FinancialWire™

Eldorado Gold USA Conference Call Today, 11:30 A.M.

bobfarley — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:13:50 +0000

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) (Investrend Broadcast Syndicate) — Eldorado Gold Corporation USA (NYSE: EGO) will hold a Q4 2009 Earnings company conference call today at 11:30 AM Eastern time. Direct access to the call is available via the Conference Call Search function at BestCalls (http://www.bestcalls.com) by referencing the company ticker symbol.

Conference calls are often impacted by market trends, geopolitical conditions, news coming from conferences and economic releases. FinancialWire(tm) provides complete, daily conference call schedules as a service to shareholders and investors via the FirstAlert(tm) Network's FirstAlert(tm) Daily Electronic Newsletter (http://www.financialwire.net/news-alerts/), as well as free annual reports on those and thousands of other companies via the Free Annual Reports Service (http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279).

FinancialWire(tm) is a fully independent, proprietary news wire service. FinancialWire(tm) is not a press release service, and receives no compensation for its news, opinions or distributions. Further disclosure is at the FinancialWire(tm) website (http://www.financialwire.net/disclosures.php). Contact FinancialWire(tm) directly via inquiries@financialwire.net.

FirstAlert(tm) Daily 3/19: Higher Highs Ahead For S&P 500 SPDRs

bobfarley — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:12:12 +0000

- Market Commentary -

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) (By Frank Kollar) — Both the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and its tracking ETF the S&P Deposit Receipts (NYSE: SPY) continue to move higher in a momentum rally that has not only broken out to new highs, but has considerably higher to go.

Financial markets are becoming overbought as buyers refuse to allow even a single down day, but though there must be short-term profit-taking soon, we expect the stock market to rally to at least the next resistance levels.

For the SPX, the next resistance level is the 61.8% retracement for the entire bear market decline at SPX 1226. That is 5.2% above Thursday’s close at 1165.83.

For the SPY, the next resistance level is the 61.8% retracement for the entire bear market decline at SPY 122.98. That is 5.1% above Thursday’s close at 117.04.

The 61.8% retracement levels typically are the make-or-break points for rallies. If we close above them there will be higher highs but a reversal at or just below SPX 1165 or SPY 117 would start a bout of profit-taking or sideways trading that could last several weeks or more.

Disclosure: The Fibtimer.com (http://www.fibtimer.com) ETF Timing Strategy has a position in the S&P 500 SPDRs.

[Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=frank+kollar to see more commentaries by Frank Kollar.]

The FirstAlert(tm) “Money Index” is an indicator of the depth of market direction or indirection. While not always including the same stocks, the combined NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX 25 Most Actives and combined NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX greatest Percentage Losers and Percentage Winners (weighted against pure monetary loss/gain) indicate the direction in which the mass of money is flowing, as well as the general focus of the market. The most recently published FirstAlert(tm) Money Index Synopses are accessible via FinancialWire.net (at http://www.financialwire.net/?s=index+synopsis). The data providing the basis for the FirstAlert(tm) Money Index is provided courtesy of Stock Smart, and complete Stock Smart charts and closing summaries are directly accessible via a dedicated Investrend.com webpage (at http://www.investrend.com/fa-index).

The FirstAlert(tm) Economics Calendar lists Quadruple Witching – Options & Futures Expiration.

The FirstAlert(tm) Events Calendar showcases AerCap Holdings N.V. Investors Meeting.

FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://www.sparky.org/

Quote of the Day: "Do not compute the totality of your poultry population until all the manifestations of incubation have been entirely completed." William Jennings Bryan

Today is: National Chocolate Caramel Day.

Happy Birthday: Dr. David Livingstone, Wyatt Earp, William Jennings Bryan, Earl Warren, Moms Mabley, Patrick McGoohan, Ursula Andress, Joe Kapp, Glenn Close, Bruce Willis, Connor Trinneer.

Today in History: A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ended the Song Dynasty in China in 1279. The City Bank of New York became in 1831 the site of the first bank robbery in United States history ($245,000 taken). Pluto was photographed in 1915 for the first time but was not recognized as a planet. Eight American planes took off in pursuit of Pancho Villa in 1916, the first United States air-combat mission in history. The U.S. Congress established time zones and approved daylight saving time in 1918. Gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931. The Thoroughbred Racing Association was established in 1942 in Chicago. Academy Awards were first televised in 1953.

[FirstAlert(tm) was created by Gayle Essary, founder of Investrend Communications, Inc., parent of Investrend Information. The opinions expressed in FirstAlert(tm) do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Investrend.]

FinancialWire(tm) is committed to serving the financial community through true journalism and providing relevant resources to investors. Standards-based, independent equity research on numerous public companies is available through the Investrend Research Syndicate (http://www.investrend.com/reports) written by FIRST Research Consortium (http://www.investrend.com/FIRST) member-providers. Free annual reports and company filings for companies mentioned in the news are available through the Investrend Information Syndicate (at http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279). FinancialWire(tm), in cooperation with the Investrend Broadcast Syndicate, also provides complete, daily conference call and webcast schedules as a service to shareholders and investors via the FirstAlert(tm) Network’s “FirstAlert(tm) Daily” (http://www.financialwire.net/news-alerts/).

FinancialWire(tm) is a fully independent, proprietary news wire service. FinancialWire(tm) is not a press release service, and receives no compensation for its news, opinions or distributions. Further disclosure is at the FinancialWire(tm) website (http://www.financialwire.net/disclosures.php). Contact FinancialWire(tm) directly via inquiries@financialwire.net.

ChinaTel To Develop Wireless Networks In China, Peru

bobfarley — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:09:50 +0000

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) — China Tel Group, Inc. (OTCBB: CHT), a firm that provides high speed wireless broadband, telecommunications infrastructure, engineering and construction services, said that it will expand and accelerate deployment of wireless broadband networks in 12 cities across China and eight cities in Peru.

ChinaTel CEO George Alvarez said that funding his firm has received to date has allowed to move forward with the initial phase of a plan to deploy a state-of-the-art broadband network in 12 of China's largest cities and Peru's 8 largest cities.

The 12 cities in China cover approximately 250 million people in areas that represent around 50 percent of the PRC's overall gross domestic product, according to China Tel. The eight cities in Peru cover around 17 million people in areas representing around 58 percent of Peru's total population.

California-based ChinaTel Group, through its controlled subsidiaries, provides fixed telephony, conventional long distance, high-speed wireless broadband and telecommunications infrastructure engineering and construction services. ChinaTel is presently building, operating and deploying networks in Asia and South America.

China In-Focus: Puda Coal To Buy 4 Mines

bobfarley — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:07:31 +0000

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Puda Coal, Inc. (AMEX: PUDA) said it plans to acquire and consolidate four coal mines located in Huozhou County, central Shanxi Province, in China.

The company said that, under a government policy allowing mergers and consolidations of coal mining companies in Shanxi Province, larger coal production enterprises are given the opportunity to acquire, consolidate and restructure smaller coal mines through mergers, acquisitions and asset or share transfers.

On September 30, 2009, Shanxi Puda Coal Group, a 90% subsidiary of Puda Coal, was appointed by the Shanxi provincial government as a consolidator of eight thermal coal mines located Pinglu County in southern Shanxi Province.

Shanxi Coal said it recently received a new approval by the Shanxi provincial government to consolidate four additional coking coal mines into one coal mine. After the completion of the consolidation, the Jianhe Project is expected to increase the total annual capacity from 720,000 metric tons to 900,000 metric tons, according to the Shanxi provincial government's approval.

The target coal mines are around 200 kilometers south of Puda Coal's headquarters and 50 kilometers from the company's Lingshi coal washing plant. The coal in that area is fat coal and coking coal. The fat coal can be used as raw coal for making cleaned coal or as high quality thermal coal for power plants. Coking coal is used to make coke.

China-based Puda Coal, through its subsidiaries, supplies metallurgical coking coal used to produce coke for steel manufacturing in China.

Signs Of Bull Market Remain In-Place, Says Duarte

toddessary — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:06:44 +0000

- Exclusive Interview & Technical Commentary -

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Earlier this week, in his article entitled “Tuesday Brings Stock Role Reversal” (at http://www.financialwire.net/?s=djdrtreg0006) Dr. Joe Duarte noted that the blue chip stocks in the SPDR DJIA Trust (NYSE: DIA) (the Dow Jones Diamonds exchange-traded mutual fund) were starting to outperform the small stocks. In that commentary, Duarte further noted that such a development might be worthy of concern. FinancialWire(tm) followed-up with Dr. Joe and asked him how he now feels about the market, a few trading sessions later. Dr. Joe talked about Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) and the hotel chain Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT), as well as an interesting conversation he had over the weekend, when he traveled to Austin, Texas.

FW: Joe, has anything changed with regard to the relationship between the small stocks and the blue chip stocks in the last few days.

JD: Yeah, actually, things look a bit better than they did at the close on March 17 because the blue chips and the small stocks are now starting to move in tandem. In fact, that the Dow is late to the party is actually bullish, as it shows that money is now being distributed in a fairly equitable fashion between a larger number of stocks.

FW: Is there a specific reason for your positive stance?

JD: You can get very complicated when you start talking about technical analysis. But for the investor that looks at the market once a day or once a week, the larger the number of stocks that rise, the better their chance of making money. In other words, the more stocks that join the rally, the better the investor’s chance of picking winners and making money.

FW: And what is the market predicting with this rally?

JD: No one really knows what the market is predicting at any time. But you can make a good case for the notion that if the market is right, the economy is on fairly strong footing. In a recent "Tales from the Road" segment, I noted that the lodging sector, a bellwether for the business sector, was starting to have some pricing power. That's a sign that business travel is improving, which means that business is improving.

FW: Tell us about that.

JD: “Tales from the Road” is a recurrent theme on my web site (joe-duarte.com). I travel about once or twice a month and check things out in different places. I go to restaurants, stay in hotels, talk to lots of people and do wonky things like counting the number of 18-wheeler rigs on the road or the number of cars outside malls and other businesses. After a while, patterns emerge, and a fairly good part of the time, I get a broad, and certainly anecdotal picture of the economy. (Note: The entire collection can be found at http://www.joe-duarte.com/free/tales_from_road.asp)

FW: What made you more positive this time?

JD: I saw more highway traffic than I’ve seen in a long time. Mall parking lots seemed to be fuller. And I stayed at a Hampton Inn in Austin, Texas. I was working in the lobby on Sunday night, and more and more people kept coming into the hotel. It turns out that there was a festival there starting the next day called “South by Southwest.” So I asked the clerk if the traffic was due to the festival.

FW: Was it?

JD: Partially yes. But then she told me that business was actually moving a lot better through the hotel even without the festival. Then she blew me away by telling me that the hotel had been able to raise rates by an average of $20 per room over the last few months.

FW: So, the hotel industry is doing better? That’s not exactly mainstream news right now.

JD: It’s not. In fact, all you hear is complaining. But if you look at restaurant stocks, those are also picking up.

FW: Any names?

JD: Sure, look at Darden Restaurants. They own the Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains. That stock is doing quite well.

FW: Any hotel stocks? Hampton is a Hilton brand, which is privately held. But shares of Starwood Hotels & Resorts have been acting well lately.

FW: What’s it all mean Joe?

JD: (Laughs) Purely from an investment standpoint, it means that money managers are buying restaurant stocks. On the other side of the coin, though, a hotel with pricing power is an interesting development these days.

FW: It sure is. Thanks Joe.

More insight and commentary from Dr. Joe Duarte (http://www.joe-duarte.com/), can be found by visiting Dr. Joe Duarte’s “Market I.Q.’ (at http://www.joe-duarte.com/free/order_choices.asp), Duarte’s “Intelligent Forecasts” (at http://www.intelligentforecasts.com), as well as by reading Duarte’s books (available via http://www.amazon.com/), which include “Market Timing For Dummies”, Successful Energy Sector Investing," "Successful Biotech Investing", "Successful Energy Sector Investing” and "After-Hours Trading Made Easy" (co-authored by Duarte).

Dr. Joe Duarte, In addition to regularly contributing to Investrend Weblogs (http://www.investrendweblogs.net/jduarte/), has logged many appearances on CNBC and is a frequent radio guest. One of CNBC's original Market Mavens, Dr. Duarte has been writing about the financial markets since 1990. He is a featured columnist on Stockwatch.com. His articles and commentary have been featured on Marketwatch.com, Barron's, Smart Money, Medical Economics, and in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazines. In 2003, Doctor Duarte received second place, in the professional section, of the Medical Economics Investment Challenge with a 12-month return of 42%.

FinancialWire(tm) is a fully independent, proprietary news wire service. FinancialWire(tm) is not a press release service, and receives no compensation for its news, opinions or distributions. Further disclosure is at the FinancialWire(tm) website (http://www.financialwire.net/disclosures.php). Contact FinancialWire(tm) directly via inquiries@financialwire.net.

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China In-Focus: Hung Named CFO Of Wowjoint Holdings

bobfarley — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:57:33 +0000

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) — China Fundamental acquisition Corp., which is in the process of changing its name to Wowjoint Holdings Ltd. (OTCBB: CFQCF) said it has named Anthony Hung as chief financial officer of the company.

Prior to joining Wowjoint, Hung was a member of the investment banking team at Deutsche Bank AG Hong Kong for four years, where he managed transactions and client coverage in the infrastructure, real estate, technology and consumer sectors.

Previously Hung was a private equity associate with Bastion Capital in Los Angeles, where he analyzed and helped manage existing and potential portfolio investments, including Spanish media company Telemundo.

Prior to Bastion, Hung was co-founder of Ave3D Inc., a California-based 3D internet software company where he developed, executed and helped finance the company's business model and strategic vision.

China-based Wowjoint was recently acquired by China Fundamental acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company that completed its initial public offering in May 2008.

Wowjoint is engaged in the design, engineering and manufacturing of customized infrastructure equipment and machinery used in the construction of railways, highways, metro subways, bridges and viaducts.

Lynch Named CEO Of Barnes & Noble

bobfarley — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:57:05 +0000

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Bookseller Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) has named William Lynch as its chief executive officer. Lynch succeeds Steve Riggio, who the company said will remain vice chairman and be actively involved in the company.

The company also promoted chief operating officer Mitchell Klipper to CEO of the company’s retail group, which encompasses the Barnes & Noble retail business and the Barnes & Noble College Booksellers business.

Lynch joined Barnes & Noble in February 2009 as president of the company’s core e-commerce business, Barnes & Noble.com. He came to Barnes & Noble from HSNi, where he was EVP of marketing and general manager of HSN.com. From 2004 to 2008, he was CEO of gifts.com, an IAC subsidiary he co-founded.

New York-based Barnes & Noble operates 723 bookstores in 50 states. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, also operates 639 college bookstores serving nearly four million students and over 250,000 faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States.

Intevac Wins $3.5 Million Subcontract

bobfarley — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:56:42 +0000

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Intevac, Inc., (NASDAQ: IVAC) said that its Intevac Photonics subsidiary has received a $3.5 million subcontract award from the U.S. Army for the development and evaluation of a two mega-pixel, digital night vision camera to be integrated onto the Apache helicopter.

According to Intevac, the camera will incorporate the company’s extreme low-light level detection sensor. Joe Pietras, EVP and general manager of Intevac Photonics, said “This application represents a large-volume opportunity for our digital night vision camera and fits precisely with our strategy to be a leading supplier of digital low-light imaging products for vital U.S. military applications.”

California-based Intevac was founded in 1991 and has two businesses: Equipment and Intevac Photonics.

The company’s Equipment business is engaged in the design, development and marketing of lean manufacturing systems.

Intevac Photonics is engaged in the development and manufacture of high-sensitivity imaging products and vision systems, as well as table-top and handheld Raman instruments. Markets addressed include military, industrial, medical and scientific.

FinancialWire(tm) is comitted to serving the financial community through true journalism and providing relevant resources to investors. Standards-based, independent equity research on numerous public companies is available through the Investrend Research Syndicate (http://www.investrend.com/reports) written by FIRST Research Consortium (http://www.investrend.com/FIRST) member-providers. Free annual reports and company filings for companies mentioned in the news are available through the Investrend Information Syndicate (at http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279). FinancialWire(tm), in cooperation with the Investrend Broadcast Syndicate, also provides complete, daily conference call and webcast schedules as a service to shareholders and investors via the FirstAlert(tm) Network’s “FirstAlert(tm) Daily” (http://www.financialwire.net/news-alerts/).

Lucas Named As Imation CEO

bobfarley — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:56:21 +0000

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Imation Corp. (NYSE: IMN) said that Frank Russomanno, the company’s vice chairman and chief executive officer, will retire immediately following the company’s annual meeting on May 5.

Mark Lucas, president and chief operating officer, was named by the board to succeed Russomanno as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately following the meeting

Russomanno has served as vice chairman of Imation since March 2009 and as chief executive officer of Imation since April 2007. The board also nominated Lucas for election to the board of directors.

Prior to joining Imation, Lucas served as chairman and chief executive officer of Geneva Watch Group, a privately held company, from November 2005 to August 2008. Prior to that role, Lucas served as president and chief executive officer of Altec Lansing Technologies, a manufacturer of consumer audio equipment, from June 2001 to August 2005.

Minnesota-based Imation is a global developer and marketer of branded products that enable people to capture, save and enjoy digital information.

FDA Approves Somaxon Insomnia Drug

bobfarley — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:49:44 +0000

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOMX) said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the new drug application for its Silenor for the treatment of insomnia.

The company said that Silenor is approved for the treatment of both transient and chronic insomnia characterized by difficulty with sleep maintenance in both adults and elderly patients.

In clinical trials, Silenor demonstrated maintenance of sleep into the 7th and 8th hours of the night, with no meaningful evidence of next day residual effects, according to Somaxon.

The company added that Silenor has not been designated as a controlled substance by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration because of its demonstrated lack of abuse potential.

It also said that, in the Silenor clinical development program, no withdrawal effects or other adverse events were observed that were indicative of physical dependence.

California-based Somaxon Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the in-licensing, development and commercialization of proprietary branded pharmaceutical products and late-stage product candidates for the treatment of diseases and disorders in the central nervous system therapeutic area.

Delta Petroleum To Sell 37.5% Interest In Vega Assets

bobfarley — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:49:13 +0000

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Delta Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ: DPTR) said it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent with Opon International LLC to sell a 37.5% non-operated working interest in the company's Vega Area assets located in the Piceance Basin for total consideration of $400 million.

The company said it plans to use the $225 million of the total consideration for the development of the Vega Area over the next three years. Delta plans to use the remainder of the total consideration for its balance sheet obligations and general working capital purposes.

Delta has also agreed to issue to Opon at closing, warrants to purchase 13.3 million shares of Delta common stock at $1.50 per share and 5.7 million shares at $3.50 per share.

Colorado-based Delta Petroleum is an oil and gas exploration and development company whose core areas of operations are the Rocky Mountain and Gulf Coast Regions.

Noble Roman's Names 2 Directors

bobfarley — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:48:47 +0000

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Noble Roman's, Inc. (OTCBB: NROM) has increased the size of its board of directors from three to five members. To fill the vacancies created by this action, the board appointed Jeffrey R. Gaither and James F. Basili.

The expansion of the board, the majority of which with the new appointments are now non-employees, is part of a series of corporate governance enhancements the company has recently undertaken, according to Noble Roman’s.

Jeffrey R. Gaither has been a partner with the law firm Bose McKinney & Evans since 2004 and assumed the position of managing partner on March 1, 2010. He has served as counsel to Noble Roman’s in various matters since 1998.

Basili was a partner at Kinderhook Partners, an investment firm he co-founded in 2003. Earlier, he was a principal at Geocapital Partners, a venture capital firm managing over $500 million in institutional funds across North America and Europe.

Indiana-based Noble Roman’s is the franchisor of Noble Roman's Pizza and Tuscano's Italian Style Subs.

Copano Energy Sells 971,250 Overallotment Units

bobfarley — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:48:03 +0000

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Copano Energy, L.L.C. (NASDAQ: CPNO) has closed the sale of 971,250 additional common units due to the exercise of an over-allotment option granted to the underwriters of Copano's recent public offering of 6.475 million common units, which closed on March 8.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), BofA Merrill Lynch (NYSE: BAC) and Wells Fargo Securities (NYSE: WFC) acted as joint book-running managers.

The underwriters of Copano's recent offering exercised in full their option to purchase 971,250 additional common units at a public offering price of $23.10 per common unit.

Copano plans to use the net proceeds from the offering to repay a portion of the outstanding indebtedness under its revolving credit facility and expects to use the increased borrowing capacity as needed for capital projects, acquisitions, hedging, working capital and general corporate purposes.

Texas-based Copano Energy is a midstream natural gas company with operations in Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming and Louisiana.

Air Products Ups Dividend

bobfarley — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:47:38 +0000

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) — The board of directors of Air Products (NYSE: APD) have increased the quarterly dividend on the company's common stock to 49 cents per share from 45 cents.

The dividend is payable on May 10, 2010 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 1, 2010.

This marks the 28th consecutive year that Air Products has increased its dividend payment.

Pennsylvania-based Air Products serves customers in industrial, energy, technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a portfolio of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services.

Self-Inflicted Damage

toddessary — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:10:13 +0000

- Editorial Market Commentary -

March 19, 2010 (FinancialWire) (Investrend Information Syndicate) (By Dr. Albert M. Wojnilower) (Via Craig Drill Capital) — The American economy continues in its slow and spiritless up-drift. The world-wide turnabout from huge inventory liquidation to modest accumulation, which has produced a large rise in foreign trade, is nearly over. After rebounding from the crisis lows of last spring, U.S. automotive sales and output are leveling off. Construction activity of all sorts, whether private or public, residential or nonresidential, is depressed. The only significant fresh stimulus in sight is the imminent employment of hundreds of thousands of part-time census-takers, most of whom will be laid off in a matter of months. In sum, the outlook for real GDP growth in 2010, and probably some time beyond, remains around 2 1/2%, implying that reductions in unemployment will be slow. And the downside risks to this modest outlook are considerable, reflecting policy inertia here and abroad.

Fiscal-policy “fatigue” from mounting budget deficits and political deadlock has overtaken many legislatures, national and local. Nevertheless, central-government deficits remain indispensable to a revival of economic growth. Normally, even as particular credits mature and are repaid, aggregate credit outstanding continues to grow through the extension of new loans. These days, however, private credit and debt have continued to shrink (except for loans by financial institutions to one another). To compensate for the lack of private credit growth, federal deficits have had to expand. Had they not, the public’s saving would not have been recycled into new income, greatly accelerating the vicious circle of declining GDP and income. No matter how well justified it might be for other reasons, fiscal restraint in a weak U.S. economy enlarges rather than shrinks budget deficits.

Monetary stimulus, too, as reflected in the Fed’s enlarged balance sheet, is also being questioned more openly. In this regard, one needs to distinguish between the size of the balance sheet and its composition. Clearly the composition of the Fed’s balance-sheet would be “cleaner” if the $1.4 trillion dollars in direct and indirect debts of “Fannie” and “Freddie” could be replaced by U.S. Treasury obligations. Recognizing this, the Fed is to cease buying mortgage-related securities at the end of this month. If residential mortgage rates hold essentially unchanged as this happens, which is what the Fed and the markets currently presume, it would demonstrate that Fed purchases are no longer necessary to hold mortgage rates down. This would allow the mortgage-related securities accumulated by the Fed to be gradually retired by the debtors, to be replaced on the Fed balance sheet by ordinary Treasury securities.

Should it turn out, however, for whatever reason, that mortgage rates rise at month-end, the Fed will have to resume promptly its buying of mortgage securities, because the repercussions for the housing market and the Fed would be disastrous. The Fed would almost certainly be punished by being deprived of its supervisory role and authority in many of its present jurisdictions.

As to the size of the Fed’s balance sheet, that can be reduced only through net asset sales. For the most part, these are feasible only during an economic boom, when the resulting rise in interest rates and “crowding out” of private borrowers is acceptable and may actually be welcome. Such steps, if taken now, would replicate the Fed errors of 1936-1937 which deepened and lengthened the Great Depression. That they are even being discussed illustrates how divorced from reality some policy-makers are. Nevertheless, despite these discussions and regardless of Chairman Bernanke’s underlying views on these matters, the troubles of the economy and political vulnerability of the Fed virtually rule out any significant short- or long-term interest rate rise in 2010. The appointees to the vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board will be “doves” (although Senate shenanigans may stall their taking office).

Paradoxically, at the same time as many leaders of the major economic powers are urging budgetary retrenchment, they would also like personal consumption outlays in their own and other countries to grow faster. The world shows little hesitation in paying tribute to the American empire by electing the dollar and US Treasury securities as its key monetary and financial assets. We are taking advantage of this by running huge internal and external deficits, and foreigners do not seem to mind at all. Indeed, they would like us to buy and invest more abroad. None of our major trading partners is pleased when its currency rises against the dollar and some (most notably China) take measures to prevent this from happening. The bottom line is that foreign central banks, as well as foreign oligarchs and ordinary citizens, are voluntarily adding substantially to their holdings of Treasury securities, notwithstanding the low interest rates.

The sluggishness of the U.S. economy is not a response to discipline from abroad. It is self-inflicted. We let finance run wild. And yet the legislative future of financial regulation seems as muddled and uncertain as that of health care. Countries like Australia, Canada, Israel, and Sweden, which have learned from ugly experience to compel their major financial institutions to behave like regulated public utilities, are where the economic outlook in the developed world is brightest.

In ancient Rome, the rulers, to perpetuate their reign and empire, are said to have provided the public with bread and games (circuses). We have games aplenty, but cheap food (employment) is scarce. Since we can’t agree to enact the stronger policies needed for faster growth and more jobs, more people will be living on the dole: unemployment compensation and Medicaid. Not an auspicious environment for parents and children…or the future of the empire.

Source: Craig Drill Capital (http://www.secinfo.com/$/SEC/Name.asp?X=craig+drill+capital%2C+l%2El%2Ec%2E)

Commodities: Daily Futures Commentary

toddessary — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:23:23 +0000

- Technical Insight -

March 18, 2009 (FinancialWire) (Investrend Information Syndicate) — As of 12:00 noon today the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (NYSE: GLD) was up 0.56% on volume of 7,153,707 shares, and the ProShares UltraShort DJ-AIG Crude Oil ETF (NYSE: SCO) was up 1.45% on volume of 673,145 shares. FinancialWire(tm) contributor, Brewer Investment Group, issued some pre-market commentary going into the day regarding the commodities markets, providing an insightful preview:

U.S. stock indices are trading flat overnight. Traders have largely ignored the weakness in the Euro over Greece concerns. This may mean that today’s menu of U.S. economic reports will have a bigger influence on stock prices.

The first report is Weekly Initial Claims. Traders will want to see improvements in the U.S. job situation in order to get a gauge of the developing U.S. recovery. The Consumer Price Index, due out at 7:30 am CT, will give traders a clue about U.S. inflation. Leading Indicators and Philadelphia Fed will give traders information about the robustness of the recovery.

With cheap money expected to be around for an extended period of time, continue to look for the stock market to rise. A strong rally in the Dollar however, is likely to put pressure on equity prices due to profit-taking.

June Treasury Bonds have finally broken out above the recent double-tops at 118’02. The charts indicate the next upside target is 118’17. Traders are reacting to the recent FOMC policy statement and to the possibility of weaker stock markets.

April Gold is trading higher despite the stronger Dollar. This could be trader reaction to a possible flare-up of financial problems in Greece. At this time the charts indicate this market is caught in a short-term range between $1145.80 and $1097.30. A trade through $1097.30 will turn the main trend to down. A rally through $1145.80 is likely to trigger an acceleration to the upside.

June Crude Oil is trading lower but still within striking distance of the recent main top at 83.80. A breakout above this level sets up a possibility of a test of the high for the year at 85.95. Fundamentally, OPEC left production unchanged and inventories were up. Both events had virtually no effect on crude oil. This indicates that risk sentiment and the desire for higher risk assets are having a bigger influence on crude oil.

The U.S. Dollar is trading better against most major currencies with the exception of the Japanese Yen as investors removed risk from the equation overnight. The Dollar was under pressure on Wednesday as traders reacted to the previous day’s FOMC statement. In its statement the Fed said that interest rates would remain low for a prolonged period. This gave traders the green light to buy higher risk assets while selling the Dollar.

Late Wednesday news came out that the political party representing German Chancellor Merkel said that a bailout was unlikely and that Greece may have to seek aid from the International Monetary Fund. This weakened the Euro, forcing a lower close. This news has spilled over into the markets overnight and is putting pressure on higher yielding assets while helping to drive traders into the Dollar for safety.

The March Euro is trading lower, but remains in an uptrend. The key to sustaining the developing rally will be this market’s ability to attract buyers in the retracement zone at 1.3628 to 1.3584.

The March British Pound is under pressure overnight after a strong rally on Wednesday. Yesterday’s rally was triggered by better than expected U.K. Initial Claims and news that the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee had voted unanimously at its last meeting to leave its quantitative easing program unchanged. The Pound rallied into a retracement zone at 1.5297 to 1.5419. With the main trend down, this market is finding resistance inside this zone. This could set up a break back to 1.5080 to 1.5010.

Trader demand for lower risk assets is helping to support the March Japanese Yen. A new swing top has been formed at 91.08. The new main range is 88.14 to 91.08 which means this market may correct back to 89.61 to 89.26. Additional support comes in at an uptrending Gann angle at 89.52.

Despite the stronger demand for lower yielding assets, the March Canadian Dollar remains strong. Traders believe the Bank of Canada is likely to raise interest rates before the Fed, underpinning the Canadian Dollar. In addition, stronger gold and especially crude oil has been helping to support the Loonie. Although conditions may be overbought, upside momentum continues to indicate that this market could test the July 15, 2008 top at 1.0019 before finding resistance.

The March Swiss Franc is trading lower because of the weaker Euro. Another collapse in the Euro increases the likelihood of an intervention by the Swiss National Bank. On Wednesday, this market found resistance after completing a 50% retracement of the .9884 to .9185 range. This price level was .9526. The market stopped at .9525. Although a closing price reversal top was not formed on Wednesday, the chart pattern is still suggesting a possible short-covering rally back to .9355 to .9315.

Source: Courtesy of Brewer Futures Group

For more information, content and/or a preferred introduction to Brewer Investment Group, LLC and/or Brewer Futures Group, LLC, contact Investrend Communications via resources@investrend.com with “Brewer” in the subject line.

Brewer Futures Group advises that futures and options trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. The valuation of futures and options may fluctuate, and, as a result, clients may lose more than their original investment. The impact of seasonal and geopolitical events is already factored into market prices. Prices in the underlying cash or physical markets do not necessarily move in tandem with futures and options prices. In no event should the content of this correspondence be construed as an express or implied promise, guarantee or implication by or from Brewer Futures Group, LLC, Brewer Investment Group, LLC, or their subsidiaries and affiliates that you will profit or that losses can or will be limited in any manner whatsoever. Loss-limiting strategies such as stop loss orders may not be effective because market conditions may make it impossible to execute such orders. Likewise, strategies using combinations of options and/or futures positions such as "spread" or "straddle" trades may be just as risky as simple long and short positions. Past results are no indication of future performance.

Information provided in the above article is intended solely for informational purposes and is obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Information is in no way guaranteed. No guarantee of any kind is implied or possible where projections of future conditions are attempted.

FinancialWire(tm) is a fully independent, proprietary news wire service. FinancialWire(tm) is not a press release service, and receives no compensation for its news, opinions or distributions. Further disclosure is at the FinancialWire(tm) web site (http://www.financialwire.net/disclosures.php). Contact FinancialWire(tm) directly via inquiries@financialwire.net.

Free annual reports for companies mentioned in the news are available through the Free Annual Reports Service (http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279).

Currencies: Euro Weakens On Bearish Bailout Comments

toddessary — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:45:50 +0000

- Technical Insight -

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) (Investrend Information Syndicate) — As of 11:37 AM EST today, the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund (NYSE: UUP) is up 0.90% on volume of 3,151,550 shares, while the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bearish Fund (NYSE: UDN) is down 0.85% on volume of 100,029 shares. FinancialWire(tm) contributor, Brewer Investment Group, issued some commentary going into today regarding the currency markets, providing some pre-market insight:

The U.S. Dollar finished down against most major currencies. From the start it was under pressure as trader demand for risk pressured lower yielding currencies. The early morning weakness in the Dollar helped to drive up demand for high risk equities and commodities. Tuesday’s move by the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged for a prolonged period of time set the tone for today’s weakness.

Overnight the EUR USD traded better on increased demand for higher yielding assets as well as improving conditions in Greece. Early in the session, bullish traders were still factoring in the possibility of a bailout by Germany and France, but this rumor was probably finally put to rest when a spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party said Greece should turn to the International Monetary Fund for aid. After this news the Euro fell back, erasing all of its earlier gains.

The GBP USD was a big gainer. Although this market had broken off its high, it still managed to hold on to an impressive gain. Despite the strong move however, traders have to realize that this is only short-covering and not new buying. Also note that the main trend is still down as no main tops were broken during this current rally.

The initial move to the upside in the British Pound was fueled by a report showing that U.K. Jobless Claims unexpectedly fell in February. The spike to the upside was triggered by the news that the BoE members voted 9 -0 to leave its quantitative easing program unchanged. This news meant that the economy may be improving so much that no new liquidity would have to be pumped into the market. Following this report, a strong up move ensued, driving this market through a pair of 50% levels at 1.5271 and 1.5297. After trading slightly better than these prices, the market has fallen back to test these levels later in the session.

Overnight the Bank of Japan voted to leave interest rates unchanged. In addition, it doubled its loan program designed to combat deflation. The USD JPY traded higher this morning on the news, but failed to hold on to those gains by the mid-session. Stronger demand for equities could not hold the Dollar/Yen higher either. Today’s action indicates that investors feel the move by the BoJ was not strict enough and that additional stimulus may be needed.

The USD CHF traded lower early in the session, but bottomed out after the Euro began to weaken. The direction of the Euro dictated the movement of the Dollar/Swiss throughout the day. The first downside target on the charts was reached last night at 1.0513 overnight, triggering a short-covering rally. The USD CHF came close to making a reversal bottom but nonetheless, today’s action suggests that a short-covering rally may be in the works.

Stronger demand for higher risk assets such as equities, gold and crude oil helped to pressure the USD CAD. Tuesday’s FOMC statement regarding interest rates also indicates that the Bank of Canada may hike rates before the Fed. The trend in this market is decisively lower and likely to continue until this contract reaches parity.

Increased demand for higher yielding currencies drove the AUD USD and NZD USD up. With the U.S. holding interest rates low and the central banks in Australia and New Zealand considering rate hikes, the interest rate differential has shifted back in favor of the Aussie and Kiwi.

Source: Courtesy of Brewer FX / Brewer Investment Group, LLC

FinancialWire(tm) is a fully independent, proprietary news wire service. FinancialWire(tm) is not a press release service, and receives no compensation for its news, opinions or distributions. Further disclosure is at the FinancialWire(tm) web site (http://www.financialwire.net/disclosures.php). Contact FinancialWire(tm) directly via inquiries@financialwire.net.

Free annual reports for companies mentioned in the news are available through the Free Annual Reports Service (http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279).

Conference Calls Today: 9 A.M. EST

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:08:37 +0000

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) (Investrend Broadcast Syndicate) — Information for conference calls listed here can be accessed via the Conference Call Search Function at BestCalls (http://www.bestcalls.com) by referencing the company ticker symbol. Conference calls scheduled today at 9 a.m. include: New York & Company Inc. (NYSE: NWY), Casual Male Retail Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CMRG), CRA International Inc. (NASDAQ: CRAI).

Conference Calls Today: 10 A.M. EST

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:07:36 +0000

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) (Investrend Broadcast Syndicate) — Information for conference calls listed here can be accessed via the Conference Call Search Function at BestCalls (http://www.bestcalls.com) by referencing the company ticker symbol. Conference calls scheduled today at 10 a.m. include: Kid Brands Inc (NYSE: KID), Bioject Medical Technologies, (OTCBB: BJCT),

Conference Calls Today: 11 A.M. EST

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:04:05 +0000

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) (Investrend Broadcast Syndicate) — Information for conference calls listed here can be accessed via the Conference Call Search Function at BestCalls (http://www.bestcalls.com) by referencing the company ticker symbol. Conference calls scheduled today at 11 a.m. include: Alcatel-Lucent ADR (NYSE: ALU), The Marcus Corporation (NYSE: MCS), Abraxas Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ: AXAS), GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME), Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST).

Conference Calls Today: 2-5 P.M. EST

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:00:09 +0000

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) (Investrend Broadcast Syndicate) — Information for conference calls listed here can be accessed via the Conference Call Search Function at BestCalls (http://www.bestcalls.com) by referencing the company ticker symbol. Conference calls scheduled today at 2 to 5 p.m. include: Shoe Carnival Inc. (NASDAQ: SCVL), ADDUS HOMECARE CORP (NASDAQ: ADUS), MERRIMAN CURHAN FORD GROUP INC (NASDAQ: MERR), Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS).

Feller Named Chairman Of ProElite

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:12:01 +0000

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Stratus Media Group, Inc. (OTCBB: SMDI) has appointed Paul Feller as chairman of the board for ProElite, Inc. (OTC: PELE), an entertainment and media company involved in the promotion of mixed martial arts. Feller is the president and CEO of Stratus Media Group, which assumed control of the board of ProElite in February.

Feller was the president and CEO of Pro Sports & Entertainment from November 1998 until March 2008, when it merged with Stratus. Prior to founding Pro Sports & Entertainment, he served as COO and CEO of PSI, an international live entertainment business, which operated, sports events in Asia, Europe and North America.

California-based Stratus Media Group is an owner, operator and marketer of live entertainment and sporting events. The company is primarily focused on internal growth and acquisitions within the live entertainment-related market, including action sports, automotive shows, college sports, food events, motor sports, music concerts and festivals, running events, diversified media marketing, trade shows and expositions, and talent management

Cyclone Power, Unified Move Toward Co-Development Pact

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:11:35 +0000

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Cyclone Power Technologies Inc. (OTC: CYPW) said it has signed a letter of intent with Alabama-based Unified Fuels LLC regarding the co-development and systems integration of Cyclone’s heat-regenerative external combustion engines.

Under the LOI, Cyclone and Unified will perform certain business and technological feasibility studies related to using Cyclone’s Mark V and waste heat engines with Unified’s waste-to-fuel systems.

According to Cyclone, Unified’s process uses a form of destructive distillation in which manipulation of the carbon chains in the biomass occurs with the end resultant being a liquid fuel. The final products of this process are diesel fuel, gasoline, methane and heat.

The latter two energy forms, which would otherwise be wasted, can be used in the Cyclone Engines to power Unified’s total system and, possibly, create additional revenue streams for the facility owner, according to Cyclone.

Florida-based Cyclone is the developer of the Cyclone Engine, an external combustion engine meant to run portable electric generators, garden equipment, cars, trucks and locomotives, among other things.

The Cyclone is a modern steam engine, designed to achieve high thermal efficiencies through a compact heat-regenerative process, and to run on a range of fuels, including bio-diesels, syngas or solar.

Tw Telecom Completes Private Offering Of Senior Notes

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:10:42 +0000

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) — tw telecom inc.’s (NASDAQ: TWTC) tw telecom holdings inc. subsidiary has closed a private offering of $430 million aggregate principal amount of 8% senior notes due 2018.

The company said it will use the net proceeds from the offering to fund tw telecom holdings inc.'s purchase of its 9 1/4% senior notes due 2014 in a concurrent tender offer and consent solicitation.

Colorado-based tw telecom provides managed network services, specializing in Ethernet and data networking, Internet access, local and long distance voice, VPN, VoIP and network security, to enterprise organizations and communications services companies throughout the U.S., including their global locations.

Single Touch To Buy Microsoft Patent Portfolio

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:10:03 +0000

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Single Touch Interactive, Inc. (OTCBB: SITO) said that it has signed a patent sale and license agreement with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). Specific terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

The agreement included the sale of six Abbreviated Dialing Code US patents by Microsoft to Single Touch Interactive, with a license back to Microsoft, and a license under pending applications held by Single Touch Interactive in the Abbreviated Dialing Code space.

According to Single Touch, Microsoft has reserved a number of Abbreviated Dialing Codes it may choose to use at some future point in time.

Abbreviated Dialing Codes are short telephone numbers such as 411 that may also spell a brand name. This form of dialing was introduced by Single Touch in 2005 and, according to the company, is increasingly used by mobile telephone subscribers.

California-based Single Touch Systems provides wireless operators, consumer brands, and retailers with mobile marketing and commerce delivery solutions.

FirstAlert(tm) Daily 3/18: What's In A Name?

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:09:45 +0000

- Market Commentary -

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) (By Bob Farley) — What's up with the changing name of Walmart (NYSE: WMT)?

There was a time when the mom-and-pop killer was spelled Wal-Mart. Hyphen, capital letters, first three letters of the Walton name, and "mart," which comes from the Middle Dutch "marct," meaning market. This is still the way the company is represented on such stock sites as Yahoo Finance, as well as partially in its filings. Sometimes the hyphen is omitted along with the capital "M'" in descriptions of the filings, such as with Edgar Online and the Associated Press.

Interestingly, on its website, Walmart drops the hyphen, thinking perhaps that people are just too busy(?) to stretch their pinkies up to the hyphen on their keyboards.

Commercials on television show the name without the hyphen and the capitalized "M."

Obviously whether you call it Wal-Mart or Walmart or Wal-mart or soulless destroyer of the old American way, the only think that owners and stockholders care is that company continues to etch out a profit. Spell it however you want.

[Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=bob+farley to see more commentaries and articles by Bob Farley.]

The FirstAlert(tm) Economics Calendar lists Consumer Price Index (CPI) for February (8:30 a.m.), Initial Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m.), Current Account Balance for Q4 (8:30 a.m.), Philadelphia Fed Index for March (10 a.m.), Leading Indicators Index for February (10 a.m.), Treasury announces 2, 5, & 7-year note auctions (11 a.m.).

The FirstAlert(tm) Events Calendar showcases BJRI, RRGB, IGT at JPMorgan Gaming, Lodging, Restaurant & Leisure Conference; TLAB, ADCT, WOOF at CL King West Coast Best Ideas Conference.

FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://wrongway.org/cube/solve.html

Quote of the Day: "A healthy adult male bore consumes each year one and a half times his own weight in other people's patience." John Updike

Today is: National Biodiesel Day.

Happy Birthday: Jacques de Billy, Simon Bradstreet, John C. Calhoun, Grover Cleveland, Neville Chamberlain, Edgar Cayce, Edward Everett Horton, Ernest Gallo, Andy Granatelli, Peter Graves, George Plimpton, John Updike, Charley Pride, Wilson Pickett, Vanessa L. Williams, Queen Latifah.

Today in History: The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766, but the damage was already done. American Express was founded in 1850 by Henry Wells and William Fargo. The Congress of the Confederate States of America adjourned for the last time in 1865. Hawaii signed in 1874 a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trading rights. Former Governor General Lord Stanley pledged in 1893 to donate a silver challenge cup, later named after him, as an award for the best ice hockey team in Canada. The human-powered aircraft, Pedaliante, flew 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) outside Milan in 1937. Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes in 1965, became the first person to walk in space.

Dell Breaks Out, Says Market Timer Frank Kollar

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:08:14 +0000

- Analytical Commentary -

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) (By Frank Kollar) — Shares of Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL) made four consecutively lower daily highs since reaching a closing rally high back on September 16, 2009 at $16.92.

Drawing a line between these highs, end extending it to the right side e chart; you get a declining trend resistance line. The dates of these highs are: Sept 16, 2009, Nov 18, 2009, Jan 12, 2010 and Feb 18, 2010.

Shares also made a double bottom, reaching lows of $12.74 on Dec 9, 2009 and then again at $12.75 on Jan 29, 2010.

This also creates a pennant formation by drawing a line between these lows and extending it to the right side of the chart.

After the last lower rally high, Dell declined to a “higher” correction low. Then Dell advanced to the declining trend resistance line (upper declining pennant line) and traded right at that line (using closing prices) for six trading days.

On Wednesday March 17, Dell broke out of these patterns with a bullish breakout by rising well above the declining trend resistance line (upper declining pennant line) and closing well above it.

The new target for this advance is $15.45, a 5.9% gain. A close above $15.45 would likely result in an advance to the prior September highs up at $16.92, a 16% gain.

The Fibtimer.com (http://www.fibtimer.com) Stock Timing Strategy holds a position in Dell Inc.

Frank Kollar has been timing the financial markets since 1982, with online service since 1996. He is a dedicated trend timer and his strategies exited the markets before the crash in 1987 as well as the bear market in 2000 through 2002. During the 2000-2002 and 2008 bear markets, his bearish positions resulted in gains exceeding 100 percent, all achieved by trading trends.

Kollar’s research has shown that the financial markets are in tradable trends approximately 80 percent of the time. FibTimer strategies define trends and trade them in both advancing and declining markets. Caring nothing about what newscasters say or what the latest economic indicator predicts, trends are where the profits are, and that is where FibTimer is.

Kollar is editor and chief analyst at FibTimer.com (http://www.fibtimer.com) which offers market timing strategies for S&P and Nasdaq index fund traders, as well as bond, gold, small cap, sector, ETF and stock trading strategies.

[cmmtry] [anlytcl] [kllrfby]

Steel Dynamics Sells $350 Million Of Senior Notes

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:07:21 +0000

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) said that it has completed the sale of $350 million of its 7 5/8% senior notes due 2020 in a private offering to qualified institutional buyers.

The company said it will use the net proceeds from the sale to repay amounts outstanding under its senior secured revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes, including, without limitation, for debt repayment, capital expenditures, working capital and acquisitions.

Indiana-based Steel Dynamics is a producer of carbon steel products. The company operates five electric-furnace mini-mills and employs about 3,500.

Sirius XM Radio Sells $800 Million Of Senior Notes

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:06:13 +0000

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) SAID it has closed the sale of $800 million of its 8.75% senior notes due 2015. The notes were priced without a new issuance discount.

The company plans to use the net proceeds from the offering to redeem on April 16 all of its outstanding $500 million of 9-5/8% senior notes due 2013, at a redemption price of 104.813% plus accrued interest.

Sirius said that the balance of the net proceeds from the offering will be used to repay the $244 million outstanding under the company's senior secured term loan due 2012, to pay fees and expenses of the offering and for general corporate purposes.

New York-based Sirius XM Radio is America's satellite radio company offering to subscribers commercial-free music channels, premier sports, news, talk, entertainment, and traffic and weather.

Progress Energy Declares 62 Cent Dividend

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:05:28 +0000

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Progress Energy's (NYSE: PGN) board of directors has declared a dividend on the company's common stock. The quarterly dividend was declared at 62 cents per share, payable May 3, 2010, to shareholders of record as of April 12, 2010.

This represents a total annual dividend of $2.48 per share.

North Carolina-based Progress Energy boasts more than 22,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues.

Progress Energy includes two electric utilities that serve around 3.1 million customers in the Carolinas and Florida.

Alesio Named To Genworth Financial Board

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:04:44 +0000

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) has elected Steven W. Alesio as a new independent director. Alesio has been chairman of the board of the Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (NYSE: DNB) since May 2005, having served as its chief executive officer from January 2005 to December 2009.

Alesio was named to D&B's board of directors in May 2002. He also served as D&B's president and chief operating officer from May 2002 to December 2004.

Before joining D&B, Alesio spent 19 years with American Express, serving as president and general manager of its Business Services Group and as a member of that company's planning and policy committee, a position he held from January 1996 to December 2000.

Virginia-based Genworth Financial is a global financial security that employs around 6,000 people.

Micromet Sells $80.5 Million Common Shares

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:02:41 +0000

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Micromet, Inc. (NASDAQ: MITI) has closed an underwritten public offering, selling a total of 11.5 million shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $7 per share. Prior to closing, the underwriters exercised in full their option to purchase an additional 1.5 million shares of common stock, which contributed to the total sold.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. (NYSE: GS) acted as sole book-running manager.

The company said it received net proceeds from the offering of around $75.3 million. The company plans to use the net proceeds from the financing primarily for general corporate purposes, which may include research and development, capital expenditures, working capital and general and administrative expenses.

Maryland-based Micromet is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of antibody-based therapies for the treatment of cancer.

Goldnev Resources Sells $743,500 Of Units, Debentures

bobfarley — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:01:02 +0000

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Goldnev Resources Inc. (TSX Venture: GNZ) (OTC: GDNXF) said it has completed a non-brokered private placement of 9,343,750 Units at a price of $0.08 per Unit for gross proceeds of $743,500.

Each Unit consisted of one common share and one common share purchase warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share of the corporation at a purchase price of $0.12 for twelve months from the date of acceptance of the relevant subscription for units.

The common shares, purchase warrants and common shares issuable on the exercise of purchase warrants are subject to four month hold periods, which expire between January 14 and March 19, 2010.

Canada-based Goldnev Resources is an energy company focused on conventional and unconventional oil and gas production with assets in northeastern British Columbia, southwestern Alberta and an oil shale development project in east central Saskatchewan.

Blog Watch: Political Prophet® On 'Not Quite Secret' Obamacare Plan

toddessary — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:05:05 +0000

- Socio-Political Commentary -

March 18, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Editor’s Note: Socio-political events and developments have a direct impact on the market. In the interest of providing shareholders and investors with a broad spectrum of information in regard to such potentially impactful occurrences, FinancialWire(tm)’s “Bog Watch” series offers the following from “The Political Prophet®”, for those with an interest in healthcare equities, such as the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE: XLV), the SPDR S&P International Health Care Sector ETF (NYSE: IRY) the First Trust Health Care AlphaDEX Fund (NYSE: FXH) and the WisdomTree International Health Care Fund ETF (NYSE: DBR).

In a rare statement revealing an insight into her secret plans, House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, blurted out the Democrat’s underlying strategy… “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it.” Setting aside for the moment the incredibly arrogant admission that they were forcing and bribing Congressional Democrats to vote on major legislation without a clue about its contents, the statement provides another insight into the secret strategies which have brought us to this point. The President himself has declared that we should pay no attention to the process used to develop and maneuver this legislation into law. Given the shenanigans they are using to pass the bill in the House without a real up or down vote and to bypass the rules of the Senate to get what they want in spite of public opposition, it is no wonder that the President prefers to work in a room with no lights and locked doors. If he is not ashamed of the process tricks he is using-he should be.

Fortunately, glimmers of truth have a way of sliding under those locked doors in Washington where everyone likes to see their name in the paper. White House Public Relations mastermind, Dan Pfeiffer disclosed another component of the stealth strategy for Obamacare when he admitted… “The only way to sell comprehensive reform is to pass it despite poor poll numbers and then build support.” These admissions plus the frequent whines from the Administration that… “People just don’t understand” lead very directly to today’s prediction from The Political Prophet® which is…If the Democrats overcome their divisions and pass Obamacare through both Houses, we the people will immediately be subjected to the biggest, most expensive taxpayer funded advertising campaign in history. The government ad buys will be supplemented by advertising from certain unions and other pro Obama groups to maximize the impact. The campaign will continue (largely at our expense) until polls show it has worked or until the mid-term Congressional elections have come and gone in November this year.

The President and his political operatives will call this campaign “Public education and information” to justify the use of taxpayer money in such a blatant political enterprise.

Between the overt bribery and threats of retaliation to get votes in Congress plus the legislative slight-of-hand to secure passage and the misuse of tax funds to “sell” the resulting scam to the public, desperate Democrats run the risk of going too far with their enterprise and the consequences could be disastrous for the Obama Presidency and the Democrats in Congress. The secrets will leak out sooner rather than later and many of the revelations may include acts which were not legal. Congressional hearings and other actions are unlikely with the present partisan makeup but we may well see a vastly different Congress in January, 2011.

(The previous Political Prophet® article is posted at http://www.financialwire.net/2010/03/15/prophet/).

Source: Investrend Weblogs (http://www.investrendweblogs.net/politicalprophet/2010/03/18/obamacare-secret-plan/).

Investrend Weblogs describes “The Political Prophet®” blog by saying, “Reporters tell us what happened yesterday. Pollsters tell us what’s happening today. The Political Prophet® predictions — based on sophisticated analysis — tell us what is likely to happen tomorrow. These forecasts are made by an elite team of professionals who have campaign strategy experience at the Presidential level. Team members are not currently representing candidates, bringing objectivity as well as expertise to these predictions.”

Airline Stock Watch: UAL Corporation

toddessary — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:46:17 +0000

March 17, 2010 (FinancialWire) (Investrend Research Syndicate) — UAL Corporation (NASDAQ: UAUA) (Approx. Market Cap US$ 3.3 Billion) stock closed at $20.18 yesterday on volume of 8,962,900 shares, compared to its $12.80 close on January 4, 2010, on volume of 8,785,900 shares (50 trading sessions ago). UAUA’s average 50 day average adjusted close is $15.12. In terms of liquidity, UAUA’s 50-day average daily trading volume is 11,178,454 shares, with days ranging from 4,535,300 shares traded to 31,243,200 shares traded during that 50-day period.

Yahoo! Finance notes UAUA’s 1-year stock price target estimate at $24.43. In the last 50 sessions, UAUA stock has traded as high as $20.35 (intra-day) and as low as $12.13 (intra-day). Business Week notes UAUA stock’s 52-week high as $20.45 on March 16, 2010 (yesterday), and its 52-week low as $3.07 on July 10, 2009.

UAL Corp., through its subsidiaries, provides air transportation services. It transports people and cargo through jet aircrafts, as well as through smaller aircrafts in its regional operations. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

ValuEngine issued a 13-page company summary research report on UAL Corporation on March 3, 2010. The full ValuEngine report on UAL Corp. includes important disclosures, disclaimers and analyst information. ValuEngine and Investrend both strongly advise that investors exercise an expeditious degree of due diligence before trading in the equities of any public company, including carefully and entirely reading all available analyst reports and respective report disclosures, and then only in conjunction with advice from at least one trusted, registered financial advisor or broker. ValuEngine and Investrend further advise that any analyst rating, recommendation, target valuation, price target or opinion should be considered merely a portion of a potential investor’s total investigative process. (More about ratings and valuations is available at http://www.investrend.com/ratings). The entire ValuEngine report on UAL Corporation is accessible via Investrend.com (at http://www.investrend.com/recent-research).

UAL Corporation’s SEC filings are directly accessible via the SEC website (at http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000100517).

Source for UAL Corp.’s company description: UAL Corporation

ValuEngine is an independent, “standards-based” research firm, and is a member of the FIRST Research Consortium (http://www.investrend.com/FIRST). ValuEngine also provides customized research solutions for investment banks and individual investors. Write to valuengine@investrend.com for more information.

ValuEngine Analytics On Reddy Ice

toddessary — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:14:36 +0000

March 17, 2010 (FinancialWire) (Investrend Research Syndicate) — ValuEngine has issued a 13-page company summary research report on Reddy Ice Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: FRZ) (Approx. Market Cap US$ 117.9 Million), dated March 11, 2010.

Reddy Ice Holdings engages in the manufacture and distribution of packaged ice in the United States. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

The full ValuEngine report on Reddy Ice Holdings includes important disclosures, disclaimers and analyst information. ValuEngine and Investrend both strongly advise that investors exercise an expeditious degree of due diligence before trading in the equities of any public company, including carefully and entirely reading all available analyst reports and respective report disclosures, and then only in conjunction with advice from at least one trusted, registered financial advisor or broker. ValuEngine and Investrend further advise that any analyst rating, recommendation, target valuation, price target or opinion should be considered merely a portion of a potential investor’s total investigative process. (More about ratings and valuations is available at http://www.investrend.com/ratings).

The entire ValuEngine report on Reddy Ice Holdings is accessible via Investrend.com (at http://www.investrend.com/recent-research).

FRZ stock closed at $5.18 per-share yesterday, trading on volume of 90,000 shares (vs. a 3-month average daily trading volume of 172,811 shares). BusinessWeek.com notes FRZ stock’s 52-week high as $6.30 per-share on August 26, 2009, and FRZ’s 52-week low as $1.40 on March 19, 2009. Yahoo Finance notes FRZ’s 1-year target estimate (per-share stock projected valuation) at $13.50.

Reddy Ice Holdings’ SEC filings are directly accessible via the SEC website (at http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001268984).

Source for Reddy Ice Holdings’ company description: Reddy Ice Holdings, Inc.

IDT's Voodoo Economics

toddessary — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:04:20 +0000

Inside the Justice Department’s Probe of Telecom Bribes in Haiti

- Investigative Journalism -

March 17, 2010 (FinancialWire) (Via “The Komisar Scoop”) (By Lucy Komisar) — When the devastating earthquake hit Haiti in January, IDT Corp. (NYSE: IDT) (NYSE: IDT/C), the New Jersey-based global phone company, moved fast to help. It announced it was setting up calling stations at hotels and other sites so Haitians could use its Internet calling-service to reach family and friends around the world. It cut rates on its U.S. prepaid calling-card to 2 cents a minute to Haiti (at least for 12 days), donated 4,000 $2-prepaid calling-cards to Haitian community groups in New York and Florida, and said it would give some proceeds from prepaid calls to Haitian Red Cross relief.

Such a warm, fuzzy response from a U.S. corporation often wins plaudits, though, of course, IDT has a business interest in the impoverished island. In 2005, in its latest publicly available figures, the company reported $4 million in profits from $17 million in revenues for routing calls there.

But judging by court records and other documents, IDT probably does not want too many people looking too deeply at how it’s conducted business in Haiti. A once-secret contract backs up testimony from an insider that IDT got knock-down prices for calling minutes to Haiti by bribing officials of Télécommunications d’Haïti (Haiti Teleco), the government phone company.

A just-unsealed Justice Department legal filing suggests that the department is laying the groundwork to go after IDT for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. IDT spokesperson William Ulrey said, “IDT has no comment on the material you sent to us. The Company has disclosed relevant developments with regard to these matters in its public filings.”

A big part of IDT’s business is selling long distance services and prepaid phone cards, which requires it to make deals with countries for the cost of completing U.S. calls. The company, based in Newark, N.J., has $1.2 billion in revenues and is the fourth-largest international carrier in the United States in terms of outgoing traffic.

In May 2004, D. Michael Jewett, in charge of IDT’s Caribbean division, alleged in a lawsuit filed in U.S. district court in New Jersey that bribes had been paid to get a sweetheart deal with Haiti Teleco, cutting the price IDT had to pay for long-distance minutes so it could undercut its competitors. Jewett, now 51, alleged that Jack Lerer, IDT executive vice president for international business development, had gone to Haiti in August 2003 and met President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to work out the accord. Jewett said Lerer told him that IDT would deposit its payments in an account set up for Aristide under the name Mont Salem in the offshore Turks and Caicos Islands. (In his court deposition, Lerer did not deny this assertion.) At the time, IDT’s CEO was James Courter, former six-term Republican congressman from New Jersey.

Jewett said that he was fired after seven months on the job for not going along with the scam; he filed a suit in 2004 for unlawful dismissal. The suit has lingered ever since in a New Jersey federal court, handed off to a shifting series of seven magistrates and district court judges in what might be a case study in how the federal justice system shouldn’t work. The court initially sealed Jewett’s complaint, and his lawyer had to go to the Court of Appeals to force a judge to order “discovery,” the pre-trial process of each side getting documents and information from the other.

Informed of the suit by Jewett, Peter Clark, a nationally prominent corporate fraud investigator who was leading Justice’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations, told me he came up from Washington to Newark to question him. An SEC official was also present. There were a few other meetings with Jewett, then nothing, according to Jewett’s attorney, William Perniciaro.

After Jewett’s complaint, IDT said in an SEC 10K filing October 14, 2004 that its audit committee had found no evidence of improper payments. The committee’s investigation was carried out in the summer of 2004 by an outside lawyer, Alice Fisher, who in 2005 would go on to head the Bush Administration Justice Department criminal division.

In 2005, the post-Aristide Haitian government filed a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act) civil complaint in Florida against Aristide and alleged co-conspirators it charged in the Teleco case and with other misdeeds.

Cited for their alleged roles in the Teleco bribery scheme were Alphonse Inevil and Jean René Duperval, former top Teleco officials, Adrian Corr, who ran Mont Salem, and Fred Beliard, a Florida businessman and part owner of a Haitian cable TV station in Miami. (Winston & Strawn, which represented Haiti in this case, said it was dropped before the complaint was served, so the accused did not file answers. Corr says he has never acted for Aristide nor set up any shell companies to siphon money for him.)

The suit said that records of Haiti Teleco—which it then controlled—showed that while IDT paid 9 cents a minute to the shell company, Mont Salem, 3 cents was kicked back to Mont Salem’s secret owner. Here’s how this worked: Payments to complete calls are paid to the country receiving the calls. FCC rules at the time required all U.S. telecoms to pay the same best rate publicly agreed to by Haiti Teleco–which then was 23 cents a minute. Their charges to customers were on top of that.

Paying Haiti Teleco only 9 cents, IDT could charge cut-rate prices and undercut companies that had to pay the full tariff; it got the customers. IDT and its Haitian cronies were making out like bandits, according to the RICO plaintiffs. In six months, from February to April 2004, IDT paid $302,588 in kickbacks, the suit alleged.

The Haiti lawsuit, with the advantage of Teleco documents, said that in September 2004, IDT sent Teleco a proposed agreement under which it would formally terminate any agency arrangement with Mont Salem effective retroactively from May 2004 and would agree not to allow any agent acting on its behalf to make or receive payments in violation of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) records show that IDT’s August 2004 rate to Haiti went up to 18 cents a minute, when the country implemented that price for all carriers. IDT could therefore claim it “withdrew” from any possible unlawful conduct by May or at least August.

The Haiti suit also charged several Florida companies with making corrupt Teleco deals. But before it could put its documents into evidence, Haiti dropped its court action, blaming lack of funds.

In 2007, after IDT had for three years ignored FCC rules to file its Haiti contract, the agency ordered it to do so and fined it $1.3 million, reduced to $400,000 in a consent decree. When IDT raised an objection to making its contract public, the FCC let it get away with that until 2008.

Now that the contract has been released, it’s obvious why IDT wanted the contract kept secret. The smoking-gun page said that IDT payments would go to Mont Salem, not Haiti Teleco. The contract also said that IDT’s payments to Haiti to complete calls to that country would be 9 cents at a time when the required standard was 23 cents.

The Haiti civil suit said that Jean René Duperval, 43, then Haiti Teleco’s director of international relations, had falsified the books to say that Mont Salem was the carrier dealing with Teleco, not IDT. His signature was on the IDT-Teleco contract ordering payments to Mont Salem.

From the Jewett and Haiti suits, the evidence was out about these suspicious arrangements. Did the Justice Department take note? IDT has indicated in its annual SEC filings every year since 2004 when the Jewett case was filed that it is cooperating with ongoing Justice and SEC investigations. And recent events in a federal court in Miami suggest a Justice Department strategy. It appears to be tracking the facts in Haiti’s civil suit and using some co-conspirators to turn on others.

The Haiti government suit had accused three Florida companies, as well as IDT and several other out-of-state firms, of paying bribes to cited members of “the Aristide Group.” In 2008, the Justice Department filed a sealed request to suspend the five-year statute of limitations in a Miami case involving the Florida companies.

The application for the order—which was unsealed last month—noted that “the investigation to date has revealed that Terra Telecommunications, Inc., Uniplex Technologies, Inc., and Cinergy Telecommunications, Inc., its employees and intermediaries, and others may have violated United States criminal laws by engaging in a scheme involving the payment of bribes to officials of Telecommunications D’Haiti (“Haiti Telecom”), the national telephone company of Haiti.” The key is “and others.” The government won the order, which was also sealed.

Two lower-level participants in the Florida bribery conspiracy pleaded guilty last April. The U.S. Attorney in Miami in December brought indictments against five other individuals for participating in what it termed a $1.6-million bribe scheme, charging those facilitating the bribes with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and all of them with money-laundering.

Among those indicted was Duperval, who has not pleaded to the charge because he does not yet have permanent counsel and therefore has not been arraigned. He was extradited from Haiti and is now free in the United States on a $400,000 bond and wearing a global positioning satellite system (GPS) electronic ankle bracelet.

His predecessor at Haiti Teleco, Robert Antoine, 61, was also extradited and indicted. According to the Justice Department, U.S. government evidence shows that the two, who have residences in Florida, participated in a conspiracy that involved using a Florida shell company run by Duperval’s sister, so they could launder and reinvest the Teleco bribery profits. The sister, Marguerite Grandison, 40, of Miramar, FL, was also indicted.

The penalty for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is up to five years in prison; for money laundering, it’s up to 20 years.

As it continues its IDT investigation, the Justice Department might like to know who got the kickbacks that transited Mont Salem. Did Aristide? They might get that information from Duperval. It is common for the department to offer defendants plea bargains if they cooperate in investigations.

Duperval could worry that the United States has requested Mont Salem records from the Turks and Caicos Islands. In August, the U.K. took over daily management of the islands, a British Overseas Territory, after evidence of widespread corruption by local officials. The U.K. might be more amenable to American petitions for information about shell-company owners than the previous governors.

More serious, Robert Antoine will plead guilty on March 12th, according to his lawyer Dennis Kainen, who said the plea agreement will include a deal with the prosecutors. Antoine’s bribery deal with the Florida companies was passed on to Duperval, his successor, and it is expected that Antoine will provide the details.

Duperval is in a precarious position. G. Robert Blakey, professor of criminal law at the Notre Dame Law School and drafter of the federal RICO statute, said, “The only thing they can do now is flip witnesses. The way they flip witnesses is to say, ‘You’re going to jail for 20 years. Testify and it may be five.’ ” He could talk about IDT and Aristide.

The second factor that points to a prosecution of IDT is the suspension of the statute of limitations. Based on IDT paying the normal Haiti tariff beginning in August 2004, the statute of limitations might extend until only August 2009. Blakey said, “Is it logical that if they did get an extension it also applies to their investigation of Duperval in connection with IDT? Yes, it properly falls within ‘others.’ ” Or, he said, the government could have asked for a sealed order of suspension in New Jersey. Or IDT could have consented. He explained, “Since they’re cooperating, maybe they agreed to suspend it. Typically that’s done, because you want to talk the government out of indicting you.”

That could explain why IDT could acknowledge in a filing with the SEC for the fiscal year ending in July 2009 that the Justice Department and SEC were still investigating the 2004 charges that IDT had paid kickbacks for its Teleco contract.

Additional confirmation that the probe continues is a Dec. 29, 2009 letter I received from the Justice Department denying a FOIA request for documents related to the Jewett-IDT inquiry on grounds that “these records relate to open and on-going law enforcement proceedings,” and that their release could reveal the nature and scope of the government’s evidence and interfere with the case.

The continuing investigation may be what led the company in September 2009 to amend its bylaws to pay directors’ and officers’ costs of attorneys, fines, and settlements in criminal cases even if they are convicted, as long as they acted in good faith in the interests of the corporation. “A golden parachute to jail,” quipped a lawyer I consulted. The company’s former CEO, James Courter, and former CFO could theoretically face charges under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, if they knowingly signed false statements that they knew of no material event that could result in financial liability to the company.

This is a precedent-setting case. The Justice Department is using the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (which deals only with bribe-givers) not only to charge companies and individuals doing business in the United States, but, for the first time, to go after foreign officials who received bribe money and laundered it.

IDT’s officials and their lawyers are probably checking the Florida case docket anxiously for the latest information. So, very probably, is Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Source: Courtesy of “The Komisar Scoop” (http://thekomisarscoop.com/2010/03/idts-voodoo-economics-inside-the-justice-department%e2%80%99s-probe-of-telecom-bribes-in-haiti/)

Lucy Komisar is an investigative journalist who writes about the offshore bank and corporate secrecy system. Her articles are posted at “The Komisar Scoop” web site (http://thekomisarscoop.com/). Readers are invited to receive “The Komisar Scoop” directly, via Ms. Komisar’s direct email opt-in system (http://thekomisarscoop.com/mailman/listinfo/subscribers_thekomisarscoop.com).

Glacier Bancorp To Offer $110 Million Of Common Shares

bobfarley — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:58:37 +0000

March 17, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: GBCI) said that it has filed a prospectus supplement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a firm commitment underwritten public offering of $110 million of its common stock.

D.A. Davidson & Co. is the sole book-running manager in the offering. The underwriters will be given a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the shares being offered to cover over-allotments, according to Glacier.

Glacier plans to use the net proceeds from the offering to support the continued growth of its banks and for general corporate purposes, which may include investments at the holding company level, capital allocations to its banking subsidiaries, and potential future business opportunities in its market areas, such as FDIC-assisted transactions.

Montana-based Glacier Bancorp is a regional multi-bank holding company providing commercial banking services in 60 communities in Montana, Idaho, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and Colorado.

Cote Named President Of Movado Group

bobfarley — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:58:05 +0000

March 17, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Movado Group, Inc. (NYSE: MOV) has promoted Rick Cote to president, in addition to his current responsibilities as chief operating officer. Cote will continue to report to Efraim Grinberg, the watch firm’s chairman and CEO.

Cote joined Movado Group in January 2000. He has served as EVP and COO since May 2001.

New Jersey-based Movado Group designs, sources, and distributes Movado, Ebel, Concord, ESQ, Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Juicy Couture and Lacoste watches worldwide, and operates Movado boutiques and company stores in the United States.

PMC Commercial Trust Declares 16 Cent Dividend

bobfarley — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:56:30 +0000

March 17, 2010 (FinancialWire) — PMC Commercial Trust’s (AMEX: PCC) board of Trust Managers has declared a first quarter 2010 quarterly cash dividend of $0.16 per common share payable on April 12, 2010 to shareholders of record on March 31, 2010.

The dividend is the firm’s 65th consecutive quarterly dividend.

Texas-based PMC Commercial Trust is a real estate investment trust that primarily originates loans to small businesses primarily secured by real estate.