The report released by the National Association of Realtors showed that Pending Home Sales Index  unexpectedly rose 5.2% for July. A group of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News expected the figure to be a decline of 1%.  

For the week ended on August 28th, jobless claims totalled 472,000, falling by 6,000 from the week before.  Economists expected the figure to drop to 470,000, according to Bloomberg.  

With the current unemployment rate at 9.5%, all eyes will be on the employment report due out tomorrow morning.  The report is expected to show that 80,000 jobs were lost in the private sector in August and the unemployment rate will expand to 9.6%, according to Bloomberg. 

The S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq indexes edged upwards slightly by 0.87%,  0.48 %, and 1.02%, respectively, minutes away from market close.

The US dollar index, which tracks the performance of the US dollar against a basket of six other currencies, declined 0.006%.

Burger King’s (NYSE:BKC) shares surged 24.6% after it agreed to be taken private by 3G capital for $3.26 billion. 

Buyout-rumours once again circles Saks (NYSE:SKS), prompting its shares to rally almost 11%.

Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO), Shinhan Financial Group (NYSE:SHG), and Abercrombie and Fitch (NYSE: ANF) are some of the biggest decliners, retreating 12%, 5%, and 4%, respectively, on US markets.

Commodities

Crude oil futures  advanced 0.84% to trade at $76.99 per barrel.

Gold futures advanced 0.38% to trade at $1252.9 per ounce.  Silver and copper also posted gains,  rallying 1.48% and 0.26%, respectively.

Canadian markets

The S&P/TSX index climbed 0.9% to trade at the 12,107 level going into market close.

Six of eight Canadian sector indices posted gains.  The information technology and the financial sector led the way in gains, advancing 1.38%% and 0.79%, respectively. Health care and utilities sectors both suffered losses, retreating 0.13% and 0.41%, respectively.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSX: :ATD.A) declined 2.38%.  Yesterday, the convenience store operator sweetened its bid for Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) to $38.50 a share from $36.75.  Casey’s advanced 0.16% in afternoon trading on the NASDAQ.

Heritage Oil (TSX: HOC) fell 1.90% despite strength in oil prices.  Equinox Minerals(TSX: EQN, ASX:EQN) also posted losses, dropping 2.85% on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The theatre entertainment company IMAX (TSX: IMX, NASDAQ: IMAX) posted gains of 3.83%.  Other big gainers include Silver Standard Resources (TSX: SSO) and SCX Health Solutions (TSX: SXC) which advanced 4.66% and 3.88%, respectively.

PSMI specializes in engineering, project management, planning and software solutions for the aviation industry.

PSMI's clients include airports, airlines, as well as provincial and federal governments. PSMI employs over 40 employees which includes engineers, airport planners, GIS technologists, computer-assisted drafting technicians, and licensed pilots. 

 The acquisition of PSMI allows GENIVAR to expand its service offerings and cross-sell its own engineering services into the aviation sector. 

In acquiring PSMI, GENIVAR also obtained software packages ALFA, an airport landing fee and revenue management software, and AvGIS, a software used for land use management and analysis.  

GENIVAR is a Canadian engineering services firm organized as an income fund.   The company provides consulting services covering the whole project lifecycle. Its clients includes companies spanning the  buildings, industrial, power, municipal infrastructure, transportation and environmental sectors. GENIVAR has more than 4,500 employees located in over 85 locations across Canada and internationally.  

For fiscal 2009, the company recorded profits of $31 million on revenues of $478 million and paid out $29 million in dividends to its unit holders.

VideoBank provides solutions for managing video, audio, still imagery, documents, and other digital content for organizations of all types and sizes. The company`s video management platform will be provided in the contract, which utilizes IceWEB`s 48TB IceWEB 5000 data storage product.

The IceWEB 500 unified storage system offers one platform for file and block data, and provides built-in, all-inclusive storage management features including de-duplication; unlimited snapshots; thin provisioning; local or remote, real-time or scheduled replication; capacity and utilization reporting, and VMware integration.

 "We are continuing to see a surge in the need to manage and store massive amounts of video captured from aerial sensors deployed by Department of Defense and Intelligence agencies in the fight against terrorism.   Video and satellite imagery are two very important growth areas for IceWEB as we continue to diversify our customer base," stated John R. Signorello, IceWEB CEO.  

The initial installation is scheduled to be deployed in the current fiscal quarter, IceWEB added.

IceWEB generated revenues of US$1.2 million in the three month period ended June 30, 2010, an increase of 46% on the comparable period in the previous fiscal year.

Shares in IceWEB climbed more than 5% on the news.

Under the Lockheed Martin P-3 Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) program, NNL manufactures finished components and assemblies for new production service life extension kits for the P-3 Orion wing upgrade.

The upgrade program adds more than 15,000 flying hours to each aircraft, representing 15 to 20 additional years of service for the maritime patrol and reconnaissance resource.

Northstar is responsible for supplying approximately 400 parts and assemblies per aircraft, or about one-fifth of the total parts required under the wing upgrade program.

These parts and assemblies primarily include machined parts and formed sheet metal assemblies of various levels of complexity in aluminium and alloy steel, and range from simple structural members to flight critical components.
The new work is to be completed within two years.

"This significant production increase, the largest order that Northstar has received to date, further defines and strengthens the position of Northstar as a serious contender in aerospace manufacturing," said Northstar`s vice president of development and operations, Terry McLeod.

The company expects to further diversify its customer base and accelerate its expansion, with several significant contract awards pending, it said.

Its sales for the six month period ending June 30, 2010 were approximately $2.2 million, a 57% jump from the same period last year. The company improved its income too, as it made a loss of $179,625, versus a net loss of $300,905 in Q2 2009.

Northstar was up 10% one hour prior to market close at $0.22 on Thursday.

As part of the investment, PostRock's debt will be reduced and its credit agreements restructured.

White Deer will purchase $60 million of the company's 12% cumulative redeemable preferred stock. The preferred stock has a 7.5 year term and is able to be redeemed after one year at par plus 10%.

The company has the option to pay the preferred dividends in cash or in kind until July 2013.

In addition, White Deer will receive 7 .5 year warrants to purchase $60 million of common stock. The exercise price of the warrants was set at $3.15 per share, which represents an approximate 5% premium to PostRock's closing price on September 1, 2010 (the last day prior to the announcement).

PostRock will use the proceeds of the investment to reduce debt and fund future growth. Post transaction, the company's debt will be approximately $200 million, drawn against $225 million of current availability under a revolving credit facility, a $15 million amortizing term loan and a $43.5 million loan secured by certain Appalachian assets.

The investment and the debt restructuring are expected to close simultaneously in approximately three weeks, subject to various closing conditions.

As part of the transaction, White Deer has allotted an additional $30 million to invest in PostRock to further expand the company through acquisitions.

As part of the deal, White Deer will be entitled to vote with the common stock on all matters; it has, however, agreed to limit its vote to 45% for a period of time.

White Deer has appointed Thomas J. Edelman, James D. Bennett and Nathan M. Avery as directors of the company, expanding the total number of people on the board to 12.

"The transaction represents the conclusion of a two-year effort to restructure and recapitalize the company. During this challenging period, we reduced operating costs, kept our capital projects on budget and maintained a strong production base," said president and CEO of PostRock, David C. Lawler.

PostRock Energy is engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, production and transportation of oil and natural gas primarily in the Cherokee Basin of Kansas and Oklahoma. The company owns and operates over 2,800 wells and nearly 2,200 miles of gas gathering lines in the Basin. In addition, it owns 1,100 miles of interstate gas pipelines in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.

The company`s shares stood at $4.85 on the Nasdaq as of 2:37pm ET on Thursday - representing a 62.2% surge in share price.

White Deer Energy has $821 million of capital commitments, and targets investments of between $50 to $120 million in 8 to 10 portfolio companies.

The company`s stock shot up 7.94% on the Nasdaq to $1.36 as of 2:08pm ET on Thursday.

The study has demonstrated that pre-diabetic subjects, when treated once-daily with either 0.5g or 2.5g of CaPre human equivalent per day for 28 days, benefited from the treatment with a reduction of CRP levels by 15% and 24%, respectively.

The American Heart Association recognizes that testing CRP levels in the blood may be an additional way to assess cardiovascular disease risk.

The prevalence of high CRP levels is also accentuated in overweight and obese individuals, which now affects 60% of the population of 20 years and over, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In addition, the company has previously discovered that CaPre reduces triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and elevates HDL-cholesterol (good cholesterol).

"Accumulating evidence in the literature indicates that C-reactive protein, may be as important as LDL-cholesterol in assessing the development of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and heart disease," said chief operating officer Dr. Pierre Lemieux.

"Chronic inflammation is associated with the most prevalent health problems today such as obesity and diabetes. Similar to the JUPITER trial showing a CVD benefit of statin lowering CRP, a reduction in CRP by CaPre may constitute an additional tool in the systemic management of 800,000 myocardial infractions and 700,000 strokes that occur in United States each year," he added.

Acasti Pharma is developing a product portfolio of proprietary novel long-chain omega-3 phospholipids. Phospholipids are the major component of cell membranes and are essential for all vital cell processes. They are one of the principal constituents of HDL and, as such, play an important role in modulating cholesterol.

The company is focusing initially on treatments for chronic cardiovascular conditions within the over-the-counter, medical food and prescription drug markets.

Neptune produces clinically proven novel phospholipid products for the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical markets. The company focuses on growing consumer health markets including cardiovascular, inflammatory and neurological diseases driven by consumers taking a more proactive approach to managing health and preventing disease. Its products are marketed and distributed in over 20 countries worldwide.

Merchandise margins are expected to be approximately 58% of sales. 

Comparable store sales for the second quarter improved significantly, increasing 11.2% compared to a decline of 7.6% for the same period a year ago.

 For the first half of the year, total sales increased 8% year-over-year to $616 million.  Comparable store sales for the same period increased 12.7%. 

In a previous announcement, the company said that it will release second quarter earnings on Thursday, September 16.  Second quarter earnings are expected to be in the range of $0.10 to $0.20 per share, exceeding analyst estimates of 8 cents per share.

The company’s share price rallied 14% to trade at $7.48 as of 1:43 pm ET.

 Pier 1 Imports sell a variety of furniture, dining and kitchen goods, bath and bedding accessories, and other specialty items for the home. At the end of February, there were 973 Pier 1 Imports stores in the United States and 81 Pier 1 Imports stores in Canada. The company also sells its merchandise through Grupo Sanborns, a large Mexico-based retailer, and Sears Puerto Rico.

The AKD03 (Dione) exploration well is currently at a depth of 2,823 metres (in what is interpreted to be the middle Jurassic sequence) and casing has been run.

Hydrocarbons have been indicated from drilling, and log data in three zones as well as a testing program is planned for the near future.

Testing of this well is planned to assess the potential for the production of commercial hydrocarbons, and the possible extent of the reservoirs.

Once this testing program has been carried out, the well will be drilled deeper into the Triassic sequence with a planned total depth of some 4,000 metres, the company said.

The G6RE (Dodone) well has now been drilled to a depth of 2,835 metres in order to test a deeper potential oil bearing zone identified from the wireline logs in the original G6 hole.

The hole is currently being prepared to run casing, but differential sticking in the bottom section probably caused by higher formation pressures and permeable zones, has slowed the process, Tethys said. Once casing has been run, preparations for testing will then begin.

On the AKD02 (Doris NW) well, further testing of the Jurassic carbonate interval awaits the start of the testing program on the G6RE well, with both wells being tested as part of an integrated program to maximise efficiency.

Tethys is focused on oil and gas exploration and production activities in Central Asia with activities currently in the Republics of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The company was up 3.5% on the news to $1.78 as of 1:05pm ET on Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

First quarter revenues increased 9.5% on a year-over-year basis to $98.3 million. The situation is a vast improvement over a year ago when the company only covered its costs but still fell short of the consensus estimate of $0.15 earnings per diluted share. 

The company expressed that its Automotive segment is still feeling the repercussions from the termination of its contract with Delphi Automotive Systems (“Delphi”).  

Methode’s shares plunged 15% to trade at $7.98 as of 12:36 pm ET after missing analyst estimates. 

On September 4, 2008, Methode and Delphi entered into a supply agreement that required Methode to supply seat bladders used in Delphi’s occupant restraint system for approximately three years.  A year later, Delphi terminated the contract, sparking a law suit battle between the two companies. 

As a result of the terminated contract, sales for Methode’s Automotive segment decreased 3.7% to post income before taxes (EBT) of $2.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2011. 

The company’s Interconnect and Power Products segments were unaffected by the legal battle, both increasing revenues by 40% and 2.7%, respectively.  The Interconnect segment recorded an  EBT of $3.7 million while the Power Products segment posted an EBT of $0.1 million. 

Methode also announced that its MDI business unit was recently awarded a contract to provide customized sensors to a major automotive original equipment manufacturer. The contract is worth approximately $32 million in revenue over five years and is likely to gain additional volume, the company said.

The joint venture deal has sent Valeura`s stock up nearly 31% today, to $0.36 as of 12:45pm ET on the TSX-Venture Exchange on Thursday.

Under the terms of the agreement, Valeura will farm-in to one production lease containing the Kahta heavy oil field, and eight exploration licences operated by the two Turkish companies, located in southeastern Turkey within the Zagros fold belt. The belt extends into Turkey from Iraq and Syria and encompasses one of the most prolific hydrocarbon basins in the world.

Valeura expects to invest a minimum of US$ 8.8 million (Phase I) over the next four months, split among the Kahta reservoir study, the recompletion of two indicated oil discovery wells to establish producibility, 2D seismic acquisition and the drilling of one exploration well.

The completion of these expenditures will earn Valeura a 25% stake in the Kahta production lease, which totals 17,446 gross acres, 25% in three Karakalise exploration licenses (Group A), which total 303,799 gross acres, and 12.45% in five Rubai exploration licenses (Group B), which total 419,098 gross acres.

Valeura also has the option to increase its earning expenditures up to a total of US$17.6 million (Phase II) prior to the end of 2011, in a flexible mix of additional seismic, exploration and appraisal drilling, as well as potential re-development work at Kahta to increase its interests on a sliding scale basis up to 50% in Kahta, 50% in the Group A Licences and 29.9% in the Group B Licences.

Valeura intends to complete a comprehensive reservoir study on Kahta in Phase I to determine the potential to increase production and reserves through the application of 3D seismic, modern drilling and completion technologies such as horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing, well recompletions, step-out delineation and exploration drilling and secondary recovery techniques that could be partially funded with Phase II earning expenditures, it said.

The current term of the production lease expires on March 26 2012, but can be extended for 10 years on application.

In the case of the Group A Licences, the  term of each of the three licences expires on November 30, 2010, unless production can be established from an existing discovery well or from a new exploration well by this date, in which case the exploration term on that particular licence can be extended for three years.

In the case of the Group B Licences, four of the licences expire on June 26, 2011, and one on November 30, 2011.

Valeura expects to fund the Phase I expenditures and any potential future Phase II earning expenditures from existing cash reserves.

"This is an exciting opportunity for Valeura which provides us with a strategic toe-hold in Turkey and the MENA region/Mediterranean basin, a key focus area in our previously announced international growth plan, and is a foundation we can build on," said president and CEO of Valeura Jim McFarland.

"The assets are located near existing infrastructure and have development, exploitation and exploration potential through the application of modern technology and new ideas. Kahta is a technology play that is right up our alley and could set up a number of other opportunities in heavy oil reservoirs in Turkey."

The Kahta heavy oil field was discovered in 1957 and produces 11 degrees API gravity oil from a Cretaceous-aged carbonate reservoir at a depth of about 3,100 feet. Approximately 4.9 million barrels of oil have been produced to date under primary recovery operations. Thirty six wells have been drilled in the field, of which only eight wells are currently active, producing a total of less than 40 barrels of oil per day at a high water cut.

The Group A Licences are located in southeast Turkey near the city of Diyarbakir on the Tigris River, while the Group B Licences are also in southeast Turkey near the juncture of the Turkey, Iraq and Syria borders.

Valeura Energy is a Calgary, Alberta-based company  engaged in the exploitation, development and production of petroleum and natural gas in Western Canada.

The company is pursuing its previously announced strategy to expand internationally to selected countries in Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa region and the Mediterranean basin.

US equities were off to a moderately better start after the US Labor Department reported that initial claims for unemployment benefits decreased by 6,000 to 472,000. Continuing claims dropped by 23,000 to 4.456 million.

US markets were also boosted by confirmation of a $4 billion takeover offer for Burger King (NYSE:BKC) from private equity house 3G Capital and confirmation that Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) would not meet Hewlett-Packard`s (NYSE:HPQ) $33 per share offer for data storage specialist 3PAR (NYSE:PAR).  

The increased merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in recent weeks has helped lift sentiment in the market and ignited speculation of additional deals as blue chip stocks utilize their strong balance sheets.

In response to the takeover deals, hedge fund manager Man Group (LSE:EMG, PINK:MNGPY) and software developer Autonomy Corp (LSE:AU, PINK:AUTNF) rose 6% and 4% respectively.   Defence and aerospace systems manufacturer BAE Systems (LSE:BA, PINK:BAESY) climbed 3.3%.

Other notable gainers included hospitality company Whitbread (LSE:WTB) which received a boost from the Burger King news, insurer Old Mutual (LSE:OML) and engineering firms Smiths Group (LSE:SMIN) and Invensys (LSE:ISYS).

The biggest blue chip faller on the day was semiconductor licensing specialist ARM Holdings (LSE:ARM, NASDAQ:ARMH) which fell 4%.

Commodities

Oil prices didn't move by much in European trading. On Wednesday, the US Energy Department said that crude inventories added 3.4 million barrels last week, while energy information provider Platts expected a gain of 1.9 million barrels. Prior to that, API reported an even bigger gain of 4.8 million barrels in US crude stockpiles.

October Brent Crude slid to US$75.95/barrel, while US light, sweet crude for October delivery inched higher to US$74.06/barrel.

Most blue chip oil and gas producers acted as a drag on the FTSE 100 today.

Supermajors BP (LSE:BP, NYSE:BP) and Shell (LSE:RDSB, NYSE:RDSB) posted small losses, while Cairn Energy (LSE:CNE) and Tullow Oil (LSE:TLW) shed 2.6% and 2.2% respectively.

BG Group (LSE:BG) outperformed its peer, climbing 1.2%.

Gold posted only a marginal loss following yesterday’s better than expected US manufacturing data and upbeat updates on Chinese manufacturing and Australia’s GDP growth.

Gold inched higher to US$1,246/oz, while silver and platinum rose to US$19.44/oz and US$1,537/oz respectively.

Major mining stocks were in decline in London. Silver miner Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) and platinum miner Lonmin (LSE:LMI) slid 1.1%, while African Barrick Gold (LSE:ABG) declined 1.8%.

Specialty chemicals firm Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT) did better, advancing 1.8%.

Base metals prices performed better than other commodity classes. Copper and nickel climbed to US$3.46/lb and US$9.73/lb respectively , while zinc improved to US$0.97/lb.

Base metal miners didn’t move by much today in London however.. Anglo American (LSE:AAL, PINK:AAUKY)  advanced 1.3%, while  Kazkahmys (LSE:KAZ) and Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) added 1%.

Antofagasta (LSE:ANTO) moved in the opposite direction, sliding 1.1%.

In addition to the study that is being conducted by the geological departments of four Canadian universities, the USGS has now sent a team of geoscientists to Bokan to further understand the area's Heavy Rare Earth (HREE) mineralogy, believed to be the largest historically documented HREE deposit in the United States.

Based on the results of its fieldwork, the USGS intends to utilize the Dotson Ridge area of Bokan as a means of analyzing vein-type REE deposits and alternative REE deposits associated with alkaline-peralkaline complexes.

The USGS team examined multiple areas comprising the Bokan Complex, the Dotson Shear, Geoduck, Wennie, and Geiger zones. Research was also conducted at the Sunday Lake zone, an area which has yielded among the highest HREE grades on record for a North American rare earth deposit, said Ucore.

Terbium and dysprosium are of particular interest, as they are among the most scarce and valuable metals in the world, and have been found in anomalously high grades in the Bokan area.

"The U.S. government is quite interested in these minerals because they are of military importance," said Dr. Anthony Mariano, an expert in rare earth mineralogy who was involved in the USGS fieldwork.

China has moved to decrease the export of these metals to the US, and thereby securing short and long term supplies within the US is of increasing importance.

"Scientific studies by the USGS have been, and will continue to be, of great benefit as we integrate their studies with our exploration data and move toward defining a resource at Bokan," said president and CEO of Ucore, Jim McKenzie.

In April this year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a report detailing the likelihood of national security risks arising from U.S. dependency upon rare earth elements from non domestic sources such as China.

The U.S. Department of Defense is due to complete its assessment of this dependency in September 2010.

The Bokan - Dotson Ridge project, which is 100% owned by Ucore, is located 60 km southwest of Ketchikan, Alaska and 140 km northwest of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The project area is served by barge and float plane from Ketchikan, with a pre-existing road network providing access to the main target areas.

REE mineralization at the Bokan-Dotson Ridge project is structurally controlled in multiple dikes and veins radial to a peralkaline intrusive complex.

In 1989, a U.S. Bureau of Mines study estimated that the greater Bokan area contains 37.8 million tons at an average grade of 0.50% TREO. This historical, non NI 43-101 complaint estimate, equates to 374 million lbs of contained TREO.

Ucore`s stock has jumped more than 10% to $0.435 as of 12:00pm ET on Thursday on the TSX-Venture Exchange.

Subject to certain drawdown conditions, the loan can be drawn down in three tranches: $2 million on the closing date, $3 million on the date Prophecy completes the acquisition of Northern Platinum (who it agreed to merge with in June) and $5 million when Prophecy completes an off-take agreement for the Ulaan Ovoo property.

In conjunction with the closing of the loan, the company will issue one million common shares to Waterton. If the third tranche of the loan is drawn, Prophecy will be obliged to issue a further one million shares to Waterton, subject to a four month hold period.

The loan is due to mature on August 31, 2011 and bears interest at 10% per year.

The proceeds of the loan will go towards continuing road improvement at the mine, along with infrastructure upgrade at the mine and at the rail station, fleet purchase and personnel recruits.

The company also now has a marketing budget to increase investor awareness throughout Mongolia, Asia and North America, it said.

Last week, Prophecy reported that its mine services agreeement with Leighton Asia was on track to execute mining operations at Ulaan Ovoo, as Leighton established the required infrastructure and deployed all the necessary equipment and manpower on schedule.

Ulaan Ovoo site establishment began on July 13 of this year to ensure that the commissioning of the 250,000 tonnes starter pit will take place as planned in September 2010, with 57,500 tonnes in the first month, ramping up to 100,000 tonnes per month by December 2010.

As of last week, Leighton had removed and stockpiled approximately 30,696 BCM of topsoil and 209,095 BCM of overburden, which is approximately some 28,089 BCM of overburden ahead of schedule in preparation for mining.

Prophecy is currently in discussions with parties who have expressed interest to procure coal directly at the mine site.

The mining company has a 100% interest in the 208.8 million tonne Ulaan Ovoo project that features Bituminous (5,204 kcal/kg), low ash (12.46%), low sulphur (0.40%) thermal coal suitable for export markets. The deposit features single massive coal seam 45-80 m thick with an average strip ratio of 2:1.

The project is 120km (75 miles) east of the Central Mongolian Railroad linking the project to the vast coal markets of Russia and Asia.

Prophecy is engaged in developing energy, nickel and platinum group metals projects. The company controls over 1.4 billion tons of open-pittable thermal coal in Mongolia (839 Mt Measured, 579 Mt Indicated). In Canada, it owns Lynn Lake Nickel Project and a 10% equity stake in Victory Nickel.

In the second quarter of 2010,  company profits from continuing operations totalled $2.3 million, or 9 cents per diluted share.   Net loss for the second quarter of 2010, which includes results from the company’s boutique closures, was $19.8 million, or 80 cents per share. 

According to Yahoo Finance, analysts on average expected the company to post a loss of one cent per diluted share. 

The company’s share price plunged 8.6% to trade at $9.85.

For the first half of fiscal 2011, including the effects of the boutique closures, the company recorded a net loss of $30.5 million, or $1.23 per diluted share, on revenues of $158.2 million compared to a net loss of of $10.2 million, or 42 cents per diluted share, on revenues of $144.2 million for the same period the prior year.  Loss from continuing operations for the first half of fiscal 2011 totalled $6.8 million, or 27 cents per share. 

Efraim Grinberg, CEO of Movado Group, stated, "We remain committed to executing our plan to return our company to profitability. We are continuing to experience improvements in retail sell through of our products, particularly in our licensed brands and our iconic Movado brand. As we return our focus to our wholesale business, we are pleased that we successfully completed the closure of our retail boutiques as planned.”

The company anticipates its fiscal 2011 results from continuing operations will range from a loss of $3 million, or ($0.12) per share,  to  profit of $2 million, or $0.08 per share. The guidance assumes a sales increase of 12% to 15% for the year and increased marketing expenses.

Net revenues decreased slightly from the last quarter to $328.7 million, compared to $336.9 million, but went up by 187.8% on the prior-year quarter from net revenues of $114.2 million. Gross margin was 13.6% for the second quarter, versus 12.4% in Q1 2010, due to a boost in internal capacity.

Above the company`s prior guidance, Q2 2010 saw shipments of 181.2 MW, compared to shipments of 185.0 MW for the first quarter of the year and shipments of 48.2 MW for the second quarter of 2009.

The company's sales came from the key solar industry markets worldwide, with Europe continuing to be the its largest contributing geographic market, it said, with 86.4% of revenues descending from the region in the second quarter of 2010.

"Demand and pricing continued to be strong for the quarter, a situation we expect to continue throughout 2010. We reduced our purchase of third party solar cells in order to improve our gross margin, a practice we will continue in Q3 and Q4. The rapid expansion of our internal capacity made this strategy possible. We manufactured 110 MW of cells internally in Q2 and purchased the balance," said chairman and CEO Dr. Shawn Qu.

The company expects to increase its internal quarterly cell output to 127 MW in the third quarter and 180 MW in the fourth quarter.

Since March, Canadian Solar has been shipping several new products, including enhanced selective emitter modules and its New Edge modules.

"Our enhanced selective emitter cells significantly increase the unit power output of our solar modules, while the New Edge modules permit rapid and inexpensive rooftop installation of solar systems," said Qu.

Indeed, its cell conversion efficiencies using its proprietary enhanced selective emitter technology have exceeded 18%.
The company has said that it expects these products to help it gain market share and give it better pricing power going forward.

Based on its current order book and customers` forecasts, Canadian Solar anticipates shipments of approximately 190 MW to 200 MW in the third quarter, with a gross margin of around 14.5% to 15.5%.

For the full year, the company has re-iterated its shipments guidance of approximately 700 MW to 800 MW.

"We are on track to expand our annual internal cell manufacturing capacity to 800 MW by the end of 3Q10.  We expect to complete our third cell building by early 2011, and ramp up our total internal cell production capacity to 1.3 GW, of which 620 MW will be higher conversion efficiency cell capacity," the company said in a statement.

Canadian Solar hopes its solar system business will start generating meaningful income in the fourth quarter, and will continue to grow in 2011, concluded Qu.

As a vertically integrated provider of ingot, wafer, solar cell, solar module and other solar applications, Canadian Solar designs, manufactures and delivers solar products and solar system solutions for on-grid and off-grid use to customers worldwide. It has operations in North America, Europe and Asia.

It was Dell, the third largest PC manufacturer who kicked off the battle for 3PAR, initially offering $18 per share on August 16th, but larger rival Hewlett-Packard, which is currently the largest player in the PC market, was quick to enter the fray, kicking of a  bidding war between the two companies which ended today when Dell confirmed it would not increase its latest offer of $32 per share.

Both HP and Dell were fighting for the data storage company to help build each of their cloud computing businesses, as companies all over the world look to store data over the Internet, forgoing the purchase of computer servers.

"We took a measured approach throughout the process and have decided to end these discussions," said Dave Johnson, senior vice president, corporate strategy at Dell.

A small consolidation prize for Dell will be a  $72 million break-up fee from 3PAR upon the termination of its merger agreement.

3PAR  is a provider of utility storage, a type of specialized data storage devices that are used in cloud computing. 

3PAR’s products allows organizations to choose the capacity and performance they need and pay only when it’s used.   The company’s products also help organizations reduce power and energy costs related to data storage.

"Our third quarter results really tell the growth story of our retail businesses on both sides of the border, with our total adjusted retail earnings hitting a new high of $1.3 billion, up 21% from last year," said president and CEO Ed Clark.

Not including one-time items of note in the quarter, adjusted diluted earnings per share were $1.43, missing analyst estimates by one cent. The bank had an amortization charge of $117 million after tax during the quarter.

Provisions for credit losses improved to $339 million in the quarter from $557 million a year ago as customers were better able to repay their loans.

The Canadian personal and commercial banking division posted yet another record quarter - its third in a row. The segment recorded earnings of $841 million in the third quarter, up 24% from the same period last year, while revenue grew 8% to around $2.6 billion, largely due to TD Canada Trust (TDCT) reporting strong volume growth, in particular in real estate secured lending and business deposits. Compared with the third quarter last year, real estate secured lending volume, including securitized assets, increased $20 billion, or 12%.

This trend is not expected to last, however: "We expect continued strong earnings growth, but not at the rate we've seen this year, as the Canadian housing market cools and a competitive environment continues to put pressure on margins," said CEO of TDCT Tim Hockey.

South of the border, the US retail banking division reported net income of $282 million in Canadian dollar terms, an increase of $110 million or 64% from the same period last year, on account of new branch aquisitions. The strengthening of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar no doubt had a negative impact on profits - decreasing the total net income for the segment by $24 million.

"We remain pleased with the pace of our organic growth as we continue to lend to our customers. In fact, since the downturn started in 2007, we've grown our lending by 20%," said CEO of TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, Bharat Masrani.

However, reflecting a trend seen among most Canadian banks this summer, the wholesale banking division reported profits of $179 million, down a whopping 45% from the same period last year. The segment was affected by "the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the significant equity market disruption in early May", it said in a statement. This resulted in lower fixed income, credit and currency trading as well as lower underwriting fees.

Most banks have suffered from poor trading revenues this quarter - a clear contrast to this time last year, as the previous year`s gains reflected the broad-based market rebound following the financial crisis.

"We expect markets to remain challenging in the short term while we continue to build our franchises and strengthen our platforms for future success," said CEO of TD Securities Bob Dorrance.

Wealth management posted profits of $117 million in the quarter - reflecting an increase of 23%, largely driven by fee revenue from higher client assets. The third quarter represents the sixth quarter in a row in which the segment saw an improvement in profits.

The bank remains cautious about the next several quarters for the division, however, given the potential of a slowing US economy on the equity markets, it said.

TDBFG's Tier 1 capital ratio hit another high, at 12.5%, up 50 basis points from last quarter, with tangible common equity comprising about 75% of Tier 1 capital.

"We'll have to wait to see the full scope and impact of proposed capital reforms," Clark said.

"However, we hope that by the first quarter of fiscal 2011, we'll be in a position, in the context of the Board's outlook on earnings and the Bank's dividend policy, to provide some guidance."

TDBFG is the sixth largest bank in North America by branches and serves more than 18 million customers. It also has more than 6 million online customers. TDBFG had $603 billion in assets on July 31, 2010.

For the fourth quarter of 2010, the company earned profits of $4.82 million, or 30 cents per diluted share, on revenues of  $82.4 million compared to profits of $2.6 million, or 16 cents per diluted share, on revenues of $64.75 million for the fourth quarter of 2009. 

  
The results represented a year-on-year increase for sales and profits of 27% and 85%, respectively. 

For fiscal 2010, profits grew by 44% compared to the prior year while sales grew 6%.  Total profits amounted to $14.89 million for the year and  revenues were $289 million.  Diluted earnings per share was $0.93. 

Sales from the firm`s medical and industrial segments grew the most during the year, both increasing 26%.  Sales from the defence segment lagged, dropping 5%. 

As of June 27, 2010,   LaBarge had total debt of $37 million, comprising about 18% of total assets.

Looking ahead, the company said it expects to post an earnings per share between $0.26 and $0.28 during the first quarter of 2011.  Revenues are expected to be in the range of $80 million to $82 million. 

LaBargeis provides its customers with electronic and electromechanical products through contract design and manufacturing services. Headquartered in St. Louis, LaBarge has operations in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.

On a non-GAAP basis, net income for the fourth quarter was $1.3 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, compared with non-GAAP net loss of $6.5 million, or $0.23 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Revenue for the fourth quarter also increased by 29% to $22.2 million, while revenue for the entire year increased only slightly to $68.6 million from $67.4 million in 2009.

"Sycamore achieved revenue growth, continued strong margin performance and was cash positive," said president and CEO Daniel E. Smith.

"These results, combined with our focus on effective cost management, enabled the company to achieve operating profitability, on a non-GAAP basis, in the quarter, while continuing to invest in IQstream, our recently announced mobile broadband optimization solution."

Sycamore Networks develops and markets intelligent bandwidth management solutions for fixed line and mobile network operators worldwide. We also develop and market a mobile broadband solution designed to help mobile operators reduce congestion in mobile access networks.

The company`s products enable network operators to lower overall network costs, increase operational efficiencies, and rapidly deploy new revenue-generating services. Customers include service providers, government agencies, and utility companies.

Sycamore`s stock was way up by 18.9% to $26.42 on the Nasdaq as of 10:40am ET Thursday morning.

Excluding an after-tax non-cash impairment charge of $13.0 million, or $0.68 per share, net income for the second quarter in fiscal 2010 was $4.39 million, or $0.23 per share, which would still mean an increase of 47% in Q2 2011 profits.

Revenues also increased 16.6% for the quarter to $253.3 million.

"The strength of our mineral exploration business, projects in specialty drilling and improvements in Layne's legacy water well drilling business carried earnings in the second quarter," said president and CEO Andrew B. Schmitt.

Indeed, revenues from its mineral exploration business jumped by 67.8% to $50.8 million.  The increased activity levels which began in the fourth quarter of last year continued across most locations with the largest increases in Africa and Mexico, it said.

Earnings in the infrastructure intensive part of the water business were relatively flat in the quarter, however, and its energy business` quarterly results reflected the weak pricing  in the natural gas market.

Water infrastructure revenues increased 11.4% for Q2 2011 to $194.0 million, compared to the same period last year. The increases were primarily attributable to additional revenues from acquired operations and specialty drilling projects, including work in Afghanistan, which were partially offset by a reduction in revenue from a large utility contract in Colorado that was completed last year.

The energy business had the roughest quarter, posting a decline in revenues of 51.3% to $5.8 million, versus nearly $12 million for the same period a year earlier, primarily attributable to the expiration of favorably-priced forward sales contracts.

For the three months ending July 31 2010, net gas production was 1,143 MMcf, compared to 1,151 MMcf for the same period last year. The average net sales price on production was $4.12 per Mcf, compared to $8.85 per Mcf a year earlier, excluding revenue generated from third party gas.

"Going forward, the second half of the year looks a little more challenging than the first. We will have tougher year-over-year comparables with the absence of last year's Katrina related work in New Orleans, lower natural gas prices and water infrastructure margins that are weaker," added Schmitt.

However, mineral exploration and Layne`s water business is expected to improve over the second half of last year, which should provide some offsets, he concluded.

Layne Christensen provides drilling and construction services and related products in two principal markets: water infrastructure and mineral exploration, as well as operates as a producer of unconventional natural gas for the energy market. The company operates throughout North America, as well as Africa, Australia, Europe and Brazil.

Its customers include municipalities, investor-owned water utilities, industrial companies, global mining companies, consulting engineering firms, heavy civil construction contractors, oil and gas companies and, to a lesser extent, agribusiness.

The company was down 0.78% to $25.22 on the Nasdaq as of 10:00am ET Thursday morning.

The six adjacent licences cover approximately 97,000 square kilometers of the East African Rift Basins of Kenya and Ethiopia.

Under the terms of the agreement Tullow Oil will reimburse pro-rata past costs in each of these blocks and will carry Africa Oil for future net expenditures up to US$23.75 million.

“This East African Rift Basin acreage shares many geological attributes with Tullow's Lake Albert Rift Basin position in Uganda however it is approximately ten times larger,” Tullow stated this morning. “The acreage, which is located 500 km to the east of Lake Albert has good evidence of a live oil system. The Loperot-1 well drilled in 1992 recovered 29 degree API waxy crude from Miocene sandstones.”

Tullow Oil added that it is planning to kick of seismic programmes across the acreage this year and carrying into 2011, with drilling also planned to commence in 2011.

In Africa, Tullow Oil currently has production in Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, Mauritania, Congo (Brazzaville) and Equatorial Guinea and two large appraisal and development programmes in Ghana and Uganda.  The company has been one of the most high profile success stories out of the London market in the past decade, with an impressive drilling success rate underlining its technical capabilities.

"We are delighted to be extending our acreage across the prospective East African Rift Basins of Kenya and Ethiopia. Rift Basins are a core play for Tullow and to date we have discovered and identified resources in excess of 2.5 billion barrels in the Lake Albert Rift Basin in Uganda. We look forward to working with our new partners and applying our valuable technical insights to this under-explored frontier region of East Africa,” Angus McCoss, Exploration Director, added.

  
For the week ended on August 28th, jobless claims totalled 472,000, falling by 6,000 from the week before.  Economists expected the figure to drop to 470,000, according to Bloomberg.   

The unemployment report due out tomorrow is expected to show that 80,000 jobs were lost in the private sector in August and the unemployment rate will expand to 9.6%, according to Bloomberg.  

Existing home sales for July are expected to fall 1% compared to June, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.   Foreclosures are another reason the housing market continues to weigh down the economy.

Foreclosures increased almost 4 percent in July from the previous month, RealtyTrac Inc. said earlier last month.  The existing home sales figure is set to be released at 10 am ET.  

For the second quarter, nonfarm productivity declined 1.8%, a smaller decline than the market-expected 1.9% dip.   Nonfarm productivity advanced 3.9% in the prior quarter. 

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P, and NASDAQ advanced 0.11%, 0.15%, and 0.16%, respectively, after a drop in jobless claims.

The US dollar index, which tracks the performance of the US dollar against a basket of six other currencies, retreated by 0.144% to 82.333.

Commodities

Oil futures declined 1.18% to $75.45 per barrel. Gold, copper, and silver futures all rallied 0.12%, 0.24%, and 0.4%, respectively.

Pre-market movers

Burger King (NYSE:BKC) surged 21% in pre-market trading after DealBook At New York Times reported that the company is in talks to sell itself to investment firm 3G Capital in a deal that could be worth more than US$2.7 billion.  ASML Holdings (NASDAQ:ASML), still trading near its 52-week low,  rose 1.7%. 

Among pre-market decliners, LM Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) is down 1.66% and Mitsui and Company (NASDAQ:MITSY) is trading 3.3% lower.

The acquisition, which will include the real estate underlying 36 of the 47 locations, is expected to be funded with cash on hand.

Forty-four of the stores are located in Kansas with three stores in Missouri. They generated revenues of approximately $194 million during the 12 months ending May 2010.

The transaction is expected to expand the company`s geographic footprint, it said. The Pantry also anticipates the acquisition to be accretive to earnings per share in the first 12 months after closing the deal.

Separately, the convenience store operator also announced the appointment of Mark R. Bierley as its new senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective September 27, 2010.

The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

Headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, The Pantry is one of the largest independently operated convenience store chains in the country. As of today, the company operates 1,639 stores in eleven states under select banners, including Kangaroo Express, its primary operating banner. The stores offer a broad selection of merchandise, as well as gasoline and other ancillary services.

 The two companies had entered into a non-binding letter of intent about the potential acquisition of the fund by Xstrata, initially at a cash price of C$3.40 per unit.  The proposed price was improved to C$3.90 on August 30th, but the revised offer was rejected by an Independent Committee set up by Noranda. 

“Xstrata has determined that the parties are unlikely to agree to terms for an acquisition of the Fund and accordingly today provided notice to the Fund that it has terminated the LOI and does not intend to proceed with the proposal,” the London listed mining giant stated this morning.

Xstrata currently owns an effective 25% voting and economic interest in the Noranda Income Fund and manages the Fund's sole operating asset, the CEZinc processing facility in Québec.  Xstrata is also the sole supplier of zinc concentrate to CEZinc.

"Our proposal was based on our ability to consolidate the CEZinc refinery into Xstrata Zinc's global operations to secure its long-term future and on our considered view, as the operators and managers of the asset, of its prospects on a standalone basis,” Xstrata Zinc Chief Executive Santiago Zaldumbide, stated.

Zaldumbide went on to note that the Fund will cease to benefit from its tax-free status on January 1st, 2011, and must also refinance its current debt pile of C$193 million.

"CEZinc faces competition with low-cost processing capacity in China which has driven treatment changes to very low levels.  In the future, when the current supply contract expires, CEZinc will need to source zinc concentrates at a time when existing Canadian and Western world sources are likely to be constrained and Chinese demand is expected to have grown further.  In the light of these uncertainties, Xstrata's proposal would have provided unitholders with the certainty of cash." 

The CEZinc processing facility is located in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec,  producing refined zinc metal and various byproducts from zinc concentrates. As of December 31, 2009, the processing facility produced 228,600 tons of zinc metal.

In July and August, the company reported the results from Chimbala.

The diamond drilling tested magnetic targets over an area of 3km2, the company said it intersected significant widths of magnetite-ilmenite mineralisation, with grades reaching up to 65.9% iron (Fe) and 0.72% vanadium.

In April the company sold most of its cement business to TCC International Limited for HK$3.8bn (approximately £300m).

Since the cement asset sale, Prosperity has re-focused its business on iron ore trading assets, and it has also moved into the Chinese real estate development sector.

The greater emphasis on iron ore, was reflected in the company’s latest result which showed an 80% year-on-year increase in the total tonnage shipped to 7.9m tonnes (FY09: 4.4m tonnes).

Prosperity Minerals recently agreed a significant new iron ore master off-take agreement with Grace Wise Pte Ltd, to purchase ore from Malaysia. The three-year off-take deal sees maximum trading volumes capped at 1.5m metric tonnes in FY11, 2.5m metric tonnes in FY12 and 4m metric tonnes in FY13.

With its first steps into the Chinese real estate development sector, Prosperity entered in June into agreements for two separate property investments - in the Fujian Province in south-east China and in Guangzhou City.

According to Prosperity, the PRC’s long term urbanization plan brings increased demand for high-quality housing in China’s cities. Furthermore, the PRC real estate market has recently entered a down-cycle, offering an opportune time to enter the PRC real estate market.

The business specialises in modern issues of the British Commonwealth, including varieties and other items that are difficult for collectors to source.

Nigel Haworth will be acting as a consultant to Stanley Gibbons to assist in the sourcing of such material in future.

Stanley Gibbons will pay £0.15 million on completion and the balance in April 2011. The deal will be financed out of the group’s cash balances with an expected payback within one year.

The group said that the acquisition gave it the most extensive range of British Commonwealth stamps available.

“Primarily, his is an investment in our brand and the quality and range of our stockholding.

“The acquisition will provide benefits for many years to come through increased sales and new customer recruitment and, in due course, will significantly enhance the range offered on our website and through the traditional channels of retail and mail order,” said Chief Executive of Stanley Gibbons Michael Hall.

Stanley Gibbons reported a strong set of interim results last month.

Sales in the first six months of the year jumped 24% to £11.9m, pre-tax profits rose 10% to £1.6m and earnings (EBITDA) grew 12% to £1.7m. Also during the period the company entered the Chinese collectables market and secured new orders worth £1m from collectors there, to be realised in the current period.

Included in the sales for the first half were £0.4m from the sale of one of the rarest British stamps - the '6d IR official'.

The company then said that it planned to acquire a number of large stamp collections, which would “provide the scale and quality of stockholding” to satisfy demand for the rest of the year.

The agreement is a part of MorphoSys’ new proprietary development program against novel infectious disease targets.

Collaboration with Absynth Biologics will provide MorphoSys with access to novel target molecules associated with Staphylococcus aureus infections including MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

MorphoSys, which will be solely responsible for the development and partnering of the resulting compounds, will generate antibodies using its proprietary HuCAL PLATINUM antibody library which Absynth will test in relevant disease models.

Absynth will receive an upfront payment with further milestone payments and royalties.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1.7 million hospital-acquired or nosocomial infections occur annually in the US alone, resulting in 99,000 deaths each year.

“This collaboration brings together Absynth's novel proprietary targets and expertise in S. aureus including MRSA and MorphoSys's expertise in the generation of antibody drugs.  We see these new targets as a very promising basis of antibody therapy for an increasingly serious medical problem," said Chief Executive of MorphoSys AG Simon Moroney.

“The targets identified by Absynth represent a unique opportunity to generate value rather quickly and create out-licensing opportunities much earlier than in the areas of cancer and inflammation."

Absynth has filed patent applications on all targets involved in the collaboration.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Absynth is focused on the discovery and development of products for the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections. The company was founded in 2006 and based on discoveries from the University of Sheffield laboratories.

Fusion IP plc, previously called Biofusion plc, was established in 2002 to commercialise university-generated intellectual property. Fusion IP has signed long term agreements with the University of Sheffield and Cardiff University, giving a combined R&D spend attributable to Fusion IP of approximately £185 million a year.