The Markets today took a breather. As the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJIA) fell 41.74 points (-0.52%) to 7975.85. The Nasdaq (.IXIC) fell also -15.16 (-0.93%) to 1606.71.
Stocks In Focus For Tuesday
SAN FRANCISCO -- Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Tuesday's session are Alcoa Inc., Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and Mosaic Co.
Alcoa (AA: 7.91, -0.19, -2.35%) is expected to report a first-quarter loss of 58 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY: 26.37, -1.25, -4.53%) is forecast to post earnings of 44 cents a share in the fourth quarter, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.
Mosaic (MOS: 44.87, -0.65, -1.43%) is estimated to report a profit of 25 cents a share in the fiscal third quarter, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.
After Monday's closing bell, Immucor Inc. (BLUD: 24.06, -0.48, -1.96%) said its fiscal third-quarter profit was virtually flat, up to $19.5 million, or 27 cents a share, from $19.3 million, or 27 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $75.3 million from $67 million last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research estimated a quarterly profit of 22 cents a share on revenue of $73.1 million. The medical diagnostics company expects earnings of 97 cents to $1.02 for 2009 on revenue of $292 million to $300 million. Analysts estimate 99 cents on revenue of $295.5 million.
Watch list
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT: 31.27, -0.8801, -2.74%) and Navistar International Corp. (NAV: 31.8899, 1.1899, 3.88%) said they signed a definitive truck agreement that was first proposed in June. Under the agreement, the companies will produce Caterpillar heavy-duty vocational trucks for the North American market and will form a 50-50 joint venture to pursue the global commercial truck market outside of North America. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG: 17.13, 0.05, 0.29%) said it plans to sell $1 billion in senior notes to help pay down debt. The offering is made up of $500 million in 5.875% senior notes due April 15, 2014, and $500 million in 7% senior notes due April 15, 2019. ConAgra expects to close the offering on April 14.
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG: 17.11, 0.56, 3.38%) said that Keith Wandell will become its new president and chief executive officer, effective May 1. Wandell, 59, will succeed James Ziemer, who is retiring. Wandell is currently president and chief operating officer of Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI: 15.09, -0.47, -3.02%)
Sun Microsystems Inc. (JAVA: 6.58, -1.91, -22.5%) is standing by its leadership team following a breakdown in talks with International Business Machines (IBM: 101.52, -0.7, -0.68%) to buy the company, The Wall Street Journal reported. After the deal collapsed over the weekend, speculation arose concerning the future of Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's chief executive. "As a policy Sun does not comment on rumors or speculation. What we can say is that Sun is committed to its leadership team, growth strategy and building value for its shareholders -- with continued alignment of resources to best position the company for improved financial performance," the company said, according to the Journal.
Ventas Inc. (VTR: 25.41, -0.56, -2.16%) expects to see adjusted 2009 funds from operations of $2.55 to $2.65 a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research estimate funds from operations of $2.60 a share. The health-care real estate investment trust also plans to sell 8.5 million shares of common stock and $200 million in senior notes due in 2016 to help pay down debt. Ventas has about 143.4 million shares outstanding. Separately, Ventas said it plans to buy back up to $310 million in senior notes due between 2010 and 2015.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/transportation/stocks-focus-tuesday-1873720267/
Merkin Charged With Fraud for Steering Money Into Madoff's Scheme
Financier J. Ezra Merkin was charged Monday with fraud by the New York Attorney General’s Office for his role in steering billions of dollars of investors’ funds into Bernard L. Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme.
Merkin, according to a statement issued by the Attorney General’s office, “ignored irregularities and other glaring red flags related to Madoff’s investments.”
The 54-page complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court states that Merkin collected $470 million in management and incentive fees in return for funneling $2.4 billion to Madoff.
Merkin’s money management company, Gabriel Capital, which oversaw several funds including Ascot Fund Limited, Gabriel Capital L.P. and Ariel Fund, is also charged in the suit. In the wake of the Madoff scandal, Merkin in January stepped down from his position as chairman of GMAC, the financing arm of General Motors (GM: 2.2599, 0.1199, 5.6%).
It’s the second fraud suit filed against so-called third party feeder funds that invested their clients’ money with Madoff.
Massachusetts’ top securities regulator filed suit last week against Fairfield Greenwich Group, a Connecticut-based firm that invested $7 billion with Madoff while collecting hundreds of millions in fees.
The New York suit seeks unspecified damages and repayment of all fees paid to Merkin by Madoff.
The complaint says Merkin did not tell his clients that their money was going to Madoff yet represented himself as an “investing guru.” Merkin was instead a “master marketer” who used his connections as a well-known Wall Street financier to convince investors over a period of nearly 20 years to turn their money over to him.
“Merkin profited enormously from Madoff’s scheme, reaping huge commissions while investors lost all their money,” Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said in the statement. “Merkin duped individual investors, nonprofits and charities into believing he was responsibly managing their investments, when in actuality he was dumping them into history’s largest Ponzi scheme.”
Merkin is an influential figure, especially in New York, where he was prominent both on Wall Street and in social and charitable circles. While he and Madoff were still riding high, Merkin sat on the boards of such New York institutions as Carnegie Hall, Yeshiva University and the Fifth Avenue Synagogue.
The complaint alleges that two of Merkin’s “most trusted colleagues” repeatedly warned Merkin that Madoff’s returns were too good to be true.
In addition, the complaint says Merkin used “fraudulent quarterly reports, investor presentation materials and offering documents” to conceal Madoff’s role and embellished his own role.
Merkin's attorney, Andrew J. Levander, issued a statement saying Merkin will "vigorously" defend himself against "this hasty and ill-conceived lawsuit."
Levander said Merkin has been fully cooperating with Cuomo's investigation into Madoff's operations, and that, contrary to the allegations in Cuomo's complaint, Merkin's investors knew their money was going to Madoff.
"Mr. Merkin performed extensive due diligence on Madoff and his trading strategy, and in addition arranged meetings with Madoff for many investors to perform their own due diligence. Unfortunately, Mr. Merkin's due diligence, just like the detailed investigations performed by countless others, including regulators, was thwarted by the intricate, fraudulent scheme perpetrated by Madoff," Levander said.
Michael Shapiro, an attorney with Carter Ledyard & Milburn who represents several of Madoff victims, said New York securities laws require don’t require the Attorney General to prove that Merkin knew that Madoff was operating a fraud.
Cuomo needs to prove only that Merkin’s marketing materials included “material misstatements.”
“They don’t have to prove any intent to defraud or deceive,” said Shapiro.
Shapiro, a former prosecutor, said it was “inevitable” that financial advisors who, knowingly or not, turned a blind eye to Madoff’s unorthodox operations while collecting tens of millions of dollars in fees “would be held to account.”
Merkin is already facing civil suits filed by investors, including New York University, who claim Merkin hid from them the fact that he was turning their money over to Madoff.
Source: FoxBusiness
Sun Shares Plummet After IBM Talks Collapse
NEW YORK--Shares of Sun Microsystems Inc (JAVA: 6.49, -2, -23.56%)tumbled 24% on Monday after the company rejected rival computer and software maker International Business Machines Corp' (IBM: 100.64, -1.58, -1.55%) $7 billion offer.
Sun shares fell to $6.44 in pre-market trading after Sun pulled the plug on the deal which might have spelled the end of an era for a networking company that was once synonymous with the Internet.
The buyout was seen as a means for survival for the once-storied Silicon Valley company, which has been losing market share.
Sun was unhappy with IBM's offer of $9.40 per share or below, and it was unclear if talks would resume, according to a source, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. The bid represented a premium of up to 89% on Sun's shares before deal talks were first reported last month.
Sun shares had risen to $8.49 on Friday, from $4.97 on March 17, a day before talks between the two technology companies were first reported. The Wall Street Journal had previously said IBM's original bid was $10 to $11 a share.
The deal may have helped IBM bolster its offering of computer servers, storage equipment and software as competition heats up with rivals like Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ: 33.34, -0.82, -2.4%).
Sun rose to prominence selling high-end computer servers in the 1990s but never fully recovered from the dot-com bubble burst earlier this decade. Analysts also say it failed to fully capitalize on its software assets including Solaris and Java.
Failed talks with IBM could mean that Sun will need to find another buyer, and contend with a lower offer. But no bidder other than IBM has emerged in the months that Sun has been shopping itself.
