Data Feed

08:41 SYPR sees FY07 guidance $0.07-0.10 lower than prior guidance dud to $10 mln shortfall in SIG revs – 8k

08:39 ARRS Arris: Brean Murray has revised their model to reflect expectations for the combined company (9.74 )

Brean Murray says with the consummation of ARRIS’s acquisition of C-Cor on Dec 14, firm has revised their model to reflect expectations for the combined company. Firm’s analysis suggests the transaction — primarily due to the inability to recognize $10 million of deferred revenues — will be modestly dilutive to 2008 results and modestly accretive thereafter. Our model also generates a valuation well ahead of the current share price, which has recently sunk to new annual lows. While on paper the shares look cheap, they believe that the co is still facing a disappointing quarter and/or guidance in the near term and view consensus estimates as too high. Thus, they would wait for the other shoe to drop before become more positive on the name.
08:39 RIO Comp Vale Do Rio in talks with Tata Steel for plant in Brazil – Business Standard (31.93 )

Business Standard reports the co is in talks with Tata Steel to set up a steel slab plant in Brazil. The co has three plants under construction in Brazil in partnership with ThyssenKrupp, Dongkuk and Baosteel. Vale has a minority stake in these projects. According to sources, Vale is in talks with Tata Steel as well as some of its clients for the new steel slab plant. Replying to a query over a possible partnership with Tata Steel, a spokesperson for the Brazilian co said, “A company as large as Vale is often in talks with several companies, among them Tata Steel from India. But other than that, there is no further information about partnership or anything beyond.”
08:39 SLM SLM Corp says it and Citibank have amended the terms of the contracts so that there will be no trigger prices (22.89 )

Co announces that it has entered into a series of transactions with its equity forward contract counterparties and Citibank. to assign those equity forward contracts to Citibank. In connection with the agreement, Citibank and Sallie Mae have amended the terms of the contracts so that there will be no trigger prices. The contracts will terminate Feb. 22, 2008.
08:38 SMSC SMSC upgraded to Strong Buy from Buy at Needham- tgt $46 (34.36 )

08:38 PKE Park Electrochem upgraded to Buy from Hold at Needham- tgt $30 (26.58 )

08:38 DFS Discover Financial Services beats by $0.04, beats on revs (15.89 )

Reports Q4 (Nov) earnings of $0.40 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the First Call consensus of $0.36; reports revenues net of interest expense rose 9.0% year/year to $1.35 bln. “While we are disappointed with the impairment charge in our UK business, Discover’s overall fourth quarter profit before tax, excluding this charge, increased by 63% over last year. Our U.S. Card business achieved solid growth in sales volume and receivables, strong credit results and improved revenues and operating efficiencies. In our Third-Party Payments segment, our network volume reached almost $25 billion in the quarter, an increase of 28%. For the International Card segment, our loss before impairment was substantially reduced despite an elevated cost of funds and high credit losses.”
08:37 SMOD Smart Modular Tech upgraded to to Buy from Hold at Needham- tgt $12 (8.44 )

08:36 CHL China Mobile: Strong net Adds in November – Pali Research (86.67 )

Pali Resaearch notes CHL reported very strong November net subscriber additions of 6.5 million (+39.7% y/y) that topped firm’s estimate by 739,000 subscribers. This was the second strongest month of net additions in the company’s history. China Mobile reported a record 6.6 million net additions in October, which was also well above our estimate. These results imply that China Mobile is tracking well ahead of their quarterly estimates for wireless net additions. FIrm believes China is in the middle of the same accelerating subscriber growth trends that occurred in Latin America over the past 3 to 4 years and in Europe and the United States in the late 1990’s when these companies, regardless of GDP per capita, experienced accelerated growth between 30%-60% penetration.
08:34 BRLI Bio-Reference Labs beats by $0.01, beats on revs (35.01 )

Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $0.34 per share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.33; revenues rose 29.2% year/year to $69.8 mln vs the $68 mln consensus.
08:34 STEI Stewart Enterpr misses by $0.04, misses on revs (8.47 )

Reports Q4 (Oct) earnings of $0.05 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.09; revenues fell 3.0% year/year to $126.4 mln vs the $133.8 mln consensus.
08:34 HON Honeywell: Boeing and United Airlines negotiating with co to adopt runway-collision-avoidance technology – WSJ (61.09 )

WSJ reports BA and UAUA’s United Airlines are negotiating with the co on adopting its runway-collision-avoidance technology in the face of persistent incidents industrywide, people familiar with the matter said. Boeing would like to make Honeywell’s runway-collision-avoidance systems standard, factory-installed features on all of its new commercial aircraft, said people familiar with the matter. Separately, United, also of Chicago, is negotiating with Honeywell to put alerting technology throughout its fleet of about 460 mainline jets, starting early next year with its Boeing 777s, others familiar with those talks said. The technology, relying on digital maps of runways and the Pentagon’s Global Positioning System satellites, gives pilots computer-generated oral warnings if an airliner takes a wrong turn on a taxiway or mistakenly tries to take off from or land on an incorrect strip.
08:34 COGN Cognos beats by $0.01, beats on revs (57.47 )

Reports Q3 (Nov) earnings of $0.51 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.50; revenues rose 17.0% year/year to $290 mln vs the $284.4 mln consensus. Note COGN is being aquired by IBM.
08:33 DTPI Diamond Mngmt initiated with a Market Perform at JMP (7.42 )

08:33 INFY Infosys initiated with an Outperform at JMP – tgt $51 (42.10 )

08:33 ISLE Isle of Capri: New mgmt taking action but getting no credit – Brean Murray (13.21 )

Brean Murray notes ISLE’s valuation provides a compelling risk/reward scenario as recent actions by mgmt and expanding property-level margins should drive improved results going forward, but appear to have gone largely unnoticed by the market. Firm believes mgmt has taken strong initial steps toward improving operations, including a recent 20% reduction in corporate head count, expeditiously attending to issues in the U.K., reducing and re-evaluating all capex, and undergoing a re-engineering of operating procedures at the property level. Additionally, they believe ISLE could improve its asset portfolio through acquisitions/divestitures.
08:32 S&P futures vs fair value: +6.2. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +16.0.

Bear Stearns reports a sizeable loss of $6.90 per share, yet futures climb higher on the news. The consensus estimate called for a loss of $1.79. On the economic front, final third quarter GDP came in at the expected 4.9%. Final third quarter core PCE, an inflation measure, rose 2.0% quarter over quarter, higher than the expected 1.8% rise. Initial jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 15 came in at 346K, compared to the expectation of 335K claims. The futures market response was muted to the economic releases.
08:32 WIRES On The Wires

The ACE Group of Companies (ACE) announces that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the high-net-worth personal lines business of the Atlantic Companies… The GEO Group (GEO) announces that it has been selected by the Bexar County, Texas Commissioners’ Court for a five-year contract award for the continued operation of the 688-bed Central Texas Detention Facility located in San Antonio, TX… CytRx(CYTR) announces that it has initiated screening volunteers in its Phase IIb clinical trial with arimoclomol for the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis… Eurand (EURX) announces that it has completed the filing of its New Drug Application with the FDA for Zentase…General Motors (GM) and International Truck and Engine Corporation, the principal operating subsidiary of Navistar International (NAVZ.OB), have entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding under which NAVZ would purchase certain assets, intellectual property and distribution rights for GM’s medium-duty truck business, the two companies announced… VeraSun Energy (VSE) announces that it began work on an oil extraction facility at its 120 mln-gallon-per-year ethanol biorefinery… InSite Vision (ISV) announces that it has initiated pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials to evaluate AzaSite Plus for the treatment of blepharoconjunctivitis… ICE Futures U.S, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), announces that it will offer electronic trading of futures contracts for an additional 31 foreign exchange pairs on Jan 25, 2008. Electronic trading began on No 9, 2007, for an initial 10 foreign exchange futures contracts.
08:32 NSTK Nastech Pharm announces promotion of Gordon Brandt, M.D. to President (3.91 )

Co announced today that it has promoted Gordon Brandt, M.D. to President of Nastech. Dr. Brandt previously held the title of Executive Vice President, Clinical Research and Medical Affairs. Dr. Steven Quay will remain the co’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
08:32 STEI prelim $0.05, includes non-recurring items, may not compare the $0.09 First Call consensus; revs $126.36 mln vs $133.75 mln First Call consensus

08:32 NSTC Ness Tech initiated with an Outperform at JMP- tgt $11 (9.43 )

08:32 COGN prelim $0.51 vs $0.50 First Call consensus; revs $290 mln vs $284.37 mln First Call consensus (57.46 )

08:31 COGN prelim $0.51 vs $0.50 First Call consensus; revs $288.2 mln vs $284.37 mln First Call consensus

08:31 RDEA Ardea Biosciences announces a private placement of 3 mln shares of common stock priced at $13.25/share (13.00 )

08:31 SYNT Syntel initiated with a Market Perform at JMP (37.32 )

08:31 CNLG Conolog estimates 3-year backlog at over $4.5 mln, its highest backlog of orders since the introduction of its new products (1.36 )

08:31 ECONX Q3 Core PCE q/q revised to 2.0% from 1.8%; GDP Price Index +1.0% from 0.9%

08:31 GENZ Genzyme: Amicus discloses positive phase II data in fabry’s disease; threat to GENZ’s LSD franchise materializing fast – Rodman & Renshaw (72.58 )

Rodman & Renshaw notes that yesterday, Amicus (FOLD) disclosed positive data from its four Phase II trials of Amigal for Fabry’s disease at its analyst day held in New York. Amigal demonstrated exceptional safety profiles at all dose levels tested, with eight patients already being treated for one year and four for > two years. Management is confident that higher doses of Amigal may bring about even better responses in some patients. As a reminder, firm notes Amigal is a pharmacological chaperon designed to restore activities of mis-folded a-Gal in patients with Fabry disease due to missense mutations. Amicus anticipates 70% of these patients will respond to Amigal. Amicus plans to discuss with the FDA to secure Phase III trial protocol in 1H08.
08:30 DFS prelim $0.40 vs $0.36 First Call consensus; revs $1.35 bln vs $993.73 mln First Call consensus

08:30 PRFT Perficient initiated with an Outperform at JMP- tgt $20 (16.00 )

08:30 BRLI prelim $0.34 vs $0.33 First Call consensus; revs $69.79 mln vs $67.95 mln First Call consensus

08:30 ECONX GDP-Final 4.9% vs 4.9% consensus -Update-

08:30 ECONX Initial Claims 346K vs 335K consensus, prior revised to 334K from 333K

08:28 BONDX Bond Watch: Down into Data

The market is lightening its load into the data as prices blew higher yesterday on light volume, hot air & S&P’s downgraded outlook for bond insurers. Today, the market is backing off that approach of last week’s price highs with global equities managing to squeak higher & the dollar adding to its recent gains. The 2-10-yr yield spread is flipping & flopping around 92.0 as curve trade remains aggressively uncommitted to a near term direction. Bond prices in the EuroZone have recovered somewhat as equities have pared gains while in Japan, bonds are stuck lower despite the BOJ’s unsurprising punt on rate hikes & reasonably firm stocks. Treasuries will pick through some data today with outliers required to cause any measurable move beyond reaction swings. Technically, last week’s price highs look ripe for the picking but that may be difficult should equities manage to stage some form of rally. China raised rates again giving the yen a bit of a boost while the euro is bouncing out of fresh retracement lows back above 1.4350. Spot gold is off at 799.40 (-2.70) while crude oil is near flat at 91.27 (+0.03). The calendar has GDP & initial jobless claims (8:30) followed by leading indicators (10) & Philly Fed (12). Meanwhile, the Fed throws another $20B via TAFs at the short term credit market. The euro is at 1.4351 & the yen is at 113.1650 while the 10-yr is -05/32 yielding 4.049%. For more bond & economic commentary click here.
08:28 CYPB Cypress Biosci initiated with a Neutral at Cowen (11.77 )

08:26 PBR Petrobras Brasileiro upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup (105.22 )

08:25 NFI Novastar Fin: Friedman Billings notes abrupt changes in Senior mgmt a significant negative – FBR (3.41 )

Friedman Billings notes on Dec 19, NFI announced significant changes in senior management effective January 3, 2008. Firm views the departures as a significant negative. While one can speculate on the reasons for the departures, they believe if positive news was forthcoming, mgmt (including a co-founder) would not be departing. While this news may increase speculation of a sale, they continue to believe there is little interest on the part of buyers for subprime assets. Firm continues to believe an eventual bankruptcy filing is the most likely outcome due to deteriorating credit performance and excessive leverage.
08:24 STI SunTrust Banks: In its 8-K discloses additional write-downs in Q4 (63.49 )

In its 8-K, discloses that “SunTrust’s fourth quarter 2007 earnings will be impacted by the material deterioration in mkt valuations, the outlook for consumer credit quality, Visa litigation and other items. Despite these impacts, SunTrust expects to be profitable in the fourth quarter of 2007 and maintain its current dividend… In December 2007, SunTrust intends to purchase at amortized cost plus accrued interest approximately $1.4 bln of securities issued by Structured Investment Vehicles from the STI Classic Prime Quality Money Market Fund and the STI Classic Institutional Cash Mgmt Money Market Fund… SunTrust estimates it will record a pre-tax mark-to-market write-down of $225 mln to $250 mln in the fourth quarter of 2007 as a result of this action… Approximately $470 mln in medium term notes issued from bank sponsored SIVs that have publicly announced that they are providing liquidity and support to their programs will remain in the Funds and are scheduled to mature by March 2008… In addition, mkt valuation declines are expected to result in an estimated fourth quarter 2007 pre-tax write-down of $125 mln to $150 mln, net of a positive mark on the co’s debt carried at fair value… Deteriorating real estate values and the outlook for consumer credit have increased SunTrust’s expectations for losses inherent in the portfolio. Provision expense recorded in the fourth quarter is currently expected to exceed net charge-offs by approximately $190 mln which will increase the allowance for loan and lease losses to approximately 1.06% of total loans. Additionally, the co expects net charge-offs in the fourth quarter of 2007 to approximate $170 mln, or an annualized rate of net charge-offs to average loans of approximately 0.56%… An additional Visa litigation accrual of approximately $50 mln is also expected to be recorded in the fourth quarter of 2007…”
08:23 MEOH Methanex downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Raymond James (27.11 )

08:22 WIRES On The Wires

Thomson (TMS) announces that its Technicolor Services division has formed a strategic alliance with DreamWorks Animation (DWA) to develop world-class animation capabilities in India… ViaSat (VSAT) has signed new distribution agreements with Rockwell Collins and ARINC to supply business jets with ViaSat airborne broadband terminals and satellite services. These contract actions represent additional orders for VSAT of just over $26 mln.
08:22 VOL Volt Information Sciences beats by $0.55, reports revs in-line (13.52 )

Reports Q4 (Oct) earnings of $1.03 per share, $0.55 better than the First Call consensus of $0.48; revenues rose 2.5% year/year to $625.6 mln vs the $631 mln consensus. “The results of the fourth quarter continued the trend we reported in the third quarter, with our Telecommunication Services and Computer Systems segments delivering strong year over year comparisons, which, combined with the improved performance of the Telephone Directory segment, were the primary drivers for our growth in quarterly earnings, while the Staffing segment continues to be challenged with ongoing margin pressure in Technical Placement and softness in Administrative and Industrial revenue. In addition, we closed the acquisition of LSSi during the quarter in the Computer Systems segment and expect the combination of Volt Delta’s application development, integration and hosting expertise and LSSi’s highly efficient data processing will allow Volt Delta to serve a broader base of customers by aggregating the most current and accurate business and consumer information possible.”
08:22 ALTU Altus Pharma downgraded to Market Perform from Buy at Collins Stewart (9.88 )

08:21 DRI Darden Restaurants upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan (28.60 )

08:19 MER Merrill Lynch: Credit Suisse lowering Q4, 2008 est (54.73 ) -Update-

Credit Suisse notes that considering valuation declines across the range of ABS CDO and subprime mortgage securities, they’re figuring on incremental write-downs of $8 bln in 4Q07 for MER. With $8 bln in forecast write-downs, firm’s 4Q est drops to a net operating loss of $4.15; old: loss of $3.00 per share. Capital Implications… as of its 3Q 10Q, Merrill was in compliance with applicable CSE standards. Firm knows that Merrill has unique non-dilutive capital raising alternatives including property sales, its 20% Bloomberg stake and its BlackRock stake. Factoring further conservatism into their equities and fixed income forecasts—trading and investment banking—takes firm’s 2008 single point estimate down to $7.00 per share, from $7.65. This forecast remains vulnerable to macro-economic and market conditions as well as the possible dilution from capital raising.
08:19 MCS Marcus Corp misses by $0.08, misses on revs (15.52 )

Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $0.10 per share, $0.08 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.18; revenues rose 18.1% year/year to $83.4 mln vs the $84.4 mln consensus. “Although our second quarter bottom line was impacted by the soft movie slate and the real estate tax adjustment, our first half results showed solid improvement and we continued to make good progress on our growth strategies. Marcus Theatres is benefiting from its recently acquired theatres and is implementing new technology, expanding alternate programming and adding new UltraScreens. Marcus Hotels and Resorts should benefit in future quarters from hotels added during the past year and continues to add new management contracts and maintain and enhance its existing assets.”
08:19 ATVI Activision: Call of Duty 4 and Guitar Hero III the key drivers – UBS (26.80 ) -Update-

UBS notes that ATVI announced that for F3Q08 it expects net revs of $1.375 bln (up from prior $1.22 bln) and adj. EPS of $0.80 (from $0.70). For FY08, ATVI expects revs of $2.45 bln (up from prior $2.3 bln) and adj. EPS of $0.95 (from $0.85). Co had only recently increased its 3Q and FY08 guidance on Nov 27, 2007. Call of Duty 4 and Guitar Hero III the key drivers. Firm provided few new details behind the improved outlook, however, it’s clear that new owned IP titles Call of Duty 4 and Guitar Hero III are the key drivers, as consumers continue to buy the SKU’s across all available platforms. The revised results represent the highest revs and EPS in the co’s history for 3Q and the FY.
08:18 MCS prelim $0.10 vs $0.18 First Call consensus; revs $83.4 mln vs $84.39 mln First Call consensus

08:17 SCANX Early pre-market gappers

Gapping up: ECHO +108.1%, CNIC +20.4%, CGEN +18.6%, VOL +18.3%, MLHR +9.1%, LOCM +8.0%, ORCL +6.5%, CPST +6.4%, ACN +5.8%, TSS +5.5%, CRGN +4.9%, NVAX +4.7%, CT +4.3%, SCS +3.9%, ATVI +3.7%, SMOD +3.7%, PIR +3.0%, FDRY +2.8%, NKE +2.7%, CAG +2.5%, NLY +2.2%, MA +2.2%, CLWR +2.1%, WYNN +1.9%, LULU +1.9%, SIGM +1.8%, ETN +1.8%, WPO +1.7%, GM +1.7%, SNCR +1.3%, SNCR +1.2%, PZZA +1.1%… Gapping down: ARRY -17.6%, PRST -15.5%, LDK -12.3%, ALTU -10.2%, XING -9.1%, RUTH -8.7%, NFI -8.2%, RAD -8.0%, IDEV -7.8%, FOLD -7.5%, LEG -5.4%, INGN -5.3%, HWAY -4.1%, GNSS -3.6%, FXEN -1.6%, PAYX -1.5%, TRID -1.5%, ATLS -1.5%, HES -1.0%.
08:14 WIRES On The Wires

Rural/Metro (RURL) announces that, based on recent transactions in the co’s common stock, the co is reexamining the impact of the change-in-ownership rules of Section 382 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code on its net operating loss tax assets… AeroGrow International (AERO) announces that the AeroGarden is prominently shown in multiple scenes in the post-apocalyptic hit movie “I Am Legend”. The appearance was unsolicited… Tyler Technologies (TYL) announces that is has reached an agreement with Mesa County, CO, for the purchase of TYL’s Eagle assessment and collections solution. The contract includes support and related professional services in addition to software licenses… Lifetime Brands (LCUT) announces it has completed its planned acquisition of a 30% stake in Ekco. LCIT’s investment is valued at approx $23 mln… OccuLogix (OCCX) announces that it has sold its S.O.L.X. subsidiary to a co owned by that subsidiary’s President and Founder, Doug Adams. Under the terms of the purchase agreement, the acquiror assumed all costs and liabilities of S.O.L.X. as of Dec 1, 2007, in addition to a $5 mln payment obligation owed by OCCX to the former shareholders of S.O.L.X, due on Sept 1, 2008… Pride International (PDE) announces that its report of drilling rig status and contract information covering the co’s fleet of offshore drilling rigs, its five drilling management projects, along with a summary status of its Eastern Hemisphere-based land fleet, has been updated as of Dec 19, 2007.
08:14 BSC Bear Stearns reports Q4 (Nov) results; announces $0.7 bln in additional write-downs (90.60 )

Reports Q4 (Nov) loss of $6.90 per share, includes write-downs that reduced Q4 EPS by $8.21, may not be comparable to the First Call consensus of ($1.79). Co previously reported anticipated write-downs of approx $1.2 bln; at Nov 30, total net inventory write-downs were $1.9 bln. CEO says, “We are obviously upset with our 2007 results, particularly in light of the fact that weakness in fixed income more than offset strong and, in some areas, record-setting performance in other businesses. Our underlying fixed income franchise remains strong and we have taken steps to size the division to market conditions. We are taking appropriate measures to position Bear Stearns for renewed profitability in 2008 by focusing our resources on the businesses with growth potential in the current environment, while streamlining our operations in areas with lower expected activity levels. We are confident that these efforts will ensure Bear Stearns remains a strong and profitable competitor in the global marketplace in the years to come.” “When Bear Stearns became a public company, consistent with our entrepreneurial roots and to ensure alignment of interests between management and shareholders, we designed our executive compensation programs to pay for performance. In a year in which we produced unacceptable results, the plans are working as they were designed — and the members of the executive committee will not receive any bonuses for 2007.”
08:11 PCLN priceline.com downgraded to Hold at Stifel (114.37 )

Stifel downgrades PCLN to Hold from Buy based on weaker economic and travel trends and competitive fundamentals which they believe will impact the leisure traveler and the broader online travel agencies in 2008. The firm also notes that Priceline has exceeded their $110 target price and is currently trading at a full and reasonable EV/adjusted EBITDA multiple of 16.0x their 2009 adjusted EBITDA estimate of $333.6 million
08:10 BSC prelim ($6.90) may not compare to ($1.79) First Call consensus

08:10 OWW Orbitz downgraded to Hold at Stifel (9.39 )

Stifel downgrades OWW to Hold from Buy based on weaker economic and travel trends and competitive fundamentals which we believe will impact the leisure traveler and the broader online travel agencies (OTAs) in 2008. The firm says with 88% of bookings from North America, Orbitz is particularly susceptible to weakness in the domestic economy. However with a 2009 EV/adjusted EBITDA multiple of 6.5x, they believe the shares have limited downside.
08:08 BYI Bally Technologies beats by $0.10, beats on revs; guides FY08 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (43.88 )

Reports Q1 (Sep) earnings of $0.37 per share, $0.10 better than the First Call consensus of $0.27; revenues rose 22.9% year/year to $189 mln vs the $180.7 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $1.55-1.85 vs. $1.41 consensus; sees FY08 revs of to exceed $865 mln vs. $843.08 mln consensus.
08:08 EXPE Expedia downgraded to Hold at Stifel (32.57 )

Stifel downgrades EXPE to Hold from Buy based on weaker economic and travel trends and competitive fundamentals which they believe will impact the leisure traveler and the broader online travel agencies in 2008. The firm notes that Expedia is currently trading at they believe a reasonable EV/adjusted EBITDA multiple of 10.6x.
08:07 PNC PNC Bank initiated with a Hold at Stifel (64.90 )

08:07 CBRL CBRL Group upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan- based on valuation (32.21 )

08:07 MRK Merck: Hib vaccine shortage poses no serious threat, officials say – Boston Globe (59.34 )

Boston Globe reports a developing shortage of vaccine against childhood meningitis is expected to inconvenience some pediatricians and parents, but should not become a public health threat, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FDA say. Merck recalled about 1 mln doses of its Hib vaccine this week and will probably not make more for about a year, a co official said.
08:06 MTB M&T Bank initiated with a Buy at Stifel- tgt $95 (79.83 )

Stifel initiates MTB with a Buy and a $95 tgt saying while their fundamental outlook for the banking sector remains negative, they believe there is greater upside potential in MTB shares than downside risk. Based on their valuation matrix, the firm believes MTB shares have a fair value of $99. They think a recessionary-assumed downside to MTB shares is $74-75, while a reasonable upside is $95. This risk-reward scenario warrants their Buy.
08:05 BONDX Economic Calendar

Final revisions to Q3 GDP & initial jobless claims at 8:30 followed by leading indicators at 10 & Philly Fed at 12.
08:05 LNN Lindsay reports Q1 EPS of $0.36 vs $0.18 single estimate; reports revs up 47% yr/yr to $75.9 mln vs $64.4 mln single estimate (57.70 )

“With the USDA forecast of record net farm income in 2007, we believe domestic demand for our irrigation products will be higher during this irrigation selling season. International demand is also expected to increase on the strength of higher agricultural commodity prices. We are focused on achieving growth in each of our segments organically and through acquisitions. During the period we acquired a product line which complements the Barrier Systems portfolio of infrastructure products. We will continue to leverage our financial flexibility to create shareholder value through a balance of organic growth opportunities, strategic acquisitions, share repurchases, and dividend payments.”
08:04 WFR MEMC Elec tgt raised to $105 from $85 at UBS (87.94 )

UBS raises their tgt on WFR to $015 from $85 saying recent channel checks found that 300mm prices for North American customers will decline around -3% q/q in 1Q08 while prices in Asia will decline around -10% q/q. a.nd UMC). The firm believes weakening semiconductor wafer prices in 1H08 were anticipated by MEMC as their channel checks found sporadic “extended vacations” for the first time at MEMC’s 200mm factory in Sherman, Texas. Their channel checks found that MEMC redirected polysilicon from those plants and sold it on a spot market basis at $360-$400/kg (up 10% q/q) to Chinese customers including Yingli (YGE).
08:04 IIG iMergent Streamlines Sales Force and Operations; lowers FY08 guidance (12.70 )

Co announces that the overall staff reduction is approximately 20 percent of their employee base, which is expected to deliver savings of approximately $1.0 million annually. “We expect our actions will have a positive impact on iMergent’s future bottom line. However, due to our streamlined sales force, lower than expected sales and our continued absence from California and North Carolina markets, we are revising our previously reported guidance of 10-15 percent increase over 2007. Fiscal 2008 expectations of revenues and net dollar volume of contracts written will decrease 15-20 percent over fiscal 2007 revenue of $151.6 million and net dollar volume of contracts written of $165.3 million.”
08:04 NOC Northrop Grumman announces new $2.5 bln share repurchase authorization (78.60 )

08:03 VOL prelim $1.03 vs $0.48 First Call consensus; revs $625.6 mln vs $631.00 mln First Call consensus

08:03 AW Allied Waste: Credit Suisse reducing ests as volumes ease (10.75 )

Credit Suisse notes their 4Q07 EPS forecast on AW has been reduced by $0.01to $0.20 primarily on a weaker volume environment and also a portion of un-recovered higher diesel fuel expense. Diesel fuel prices, on a national average, are currently up 27% year over year and—more importantly—5% since AW last updated investors during its 3Q earnings report on October 31st. While surcharges should recoup most of this increase, the sharp spike in prices seen in November may likely still have impact.
08:02 BYI sees FY08 $1.55-1.85, adjusted EPS of $1.70-2.00, vs $1.41 First Call consensus; sees revs to exceed $865 mln vs $843.08 mln First Call consensus

08:02 BYI prelim $0.37 vs $0.27 First Call consensus; revs $189.0 mln vs $180.72 mln First Call consensus

08:01 LGND Ligand Pharma earns $1 mln milestone payment as GlaxoSmithKline submits New Drug Application for PROMACTA (5.21 )

Co announces that it has earned from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) a milestone payment of $1 mln as a result of GSK’s submission of a New Drug Application for PROMACTA. Under the terms of the collaboration, Ligand is eligible to receive an additional milestone payment of $2 mln upon approval of PROMACTA by the FDA, as well as royalty payments on any future sales of the drug.
08:01 ASIA AsiaInfo to upgrade China Mobile’s business intelligence system in Qinghai province (10.85 )

Co announced that it has signed a contract with Qinghai Mobile, a subsidiary of China Mobile, to upgrade its Business Intelligence system. Under the terms of the agreement, ASIA will upgrade Qinghai Mobile’s current BI 1.5 system to BI 2.0 under China Mobile’s BI specifications. The upgraded system will feature strengthened analysis capabilities and expanded capacity to accommodate future subscriber growth. ASIA will also implement its recently launched BI subsystem to enhance Qinghai Mobile’s analytical decision-making support for wireless value-added services.
08:01 VRX Valeant Pharmaceuticals sells Hep-C Drug Infergen to Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals for $91 mln (11.31 )

VRX and Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals jointly announce that they have signed a definitive agreement for VRX to divest the United States and Canadian rights to the hepatitis C drug Infergen to Three Rivers. VRX will receive from Three Rivers approximately $70.8 mln in cash upon closing, and up to $20.5 mln in two noncontingent payments over the following eighteen months. Under the terms of the agreement, Three Rivers will be assigned all United States and Canadian rights to Infergen and will acquire the remaining Infergen inventory from Valeant. The transaction is expected to close during the Q1 of 2008.
08:00 DELL Dell to purchase CIT’s 30% interest in Dell Financial Services (24.50 )

CIT and DELL announce that Dell will purchase CIT’s 30% interest in their U.S.-based Dell Financial Services joint venture on 12/31 for $306 mln, resulting in a Q4 pre-tax gain to CIT of approximately $250 mln. It was formed in 1997 by CIT and Dell to serve as a full service financial services provider that offers a broad range of customer financing solutions for Dell customers throughout the U.S.
08:00 S&P futures vs fair value: +2.1. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +9.8.

Early indications suggest a slightly higher start for the S&P 500 and a modestly higher start for the Nasdaq in response to a number of earnings reports. Oracle is the biggest driver of the Nasdaq 100 futures after topping its earnings estimate of $0.27 by four cents. Meanwhile, FedEx beat its fiscal second quarter earnings expectation, but issued third quarter earnings guidance below the consensus estimate. Nike (NKE), Herman Miller (MLHR), and Accenture (ACN) all came in ahead of estimates
07:59 PRICE Filings, Offerings, Pricings and IPOs

Filings: Clearwire (CLWR) files for a 15.76 mln share common stock offering by selling shareholders… Powerwave (PWAV) files for a $150 mln convertible notes offering by selling securityholders… Exterran Partners (EXLP) files for a 2.01 mln share common unit offering by selling unitholders… IPOs: NetSuite (N), a vendor of on-demand integrated business mgmt application suites for small and medium-sized businesses, prices its 6.2 mln share IPO at $26/share.
07:57 RSH RadioShack upgraded to Neutral at BofA- tgt $17 (17.12 )

BofA upgrades RSH to Neutral from Sell with a $17 tgt saying they continue to believe that the business model still faces significant challenges ahead, but after a near 50% move downward move (vs. S&P 500 down 6.4%), they think the headwinds are more appropriately priced in.
07:57 WYNN Wynn Resorts: Upgrade details (66.11 )

As mentioned at 7:28, UBS upgraded WYNN to Neutral from Sell and cut their tgt to $129 from $141 based on valuation. The firm believes some of the inflated expectations for the Macau market have come out of the shares. However, they do still see risk to forward performance from the opening of the MGM Grand Macau on December 18, a property that they think is positioned to go head-to-head with Wynn Macau in both the VIP and premium mass market segments.
07:56 XING Qiao Xing reports Q3 EPS of $0.43, ex-items, vs $0.51 single estimate; reports revs up 22.8% yr/yr to $139.5 mln vs $151.9 mln single estimate (8.91 )

07:56 NFS Nationwide: Upgrade details (43.06 ) -Update-

As mentioned at 7:38 BofA upgraded NFS to Neutral from Sell with a $47 tgt as they believe concerns about execution of the turnaround are priced into shares.
07:56 LDK LDK Solar: Downgrade details (66.11 ) -Update-

As mentioned earlier, Piper downgraded LDK to Sell from Neutral and maintains their $34.50 tgt following earnings. Firm says that uncertainties still exist with respect to LDK’s low turns of 2.2x, unsubstantiated contract supply with 25% exposure to spot, high risk polysilicon ramp with targets they assess as overly aggressive, and numerous shareholder law suits.
07:55 CAKE Cheesecake Factory: Friedman Billings does not believe that CAKE deserves as much of a premium as that given to other comparable cos (24.54 )

Friedman Billings says that despite an announced investment by an activist investor, FY08 EPS growth expectations of 21% (consensus) and 22%-24% (company guidance) are too aggressive. Moreover, there are difficult comparisons in 4Q07 and ‘08; and dairy pricing pressure is likely to hurt margins further. In the current retail/restaurant environment, firm believes that it is very important to follow the cash flows. Their target NTM EV/EBITDA multiple of 8.3x reflects their belief that the co is not maximizing the value of its cash flows. Given this, firm does not believe that CAKE deserves as much of a premium as that given to other comparable cos.
07:52 SNCR Synchronoss Tech: Hearing upgraded to buy from neutral at tier 1 firm (32.52 )

07:51 CVG Convergys: Hearing upgraded to neutral from sell at tier 1 firm (16.51 )

07:50 WOR Worthington misses by $0.14, beats on revs (19.81 )

Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $0.21 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.14 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.35; revenues fell 2.1% year/year to $713.7 mln vs the $705.7 mln consensus. “Second quarter and first half performance reflects market weakness particularly in our two primary end markets, automotive and construction; the resulting cost/price squeeze across our businesses; and the significant challenge in Metal Framing. The second quarter likely reflects the low point in Metal Framing results. Aggressive countermeasures – including a corporate-wide cost reduction program and a restructuring of Metal Framing – are underway and are expected to benefit the second half of fiscal 2008 and show material impact in fiscal 2009.”
07:49 BAC Bank of America, Citadel in brokerage sale talkes – NY Post (41.59 )

NY Post reports in another sign that the co’s CEO Ken Lewis is intent on getting out of the investment-banking business, the Wall Street giant is in discussions to sell its prime brokerage unit to hedge fund giant Citadel, according to sources familiar with the matter. Citadel, which recently snapped up a large stake in online retail broker E*Trade, has recently inspected the books of BofA’s prime brokerage business, according to one individual. It’s unclear if a deal can be reached and sources noted that the operation is not being widely shopped.
07:48 FDX FedEx beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus; guides FY08 EPS in-line (94.63 )

Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $1.54 per share, $0.04 better than the First Call consensus of $1.50; revenues rose 5.8% year/year to $9.45 bln vs the $9.32 bln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $1.15-1.30 vs. $1.37 consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $6.40-6.70 vs. $6.47 consensus. officer. “While we have indexed fuel surcharges in place, they cannot keep pace in the short-term with rapidly rising fuel prices. We are implementing cost-containment actions to manage near-term expenditures and have reduced our capital spending forecast. We will continue, however, to invest in strategic projects related to our long-term growth plans.”
07:48 WOR prelim $0.21 vs $0.35 First Call consensus; revs $713.7 mln vs $705.68 mln First Call consensus

07:48 HES Hess downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup (92.11 )

07:46 CSGS CSG Systems: Hearing downgraded to sell from neutral at tier 1 firm (15.29 )

07:46 FDX sees FY08 $6.40-6.70 vs $6.47 First Call consensus

07:45 FDX sees Q3 $1.15-1.30 vs $1.37 First Call consensus

07:45 FDX prelim $1.54 vs $1.50 First Call consensus; revs $9.45 bln vs $9.32 bln First Call consensus

07:45 BK Bank of NY: Hearing initiated with a neutral at tier 1 firm (48.66 )

07:44 IX ORIX Corporation: Hearing downgraded to neutral from buy at tier 1 firm (88.39 )

07:44 ACN Accenture: Great start to the fiscal year – Susquehanna (34.96 )

07:44 LULU Lululemon Athletica: Initiation details (44.15 )

As mentioned at 6:41, ThinkEquity initiated LULU with a Buy and a $60 tgt. The firm’s vertical retail strategy allows the co to control its brand, while the unique fit, style, and performance of the products keep customers loyal. This typically leads to sales per square foot and comparable store sales that are much higher than those of other apparel retail stores. They believe that given the value of the brand and the opportunity for expansion, lululemon will continue to see significant growth in both sales and earnings for years to come.
07:43 MER Merrill Lynch write-down could be as high as $7 bln – CNBC (54.73 )

07:42 ORCL Oracle tgt raised to $26 at CIBC (20.76 ) -Update-

CIBC raises their tgt on ORCL to $26 from $24, following another strong qrtly performance from ORCL, which it backed (again) with a solid outlook. Firm believes ORCL’s ever expanding product portfolio is enabling it to solidify its strategic importance with customers which is generating better deal flow. Firm has raised their FY08 EPS est by $0.06 to $1.28, reflecting a more bullish license outlook and an add’l 40 bps in mgn improvement. And though they’ve left their FY09 growth and mgn assumptions relatively intact, firm’s FY09 EPS est rises by $0.04 to $1.45, benefiting from the stronger ‘08 pass thru.
07:41 RAD Rite Aid misses by $0.05, misses on revs; guides FY08 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (4.10 )

Reports Q3 (Nov) loss of $0.12 per share, $0.05 worse than the First Call consensus of ($0.07); revenues rose 51.0% year/year to $6.52 bln vs the $6.65 bln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY08, sees EPS of ($0.31)-($0.27) vs. ($0.21) consensus, prior guidance ($0.15)-($0.27); sees FY08 revs of $24.3-24.6 mln vs. $24.77 bln consensus, prior guidance $24.5-25.1 mln.
07:41 GOL Gol Intelligent Airlines downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley (25.30 )

07:41 WIRES On The Wires

Fonar (FONR) announces the sale of its first UPRIGHT Multi-Position M.R.I. in Canada. The Welcome Back Clinic plans to install the FONAR UPRIGHT Multi-Position M.R.I. in the province of British Columbia, Canada, in 2008… EMCOR Group (EME) announces one of its subsidiaries has been awarded a contract to provide mechanical construction services for a new 24 mln gallon per day water treatment plant in Gilbert, AZ.
07:41 TAM TAM S.A. upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley (23.12 )

07:40 PRGS Progress Software beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY08 EPS in-line, revs in-line (31.57 )

Reports Q4 (Nov) earnings of $0.54 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.52; revenues rose 12.0% year/year to $136.8 mln vs the $128.9 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.40-$0.42 vs. $0.41 consensus; sees Q1 revs of $120-$122 mln vs. $122.06 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $1.90-$1.96 vs. $1.91 consensus; sees FY08 revs of $515-$525 mln vs. $512.97 mln consensus.
07:39 TWC Time Warner Cable initiated with a Neutral at J.P Morgan (25.80 )

07:38 NFS Nationwide upgraded to Neutral from Sell at BofA (43.06 )

07:38 VWPT Viewpoint: 4Q07 tracking ahead of expectations; Microsfot and Fox Interactive ramping – Merriman (0.79 )

Merriman believes VWPT’s 4Q07 is tracking ahead of expectations driven by the ramp of recently announced deals with Fox Interactive Media (part of News Corp. — NWS) and Atlas, a division of Microsoft (MSFT). Also, recent implementations with instant messaging applications from Microsoft and Yahoo! (YHOO) should be contributing to 4Q07 more materially. These deals have not seen major publicity, which offers diligent investors an attractive opportunity, in firm’s opinion.
07:37 CTAS Cintas reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY08 EPS in-line, revs in-line (31.81 -1.20)

Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $0.53 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.53; revenues rose 6.6% year/year to $983.9 mln vs the $986.5 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $2.15-$2.25 vs. $2.17 consensus; sees FY08 revs of $3.9-$4.10 vs. $3.96 bln consensus. Co also states, “We have resumed purchases under our authorized share buyback program. During our second quarter, we purchased 5.2 million shares at a cost of approx $191 mln. Since the program’s inception, we have bought back 19.4 mln shares, which equates to over 11% of our outstanding stock that existed at the program’s inception. We have $228 mln in remaining authorization available under the program.”
07:37 DNA Genentech: Rodman & Renshaw notes Avastin approved for first line advance renal cell cancer in EU (67.33 )

Rodman & Renshaw notes DNA’s European partner, Roche, (RHHBY) announced that Avastin was approved on Wed in Europe for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell cancer. The approval was based on Roche’s pivotal Phase III AVOREN trial which demonstrated that patients with metastatic RCC who receive Avastin in combination with interferon (IFN-a2a) double their progression-free survival compared to those who received IFN alone. Firm believes this news is positive for Genentech (DNAm). DNA intends to submit a sBLA based on the AVOREN data during 2H08. Firm reminds investors that Genentech’s pivotal Phase III CALGB 90206 study is currently ongoing. Based on discussions with the mgmt, they believe the top-line data from the CALBG trial will be presented along with the AVOREN study for FDA approval during 3Q08.
07:37 ADCT ADC Telecom: New convertible debt, favorable terms … no change in outlook – Robert Baird (15.43 )

Robert Baird notes ADCT announced a $400 mln convertible note offering, which it will use to pay off its $200 mln convert due June 2008. Remaining proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes or acquisitions. Firm views debt terms as attractive and model $0.01 EPS dilution for 2008 and $0.02 for 2009. They don’t see offering as signaling a liquidity concern or imminent acquisition.
07:37 MNST Monster Worldwide initiated with an Outperform at Bear Stearns (32.22 )

07:37 CAG ConAgra beats by $0.11, beats on revs; guides FY08 EPS above consensus (24.79 )

Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $0.53 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.11 better than the First Call consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 13.7% year/year to $3.51 bln vs the $3.25 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY08, sees EPS of slightly above $1.55, compared to previous guidance of $1.48, vs. $1.51 consensus.
07:36 PNRA Panera Bread: Slightly reducing ests; tgt cut to $40 – FBR (35.47 )

Friedman Billings is lowering their tgt on PNRA to $40 from $46 as well as their FY08 EPS ests to $1.95 from $2.00 as wheat prices continue to move higher. PNRA gave FY08 EPS guidance of up 10%-20%, citing the cost of wheat as a potential source of earnings volatility as the co’s wheat purchases are not locked in for 2008. Although the co will increase prices to minimize the impact rising wheat costs have on the bottom line, firm believes the magnitude of the increase could be larger than mgmt’s expectations and are comfortable being just below the co’s EPS guided range for FY08.
07:36 ARQL ArQule initiated with a Neutral at UBS (5.91 )

07:36 ALNY Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: RNAi, a new way of targeting disease; could be the next revolution in medicine – Broadpoint Capital (28.58 )

Broadpoint Capital believes RNA interference represents a novel approach to affect disease mechanisms and has the potential to transform drug development. ALNY leads the RNAi space on the strength of its expertise, development programs, IP, and technology, which have been validated by multiple licensing agreements and partnerships. Firm expects the announcement of Phase II data with an intranasal formulation of ALN-RSV01 in experimentally infected subjects in early 1Q08. In addition, they expect ALNY to file an IND for its first systemically delivered RNAi therapeutic in 2008; firm could also see another major partnership agreement in the next 12 months.
07:35 ATVI Activision tgt raised to $33; raising ests as well – Broadpoint Capital (26.80 )

Broadpoint Capital raises their tgt on ATVI to $33 following co’s increased 3Q08 outlook to rev and pro forma EPS of $1.375 bln and $0.80, up from prior outlook of $1.225 bln and $0.70. Firm increases their ests as follows: 3Q08 rev and pro forma EPS go to $1.375 bln and $0.80 from $1.22 bln and $0.70, respectively. FY08 rev and pro forma EPS go to $2.46 bln and $0.96 from $2.30 bln and $0.86.
07:35 ORCL Oracle: Color on quarter (20.76 )

Broadpoint Capital notes ORCL reported strong Q2 results. Firm believes ORCL is benefiting from increasing account control and better pricing power in a new and unexpected way because of its increasing stature and market share in so many software segments. Firm notes co’s Q2 results were $5.36 bln pro forma rev and pro forma EPS of $0.31 (+40% year/year) vs. the consensus of $5.04 bln and $0.27, respectively… Friedman Billings notes that ORCL posted very strong FY 2Q08 results, with upside to license, total revenue, and EPS. Excluding a better-than-expected currency lift, the results still surpassed expectations. Strength was evenly distributed in the quarter across both business units–applications and database & middleware–and all geographies. This was particularly relevant, given concerns about a slowing U.S. economy. Firm believe that ORCL’s acquisition strategy is working and will continue to bear fruit… Morgan Stanley notes ORCL had stronger than expected revs in all its businesses, grew op margin, and issued guidance for Feb Q above firm’s and consensus ests. Firm notes stellar execution on its upsell/cross-sell strategy is driving a larger and more stable rev base, even in a slowing USeconomy. From this the stronger operating margins provide greater earnings stability than many other names in software.
07:35 HILL Dot Hill Systems upgraded to Outperform at Friedman Billings- tgt $3.50 (2.30 )

Friedman Billings upgrades HILL to Outperform from Market Perform with a $3.50 tgt they believe that HILL shares now offer an attractive risk/reward profile at $2.30, with potential near-term catalysts.
07:35 AM American Greetings misses by $0.04, misses on revs; reaffirms FY08 EPS guidance (24.00 )

Reports Q3 (Nov) earnings of $0.53 per share, $0.04 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.57; revenues fell 6.8% year/year to $485.7 mln vs the $501.5 mln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $1.35-1.55 vs. $1.48 consensus, but believes it is possible to “perform around the higher end of the range.”
07:34 PRGS prelim $0.54 vs $0.52 First Call consensus; revs $137 mln vs $128.85 mln First Call consensus (31.57 )

07:34 HWAY Healthways: 1Q08 EPS tops views; 2Q08 outlook falls short; tgt cut to $70 – FBR (55.52 )

Friedman Billings notes that HWAY FY 1Q08 EPS of $0.30 topped Street consensus and FBR ests of $0.28. The co’s results were depressed by spending on four call centers, which will continue to weigh on 2Q08 EPS results. As a result, despite reiterating fiscal 2008 EPS and rev guidance, HWAY shares will likely weaken a bit on 2Q08 EPS outlook of $0.32-$0.34 that falls short of Street views of $0.39. Firm is shaving their FY 2008 EPS outlook from $1.81 to $1.79 and their FY 2009 EPS from $2.41 to $2.32. Likewise, they are tweaking their tgt from $72 to $70.
07:33 CTAS sees FY08 $2.15-2.25 vs $2.17 First Call consensus; sees revs $3.90-4.10 mln vs $3.96 bln First Call consensus

07:33 NKE Nike: Color on quarter (63.80 )

Morgan Stanley notes NKE’s Q2 results bucked just about every trend they’re seeing in the consumer space today. Salesand orders remain solid, gross margins are trending up, inventory growth is trending down, margin visibility is strengthening, the cash cycle improved by 11 days, and the co stepped-up its share repurchase — even while it is using cash to acquire Umbro. While US orders decelerated it was more than made up by solid double-digit growth in Europe and Asia… Credit Suisse notes NKE’s solid quarter solidifies their status as one of the few U.S. discretionary stocks investors can count on in this environment. And with its shares up 29% YTD, NKE’s chart increasingly resembles those of the major global consumer staple cos such as McDonalds (+33%), Procter & Gamble (+14%), and PepsiCo (+23%). NKE’s strong quarter (the only blot being a modest +1% U.S. futures number) epitomizes why investors want to own the name in this uncertain U.S. consumer environment, and they believe downside is probably limited as long as fears of a U.S. consumer recession persist, preventing investors from rotating out of “safer” global consumer names into higher-beta U.S.-centric retail stocks.
07:33 RAD sees FY08 ($0.31-0.27) vs ($0.21) First Call consensus; sees revs $24.3-24.6 mln vs $24.77 bln First Call consensus

07:33 DF Dean Foods initiated with a Buy at UBS- tgt $33 (25.94 )

UBS initiates DF with a Buy and a $33 tgt saying the co trades like a commodity stock and its margins look like those of a commodity company. However, they believe Dean can generate significant value as it transforms into an integrated national chilled distribution system. In addition, they estimate that 2009 EPS would reach $1.87 per share (53% above 2007 levels) if dairy prices return to levels even 15% above the 5-year average by then.
07:33 AM sees FY08 $1.35-1.55 vs $1.48 First Call consensus

07:32 CTAS prelim $0.53 vs $0.53 First Call consensus; revs $983.9 mln vs $986.49 mln First Call consensus

07:32 AM prelim $0.53 vs $0.57 First Call consensus; revs $485.7 mln vs $501.50 mln First Call consensus

07:32 CAG sees FY08 slightly above $1.55 vs $1.51 First Call consensus

07:32 RAD prelim ($0.12) vs ($0.07) First Call consensus; revs $6.52 bln vs $6.65 bln First Call consensus

07:32 CAR Avis Budget initiated with a Neutral at UBS- tgt $14 (12.91 )

UBS initiates CAR with a Neutral and a $14 tgt saying they believe 2008 will mark another year of margin declines. The firm blames largely falls on rising vehicle fleet costs. Firm notes CAR has initiated a restructuring plan to address the rising costs, though we don’t think it will be sufficient to drive margins.
07:31 NVAX Novavax announces favorable interim results from human clinical trial for its pandemic influenza vaccine program (3.38 )

Co announces favorable interim results from a Phase I/IIa human clinical trial of its non-adjuvanted pandemic influenza virus-like particle vaccine candidate. The interim results indicate that the vaccine was well tolerated in all study groups. The vaccine also induced good immune responses. In addition, these initial results from our pandemic trial bode well for our trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine, which is expected to enter human clinical trials during the second quarter of 2008, pending completion of pre-clinical studies.
07:31 CAG prelim $0.53 vs $0.42 First Call consensus; revs $3.51 bln vs $3.25 bln First Call consensus

07:30 AXYS Axsys Technologies initiated with a Hold at Morgan Joseph-based on valuation and believe the co has the best technical solutions in a key market. (38.69 )

07:30 PVTB PrivateBancorp announces that Jay Williams named to additional post of Chief Operating Officer (32.35 )

07:28 LDK LDK Solar downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Piper Jaffray (66.11 )

07:26 Credit Suisse initiates select REITs

Credit Suisse says they are most cautious on the multifamily sector, followed by office. They believe industrial fundamentals are starting from the best base, but they see risk to global trade from a weak dollar and slowing imports. The firm believes retail REITs in general are less economically sensitive, particularly grocer-anchored neighborhood shopping centers. However, they are cognizant the last downturn was not a consumer-led recession, and are wary of rising cap rates, given the prospect of a Centro fire sale. The firm initiates the following stocks with Outperforms, Boston Properties, Inc. (BXP) tgt $105, Kilroy Realty Corp. (KRC) tgt $65, and Thomas Properties Group Inc. (TPGI) tgt $15… Brandywine Realty Trust (BDN), Duke Realty (DRE), Liberty Property Trust (LRY), CBL & Associates Properties (CBL), Equity One (EQY), Kite Realty Group (KRG), Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (RPT), and Associated Estates Realty Corp. (AEC) are Neutral. The firm also inititaes Mid-America Apartment Communities (MAA) and PS Business Parks (PSB) with Underperforms and $45 tgts.
07:24 BSY BSkyB should cut ITV stake below 7.5%. regulator says – Reuters (48.48 )

Reuters reports the co looked set for a costly climb-down after a regulator said it should sell more than half of its anti-competitive 17.9% stake in ITV. Although the ruling could cost BSkyB around 200 mln pounds at Thursday’s share prices, analysts say the broadcaster is likely to have succeeded in its long-term plan of preventing any rivals from buying the free-to-air broadcaster.
07:20 China raises rates to nine-year high on inflation – Bloomberg.com

Bloomberg.com reports China raised interest rates for the sixth time this year to cool the world’s fastest-growing major economy after inflation accelerated at the quickest pace in 11 years. The benchmark one-year lending rate will increase by 0.18 percentage point to a nine-year high of 7.47%, starting tomorrow, the People’s Bank of China said today on its Web site. The one-year deposit rate will rise by 0.27 percentage point to 4.14%.
07:18 Credit Suisse initiates select Airline stocks and changes their ests across the board

Credit Suisse initiates select Airline stocks and changes their ests across the board. The firm says they are lowering their tgts on Airline stocks (AAI, ALK, AMR, CAL, DAL, JBLU, NWA, LUV, UAUA, LCC) to reflect the reality of higher crude prices looking ahead to 2008. The firm says stocks today are currently embedding a ‘Limp-Along’ EPS scenario (i.e. crude at $85+, flat real 08 GDP growth, RASM declines of about 2.5% pts relative to current outlook, and no consolidation). They say if a recession ensues, they est there is about 30% downside from current valuations based on a probable earnings outlook. The firm initiates Northwest Airlines Corporation (NWA) and Delta Air Lines (DAL) with Neutrals with $14 and $16 tgts respectively.
07:15 Holiday Sales in U.S. Fall for Third Week After Winter Storms – Bloomberg.com

Bloomberg.com reports that sales at U.S. retailers declined for the third straight week as storeowners grappled with winter storms and rising gasoline prices that discouraged shoppers during what may be the worst holiday season in five years. Sales in the seven days through Dec. 15 fell 0.4 percent from a year earlier, following declines of 2.7 percent and 4.4 percent the previous two weeks, Chicago-based ShopperTrak RCT Corp. said yesterday. This year’s holiday shopping season may grow at the slowest pace since 2002, according to the National Retail Federation. U.S. shoppers finished just 20 percent of their holiday gift buying last weekend, according to a joint survey conducted by the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS Securities LLC. Consumers may be holding out for lower prices in coming days, analysts said.
07:12 WIRES On The Wires

Superior Offshore International (DEEP) announces it has signed a letter of intent with a strategic partner for ownership of the Superior Achiever, a DP-III deepwater construction and dive support vessel that is expected to be delivered in late 2008… InfoSonics (IFON) announces it has extended its distribution agreement with Samsung Electronics Latinoamerica Miami through Dec 2008… Pharsight (PHST) announces that three global biopharmaceutical cos have performed audits of its Reporting and Analysis Services unit… Local.com (LOCM) announces a strategic partnership with Citysearch, an operating business of IAC (IACI)… Eurex and International Securities Exchange Holdings (ISE) announce that Eurex has completed the acquisition of ISE, following the SEC’s approval of the merger… Compugen (CGEN) announces that it has signed a collaborative discovery and license agreement with Roche. The collaboration will cover the identification and validation of genetic variations for the prediction of response to drugs used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis… Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) and Aegera Therapeutics announce an agreement under which HGSI has acquired exclusive worldwide rights (excluding Japan) to develop and commercialize AEG40826 and related backup compounds to be chosen during a three-year research collaboration. HGSI also announced that it has initiated dosing of patients in a Phase 2 clinical trial of HGS-ETR1 in combination with the chemotherapy agents paclitaxel and carboplatin as first-line therapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer… GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announces the submission of a New Drug Application to the FDA for approval to market PROMACTA.
07:12 GEF Greif Brothers profiled in New America section of IBD (63.78 )

IBD reports it’s always nice when a co reports strong results. And GEF CEO Michael Gasser is particularly pleased with his co’s latest showing in light of the challenges it was up against. Greif produces rigid containers such as steel, plastic and fiber drums. Its offerings also include protective packaging, container board and bags for items such as pet foods and agricultural goods. Plus, it provides blending and packaging services to many industries. It manages timber properties in North America. The company posted a glowing fiscal 2007 fourth quarter. Earnings climbed 27% from a year ago to $1.05 a share. Revenue rose 20% to $882.3 mln. It was the eighth straight quarter that earnings grew by at least 20%. As for the quarter’s results, Gasser says the fourth quarter is a seasonably strong one for Greif and that was the case with the most recent one.
07:11 CALLS Early Research Calls V

Miscellaneous: Broadpoint initiates The Buckle (BKE 36.03) with a Buy and a $44 tgt saying while there are many mall-based retailers catering to a similar demographic, The Buckle, differentiates itself through its merchandise assortment and customer experience… Credit Suisse initiates Bank of America (BAC 41.50) with a Neutral and a $48 tgt saying following the recent close of LaSalle Bank in Chicago, BAC has solidified its best-in-class national consumer distribution platform, with leading market positions in 16 of the 20 fastest-growing states. However market turmoil will continue to challenge earnings growth over the near term. In addition the firm says, potential consolidation of approx. $71 bln of VIEs remains a risk… Credit Suisse reinitiates AbitibiBowater (ABH 22.72) with a Neutral and a $23 tgt saying expect newsprint demand in North America to continue its pace of high single-digit declines in 2008, as circulation losses begin to outpace trim and advertising as the key driver of demand (offset to some extent by higher exports, a trend that they expect to moderate)… UBS initiates Hertz Global (HTZ 15.15) with a Buy and a $19 tgt.
07:08 WNI Schiff Nutrition reports Q3 EPS of $0.10 vs $0.08 in yr ago peiod; revs $39.53 mln vs $38.81 mln in yr ago period (5.41 )

07:06 FXEN FX Energy says production for Q4 of 2007 is forecast to be approximately 510 mln cubic feet equivalent (6.72 )

Co’s production for the fourth quarter of 2007 is forecast to be approximately 510 million cubic feet equivalent, an average of 5.5 Mmcfe per day. Production for the full year 2007 is forecast to be approximately 2.3 Bcfe, more than double the amount for all of 2006 and also a record for the Company. Some 80% of the co’s production during 2007 came from its operations in Poland. Two new wells in Poland have been the source of the production increases. FX Energy holds 24.5% and 82% working interest, respectively, in the Zaniemysl and Wilga wells, which started producing in the fourth and third quarters, respectively, of 2006.
07:04 ATHX Athersys and Angiotech announce authorization of Phase I intramyocardial stem cell U.S. clinical trial in acute myocardial infarction (4.37 )

Co and Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (ANPI) announces that Athersys has received authorization from the FDA to begin a Phase I clinical trial evaluating the safety of MultiStem in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction. The cos believe that this represents the first clinical study of a scalable, allogeneic cell product injected directly into and around the zone of myocardial injury from an intra-coronary approach.
07:03 NKTR Nektar Therapeutics announces agreement with Baxter to develop new PEGylated therapeutics for Hemophilia (6.69 )

Co announces a new agreement with subsidiaries of Baxter International to develop new PEGylated therapeutics for hemophilia. The program will begin preclinical development in 2008. Under the terms of the expanded agreement, NKTR will receive up to $44 mln in upfront and milestone payments, funding of research and development, and manufacturing revenues during research, clinical development, and commercialization. Co will also receive royalties on end product sales.
07:02 QRCP Quest Resources provides guidance and New Ventures update (6.66 )

Co announces that it expects to receive $23-25 mln in combined distributions from Quest Energy Partners (QELP) and Quest Midstream Partners, L.P. in Y08. Co owns 100% of the general partner and a 57% limited partner interest in Quest Energy Partners and 85% of the general partner and a 36% limited partner interest in Quest Midstream Partners. Co also announced that its New Ventures group has acquired oil and gas rights to approximately 22,300 net acres in southwestern Pennsylvania that it believes are prospective for the Marcellus Shale.
07:02 CALLS Early Research Calls IV

Upgrades: Bear Stearns upgrades MasterCard (MA 212.34) to Outperform from Peer Perform. Downgrades: Friedman Billings downgrades Verasun Energy (VSE 15.26) to Market Perform from Outperform and removes it from their top picks list and mantains their $17 tgt based on valuation and saying the recent passage of a new national renewable fuels standard is certainly bullish for this ethanol producer; however, they continue to expect the market to be materially oversupplied next year, resulting in downward pressure on producer margins over the coming quarters… Friedman Billings downgrades Atlas America (ATLS 58.24) to Market Perform from Outperform and maintains their $67 tgt, as the premium to its underlying subsidiaries combined with a lack of near-term catalysts reduces the relative attractiveness of owning the name. Miscellaneous: Piper Jaffray initiates Linear Tech (LLTC 30.96), Exar (EXAR 7.79) and Monolithic Power (MPWR 21.52) with Buys… Piper Jaffray initiates Advanced Analogic Tech (AATI 11.38) with a Neutral… Morgan Stanley initiates Wesco (WCC 38.94) with an Equal Weight… Morgan Stanley initiates Maxygen (MAXY 7.40) with an Overweight… Morgan Stanley initiates Watsco (WSO 38.61) with an Underweight… Lehman initiates Abiomed (ABMD 14.99) with an Overweight… RBC initiates T-3 Energy (TTES 49.62) with a Sector Perform and a $58 tgt… J.P Morgan initiates Rentech (RTK 1.83) with a Neutral… J.P Morgan initiates Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD 27.00) with an Underweight… J.P Morgan initiates Wind River (WIND 8.38) with an Overweight… Citigroup initiates Integrys (TEG 50.71) with a Hold… Susquehanna initiates Wynn Resorts (WYNN 117.98) with a Positive.
07:02 RBA Ritchie Bros announces ‘record-breaking’ 2007 gross auction proceeds (77.00 )

Co announces the conclusion of its 2007 auction calendar with a preliminary estimate of $3.18 bln in gross auction proceeds for the year, a 17% increase compared to last year’s result.
07:02 WGO Winnebago Inds misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line; announces $60 mln buyback (21.97 )

Reports Q1 (Nov) earnings of $0.34 per share, $0.01 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.35; revenues rose 6.6% year/year to $215.1 mln vs the $215.2 mln consensus. WGO announces new $60 mln buyback.
07:02 HEPH Hollis-Eden Pharm announces Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics selects Triolex as a next-generation oral anti-inflammatory drug candidate; co to receive $645k in milestone payments (1.73 )

Co announces that Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, the non-profit drug discovery and development affiliate of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, has selected HEPH’s TRIOLEX as a drug candidate for lung inflammation associated with cystic fibrosis under their existing collaboration agreement. HEPH also announced that it expects to receive milestone payments totaling $645K from C.F.F.T. as a result of the achievement by the co of certain development milestones under the collaboration agreement.
07:01 CELL Brightpoint and Nokia extend distribution agreement in the United States (15.18 )

Co announces that its subsidiary, Brightpoint has extended its distribution agreement with Nokia (NOK) in the United States to December 31, 2008. Brightpoint continues to be an authorized distributor for Nokia mobile phones in the United States. Nokia utilizes Brightpoint’s supply chain and channel expertise to market, sell and deliver wireless devices to network operators, MVNOs, independent agents and dealers throughout the United States. Brightpoint is one of Nokia’s largest customers worldwide. Additionally, Brightpoint has been awarded business to manage Nokia’s reseller program for online sales.
07:00 WGO announces new $60 mln buyback

07:00 INGN Introgen plans to expand biomarker database in Phase 3 trials and file BLA and MAA for Advexin (4.28 )

Co announces that upon the recommendation of its external regulatory and clinical advisors, the co will include additional patient tissue samples from its Phase 3 trials for p53 biomarker analyses to predict ADVEXIN efficacy to strengthen its U.S. and European regulatory filings. Co expects to announce top-line Phase 3 data and submit its Biologics Licensing Application and Marketing Authorization Application for Advexin for head and neck cancer in the first half of 2008. The potential treatment of Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, a genetically inherited cancer, was accepted for filing by the European Medicines Agency last month.
07:00 WGO prelim $0.34 vs $0.35 First Call consensus; revs $215.1 mln vs $215.18 mln First Call consensus

06:48 XATA XATA to acquire GeoLogic Solutions (3.30 )

Co announces it will acquire GeoLogic Solutions for approximately $17.5 mln. Consideration for the transaction will be paid in approximately 87 percent cash, 11 percent in notes of XATA and 2 percent in XATA common stock at the time the transaction closes.
06:41 CALLS Early Research Calls III

Upgrades: Keefe, Bruyette upgrades Hancock Holding (HBHC 36.74) to Outperform from Market Perform and lowers their tgt to $43 from $48, as they believe liquidity and strong rebuilding efforts in the Gulf Coast market would likely offset any impact from an industry-wide credit cycle… UBS upgrades Holly (HOC 51.27) to Buy from Neutral… UBS upgrades Buckeye Technologies (BKI 11.75) to Buy from Sell… UBS upgrade Wynn Resorts (WYNN 117.98) to Neutral from Sell… Baird upgrades Heartland Payment Systems (HPY 27.01) to Outperform from Neutral and raises their tgt to $34 from $33, based on valuation. Downgrades: Wachovia downgrades Altus Pharma (ALTU 9.88) to Market Perform from Outperform… Jefferies downgrades FBR Capital Markets (FBR 9.70) to Hold from Buy and lowers their tgt to $9 from $14, as they anticipate a Q407 loss due to declines in capital raising revenue. Miscellaneous: UBS initiates InterMune (ITMN 14.36) with a Neutral… ThinkEquity initiates Lululemon (LULU 44.15) with a Buy and a $60 tgt.
06:34 LNT Alliant Energy announces ‘08 financial guidance and approval of increase in dividend (42.15 )

Co issues in-line guidance for FY07 (Dec), sees EPS of $2.52-2.62 vs. $2.56 First Call consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY08 (Dec), sees EPS of $2.55-2.75 vs. $2.70 consensus. Board also approves an increase in ‘08 common dividend to $1.40 from $1.27.
06:33 WIBC Wilshire Bancorp announces retirement of President and CEO and promotion of Chief Lending Officer as interim replacement (7.99 )

Co announces that Soo Bong Min has tendered his resignation as President, CEO and director of the co and Wilshire State Bank, effective December 31, 2007. The Board of Directors of the co and of the bank has promoted Ms. Joanne Kim to interim President and CEO of the co and the bank from her current position as Chief Lending Officer and Executive Vice President, effective upon Mr. Min’s retirement.
06:32 RUTH Ruths Chris Steak House lowers guidance for FY07 below consensus (9.86 )

Co issues downside guidance for FY07 (Dec), sees EPS of $0.79-0.81 vs. $0.92 First Call consensus, prior guidance $0.92-0.95; sees FY07 (Dec) revs of $320-322 mln vs. $325.39 mln consensus. Based on current information, the Company now estimates flat comparable restaurant sales for fiscal 2007, versus previous expectations of +0.5% to +1.5%. Fourth quarter 2007 to-date comparable restaurant sales are down approximately 4.0%, and have been negatively affected by continued pressures from the overall macro environment. This has manifested itself in reduced traffic as well as a softer average check driven in part by lower year-over-year pricing for the period.
06:27 Banks, oils fuel rally in European stocks

European shares rose on Thursday, led by energy shares and banks including HSBC as investors awaited the next injection of liquidity from the Federal Reserve and more quarterly earnings. By 0855 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.6% at 1,491.11 points, having fallen by 0.46 percent on Wednesday… London’s FTSE 100 index, Frankfurt’s DAX and Paris’s CAC 40 all rose 0.7%. All 16 major western European benchmark indexes were up. (Reuters)
06:27 Asian shares end mixed; Sensex ends up 71pts

Asian stock markets ended mixed Thursday with Japan paring early gains after the central bank highlighted slowing growth, while Australia closed lower for a seventh straight day after a futures contract expiry boosted volume but failed to revive enthusiasm for shares. The South Korean market closed lower, shedding early gains posted a day after conservative candidate Lee Myung-Bak won the presidential election by a landslide and pledged to promote more investment-friendly policies for businesses and foreign investors. Hong Kong closed flat in a rangebound trade and the Philippines managed modest gains and Shanghai rose 2.1 pct. Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia were closed for a public holiday, dampening activity across the region. The Nikkei ended up 1.09 points at 15,031.60. The Kospi finished down 0.9 pct at 1,844.37 while the Shanghai Composite was up 2.1 pct at 5,043.54. Taipei’s weighted index closed down 2.0 pct at 7,857.08… The Sensex opened with a positive gap 118 points at 19,210. The index moved in a range of 190 points today with a high of 19,291 and a low of 19,098. The Sensex finally ended with a gain of 71 points at 19,163. (Thomson, The Business Standard)
06:27 CALLS Early Research Calls II -Update-

Miscellaneous: BofA initiates Taleo (TLEO 30.71) with a Neutral and sets a $34 tgt, as they favor the co’s first-mover lead, and ability to cross sell add-on products to its customer base, however they are concerned that the low technical and competitive barriers to entry may impede growth… BofA initiates The Ultimate Software Group (ULTI 30.84) with a Buy and sets a $40 tgt, as they favor the co’s go-to-market model, by leveraging its deep domain expertise in payroll and tax to enter new opportunities such as benefits administration, recruiting and e-learning… BofA initiates CNH Global N.V. (CNH 58.43) with a Neutral and sets a $64 tgt, as they believe shares are approaching fair value and think CNH’s strong Ag machinery opportunity could be tempered by headwinds in the Construction business, particularly N. America… SunTrust initiates GATX (GMT 36.96) with a Neutral, based on valuation and believe the co is well positioned to take advantage of declining asset prices with its strong cash flows, investment grade rating and modest leverage of less than 3x… Merrill Lynch resumes Charles Schwab (SCHW 24.19) with a Buy… Merrill Lynch resumes E*TRADE (ETFC 3.58) with a Sell… Merrill Lynch resumes optionsXpress (OXPS 31.79) with a Buy… Merrill resumes Ameritrade (AMTD 19.53) with a Buy… JP Morgan removes Teekay LNG (TGP 29.32) from Focus List.
06:21 CALLS Early Research Calls I

Miscellaneous: Standpoint Research initiates W.R. Berkley (BER 29.66) with a Buy and sets a $40 tgt, based on a high historical ROE, EPS growth, estimates that have been rising and healthy international segment growth over the next few quarters that should offset the softer U.S. market and help in the cost-benefit balancing act… Barrington Research initiates AtriCure (ATRC 12.60) with an Outperform and sets a $17 tgt, as they believe ATRC has developed a repeatable procedure that will prove to be the safest and most effective minimally invasive toolset and procedure on the market to treat persistent and permanent atrial fibrillation patients and see a market opportunity that exceeds $2 bln annually… BofA initiates Illinois Tool Works (ITW 52.43) with a Neutral and sets a $59 tgt, as they expect broad N. American industrial headwinds and tougher international comparisons to weigh on near-term base revenue growth and margin opportunities… BofA initiates Cummins (CMI 113.85) with a Buy and sets a $140 tgt, as they expect shares to continue to rise on strong earnings and recognition of the numerous growth opportunities that accompany its transition from being largely known as a N. American truck stock to a global leader in power generation and an enabler of next-generation solutions in an increasingly stringent global emissions environment… BofA initiates Terex (TEX 59.21) with a Buy and sets an $80 tgt, as they expect shares to rebound on evidence that its global footprint and machinery platform will support double-digit EPS growth for the next several years.
06:21 S&P futures vs fair value: +3.1. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +8.0.
06:20 European Markets

FTSE…6319.40…+34.90…+0.6%. DAX…7876.32…+39.00…+0.5%.
06:20 Asian Markets

Nikkei…15031.60…+1.09…+0.0%. Hang Seng…27017.09…-12.17…-0.1%.
06:18 CRZO Carrizo Oil & Gas announces that delineation on its Huntington discovery in the UK North Sea has been substantially completed (53.03 )

Co announces that delineation on its Huntington discovery in the UK North Sea has been substantially completed as it relates to the Paleocene Forties objective. Located in Block 22/14b of the UKCS, the Company made two discoveries in June 2007 from the same well bore on its internally-generated prospect — one in the shallower Forties, and another in the deeper Jurassic Fulmar. In all, nine penetrations have been made into the Forties, including the discovery well, to define the field limits and further establish reservoir properties in preparation for making application for the 2009 field development. Appraisal of the Forties began in late August and just concluded with the drill-stem testing of two separate pay intervals on the last well bore near the crest of the feature.
06:17 PIR Pier 1 Imports beats by $0.13, reports revs in-line (3.95 )

Reports Q3 (Nov) loss of $0.11 per share, $0.13 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.24); revenues fell 7.1% year/year to $374.2 mln vs the $374.6 mln consensus.
06:17 SCHL Scholastic Corp beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides FY08 EPS in-line, revs in-line; announces $20 mln buyback (34.40 )

Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $1.93 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $1.91; revenues rose 1.5% year/year to $746.2 mln vs the $750.1 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $2.35-2.85 vs. $2.71 consensus; sees FY08 revs of $2.3-2.5 bln vs. $2.46 bln consensus. Co also announces its Board has authorized a program to repurchase up to $20 mln of its common stock.
06:17 EXEL Exelixis submits XL139 diligence report to Bristol-Myers Squibb (9.12 )

Co announces that it has submitted a comprehensive data report for IND candidate XL139 to Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY). Bristol- Myers Squibb Company now has until the end of January to review the data package and determine if it will select the compound for further development and commercialization as part of its worldwide collaboration agreement with Exelixis to discover, develop and commercialize novel targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer.
05:56 WIRES On The Wires -Update-

Boeing (BA) and India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. sign a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding intended to bring more than $1 bln of new aerospace manufacturing work to India.
05:44 PTNR Partner Communications announces agreement with Ericsson (20.36 )

Co announces that the co has entered into an agreement with LM Ericsson Israel (ERIC) for the replacement of third party 3G equipment existing in Partner’s network and the expansion thereof, and for the support and maintenance of the Ericsson elements in Partner’s network. As a result, Ericsson shall become the sole vendor of Partner’s 3G network. The transaction will result in depreciation acceleration of the replaced equipment, throughout the replacement period.
05:40 WYE Generic antidepressant may affect Wyeth – AP (46.36 )

AP reports Wyeth’s (WYE) market exclusivity is being threatened. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., a generics manufacturer in India, has applied for FDA approval to sell a drug with the same active ingredient as Effexor XR, but with an important difference: It’s an extended-release tablet, not a capsule. FDA approval of what is likely to be a lower-priced drug from Sun might come when patent protection for Effexor’s active ingredient, venlafaxine, runs out in June 2008. Patent protection for the capsule formulation expires later. Sun’s different formulation should allow it to sidestep Wyeth’s patent rights, and Wyeth already has told Sun it won’t sue for patent infringement. The near-term impact on Effexor sales won’t be as great as it would be if an equivalent generic capsule were hitting the market. But Sun’s plan, which surfaced in October, underscores the many challenges facing Wyeth, whose prospects appeared much brighter earlier this year. The company’s efforts to bring new drugs to market have run into regulatory roadblocks, and some current blockbuster drugs — including Protonix heartburn pills as well as Effexor XR — face the threat of generic competition sooner than previously expected. ”It’s not helpful,” Deutsche Bank analyst Barbara Ryan said. ”The issue is Wyeth has tremendous exposure to generic competition between now and 2010, and a lot of arrows are pointed at their two major drugs, Protonix and Effexor.”
05:36 Goldman, Morgan Stanley bid for Daito stake: Sources – Reuters

Reuters reports Morgan Stanley (MS) and Lehman Bros. (LEH) are among the bidders for a stake in Japanese house builder Daito Trust Construction, sources familiar with the deal said. Goldman Sachs (GS) and investment firm Aetos Capital LLC are also interested in acquiring Daito, the sources said, and the value of the deal could ultimately exceed $10 bln. Daito’s founder and chairman, Katsumi Tada, is selling his roughly 30% stake in the co. The sale could lead to the co eventually being taken private by the winner of the auction. “Including a premium on the deal, this could be a double-digit-billion-dollar deal,” one of the sources said. If management is included, the deal could become Japan’s biggest management buyout.
05:33 Bank of Japan cuts view of economy after keeping rate at 0.5% – Bloomberg

Bloomberg reports The Bank of Japan cut its assessment of the economy for the first time in three years, signaling it’s unlikely to raise the benchmark interest rate from 0.5% anytime soon. The central bank today kept the key rate unchanged in its first unanimous decision since June and said the pace of growth “seems to be slowing” because of a slump in housing. “Japan’s economy isn’t ready for a rate increase,” said Naoki Iizuka, a senior economist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo. “The plunge in housing investment is causing much more harm than the central bank expected.” Today’s rate decision was expected by all 44 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. “There is absolutely no change to our basic monetary policy stance,” Governor Toshihiko Fukui said today in Tokyo. He said the housing slump would only be temporary.
05:29 PFE Pfizer is sued over Lipitor marketing – WSJ (23.27 )

The Wall Street Journal reports a former Pfizer (PFE) official in a lawsuit accused the co of illegally boosting sales of Lipitor through an elaborate campaign of misleading educational programs for doctors. Jesse Polansky, claims that the educational campaign was a key part of a marketing strategy that “led thousands of physicians to prescribe Lipitor for millions of patients who did not need medication” and could be harmed by overly aggressive treatment. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of NY in February 2004. It was immediately sealed to allow federal prosecutors time to decide if they wanted to intervene in the case. In August, the government said it wouldn’t intervene, lifting the seal. Pfizer was served a copy of the suit yesterday, according to Dr. Polansky’s lawyer, Steve Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro. Pfizer said, “We believe this case has no merit. Furthermore, after reviewing the allegations in this complaint, the government declined to intervene in this action… . Pfizer does not condone the off-label promotion of our products. We believe that our sales and marketing practices are solely based on our prescription information as approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.”
05:27 GM Navistar to buy GM truck unit – WSJ (26.66 )

The Wall Street Journal reports General Motors (GM) is expected to announce the sale of its medium-duty truck business to Navistar International this morning, according to people familiar with the agreement. GM, aiming to focus on its core light-vehicle making business and raise liquidity, will sell the business to Navistar after months of speculation. Terms were unclear, as GM doesn’t break out financial results from the unit.
05:22 Morning News Summary

WSJ: Navistar to buy GM (GM) truck unit… Pfizer (PFE) is sued over Lipitor marketing. Bloomberg: Bank of Japan cuts view of economy after keeping rate at 0.5%. Reuters: Goldman (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) bid for Daito stake: Sources. AP: Generic antidepressant may affect Wyeth (WYE).
04:00 HYC Hypercom announces plans to acquire e-Transactions business line fo Thales (4.69 )

Co announces it has entered into exclusive negotiations with Thales SA, an electronics and systems group serving defense, aerospace and security markets, to acquire the e-Transactions business line of Thales. Co has obtained financing commitment from Francisco Partners. In addition, Philippe Tartavull has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer and President of Hypercom, effective immediately, and has been appointed to the Board of Directors. He was previously President and Chief Operating Officer. The parties contemplate the execution of a fully negotiated share purchase agreement wherein Hypercom would purchase the e-Transaction business line of Thales for $120 mln in cash with a potential earn out of up to an additional $30 mln based upon the combined companies’ performance in 2008. Hypercom provided Thales with a binding offer on these terms.
03:44 GSOL Global Sources adjusts 2007 EPS guidance to reflect additional shares (29.74 )

Co issues in-line guidance for Q4 (Dec), sees EPS of $0.23-0.25, includes aforementioned one for ten bonus share issue (see 03:32 comment) vs. $0.25 First Call consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY07 (Dec), sees EPS of $0.60-0.63, excluding an impairment charge, vs. $0.70 consensus. Co also says
03:32 GSOL Global Sources announces bonus share issue (29.74 )

Co announces a one for ten bonus share issue on outstanding common shares. Shareholders of record on January 1, 2008 will receive one additional common share for every ten common shares held, of face value of $0.01 each. The bonus share issue will be distributed on or about February 1, 2008.
03:31 WIRES On The Wires -Update-

Computer Sciences (CSC) announces that it has signed a five-year, $192 mln IT outsourcing contract renewal with TrygVesta, the second-largest insurance company in the Nordic region… Golden Telecom (GLDN) announces that it has completed the acquisition of 100% of ZAO BryanskTel and 100% of OOO BryanskIntel – which together form Group BryanskTel, for cash consideration of approx $5.5 mln.
03:14 FLML Merck Serono and Flamel Technologies to collaborate on an extended release formulation for therapeutic proteins (9.35 )

Co announces that it has entered into a collaboration with Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, to investigate the applicability of Flamel’s Medusa technology for the extended release of a therapeutic protein of Merck Serono’s portfolio. Under the terms of the agreement, Merck Serono will make an upfront payment of EUR 2 mln to Flamel for investigating the therapeutic protein and Merck Serono will fund R&D efforts to be performed at Flamel. Financial terms of a license agreement up through potential commercialization of this formulation have been agreed between the parties.
03:12 ETN Eaton agrees to acquire The Moeller Group and launches tender offer to acquire Phoenixtec Power (89.42 )

Co announces plans for two electrical acquisitions, one in Europe and one in Asia Pacific. The acquisitions’ combined estimated sales for the year ending December 31, 2007 are approx $2.0 bln. The European acquisition is of The Moeller Group, a supplier of components for commercial and residential building applications, and industrial controls for industrial equipment applications. The agreed purchase price is EUR 1.55 bln ($2.23 bln). Eaton also announces a tender offer for all the shares of Phoenixtec Power, a co listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, which will be launched on December 21. Phoenixtec manufactures single- and three-phase uninterruptible power supply systems. Eaton’s offer price is NT $50 per share ($1.54 per share). The net purchase price would be $565 mln. Co expects these acquisitions to be neutral to operating EPS in 2008, and accretive by $.25 to $.35 per share in 2009.
02:05 JCDA Jacada names Paul O’Callaghan Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2008 (3.81 )

02:04 WIRES On The Wires -Update-

Jacada Ltd. (JCDA) announces the sale of the co’s application modernization business to Software AG for $26 mln… Peace Arch Entertainment (PAE) announces that it has entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent with London-based film and television sales co ContentFilm plc (AIM: CFL) in which PAE has indicated that it is considering making an offer for all of the issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of ContentFilm for a cash consideration of GBP 0.20 per ordinary share of GBP 0.01 each or, at the election of each holder, 0.2 PAE common shares for each Ordinary Share up to a total of 19.5 mln PAE Common Shares.
01:48 CTIC House and Senate pass Medicare legislation to freeze 2008 reimbursement for therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals at 2007 levels (2.02 )

Co announces new Medicare legislation passed by the House and Senate extends the 2007 reimbursement methodology for radiopharmaceuticals like the co’s ZEVALIN into 2008. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had implemented new hospital outpatient reimbursement rates for 2008 for radiopharmaceuticals below their acquisition costs. The new Medicare legislation will maintain the current methodology for reimbursement of therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals for the first six months of 2008.
00:50 NE Noble Corp. mentioned positively in Weekday Trader – Barron’s Online (51.85 )

Barron’s Online reports shares of Noble (NE) still offer value as they trade at a sharp discount to other oil equipment and services companies. Shares could gain at least 25% over the next 12 months. Eric Ende, portfolio manager at First Pacific Advisors, says Noble has consistently “earned attractive returns on capital especially compared to its competitors; they do a better job investing and have rigs coming out of the shipyard on budget and on schedule.” The appointment of a new CEO early next year should act as a short-term catalyst for the stock. But the longer-term growth in earnings will be driven by the deepwater business. Amid strong trends in day rates, Noble should lock in lucrative contracts in 2008 and 2009 on rigs that are set to expire and on its new rigs that will come to the market. Also, more than $7 bln of contracted rig backlog extending into 2013 makes earnings pretty transparent. The co will likely make acquisitions and continue to buy back shares to boost earnings. Furthermore, “their stewardship on shareholder funds is admirable,” and that is not expected to change with the appointment of a new CEO, Ende says. Noble’s competitive advantage is that it is already tapped into the higher spending expected at national oil companies directly by contracting rigs to Petrobas (PBR), Mexico’s Pemex and India’s ONGC or by working with big oil firms on related projects, says Credit Suisse analyst Arun Jayaram. These government-owned entities should drive demand for both shallow and deep water rigs.
00:49 ‘Mad Money’ Recap: Lightning Round cont. – TheStreet.com

Cramer was bearish on American Apparel (APP), Anheuser-Busch (BUD), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Pacific Ethanol (PEIX), Spartan Motors (SPAR) and Force Protection (FRPT).
00:48 ‘Mad Money’ Recap: Lightning Round – TheStreet.com

Cramer was bullish on Guess? (GES), J. Crew (JCG), Molson Coors Brewing (TAP), Thompson Creek (TC), Intel (INTC), Schering-Plough (SGP), Magna (MGA), Johnson Controls (JCI), MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR), First Solar (FSLR), Copart (CPRT), Koppers Holdings (KOP), Oshkosh Truck (OSK) and Goldman Sachs (GS).
00:47 Cramer’s ‘Mad Money’ Recap – TheStreet.com

On Wednesday’s edition, Jim favors Papa John’s (PZZA) and notes the co’s execution and earnings visibility. Next, he notes how CVS Caremark (CVS) wanted growth from drugs going generic and ultimately its execution translated into better numbers.
00:43 VGZ Vista Gold announces agreements to purchase properties adjacent to the Guadalupe de los Reyes project (4.65 )

Co announces that it and Grandcru Resources have signed an agreement for Vista to acquire Grandcru’s interest in two gold/silver mineral properties adjacent to Vista’s Guadalupe de los Reyes project in Sinaloa, Mexico, subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory and other approvals. Under the terms of the agreement, Vista will pay Grandcru $425,000 less any amounts payable in back taxes on the mining concessions, and pay a private investment group known as the San Miguel Group $75,000. Additionally, the co will issue to Grandcru and the San Miguel Group, in aggregate, common shares of Vista with a value of $1.0 mln on closing.
00:41 WIRES On The Wires

Foster Wheeler (FWLT) announces that the joint venture led by a subsidiary of its Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction management contract by Woodside Burrup Pty Ltd for the onshore portion of Woodside’s Pluto Liquefied Natural Gas Project in Western Australia; contract value wasn’t disclosed.