11:56AM Mkt Vctrs Global Agribusiness retests early week/52-wk high at 43.60 -- session high 43.59 (MOO) 43.52 +0.72 : ADM +0.3%, PDA +0.7%, DE +2.7%, MON +2.8%, POT +1.1%, SYT +1%, MOS +2.3%.

11:54AM European Markets Closing Prices: FTSE: 5364.8 +40.9 +0.8%, DAX: 5803.0 +33.7 +0.6%, CAC: 3809.2 +24.5 +0.7% :  

11:41AM Materials SPDR continues steady intraday push higher, nearing this week and last wk/52-wk highs at 33.23/33.28 -- session high 33.20 (XLB) 33.20 +0.47 : AA +1.3%, DOW +1.8%, DD +1.7%, MON +1%, NEM +2.3%, NUE +2.5%, FCS +1.7%, APD +0.8%, PPG +1.8%.

11:36AM Dollar Index slides back off morning bounce high provides lift to energy/commodity (TECHX) :  

11:32AM Relative Strength in Energy/Commodity XLE, OIH, Gold Miners GDX, Solar TAN, Coal KOL and Casino (TECHX) : Finance XLF / RKH, Semi SMH, Housing XHB are laggards in recent action.

11:31AM Peoples Educational Holdings announces that its major shareholder has distributed all of its shares in Peoples Educational Holding to its partners (PEDH) 1.54 -0.01 : Co announces that its major shareholder, School Power Limited Partnership, has distributed all of its shares in Peoples Educational Holding to its partners. The largest recipients of these shares were Adam Smith Fund and Adam Smith Growth Partners, entities controlled by Tony Christianson, and Adam Smith Management Companies, which also controlled School Power. Christianson and the Adam Smith entities are affiliates of Cherry Tree Companies. In connection with the distribution, certain other partners in School Power transferred their rights to receive shares to Adam Smith Fund and Adam Smith Growth Partners in exchange for membership or partnership interests in such entities. Such exchanges were made at a negotiated price reflecting an effective transfer price of $2.50 per share of Company stock. Upon the completion of these transactions, Adam Smith Fund and Adam Smith Growth Partners own 727,903 shares and 919,839 shares of the Company, respectively, or 16.3% and 20.7%, respectively, of the Company's non-diluted outstanding shares.

11:29AM Cruse oil spikes back up to session highs, now +0.50 at 76.52 (USO) 38.79 +0.21 :  

11:29AM Visa shares perk up in late morning trading as price moves above the intraday 81.00 resistance mark on a pick-up in 5 min. trading volume (V) 81.16 +.54 : The Nov. 19 wide range day HoD @ 81.55 would be the next logical upside target & area of supply interest.
HoD now @ 81.25

11:26AM AT&T sets new session high of 27.33, working up toward its 10 month close high from Sep at 27.43 (T) 27.31 +0.21 : Its 10 month intraday high and the top of its 8 month trading range (between 23 and 27) from Sep is at 27.68.

11:18AM Lockheed Martin notches new session high above yesterday's peak and its 200 ema at 77.64/77.78 (LMT) 77.96 +0.39 :  

11:16AM Provident Energy Trust announced the acquisition of Sarnia storage facility (PVX) 6.48 +0.08 : Co announced that it has reached an agreement with Dow Chemical Canada to purchase a commercial storage facility in the Sarnia area for an undisclosed amount. This strategic acquisition expands Provident's Commercial Services platform into Eastern Canada, adds operational and commercial flexibility to the Empress East system and positions Provident Midstream for continued growth in stable fee-for-service margin based business. Provident's 2010 capital budget includes ~$17 million for facility maintenance and upgrades to expand the existing rail facilities at the site and to construct a truck loading terminal. This transaction is expected to close in early 2010.

11:14AM China Sky One Medical achieved progress in the development of two new biological testing kits (CSKI) 16.80 +0.30 : Co announces that they recently passed the Chinese National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products examination for two of its new products: its Diagnostic Kit for Human Prostate Specific Antigen and its Determination Kit for Luteinizing Hormone. The clinical trials for both products have been completed earlier. As the examination by ICPBP is usually the last material procedure toward the final production approval for biological testing products, the Company expects to receive the final approval from the State Food and Drug Administration in China for the production of both products by the end of 2009. Formal production for the two new products is expected to begin in 2010.

11:13AM Rino Intl pushes to fresh highs as it lifts up near its recent all-time Nov momentum high of 30.00 (RINO) 29.62 +1.73 :  

11:10AM Today's biggest point gainers/losers (SCANX) : Biggest point gainers: PKX (124.72 +4.05), HDB (138.07 +3.69), CME (326.45 +4.22), BIDU (438.76 +3.22), PATR (97.30 +3.19)... Biggest point losers: ISRL (80.11 -3.03)

11:09AM Casino displaying relative strength (LVS) : After five days in a row of losses back near support at the 50% retracement of the Oct-Nov 26% surge, the Casino Index (DJUSCA) is providing upside leadership today. Casino/Gaming stocks on the rise include: LVS +2.9%, MGM +2.9%, WYNN +2%, BYI +1.7%, IGT +1.4%, WMS +0.3%, BYD +1.2%, MCRI +1%, ASCA +0.8%.

11:07AM Mkt Vctrs Global Agribusiness ETF seeing stronger than average trading volume as price trends strongly higher, nearing a retest of the Nov/52 week high point @ 43.60 (MOO) 43.42 +.62 : MOO has already eclipsed the 636K three month moving average of trading volume here in late morning.
Top components of the ag/chem proxy are POT, SYT, MOS, DE, and ADM.
HoD now @ 43.46

10:58AM Goldman Sachs slips to fresh morning lows as it comes into its recent 3-day pullback range low near 170.00 (GS) 169.77 -1.31 :  

10:52AM Dow +26 and S&P +2.8 edge to new session highs, Nasdaq +7 hovering just below (DIA) : Relative sector strength on this move (outperforming the S&P) has been noted in Energy XLE / OIH, Retail XRT, Industrial XLI, Material XLB, Airline, Ag/Chem MOO, Coal KOL, Shipping SEA.

10:50AM Caterpillar makes new intraday highs as stock trades up in concert with Deere following upbeat DE conf call; also seeing peer AGCO (+2.7%) find a bid to fresh session highs (CAT) 58.83 +0.83 :  

10:42AM Halliburton gapped down and extended but held near its 50 day sma (HAL) 29.73 -0.73 : Sizeable retreat in early trade tested and held in the vicinity of its 50 day sma at 29.34 (session low 29.30). It quickly rebounded to 29.76 and paused but is retesting this rebound high again in recent trade.

10:40AM Exxon Mobil shares pushing through some recent topping resistance surrounding the 76.00 mark, trading into fresh multi-month highs @ 76.07 (XOM) 76.04 +.07 :  

10:35AM Sector ETF strength & weakness through the first hour of trading (UNG) : Actively Traded Leading Sector ETFs:
Nat gas- UNG +3.25%, Gold miners- GDX +1.5%, SPDRS retailers- XRT +1.5%, Livestock commods- COW +1.25%, Ag commods- DBA +1%, SPDRS metals/mining- XME +1%, SPDRS homebuilders- XHB +1%, Gold- GLD +1%, Steel- SLX +1%, Coal- KOL +.75%, Basic materials- IYM +.75%, XLB +.5%, iShares REITS- ICF +.75%, Ag/chem- MOO +.75%

Actively Traded Lagging Sector ETFs:
Global shippers- SEA -1%, Oil HLDRS- OIH -1%, US Dollar index- UUP -.75%, RBOB gas futures- UGA -.5%, Commods- GSG -.5%, Energy- XLE -.5%, IYE -.25%, US bonds- TLT -.25%, Crude/WTI oil- USO -.25%, OIL -.25%

10:35AM Home Depot slips back slightly after approaching its Nov/Oct highs at 27.95/28.02 -- session high 27.89 (HD) 27.81 +0.25 :  

10:31AM Gasoline Fund -UGA- tests/edges off Nov low of 34.90 after data -- session low 34.93 (TECHX) 35.14 -0.22 :  

10:31AM Crude futures trade back toward flat levels following mixed inventory data showing smaller crude build, larger gasoline build and larger distillate draw (USO) 38.60 +0.03 : Crude oil is now unchanged at 76.02.

10:30AM NASDAQ 100 (NDX) leaders & laggards moving through the first hour of trading (ILMN) : NDX Best % Performers:
ILMN +1.75%, SPLS +1.75%, NVDA +1.5%, ERTS +1.5%, WYNN +1.5%, JOYG +1.5%, STLD +1.5%, ATVI +1.25%

NDX Worst % Performers:
CHKP -1%, APOL -1%, ESRX -.75%, ADSK -.75%, NIHD -.5%, PCAR -.5%, MSFT -.5%, CMCSA -.5%, AKAM -.5%

NASDAQ TRIN @ +.60
NASDAQ A/D line @ +75

10:30AM Dollar Index sets minor new morning rebound high after hold near support (TECHX) : See 09:45 update and The Technical Take for weekly/daily charts.

10:29AM Crude futures making lows ahead of 10:30 inventory data... now -0.40 at 75.62 (USO) 38.34 -0.24 :  

10:27AM Dow (INDU) leaders & laggards moving through the first hour of trading (HD) : INDU Best % Performers:
HD +1%, PG +.75%, AA +1%, DIS +.5%, BA +.5%

INDU Worst % Performers:
KFT -1.25%, JPM -.5%, MSFT -.5%, UTX -.5%, XOM -.25%

NYSE TRIN @ +.95
NYSE A/D line @ +560

10:19AM Biotech HOLDRs breaks above 50 day and two week range top to set a fresh five week high (BBH) 99.00 +0.96 : The breakout brings the surge off its Oct low to more than 11%. Underpinning this morning are: AFFX +2.3%, ALKS +1.8%, AMGN +1.4%, BIIB +0.4%, GENZ +1.1%, GILD +0.3%, LIFE +0.9% (session high 51.00, Nov/52-wk high at 51.29).

10:16AM J. Crew edges higher intraday towards its 2-month range top along the $44.00/44.29 area (JCG) 44.05 +3.20 :  

10:11AM SPDR Retail extends solid start to fresh session high (XRT) 35.30 +0.42 : Overall the XRT is trading near this week's midpoint and within the trading range that has formed after it failed to break above the early month high at 36.28 last week (hit 36.25). A downward sloping trendline off the highs over the last two weeks has capped the upside thus far today. Pacing the way higher are: JCG +6.6 (session high 43.92, Oct and Nov/52-wk highs at 44.18/44.29, JCP +1.6%, EXPE +1.4%, CHS +1.3%, PSS +2.9%, GES +3.6%, LTD +2.4%, RSH +1.3%.

10:04AM SPDR Homebuilders pops after data but still hovering below yesterday's high at 14.82 (XHB) 14.71 +0.13 :  

10:01AM Market View: Stock indices tick slightly higher after housing data and slip back -- Dow +2, S&P +1, Nasdaq +4.6 (SPY) :  

9:57AM Alcon runs to new session high fo 148.60, its Oct and Nov/52-wk highs are at 148.85/148.93 (ACL) 148.41 +0.25 :  

9:52AM Semiconductors Hldrs Trust displays some relative strength as it edged slightly above Tuesday's peak but momentum has stalled (SMH) 25.62 +0.10 : ADI +0.6%, ATML +1%, BRCM +0.5%, KLAC +1%, AMAT +1%, NVLS +0.5%, SNDK +0.7%, XLNX +0.7%.

9:47AM Reminder: New Home Sales data due out in about 13 min at 10:00ET (ECONX) :  

9:46AM Reminder: Mich Sentiment-Revised data due out in about 9 min at 9:55ET (ECONX) :  

9:45AM Dollar Index slides to new 52-wk low but stabilizes near support (TECHX) : The Dollar Index broke below its Nov trading range to set a new 52-wk low but has bounced intraday after probing support at its June 2008 high/bull breakout point at 74.31 (session low 74.39) -- Click for weekly chart see The Technical Take for daily chart.

9:34AM Early upticks limited as Dow -4 and S&P -0.3 stall shy of yesterday's highs -- Nasdaq +2.1 (SPY) :  

9:32AM Quantum Fuel unit announces letter of intent for $20 million (QTWW) 1.32 +0.04 : Co announces that it and its subsidiary, Quantum Solar Energy, has entered into a non-binding letter of intent with New Energy Systems, which sets forth the terms by which NES would invest $20 million in Quantum Solar in exchange for a 34% ownership interest in Quantum Solar. Quantum Solar will use the investment proceeds to establish a state of the art solar photovoltaic module manufacturing facility in Irvine, California, with an expected annual capacity of 45 MW. 

9:32AM Baidu.com gaps up, eyeing its Oct peak and 52-wk close high from last week at 440/441 (BIDU) 438.50 +2.96 : The 52-wk intraday high from last week is at 442.86

9:31AM Quantum to acquire Schneider Power (QTWW) 1.32 +0.05 : The co and Schneider Power announce the signing of a definitive business combination agreement under which Quantum has agreed to acquire in a stock-for-stock exchange all of the outstanding common shares of Schneider Power. The transaction will combine Schneider Power's wind and solar power generation development portfolio with Quantum's world-leading alternative fuel technologies and solar power technologies to create a fully integrated renewable energy company. The combined companies' portfolio will encompass products that enable energy efficient utilization in hybrid and fuel cell vehicles to solar module manufacturing and clean electricity generation for North American consumers.

9:27AM US Bancorp announces plans to sell three Texas bank locations acquired in recent FDIC facilitated transacion (USB) 23.73 :  

9:05AM On The Wires : Griffin Land & Nurseries (GRIF) announces that it has entered into two separate purchase agreements to acquire an approximate 120,000 square foot industrial building in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania; and an approximate 51 acre parcel of undeveloped land in Lower Nazareth, Pennsylvania. The properties were auctioned separately by the Trustee of the bankruptcy estate of the sole owner of the entities that own these assets. The purchase price for these two acquisitions, before closing costs, is ~ $8.2 mln... Transocean (RIG) announces that the newbuild ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rig Development Driller III has commenced operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico for a subsidiary of BP (BP) under a seven-year drilling contract.

9:03AM Under Pressure -2/32 3.310% euro 1.5070...yen 87.5300 (BONDX) : Trade was weak heading in, but hurt further as data hit, while being hampered ahead of the record sized auction. Treasuries were hit on the first dump of the day's data, with the improved initial jobless claims being a large driver while the continuing claims supported that slant as the market obsesses over labor. The mash-up of multi-tasking, inter-related and confused data showed a generally improving picture with income, while flat, at least not falling, the volatile spending report reaching higher while jobless claims fell trailed by the confused continuing claims drop. The 10-yr is hovering near the 3.325% yield level while the data helped weigh on global bonds as the largest economy tries to feel its way to improvement. The curve was swung well steeper on the first data-slam, taking the 2-10-yr yield spread running back to 260 from the 256.9 level. The dollar has been slammed with the index collapsing through to 8/08 levels while seeing a similar move on the euro and yen as longer term low rates weigh. The yen has been bid back through to near the month's best levels on the euro. Data still to come includes  UofM sentiment (9:55ish) and new home sales (10) along with the record $31B 7-yr auction (13)

9:01AM IPCS Inc: Sprint Nextel (S) receives all regulatory approvals for iPCS acquisition (IPCS) 24.00 :  

8:55AM GeoResources prices public offering of 3 mln shares of common stock at $10.20/share (GEOI) 10.41 :  

8:40AM Gilat Satellite chosen by Telefonica del Peru for broadband satellite communications project covering more than 3,500 sites (GILT) 4.43 : Co announces it is providing a Gilat SkyEdge II broadband satellite communications network covering more than 3,500 rural sites nationwide to Telefonica del Peru. As part of Telefonica del Peru's Universal Service Obligation, the SkyEdge II VSAT network will deliver broadband Internet services to remote areas of Peru, enabling citizens to benefit from email, fast web searches, streaming video content, e-commerce, and research related to health care, education and housing.

8:40AM Coinstar initiated with a Outperform at Wedbush Morgan; tgt $35 (CSTR) 26.03 : Wedbush Morgan initiates CSTR with a Outperform and price target of $35. The firm notes that notwithstanding the likelihood of losing its lawsuit against NBCUniversal, the firm expects CSTR's Redbox kiosks to provide solid growth over the foreseeable future. The firm believes that higher potential cost of sales can be offset by higher pricing for movie rental, and the firm believes that CSTR has the opportunity to provide significant revenue and earnings growth from its Redbox business.

8:38AM Labopharm enters into CDN $25 mln standby equity distribution agreement (DDSS) 1.46 : Co announces it has entered into a standby equity distribution agreement with YA Global Master S.P.V., a fund managed by Yorkville Advisors. Under the terms of the agreement, YA has committed to provide up to $25 mln of capital during the next three years, at Labopharm's discretion, through the purchase of newly issued Labopharm common shares.

8:31AM Capstone Turbine announces that two clean energy product development projects selected by the U.S. DOE and BIRD Foundation for funding grants (CPST) 1.25 : Co announces that it has received notice of grant awards by the U.S. Department of Energy and Israel's Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation to participate in two separate clean energy product development projects valued in excess of $3 mln.

8:31AM E~mini index futures see a lift to fresh GLOBEX highs as data is digested (SPY) : ES +7
NQ +11
YM +50

8:26AM Sucampo Pharma announces Lubiprostone data; says the data analyses demonstrated that lubiprostone achieved a statistically significant response in patients with IBS-C as compared to placebo patients in a variety of symptomatic endpoints (SCMP) 3.64 : Co presented additional clinical data for lubiprostone. The data presented reflect additional analyses of already disclosed phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials of lubiprostone in patients with chronic idiopathic constipation and in patients diagnosed with or reporting irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). Overall, the data analyses demonstrated that, in these trials, lubiprostone achieved a statistically significant response in patients with IBS-C as compared to placebo patients in a variety of symptomatic endpoints; demonstrated long-term efficacy through an overall improvement in constipation severity for up to 12 months in adult patients regardless of age, gender or race; and achieved a significant response among refractory constipation patients as compared to placebo. In this analysis, patients treated with lubiprostone 24 mcg B.I.D. showed statistically significant improvements over placebo patients at all weeks in S.B.M. frequency, abdominal discomfort, stool consistency, straining, constipation severity and abdominal bloating.

8:21AM Green Mtn Coffee responds to DDRX's determination that its offer constitutes "superior proposal"; says "our all-cash proposal provides DDRX shareholders Diedrich shareholders with a substantial premium as well as greater value..." (GMCR) 63.96 :  

8:13AM Reminder: Personal Income, Personal Spending, PCE Prices, Initial Claims, Continuing Claims, and Durable Orders data due out in about 17 min at 8:30ET (ECONX) :  

8:02AM Peet's Coffee issues response to DDRX determination; says over the next several days co will consider all alternatives (PEET) 32.86 : Co issued the following statement after an announcement by Diedrich Coffee (DDRX) that Diedrich's board of directors has determined a proposal from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) to acquire Diedrich for $32.00 per share in cash to be superior to the November 22, 2009 enhanced acquisition proposal submitted by Peet's. Peet's had proposed to acquire Diedrich in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $30.35 per share, or a total value of approximately $251 million, based on the closing price of Peet's common of stock of $32.86 on November 24, 2009. That proposal expired this morning and is no longer in effect. Under the terms of the existing merger agreement Peet's entered into with Diedrich on November 2, 2009, the agreement (including Peet's offer to acquire Diedrich in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $26.00 per share) remains in effect until at least 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Monday, November 30, 2009, and until that time (as it may be extended to the extent provided in the agreement), Peet's has the right to amend its offer such that Diedrich's board of directors could no longer determine that GMCR's proposal continues to be a superior proposal. "As provided for in our merger agreement with Diedrich, over the next several days we will consider all our alternatives and take the action we deem to be in the best interests of Peet's shareholders," said Patrick O'Dea, President and CEO of Peet's. "We will communicate further when it is appropriate."

8:02AM WSP Holdings authorizes the repurchase up to $10 mln outstanding American Depositary Shares (WH) 3.37 :  

8:02AM NiSource comments on Moody's rating decisions and reiterates commitment to liquidity, performance and long-term growth (NI) 14.08 : The co comments on the Moody's Investors Service decision to affirm the company's investment grade credit rating of Baa3 and raise its outlook to stable. "NiSource has made great strides over the past year to enhance the company's liquidity and financial position and we're pleased Moody's has recognized our progress by raising its outlook on the company to stable," said NiSource President & CEO Robert Skaggs Jr. "We are committed to continuing to strengthen our liquidity position, deliver solid performance from our core businesses and advance our long-term growth strategy." Moody's cited the successful resolution of a variety of rate proceedings by NiSource's gas utilities and the management of the company's liquidity position as major influencing factors for raising NiSource's outlook to stable. Skaggs continued, "Over the past year, our balanced business and liquidity strategies have helped us weather the financial crisis and the severe economic downturn, greatly strengthen our liquidity position and also advance our aggressive agenda of infrastructure improvements, regulatory initiatives and pipeline and storage growth opportunities. These efforts have allowed us to successfully implement a plan that fully addresses NiSource's debt refinancing requirements through 2010."

8:01AM Sinovac Biotech establishes joint venture to expand human-use vaccine development and manufacturing capabilities; SVA to own 55% in joint venture by year end 2010 (SVA) 7.21 : Co announces that it executed a joint venture agreement to establish Sinovac Vaccine Technology Co. The J.V. will research, develop, produce and commercialize human-use vaccines. Sinovac will contribute its expertise and experience in developing and commercializing world-class vaccines; the other party will bring its land use rights, manufacturing facilities and established operating infrastructure. SVA, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Sinovac Biotech Ltd, shall make an initial cash contribution of approximately $8.8 mln. Dalian Jin Gang Group, the other party, shall make an asset contribution, inclusive of its manufacturing facilities, production lines and land use rights, with an appraised value of approximately $22.5 mln. Equity interest is divided 30% and 70% between Sinovac and Dalian, respectively. Pursuant to the agreement executed between Sinovac and Dalian Jin Gang Group, SVA will increase its equity shares to 55% in exchange for a cash contribution of approximately $7.5 mln, on or before December 31, 2010. Based on current projections, Sinovac Dalian's development pipeline is expected to be comprised of vaccines for rabies, mumps, varicella, and rubella. The Dalian-based facility has a designed annual manufacturing capacity of 20 million doses of vero cell cultured vaccines and 20 million doses of live attenuated vaccines.

8:00AM Idera Pharma and Merck extend research collaboration for agonists of toll-like receptors as vaccine adjuvants (IDRA) 5.00 : Co announces that Merck (MRK) has extended its research collaboration with Idera for a fourth year. As part of the agreement, the two companies engaged in a two-year research and development collaboration to generate novel agonists targeting TLR7 and TLR8 and incorporating both Merck and Idera chemistry for use in vaccines in the licensed fields, with Merck having the right to extend the collaboration for two additional one-year periods.

7:36AM Idera Pharma announces termination of asthma and allergy research collaboration agreement (IDRA) 5.00 : Co announced that Novartis will terminate its research collaboration agreement with the Company, effective as of February 21, 2010. In May 2005, the Company entered into a research collaboration and option agreement and a separate license, development, and commercialization agreement with Novartis (NVS) to discover, develop, and commercialize TLR9 agonists that are based on Idera's proprietary IMO chemistry and identified as potential treatments for asthma and allergies. Under the terms of the research collaboration agreement, Novartis paid the Company a $4.0 million upfront license fee and in 2007 a $1.0 million payment associated with the extension of the research collaboration. In March 2008, the co agreed to extend the research collaboration until December 31, 2008. The parties agreed to the extension in order to allow for the advancement of QAX935 (IMO-2134), a novel agonist of TLR9 identified in the collaboration, into human clinical trials prior to the end of the research collaboration term. Co received a $1.0 million milestone payment from Novartis as a result of the initiation of the Phase 1 clinical study. As a result of the termination of the research collaboration agreement, co will regain all rights to IMO-2134 without any financial obligations to Novartis and will no longer be subject to restrictions on its right to develop its TLR-targeted compounds, including its TLR antagonists and TLR antisense oligonucleotides, for respiratory diseases.

7:35AM On The Wires : VocalTec Communications (VOCL) announces that Teledata ICT selected VocalTec's Class-5 VoIP solution for the delivery of advanced hosted PBX services... Consolidated Edison (ED) will receive an additional $45 mln in smart grid stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Energy... Ener1's (HEV) EnerDel will enter the utility-scale energy storage market, supplying batteries for a major new smart grid program announced yesterday by the US Department of Energy. EnerDel will build the batteries for five one-megawatt power systems that will be used by Portland General Electric. It is one of 16 announced by DOE, which is providing half the $178 mln funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal stimulus package enacted in February.

7:34AM Citizens & Northern prices 2.5 mln common share offering at $8.00/share (CZNC) 9.24 :  

7:31AM Breitburn Energy responds to inaccurate press release by Quicksilver Resources (BBEP) 11.37 : Co announces that on October 31, 2008 Quicksilver Resources (KWK), a limited partner in BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P., filed a lawsuit in Fort Worth, Texas against BreitBurn. BreitBurn believes that this lawsuit is part of a campaign by Quicksilver to gain working control of the partnership to serve its own ends. Quicksilver's inaccurate November 24, 2009 press release continues that campaign. Quicksilver's release indicates that the Court has made a final ruling on the Quicksilver lawsuit, that a BreitBurn annual meeting must be held within 120 days, and that at that meeting Quicksilver would be entitled to vote all of its units in the election of directors. None of these assertions are true. The Court's order referred to by Quicksilver is a partial decision on a series of motions brought by the parties and is not final or complete. Not all of the important issues related to the election of directors have been resolved. The trial on these and all other outstanding issues remains scheduled for April 2010. BreitBurn believes that when the lawsuit has been fully resolved, BreitBurn's actions will be shown to have been proper and in the best interests of all of the limited partners.

7:31AM Merge Healthcare and InSite One expand license agreement to include new solution (MRGE) 3.11 : The co announces that InSite One, a leading service provider of medical data archiving, storage, and disaster-recovery solutions, has expanded its contract with Merge to provide a universal viewing solution for their InDex archiving services. "We are excited about joining forces to bring new InDex solutions into additional verticals within the healthcare market," says Jim Champagne, President of InSite One, Inc. "We have shown our combined solution to several HIE organizations and enterprise clients, and our first implementation is already underway."

7:30AM Illumina announces $100 mln share repurchase program (ILMN) 27.99 : Co announces that its Board of Directors has approved a new stock repurchase program, authorizing the company to repurchase in the aggregate up to $100 mln of its outstanding common stock. Co states, "Considering the strength of our balance sheet and our prospects for continued strong cash generation from our operations, this repurchase program is an effective means to return value to our shareholders."

7:11AM McCormick increases quarterly dividend to $0.26/share from $0.24/share (MKC) 36.42 :  

7:10AM Deere beats by $0.20, beats on revs; guides for smaller than expected decline in revs in FY10 and Q1; sees net income below consensus (DE) 52.29 : Reports Q4 (Oct) earnings of $0.23 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.20 better than the First Call consensus of $0.03; revenues fell 29.8% year/year to $4.73 bln vs the $4.44 bln consensus. Co sees company equipment sales about -1% for FY10 and about -10% YoY for Q1 (consensus calls for revs to be -2% in 2010 and -12% in Q1). Deere's net income is anticipated to be approximately $900 mln for 2010 (consensus is for ~$1.1 bln). Mainly due to lower discount rates, the company expects postretirement benefit costs to be about $400 mln higher on a pretax basis in 2010 than in 2009. "All our businesses are benefiting from the consistent execution of plans to keep a tight rein on costs and inventories. In addition, Deere has made further progress extending its competitive position through a relentless focus on customers and a steady investment in new projects, products and geographies... We remain extremely confident about the company's future, which in our view holds considerable promise for delivering significant value to the company and its investors in the years ahead." Net sales of the worldwide equipment operations decreased 30% for the quarter and were down 20% for the year. Sales included a favorable currency-translation effect of 1% for the quarter and an unfavorable currency-translation effect of 4% for the year. Also included in sales was price realization of 3% for the quarter and 5% for the year. Equipment net sales in the United States and Canada declined 26% for the quarter and 14% for the year. Net sales outside the United States and Canada were down 35% for the quarter and 28 percent for the year, with a favorable currency-translation effect of 1% for the quarter and an unfavorable currency-translation effect of 8% for the year.

7:04AM Tiffany & Co beats by $0.09, beats on revs; guides FY10 EPS above consensus, expects FY10 worldwide sales decline of approx 8% (TIF) 41.83 : Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $0.33 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 better than the First Call consensus of $0.24; revenues fell 2.9% year/year to $598 mln vs the $575.1 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.88-1.98 (previous range 1.65-1.75), excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.77 consensus. Management's outlook for the fourth quarter (based on assumptions that may or may not prove valid) is for a mid-single-digit percentage increase in worldwide sales. Total sales growth in November-to-date is tracking favorably to management's expectation, but results in December are most relevant to the co's ability to achieve its outlook for the fourth quarter. For the full year, management now expects: (i) a worldwide sales decline of approx 8%, including: (a) a low-teens percentage decline in the Americas, (b) the Asia-Pacific region equal to the prior year, (c) a low-single-digit percentage increase in Europe, and (d) a 60% decline in Other sales; (ii) a decline in the operating margin (when the prior year is adjusted to exclude one-time items) due to both a lower gross margin and the anticipated sales de-leverage effect on fixed costs, partly offset by savings tied to staff reductions and other cost-related initiatives.

7:04AM Human Genome submits biologics license application to FDA for ZALBIN (HGSI) 27.92 : Co announced that it has submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ZALBIN for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. The BLA submission includes the results of two pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials showing that 900-mcg albinterferon alfa-2b dosed every two weeks met its primary endpoint of non-inferiority to peginterferon alfa-2a (Pegasys) dosed once each week.

7:03AM Transglobe Energy provides capital program and targets for 2010 (TGA) 3.61 : Co is planning a 30% increased capital budget for 2010 and increased production and funds flow for 2010. Co has projected its 2010 capital budget at $46.1 million representing a 30% increase over 2009. The development budget of $37.3 million is targeting 3,000 barrels of oil per day ("Bopd") of new production and 8.7 million barrels of Proved plus Probable reserve additions during 2010. The exploration budget of $8.8 million will test prospects with a total recoverable oil potential of 54 million barrels gross or 21 million barrels to TransGlobe's working interest (unrisked, mean case, internal estimate). It is anticipated the Company will fund its entire 2010 capital budget from funds flow and working capital. Co has projected funds flow from operations for 2010 of $55 mln based on an average dated Brent oil price of $65.00/Bbl and mid-point of production guidance. The 2010 funds flow sensitivity to a change in oil price is approximately $1.0 mln per dollar change in dated Brent (i.e. $65 mln for $75.00/Bbl dated Brent). The 2010 funds flow forecast is based on an estimated production target of 9,300 to 9,700 Bopd (firm plus contingent budget), with a targeted exit rate over 10,000 Bopd.

7:02AM QLT announces MGH litigation settlement (QLTI) 3.77 : Co announces the settlement of its litigation with the General Hospital Corporation, doing business as Massachusetts General Hospital. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, QLT will pay US$20.0 mln to MGH as payment in full for all past and future royalty obligations under the License Agreement between QLT and MGH, in exchange for the dismissal with prejudice of MGH's lawsuit against QLT pending in the Massachusetts District Court for violation of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 93A, sections 2 and 11. As part of the settlement, QLT and MGH have also released each other from any claims in connection with the lawsuit and certain related matters. Under the existing License Agreement, QLT was obligated to pay MGH a 0.5% royalty on Visudyne sales in the U.S. and Canada.

6:33AM S&P futures vs fair value: +4.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +8.80. :

6:33AM European Markets : FTSE...5353.78...+30.00...+0.60%. DAX...5789.67...+20.40...+0.40%.

6:33AM Asian Markets : Nikkei...9441.64...+40.10...+0.40%. Hang Seng...22611.80...+188.70...+0.80%.

4:02AM Solarfun Power appoints Gareth Kung as CFO, effective December 1, 2009 (SOLF) 6.32 :  

1:21AM Nortel selects Ericsson and Kapsch as successful bidders for GSM/GSM-R business (ERIC) 10.08 : Nortel announces that it, its principal operating subsidiary Nortel Networks Limited, and certain of its other subsidiaries, including Nortel Networks, Nortel Networks UK Ltd (in administration), and Nortel Networks SA have concluded a successful auction of substantially all of the global assets of Nortel's GSM/GSM-R business. LM Ericsson and Kapsch CarrierCom AG are the winning joint bidders with a purchase price of $103 mln in cash.

1:18AM Incyte announces collaboration and license agreement for two hematology-oncology programs (INCY) 7.72 : Co announces that it has entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Novartis (NVS) for two of its investigational hematology-oncology therapies: INCB18424, an oral JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor that is in Phase III development for myelofibrosis, a serious life-threatening neoplastic condition characterized by varying degrees of bone marrow failure, splenic enlargement and debilitating constitutional symptoms, and INCB28060, an oral cMET inhibitor that is about to enter Phase I development as a potential treatment for multiple cancers. Under the terms of the agreement, Incyte will retain exclusive rights for the development and potential commercialization of INCB18424 in the US. Novartis will have responsibility for the future development and commercialization of INCB18424 in all hematology-oncology indications outside of the US. Novartis will also be responsible for the future worldwide development of INCB28060. Novartis will make an upfront payment of $150 mln to Incyte plus an immediate $60 million milestone payment for the initiation of the European Phase III trial of INCB18424, COMFORT-II, that began in July of this year. Novartis will receive ex-US commercialization rights for Incyte's lead JAK inhibitor and global commercialization rights for the cMET inhibitor.