Trading for the Masses

We haven’t looked at the broader markets in some time, so let’s take a quick review of where we are after a big bust off the recent bottom in most indices here today. Financials leds us into the depths and out of the depths in a quick 24 hours. Let’s see how high the reversion to the mean trade takes us in all these indices over the next few weeks!! Respect the recent low as a bottom until it is taken out, it appears to this trader, dips must be bought as long as the lows hold.

Well the sell the news was the way to play this slow steady rise all day. I just couldn’t bring myself to lay on the gamble. I had no edge I felt so I stood to the side. So this market opened @ 1300 and ran to 1318 all day. Now they just gave it all back and are trading and hopping around the R1 line @ 1298. We will see where they closed them today. But 4 hours of longs just got tagged trying to game it. I wouldn’t be suprised to see them back to 1318.

Financials just ripping along with housing, retail, all stocks, its like 9 to 1 Advancers over Decliners. Interest rates also ripping up as the 10 year is now 3.427 and is up 3.5%.

Bottom, bottoms bottoms. Why not Fat bottomed girls for all the bottom talk.

GS and LEH announce solid better than expected quarters and the relief Banking rally pushes all markets together on the open today. We are off and running with the futures pointing up about 25 this am off the open. We are now 50 pts off Sundays bottoms and all seems to be forgotten. Bull Squeeze or Bear market rally whatever it is, we are off to the races. FOMC @ 2pm est today and after that full earnings are upon us.

08:50 ECONX PPI and Housing Starts Follow Up

February housing starts were stronger than expected, coming in at a 1.065 million annual rate. This was well above an expected 995,000 rate. It marked a decline because the January level was revised significantly higher from an originally reported 1.012 million rate to a 1.071 million level. Regardless, the February rate of starts is now 6.5% above the December level, marking a two-month stabilization after a period of near freefall. (For example, starts had plunged 22% in the last two months of 2007). It is premature to expect that the housing market is recovering, but there are signs the rate of decline is decelerating and that the market is stabilizing. Existing home sales for the past four months, for example, have declined only marginally after dropping sharply for nearly two years. Tempering the good news on the housing starts is the fact that building permits in February dropped 7.8% to a 978,000 annual rate. This suggests that starts will decline in March or thereafter, although again, the rate of decline is not likely to be as severe as it has been the past couple of years. February PPI brought less welcome news. The core rate was up 0.5% and the overall PPI was up 0.3%. A decline in food prices helped keep the overall increase more moderate, but the core increase is the largest in a long time and will raise some concerns. The already reported February core CPI was unchanged.
08:50 RDEA Ardea Biosciences: Preliminary RDEA806 HIV data encouraging - Cowen (12.99 )

Cowen says RDEA reported encouraging interim proof of concept monotherapy data in HIV patients yesterday for its next generation NNRTI and remains on track to initiate a 6-month clinical trial comparing RDEA806 against market leading Sustiva in 2Q08. Although there are a number of compounds in development targeted at replacing the market leading NNRTI Sustiva, firm believes the competition has left the door open for a compound with an improved profile. With positive data from the Phase 2a HIV study for ‘806 in hand, the next big potential catalyst is data from a Phase 2 gout study in 2H08.
08:49 TIVO TiVo: Dish Network reopens TiVo patent dispute - AP (8.15 )

AP reports DISH asked a federal appeals court to rehear a patent dispute with the co, saying the court’s earlier ruling in TiVo’s favor relied on inaccurate testimony from a TiVo witness. In January, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed with a lower court that digital video recorders distributed by Dish, formerly known as EchoStar Communications, violated the software elements of TiVo’s patent. That ruling overturned the lower court’s finding that Dish infringed on the hardware elements of the patent. At stake is $94 mln in damages the lower court awarded digital video recorder maker TiVo.
08:47 F Ford Motor: On final day for buyout, Ford holds breath for last-minute retirees - Detroit News (5.11 )

Detroit News reports today is the last day for the co’s U.S. hourly workers to sign up for what the automaker is calling its last, best buyout offer. But sources in the co and the UAW union say the number of takers so far is far less than Ford had hoped. As of last week, only about 2,000 workers had signed up for one of the 10 buyout or early retirement packages Ford is offering, according to one person familiar with the situation. That included workers at Ford factories, as well as those at the former Visteon facilities the automaker took back as part of a 2005 bailout of its former parts subsidiary. “I don’t think it’s going to be a lot,” said Eugene Morey, president of UAW Local 849, which represents workers at the former Visteon plant in Ypsilanti, which is now being run by Automotive Components Holdings, a Ford subsidiary. “Most of the people who wanted to take it signed up for the last one.” Ford, which is in the middle of a massive restructuring, had hoped between 8,000 and 10,000 would head for the exits.
08:46 RIGL Rigel Pharms: Valuation highly attractive ahead of expected positive R788 Lymphoma data - Jefferies (15.50 )

Jefferies is a buyer of RIGL as shares are 50% off recent peak valuation despite intact fundamentals, expected positive P2 R788 B-cell lymphoma data in June, strong cash, and active ongoing R788 partnership discussions with pharma/biotech players that they believe could lead to an outright company acquisition.
08:46 FMCN Focus Media establishes co policy to prohibit subsidiaries sending SMS messages without receiving mobile user’s explicit permission (32.19 ) -Update-

Co announces the following clarification in response to recent market rumors and related stock price volatility: 1) Focus Media Wireless, a subsidiary of Focus Media, provides advertising services for business customers by delivering advertisements to mobile phone users in China through their mobile handset devices. In the third quarter of 2007, FMW accounted for 9.2% of Focus Media’s total revenues. The services FMW provides include WAP-based advertising service, short messaging service and multimedia messaging service, enterprise messaging service and other new, innovative mobile advertising businesses such as wireless instant messaging-based advertising services, wireless interactive marketing services and Blue-tooth-based mobile services. FMW generates revenues from fees paid by its advertising customers. None of the services FMW provides today requires a Value-Added Telecommunication Service Provider License in China; 2) Focus Media does not approve sending advertising messages to mobile users without user consent. FMW have established an internal policy to strictly prohibit sending SMS or MMS messages without the explicit consent of the receiving mobile user. “If we find any employee using information obtained without user consent, we will take necessary action against such behavior including terminating his or her employment contract with Focus Media. In 2008, we expect revenues from WAP-base advertising services, permission- based SMS or MMS advertising services and other new opt-in mobile advertising services will continue to grow steadily.”
08:44 NYT New York Times announces that in Feb total co revs from continuing operations decreased 2.6% YoY (18.74 )

Co announces that in February total co revenues from continuing operations decreased 2.6% compared with the same month a year ago. Advertising revenues decreased 6.6% and circulation revenues increased 2.4%. The About Group again posted strong advertising growth in the month, up 20.9%. The co expects its results for March will be adversely affected by the timing of Easter.
08:44 WST West Pharm reaffirms guidance in 8-k slides, sees FY08 $2.40-2.50 vs $2.46 First Call consensus; sees revs $1.05-1.07 bln vs $1.06 bln First Call consensus (39.80 )

08:43 VLCCF Knightsbridge Tankers: New time charter contract announced improves dividend visibility - Jefferies (23.97 )

Jefferies says although they believe the crude tanker market is likley to remains challenging through 2009, firm believes VLCCF shares are attractively valued trading at a projected 2008 dividend yield of 10.7% with excellent support provided by the co’s extensive time charter coverage. Firm cuts tgt to $30 from $33.
08:41 LEH Lehman Brothers: Wall Street rallies to aid Lehman - Daily Telegraph (31.75 ) -Update-

Daily Telegraph reports Wall Street’s leading investment banks have rallied around the co after the Federal Reserve Bank of New York urged them to support the institution in order to try and preserve financial stability. It is understood the New York Fed contacted key executives at a number of leading banks, including GS, C and MS, to discuss Lehman’s situation over the weekend. By yesterday morning, the banks’ prime brokerage departments - which service hedge fund clients - were under strict instructions not to do or say anything in the mkt that could damage Lehman… One American banker said: “[We heard] from the top, ‘Do not encourage calls to Lehman clients. We want to run that up the flagpole. We don’t want another run on a bank.’ ” As a result, it is believed that bankers were told not to solicit Lehman’s clients for business or to give the impression the bank is uncreditworthy… A spokesman for the New York Fed said: “We never talk about private discussions between the Federal Reserve and commercial banks.” According to a source close to one of the banks, the Wall Street club remains very supportive of Lehman and is wary of doing something that might harm the bank’s financial position.
08:41 YHOO Yahoo!: Follow up to guidance reaffirm — mid-point of rev guidance in line with consensus (25.85 ) -Update-

As mentioned at 8:51, YHOO reaffirmed its Q1 & FY08 guidance given on Jan 29… That guidance was specifically for Q1 revs of $1.28-1.38 bln (current consensus is for $1.32 bln), and for FY08 revs of $5.35-5.95 mln (current consensus is for $5.65 bln). YHOO is +3.2% in pre-mkt trading at 26.70; peer GOOG is +2.2% in pre-mkt trading.
08:38 GME Gamestop beats by $0.02; guides Q1 & FY09 above consensus; to open 575-600 new stores in FY09 (47.00 )

Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $1.14 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $1.12; revenues rose 24.4% year/year to $2.87 bln vs the $2.89 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.32-0.33 vs. $0.29 consensus. Co sees Q1 comparable store sales +24-25%. Co issues upside guidance for FY09 (ending Jan 2009), sees EPS of $2.25-2.34 vs. $2.22 consensus; sees FY09 rev growth of 19-21% or roughly $8.44-8.58 bln vs. $8.16 bln consensus. Co sees FY09 comparable store sales +10-12%. Co said, “Prospects for the 575-600 new store openings in 2008 look very promising even with the current concerns about the US economy. As one of the few American retailers actively seeking many new sites, GameStop is positioned to secure better locations with more advantageous lease terms and is more frequently being viewed as a critical brand to anchor strip centers”.
08:38 WIRES On The Wires

Hess (HES) announces the results of its Pony #2 appraisal well located on Green Canyon Block 468 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Based on the results to date of the Pony #2 well, the estimated range of gross recoverable resource on the Hess owned portion of the structure has been narrowed to 100 to 500 mln barrels from the previous estimated range of 100 to 600 mln barrels… TorreyPines Therapeutics (TPTX) announces it has initiated a Phase II study of NGX267, a muscarinic agonist in development for xerostomia, or dry mouth, secondary to Sjogren’s syndrome… OSI Pharmaceuticals (OSIP) announces that the decision of the European Patent Office to revoke one of its dipeptidyl peptidase IV patents, EP0896538, claiming the use of DP-IV inhibitors to treat type II diabetes and related indications, has been upheld in appeal proceedings brought by the co.
08:38 VMW VMware: Reseller program/incentives set in early 2008 working; Volatility to remain high until Q1 orders close - Pac Crest (46.06 )

Pac Crest says new VMW reseller program/incentives set in early 2008 are working. Demand for server virtualization strong in Q1; desktop picking up. Increased competition has not resulted in meaningful share losses. Identified 14 ELAs closed QTD, but small deals still >50% of sales. Upward bias to 1Q08E ($425 mln/$0.23) on large deal/international momentum. Volatility to remain high until Q1 orders close; reports in late April.
08:37 SCANX Gapping up

In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: LEH +12.7%, PERY +7.6%, ALSK +6.1%, OMNI +6.1%, GS +5.9% (also upgraded to Outperform at Wachovia), EXM +5.6%, GME +5.1%, TMTA +5.1%, YHOO +3.3%, HALL +3.3%, ESC +3.2%, VICR +2.9%, KEX +2.2%, TDSC +1.3%, PETD +1.1%… Financial sector stocks are seeing a notable rebound with a boost from GS and LEH reporting earnings: CFC +11.2%, UBS +10.5%, BSC +7.5%, ABK +6.8%, CS +6.1%, FRE +4.8%, HBC +4.6%, MER +4.4%, C +3.9%, MS +3.8%, JPM +3.7%, FNM +3.6%, DB +3.4%, WFC +2.5%… Other news: TMA +36.0% (files a mixed-securities shelf offering in an S-3ASR), MF +27.3% (modestly rebounding from yesterday’s 65% drop), ZANE +25.0% (announces agreement for $8.9 million sale of government solutions subsidiary), FCSX +14.3% (issues statement on market conditions; co has no direct exposure to the sub-prime mortgage-backed securities or auction rate securities), IMMU +13.1% (receives FDA orphan drug designation for therapy of multiple myeloma), SHPGY +6.4% (shares increase after UBS says AstraZeneca may make offer - Bloomberg.com), NYX +4.5% (NYX and Abu Dhabi Securities Market enter a cooperation agreement to jointly develop and explore new opportunities and authorizes $1 bln stock repurchase program; raises dividend by 20%), NPSP +3.9% (reports successful GATTEX extension study), PANL +2.8% (PANL and LG Chem announce collaboration to accelerate development of OLED materials), ODP +2.3% (urges stockholders to reject dissident Board nominees),VLO +2.3% (Citigroup thinks the damage is done in refiners; VLO is preferred pick), ULTR +1.8% (announces share repurchase program for up to a total of $50 mln of the co’s common stock), AIRM +1.4% (will replace POSS in the S&P SmallCap 600 after the close of trading on March 25)… Analyst upgrades: NCC +13.0% (upgraded to Mkt Perform at Keefe Bruyette), VIP +5.8% (upgraded to Hold at Citigroup), AMZN +2.6% (initiated with Buy at Canaccord), VIMC +1.8% (upgraded to Neutral at Susquehanna), OSG +1.7% (upgraded to Buy at Citigroup), NOVL +1.5% (initiated with Buy at Broadpoint).
08:35 SONO SonoSite initiated with an Outperform at Barrington- tgt $35 (24.99 )

Barrington initiates SONO with an Outperform and a $35 tgt based on SONO’s strong product line, improving sales force, leading market share position and their expectation for continued strong adoption by non-traditional users of ultrasound and moderate cannibalization of cart-based systems.
08:34 S&P futures vs fair value: +18.7. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +19.0.

Futures climb to their best levels of the session on earnings reports from Goldman Sachs (GS) and Lehman Brothers (LEH). Goldman reported earnings of $3.23 per share, which topped the consensus estimate of $2.58. Lehman reported earnings of $0.81 per share, beating its estimate by $0.09. Meanwhile, February PPI rose 0.3% month over month, compared to the the expected rise of 0.4%. Futures then shed a few points on two economic reports. Core PPI, which excludes food & energy, rose 0.5%, which was more than the expected rise of 0.2%. Separately, housing starts came in at 1065K compared to the expected reading of 995K. Building permits came in at 978K compared to the expected reading of 1020K.
08:32 ECONX February PPI m/m +0.3% vs +0.4% consensus

08:32 GME sees Q1 $0.32-0.33 vs $0.29 First Call consensus

08:32 HYTM Hythiam: Looking for positive 1H08 catalysts - Brean Murray (2.31 )

Brean Murray continues to believe HYTM will announce a national disease mgmt partnership this quarter, resulting in reimbursement for PROMETA by that managed care organization. Regarding PROMETA clinical development, firm maintains their expectation that an ITT analysis of Urschel’s cravings 30-day trial will reaffirm the trial’s statistically significant completer analysis for reduction in cravings reported in Nov 2007. Firm also expects Urschel will submit his full analysis of the 30-day trial for publication this quarter, and they expect publication by 3Q08. In May, firm expects positive results from the 15-week, UCLA trial on an ITT basis.
08:32 GME sees FY09 revs +19-21% or ~$8.44-8.58 bln vs $8.16 bln First Call consensus

08:32 LIPD Lipid Sciences says HDL Mimetic Peptide Demonstrates Significant Anti-Atherosclerosis Effect in a Key Animal Model (0.98 )

Co announces that its lead HDL Mimetic Peptide candidate, LSI-518P, demonstrated the ability to reduce the progression of atherosclerosis by 20% after 4 weeks of treatment and by 32% after 8 weeks of treatment when compared to a placebo group in a well-accepted, Apo E knockout mouse model for atherosclerosis. This placebo-controlled study was conducted at MedStar Research Institute and the data analyzed at an independent laboratory.
08:31 IMMU Immunomedics’ Milatuzumab receives FDA orphan drug designation for therapy of multiple myeloma (2.37 )

Co announces that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to milatuzumab for the treatment of multiple myeloma. The designation allows the co to have a seven-year market exclusivity for milatuzumab in multiple myeloma upon final approval by the FDA. Other financial benefits and incentives include waiver of Prescription Drug User Fee Act filing fees, tax credits for the costs of clinical research, and assistance in clinical research study designs.
08:31 NVDA NVIDIA reportedly talking with VIA about acquisition - DigiTimes (17.86 )

DigiTimes reports the co reportedly was in talks with VIA Technologies about a possible acquisition, but no deal was made due to the high price named by VIA, according to sources at motherboard makers. Nvidia and VIA discussed three possible scenarios, including a strategic alliance, acquisition of only VIA’s processor division, or the acquisition of the entire company, according to the sources. Though no deal was agreed upon, since VIA continues to see losses, the company is expected to open up negotiations again soon with a lower price, noted the sources.
08:31 GME sees FY09 $2.25-2.34 vs $2.22 First Call consensus

08:31 YHOO Yahoo! reaffirmed its outlook for the 1Q08 and FY08, as previously provided on 1/29/2008 (25.85 )

Co filed an investor presentation that details the co’s three-year financial plan and strategic initiatives which are expected to roughly double operating cash flow over the next three years from $1.9 bln to $3.7 bln and generate $8.8 bln in revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs (revenue ex-TAC) in 2010. The financial plan was first presented to Yahoo!’s board of directors in December 2007, before the co received the unsolicited acquisition proposal by MSFT. The presentation supports the unanimous determination by the co’s board of directors that Microsoft’s January 31, 2008 unsolicited acquisition proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo!. The board cited Yahoo!’s global brand, large worldwide audience, significant recent investments in advertising platforms and future growth prospects, free cash flow and earnings potential, as well as its substantial unconsolidated investments, as factors in its decision. Yahoo!’s board of directors is continuing to evaluate all of its strategic alternatives to maximize value for Yahoo! stockholders. Yahoo!’s management today also reaffirmed its outlook for the first quarter 2008 and full year 2008, as previously provided on January 29, 2008. Key sources of projected growth in revenue and operating cash flow cited in the presentation include $1.9 bln in added revenue ex-TAC over the next three years from display/video advertising, as Yahoo! expects its growth to outpace the currently anticipated market rate of growth in online display/video advertising. The co also expects $1.4 bln in added search revenue, implying growth essentially in line with the anticipated market rate of growth in search advertising.
08:31 CAPA Captaris acknowledges receipt of unsolicited proposal from Vector Capital (4.21 )

Co confirms receipt of an unsolicited proposal from Vector Capital to acquire all of the co’s outstanding shares for $4.75 per share. As previously announced on March 17, 2008, Captaris’ Board has established a special committee of independent directors to evaluate strategic alternatives to further enhance shareholder value. Captaris announced that it will review Vector’s proposal as a part of its evaluation of strategic alternatives. “We are committed to an expeditious process to identify and pursue the alternative that best enhances value for all our shareholders. The Board of Directors of Captaris, in consultation with its independent advisors, will carefully consider and review Vector Capital’s proposal together with all other proposals developed during this process.”
08:30 WGNR Wegener receives $1.6 mln order from Conklin-Intracom for IPTV equipment (0.87 )

08:30 ECONX February Core PPI y/y +2.4% vs +2.1% consensus

08:30 ECONX February Building Permits 978K vs 1020K consensus, prior revised to 1061K from 1048K

08:30 GME prelim $1.14 vs $1.12 First Call consensus; revs $2.87 bln vs $2.89 bln First Call consensus

08:30 ECONX February PPI y/y +6.4% vs +6.8% consensus

08:30 ECONX February Core PPI m/m +0.5% vs +0.2% consensus

08:30 ECONX February Housing Starts 1065K vs 995K consensus

08:29 No notebook demand pickup until July, say channel vendors - DigiTimes

DigiTimes reports affected by the US financial crisis plus the news that Intel will launch its new Centrino 2 (Montevina) platform by the end of May, most consumers are taking a wait and see attitude over notebook purchases which has caused notebook demand to slow down, according to sources at channel vendors, who added that they expect demand will start picking up in July after Centrino 2 and Windows Vista SP1 show up. The sources expect that after Centrino 2 is launched, Intel will drop its previous Santa Rosa and Santa Rosa Refresh platform pricing to help clear inventory. Therefore they expect demand in the first half of 2008 will not see any big jumps.
08:29 INTU Intuit initiated with an Outperform at Credit Suisse-tgt $35 (25.42 )

08:27 FNDT Fundtech initiated with a Sector Perform at RBC Capital (11.54 )

08:27 Goldman Sachs (GS) and Lehman Bros (LEH) up +5.0% and +13.0% respectively in pre~market electronic trading

Financials should get an initial lift in the early going before potentially pulling back from short-term overbought conditions. GS @ 159.00 and LEH @ 35.90. BAC, JPM, MER, MS, XLF are others to watch.
08:25 BONDX Bond Market Open: Flipped Before Fed… 10-yr -19/32 yielding 3.378%

The market tripped overnight as profit taking off overbought levels dragged prices lower. Equities recovered globally following yesterday’s unexpected positive stock performance, providing some measure of stability for nervous trade. The 2-10-yr yield spread is at 195.6, backing off modestly from steeper levels. Bond prices in the EuroZone and Japan, suffered from diminished risk aversion along with profit taking. Treasuries have some housing and producer pricing data early but all eyes are on the FOMC. Most expect a full percentage point rate cut with anything less seen as insufficient to quench the thirst for easy money. Earnings from investment banks are rolling in and the early indications are slightly better-than expected which will add the profit taking/corrective sentiment in bonds. The dollar continues to fall as rates are expected to be cut with the euro trading either side of 1.58, with the yen holding in near flat at 97.50, while the pound got a boost as UK inflation came in higher than expected. Gold has taken its bid from the lower buck, with spot now 1008.79 (+6.09) crude has bounced nicely on the dollar’s demise, crude is running 107.90 (+2.22). Data due is housing starts/building permits and PPI (8:30) with the FOMC verbiage late, too late (14:15). The euro is at 1.5777 and the yen is at 97.8300. For more click here.
08:24 INTC Intel details plans for more processors - WSJ (20.85 )

WSJ reports the co gave new details of plans to introduce chips that pack four, six, eight or more electronic brains on a piece of silicon to boost calculating performance. The co so far has mainly offered chips with the core circuitry of two microprocessors, though it has successfully packaged dual-processor chips together to offer what it calls “quad-core” products. Rival AMD, by contrast, late last year began offering competing products with four calculating engines on a chip. For its popular Xeon line for server systems, Intel plans to skip directly to packing six processor cores on a chip, with a microprocessor — code-named Dunnington — that is expected to be available in the second half of the year, said Pat Gelsinger, an Intel senior vice president who is general manager of its digital enterprise group.
08:23 ODP Office Depot ‘urges stockholders to reject dissident Board nominees’ (10.86 )

Co announces it advised stockholders to ‘reject the attempt’ by Levitt Corporation and Woodbridge Equity Fund to nominate two dissident directors to the Office Depot Board at this year’s annual meeting of stockholders, currently scheduled for April 23, 2008.
08:23 FMCN Focus Media: color on yesterday’s sell-off — AP (32.19 )

Focus Media, which operates an advertising network on flat panel displays throughout China, fell 27% yesterday on no news. However, according to an AP report, some analysts attributed the decline to investors overreacting to speculation that the company lost its service provider license. “After talking to management, we think it may not be easily verified that its (service provider) license has been revoked, because the company is not a wireless content service provider. It charges advertisers rather than consumers,” says a Susquehanna analyst. A Pali Research analyst says speculation that the company lost the license — which she attributed to a March 15 report on the state-run CCTV — triggered the share sell-off. She says she spoke with the company and it does not even have such a license. “They don’t need the license. They don’t have it. How can you revoke a license that doesn’t exist?” she said. She added that a part of the same CCTV report that indicated Focus Wireless’ advertising unit obtained cell-phone numbers illegally was not true, and she said Focus Media denounced both issues through Chinese media on Monday.
08:22 US downturn likely will ripple to India - WSJ

WSJ reports major information-technology cos in India are likely to experience a sharp slowdown in earnings growth in the fiscal year starting in April as the U.S. economic downturn delays orders and pressures prices. Analysts say Tata Consultancy Services, INFY, WIT and SAY, all of which provide outsourcing services, mainly to the U.S. mkt, could see their revenue growth slowing to an average of 20% in the new fiscal year. That would be down from the 35% average posted the past three years. “The immediate fallout [from the U.S. economic woes] could be order delays and pressure on pricing. I don’t rule out job cuts down the line,” says Harit Shah, an analyst at Mumbai-based brokerage co Angel Broking.
08:20 LEH Lehman Brothers beats by $0.09, beats on revs (31.75 )

Reports Q1 (Feb) earnings of $0.81 per share, $0.09 better than the First Call consensus of $0.72; revenues fell 30.5% year/year to $3.51 bln vs the $3.35 bln consensus. LEH says liquidity pool of $34 bln and unencumbered assets of $64 bln, with an additional $99 bln at regulated entities, at quarter end. Net revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 reflect negative mark to market adjustments of $1.8 bln, net of gains on certain risk mitigation strategies and certain debt liabilities. The Firm’s pre-tax margin was 18.9% for the first quarter of fiscal 2008, compared to 33.7% for the first quarter of fiscal 2007. Return on average common equity was 8.6% for the first quarter of fiscal 2008, compared to 24.4% for the first quarter of fiscal 2007. Return on average tangible common equity was 10.6% for the first quarter of fiscal 2008, compared with 29.9% for the first quarter of fiscal 2007. Book value per common share was $39.45.
08:20 Follow up on critical Bird Flu situation in Indonesia, according to AFP - DJ

DJ reports the bird flu situation is “critical” in Indonesia, where the virus could mutate and cause a human pandemic, the U.N. food agency warned Tuesday. “The prevalence of avian influenza in Indonesia remains serious despite (national and international) containment efforts,” the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO, said in a statement. FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech said he was “deeply concerned that the high level of virus circulation in birds in the country could create conditions for the virus to mutate and to finally cause a human influenza pandemic.” H5N1 is endemic across nearly all of the sprawling archipelago nation, and of the total 105 human deaths reported there, 11 have occurred this year alone.
08:18 Retail, Apparel, & Footwear: American Apparel reported its Jan comps increased 40%, 45% in Feb - Lazard

Lazard says that although business decelerated in early March at ARO, firm believes the brand is slightly ahead of LY and taking share with each delivery. American Apparel reported its Jan comps increased 40% (vs 9% LY), 45% in February (vs 16% LY), and are tracking “very strongly” in March. UGG demand continues to outstrip demand, and Teva growth is also looking up, augmented by an outperforming sandals category driven by better product and positioning at retail against easy compares last year.
08:17 ATRC AtriCure’s Coolrail Linear Abalation Pen receives FDA 510k clearance (11.01 )

Co announces that its Coolrail linear ablation pen received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for the ablation of cardiac tissue. Additionally, the first patient was successfully treated using the AtriCure Coolrail Linear Ablation Pen. The Coolrail linear ablation pen is designed to facilitate the creation of an expanded cardiac ablation lesion set during a minimally invasive off-pump procedure.
08:16 GS Goldman Sachs: Upgrade details (151.02 ) -Update-

As mentioned at 6:33 Wachovia upgrades GS to Outperofmr from Market Perform with a $180-185 tgt saying they believe GS has a superior capital position relative to competitors, will likely benefit more than any firm from BSC, maintains a leading A.U.M business well positioned for either liquidity or risk markets, and it is trading close to its lowest valuation ever and at a 52 week low. The firm believes the combination of a competitor leaving the industry and new rules allowing brokers to tap the discount window are also two significant positive developments to the GS story.
08:16 ECONX Reminder: Housing Starts, Building Permits, and PPI data due out in about 14 min at 8:30ET

08:16 SMTS Somanetics reports Q1 (Feb) results, misses on revs; guides FY08 revs in-line (17.96 )

Reports Q1 (Feb) earnings of $0.07 per share, may not be comparable to the First Call consensus of $0.15; revenues rose 8.7% year/year to $8.7 mln vs the $10.6 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY08, sees FY08 revs of $46.2-50 mln, compared to previous guidance of approx $50 mln, vs. $49.59 mln consensus; co sees income before income taxes of $15.3-17.5 mln, compared to previous guidance of $17-18 mln.
08:15 TRIS Tri-s Security contract awarded for Los Angeles, San Diego and San Ysidro border crossing; up to $29.4 mln in annual revenue (1.93 )

Co announces that its subsidiary Paragon Systems, has been awarded a new contract with the Department of Homeland Security to provide armed security for Federal Buildings in Los Angeles and San Diego, CA. If this renewal option is exercised, then the contract will generate revenue for TRIS of $29.4 mln during the contract term, of which $22.1 mln will be generated in 2008.
08:14 LEH prelim $0.81 vs $0.72 First Call consensus; revs $3.5 bln vs $3.35 bln First Call consensus

08:14 BSC Bear Stearns: Billionaire Lewis moves to block JP Morgan - Daily Telegraph (4.81 ) -Update-

Daily Telegraph reports British billionaire Joe Lewis is working to block JP Morgan Chase’s $236 mln discounted takeover of Bear Stearns in order to negate the $1 bln loss he now faces. Mr Lewis, whose Tavistock Group is Bear’s second largest investor with a 9.4% stake, is understood to be deeply unhappy with JP Morgan’s $2-a-share offer. BSC is talking to a number of potential rival bidders who might act as a white-knight on behalf of Bear’s major shareholders. Other options he is considering include voting against JP Morgan’s offer at the scheduled shareholders’ meeting, something that would only work if he were to garner the support of other investors.
08:13 SMTS sees FY08 revs $46.2-50 mln vs $49.59 mln First Call consensus

08:13 SMTS prelim $0.07 may not compare to $0.15 First Call consensus; revs $8.7 mln vs $10.64 mln First Call consensus

08:13 TPX Tempur-Pedic tgt cut to $10 at Lehman (10.50 )

Lehman cuts their tgt on TPX to $10 from $22 to reflect limited visibility on the overall impact and anticipated duration of recent economic trends. Based on industry data and feedback, the U.S. mattress industry appears to be going through a significant slowdown relative to historical results. Firm expects that total sales in the first quarter will decline at a high single digit rate, driven by a high teens decrease in domestic sales partially offset by a high single digit increase in international sales.
08:12 VSEA Varian Semi: Lehman reducing ests on weaker memory (29.08 )

Lehman says in conjunction with their industry note where they reduced SPE capex est to down 20-25% from down 15- 20% led primarily by memory weakness, firm reduces their VSEA ests and tgt. Firm cuts their rev est to $955 mln for CY08 (old $1.03 bln, cons $1.01 bln) and EPS to $2.00 (old $2.30, cons $2.29). For 2009, assuming more conservative 700bps share gain (old 900bps), implant grows 5% y/y, $140M in PLAD revs, and non-product revs grow 10%, firm lowers their rev est to $1.14 bln for CY09 (old $1.21 bln, cons $1.04 bln) and EPS to $3.20 (old $4.00, cons $2.63).
08:12 MF MF Global: Concern at this point is that the stock sell-off could lead to a self fulfilling prophecy; tgt cut to $8 - Citigroup (6.05 ) -Update-

Citigroup notes that MF fell 65% yesterday on investor fears about 1) customer retention issues and 2) questions around repo’s and other financings, plus a host of other market speculation. They view MF’s share price movement as a function of both incorrect speculation and justifiable fears. Their concern at this point is that the stock sell-off could lead to a self fulfilling prophecy where customers do ultimately get spooked, making it even tougher to handicap the outcome. Firm cuts their tgt to $8 from $24.
08:11 SCANX Early pre-market gappers

Gapping up: TMA +21.3%, FCSX +16.6%, MF +15.2%, LEH +13.4%, UBS +11.9%, NCC +7.7%, BSC +7.5%, CS +7.3%, VIP +7.2%, SHPGY +6.4%, CFC +6.4%, OMNI +6.1%, FNM +6.0%, FCSX +5.9%, EXM +5.6%, TMTA +5.1%, HBC +5.1%, GS +4.6%, FRE +4.4%, NYX +4.1%, C +3.9%, NPSP +3.9%, HYTM +3.9%, MER +3.3%, ESC +3.2%, JPM +3.0%, KEX +2.2%, ULTR +1.8%, VLO +1.5%… Gapping down: NUVO -47.1%, DVAX -45.4%, IVAN -11.2%, CEO -5.3%, NWA -4.7%, CIT -4.6%, SHFL -4.3%, HMY -2.0%, AU -1.5%.
08:11 UN says bird flu situation in Indonesia is critical, according to AFP - DJ

08:11 PPS Post Properties upgraded to Buy at Stifel- tgt $42 (35.28 )

Stifel upgrades PPS to Buy from Hold with a $42 tgt based on valuation. The firm says they believe there is some risk that management does not complete the formal sales process it started and stiff arms potential bidders. While they continue to believe that there is liquidity in single asset transactions, $3 bln deals have become a challenge in this market.
08:10 SWIM Investools: As confusion reins, online brokers get hit - Kaufman (9.51 )

Kaufman says admist the severe turmoil in the markets surrounding the purchase by JP Morgan of Bear Stearns, online brokers, including Interactive Brokers (IBKR), Options Express (OPXS) and INVESTools (SWIM) traded down on fears of impediments in clearing operations. INVESTools, which clears through Penson Worldwide (PNSN) said it has not had any problems in clearing trades. Firm spoke with both CEO Lee Barba and COO Tom Sosnoff on this issue. Both said there were rumors surrounding other clearing firms that prompted PNSN to issue a statement saying it has no meaningful exposure to commodities broker MF Global (MF), which closed down 58% in trading yesterday on actual or perceived clearing problems.
08:09 OIS Oil States upgraded to Buy at Stifel- tgt $50 (40.81 )

Stifel upgrades OIS to Buy from Hold with a $50 tgt saying they think the risk-reward for selected U.S. natural gas leveraged stocks has improved materially. Additionally, they note that Oil States recently addressed a key constraint by expanding its Offshore Products manufacturing capabilities to better leverage growing demand for infrastructure-related projects.
08:09 GS Goldman Sachs beats by $0.65, beats on revs (151.02 )

Reports Q1 (Feb) earnings of $3.23 per share, $0.65 better than the First Call consensus of $2.58; revenues fell 22.4% year/year to $8.34 bln vs the $7.47 bln consensus. Assets under management increased 21% from a year ago to a record $873 bln, with net inflows of $29 bln during the quarter. Net revenues in FICC were $3.14 bln, 32% lower than a strong 1Q07 as results were adversely affected by continued deterioration in the broader credit markets. Net losses on residential mortgage loans and securities were approximately $1 bln. In addition, credit products included a loss of approximately $1 bln ($1.4 bln before hedges) related to non-investment-grade credit origination activities, as well as lower results from investments compared with the first quarter of 2007. Net revenues in Trading and Principal Investments were $5.12 bln, 46% lower than the first quarter of 2007 and 26% lower than the fourth quarter of 2007. Book value per common share was $92.44 and tangible book value per common share was $80.28, each increasing 2% during the quarter. “Market conditions are clearly very difficult… But we saw strong customer activity across many of our franchise businesses in the first quarter. Although market conditions present many challenges at the moment, they also offer considerable opportunities.”
08:08 WIRES On The Wires

Nu Horizons Electronics (NUHC) announces the expansion of their 5-yr North American and 2-yr Asia Pacific partnership agreement with Linear Technology (LLTC) into the European region. Effective immediately, Nu Horizons will distribute Linear Technology’s complete line of high-performance analog integrated circuits in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Germany, Austria and Switzerland… Electronic Arts (ERTS) and Massive, a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft (MSFT) announces an expansion and 2-yr extension of their agreement to offer dynamic in-game advertising for EA video games… LiveWire Mobile, a subsidiary of NMS Communications (NMSS) announces the acquisition of privately owned Groove Mobile… Compugen (CGEN) announces the development and validation of its Blockers of Disease-Associated Conformation platform… Comtech Telecommunications (CMTL) announces that its subsidiary, Comtech EF Data, received a $1.2 mln order from a US government agency for satellite communications equipment… On Track Innovations (OTIV) announces that members of management purchased an aggregate of 53,860 Ordinary Shares of OTIV in the open market using their own personal funds… Pixelplus (PXPL) announces it obtained a “completely favorable ruling” in the patent infringement proceedings from the Seoul High Court on the disputed color filter patent claimed by MagnaChip Semiconductor.
08:08 HP Helmerich & Payne upgraded to Buy at Stifel- tgt $55 (45.06 )

Stifel upgrades HP to Buy from Hold with a $55 tgt saying they think that risk-reward for selected U.S. natural gas leveraged stocks has improved materially. They think improving E&P operating margins will inspire additional U.S. drilling activity, improve rig fleet utilization and, eventually, pricing.
08:07 ONNN ON Semiconductor: Demand environment remains mixed, but stable - Kaufman (4.99 )

Kaufman believes ONNN’s demand environment remains mixed, with weakness in autos (17% of revenues) and industrial (12% of revenues) offsetting share gains in consumer (22% of revenues) and computing (25% of revenues) driven by product cycle ramps across PC, notebook, gaming and LCD TVs. Firm remains comfortable with firm’s stand-alone ONNN revenue expectation for 2008 of +2% Y/Y, and will model the combined company at the 1Q08 earnings call.
08:05 UBET Youbet.com resolves IRG customer investigation; agrees not to contest previously announced seizure of approx $1.5 mln from IRG (0.80 )

Co announces that it has resolved the pending investigation into the wagering activities of certain International Racing Group customers being conducted by federal and state authorities in Nevada. Under the terms of an agreement signed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Las Vegas, the government has agreed not to pursue any charges against Youbet or its subsidiaries. In exchange, the company has agreed to continue cooperating with the government in its investigation. UBET has also agreed not to contest the previously announced seizure of approx $1.5 mln from I.R.G. by the government in Oct 2007. It is the company’s intent to reimburse customer funds where it is legal and appropriate to do so. UBET expects to incur ongoing costs associated with its continued cooperation with, and eventual resolution of, the ongoing government investigation, although the precise amount or timing cannot be predicted at this time.
08:02 VCGH VCG Holding announces $7.3 mln acquisition; new club to add $0.05 to annual EPS; reaffirms guidance (7.68 )

Co announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire a premium adult nightclub in the west coast region of the US. The name and location will be kept confidential until the agreement closes, which the Company expects to occur in approximately 60 days. The Company is acquiring the Club for all cash and will fund the acquisition with cash on hand and committed debt financing. Co says that prior guidance of $0.86-0.92 (consensus $0.84) for FY08 and $1.15-1.25 (consensus $1.16) for FY09 included this acquisition.
08:02 MRO Marathon Oil downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital (46.70 )

08:01 Court protection sets stage for new debt fight in Canada - Globe and Mail

Globe and Mail reports the committee working to restructure $32 bln of commercial paper has put the investments into bankruptcy protection, and will now work to sell investors on its plan. The plan, if approved, would shield the mkt’s key players from lawsuits. That is expected to be a big source of tension. The restructuring will have an impact around the world, Toronto lawyer Purdy Crawford, who is heading the committee, said outside the courtroom after Mr. Justice Colin Campbell of the Ontario Superior Court approved the bid to put the sector under the protection of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. “Everybody’s interested in whether we can be the first country to complete a successful restructuring without governments bailing anybody out,” he said yesterday. “And hopefully it will help cool out the markets worldwide; certainly that’s the view of the head of the Bank of Canada.”
08:01 NVO Novo-Nordisk says FDA approves NovoLog for use in insulin pumps by children and adolescents (68.27 )

Co announces that the FDA has approved NovoLog for continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion by external insulin pump in pediatric patients between the ages of 4 and 18 years.
08:01 GS prelim $3.23 vs $2.58 First Call consensus; revs $8.34 bln vs $7.47 bln First Call consensus

08:00 RODM Rodman & Renshaw announces the appointment of a new chief financial officer (2.05 )

Co announces that David Jay Horin has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of the co, effective immediately. Thomas Pinou, the Company’s former Chief Financial Officer, will refocus his efforts on acquisition integration and expense reduction initiatives. He spent the last five years at Jefferies & Company, where he was most recently the Managing Director of Accounting Policy and Financial Reporting. Prior to joining Jefferies & Company, Mr. Horin spent ten years at KPMG LLP,
08:00 Disk Drives: Driver channel showing seasonal swings - Brean Murray

Brean Murray says both STX and WDC have recently revised upward their ests for the current quarter. Implicit in these revisions is what appears to be modest projections for ASP erosion. Some across-the-board price weakness was noted at the beginning of the quarter, and last month Western Digital lowered the channel pricing for its high-capacity mobile drives in a move we thought was related to Seagate’s shipment of its 250 GB capacity models. The second half of the March quarter tends to be somewhat volatile and seasonally soft in terms of pricing. Channel inventory has been rising recently, which firm attributes to normal seasonal effects. Channel inventories of Western Digital’s drives have been steady throughout the quarter.
08:00 S&P futures vs fair value: +17.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +18.0.

Futures point to a significantly higher open as market participants await the key drivers this morning. The FOMC announcement will be at roughly 14:15 ET. Fed funds futures are fully pricing in a 100 basis point cut and suggest a 12% chance of a 125 basis point cut. Lehman Brothers (LEH) and Goldman Sachs (GS) are set to report earnings this morning. On the economic front, February PPI and February housing starts are set for released at 8:30ET.
07:59 WIRES On The Wires

VanceInfo Technologies (VIT) announces the opening of a China Development Center in Shanghai specifically designed for 3M China… Science Applications International (SAI) announces that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SM Consulting. S.M.C. provides services in language, intelligence, information technology, management consulting, business process outsourcing, training, and logistics to federal, state and local governments and private industry… OPKO Health (OPK) announces that it has been issued a key patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for methods related to the use and administration of small interfering RNAs for targeting vascular endothelial growth factor.
07:58 OSTK Overstock.com: Hearing initiated with a Sell at Canaccord Adams (9.48 )

07:57 MENT Mentor Graphics: 2H growth drivers intact though Street’s Q2 EPS appears too high given backend loaded year - Citigroup (8.37 )

Citigroup says MENT remains their top sector pick. Firm has increased confidence their 3-yr Sales Cycle thesis is the correct way to view the stock. Trading will remain choppy the next 1-2 Qs given 1H08’s 3-yr renewal trough and Street’s lofty 2Q EPS. As 2H pipeline strength clearly manifests, the stock could see sharp 2H08 appreciation so firm advises completing positions in 1H08.
07:57 BCE BCE takeover on track, Teachers Pension Plan says - Globe and Mail (36.43 )

Globe and Mail reports while turmoil in the financial sector has caused worries about the health of pending merger and acquisition deals, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan says there has been no change in process regarding its $34.8 bln takeover of BCE. “What we’ve said in the past is that we’re working to satisfy the conditions so that we can close. There’s been no change to that. All we’re focused on is satisfying those conditions,” said Jim Leech, chief executive officer at the pension plan. Ongoing turbulence in the debt markets has raised concerns the structure of the deal could be altered or that it could fall through altogether.
07:56 SI Siemens AG downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank (105.10 ) -Update-

07:56 KNSY Kensey Nash initiated with a Buy at Jesup and Lamont- tgt $37 (26.61 )

07:55 CRY CryoLife initiated with a Buy at Jesup and Lamont- tgt $14 (8.37 )

07:55 SI Siemens AG downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperofrm at Bear Stearns (105.10 )

07:53 KANA Kana Software: Details on expanded global strategic alliance with IBM - Roth (1.41 )

Roth says yesterday KANA held a conf call to discuss its expanded global multi-year strategic alliance with IBM to jointly develop, market, sell, and support SOA-based solutions. Near term, the agreement should make KANA’s potential customers feel a little more comfortable, given IBM’s vote of confidence and a firmer strategic product direction. Longer term, the agreement could boost revenue as it helps KANA sell a broader solution. IBM is boosting its commitment to KANA, which should help KANA.
07:53 ADS Alliance Data upgraded to Outperform at Morgan Keegan (44.10 )

Morgan Keegan upgrades ADS to Outperfom from Market Perform, following the announcement of their restructuring of business segments and exit of the Acquiring & Utility businesses and believe the uncertainty and potential for credit softness is largely factored into shares.
07:52 SHPGY Shire Pharm shares increase after UBS says AstraZeneca may make offer - Bloomberg.com (60.05 )

Bloomberg.com reports Shire rose the most in 17 months in London trading after UBS analysts said AstraZeneca (AZN) may be interested in making a bid. Shire soared 8.2% to after rising as much as 9.9%, the most since October 2006. The stock gained 5% March 14 on market speculation that Pfizer (PFE) may make a bid… AstraZeneca needs new products to boost revenue as generic rivals threaten sales of some of its biggest medicines. “AstraZeneca can pay up to 1,425 pence, greater than a 40% premium, and achieve an economically accretive acquisition,” UBS analyst Gbola Amusa and colleagues wrote in a note to clients today.
07:51 ELS Equity Lifestyle Properties initiated with an Outperform at Keefe Bruyette- tgt $53 (46.87 )

07:49 GES Guess: 4Q08 results expected to be strong - Merriman (33.33 )

Merriman says GES is expected to reported 4Q08 results on Wednesday, March 19. Firm believes GES has continued to outperform during the quarter, with sales and earnings driven by continued strength across all divisions, particularly retail and Europe. In Jan, mgmt reported that comparable-store sales in its retail division during Nov and Dec had increased in the double-digits. Based on sales in the retail division and firm’s expectations for continued strength across all business segments, they are estimating 4Q08 rev of $462.7 mln and EPS of $0.56.
07:49 VNO Vornado Rlty Trust downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank (78.74 )

07:48 SLG SL Green Rlty downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank (76.78 )

07:48 NCC National City upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Keefe Bruyette- tgt $8- based on valuation (7.52 )

07:46 RVSN RADVision: Cantor cuts FY08 ests and tgt to $10 (6.55 )

Cantor lowers their tgt on RVSN to $10 from $12. Firm says that while they re taking a slightly more cautious stance regarding their outlook for the remainder of the year. Firm believed that the co’s rich cash position, roughly $6.00 per share, provides a solid floor to shares relative to current levels. For FY08, firm is reducing their rev est from $89.2 mln to $85.8 mln and reducing their pro forma EPS est from ($0.06) to ($0.16). For FY:09, they are reducing their rev est from $104.1 mln to $99.7 mln. Firm is lowering their pro forma EPS est from $0.16 to $0.05.
07:46 SHOR Shoretel announces it is working with IBM to integrate its distributed unified communications solutions with IBM’s unified communications and collaboration platform (4.80 )

Co announces that it is working with IBM (IBM) to integrate ShoreTel’s distributed unified communications solutions with IBM’s unified communications and collaboration platform, IBM Lotus Sametime.
07:45 GEHL Gehl announces departure of Chief Financial Officer, Thomas Rettler (15.20 )

Co announces that Thomas Rettler has resigned as Vice President and CFO of the Company, effective April 11, 2008, to accept a position as Senior Vice President and CFO of Menasha Corp. Gehl President and COO, Malcolm Moore, will assume the additional duties of CFO until a successor is named.
07:45 TK Teekay Shipping: Upgrade details (36.21 )

As mentioned at 6:48 Citigroup upgraded TK to Buy from Hold with a $45 tgt saying they view TK as a solid value investment despite their unfavorable industry outlook. The firm expects the stock to outperform over the next six months and could trade even above their street-low target of $45.
07:44 HBC HSBC Holdings: Lone Star seeking more for KEB - FT (76.12 )

FT reports Lone Star will soon seek to renegotiate its contract to sell Korea Exchange Bank to HSBC, and will ask the British bank to increase its offer beyond the current $6.43 bln to reflect the increase in the target’s book value, people familiar with the deal said. The sale contract expires on April 30, but with regulators refusing to approve the deal while legal questions remain, there is no end in sight for South Korea’s longest-running financial soap opera… The agreement would likely be extended by one or two months, so the increase in price that Lone Star will request will be minimal — probably about $83 mln for each month, to reflect one-twelfth of KEB’s $1 bln annual profits. “In the context of a deal of this size, it’s not a tremendous amount of money,” said one person close to the fund. “At this point, getting the deal closed is the most important thing.”
07:43 GMR General Maritime: Upgrade details (20.55 )

As mentioned at 6:48 Citigroup upgrades GMR to Buy from Hold with a $25 tgt based on valuation. The firm says although they remain cautious on the tanker space due to weakening fundamentals, they believe GMR at the current level is an attractive investment opportunity given the co’s prudent strategy with long term contracts in place to support a normalized free cash flow yield of about 25%.
07:41 TU Telus downgraded to Sell at Citigroup (41.55 )

Citigroup downgrades TU to Sell from Hold saying they believe tougher competitive dynamics in ‘08 create risk to current guidance and consensus ests.
07:40 SBUX Starbucks: Friedman Billings views Schultz’s return to CEO as positive (17.26 )

Friedman Billings continutes to view Mr. Schultz’s return to the CEO position as a positive, as they believe he is the most able leader to turn the co around. Similarly, Steve Job’s return to the helm at APL in September 1997 has yielded over a 2000% return in the co’s stock price, while DELL’s stock has declined almost 20% since Michael Dell’s return in January 2007. Firm believes SBUX will leverage technology to increase U.S. frequency.
07:40 BSC Bear Stearns: CITIC says its Bear Stearns deal is off - Reuters.com (4.81 ) -Update-

Reuters.com reports CITIC Securities said it has decided to terminate its planned strategic cooperation with Bear Stearns, including a $1 bln investment in the U.S. bank, after the troubled bank was bought by JPMorgan. “The preconditions and basis for the strategic cooperation agreement announced on November 2, 2007, do not exist any more after the JPMorgan acquisition,” CITIC Securities said in a statement. “As a result, the company has decided to terminate cooperation plans with Bear Stearns including originally planned investments by Bear Stearns and CITIC Securities in each other,” it added.
07:40 Keybanc downgrades select specialty finance stocks

Keybanc says while commercial real estate fundamentals have held up fairly well, growing economic concerns, liquidity fears, continued dislocated CMBS markets and perceived outlook for commercial real estate property values leads them to believe that any material improvement is not likely in 2007. The firm downgrades Newcastle (NCT) and NorthStar Financia (NRF) to Hold from Buy. The firm is downgrading Newcastle given the co’s recent dividend cut. The firm says NorthStar is a name they like which had the strongest 4Q performance of names, but given tremendous market uncertainty, they believe the market will continue to discount fundamentals in favor of risk perception for all financials.
07:39 NMX NYMEX: Justice Dept to review competitive aspects of CME-Nymex Deal - DJ (84.30 )

DJ reports the Department of Justice’s antitrust unit will review the competitive aspects of CME ’s proposed $9.2 bln acquisition of the co, a spokeswoman for the department said Monday. But the review won’t include a consideration of the department’s concerns over vertical integration in the financial futures exchange sector, the spokeswoman said. “We’ll be looking at the competitive aspects of the transaction,” said the spokeswoman. “We’ll evaluate the merger based on its facts.” In reference to the issue of financial future exchanges owning their own clearing and settling functions, she said that question and the issue of fair competition are “separate issues.”
07:39 PRICE Filings, Offerings, Pricings and IPOs

Filings: Thornburg Mortg (TMA) files for a mixed shelf offering… Rodman & Renshaw (RODM) files for a 7.32 mln share common stock offering by selling shareholders… Affymax (AFFY) files for a $75 mln mixed shelf offering.
07:38 ICXT ICX Technolgies awarded multi-year contract for specialty radar system for robots (4.24 )

Co announces that it has secured from General Dynamics Robotic Systems a multi-year, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity follow-on contract for the Mobile Detection Assessment and Response System Intruder Detection Radar Sensor.
07:36 GFSI Goldleaf Financial Solutions: In-line quarter; rev mix shifting towards high growth segments - FBR (2.39 )

Friedman Billings reiterates their Market Perform and $3 tgt on GFSI after the company reported a quarter that was in line with expectations and reiterated its CY08 outlook. GFSI appears to continue to benefit from high levels of growth in its electronic payment products, which grew 35% YoY during the quarter. Firm believes that the execution risk remains high given the ongoing integration of Alogent, continued deterioration in the A/R segment, and the increased balance sheet leverage. Firm also remains wary considering the relatively illiquid nature of the shares. Firm remains on the sidelines and look towards increasing evidence that the approx $11.5 mln EBITDA est for CY08 is achievable.
07:33 IFLO I-Flow misses by $0.19, reports revs in-line (12.61 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.18 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.19 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.01; revenues rose 27.2% year/year to $34.9 mln vs the $34.9 mln single estimate
07:32 WIRES On The Wires

Targeted Genetics (TGEN) announces that dosing has been completed for the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of tgAAC94 for the treatment of inflammatory arthritis… Kopin (KOPN) announces the filing with the SEC of all delinquent periodic reports, including the co’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 12 months ended December 30, 2006… FTI Consulting (FCN) announces the acquisitions of Brewer Consulting and Blueprint Partners , two European consultancies. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed… Oncolytics Biotech (ONCY) announces that it has been granted U.S. Patent 7,344,711 entitled “Use of Adenoviruses Mutated in the VA Genes for Cancer Treatment.”
07:32 ESIC EasyLink reports Q2 EPS of $0.10 vs $0.03 in yr ago period; reports revs up 347% yr/yr to $23.7 mln with no estimates (2.78 )

Co is raising Y07 adjusted EBITDA to $22-24 mln, compared to previous guidance of $17-19 mln.
07:32 IFLO prelim ($0.1 vs $0.01 First Call consensus; revs $34.9 mln vs $34.90 mln single estimate

07:30 CGX Consol. Graphics acquires PBM Graphics; expected to be accretive to FY09 earnings (49.69 )

Co announces that it has acquired PBM Graphics. PBM had 2007 revenues of approx $135 mln. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to fiscal year 2009 earnings per share. Other terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
07:30 AAPL Apple: AppleInsider discusses recent analyst note - AppleInsider (126.73 )

AppleInsider reports growth in Apple’s personal computer business continued to outpace the industry average last month, with Macs accounting for a 14% unit share and 25% dollar share of all US-based PC retail sales, according to NPD. The results — first revealed in an investor note from Pacific Crest Securities analyst Andy Hargreaves on Monday — represent 60% unit growth and 67% revenue growth over the same period one year ago. At the same time, overall US PC retail shipments grew just 9% on a 5% increase in revenues. Apple saw particular strength in notebook systems, which rose 64% in units and 67% in revenues, suggesting strong sell-through of the co’s new MacBook Air, noted Hargreaves. “Macbook Air sales appear to be additive to total sales, rather than replacing Macbook Pro sales,” he said. “We believe a new set of corporate customers make up a meaningful portion of MacBook Air buyers.”
07:30 PCOP Pharmacopeia to receive $5 mln payment from GlaxoSmithKline (3.44 )

Co announces that it will receive a payment of $5 mln from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). This payment is triggered by co’s completion of certain early discovery activities established under its agreement with GSK. Co is entitled to success-based milestone payments totaling up to $83 mln per program for any drug development program pursued through the multi-program alliance and up to double-digit royalties on the sales of any products commercialized by GSK from the alliance.
07:30 SHFL Shuffle Master: Shift to recurring revenue model evident - Deutsche (7.20 )

Deutsche says borne out in F1Q results, SHFL’s transition back to a recurring revenue model is evident. Importantly, across several key metrics SHFL placed more units on a recurring rev basis than anticipated: shufflers (171 vs. DB at 75) and eTable seats (227 vs. DB at 125). However, proprietary table lease units declined by 18 sequentially vs DB at +75. Also, SHFL sold 498 shufflers (DB at 29 and sold 114 elec table seats (DB at 250). Finally, SHFL sold 274 EGMs (slots) vs exp of 700.
07:30 CSGS CSG Systems initiated with a Hold at Brean Murray (10.55 )

Brean Murray initiates CSGS with a Hold based on customer concentration, projected declining revenue and EPS in 2009, and forecast uncertainty.
07:29 SPPI Spectrum Pharma downgraded to Hold at Brean Murray (2.43 )

Brean Murray downgrades SPPI to Hold from Buy saying although Spectrum may have positive value-driving developments with several drugs this year and beyond, they believe that even if everything goes according to plan, their new financial model, particularly the increased R&D expense projections and reduced revenue forecast, do not warrant a Buy rating.
07:28 BLOG BladeLogic: BMC Software to buy BLOG for $28 per share in cash - Lazard (27.39 )

Lazard says this morning BMC Software signed a definitive agreement to purchase BladeLogic for $28 per share in cash, or approx $800 mln. he acquisition is expected to be approximately $0.10/share dilutive for BMC in fiscal 2009 (March) on a non-GAAP basis, including the write-down of deferred revenue and onetime integration charges. BMC expects significant synergies in the combination of the cos, with two-thirds of the synergies coming from revenue and one-third from expenses.
07:25 China increases bank reserve ratio to cool inflation - Bloomberg.com

Bloomberg.com reports China told banks to set aside more reserves for the second time this year, hours after Premier Wen Jiabao said the government will take “forceful” steps to damp inflation at an 11-year high. Lenders must place a record 15.5% of deposits with the central bank, up from 15% previously. The increase will take effect on March 25. China will tackle soaring prices with “appropriate and forceful” measures. Stocks tumbled the most in seven weeks on concern China’s battle against inflation will slow the economy, which expanded 11.2% in the fourth quarter… Central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan signaled today he may raise interest rates just as the U.S. is poised to cut them to stave off a recession. The central bank has held off on raising interest rates this year after six increases in 2007 that pushed the one-year lending rate to a nine-year high of 7.47%.
07:25 PMI PMI Group: Little relief until capital shored up; tgt cut to $6 - FBR (5.12 )

Friedman Billings says yesterday PMI reported a net loss per share of $12.51, driven mostly by its investment in FGIC, as well as higher paid claims in the U.S. business. Firm remains cautious on the stock and awaits any upcoming capital raise before they reevaluate their current outlook. They expect very little secondary market support for the shares until the market can gain some comfort in PMI’s capital plan and loss exposure. Firm is reducing their tgt to $6 from $18 (which incorporated the value of FGIC). Firm also lowers their earnings est for 2008 from -$0.55 to -$5.65 to reflect continued weak credit performance and are introducing their 2009 EPS est of -$0.50.
07:25 GNPI Genius Products: Transforming itself into a leading media player - Merriman (0.68 )

Merriman believes GNPI is transforming itself into a leading media player by leveraging its relationship with The Weinstein Company and its strong DVD distribution network. Over the next 12-18 months, firm expects co to continue to expand its presence through non-physical DVD distribution, co-production film deals and additional distribution arrangements — all leading to sustainable operating profits and accelerating earnings power, in firm’s view. Firm believes GNPI’s business remains strong and mgmt still guided to healthy growth in FY08 net revs and EBITDA — with the potential for additional upside to that guidance in the near-term with an improved revenue share contract with TWC covering theatrical releases.
07:25 EW Edwards Lifesci upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stanford (44.17 )

07:24 CKNN Cash Systems: Merriman believes CKNN poised to take meaningful share in casion cash business (2.21 )

Merriman believes CKNN is poised to take meaningful share in the casino cash access industry through the near-term introduction of powercash — a truly disruptive, patent-protected technology that should help casinos put more cash into patrons’ hands quicker while driving incremental high-margin revenues to Cash Systems. Firm believes casinos will be even more interested in rolling out powercash in a competitive economy, but are still waiting for more concrete results from the Fantasy Springs installation. They remain optimistic on the potential impact to Cash Systems over time.
07:23 EAC Encore Acquisition profiled in New America section of IBD (37.00 )

IBD reports the co has sold off some of its higher-cost natural gas properties in Oklahoma. Now it’s pushing high-return, low-risk oil plays in West Texas and in the Rocky Mountain region. It’s also using its free cash flow to buy back shares. With oil hitting $111 a barrel, the co should have no problem funding the buybacks. “The current situation is paradise,” said Philip Dodge, an energy analyst at the Stanford Group. “The prices are way up, and the U.S. costs are stabilizing after having inflated 15% a year for a couple of years.”… Credit Suisse analyst Anish Patel says Encore’s oil fields should produce for a long time. It has an average proved-reserves life span of 17 years, compared with 12 years for its peer group… The co thinks it can grow production in 2008, by 6% to 8%… Encore’s varied approaches include horizontal drilling, which exposes more of a potential field to a wellhead. It also pumps water or carbon dioxide into wells to build up pressure and thus raise production… Dodge says Encore’s master limited partnership — Encore Energy Partners — is another advantage. Encore formed the M.L.P. in September to give it low-cost capital and an attractive tax vehicle to buy and manage properties. Encore posted earnings per share of $1.84 last year, up from $1.46 the year before. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are looking for $3.28 per share in 2008.
07:23 U.K. Inflation rate rises to highest in nine months - Bloomberg.com

Bloomberg.com reports U.K. inflation accelerated to a nine-month high in February as gas and electricity prices rose, limiting the Bank of England’s scope to cut interest rates. Consumer prices climbed 2.5% from a year earlier, compared with 2.2% in January. Inflation has now exceeded the 2% target for five months. “The bank’s biggest concern is a period of high, above- target inflation that feeds through to expectations. On the other hand, they are facing a marked slowdown in growth. This is the toughest challenge since the Monetary Policy Committee’s inception.”
07:18 Treasury Secretary Paulson appears on ‘The Morning Show’, says ‘we know we are in a sharp decline’

07:17 BSC Bear Stearns downgraded to neutral at boutique firm (4.81 ) -Update-

07:17 DELL Dell to grow faster than market, helped by Asia, CEO says - Reuters.com (19.39 )

Reuters.com reports the current pace of growth at the co is consistent with fourth-quarter levels, its chief executive said. “We expect to continue to grow faster than the industry, particularly in Asia,” CEO Michael Dell told a news conference in Seoul.
07:16 TSN Tyson Foods upgraded to Overweight at boutique firm (15.61 )

07:13 ALSK Alaska Comms reports Q4 EPS of $2.71, includes tax gain, not comparable to $0.15 consensus; reports revs up 7.9% yr/yr to $99.1 mln vs $93.2 mln consensus (12.06 )

Co sees Y08 revs of $385-395 mln vs $383.3 mln consensus.
07:11 IVAN Ivanhoe Energy reports Q4 GAAP EPS of ($0.07) vs ($0.0 in yr ago period; reports revs down 90% yr/yr to $5.8 mln with no estimates (1.97 )

07:07 VICR Vicor reports Q4 EPS of $0.04 vs $0.01 single estimate; reports revs up 12.3% yr/yr to $53.9 mln vs $48.0 mln single estimate; co files to delay 10-K up to 15 days (10.99 )

07:06 TMX Telefonos de Mex: Hearing downgraded to Sell from Neutral at tier 1 firm (34.11 )

07:05 TSU TIM Participacoes: Hearing upgraded to Neutral from Sell at tier 1 firm (31.79 )

07:05 JNS Janus Capital discloses in 8-k that Andrew Iseman, the co’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will resign effective April 3 (22.77 )

07:05 ES EnergySolutions reports Q4 EPS of $0.17, ex-items; co reports revs up 222% yr/yr to $427.9 mln (17.72 )

Co sees Y08 EPS of $0.89-0.94, ex-items, with revs of $1.8-1.9 bln.
07:04 ABK AMBAC Fincl: Ambac Assurance UK Limited’s statement on meeting with holders of bonds issued by Metronet Rail BCV & Metronet Rail SSL (5.41 )

Ambac Assurance UK Limited met today with holders of bonds issued by Metronet Rail BCV and Metronet Rail SSL to provide further information on the escrow arrangements for funds recently received in respect of those bonds and the application of those funds. As previously reported, funds paid on February 12, 2008, by London Underground in respect of the put option price on bonds issued by BCV and SSL are being held in escrow and are available to meet debt service and other amounts due in accordance with the Bond Trust Deed, escrow agreements and other relevant documentation. The slide presentation used at today’s meeting is available on Ambac’s website, www.ambac.com. AUK insures GBP 193m of the SSL indexed-linked bonds and GBP 350m of the BCV fixed rate bonds.
07:04 WIRES On The Wires

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals (NBY) announces it has published a seminal paper on the design and synthesis of a new class of stable antimicrobial compounds. The co believes that these compounds, trademarked as Aganocides, have the potential to become a new weapon in the fight against such deadly pathogens as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus… Unidym, a majority-owned subsidiary of Arrowhead Research (ARWR), announces the formation of a spin-off company, Ensysce Biosciences, that will focus on research into the medical therapeutic applications of carbon nanotubes.
07:03 FDS FactSet beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 revs above consensus (44.53 )

Reports Q2 (Feb) earnings of $0.62 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.60; revenues rose 20.5% year/year to $140.2 mln vs the $139.6 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $145-149 mln vs. $143.58 mln consensus.
07:02 HEPH Hollis-Eden Pharm reports positive preliminary data from ongoing Phase I/II clinical trial with TRIOLEX in obese insulin resistant subjects (1.65 )

Co announces positive preliminary data from its ongoing 28-day Phase I/II clinical trial in obese insulin resistant subjects with its investigational drug candidate TRIOLEX. Preliminary data to date indicate that TRIOLEX is safe and well tolerated at all doses studied. In addition, the preliminary data thus far suggest that TRIOLEX is reducing fasting blood glucose levels and improving insulin sensitivity as evaluated through euglycemic/hyperinsulinemic clamps, an industry standard measurement for assessing whole body glucose metabolism and to test compounds as potential insulin sensitizers for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
07:01 CWCO Consolidated Water reports Q4 EPS of $0.18 vs $0.19 consensus; reports revs up 34% yr/yr to approx $12.5 mln vs $10.5 mln two analyst estimate (18.00 )

07:00 LEV Levitt beats by $0.11 (1.46 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.10 per share, $0.11 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.21).
06:59 HRB H & R Block: Moody’s says Block Financial’s ratings remain under review for downgrade (18.36 )

Moody’s says that Block Financial (wholly owned guaranteed funding subsidiary of H&R Block) Baa1 senior debt and P-2 short-term debt ratings remain under review for possible downgrade following the announcement of a definitive agreement to sell the mortgage loan servicing business of Option One, its subprime mortgage subsidiary, to WL Ross. Although a sale would be a positive for H&R Block and likely lead to stabilizing the rating, the continued review for possible downgrade largely reflects uncertainty regarding the consummation of the transaction. A downgrade could occur should there be a significant deterioration in the value of Option One.
06:52 VIMC Vimicro upgraded to Neutral from Negative at Susquehanna (2.73 )

06:49 CIT CIT Group: S&P downgrades to ‘A-/A-2′; outlook revised to negative (11.03 )

S&P lowers its counterparty credit rating on CIT Group to ‘A-/A-2′ from ‘A/A-1′. At the same time, revised the outlook on the long-term rating to negative from stable. “The rating action takes into account the pressure that global capital market dislocation is having on CIT’s funding model, the prospect of diminished earnings, and continued exposure to underperforming consumer businesses.” Due to global capital market dislocation, CIT’s reliance on secured borrowings has increased materially. S&P believes that the increase in encumbered assets to support borrowings has weakened unsecured borrowers’ relative position. Given the currently unstable economic environment and a worsening credit crunch, S&P expects lower commercial loan demand and increased credit and funding costs to weigh down earnings in 2008. Lastly, CIT retains continued exposure to its underperforming consumer businesses, including home lending. Specifically, S&P estimates that CIT retains more than $4 bln in net exposure (net of valuation adjustments and reserves) to subprime mortgage loans, through both securities retained from its securitization transactions and whole loans.
06:48 CALLS Early Research Calls III

Upgrades: Citigroup upgrades General Maritime (GMR 20.55) to Buy from Hold… Citigroup upgrades Teekay Shipping (TK 36.21) to Buy from Hold… Bernstein upgrades SAP (SAP 49.06) to Outperform from Market Perofrm… BofA upgrades RiskMetrics (RMG 14.49) to Buy from Neutral… Citigroup upgrades Vimpelcom (VIP 29.77) to Hold from Sell. Downgrades: J.P Morgan downgrades United Rentals (URI 17.71) to Underweight from Neutral… J.P Morgan downgrades Directed Electronics (DEIX 1.93) to Neutral from Overweight… J.P Morgan downgrades International Paper (IP 29.47) to Neutral from Overweight.
06:48 EXAS EXACT Sciences engages investment bank to assist in exploring strategic options (2.62 )

Co announces that it has retained Leerink Swann to assist the Board of Directors in its evaluation of strategic alternatives for the business, including, but not limited to, the sale of EXACT or merger with another entity. EXACT does not anticipate making another announcement in regard to this matter unless its Board has approved a definitive transaction. The co also announced that, effective today, the Board of Directors has promoted Jeffrey Luber from President to President and Chief Executive Officer of the co.
06:46 Banks lead rebound in European shares ahead of Fed

European shares rose for the first time in four trading days on Tuesday, led by a rebound in financial stocks ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. By 0845 GMT the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1.6% at 1,218.85 points. The index fell 4.4% on Monday to its lowest closing level in 2-1/2 years. In Frankfurt, the DAX rose 1.6%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.5%, helped by the heavyweight mining and oil sectors. France’s CAC-40 rose 1.5%. (Reuters)
06:46 Japan stocks climb 1 pct but yen, Fed eyed; Sensex pares gains, up 54pts

Japanese stocks snapped a three-day losing streak on Tuesday despite lingering concerns about the yen’s strength versus the dollar, as investors picked up beaten-down shares such as Canon after the previous day’s sell-off. But investors held back to see the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate-setting meeting later in the global day, market players said. The benchmark Nikkei average was up 1.5% or 176.65 points to end at 11,964.16. Hong Kong stocks recovered lost ground in choppy trade on Tuesday, as investors picked up beaten down shares a day after a mass sell-off, belying nagging fears that the ongoing credit crunch may worsen.The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose more than 1% in early trade only to hit fresh 7-month lows, which was followed by more swings in and out of positive territory. The Hang Seng closed up 1.4%, or 300 points, to end at 21,384.61, having earlier hit its lowest mark this year… The Sensex has pared most of its gains and is now up 54 points at 14,863. The NSE Nifty is up 37 points at 4,540. (Reuters, Business Standard)
06:35 TNP Tsakos Energy reports Q4 (Dec) results, revs in-line (30.47 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.36 per share, includes $30.8 mln gain, excluding this gain an actual from our calculations that appears comparable to consensus estimates equates to roughly $0.56, may not be comparable to the First Call consensus of $0.52; revenues rose 17.0% year/year to $109.7 mln vs the $110.6 mln consensus.
06:33 CALLS Early Research Calls II

Upgrades: Citigroup upgrades Overseas Shipholding (OSG 56.40) to Buy from Sell and raises their tgt to $68 from $63, based on valuation… Wachovia upgrades Goldman Sachs (GS 151.02) to Outperform from Market Perform tgt $180-185… JMP upgrades Alexza Pharma (ALXA 6.85) to Outperform from Market Perform and sets a $10 tgt, following Q407 results that met firm expectations and remain positive on the initiation of Ph. III clinical trials of AZ-004 with five additional product candidates in various stages of clincial development.. Downgrades: Keefe, Bruyette downgrades Viewpoint Financial (VPFG 15.84) to Market Perform from Outperform and lowers their tgt to $16 from $18.50, based on valuation… Merriman downgrades Dynavax (DVAX 5.22) to Neutral from Buy, following their announcement that Heplisav has been placed on clincal hold due to the occurrence of one serious adverse event in the co’s Ph. III Heplisav trial… Merrill Lynch downgrades Telecom Italia (TI 20.92) to Neutral from Buy… UBS downgrades American Railcar (ARII 21.77) to Sell from Neutral…J.P Morgan downgrades Seacor Holdings (CKH 90.59) to Neutral from Overweight. Miscellaneous: UBS initiates Altria (MO 69.97) with a Buy… JMP initiates MVC Capital (MVC 14.47) with an Outperform.
06:32 TNP prelim $1.36, includes $30.8 mln gain, doesn’t compare to the $0.52 First Call consensus; revs $109.68 mln vs $110.55 mln First Call consensus

06:27 CALLS Early Research Calls I

Miscellaneous: Standpoint Research initiates Parker-Hannifin (PH 62.39) with a Buy and sets a 3-yr tgt of $90-$100, as they believe the co will grow beyond the rate of GDP growth while integrating acquisitions that drive EPS growth, favor its global presence in light of a US slowdown and note the new Airbus contract that could be worth > $1.0 bln with additional wins in the pipeline… KeyBanc initiates Callaway Golf (ELY 15.27) with a Buy and sets a $19 tgt, as they believe the co can continue to generate market share gains in core product areas, even against a mature industry backdrop, through premium brands and innovative product offerings, as well as further expansion of its global presence across all categories… Calyon initiates Energy Conversion (ENER 24.55) with a Buy and sets a $34 tgt… Morgan Keegan initiates Skilled Healthcare (SKH 9.92) with an Outperform, based on their high-quality nursing homes focused on high-acuity services and its Express Recovery units dedicated to providing high-acuity medically complex services… Canaccord initiates Amazon (AMZN 66.53) with a Buy and sets a $78 tgt, as they view AMZN as the most trusted Internet retail platform, based on its growing control of the commerce delivery process and close commerce relationships with customers while noting key growth drivers over the next several years include expanding international reach, mix shift to third-party revenue, growth of Web Services and category expansion… Broadpoint initiates Novell (NOVL 6.01) with a Buy and sets an $8 tgt, following Q108 revenue and EPS that exceeded consensus expectations and based on leaner infrastructure, a strong balance sheet and their transformation to a subscription and maintenance-weighted revenue model as the Linux business easily outpaces the license contributions from other business units
06:18 S&P futures vs fair value: +12.2. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +11.5.
06:18 European Markets

FTSE…5500.70…+86.30…+1.6%. DAX…6286.38…+104.38…+1.7%.
06:18 Asian Markets

Nikkei…11964.16…+176.65…+1.5%. Hang Seng…21384.61…+300.00…+1.4%.
06:06 MIPS MIPS Technologies appoints Maury Austin as Chief Financial Officer (3.10 )

06:05 WIRES On The Wires -Update-

Amdocs (DOX) announces that VELTON.TELECOM, a wireless, wireline, and Internet service provider in the Ukraine, has selected the Amdocs Compact Convergence suite to support its operations and the launch of new services… Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) announces a contract to operate an intersection safety camera program for the City of Winnipeg, Canada; contract is valued at $25 mln, with options for future years… ECtel Ltd. (ECTX) announces that Telekom Srpske, an operator based in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, placed an order for ECtel’s fraud detection and prevention solution, FraudView… eTelecare Global Solutions (ETEL) announces agreement to provide inbound telesales services for digital television entertainment service provider.
05:56 TTM Tata Motors gets $3 bln loan from Citigroup, JPMorgan: Source - Reuters (14.98 )

Reuters reports Tata Motors (TTM) has signed a deal to receive a $3 bln bridge loan from Citigroup (C) and JPMorgan (JPM) to help finance a potential purchase of brands Jaguar and Land Rover, a source familiar with the deal said on Tuesday. The source, who was not authorized to speak to the media on the matter, declined to provide further details including the duration of the loan, noting details had yet to be worked out. “It is signed, but it’s still at an early process,” the source said. Tata is expected to agree on a deal by the end of the month to purchase the two well-known U.K. brands from U.S. auto maker Ford Motor (F), according to media reports in India. The Indian firm could raise up to $4 bln on domestic and overseas debt markets, based on its previous announcements and media reports.
05:46 BSC Bear’s fall sparks soul searching - WSJ (4.81 )

The Wall Street Journal reports investors should take a look at the net worth of remaining firms such as Goldman (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Merrill Lynch (MER) and Lehman Bros. (LEH) because doing so would suggests these stocks could have further to fall, but would also give an idea of when to buy. “Brokerage shares will only start to bottom when they trade at some sort of discount to a written-down book value,” says Charles Peabody, president of Portales Partners, a research firm. Mr. Peabody estimates brokerages’ core operations will report earnings that are 30% to 40% below levels posted in 2006 to 2007. While some analysts have suggested investors could discount various illiquid assets by about 30%, a 15% reduction seems more reasonable. Given the mix of different assets at most firms, this roughly assumes that mortgage assets, for example, could fall by about 20%, while leveraged loans could likely decline another 10% or so in value. Picking a bottom in these stocks is more important than ever because the upside may be more limited than in the past. Brokers are facing several challenges including a slowing economy, more regulation and less overall business, especially on the mergers and corporate-finance fronts. It also will take them some time to cleanse their balance sheets. The biggest limiting factor on future profitability could be that these firms will almost certainly have to operate with a lot less leverage, the borrowed money that helped boost profits from 2002 to 2007.
05:39 Delta, Northwest pilots fail to reach deal - WSJ

The Wall Street Journal reports pilots at Delta Air Lines (DAL) notified co officials they remain unable to reach agreement with their counterparts at Northwest Airlines (NWA) on how to integrate pilot ranks if the two airlines combined — a deadlock that could scuttle the merger sought by the two carriers. Lee Moak, head of the Air Line Pilots Association branch at Delta, told his members in a letter yesterday that despite intensive negotiations over recent weeks, his group couldn’t find common ground with union counterparts at another airline. He declined to name the airline in the letter, but representatives of pilots at Delta and Northwest have been meeting intermittently in New York and Washington, D.C., for weeks, attempting to hash out a plan for combining the crews of the two carriers. People familiar with the matter said the disagreement over seniority — which dictates which pilots fly which models of planes, how much money they earn and possibilities for career advancement — doesn’t necessarily mean the two airlines can’t go ahead with their merger plan. “There are still options here,” said one person. “The boards of the two companies need to decide what the next steps are.” The two airlines still could go ahead with the combination, pledging to consult with their 11,000 total pilots throughout the process and hoping the aviators would come to terms on their own while the deal awaited regulatory approvals. Or they could push the pilots toward binding arbitration.
05:37 Early Newspaper Headlines: DAL/NWA - BSC - TTM

WSJ: Delta, Northwest pilots fail to reach deal (DAL/NWA)… Bear’s (BSC) fall sparks soul searching. Reuters: Tata (TTM) gets $3 bln loan from Citigroup (C), JPMorgan (JPM): Source.
04:37 CRYP CryptoLogic beats by $0.19, beats on revs (14.69 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.40 per share, excluding tax recovery of $0.7 mln and a write-off of $1.75 mln in program costs, $0.19 better than the First Call consensus of $0.21; revenues rose 7.2% year/year to $20.4 mln vs the $18.6 mln consensus.
04:09 WIRES On The Wires -Update-

NYSE Euronext (NYX) and Abu Dhabi Securities Market enter a cooperation agreement to jointly develop and explore new opportunities in trading systems and other related technology, investor and issuer services, and investment products.
04:08 NYX NYSE Euronext authorizes $1 bln stock repurchase program; raises dividend by 20% (56.46 )

Co announces that its Board has authorized the repurchase of up to $1 bln of common stock. The Board of NYSE Euronext also approved a 20% increase in its annual dividend to $1.20 from $1.00 per common share.
03:31 CEL Cellcom Israel beats by $0.06 (32.48 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.49, $0.06 better than the First Call consensus of $0.43; revenues rose 10.7% year/year to $412.0 mln vs the $404.49 mln consensus.
03:18 MDRX Allscripts and Misys Healthcare LLC sign merger agreement (8.76 )

Co and Misys Healthcare LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Misys Plc (FTSE: MSY.L), announce that they have signed a definitive merger agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been approved by the board of directors of both companies, Misys Healthcare will be merged with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Allscripts, and Misys Plc will contribute $330 mln in cash to Allscripts, for which it will receive shares representing a 54.5% ownership position in the combined co. Allscripts will pay a special cash dividend of $330 mln or approx $4.90 per share, to Allscripts stockholders of record as of the last business day immediately prior to the closing of the transaction. Allscripts stockholders would retain the shares they currently own.
01:27 ‘Mad Money’ Recap: Lightning Round cont. - TheStreet.com

Cramer was bearish on Interactive Brokers (IBKR), Amerisourcebergen (ABC), Baidu.com (BIDU), Scientific Games (SGMS) and NYSE Group (NYX).
01:26 ‘Mad Money’ Recap: Lightning Round - TheStreet.com

Cramer was bullish on Yamana Gold (AUY), ConocoPhillips (COP), Andersons (ANDE), Medco Health (MHS), CVS Caremark (CVS) and Frontline (FRO).
01:25 Cramer’s ‘Mad Money’ Recap - TheStreet.com

On Monday’s edition, Jim reiterates a buy on CSX (CSX) following raised ‘08 EPS guidance and its $2.4 bln stock repurchase program. He also reiterates a positive view of Airgas (ARG).
01:24 LJPC La Jolla Pharma receives audit opinion containing going concern qualification (1.72 )

Co announces that its financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, included in the Form 10-K filed on March 17, 2008, contain a going concern qualification to the audit opinion from its independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young, LLP. Co intends to raise additional capital in FY08 to support its operations.
01:23 WIRES On The Wires

Saia (SAIA) Chairman adopts SEC Rule 10b5-1 trading plan… As a result of a final audit adjustment, Northgate Minerals’ (NXG) Q4 revenue has increased to $95.6 mln from $93.7 mln and net earnings has increased to $33.3 mln from $32.0 mln as previously reported… Triad Guaranty (TGIC) reports that it will delay filing its Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2007; co expects to file the Report by April 1, 2008… Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG) announces that it has moved its Q4 and FY07 earnings release date to Tuesday, March 25, 2008, BMO… Bridgford Foods (BRID) announces that it has repurchased 402,255 shares of its common stock from a stockholder in a privately-negotiated transaction for an aggregate purchase price of approx $2.7 mln.
01:15 SF Stifel Financial announces pricing of 1.9 mln common shares by selling stockholders at $40/share (40.31 )

Co announces that BankAtlantic Bancorp (BBX) and The Western and Southern Life Insurance Co priced the previously announced public offering of an aggregate of 1.9 mln shares of Stifel common at a price of $40.00 per share. Of these shares, 1.6 mln shares are being offered by BankAtlantic Bancorp and 300,000 shares are being offered by The Western and Southern Life Insurance Co.
01:11 PETD Petroleum Development beats by $0.06 (64.48 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.55, $0.06 better than the First Call consensus of $0.49. Co didn’t provide revenue. Co announces that it has filed a Form 12b-25 with the SEC requesting an automatic 15 day filing extension for the 2007 Form 10-K.
01:00 HALL Hallmark Financial Services beats by $0.03 (11.44 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.34, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.31; revenues rose 27% year/year to $69.59 mln vs the $71.96 mln consensus.
00:55 JUPM Jupitermedia misses by $0.01, beats on revs (2.86 )

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.01 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.02; revenues rose 3.9% year/year to $36.1 mln vs the $35.4 mln consensus.