GTL Resources (LSE: GTL.L) Agrees to $52 Million Takeover

Tallahassee, FL 10/31/11 (StreetBeat) --GTL Resources (LSE: GTL.L), the owner of an ethanol and bio-refining company, has agreed to a 32 million pound ($52 million) cash offer from marine firm Siem Kapital and fund manager North Atlantic Value (NAV), the companies said on Monday.

Siem and NAV will pay one pound a share for GTL, which produces over one million gallons of ethanol per year through its subsidiary Illinois River Energy LLC.

Norwegian firm Siem Kapital specializes in the management of marine vessels and is a subsidiary of Siem Industries, an industrial holding company with interests in various marine and resources sectors.

"We believe that GTL is a great company with strong operational management, but that, given its size, operating environment and U.S. focus, it would fare better as a private company with a simplified and more cost effective corporate structure," said NAV's Christopher Mills.

GTL's non-executive chairman Julia Henderson said the offer provided GTL shareholders with a "significant" cash premium over the price at which the company's shares have traded recently.

Shares in GTL, which have lost around 16 percent of their value since the beginning of April, closed at 74.50 per share on Friday and rose to it’s 52 week high at 97.39 during trade Monday morning.

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GTL Resources (LSE: GTL.L) Agrees to $52 Million Takeover

Tallahassee, FL 10/31/11 (StreetBeat) --GTL Resources (LSE: GTL.L), the owner of an ethanol and bio-refining company, has agreed to a 32 million pound ($52 million) cash offer from marine firm Siem Kapital and fund manager North Atlantic Value (NAV), the companies said on Monday.

Siem and NAV will pay one pound a share for GTL, which produces over one million gallons of ethanol per year through its subsidiary Illinois River Energy LLC.

Norwegian firm Siem Kapital specializes in the management of marine vessels and is a subsidiary of Siem Industries, an industrial holding company with interests in various marine and resources sectors.

"We believe that GTL is a great company with strong operational management, but that, given its size, operating environment and U.S. focus, it would fare better as a private company with a simplified and more cost effective corporate structure," said NAV's Christopher Mills.

GTL's non-executive chairman Julia Henderson said the offer provided GTL shareholders with a "significant" cash premium over the price at which the company's shares have traded recently.

Shares in GTL, which have lost around 16 percent of their value since the beginning of April, closed at 74.50 per share on Friday and rose to it’s 52 week high at 97.39 during trade Monday morning.

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3 Midday Market Losers (Nasdaq: NPSP, DWA) (NYSE: L)

Tallahassee, FL 10/31/11 (StreetBeat) --Nps Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: NPSP), a maker of drugs for gastrointestinal illnesses, plunged as much as 38 percent after saying three people in a clinical trial for its Gattex drug got cancer and two of them died. The shares are currently down $2.67, trading at $5.09 per share.

Shares of DreamWorks Animation SKG (Nasdaq: DWA) fell 10% Monday after the company's latest theatrical film, "Puss In Boots," turned in the worst opening weekend for a DreamWorks movie since "Antz" in 1998. The film earned $34 million at the U.S. box office. Cowen & Co. analyst Doug Creutz wrote to client that the film's underperformance "is further evidence that increasing competition in the animated film space has significantly degraded the domestic box office otential for individual animated films." Creutz, who rates DreamWorks Animation neutral, noted that this is the fifth of the studio's films in a row to open to lackluster business "despite generally positive reviews."

Loews Corp's (NYSE: L) third-quarter earnings surged as its CNA Financial Corp. insurance unit swung to the black. But shares dropped 2.4% as the conglomerate's earnings results fell short of analysts' expectations. It is currently trading at $40.46 per share.

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Panasonic Corp. (NYSE: PC) Forecasts Full Year Net Loss

Tallahassee, FL 10/31/2011 (StreetBeat) --Panasonic Corp. (NYSE: PC) stayed in the red in the latest quarter and projected a huge annual loss due to slumping TV sales and a strong yen. The company, which makes consumer electronics such as Viera TVs and Lumix cameras, on Monday reported a loss of 105.8 billion yen ($1.34 billion) for the July-September quarter. Panasonic now expects a loss of 420 billion yen ($5.3 billion) for the fiscal year through March 2012, down sharply from an earlier projection of a 30 billion yen ($380 million) profit.

Panasonic had slumped to a 30.4 billion yen loss in the April-June quarter, hit by damages and lost sales from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan's northern coast and killed nearly 20,000 people.
Despite signs of recovery from the disaster, the company faces new challenges, including the global economic slump, slowing demand in emerging markets and the strong yen. Sales were down in flat panel TVs, auto electronics, cellphones as well as electronics parts and components.

Earlier Monday, Japanese authorities intervened in the currency market to weaken the yen against the dollar and ease pressure on Japanese exporters. That caused the dollar to jump nearly 5 percent to above 79 yen after earlier touching a post World War II-low of 75.32 yen -- a level that is excruciating for exporters.

Panasonic said its sales dropped 6 percent to 2.08 trillion yen ($26.3 billion) during the July-September quarter from a year earlier. The company suffered a loss of 136.2 billion yen ($1.72 billion) during the first six months of the business year, compared to 74.7 billion yen profit a year earlier. Its sales fell by 8 percent to 4 trillion yen ($50.6 billion). Overseas sales fell more than those at home, the company said.

The loss for the half-year period was largely due to restructuring of flat-panel TV operations and other efforts related to cost cutting. In April, Panasonic said it would cut 17,000 jobs and close up to 70 plants. Sources have said it will slash plasma TV panel output and drop plans for a solar panel factory and a battery plant expansion in Japan.

Shares of the company closed 2.1 percent lower before the results. They have fallen 31 percent so far this year, compared with a 13 percent decline in the broader market.

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Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA) Trading +24%

Tallahassee, FL 10/31/2011 (StreetBeat) --Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: MNTA) won a federal court ruling Friday that temporarily blocks other companies from selling a generic version of its anti-clotting drug. As a result, its shares surged in after-hours trading, and have continued to grow today. Currently, MNTA is trading at $15.17, up 24% or $2.93 for the day.

Since July 2010, Momenta has made the only approved generic version of Lovenox, a drug used to prevent deep-vein blood clots from forming in the legs of patients on bed rest, including those having hip replacement or knee replacement surgery.

The company claims that a version developed by Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Inc. and recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration infringes on a Momenta patent. The judge granted Momenta's request for an injunction blocking Amphastar, Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. and an Amphastar subsidiary, International Medication Systems Ltd., from selling their version until the end of the patent lawsuit.

Shares of Cambridge-based Momenta fell 6 cents to close at $12.24 but jumped $2.36, or 19.3 percent, to $14.60 after hours after the ruling was announced. Watson shares fell 21 cents to $69.35 in regular trading, and lost another 18 cents, to $69.17, in extended trading.

Momenta is slated to report its fiscal third-quarter results on Nov. 7. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters is for earnings of $1.29 a share in the September-ended quarter on revenue of $90.2 million.

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The Halloween Economy

Tallahassee, FL 10/31/2011 (StreetBeat) --Americans spend more and more on Halloween each year. All the costumes, decorations, candy, and cards add up to big business and have given rise to a crop of Halloween pop-up stores that are able to cash in during the two months a year they are open.

Consumers are ready to spend around $6.86 billion dollars this Halloween, according to an annual survey commissioned by the National Retail Federation. That comes out to an average of about $72 per American. Market Research firm IBISWorld forecasts this year’s spending at a more modest $5.9 billion. Still, the firm says that would be an 11.7% improvement from the year before, and a huge bounce-back from 2009, when the recession caused sales to drop a ghastly 22% to $4.31 billion.

WHO CELEBRATES
Of course, not all of that spending is spread out evenly. Just a little more than two-thirds of those surveyed by the National Retail Federation (NRF) said they planned to celebrate the holiday. That fraction stays about the same for both men and women, and across geographic regions. The big differentiator? Age. A full 89.1% of 18-24 year olds plan to party and spend. That percentage drops with each rising demographic bracket. Only 42% of those over 65 said they had plans for the holiday.

WHAT WE BUY: COSTUMES
Costumes make up the biggest chunk of Halloween sales, according to IBISWorld, comprising about 36% of the total. This year, the firm pegs overall costume purchases at $2.11 billion. According to their analysis: “Lady Gaga, vampires and traditional ghoul costumes will still top shoppers’ lists this year, while more classic looks, like 1960s Mad Men-inspired outfits, emerge as a new favorite.

WHAT WE BUY: PET COSTUMES
Fact: Americans plan to spend $300 million on pet costumes this year, according to the NRF. Make of that what you will, but at least it's still less than children’s costumes, which should account for about $1 billion in spending, or adult costumes, which should account for $1.2 billion. Somewhere out there, a black cat owner feels thrifty.

WHAT WE BUY: CANDY
Halloween season is candy season. Sweets makers see 8% of their sales during the holiday, according to the National Confectioners Association (NCA). That makes it the “largest confectionary holiday.” The industry group expects revenue to hit $2.27 billion, up about 1% from a year ago. IBISWorld pegs its 2011 estimate lower, at $1.81 billion, although by their calculations that would still represent an increase.

When it comes to candy picking, customers just opt for single serving sizes, good for handing out to trick-or-treaters. It’s also peak candy corn season: Manufacturers produce 35 million pounds of the waxy, tri-color kernels for the holiday.

WHAT WE BUY: DECORATIONS AND CARDS
Greeting card sales have been slumping across the board, says IBISWorld Senior Analyst Nikola Panteva. But she believes they should still make up $320 million in sales on Halloween, up from last year’s $300 million. Decorations should be a full $1.67 billion, up from $1.49 billion last year.

HALLOWEEN VS. OTHER HOLIDAYS
Despite all the splurging, Halloween is still just a small slice of the holiday spending pie. In 2010, it made up just 2.6% of the $228 billion Americans spent during the holidays, putting it behind Christmas (59.2%), Thanksgiving (13.4%), Valentine's Day (7.7%), Mother’s Day (6.5%), Easter (6.1%), and Father’s Day (4.5%). Of course, as stated in slide #8, alcohol sales were not factored into the equation.

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Samsung Takes the #1 Spot in Smart Phone Sales

Tallahassee, FL 10/31/2011 (StreetBeat) -- Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNLF.PK) overtook Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) in the third quarter to become the world's largest seller of smartphones, data released Friday by market research firm Strategy Analytics show.

Samsung, the world's largest technology firm by revenue, sold a total of 27.8 million smartphone during the quarter, while Apple shipped 17.1 million. Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) held third place with 16.8 million units.

Samsung's share of the smartphone market rose to 23.8% in the third quarter from 9.3% a year earlier, while Apple's market share fell to 14.6% from 17.4%, the research firm said in a statement. Nokia saw its share fall sharply to 14.4% from 32.7%.

The global smartphone shipments in the third quarter grew 44% on year to reach a record 117 million units, the research firm added.

The report came after Samsung released its third-quarter earning results earlier in the day. Samsung's net profit fell 23% in the third quarter from a year earlier because of weakness at its ailing display unit. But the result was better than expected as strong sales of its smartphones offset weakness in other consumer products and electronic components.

Samsung's telecom division, which accounted for 36% of revenue, provided more than half of the firm's operating profit and posted its best profit margin since 2004.

"After just one quarter in the top spot, Apple slipped behind Samsung to second position and captured 15 percent share. Apple's global smartphone growth rate slowed to just 21 percent annually in Q3 2011, its lowest level for two years," said Neil Mawston, Director at Strategy Analytics.

"We believe Apple's growth during the third quarter was affected by consumers and operators awaiting the launch of the new iPhone 4S in the fourth quarter, volatile economic conditions in several key countries, and tougher competition from Samsung's popular Galaxy S2 model," he added.

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3 Thing To Know Before Trading

Tallahassee, FL 10/31/2011 (StreetBeat)--*Stocks were mixed in Asian trade, but most of the major indexes were lower on the session. Australia was among the weakest in the region with a decline of one and a quarter percent, the Hang Seng fell three quarters of a percent, the Nikkei was down almost that much and Shanghai lost a slight fraction. European indexes are generally weak this morning with the Dax off about 1.8% and the Footsie lower by a bit more than one and a quarter percent. US stock futures are down about one percent as I write.

*The world’s population is said to have hit 7 billion earlier today; if everyone could just shift over a bit to make room, if you please…

*Soon after the dollar/yen set another post World War II low the Bank of Japan intervened to weaken the yen. No amounts were stated but all accounts say the yen sale may have been close to a record. The dollar/yen traded as low as 75.57, but post the intervention it traded up at 79.54 and is currently 77.90. Japanese FinMin Azumi said “I’ll continue to intervene until I am satisfied.”

*In the wake of last week’s visit from the EFSF boss Regling China stressed that it will not act as a “saviour” to Europe. But European Commission President Barroso and European Council President Van Rompuy have urged G20 leaders to address the European debt crisis at this week’s gathering in Cannes, France.

*The September reading of German Retail Sales was weaker than forecast at +0.4% on a monthly basis, but had been expected to be up one percent.

*The September reading of Swiss Retail Sales was down 0.9% on a month on month basis, the second negative result in a row.

*MF Global is said to be in talks with Interactive Brokers Group that would include a deal for the latter to purchase some assets of, or the entire company. But there is additional talk that a bankruptcy filing by MF is still possible. This morning the NY Fed said that MF Global can no longer conduct new business with the Fed.

*The October reading of the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index is due out at 8:45am CDT, but three minutes earlier for the subscribers; it is expected to be 59.0, down a bit from the September result of 60.4.

*The October reading of the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Activity Index is due out at 9:30am CDT, it is expected to be -5.0; it was -14.4 the month before.

*The New York Fed will release the next Operation Twist schedule at 1:00pm CDT.

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Oktoberfest: When The Music (Money) Stops Playing (Flowing)…

Last week, the markets rallied sharply on news that banks were willing to take a 50% haircut on their Greek Bond holdings.It was a hell of a party, as many asset classes were joining "Oktoberfest" : Gold, Copper, Silver, Oil, Stocks,...
The party was organized by Merkel and Co:

These kind of stimulus packages are like alcohol for the stock markets . They are fun and they make everything look better than it really is... The only problem is that if you get too much of it (alcohol) in a short time, the next day you will probably have a very bad hangover. The same is true with stock markets: when they rally too much over a too short time frame, the hangover will soon follow.

In an article I posted on September 11th, I wrote the following:Let’s start off with a chart of the German DAX index. While price makes lower lows, the RSI sets higher lows on a daily basis.This causes Positive Divergence. If the DAX would rally above the red resistance line, we could easily see 6000+ points on the DAX pretty soon. Most people are expecting a double dip scenario right now. And although we can’t rule out a double dip, it often pays to be a contrarian. We all know by now what happens when everybody expects something to happen. Usually, it doesn’t happen. Combine this potential falling wedge with the positive Divergence, and we have a good cocktail for higher prices. (Click here for the entire article and more charts)
Chart: Prorealtime.comOn August 12th, I posted the following chart of the dutch AEX index (for subscribers only) with the blue line being my expectations:

An updated version of this chart was posted on October 24th (for subsribers only):

We can see that price (and thus also the Moving Averages) acted almost EXACTLY as forecasted.Following this sharp rise in stock markets over the past few weeks, prices are looking overbought in the short term, and price has now reached the 200EMA. When we look at the following chart, we can see that this 200EMA has often been an important level during both Bull AND Bear markets. Price was very stretched below the 200EMA a couple of weeks ago, and has tested this level last week. It might rise slightly above this 200EMA in order to attract as many bulls as possible, but so far, it looks like this is just a massive bear market rally (which we forecasted). Potential targets would be 320-335 points for the AEX.

Chart: Prorealtime.com
Bespoke Investment Group notes:

The dark red shading in the table below represents between two and three standard deviations above the sector’s 50-day moving average, and moves into this range are considered extremely overbought. As shown, not only are all ten S&P 500 sectors overbought (at least one standard deviation above the 50-day), but 8 out of 10 are in extreme territory. The Financial sector is the most overbought of them all at three standard deviations above its 50-day. The Materials sector is the least overbought at just under two standard deviations above its 50-day.

Bespoke also shows that 100% of the stocks in the Financial sector are trading above their respective 50-day moving averages...

The financial stocks rallied big time, so everything is good now? I don't think so. When we look at the Ted spread (which is the difference between the interest rates on interbank loans and on short-term U.S. Government Debt), we can see that the tensions between the banks are growing, as the TED spread is reaching a 16-month high:
Source: Bloomberg
Gold rallied sharply as well last week, moving away from the green support line in the chart below:
Chart: Prorealtime.com

As a result, the HUI index also rallied substantially.Although the RSI is not overbought at all, the MACD is very stretched, as shown by the MACD histogram, which shows the distance between the MACD signal lines. Everytime the MACD Histogram was at current levels or higher, the HUI reached an interim top:
Chart courtesy stockcharts.com

Based on the chart above, we think the Mining stocks need to correct a bit along with the equity markets. However, gold looks set to test the all-time highs, so when/if we get a correction in gold mining stocks, it wil likely be a mild one...

Conclusion: A couple of weeks ago, when everybody was looking for Financial Armageddon, we turned very bullish. Today, everybody is in a party mood, but we are leaving the party. When the music stops playing, everybody will rush for the exits, sometimes causing accidents. It's better to leave a bit too early and maybe miss the last song of the night (rally), than to leave too late and rush for the exits. There will be plenty of parties over the next couple of years.One of the biggest parties you have ever seen will last much longer, and we make our way to the (Gold)bars when nobody is ordering... There's no use to stand in line when everybody wants to have their piece.We tell our subscribers when they have to make their ways to the (gold)bar. When they are getting too drunk, we tell them to stop drinking and get a sober view and ask themselves what they are doing...Would you like to join our parties? Subscribe now for VIP tickets!

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Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC) Drops 14% On Earnings Miss

Tallahassee, FL 10/28/11 (PennyPayDay) -- Cablevision Systems Corp's (NYSE: CVC) quarterly earnings widely missed Wall Street estimates as its programming and sales costs rose and it faced competition from phone companies offering TV services. The company’s shares fell more than 11 percent on the profit miss of 14 cents per share.

Cable companies have been losing video customers to phone companies such as Verizon Communications, which offers FiOs TV, satellite providers as well Internet companies such as Netflix Inc. and Hulu. The New York cable operator said it lost 19,000 video subscribers in the third quarter. This was better than some deeper losses analysts were expecting. Analysts on average were expecting losses of 30,000 subscribers, according to StreetAccount data.

"Cablevision's numbers are very weak," said Brean Murray analyst Todd Mitchell. "They are having trouble in their New York clusters."

Verizon competes with Cablevision in the greater New York area and in the same period it added 131,000 video customers. Earlier this month, Verizon said it expects to add 200,000 FiOS TV customers in the fourth-quarter.

Cablevision said its revenue took a hit of $16 million because of Hurricane Irene, a storm that affected the New York area in August.

One bright spot for Cablevision was its Internet additions. Analysts were expecting it to add 5,000 new Internet customers and it added 17,000 in the quarter. Cablevision posted a profit of $39.3 million or 14 cents per share, down from $68.4 million, or 23 cents per share, a year earlier. Adjusted for various charges, the company reported an EPS of 17 cents, which missed analysts' expectations of 31 cents per share.

Cablevision, which is controlled by the Dolan family, saw its total revenue increase 8 percent to $1.67 billion, which was in line with analysts' estimates, according to Thomson-Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company's shares fell 14 percent to $14.72 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

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3D System's (NYSE:DDD) Q3 Misses, Shares Fall

Tallahassee, FL 10/28/11 (PennyPayDay) -- Three-dimensional printer maker 3D Systems Corp's (NYSE: DDD) third-quarter profit fell short of analyst estimates as higher costs offset strong sales, sending its shares down 9 percent.

The company's net income rose to $7.2 million, or 14 cents per share, from $5.4 million, or 11 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue rose to $57.5 million from $41.5 million a year ago.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 16 cents per share on revenue of $57.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
While revenue from the services segment almost doubled, product sales rose 15 percent.

Shares of the company, after falling as much as $17.5 yesterday, are now trading lower at $15.87, down 16% for the day.

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China BAK Battery, Inc.(NASDAQ: CBAK ) Up Over 20% on the Day

Tallahassee, FL October 28, 2011 (PennyPayDay) -- Investorideas.com, a leader in renewable energy stock research, releases a trading alert for China BAK Battery, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBAK ). The stock is trading up at $1.02, up 0.1750 (20.71%) 1:40PM EDT.

The stock is up just in time as the company reported today it has received a staff deficiency notice from The NASDAQ Stock Market informing the Company that its common stock has not met the $1.00 minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on The NASDAQ Global Market under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5450(a)(1). The Company did not meet NASDAQ's minimum bid price requirement because the closing bid price for its common stock for each trading day in the 30-business day period from September 12, 2011 to October 21, 2011 was less than $1.00 per share. The notification letter stated that China BAK will receive 180 calendar days, or until April 23, 2012, to regain compliance with the NASDAQ listing requirements. During this compliance period, the closing bid price for China BAK's common stock must be at least $1.00 for a minimum of ten consecutive business days for the Company to regain compliance. In the event that the Company does not regain compliance within this period, it may be eligible for additional time to regain compliance by filing a listing application to transfer its common stock to the NASDAQ Capital Market and satisfying certain other requirements. The notification letter has no effect at this time on the listing of the Company's common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market. China BAK's common stock will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "CBAK."

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Is Clean Tech On the Verge of Death?

With the recent bankruptcy of Solyndra many are beginning to question the sustainability of clean tech industries. Is clean tech on the verge of death? Not really. Investments in clean tech have been slightly rising with new deals on the frontier.

When looking into the current state of clean tech, one would find that while the funds invested in clean tech industries have increased since 2010, there has not been an increase in the number of newly formed clean tech projects. There have been a slew of recent bankruptcies in the clean tech industry. Some companies, such as Applied Materials, have dropped their clean tech divisions to avoid losses. The list of bankrupted U.S. clean tech companies includes Evergreen Solar, Spectra Watt, and, most recently, Solyndra in September 2011. Surprisingly enough, the number of deals in clean tech Venture Capital (VC) funding increased in Q3 2011 with 29 more deals than Q1.

Thought VC investments in the clean tech industry increased in Q3 of 2011, the majority of the funding went to follow-on rounds for capital-intensive companies. Many investors seem to be more inclined to back well-established clean tech start-ups than newer clean tech projects. 81% of the funding generated in Q3 was for the 55% of VC clean tech companies in Series B or later rounds. Funding totaled $1.8 billion.

The newest trend in clean tech investment has seen an upswing in the amount invested in energy storage. Energy storage accounts for $514 million of the clean investment sector, with solar at $350mil, energy efficiency at $223mil, and transportation at $177 mil.

One of the largest obstacles comes from global competition in clean tech. China currently leads the world in IPOs and clean tech investments. The cheap cost of labor and manufacturing makes it very hard for other countries to compete domestically. China accounted for 49% of global clean tech proceeds. The country is particularly competitive because of its incentives. Many clean tech companies enjoy a preferential tax rate of 15%, compared with the 25% tax rate on other corporations. China is renowned for its cheap labor and manufacturing costs. In addition, all renewable energies are guaranteed purchase by utilities. As a result, Ernst and Young scored China higher than the U.S. in terms of attracting potential clean tech investors.

For the clean tech industry in the U.S., survival may actually depend on investment from the government and not VC funding. The Department of Defense (DOD) is the single largest energy consumer in the world, surpassing the energy consumption of 100 nations. 75% of DOD energy costs are spent on fuel, while only 25% are spent on infrastructure. The DOD has begun to heavily invest in clean tech, it is predicted by 2030 its investment will total $10 billion. One current military project consists of a $2 billion 500-megawatt solar power installation that will be built on a military reserve at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California.

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US Highland (UHLN) Stock Chart Analysis

The UHLN chart has been making a solid climb since it began trading regularly this month. New highs and support levels have been made with resistance at 46 cents representing a solid breakout point.

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Align Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN) Trading +27% Following Q3 Results

Tallahassee, FL 10/28/11 (PennyPayDay) -- Align Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN) is currently trading + 27% at $22.66 per share. Yesterday, the company posted a quarterly profit that beat market expectations, helped by strong sales of its invisible braces for aligning teeth, and forecast a strong fourth quarter. Shares of the company were trading up 12 percent at $20 in extended trade. They closed at $17.81 on Thursday on Nasdaq.

Separately, the maker of teeth-alignment systems authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $150 million, representing about 11 percent of its market valuation, effective immediately.

For the fourth quarter, the company expects adjusted earnings of 20-22 cents a share vs. estimated $0.18/share, on sales of $124.0-$128.5 million. Analysts, on average, were expecting the company to earn 18 cents a share, on revenue of $122.6 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue rose 31 percent to $125.9 million, helped by a 19 percent increase in sales of its removable teeth aligners, Invisalign.

For the third quarter, net income rose to $19.3 million, or 24 cents a share, from $16.8 million, or 22 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding items, the company earned 27 cents a share.

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Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Gains in After-Hours Trading

Tallahassee,FL 10/28/11 (PennyPayDay) -- Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) jumped in premarket trading Friday after the chip maker's strong quarterly results, and an analyst said it had the opportunity to gain share in the notebook market.

It posted 3Q earnings and revenue growth that beat analyst expectations thanks to increasing demand in China, India and other emerging markets, and demand for its laptop chips. The notebook numbers were the real surprise for the quarter, said Citi Investment Research analyst Glen Yeung in a note to investors. AMD's notebook revenue grew 35 percent growth compared to the second quarter despite recent manufacturing problems, which had led it to cut its outlook last month. Yeung said he was worried that AMD's "mis-execution would cause irreparable damage" to its opportunities in the notebook computer market.

"But AMD made the right strategic decision to aggressively divert resources to (notebooks) and thereby keep the window of opportunity to gain share open," Yeung said. He kept a "Buy" rating on AMD's stock and raised his target price to $8 from $7.

The company said Thursday that it expected fourth-quarter revenue to increase 1 to 5 percent, a range that straddles the average analyst estimate. Shares rose 57 cents, or 10.7 percent, to $5.90 in premarket trading Friday. The stock closed at $5.33 on Thursday before the earnings report. Shares have dropped 35 percent this year.

AMD is the No. 2 maker of microprocessors, the "brains" of computers; making about a fifth of the world's supply.

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Whirlpool Corp (NYSE: WHR) Plans Jobs Cuts, Lowers Forecast

Tallahassee, FL 10/28/11 (PennyPayDay) --Whirlpool Corp (NYSE: WHR), the world's largest maker of household appliances, is responding to "recessionary" demand in major developed markets by cutting jobs and manufacturing capacity, following a similar move by rival AB Electrolux. Whirlpool will cut more than 5,000 positions, about a tenth of its workforce in North America and Europe, close a plant in Arkansas, and reduce its overall manufacturing capacity by about 6 million units.

The maker of Maytag and KitchenAid appliances, which slashed its annual profit forecast and reported weak quarterly results, has been hurt by high material costs and by shoppers cutting back on big-ticket buys such as washing machines and dishwashers. "Given the weakening global economic environment, we are today announcing aggressive plans that will result in substantial cost and capacity reductions," Chief Executive Jeff Fettig said in a statement.

Whirlpool, which employs 71,000 staff globally, expects industry demand in North America to fall more than it previously estimated, and it predicted no growth in shipments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa this year. July-September adjusted profit was $2.35 a share, below the average analyst forecast for $2.68 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. "Our results were negatively impacted by recessionary demand levels in developed countries, a slowdown in emerging markets and high levels of inflation in material costs," Fettig said.

Whirlpool now expects full-year profit of $4.75-$5.25 per share, down from its previous estimate at the low-end of $7.25-$8.25 a share. The company will take a restructuring charge of about $500 million from the next quarter through 2013 related to the cost-cutting moves, which will remove $400 million from annual costs by end-2013.

Whirlpool shares were signaled down around 15 percent in pre-market trade, after closing at an 8-week high of $60.47 in New York on Thursday. Currently, the company is trading down $7.26 or 12% at $53.21.

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Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) Raises Forecast Less Than Expected, Shares Fall

Tallahassee, FL 10/28/11 (PennyPayDay) -- Electronic Arts Inc's (Nasdaq: ERTS) second-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates and the video game maker raised its earnings forecast because of the upcoming holiday title "Star Wars: The Old Republic," which it expects to be a hit. But EA's shares fell more than 4 percent in after-hours trading because investors were puzzled the company did not raise its earnings outlook by more.

For the full year, the company raised its outlook to a range of 75 cents to 90 cents per share, compared with a previous range of 70 cents to 90 cents. Raising the low-end of its outlook by a nickel was not enough for Wall Street, which had hoped EA would post a stellar second-half of the year. Some analysts are expecting full year EPS to be as high as $1.13 per share, according to Thomson-Reuters I/B/E/S. "People were expecting a bit more and wondering what is happening in the ongoing quarter, so they are taking the stock down," said Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia. For the full-year, the company now expects revenue of $4.050 billion to $4.20 billion, ahead of analysts' expectations of $4.1 billion.

The company's finance chief Eric Brown said in an interview the company is raising its earnings outlook on the strength of digital revenue, which comes from online games that can be played on PCs such as "Star Wars. "We're quite confident that we're going to easily clear $1 billion in overall digital revenue in our full fiscal year 2012," Brown said. "Hundreds of thousands" of people have pre-ordered "Star Wars," the online game that EA hopes will rival Activision Blizzard's "World of Warcraft," which has more than 12 million subscribers. EA is said to be spending more than $100 million to develop "Star Wars." The game comes out on December 20.

EA, like many video games companies, is starting to offer a wide range of games played over the Internet and on Facebook, to compete with upstarts such as Zynga, which develops simple, casual games. The company wants to sell more digital content to consumers because it has higher margins than selling games to consumers on discs and does not have to give a cut to brick and mortar stores such as GameStop Corp.

EA said on Thursday that six million customers have downloaded the digital platform it unveiled earlier this year, where users can download full-PC games directly from EA. Gamers will be able to download the Star Wars game over that system.

Brown, the CFO, also said EA's highly anticipated shooter game, "Battlefield 3," which came out earlier this week, "is meeting expectations." "We think the title will do well, not just in the launch week, but into the holiday season and into next year as well," he said. EA's aim is to gradually chip away at Activision Blizzard Inc's (Nasdaq: ATVI) "Call of Duty" series and gain enough momentum to take the crown back from its rival in the next few years.

In the quarter ended September 30, the second-largest U.S. video game publisher's adjusted revenue rose 17 percent to $1.03 billion, which beat analysts' expectations for $966.56 million. The main drivers were sales of EA's sports games such as "FIFA 12" and "Madden NFL 12," which were up 20 percent from a year earlier. Taking into account the deferral of digital revenue from online games, EA's adjusted earnings per share was 5 cents per share, which breezed past Wall Street's expectations of a loss of 4 cents per share.

EA shares were trading more than 4 percent lower at $23.30 in after-hours trading.

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TapImmune, Inc. (OTCBB: TPIV) Trading +22%

Tallahassee, FL 10/27/11 (PennyPayDay) --Shares of micro-cap biotech TapImmune, Inc. (OTC.BB: TPIV) have seen a steady increase in volume and trading activity in recent weeks. At a volume of 1.3M (much greater than the 109,375 average volume during the regular season), shares are currently trading at $0.26, up 22%,

With the World Health Organization's recent vocal announcements of growing threats that multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis are spreading at an alarming rates in Europe, investors have once again begun to pay more attention to TPIV, which holds promise as both an anti-cancer and bio-defense play. TapImmune continues working with the likes of the Mayo Clinic and Aeras Foundation on vaccine candidates in both Cancer and Infectious Diseases.

The company has been quietly building solid relationships within industry because of the relevance of the TAP technology and BioMedReports continues to expect positive developments from the firm, particularly with CEO Dr. Glynn Wilson on the verge of presenting data from the clinic on TAP levels and its affect on disease progression. There is growing evidence now from around the world showing that TAP is indeed a key component in the antigen presentation process and where it is lacking or down regulated, disease progresses and prognosis is worse.

The Seattle based company's TAP-based prophylactic vaccine -- which initial tests indicate may increase the efficacy of targeted prophylactic vaccines by up to 1000 times -- may significantly improve the efficacy of many current prophylactic vaccines and enhance the creation of new ones in the fight against many pandemic infectious diseases.

A next generation smallpox vaccine is currently in preclinical development and the company has been busy working with Gregory Poland, the head of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, who is working to unite the fields of genomics and vaccinology. That work has come about, in part, because Poland and others have never been fully pleased with the existing vaccine paradigm.

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McDermott International Inc. (NYSE: MDR) Trading Down 32%

10/27/11 (PennyPayDay) --McDermott International Inc. (NYSE: MDR), which engineers and builds offshore drilling sites, said on Wednesday that its third quarter net income and revenue would be less than expected, and its shares fell 20 percent in aftermarket trading.

The company said it now expects third-quarter earnings per share of 3 cents to 5 cents, with revenue of $870 million to $880 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been expecting a profit of 29 cents per share with revenue of $891.2 million.

McDermott said the lower expectations were prompted by its management's recent operating reviews. It said that about three-quarters of the project losses that led to the shortfall are in its Atlantic segment. It said it is still reviewing the root causes of the charges. The company will report final results after markets close on Nov. 8.

Stephen M. Johnson, the president's chairman, president, and CEO, said the third quarter results "are not indicative of our outlook for the future." Clearly, we are disappointed with the operating and net income expected for the quarter, he said in a written statement.

McDermott shares fell $2.94 to $11.69 in aftermarket trading. Before the news about its third-quarter profits, shares had risen 53 cents, or 3.8 percent, to close at $14.63. Currently, it is trading at $9.88, down 32% for the day.

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AtriCure, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATRC) +18% After Winning FDA Panel Backing

Tallahassee, FL 10/27/11 (PennyPayDay) – On Wednesday, U.S. health advisers gave their nod to a label revision for AtriCure Inc's (NASDAQ: ATRC) device for treating a heart rhythm disorder. A panel of outside experts convened by the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously that the Synergy Ablation System was effective in treating persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation during open-heart surgery.

Votes were divided over safety concerns and, with the panel chairman stepping in, the final vote was 5-4 with one abstention that the device was safe. The panel voted 5-3 with one abstention that benefits outweighed risks.

AtriCure's ablation device is already approved for heart tissue ablation during surgery. It uses radiofrequency energy to remove or destroy problem-causing heart tissue. The company hopes to expand the label to add the use of the device to restore normal heart rhythm in patients with persistent or long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation who require open-heart surgery. If approved for a new label, the AtriCure device would be the first surgical ablation treatment for atrial fibrillation, and third ablation treatment for afib overall.

Atrial fibrillation is the most prevalent heart rhythm disorder. It affects more than 2 million Americans and is a major cause of stroke. In the condition, the heart's upper two chambers contract rapidly and irregularly and don't properly pump blood into the lower chambers. Persistent afib is one that does not go away after seven days or requires intervention to stop; the long-standing persistent kind continues longer than a year.

"The AtriCure team has been working on this project for almost ten years ... We're very proud," CEO Drachman said.

The FDA will make a final decision on the label. It usually follows the advice of its advisers but does not have to.

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Full Circle Registry (FLCR) Stock Chart Analysis

A look at the 2-year, weekly chart for Full Circle Registry shows a strong uptrend developing and accumulation in the stock. A "blue sky" breakout happens at the break of resistance at $0.10.

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Penske Automotive Group (NYSE: PAG) Anticipates 3Q Profts

Tallahassee, FL 10/27/11 (PennyPayDay) --Penske Automotive Group (NYSE: PAG), the second largest automotive retailer in the U.S., appears well positioned to weather the current supply constraints. It has substantial exposure to premium/luxury brands, and the company should also benefit from a recovery in the new-vehicle market. It is prepared to profit from consolidation that has taken place in the franchised dealership industry and resulted in record profit margins as a recovery gains speed.

On Wednesday morning, November 2, the company is scheduled to release its 3Q (September) financial results, followed by a conference call at 2pm ET. Penske expects to report a 21% increase in 3Q EPS from continuing operations on an 8% rise in total revenue. The revenue forecast is based on a 7% expected increase in same-store sales and a top-line contribution of about $125 million from acquisitions consummated during the past year. Although same-store new Japanese vehicle sales are declining by 2% in the 3Q, Penske offsets that with used-vehicles sales for the same vehicles rising by roughly 15%.

The company anticipates that a higher gross margin will more than offset any new-vehicle sales weakness. Inventories of many popular brands are very low, causing most dealerships to exhibit discipline on pricing and advertising spending. Penske looks to take advantage of this fact, and believes its premium/luxury exposure (68% of new-vehicle sales) should cushion the company from supply constraints. Consequently, it projects a 26 base point gross margin increase in 3Q, with significant improvements both in new and used vehicle margins.

Key components of Penske's operations, most notably the sale of new vehicles, are vulnerable to the strength and weakness of the economy, both national and regional, as well as credit market conditions. The purchase of a car, even a used vehicle, is a big-ticket item that prompts most buyers to finance much of the purchase price. Penske remains encouraged that there appears to be healthy underlying demand for new vehicles that should result in improving sales momentum in 2012. Despite the weak economy, tight supply, and volatile financial markets, the company is happy to ‘settle’ with a $13 million annual sales rate.

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Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) shares fall as PlayBook OS is delayed

Tallahassee, FL 10/26/2011 (PennyPayDay) --Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) won't upgrade the software for its PlayBook tablet computer until February, months behind schedule, and the new version still won't feature the popular BlackBerry Messenger application.

Shares of RIM dropped fell nearly 6 percent to $20.99 by midday Wednesday as investors digested the latest in a string of disappointments as RIM struggles to compete with Apple Inc's category-defining iPad tablet.

The Canadian company that makes the BlackBerry introduced the PlayBook last April. But technology writers, financial analysts and consumers alike scorned the tablet because it could not handle the in-built email, calendar and contact applications that made BlackBerry a household name.

At the time of the launch, RIM said it would add email and other features within 60 days. It later pushed that deadline back to the summer months and then to October.

The latest delay was announced on RIM's official blog late Tuesday.

"As much as we'd love to have it in your hands today, we've made the difficult decision to wait to launch BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 until we are confident we have fully met the expectations of our developers, enterprise customers and end-users," wrote David Smith, a senior vice-president for the PlayBook.

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Panera (NASDAQ:PNRA) Serves Up Significant Profits

Tallahassee, FL 10/26/2011 (PennyPayDay) --Last month, Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ: PNRA) was named one of the favorites among consumers in an annual survey of quick-service restaurants. On Tuesday, it became the latest quick service restaurant to report healthy revenue and comparable sales gains this earnings season.

Panera, better known locally as St. Louis Bread Co., reported a profit of $28.8 million in the third quarter, up 27 percent from $22.8 million a year earlier, as the restaurant chain continued to perform better than other eateries. Total revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 27 rose 22 percent to $453.1 million, compared with $372 million in the prior-year third quarter. Comparable bakery-cafe sales increased 4 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period in fiscal 2010. The company’s margins also got a solid boost from price increases that were not enough to deter customers from the company’s fresh baked menu offerings.

CEO Bill Moreton commented, “We are very pleased with both our strong 6.0% comparable store sales growth and our 29% earnings growth in the third quarter. We have now been able to grow our earnings per share at a rate of 20% plus for 13 out of the last 14 quarters. We continue to believe that our consistent performance has been driven by the investments that we have made in the quality of our food, people and customer experience to drive competitive differentiation. We have also been able to deploy a meaningful amount of our excess cash to drive earnings growth and shareholder returns through high ROI acquisitions and share repurchases. We look forward to another strong year in 2012 with our earnings target falling within our long-term target range of 15-20% annual earnings growth."

The company opened eight new bakery-cafes and its franchisees opened 17 new bakery-cafes in the most recent quarter. As a result, there were 1,504 bakery-cafes open system-wide as of Sept. 27. In 2012, it plans to open about 110 new bakery cafes, on par with 2011's growth figures. The stock is up 15%, year-to-date.

Panera Bread’s stock is up 15% year-to-date. The bakery/coffee chop chain topped third-quarter analyst earnings and revenue forecasts. It lifted fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 guidance above expectations. It is currently trading up 15.5% at $133.67 per share, near its 52 week high of $138.58.

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Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) Surges 20% After Sprint Agreement

Tallahassee, FL 10/26/11 (PennyPayDay) --Clearwire Corp (NASDAQ: CLWR), the money-losing wireless broadband provider, surges 20 percent after Sprint CEO Dan Hesse disclosed a tentative deal between the two companies that appears to show a strengthened relationship between them. In particular, Sprint said it has agreed to work closely with Clearwire on its planned LTE network roll out.

While Sprint owns a majority stake in Clearwire, there has been tension between the two companies in recent months, and it was not clear whether Clearwire was going to figure into Sprint’s long-term network strategy. Sprint may use Clearwire’s network to handle traffic from customers using Long-Term Evolution, or LTE, technology beginning in 2013, Hesse explained. The talks are continuing, though a deal isn’t completed.

“We’re pleased to announce that we have signed a nonbinding cooperation agreement with Clearwire, to work together on the technical specifications of the Clearwire LTE network and to ensure a superb customer experience for Sprint customers on the Clearwire LTE network,” Hesse said on a post-earnings report call with investors this morning. “The cooperation extends to the design and operations of the network, and ensure seamless hand-off and service layer control that needs Sprint customer experience requirements.”

He said the deal covers the selection and timing of site nodes and involves working with manufacturers to design devices and certain chip sets for devices.

Clearwire, based in Kirkland, Washington, rose as high as $2.11 after its news release today, and is currently trading +20% at $1.99. The stock had lost 68% this year before today.

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Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) 3Q profits up 5%

Tallahassee, FL 10/26/11 (PennyPayDay) -- Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:LMT), the world's biggest defense contractor, reported that quarterly profit rose along with sales, and it raised its full-year forecast.

Net income came to $700 million, or $2.10 a share, for the third quarter, compared with $560 million, or $1.54 a share, a year earlier. Quarterly revenue rose nearly 7 percent to $12.1 billion, compared with $11.74 billion expected by analysts.

Lockheed said its third quarter was boosted by its aeronautics division, where revenue rose 21 percent to $4 billion, from $3.3 billion last year. Operating income in the division rose 15 percent to $447 during the quarter.

The better-than-expected quarter prompted Lockheed to raise its outlook for the year, toward the high end or above what most analysts expected. The company raised its earnings forecast for the year to a range between $7.40 and $7.60 per share, from between $7.35 and $7.55 per share. Analysts had expected full-year net income of $7.52 per share.

Lockheed, developer of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, F-16 fighter jet and C-130J military transport plane, is cutting jobs and holding down discretionary expenses as U.S. defense spending comes under pressure. It’s aimed its development at high-tech weapons products and has courted foreign business and the health-care sector as Pentagon spending loses steam. The company said it expected flat sales for 2012, assuming the U.S. defense budget is approved in a timely manner with funding at levels consistent with President Barack Obama's proposed budget.

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Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) trading down 20% after reported 3Q loss

Tallahassee, FL 10/26/11 (PennyPayDay) -- Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) is currently trading down 19.56% at $10.24 per share. Shares of the biotech drugmaker fell 12 percent Tuesday in afterhours trading after the company reported disappointing sales for its highly anticipated lupus drug Benlysta.

The company's loss for the third quarter widened to $88.4 million, or 45 cents per share, from $40.9 million, or 22 cents in the prior-year period. Revenue fell to $34 million from $50.8 million. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a loss of 41 cents per share on sales of $36.8 million.

The company said net sales of Benlysta in the last quarter totaled $18.8 million. Benlysta is the first new treatment approved in the U.S. for lupus in 50 years. The disease is a little-understood and potentially fatal ailment in which the body attacks its own tissue and organs. When Benlysta was first launched in March, analysts speculated that the drug could grow into a billion-dollar-per-year blockbuster within five years.

Human Genome Science's results for third-quarter 2010 benefited from milestone payments for the investigational drug Zalbin, which the company is co-developing with Novartis. The company did not receive any payments from the agreement in the most recent quarter.

The company lowered its full-year cash and investments guidance to between $440 million and $470 million for 2011, down from between $550 million and $650 million. Furthermore, its shares were down $1.53 to $11.20 in extended trading following the release of the earnings report.

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Cheniere Energy (AMEX:LNG) rallies + 63% on LNG export deal with BG

Tallahassee, FL 10/26/11 (PennyPayDay) --BG Group (LSE:BG.L) will export liquefied natural gas from the United States under a landmark $8 billion deal with Cheniere Energy (AMEX:LNG) that will allow domestic producers to ship bountiful shale gas supplies to the world for the first time.

The deal, announced Wednesday, paves the way for terminal developer Cheniere to secure financing for the its Sabine Pass project in Louisiana which could be the first LNG export plant built in the United States in nearly 50 years as U.S. gas production hits record highs. "If we start construction by next year then we could be exporting by 2015," Cheniere chief executive Charif Souki told Reuters. "The BG Group contract will help with financing."

It is expected to reap $410 million a year, Souki said, a boon for a company which put most of its money into building a huge import terminal at Sabine Pass that has for three years received only sporadic supply. Under the deal, which could help reverse the fortunes of the troubled Houston-based company, Cheniere will sell 3.5 million tonnes per year of liquefied natural gas to BG for 20 years from its proposed export plant in Sabine Pass, Louisiana.

Record U.S. natural gas production has swamped the market in recent years, leading to a series of rival export proposals all hoping to sell LNG to higher paying markets in Asia and Europe. LNG is natural gas cooled to a liquid for shipping overseas. Terminal developers like Cheniere are scrambling to turn their idle import facilities into export plants to ship U.S. natural gas abroad after a revolution in shale gas production left the United States with 100 years of supply. BG Group, one of the world's biggest LNG players, has access to import markets across the globe. Anywhere from Japan to Korea to Chile could soon be importing U.S. gas.

Cheniere will sell the LNG to BG for 115 percent of U.S. benchmark Henry Hub prices, plus a $2.15 premium. "The 15 percent will be used for fuel and sourcing the gas, so we will make $2.15 (per million British thermal units)," Souki said. Sabine Pass will have an initial capacity to export 9 million tonnes per year. Cheniere expects to announce another supply deal soon.
Cheniere is the only project in the United States with a license to ship LNG across the globe. It is now waiting for approval to start construction at Sabine Pass, which will source gas from prolific shale fields in the southern United States for thirsty Asian markets.

While U.S. gas prices has fallen under the weight of ample supply, Asian gas prices have rocketed more than 50 percent since March, when an earthquake knocked out a large portion of Japan's nuclear power supply and raised LNG imports. Asian spot LNG prices are now around $17 per million British thermal units, compared to less than $4 in the United States, making export an increasingly viable option.

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Provectus Pharmaceuticals (PVCT) Stock Chart Video

The PVCT stock chart has a history of some large swings that can happen very quickly. Presently, the chart is making a new higher low and holding an historic support level in the process. Technical traders will be watching for the support to hold and for buying pressure to possibly take out resistance and the 200 dma.

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Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) Redefines TelePresence: Delivers In-Person Experiences to All

Tallahassee, FL 10/26/11 (PennyPayDay) --Just five years ago, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) introduced Cisco TelePresence® technology, which delivered a video experience so intuitive, so lifelike and natural that it felt as if people were in the same room even when they were miles apart. But what started out as a way to save travel costs and optimize employee time at large companies has evolved into a way of accelerating time to market, expanding access to experts and transforming how companies do business. Today, Cisco is introducing new and expanded offerings -- from value-priced endpoints to an HD video software client to a hosted solution -- that are designed specifically to make the TelePresence experience available to everyone, everywhere, including small and medium-sized businesses.

Today's announcements highlight how Cisco is delivering people-centric collaboration to more individuals and businesses around the world. Cisco is also expanding the community of users that can share in-person experiences with co-workers, customers and suppliers in the following ways:
1) Extending Cisco TelePresence solutions to companies of all sizes
2) Driving TelePresence solutions from the boardroom to the desktop and beyond
3) Expanding TelePresence technology beyond just meetings

“With 52 percent global market share, Cisco TelePresence has been forging the path for new ways of working together, where everyone, everywhere can be 'present' to make better and faster decisions. The next phase of TelePresence will democratize the in-person experience for people in all sizes and types of organizations." stated OJ Winge, senior VP and GM of TelePresence Technology Group, Cisco.

About Cisco Collaboration
From award-winning IP communications to mobility, customer care, Web conferencing, messaging, enterprise social software, and interoperable TelePresence experiences, Cisco brings together network-based, integrated collaboration solutions based on open standards. These solutions offered across on-premise, cloud-based or virtualized platforms, as well as services from Cisco and our partners, are designed to help promote business growth, innovation and productivity. They are also designed to help accelerate team performance, protect investments, and simplify the process of finding the right people and information.

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3 Things To Know Before Trading

Stocks were generally higher in Asian trade. Shanghai rose three quarters of a percent, the Hang Seng was up a half percent and Australia gained a third of a percent, but the Nikkei was down a slight fraction on the day. European indexes are mixed on the day, but the Dax and the Footsie are both better by a slight fraction. US stock futures are up about a half percent.

*The Q3 reading of Australia’s Consumer Price Index was up 0.6% on a quarterly basis and +3.5% year on year, matching the expectations.

*Merkel addressed the Bundestag earlier today, calling on the German Parliament to rise to their “historic obligation” to defend the euro and Europe. But others are still talking about the rescue plan and they have not yet voted.

*Italy’s Berlusconi has drafted a letter to the EU leaders to explain how he will boost growth and yet still have austere structural reforms. Of course the letter is a substitute for actually doing these tasks on schedule as he was instructed to do, which has not yet happened.

*Spotlight on Brussels. The EU-27 leaders are set to meet at 11:00am CDT. Then comes the meeting of the leaders of the Euro Zone single currency membership at 12:15pm CDT and there is the expectation that they will meet the press or issue a statement after this session. However, there is little chance that they have a full blown plan to present today, more likely a very nice outline without actual numbers. It seems that they will now push off any finalized plan until at least the G20 on November 3, or maybe a few days after that, or so…But of course everything can change with the next headline, and then again with a headline that follows that. There a lots of moving parts.

*The September reading of Germany’s Import Price Index is +0.6% on a month on month basis, as was forecast.

*US mortgage applications were up 4.9% in the week ended October 21, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association; both components rose modestly.

*The September reading of the Durable Goods Orders is due out at 7:30am CDT. Headline Orders are expected to be down 1.0% on a month on month basis and the estimate for Orders ex-transportation is +0.4% on a monthly basis. The September reading of New Home Sales is due out at 9:00am CDT, it is forecast to be 300k units annualized, or +1.7% from the month before.

*The weekly report on energy inventories is due out at 9:30am CDT. Stocks of Crude Oil are forecast to increase 1.475 million barrels, Gasoline inventories are expected to decline 1.75 million and the estimate for Distillates is -2.0 million.

*The Fed is scheduled to sell Treasuries today that are due to mature between 3/15/14 and 10/15/14; the results of the operation will be announced just after 10:00am CDT.

*The Treasury plans to sell $35 billion 5 Year Notes today; the results of the auction will be announced just after noon CDT.

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Sunshine Biopharma's (OTCBB: SBFM.ob) Anti-Cancer Compound Found to be a Strong Top2 Inhibitor

Tallahassee, FL 10/25/11 (PennyPayDay) --According to the American Cancer Society, there are over 11 million Americans living with cancer, and with approximately 1.5 million new cases being diagnosed each year in the U.S. Virtually all cancers are either aggressive at the onset or become aggressive overtime. The two genes associated with aggressive forms of cancer are Her2 and Top2. Currently, Herceptin (R)*, with sales of $1,8 Billion per year, is an effective treatment for Her2 positive patients. However, there are no effective therapies on the market that target Top 2. Inhibition of Top2 activity is essential in the fight against aggressive types of cancer, including multi-resistant breast cancer.

Sunshine Biopharma Inc. (OTCBB: SBFM.ob) is a development stage pharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of various forms of cancer. Recently, it announced the completion of a study in which the ability of Adva-27a, its lead compound, to inhibit the activity of Top2 was measured directly. In multi-drug resistant breast cancer, the gene that encodes Top2 has been found to be amplified as much as 10-fold thereby allowing the cancer cells to make tens of thousands of Top2 molecules. Effective inhibition of Top2 activity would arrest the ability of cancer cells to multiply rapidly and spread.

In the present study the ability of Adva-27a to inhibit Topoisomerase II was measured in a concentration dependent fashion using highly purified, human Topoisomerase II alpha and concatenated plasmid DNA as a substrate. The results showed that Adva-27a is an excellent inhibitor of Topoisomerase II. Inhibition of 50% of Topoisomerase II activity (IC50) took place at a concentration of only 13.7 micromolar Adva-27a.

"An IC50 of 13.7 micromolar indicates that Adva-27a is an excellent inhibitor of Topoisomerase II", said Dr. Steve N. Slilaty, Sunshine's President and CEO. "Compounds displaying IC50's in the 75 to 100 micromolar range cannot be developed into effective drugs as the amounts which would have to be administered to patients would be too toxic. We are delighted to find that our compound has such low IC50. This is a significant milestone in our continued development of Adva-27a", he added.

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Direction of Motorcycle Stocks: Harley Davidson (NYSE:HOG), Polaris (NYSE:PII), US Highland (OTC.BB: UHLN.PK)

October 25, 2011- (PennyPayDay) Investorideas.com, a leader in sector research for independent investors issues a snapshot on the motorcycle industry and how the industry is showing signs of recovery, with better than expected sales from the industry leaders.

Snapshot of the Motorcycle Industry
Randy Lewis, CFA, Founder of EquityNet Research

Overall sales are up about 10% this year from a year ago.

Harley Davidson (NYSE:HOG) and Polaris (NYSE:PII ) (which owns Indian and Victory Motorcycles), are the industry’s top guns, collectively owning well over 50% of the U.S. market.

Both companies (having recently reported Q3 earnings) have had strong rebounds and are showing phenomenal growth in an industry that is supposedly underwater. Polaris recently raised its sales growth outlook to 30% to 32% based on a solid – and better than expected - third quarter. Sales of off-road vehicles rose 25% and fueled significant market share gains by ATVs in the North American market. Sales of Victory Motorcycles were up 77% compared to figures from the same period last year. Even “Parts, Garments and Accessories” sales increased 21%.

Similar things are happening at Harley Davidson, though the company has run into some production issues. Sales of new motorcycles rose 5.1% to 61,838 bikes, which included a 5.4% increase in U.S. sales. This pushed revenue from bike sales and related products up 13.4% to $1.23 billion. Harley held its motorcycle shipment forecast steady for 2011, saying it still expects to ship between 8% to 12% more new bikes than last year (right in line with Jones’ 10% growth estimate).

Of course, sales of finished goods should also drive sales growth for OEMs that supply manufacturers. One such company, US Highland, Inc. (OTC.BB: UHLN.PK) is a relatively new player on the OEM scene, providing complete single cylinder and v-twin engine powertrain foundations - engine platforms coupled with patent-pending innovative fuel systems.

After its own challenges in an industry that has had its share, US Highland is in the midst of a restructuring, bringing in new management (now headed by Harley Davidson and Indian veteran, John Fitzpatrick) solidifying its strategy and operations, and working to raise capital to fund its business plan. Thus, we do not have a lot of specific information at this time, but we do know the Company appears to be an engineering and technology firm first. US Highland generated over $1.5 million in revenues last year from engineering and business development activities, but plans are to target OEM manufacturers, followed by its own line of motorcycles in 2012.

According to management, the Company is currently working with several OEMs for the implementation of its powertrain technology, the results of which could extend US Highland sales beyond 20,000 units per year globally.

US Highland, Inc. (OTC.BB: UHLN.PK) is a US-based designer and manufacturer of high performance, premium quality powertrains. The Company is also a leading development and engineering partner for leading OEMs around the world. http://ushighland.com.

UHLN Company Contact:
John FitzpatrickCEO (918) 827-5254

About InvestorIdeas.com:
InvestorIdeas.com is a leader in investor stock research by sector. Sectors we cover include; cleantech and renewable energy stocks, biotech stocks, mining and gold stocks, energy stocks, water, tech, defense stocks, nanotech, agriculture and gaming.

Disclaimer/ Disclosure : The Investorideas.com is a third party publisher of news and research Our sites do not make recommendations, but offer information portals to research news, articles, stock lists and recent research. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. This site is currently compensated by featured companies, news submissions and online advertising.
Disclosure : Investorideas.com has been compensated five thousand to advertise US Highland, Inc and distribute news releases and content on their behalf by a third party IR firm.
Randy Lewis has been compensated $400 by InvestorIdeas.com for writing this article. Mr. Lewis does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned in this article
BC Residents and Investor Disclaimer : Effective September 15 2008 - all BC investors should review all OTC and Pink sheet listed companies for adherence in new disclosure filings and filing appropriate documents with Sedar.
800-665-0411 - Source – www.Investorideas.com

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ALR Technologies (ALRT) Technical Stock Chart Video

After a strong move to kick-off last week, the ALRT stock chart has pulled-back to a support level on the 200 day moving average. Some static support in the area of $0.14 and $0.15 also comes into play, strengthening the dynamic support. Top resistance is set at $0.24. Technical traders will be watching for the support to hold as the indicators retrace to see how the share price reacts from this point.

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3 Things To Know Before Trading

*Stocks were broadly higher in Asian trade. The Hang Seng led the way with a four percent gain, Australia was up two and three quarters percent, Shanghai rose 2.3% and the Nikkei added 1.9%. European indexes are mixed, with the Footsie up a slight fraction and the Dax essentially unchanged at the moment. US stock futures are up a slight fraction.

*There was some official noise in Japan about the possibility of intervening to weaken the Yen which on Friday moved to its strongest level versus the dollar in the post WWII period. FinMin Azumi reiterated his warning that Tokyo would take “decisive” steps in the foreign exchange market if necessary.

*In September Japan’s Exports rose 2.4% from a year earlier, more than forecast, but Imports were up more than twelve percent on a year on year basis, so their Trade Balance was a slight deficit.

*There are mixed messages, to say the least, coming out of the weekend EU meeting. There is said to be much work to do before the leaders reassemble on Wednesday; including the sizes of the haircut and the rescue facility.

*The October reading of Germany’s manufacturing sector Purchasing Managers Index was down 1.4 points to 48.9, but had been expected to fall only a fraction. However, the service sector PMI rose more than two points to 52.1, beating the estimate for only a fractional gain.

*The September reading of the Chicago Fed National Activity Index is due out at 7:30am CDT, it is expected to be -0.10.

*Caterpillar is one of the companies reporting earnings today; they beat the estimate by fourteen cents with a Q3 eps of $1.71.

*The Fed is scheduled to buy Treasuries today that are due to mature between 2/15/36 and 8/15/41; the results of the operation will be announced just after 10:00am CDT.

There are a couple of Fed speakers on the calendar today. NY Fed boss Dudley will talk about the economy at 7:45am CDT and Dallas Fed’s Fisher is set to speak at 8:00am CDT.

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TSX Poised For Positive Open

Eagle River, WI 10/21/2011 (PennyPayDay) – Bay Street stocks are poised for a positive open Friday amid steady commodities and investors' anxiety over the EU summit scheduled later this week. Germany and France released a statement on Thursday saying leaders would now hold two summits to discuss the debt crisis, with a solution in place by Wednesday's second meeting.

Meanwhile, latest data from Statistics Canada revealed Canada's annual core inflation rate jumped in September to its highest level since December 2008. The Canadian strengthened against the U.S. dollar after the inflation report.

On Thursday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index edged down 19.17 points or 0.16 percent to 11,830.33.

The price of crude oil was little changed Friday morning as traders turned cautious ahead of the week-end EU summit. Crude for December delivery gained $1.05 to $87.12 a barrel.

The price of gold edged up Friday morning after falling in the past four sessions amid a flat U.S. dollar. Gold for December moved up $30.90 to $1,643.80 an ounce.

In corporate news from Canada, onshore well drilling services provider Precision Drilling reported a 48 percent rise in third-quarter profit at C$83.47 million or C$0.29 per share compared to C$56.29 million or C$0.20 per share reported last year. Analysts were expecting the company report earnings of C$0.20 per share in the quarter

Packaging machines and products company Winpak Ltd. reported improved third quarter profit of $14.4 million or $.22 per share compared to $13.1 million or $0.20 per share last year.

Financial services company Accord Financial Corp. reported third quarter net earnings of $2.2 million or $0.25 per share, up from $1.36 million or $0.15 per share last year.

In economic news, Statistics Canada said consumer prices rose 3.2 percent year-over-year in September, led by higher prices for gasoline and food. This follows a 3.1 percent increase posted in August. Economists were expecting a reading of 3.1 percent. Excluding food and energy, the index increased 1.9 percent year-over-year in September, following a 1.5 percent advance the month before. Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada's core index advanced 2.2 percent year-over-year in September, the largest gain since December 2008. The increase follows a 1.9 percent rise in August.

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