action. The sector is mired near its session low, contending with a 3% loss. That almost completely offsets its gain from the prior session. DJ30 -1.70 NASDAQ -19.19 SP500 -7.19 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 615/1.35 bln/1870 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 710/600 mln/2280
2:00 pm : Treasuries have rallied off their worst levels of the session following the Fitch downgrades of both Italy and Spain, and the placement of Portugal on 'negative watch.' The 10-yr yield was printing at session highs near 2.12% in the moments ahead of the downgrades, but has since fallen below the 2.05% threshold as buyers rushed into longer dated paper. The long bond was down three full points at its worst levels of the day, but has since recouped more than two-third of its losses. The 30-yr yield is now up just 3 bps on the session at 2.978% after touching a high of 3.087%. After blowing out to a session wide near 185 bps the 2-10-yr spread has tightened to 176 bps.DJ30 -26.87 NASDAQ -25.77 SP500 -9.90 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 579/1.28 bln/1897 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 645/582.7 mln/2367
1:30 pm : The major market averages are off their worst levels of the session, but are still decidedly in the red after Fitch downgraded Italy and Spain and put Portugal on negative watch. The 1.0% drop in the Nasdaq paces the decline while the S&P and Dow hold losses of 0.8% and 0.2% respectively.
Financials are the worst performing sector today, collectively trading down 2.7%. The big financial firms are leading the way lower as Bank of America (BAC 5.96, -0.32) and Goldman Sachs (GS 93.00, -4.93) are both down more than 5.0%. Competitors Citigroup (C 24.96, -1.06) and JP Morgan Chase (JPM 31.04, -1.33) aren't fearing much better as both trade lower by 4.2%. DJ30 -21.65 NASDAQ -25.74 SP500 -8.98 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 597/1.20 bln/1852 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 713/549.2 mln/2298
1:00 pm : Stocks entered Friday with three straight gains that accumulated to a 6% advance, but not even a better-than-expected jobs report has been able to convice participants to extend the rally.
Action this morning in Europe was mixed amid news that analysts at Moody's downgraded the ratings of a dozen banks in the United Kingdom and a handful of others in Portugal. That and a cautious posture ahead of the September payrolls report restrained premarket trade.
However, the tone ahead of the open picked up in response to news that non-farm payrolls for September climbed by 103,000 while private payrolls increased by 137,000. Economists polled by Briefing.com had expected, on average, respective increases of 60,000 and 83,000. Despite the better-than-expected results and some significant upward revisions to prior month totals, a 9.1% headline unemployment rate was what had been widely anticipated.
Buying interest failed to extend into cash market trade, though. Instead, action has been generally choppy and listless, leaving the major equity averages to move in mixed fashion. Early afternoon downgrades of Italy and Portugal by Fitch have dropped the major averages into negative terrtory.
Among the more influential sectors, financials have fallen to a 3.1% loss after rallying to a gain of more than 3% yesterday. Banks led the prior session's advance, but are generally driving downside action today. As for tech, the sector is down 0.9%.
A few blue chips have been performing relatively well, though. That has given the Dow a decent gain on the day. Its advance comes in contrast to the weakness displayed by the Nasdaq, which has been hampered by pressure against biotech plays.
Outside of equities, the dollar has recently turned positive. It is however trading lower against the pound sterling, which has extended its prior session rally by climbing 0.8% to $1.5555 today. After spending most of the day in positive territorty, the euro has slide below the flat line on the Spanish and Italian downgrades.DJ30 -52.75 NASDAQ -33.93 SP500 -12.01 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 560/1.12 bln/1882 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 680/506.5 mln/2314
12:30 pm : Stocks are falling in response to some aggressive selling pressure. The effort comes in the wake of headlines that analysts at Fitch have downgraded the debt of both Italy and Spain.
Those headlines have helped give the greenback a big boost, though. The dollar was lagging a basket of major foreign currencies by about 0.5% only minutes ago. It is now down only fractionally for the day. Most of the move has come against the euro, which was last quoted with a 0.1% loss at $1.342. DJ30 -23.01 NASDAQ -32.80 SP500 -9.09 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 705/910 mln/1700 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1065/390 mln/1845
12:00 pm : Pressure has picked up in recent trade, causing stocks to move to session lows. Although that made for more substantial losses between the Nasdaq and S&P 500, the Dow was able to stabilize at the flat line. The trio has since worked its way up from recent lows.
The Dow's relative strength today comes amid support from blue chips like Pfizer (PFE 18.68, +0.45), Wal-Mart (WMT 53.54, +0.79), and Home Depot (HD 33.96, +0.58). Shares of HD were actually downgraded a couple of days ago by analysts at Goldman Sachs. DJ30 +52.07 NASDAQ -14.67 SP500 -0.90 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 630/785 mln/1730 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1025/320 mln/1880
11:30 am : The Nasdaq is significantly underperforming its counterparts. Its weakness comes as traders turn against large-cap names like Apple (AAPL 370.87, -6.50) and eBay (EBAY 31.07, -0.37) come under sharp pressure. Several biotech plays are also under pressure, resulting in a substantial loss for the iShares Nasdaq Biotech Index ETF (IBB 94.67, -1.33).DJ30 +39.73 NASDAQ -20.74 SP500 -1.72 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 760/660 mln/1575 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1165/270 mln/1705
11:00 am : Stocks recently made an attempt to move higher, but selling pressure has undermined the effort. As such, the major market averages continue to chop along listlessly in mixed fashion.
Financials have fallen deeper into negative territory. In turn, the sector now trades with a loss of 1%, which makes it the worst performing sector this morning. The sector's weakness comes in contrast to its performance in the prior session, when it climbed more than 3% amid leadership from bank stocks. Today, bank stocks have been backed down to a collective loss of 1.4%, as measured by the KBW Bank Index. DJ30 +61.04 NASDAQ -6.28 SP500 +0.98 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 730/125 mln/1255 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1405/68 mln/1220
10:35 am : Commodities rallied earlier this morning as the dollar fell sharply to new session lows. Precious metals rallied as a result, but pulled back just as quickly. Other commodities such as crude oil held the majority of its gains.
Crude has been in positive territory territory since its earlier morning rally and is back near session highs; now at $83.41, up 1%. Natural gas has been on a steady downtrend and are currently near its session low of $3.50/MMBtu.
Gold moved back into positive territory in recent trade and is currenlty up 0.4% at $1660.10/oz. Silver has been moving higher as well from the unchanged line and is now up 1.4% at $32.45/oz. DJ30 +96.38 NASDAQ +4.81 SP500 +5.10 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1114/473 mln/1100 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1703/198 mln/1091
10:00 am : Wholesale inventories for August increased by 0.4%, which isn't quite as much as the 0.5% increase that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. The data hasn't really done anything to drive action in stocks. As a result, the major equity averages remain mixed.DJ30 +76.52 NASDAQ -5.17 SP500 +0.82 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 730/125 mln/1255 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1400/65 mln/1220
Precious metals failed to find favor amid a downturn among equities. In turn, gold prices gave up 1.1% to end the day at $1635.50 per ounce, but they managed to muster a 0.8% gain for the week. As for silver, it slid 3.0% to $31.05 per ounce for the session, but still scored a 3.2% gain for the week. DJ30 +90.21 NASDAQ +3.59 SP500 +4.01 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 715/1.55 bln/1785 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 905/715 mln/2080
3:00 pm : Stocks continue to work their way up from midsession lows. The effort has stocks near their best levels of the afternoon.
Another dose of data was just released, but it has had no real impact on trade. The data showed that consumer credit dropped by $9.5 billion during August. It had been broadly expected to climb by $7.0 billion.DJ30 +9.42 NASDAQ -18.40 SP500 -6.04 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 695/1.45 bln/1800 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 830/655 mln/2160
2:30 pm : Stocks have spent the past hour trying to recover from session lows. Although the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are still stuck in the red, the Dow recently poked back into positive territory.
Financials continue to weigh on broad market action. The sector is mired near its session low, contending with a 3% loss. That almost completely offsets its gain from the prior session. DJ30 -1.70 NASDAQ -19.19 SP500 -7.19 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 615/1.35 bln/1870 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 710/600 mln/2280
2:00 pm : Treasuries have rallied off their worst levels of the session following the Fitch downgrades of both Italy and Spain, and the placement of Portugal on 'negative watch.' The 10-yr yield was printing at session highs near 2.12% in the moments ahead of the downgrades, but has since fallen below the 2.05% threshold as buyers rushed into longer dated paper. The long bond was down three full points at its worst levels of the day, but has since recouped more than two-third of its losses. The 30-yr yield is now up just 3 bps on the session at 2.978% after touching a high of 3.087%. After blowing out to a session wide near 185 bps the 2-10-yr spread has tightened to 176 bps.DJ30 -26.87 NASDAQ -25.77 SP500 -9.90 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 579/1.28 bln/1897 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 645/582.7 mln/2367
1:30 pm : The major market averages are off their worst levels of the session, but are still decidedly in the red after Fitch downgraded Italy and Spain and put Portugal on negative watch. The 1.0% drop in the Nasdaq paces the decline while the S&P and Dow hold losses of 0.8% and 0.2% respectively.
Financials are the worst performing sector today, collectively trading down 2.7%. The big financial firms are leading the way lower as Bank of America (BAC 5.96, -0.32) and Goldman Sachs (GS 93.00, -4.93) are both down more than 5.0%. Competitors Citigroup (C 24.96, -1.06) and JP Morgan Chase (JPM 31.04, -1.33) aren't fearing much better as both trade lower by 4.2%. DJ30 -21.65 NASDAQ -25.74 SP500 -8.98 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 597/1.20 bln/1852 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 713/549.2 mln/2298
1:00 pm : Stocks entered Friday with three straight gains that accumulated to a 6% advance, but not even a better-than-expected jobs report has been able to convice participants to extend the rally.
Action this morning in Europe was mixed amid news that analysts at Moody's downgraded the ratings of a dozen banks in the United Kingdom and a handful of others in Portugal. That and a cautious posture ahead of the September payrolls report restrained premarket trade.
However, the tone ahead of the open picked up in response to news that non-farm payrolls for September climbed by 103,000 while private payrolls increased by 137,000. Economists polled by Briefing.com had expected, on average, respective increases of 60,000 and 83,000. Despite the better-than-expected results and some significant upward revisions to prior month totals, a 9.1% headline unemployment rate was what had been widely anticipated.
Buying interest failed to extend into cash market trade, though. Instead, action has been generally choppy and listless, leaving the major equity averages to move in mixed fashion. Early afternoon downgrades of Italy and Portugal by Fitch have dropped the major averages into negative terrtory.
Among the more influential sectors, financials have fallen to a 3.1% loss after rallying to a gain of more than 3% yesterday. Banks led the prior session's advance, but are generally driving downside action today. As for tech, the sector is down 0.9%.
A few blue chips have been performing relatively well, though. That has given the Dow a decent gain on the day. Its advance comes in contrast to the weakness displayed by the Nasdaq, which has been hampered by pressure against biotech plays.
Outside of equities, the dollar has recently turned positive. It is however trading lower against the pound sterling, which has extended its prior session rally by climbing 0.8% to $1.5555 today. After spending most of the day in positive territorty, the euro has slide below the flat line on the Spanish and Italian downgrades.DJ30 -52.75 NASDAQ -33.93 SP500 -12.01 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 560/1.12 bln/1882 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 680/506.5 mln/2314
12:30 pm : Stocks are falling in response to some aggressive selling pressure. The effort comes in the wake of headlines that analysts at Fitch have downgraded the debt of both Italy and Spain.
Those headlines have helped give the greenback a big boost, though. The dollar was lagging a basket of major foreign currencies by about 0.5% only minutes ago. It is now down only fractionally for the day. Most of the move has come against the euro, which was last quoted with a 0.1% loss at $1.342. DJ30 -23.01 NASDAQ -32.80 SP500 -9.09 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 705/910 mln/1700 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1065/390 mln/1845
12:00 pm : Pressure has picked up in recent trade, causing stocks to move to session lows. Although that made for more substantial losses between the Nasdaq and S&P 500, the Dow was able to stabilize at the flat line. The trio has since worked its way up from recent lows.
The Dow's relative strength today comes amid support from blue chips like Pfizer (PFE 18.68, +0.45), Wal-Mart (WMT 53.54, +0.79), and Home Depot (HD 33.96, +0.58). Shares of HD were actually downgraded a couple of days ago by analysts at Goldman Sachs. DJ30 +52.07 NASDAQ -14.67 SP500 -0.90 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 630/785 mln/1730 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1025/320 mln/1880
11:30 am : The Nasdaq is significantly underperforming its counterparts. Its weakness comes as traders turn against large-cap names like Apple (AAPL 370.87, -6.50) and eBay (EBAY 31.07, -0.37) come under sharp pressure. Several biotech plays are also under pressure, resulting in a substantial loss for the iShares Nasdaq Biotech Index ETF (IBB 94.67, -1.33).DJ30 +39.73 NASDAQ -20.74 SP500 -1.72 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 760/660 mln/1575 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1165/270 mln/1705
11:00 am : Stocks recently made an attempt to move higher, but selling pressure has undermined the effort. As such, the major market averages continue to chop along listlessly in mixed fashion.
Financials have fallen deeper into negative territory. In turn, the sector now trades with a loss of 1%, which makes it the worst performing sector this morning. The sector's weakness comes in contrast to its performance in the prior session, when it climbed more than 3% amid leadership from bank stocks. Today, bank stocks have been backed down to a collective loss of 1.4%, as measured by the KBW Bank Index. DJ30 +61.04 NASDAQ -6.28 SP500 +0.98 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 730/125 mln/1255 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1405/68 mln/1220
10:35 am : Commodities rallied earlier this morning as the dollar fell sharply to new session lows. Precious metals rallied as a result, but pulled back just as quickly. Other commodities such as crude oil held the majority of its gains.
Crude has been in positive territory territory since its earlier morning rally and is back near session highs; now at $83.41, up 1%. Natural gas has been on a steady downtrend and are currently near its session low of $3.50/MMBtu.
Gold moved back into positive territory in recent trade and is currenlty up 0.4% at $1660.10/oz. Silver has been moving higher as well from the unchanged line and is now up 1.4% at $32.45/oz. DJ30 +96.38 NASDAQ +4.81 SP500 +5.10 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1114/473 mln/1100 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1703/198 mln/1091
10:00 am : Wholesale inventories for August increased by 0.4%, which isn't quite as much as the 0.5% increase that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. The data hasn't really done anything to drive action in stocks. As a result, the major equity averages remain mixed.DJ30 +76.52 NASDAQ -5.17 SP500 +0.82 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 730/125 mln/1255 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1400/65 mln/1220
09:45 am : The positive mood among premarket participants has failed to hold in the opening minutes of trade. In turn, the major equity averages have slipped, leaving them to trade in mixed fashion.
Leadership is lacking in the early going. Consumer staples stocks, collectively up 0.5%, and telecom stocks, up 0.4% as a group, are the best performers, but neither has the capitalization to do much for the broad market. Meanwhile, heavyweights like financials and energy are both down 0.3%, while tech, the largest sector by market weight, remains mired near the neutral line. DJ30 +54.19 NASDAQ -9.32 SP500 +0.27 NASDAQ Vol N/A NYSE Vol N/A
09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +5.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.50. Thanks to a better-than-expected jobs report for September, premarket participants have bid higher stock futures, such that a positive start to today's trade appears to be in order. Stocks have already strung together three consecutive advances, which have combined for a 6% climb. As things currently stand, the stock market is on pace for a weekly gain of 3%, which would make for only the third weekly gain in 11 weeks.
09:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +5.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +1.00. The CRB Commodity Index is up 0.4% this morning. Most of that move is owed to higher crude oil prices, which are up 1.0% to $83.45 per barrel in the opening minutes of pit trade. That builds on the energy component's back-to-back gains, which combined for a 9% advance. Natural gas prices are under pressure, however. The commodity was last quoted at $3.54 per MMbtu for a 1.7% loss. That makes for a poor follow-up to its 1% hike in the prior session. As for precious metals, gold is essentially flat at $1654 per ounce after a solid 0.7% climb in the prior session. Meanwhile, silver is sporting a 0.4% gain at $32.13 per ounce. Silver had surged 5% in the prior session.
08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +11.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +10.20. A better-than-expected jobs report has spurred stock futures higher, but put pressure on the dollar and Treasuries. The official report for September showed that in September non-farm payrolls climbed by 103,000 and private payrolls increased by 137,000. Increases of 60,000 and 83,000, respectively, had been broadly anticipated. Although the increases exceeded what had been expected and there were some strong upward revisions to prior month totals, there was no surprise to the headline unemployment rate, which stands at 9.1%.
08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -5.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -16.30. The stock market has climbed 6% over the course of the past three sessions, but participants are pushing back a bit this morning. Their caution comes ahead of the always-pivotal non-farm payrolls report, which will be released at the bottom of the hour. The only other data for the day are wholesale trade numbers at 10:00 AM ET and consumer credit figures at 3:00 PM ET.
Limited in number and significance, corporate headlines have given premarket participants few cues for trade ahead of the economic releases.
However, Europe's bourses, regularly regarded as a reflection of sentiment in the region, are mixed at the moment. Their listlessness comes after analysts at Moody's downgraded a bevy of banks and financial institutions in the United Kingdom and Portugal.
Meanwhile, action among currencies has left the euro to trade flat at $1.344, but the sterling pound has extended its prior session rebound so that it is up 0.7% to $1.554 today.
06:57 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -5.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -13.80.
06:57 am : Nikkei...8605.62...+83.60...+1.00%. Hang Seng...17707.01...+534.70...+3.10%.
06:57 am : FTSE...5275.46...-15.80...-0.30%. DAX...5635.05...-10.20...-0.20%.
In Play
In Play
2:57PM NV Energy announces redemption of all of its 6 3/4% senior notes due 2017 (NVE) 14.82 +0.03 : Co announced that it will redeem all of its outstanding 6 3/4% Senior Notes due 2017, totaling $191.5 mln in principal amount, on November 7, 2011.
2:37PM CBOT Agriculture, Ethanol and Sugar Closing Prices (COMDX) : Corn settled lower by 2 cents to $6.03, wheat lost 7 cents to end at $6.09, soybeans were 3 cents lower at $11.61, ethanol fell 0.12% to close at $2.40, while sugar rose 0.36% at $0.25.
2:34PM NYMEX Energy Closing Prices (COMDX) : Crude oil fell to $82.79 off $0.17, natural gas closed down 11 cents at $3.49, heating oil was unch at $2.86, while RBOB gasoline was also unch at $2.65.
2:24PM Quality Distribution's subsidiary Boasso America announces agreement to acquire Greensville Transport Company for $8.5 mln (QLTY) 9.49 -0.30 :
1:34PM Walt Disney announced earlier that Chairman John Pepper plans to retire; names Robert Iger Chairman in addition to CEO (DIS) 31.75 -0.28 : Co announced it has agreed to extend Robert Iger's contract through June 2016 as part of ongoing succession planning. Under the new agreement, effective Oct. 1, Iger will assume the role of chairman in addition to chief executive officer following Chairman John Pepper's retirement from the board at Disney's 2012 annual shareholder meeting in March. Until then, Iger will remain president and chief executive officer. Iger will hold the positions of chairman and chief executive officer through March 31, 2015, at which time a new CEO would be named; Iger will thereafter serve as executive chairman for 15 months through June 30, 2016. Iger's current contract was set to expire on Jan. 31, 2013.
1:32PM COMEX Metals Closing Prices (COMDX) : Gold futures shed $17.70 to close at $1635.50, silver finished down 95 cents at $31.05, while copper ended up 3.35 cents at $3.28 (all Dec contracts).
12:53PM Gold, silver to fresh lows (COMDX) :
12:21PM Sell off in precious metals continues as dollar extends rally (COMDX) :
12:08PM Whirlpool Corporation wins stay motion in patent litigation brought by LG Electronics (WHR) 53.97 -1.22 : Co announced that it won a stay motion in a refrigerator patent infringement case brought by LG Electronics due to progress in separate proceedings challenging the validity of LG's patents. All four of the patents asserted by LG against Whirlpool have been initially rejected as unpatentable on multiple grounds by the US Patent and Trademark Office in pending reexamination proceedings.
12:07PM 3D Systems Stockholders approve increase in authorized shares of common stock from 60 mln to 120 mln (DDD) 16.02 -0.05 : Co announced that, at a special meeting held today, its stockholders approved an amendment to its Certificate of Incorporation to increase the authorized number of shares of Common Stock from 60 mln to 120 mln.
11:25AM Wal-Mart displays relative strength as it continues higher up through its early Sept/2-mth high of $53.55 (WMT) 53.69 +0.94 : Stock is probing a key downward trend channel here -- see chart. This move is also helping to take it back through its 200-day ema as well ($52.93), so it does have some bullish characteristics currently in place here.
11:04AM Covenant Transport to resume trading at 11:25am ET (CVTI) 3.34 -0.01 :
10:58AM Covenant Transport sees Q3 net loss and amends revolving credit facility; became aware of possibility of a covenant violation and working with lenders (CVTI) 3.34 -0.01 : Co says that after reviewing preliminary financial and operating information through end of September, it expects to report Q3 net loss of $0.5-1.7 mln (current estimate for Q3 EPS of $0.14) vs net income of $1.9 mln Q3 last year. The main differences compared with Q3 2010 include ~9%-10% decrease in revenue miles per truck, combined with increased costs per mile. These factors are expected to more than offset an ~5%-6% increase in freight revenue per total mile (excluding fuel surcharge revenue)... Co is also announcing an amendment of our $85 mln revolving credit facility. The amendment is retroactive to Sept 1, 2011, and adjusts required fixed charge coverage ratio to 0.95 to 1.0 for the twelve months ended September 30, 2011. The required fixed charge coverage ratio previously had been 1.0 to 1.0. Based on expected range of net loss discussed above, and the credit agreement's method of calculating certain revenue equipment transactions and fixed asset amortization, co became aware of the possibility of a covenant violation and worked cooperatively with lenders to amend the requirement for the month of September. "We are presently working with our lenders on a longer term amendment to the financial covenant calculation that would address our operating and fixed asset expectations as well as the forecast of many economists of a U.S. economy with little or no growth for an extended period. Based on discussions with Bank of America, which has managed our revolving credit facility since 1998, we expect to complete a satisfactory longer term amendment during the next few weeks." (stock is halted)
10:52AM Covenant Transport halted, news pending (CVTI) 3.34 -0.01 :
10:06AM Seadrill Ltd secures a new $550 million credit facility (SDRL) 28.68 +0.70 : Co has successfully secured commitments from a group of commercial lending institutions and export credit agencies for a new US$550 million senior secured credit facility. The new facility has a tenor of five years and a 10 years amortization profile. Interest on the loan and the set of financial covenant is in line with recent credit facilities entered into by the Company. The ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig West Capricorn, which recently secured a five-year contract with a major oil company, will be pledged as security.
10:05AM Video Display to resume corporate stock buyback program (VIDE) 4.30 +0.05 : Co received authorization from its commercial lenders to reinitiate the company's common share buyback program. The stock repurchase program is subject to the Company remaining within the guidelines established by the banks on a quarterly basis and it is restricted to specific total dollar purchase limits. The balance of common shares authorized under the plan to be repurchased is 816,418 shares, depending upon the market price and other conditions at the discretion of management. There is no minimum number of shares required to be repurchased under the Program. As of the end of the Company's second fiscal quarter ended August 31, 2011, the total number of common Video Display Corporation shares outstanding was 7,648,742.
9:55AM Kinetic Concepts proposed offering of second lien senior secured notes of $1.65 bln and senior notes notes of $900 mln (KCI) 66.96 +0.06 :
2:37PM CBOT Agriculture, Ethanol and Sugar Closing Prices (COMDX) : Corn settled lower by 2 cents to $6.03, wheat lost 7 cents to end at $6.09, soybeans were 3 cents lower at $11.61, ethanol fell 0.12% to close at $2.40, while sugar rose 0.36% at $0.25.
2:34PM NYMEX Energy Closing Prices (COMDX) : Crude oil fell to $82.79 off $0.17, natural gas closed down 11 cents at $3.49, heating oil was unch at $2.86, while RBOB gasoline was also unch at $2.65.
2:24PM Quality Distribution's subsidiary Boasso America announces agreement to acquire Greensville Transport Company for $8.5 mln (QLTY) 9.49 -0.30 :
1:34PM Walt Disney announced earlier that Chairman John Pepper plans to retire; names Robert Iger Chairman in addition to CEO (DIS) 31.75 -0.28 : Co announced it has agreed to extend Robert Iger's contract through June 2016 as part of ongoing succession planning. Under the new agreement, effective Oct. 1, Iger will assume the role of chairman in addition to chief executive officer following Chairman John Pepper's retirement from the board at Disney's 2012 annual shareholder meeting in March. Until then, Iger will remain president and chief executive officer. Iger will hold the positions of chairman and chief executive officer through March 31, 2015, at which time a new CEO would be named; Iger will thereafter serve as executive chairman for 15 months through June 30, 2016. Iger's current contract was set to expire on Jan. 31, 2013.
1:32PM COMEX Metals Closing Prices (COMDX) : Gold futures shed $17.70 to close at $1635.50, silver finished down 95 cents at $31.05, while copper ended up 3.35 cents at $3.28 (all Dec contracts).
12:53PM Gold, silver to fresh lows (COMDX) :
12:21PM Sell off in precious metals continues as dollar extends rally (COMDX) :
- Gold futures have shed over 15 points to trade to lows at $1636.20; now off $12.20 to $1641.
- Silver futures shed ~60 cents to trade to lows at $31.40; now off 51 cents at $31.49.
12:08PM Whirlpool Corporation wins stay motion in patent litigation brought by LG Electronics (WHR) 53.97 -1.22 : Co announced that it won a stay motion in a refrigerator patent infringement case brought by LG Electronics due to progress in separate proceedings challenging the validity of LG's patents. All four of the patents asserted by LG against Whirlpool have been initially rejected as unpatentable on multiple grounds by the US Patent and Trademark Office in pending reexamination proceedings.
12:07PM 3D Systems Stockholders approve increase in authorized shares of common stock from 60 mln to 120 mln (DDD) 16.02 -0.05 : Co announced that, at a special meeting held today, its stockholders approved an amendment to its Certificate of Incorporation to increase the authorized number of shares of Common Stock from 60 mln to 120 mln.
11:25AM Wal-Mart displays relative strength as it continues higher up through its early Sept/2-mth high of $53.55 (WMT) 53.69 +0.94 : Stock is probing a key downward trend channel here -- see chart. This move is also helping to take it back through its 200-day ema as well ($52.93), so it does have some bullish characteristics currently in place here.
11:04AM Covenant Transport to resume trading at 11:25am ET (CVTI) 3.34 -0.01 :
10:58AM Covenant Transport sees Q3 net loss and amends revolving credit facility; became aware of possibility of a covenant violation and working with lenders (CVTI) 3.34 -0.01 : Co says that after reviewing preliminary financial and operating information through end of September, it expects to report Q3 net loss of $0.5-1.7 mln (current estimate for Q3 EPS of $0.14) vs net income of $1.9 mln Q3 last year. The main differences compared with Q3 2010 include ~9%-10% decrease in revenue miles per truck, combined with increased costs per mile. These factors are expected to more than offset an ~5%-6% increase in freight revenue per total mile (excluding fuel surcharge revenue)... Co is also announcing an amendment of our $85 mln revolving credit facility. The amendment is retroactive to Sept 1, 2011, and adjusts required fixed charge coverage ratio to 0.95 to 1.0 for the twelve months ended September 30, 2011. The required fixed charge coverage ratio previously had been 1.0 to 1.0. Based on expected range of net loss discussed above, and the credit agreement's method of calculating certain revenue equipment transactions and fixed asset amortization, co became aware of the possibility of a covenant violation and worked cooperatively with lenders to amend the requirement for the month of September. "We are presently working with our lenders on a longer term amendment to the financial covenant calculation that would address our operating and fixed asset expectations as well as the forecast of many economists of a U.S. economy with little or no growth for an extended period. Based on discussions with Bank of America, which has managed our revolving credit facility since 1998, we expect to complete a satisfactory longer term amendment during the next few weeks." (stock is halted)
10:52AM Covenant Transport halted, news pending (CVTI) 3.34 -0.01 :
10:06AM Seadrill Ltd secures a new $550 million credit facility (SDRL) 28.68 +0.70 : Co has successfully secured commitments from a group of commercial lending institutions and export credit agencies for a new US$550 million senior secured credit facility. The new facility has a tenor of five years and a 10 years amortization profile. Interest on the loan and the set of financial covenant is in line with recent credit facilities entered into by the Company. The ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig West Capricorn, which recently secured a five-year contract with a major oil company, will be pledged as security.
10:05AM Video Display to resume corporate stock buyback program (VIDE) 4.30 +0.05 : Co received authorization from its commercial lenders to reinitiate the company's common share buyback program. The stock repurchase program is subject to the Company remaining within the guidelines established by the banks on a quarterly basis and it is restricted to specific total dollar purchase limits. The balance of common shares authorized under the plan to be repurchased is 816,418 shares, depending upon the market price and other conditions at the discretion of management. There is no minimum number of shares required to be repurchased under the Program. As of the end of the Company's second fiscal quarter ended August 31, 2011, the total number of common Video Display Corporation shares outstanding was 7,648,742.
9:55AM Kinetic Concepts proposed offering of second lien senior secured notes of $1.65 bln and senior notes notes of $900 mln (KCI) 66.96 +0.06 :
9:44AM Sims Metal Management trading 5% higher after announcing it will establish an on-market share buy-back (SMS) 12.84 +0.66 : Co announced earlier that it will establish an on-market share buy-back as part of its capital management strategy. The Board considers it appropriate to establish the buy-back program to provide the Company flexibility to repurchase shares, particularly during times of share market turmoil and share price volatility.
9:39AM streetTRACKS Gold Shares pushes to modest opening range highs through the $161.00 area (GLD) 161.05 -0.05 : GDX
9:38AM Crude oil gives up gains to trade back to near unchanged; now up 45 cents to $83.04 (COMDX) :
9:28AM Authentidate Holding announces registered direct offering of ~ $4.1 mln (ADAT) 0.82 : Co announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with institutional and accredited investors for a direct placement of ~$4.1 mln of common stock and warrants, at a unit price of $0.70/share and warrant. In the transaction, Authentidate will issue a total of ~5.87 mln shares of common stock and common stock warrants to purchase up to ~2.93 mln shares of common stock.
9:28AM Daqo New Energy announced earlier the appointment of new independent directors (DQ) 4.03 : Co announced the appointment of Mr. Mingsong Liang and Mr. Shuming Zhao as independent directors and the resignation of Mr. Greg W. Ye and Mr. Dafeng Shi from the board of directors.The appointments and the changes on the committee composition became effective on October 6, 2011. As a result of these changes, Daqo New Energy now has a majority independent board and fully independent audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee, and is in full compliance with applicable SEC and NYSE rules regarding the board and committee composition.
9:22AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
- Tetra Tech (TTEK) announced that it has been awarded a contract valued at up to $55 mln to continue its support for high priority pollution prevention programs.
- Sappi (SPP) announced its strategy involves continuing to optimise our better performing businesses, fixing our underperforming businesses, investing for future growth in higher margin businesses, including chemical cellulose, and achieving this within the reality of the group's liquidity and balance sheet.
9:18AM FBL Financial to sell EquiTrust Life Insurance Company to Guggenheim Partners for $440 mln; stock repurchase authorization of $200 mln; redemption of notes (FFG) 28.44 : Co announced it has agreed to sell its subsidiary, EquiTrust Life Insurance Company, to controlled affiliates of Guggenheim Partners, LLC for a preliminary purchase price of $440 mln in an all-cash transaction. In addition, FBL Financial Group is announcing several capital management actions including redemption of $175 mln of public senior notes, redemption of $50 mln of affiliate senior notes and a stock repurchase authorization of $200 mln.
9:18AM Lucas Energy surprised by recent stock price activity - 'Management of the co believes the co's fundamentals are strong and does not understand why its stock price fluctuated so low..' (LEI) 1.48 : Co also said "I am hard pressed to understand the current market prices that place our market cap so low. This has not happened since early 2009 when the overall market was bad and we were not known to the public."
9:15AM Regency Energy Partners LP Comm announces pricing of 10 mln common unit offering at $20.92/common unit (RGP) 21.63 : Co intends to use the net proceeds of the offering, including any proceeds from the exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase additional common units, to repay borrowings outstanding under its revolving credit facility.
9:15AM Netflix and AMC Networks (AMCX) announce multi-year agreement (NFLX) 123.24 : Cos have reached a multi-year licensing agreement that will make prior seasons of AMC's original series, The Walking Dead, available exclusively to Netflix members in the U.S. and Canada. Additional seasons of The Walking Dead, as well as certain future AMC and Sundance Channel programming, will be streaming instantly to Netflix members just prior to the premiere of subsequent seasons. Netflix has also licensed non-exclusive rights in the U.S. to select scripted and unscripted shows, which will also be made available just before the following season debut. This includes programming from across the AMC Networks portfolio of AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, and WE tv.
9:12AM Watson Pharm confirms EMBEDA patent challenge (WPI) 66.74 : Co confirmed that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories filed an ANDA with the FDA seeking approval to market Morphine Sulfate and Naltrexone Hydrochloride Extended-release Capsules. Watson's Morphine Sulfate and Naltrexone Hydrochloride Capsules are generic versions of EMBEDA Extended Release Capsules sold by King Pharmaceuticals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pfizer (PFE). EMBEDA is indicated for the management of moderate to severe pain when a continuous, around-the-clock opioid analgesic is needed for an extended period of time. Pfizer, King and Alpharma Pharmaceuticals LLC filed suit against Watson on October 6, 2011, in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware seeking to prevent Watson from commercializing its product prior to the expiration of U.S. Patent.
9:01AM First Financial announced its commitment to keeping debit cards free of monthly charges (FFIN) 28.30 :
9:00AM El Paso subsidiary executed long-term agreements for the MPP project which will expand TGP's 300 Line in Pennsylvania (EP) 18.39 : Co announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, has executed long-term agreements for the MPP project which will expand TGP's 300 Line in Pennsylvania. All of the capacity is subscribed through agreements with Chesapeake Energy Marketing, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy (CHK), for 140,000 Dth/d and Southwestern Energy (SWN), for 100,000 Dth/d. Capital for the MPP project is expected to be less than $100 mln.
8:54AM Reversal in precious metals as gold, silver fall back toward flat line (COMDX) :
8:47AM MarkWest Energy announces pricing of public offering of common units at $45.52/common unit (MWE) 46.98 : Co announced that it priced a public offering of 5 mln common units at $45.52/unit. Co intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of ~ $218.3 mln to repay borrowings under its revolving credit facility.
8:45AM Endurance Specialty announced initial estimates of catastrophe losses incurred in Q3 of $26 mln related to the July Danish flood, $21 mln related to Hurricane Irene and $11 mln related to the September Texas brushfires (ENH) 34.92 : In addition, during the third quarter, Endurance incurred $41 mln of estimated losses related to aggregate catastrophe reinsurances of regional insurance companies in the Midwest. Co's aggregate estimated losses from prior 2010 and 2011 catastrophe events were unchanged for the third quarter.
8:45AM Southwest Air flew 7.9 billion revenue passenger miles in September 2011, compared to 7.5 billion combined RPMs flown in September 2010 (LUV) 7.86 : Co reported September 2011 combined traffic results for Southwest Airlines and AirTran. The Company flew 7.9 billion revenue passenger miles in September 2011, compared to 7.5 billion combined RPMs flown in September 2010, an increase of 6.4 percent. Available seat miles increased 3.2 percent to 10.2 billion from the September 2010 combined level of 9.9 billion. The load factor for September 2011 was 77.8 percent, compared to the combined load factor of 75.5 percent in September 2010. For September 2011, passenger revenue per ASM is estimated to have increased approximately 12 percent as compared to September 2010's combined PRASM.
8:42AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
- Forest City Enterprises (FCEA) announced that a subsidiary, Forest City Military Communities, and the U.S. Air Force, through the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment, have signed a 50-year housing privatization agreement for the development and management of 2,185 family homes at four U.S.
- Ladenburg Thalmann Financial (LTS) sends annual letter to shareholders; remain enthusiastic about growth prospects.
- Align Technology (ALGN) announced Invisalign G4, the next generation of SmartForce clinical innovations, designed to address some of the most significant treatment challenges doctors encounter.
8:37AM Precious metals ticking higher on pullback in dollar (COMDX) :
8:33AM Southwall Techs to be acquired by Solutia (SOA) for $13.60/share in cash (SWTX) 9.38 : Solutia (SOA) and SWTX announced that they have signed a definitive agreement providing for SOA to acquire SWTX for $13.60 per share of Southwall common stock in cash. The transaction, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, has an aggregate equity purchase price of approximately $113 million. The acquisition will be funded by Solutia from existing cash on hand. Following the successful completion of the tender offer and following the receipt of stockholder approval, if necessary, the agreement provides for Southwall to merge with a subsidiary of Solutia and become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Solutia.
8:32AM Cerner to acquire Clairvia developer of health care workforce management solutions; financial terms not disclosed; acquisition is anticipated to close in October 2011 and is not expected to have a material impact on Cerner's 2011 financial results (CERN) 67.00 :
8:32AM ScanSource raises Q1 revs guidance in the range of $755-765 mln, compared to previous of $730-750 mln vs. $743 Capital IQ est (SCSC) 32.22 :
8:30AM Crude oil to highs following better-than-expected NFP number; now up $0.91 at $83.50 (COMDX) :
8:24AM PharMerica responds to CMS proposed rule impacting consultant pharmacists (PMC) 13.38 : Co noted that its consultant pharmacists balance clinical effectiveness and economic considerations to achieve the best drug or therapy option for the resident, evaluate for potential drug interactions or known side effects, and provide reviews of formulary compliance. Co believes that these benefits support the CMS mission of providing the highest quality of care at the most economical cost possible. PharMerica intends to provide CMS with detailed information that supports its view that the use of consultant pharmacists is cost-effective for payors and customers and enhances patient safety.
8:01AM Commercial Metals announced its decision to exit the CMC Sisak mill in Croatia, a steel pipe manufacturing operation, by way of a sale and/or closure (CMC) 10.00 : Co announced its decision to exit the CMC Sisak mill in Croatia, a steel pipe manufacturing operation, by way of a sale and/or closure. The Company will close out the existing order book and expects the operation to wind down over the next several months. Principally in connection with these actions, depending upon a number of factors including, but not limited to, valuations upon possible sale of the various businesses as a going concern or by individual property, plant and equipment, the Company currently estimates the pre-tax charges to be recorded in fiscal 2011 relating to the actions described above may range from $135 million to $165 million. Estimated pre-tax closure costs to be incurred in 2012, excluding operating losses incurred in running the CMCS mill to close out orders, are in a range from $25 million to $40 million. Over $120 million of the restructuring costs in 2011 are expected to be non-cash costs as these charges relate primarily to impairments. Restructuring costs in 2012 are expected to be cash costs for severance and other closure activities.
8:01AM Dollar Tree authorizes $1.5 bln share repurchase program (DLTR) 76.45 :
8:01AM PriceSmart announced comparable warehouse sales for the warehouse clubs open at least 13 1/2 full months increased 18.9% YoY (PSMT) 66.36 : Co also announced that for the month of September 2011 net sales increased 25.5% to $146.3 mln, from $116.6 mln in September a year earlier. There were 29 warehouse clubs in operation at the end of September 2011 and 27 warehouse clubs in operation at the end of September 2010.
8:00AM Intl Speedway announces $80 mln increase in share buyback program (ISCA) 22.33 : This authorization is in addition to the $4.8 million remaining under the Company's existing $250 million Stock Purchase Plan as of October 6, 2011.
7:36AM RAM Energy Resources reorganizes operating and administrative functions, annual cost savings projected to be ~$3.0 mln; appoints new COO (RAM) 0.71 : The co is consolidating certain operating, land and exploration functions previously located in the co's Plano, Texas office to the co's headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma and eliminating an executive management layer in the Tulsa office. Co announced the appointment of Mr. G. Les Austin as Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Austin has served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer of RAM since April 1, 2008 and will continue to serve in these capacities. Prior to joining RAM Energy Resources, Mr. Austin was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Matrix Service Company. The co has also eliminated the positions of Larry Rampey and Drake Smiley, who are retiring from positions of senior vice president of operations and land/exploration respectively.
7:33AM Seadrill Ltd secures a one-year contract for the ultra-deepwater newbuild West Leo for $204 mln (SDRL) 27.98 : Co was awarded a one-year contract for operations offshore Ghana with the newbuild ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig West Leo. The potential contract revenue for the one-year period is $204 mln which includes $18 mln in mobilization revenue. In addition, the rig can earn a daily performance bonus of up to 10%.
7:10AM Sony issues statement regarding reports on Sony Ericsson (see 6:36 comment) (SNE) 19.12 : Co said that certain media reports were published on October 7, 2011 regarding Sony Ericsson (ERIC) Mobile Communications AB, an equity affiliate of Sony Corporation. Sony has made no announcement in this regard and has no comment.
7:01AM Arcos Dorados announces filing of registration statement for a secondary offering of Class A shares (ARCO) 24.41 : Co announced the filing of a registration statement for a secondary offering of Class A shares. All of the Class A shares to be sold in the offering will be offered by certain selling shareholders.
6:34AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
- Seadrill (SDRL) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with a major oil company for a five-year contract for operations in North America with the ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig West Capricorn. The potential contract value for the firm five-year period is $919 mln , which includes a $30 mln mobilization fee.
- Amazon.fr (AMZN) launched the French Kindle Store offering customers a vast selection of over 35,000 French-language Kindle books, all 28 L'Express best sellers available in digital. Additonally, co announced Kindle Direct Publishing Now Enables Authors and Publishers to Independently Publish Their Books in the Amazon.fr Kindle Store.
- MakeMusic (MMUS) has released Finale 2012, music notation software.
6:33AM Continental Resources announced that third quarter production has positioned co to achieve the upper end of its growth guidance of 39% for 2011 (CLR) 49.86 : Co stated "We estimate that we exited the third quarter averaging production of 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in September," said Harold Hamm, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "The estimated September exit rate of 70,000 Boepd is 27% higher than the exit rate of 55,110 Boepd for June 2011." During the third quarter of 2011, Continental had 3.1 mln barrels of oil production covered by derivative instruments, with fixed price swaps averaging $85.64 per barrel and collars in a weighted average range of $79.39 to $91.27. The Company expects to recognize a pre-tax unrealized gain on mark-to-market derivative instruments of more than $500 mln for the quarter.
6:01AM Baker Hughes announced that the international rig count for September 2011 was 1,174, down 9 from the 1,183 counted in August 2011 (BHI) 49.54 : The international offshore rig count for September 2011 was 304, down 14 from the 318 counted in August 2011 and down 13 from the 317 counted in September 2010.
6:00AM EnCana agrees to sell interest in Horn River Basin's Cabin Gas Plant for ~ $220 mln (ECA) 19.88 : Co has reached an agreement to sell its interest in the Cabin Gas Plant in the Horn River Basin of northeast British Columbia to Enbridge (ENB) for ~ $220 mln at closing, which is expected in December 2011. The agreement covers Encana's interest of ~ 52% in the first two phases of the natural gas processing plant, which has regulatory approval for total processing capacity of 800 million cubic feet per day. ENB announces, Under the terms of the Asset Purchase and Sale agreement, ENB will acquire a 57.6% interest in Phases 1 and 2 of the Cabin Gas Plant Development which together will be capable of processing 800 million cubic feet per day of natural gas. Upon completion of Phases 1 and 2, Enbridge's total investment is expected to be ~ $900 mln.
5:30AM Sterlite Industries releases Q2 production; Mined metal production was 210,000 tonnes in Q2, +2% YoY (SLT) 9.20 : Co reports the following production units for Q2:
- Mined metal production was 210,000 tonnes in Q2 and 398,000 tonnes in H1, up 2% and 3%, respectively
- Refined zinc production was 185,000 tonnes in Q2 and 378,000 tonnes in H1, up 5% and 11%, respectively, primarily due to improved operational performance at our hydro smelters.
- Silver production was 1.58 mln ounces in Q2 and 3.09 mln ounces in H1, up 12% and 10%, respectively. The new silver refinery is planned to be commissioned in the current quarter. With the ramp up of the SK mine and commissioning of the refinery, our silver capacity will reach 16 mln ounces by the end of FY2011-12.
- Total equivalent zinc-lead production was 114,000 tonnes in Q2 and 233,000 tonnes in H1, down 2% and up 5%, respectively.
- During Q2, the Tuticorin copper smelter produced 87,000 tonnes of copper cathode, 28% higher than the corresponding prior quarter. Co sold 1,748 mln units of power in Q2 as compared with 463 mln units in the corresponding prior quarter.
2:33AM NIDEC expands share repurchase plan to 6 mln shares from 3 mln; raises total authorized amt to JPY 47 bln from JPY 25 bln (NJ) 20.54 :
2:30AM Advanced Semi reports Sep net revs of NT$15.425 bln, down 11.2% YoY, down 2.7% sequentially (ASX) 4.35 :
2:29AM Sims Metal Management reports it will establish an on-market share buy-back as part of its capital management strategy (SMS) 12.18 :
1:34AM Eli Lilly confirms FDA approval for Cialis to treat men with signs and symptoms of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and men with both ED and signs and symptoms of BPH (LLY) 37.23 : Co announces the FDA has approved Cialis tablets for once daily use for the treatment of men who have both erectile dysfunction and the signs and symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The FDA also approved Cialis for once daily use for a separate indication for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of BPH. This means Cialis is now approved for three indications. The new indications for Cialis for once daily use are based on a clinical trial program of three placebo-controlled efficacy and safety studies that included 1,989 men. Two of these studies were in men with BPH, and one study was specific to men with both ED and BPH. In the ED+BPH study, Cialis 5 mg for once daily use significantly improved scores on the International Index of Erectile Function-Erectile Function Domain, a questionnaire evaluating sexual function, and the International Prostate Symptom Score, a questionnaire evaluating symptoms of BPH.
1:06AM Monster Worldwide Employment Index U.S. grows 7% YoY (MWW) 8.05 : Co reports the Monster Employment Index U.S. continues positive annual growth trend at 7% in September. The Index rose slightly in September from August, in line with seasonal trends. The index noted all metro markets tracked by the Index exhibited positive annual growth; commerce-related retail and wholesale trade sectors continue to exhibit robust growth. Public administration registers saw the steepest annual decline, dropping 29% year-over-year, its lowest level in the Index.
1:03AM On The Wires (WIRES) :
- Cameco (CCJ) announced that the Canadian Competition Bureau has issued a "no action letter" in connection with Cameco's offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hathor Exploration Limited for cash consideration of $3.75 per share.
- Western Union (WU) strengthened their cooperation in France by offering Account-Based Money Transfer services to all La Banque Postale accountholders.
- Boeing (BA) and Nigeria's Arik Air today announced a deal for two 747-8 Intercontinental airplanes. The order is valued at $635 mln at list prices and was previously attributed to an unidentified customer on Boeing's website.
- St. Jude Medical (STJ) announced regulatory approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of the Penta surgical lead for neurostimulation therapy to manage chronic pain.
1:00AM Dejour Enterprises reports 78% Q3 production gain over Q2 (DEJ) 0.29 : Co reports preliminary production figures which saw avg BOE per day of 512 vs 287 in Q2, representing a 78% increase. Co states production increase resulted from the successful waterflood implementation at our Woodrush project. They expect Q4 production to continue to increase averaging in excess of 600 BOE per day with 57% oil. Pending approval by the BC Oil and Gas Conservation Commission of co's application to increase injection and projection rates from the Halfway pool, co will drill another oil producer before year end, further increasing Dejour's net production an additional 200-300 BO per day by early Q1 2012.
1:00AM Thomas Properties reports that technical difficulties with its NAV Workbook have been resolved (TPGI) 2.25 :
1:00AM Midway Gold provides financing update; confirms that due to market conditions, co has no current intention of issuing new common shares under the ATM stock issuance program (MDW) 2.02 : The co states it has sufficient cash to proceed with its planned activities through late 2012, including permitting of its Pan Project and advancement of its other Nevada properties. The co has received term sheets for the debt portion of the capital required to place the Pan Project into production. The co is negotiating with potential lenders to finance up to 60% of the total capital required and will provide further guidance on completion of the Pan Feasibility Study, expected to be released in mid-November.
