"We are delighted that Extend Health is joining Towers Watson to provide a new way of delivering benefit packages to leading organizations,” said Towers Watson’s CEO, John Haley.

 "This agreement brings together two forward-thinking organizations with a commitment to providing market-leading solutions to our clients.

"The combination of Towers Watson benefits expertise and resources, and Extend Health’s proven infrastructure and scalable exchange platform, positions us well to meet the needs of employers and retirees now and in the future."

The company expects the acquisition to be dilutive to adjusted earnings per share by 2 percent or less in the first year, and to become slightly accretive in year two.

Towers Watson helps organizations improve their performance, with services offered in three areas consisting of employee benefits, talent and rewards, and risk and capital management.

Extend Health operates the largest private Medicare exchange in the US. The company provides proprietary exchange and decision support technology, allowing retirees the opportunity to select from thousands of private Medicare plans, from more than 75 national and regional insurance companies, to provide access to individual coverage.

New York-based Towers Watson said that more employers have used Extend Health than any other company to transition their retirees to a private Medicare exchange.

After the deal closes, Extend Health will operate as a new business segment within Towers Watson, to be led by CEO of Extend Health, Bryce Williams.

The deal is anticipated to close in 60 days or less, subject to customary conditions.

"This is an important time for retiree health benefits. Both companies have a strong track record of helping employers develop strategies and create programs for employee and retiree benefits," said Extend's Williams.

"Our complementary strengths and strategies will allow us to hit the ground running, offering clients access to a proven, powerful and scalable exchange solution today, and to improve the landscape of employee benefits going forward."

Tatex is a business-to-business express transportation company, with a nationwide network that offers shipment services for parcels and pallets of up to 800 kg.

The company currently owns 35 shipping centres, with six regional hubs, and a central hub located just south of Paris.

FedEx Express, an operating segment of FedEx, will receive access to the nationwide domestic ground network, which carries 19 million shipments, and roughly produces 150 million euros of profit a year.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

"The Tatex business complements FedEx existing operations in the French market, and will enable the company to provide additional local services in one of Europe’s largest geographies, to its customers around the world,” said FedEx chairman, president, and CEO Frederick W. Smith.

The deal today follows the company's recently announced plans to buy Opek Sp.z o.o., a Polish-based shipping company. In 2006, it also acquired ANC Holdings Limited, a UK express transportation company, and Flying Cargo Hungary Kft, a Hungarian service provider, in 2007.

From last October until the end of May this year, FedEx will have opened 38 new stations across Europe, with 19 in France.

"FedEx has always recognized the importance of our Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa (EMEA) region and its many unique marketplaces to global trade, and this acquisition shows we are continuing to systematically and strategically invest in growing our network and value proposition in these important areas of the world," said Smith.

FedEx offers customers worldwide a range of transportation, e-commerce, and business services. The company has annual revenue of $42 billion with a team of over 300, 000 employees.

It is composed of four operating segments, one of which is FedEx Express, the unit that delivers to more than 220 countries and territories using a global air-and-ground network for time-sensitive shipments.

Herndon, Virginia-based GeoEye provides high-resolution satellite imagery to local governments, forestry, oil and gas, as well as insurance companies.

The proposed transaction would see DigitalGlobe shareholders get $8.50 per share in cash and $8.50 in GeoEye stock, for each share of DigitalGlobe.

The price reflects a 26 percent premium to DigitalGlobe’s closing share price on Thursday of $13.52 per share. The company's stock shot up 11.69 percent to $15.10 in Friday trade.

"In the face of significant pressure on the U.S. defense budget and intensifying competition," GeoEye’s chief executive Matt O’Connell said, "a combined company will be better positioned to provide the U.S. government with the time-sensitive geospatial intelligence needed to support its mission in a very cost-effective manner during these fiscally conservative times."

In a letter sent to DigitalGlobe, O’Connell went on to say that the combined company creates a strong domestic player in satellite imagery, which could compete more effectively with foreign providers.

The combination also allows for operating expense synergies and reduced capital requirements, he added.

In addition, the board of directors said it would consider restructuring the proposal to raise the cash portion up to 100 percent, or reduce the cash consideration and boost the stock portion of the deal.

O’Connell also added the company is "prepared to move quickly" to execute a mutually acceptable definitive agreement, as its offer is subject to satisfactory due diligence.

GeoEye’s stock rose 59 cents, or 2.46 percent to $24.62 apiece in trade on the Nasdaq on Friday morning.

The Montreal-based company offers everything from business process outsourcing to data warehousing, supply chain management and cloud computing services. It caters to markets in Canada, India, Europe and the Asia-Pacific.

For the period that ended March 31, profits reached $105.7 million, or 40 cents per share. That is down from a year-ago profit of $118.7 million, or 43 cents per share.

Revenue slipped 4.1 percent to $1.06 billion from $1.11 billion a year earlier.

"We continue to identify and shape additional profitable growth opportunities across all our vertical markets," chief executive Michael E. Roach said in a statement.

"Our strong cash generation continues to enable us to further reduce debt and repurchase our shares."

CGI noted that it booked $787 million in new contracts, extensions and renewals, lifting the number of total bookings over 12-months to $5.1 billion.

Backlog of signed orders stood at $13.1 billion, compared to $12.4 billion a year-prior.

For the quarter, the company slashed its debt by $77.3 million, bringing its total debt to $795.3 million. It had about $1.3 billion in available cash and unused credit facilities at quarter-end.

In addition, the company also bought 1.6 million shares during the latest period, spending a total of $30 million, under its authorization.

Shares of the company rose 50 cents, or 2.41 percent, climbing to $21.29 each in trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Malvern, Pennsylvania-based USA Technologies offers networked credit card and other non-cash systems to the vending, commercial laundry and digital imaging sectors.

Revenues are expected to be about $7.5 million for the quarter that ended March 31. This is up by roughly 36 percent from $5.5 million, in the same period last year.

On an adjusted basis, earnings are expected to be about $300,000, compared to a year-prior adjusted net loss of $940,170.

The news sent the company’s share price up 23 cents, or 16.72 percent, climbing to $1.60 apiece in trade on the Nasdaq Monday.

"When we communicated our priorities to shareholders in late 2011, we indicated that our top priority was to drive the business toward profitability," said chief executive Stephen P. Herbert.

"Consumers are clearly moving toward cashless payment including credit, debit and mobile payment options," he added.

Recurring sales, which consists of license and transaction processing fees, grew by 39 percent to $5.9 million from $4.3 million a year earlier.

Total connections added in the quarter were 12,000, fuelled by USA Technologies' JumpStart program and its expansion into vertical markets like kiosks, the company said.

Based on preliminary additional connections of 12,000 for the quarter, the company’s total connected base now stands at 148,000, a 32 percent rise from last year.

USA Technologies will hold both a conference call and webcast to review third quarter financial results in early May.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

The world’s largest express transportation company said that the acquisition will give its FedEx Express business unit access to a nationwide domestic ground network, with an estimated $70 million in revenue and 12.5 million shipments annually.

The transaction is expected to close in the summer after necessary regulatory approvals.

"In recent years, we have made significant investments throughout Europe, greatly expanding our network coverage and improving service to customers," said FedEx chairman, president and CEO Frederick W. Smith.

"Our presence in Europe is backed by strong leadership and management and dedicated team members. We have an excellent strategy that has steadily advanced our position in the region, and we are well positioned for profitable growth as we increase the number of direct-served locations in Europe."

Opek, a family-owned company, was founded in 1994 and has built a well-established network that covers the entire country.

The company operates an automated hub in Lomianki, near Warsaw, and additional hubs in Lodz and Katowice. In total, it operates 44 stations throughout Poland.

More than 1,200 employees work for Opek and the company engages more than 1,300 contracted drivers.

"Our two companies represent a strategic fit with a common commitment to enhance the service we can offer Polish businesses, invest in our people and positively impact our communities as good corporate citizens,” said FedEx Express Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa president Gerald P. Leary.

So far in fiscal 2012, FedEx Express said it has opened 26 new stations across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Sweden. In Europe, the company has added 22 locations in recent years to complement its portfolio of express services.

The company reports revenues of $42 billion, and employs more than 300,000 people.

The move broadens Grainger’s operations into Brazil, the largest maintenance, repair and operations market in Latin America.

Financial details were not disclosed in the press release.

"We're excited to enter Brazil through the acquisition of AnFreixo," president of Grainger international, Mike Pulick, said in a statement.

"Many of Grainger's customers have operations in Brazil and they're looking to Grainger to help them keep their operations running efficiently and keep their employees safe on the job."

"This acquisition is a great step forward in our continued focus on meeting the needs of businesses throughout the Latin American region," he added.

AnFreixo is a broad line distributor of maintenance, repair and operating supplies in Brazil. In 2011, it posted revenue of US$37 million. The company will operate under the name Grainger after the acquisition.

AnFreixo serves more than 2,000 customers from its distribution centre in Sao Paulo and through its team of sales professionals. A significant portion of AnFreixo's sales are to affiliates of its parent company, Votorantim Industrial.

As part of the deal, Grainger also announced on Tuesday it entered into a long-term supply agreement, under which Votorantim will continue to buy MRO products from AnFreixo.

Founded in 1927, Grainger sells everything from hand tools to pumps and plumbing supplies, as well as forestry and agriculture equipment, building and home inspection supplies.

Grainger operates in Canada, Mexico, the U.S., India and the Dominican Republic and is based in Lake Forest, Illinois.

The company’s share price closed Monday at $218.19 in trade. Its stock was inactive during pre-market trade Tuesday.

In New York, shares of the Norwalk, Connecticut-based company rose 7.19 percent to $97.34, as of 10:33 am EDT.

Grainger said acquisitions added an extra five percentage points to sales.

Stripping out acquisitions, the company said organic sales grew 13 percent, including 12 percentage points from volume and three percentage points from price, partly offset by a two percentage point decline from lower sales of seasonal products.

The latest period had one extra shopping day. The first quarter 2012 will have the same number of selling days as last year, it added.

In the U.S. – which is Grainger’s top line performer – sales grew 12 percent. Sales in Canada went up 13 percent, while its other businesses rose 28 percent, excluding acquisitions.

Grainger is slated to report first quarter earnings on April 17.

The company, which generated sales of $8.1 billion in 2011, is a broad line supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products and based in Chicago.

Shares of Grainger rose 0.87 percent to $213.62 apiece on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday afternoon.

The company, founded in 1884, is an engineering and construction company operating in the power, upstream and the mining and mineral markets.

For the quarter ended December 31, the company reported net revenue slipped 6.8 percent to $1.12 billion, just shy of analysts’ targets of $1.2 billion.

The company's reported profit rose to $39.2 million, or 34 cents a share. That is up from the year prior quarter of $32.8 million, or 26 cents a share.

Excluding one-time items, such as asbestos-related provisions, the company earned 39 cents a share. Analysts were predicting earnings of 44 cents a share.

In a statement, Foster Wheeler’s chief executive, Kent Masters, said: “Net income for the quarter was down relative to the average quarter of 2010, due primarily to lower EBITDA in the company’s Global Engineering and Construction Group.”

Operating revenue at its global engineering and contract group, which constructs onshore upstream oil and gas processing plants, rose to $453.1 million. But its Ebitda margin fell to 12.2 percent from 17.6 percent.

In the global power unit – which makes equipment for electric power generating stations and power plants – operating sales grew to $281.3 million.

For the quarter, the company said it bought 8.99 million of its own stock for $169 million. In addition, its board approved a $500 million increase to its share authorization program.

Foster Wheeler's share price rose 5.46 percent to $25.09 in trade on the Nasdaq on Thursday afternoon.

For the quarter that ended December 31, net income increased to $24.3 million from $23.3 million last year. Excluding items, earnings per share were up 3.9 percent to $0.53 from $0.51.

Revenue for the quarter grew 12.6 percent to $432.0 million, from $383.7 million in the prior-year quarter.

Stantec president and chief executive officer, Bob Gomes, said: "Stantec continues to operate effectively and grow consistently, despite a challenging business environment in 2011.

"Our strategic focus and outlook over the long term remains positive. We are confident that the depth and breadth of our services and the investment in our strong US platform will help us achieve top-tier positioning in our key markets as the economy continues to recover."

In 2011, Stantec acquired five companies: QuadraTec; Caltech Group; Bonestroo; FSC Architects and Engineers and ENTRAN.

Collectively, these firms added 725 staff to Stantec, strengthened its presence in the US midwest and southeast, and expanded its presence into all Canadian provinces and territories with new locations in Nunavut and Yukon, the company said.

For the year, net income increased 8.4 percent to $102.7 million from $94.7 million, and diluted earnings per share improved 9.2 percent to $2.25 compared to $2.06 in 2010.

Revenue for 2011 increased 11.3 percent to $1.68 billion from $1.51 billion.

Stantec is a provider of professional services in the area of infrastructure and facilities for clients in the public and private sectors. Its services include planning, engineering, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, surveying, project management, environmental sciences, and project economics for infrastructure and facilities projects.

The profit improvement came from increased activity across most of its businesses, the Calgary-based firm said.

ATCO's quarterly profit amounted to $1.76 per share, up from $1.25 a year earlier. After items, ATCO earned $83 million, up from $80 million.

Revenues for the period rose to $1.13 billion from $955 million.

For the full year, ATCO's earnings amounted to $5.65 per share, up from $4.83 per share in 2010. Adjusted for one-time items, earnings came in at $330 million, up from $296 million. Revenue grew to $4 billion from $3.49 billion.

In a statement, ATCO said: "In 2011, ATCO Structures & Logistics had an exceptionally strong year as rental activity increased and manufacturing expanded to address growth in demand for modular structures and services, especially new workforce housing needs in the resource-rich regions of Australia, Canada, and South America.

"Australia was particularly strong with three major workforce housing complexes associated with liquefied natural gas projects."

In a separate statement, Canadian Utilities (TSE:CU), ATCO's pipeline and energy services unit, posted earnings attributable to equity owners of $156 million or $11.4 per share, up from $118 million or 88 cents per share, a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings, however, decreased $14 million to $109 million in the quarter as the ATCO Gas general rate application decision that disallowed certain program costs and capital expenditures, and the generic cost of capital decision, reduced the utilities' approved return on equity.

Revenue in the quarter was $827 million, down from $723 million.

For the full year, earnings attributable to shareholders were $496 million, or $3.65 per share on revenues of just under $3 billion, up from $432 million, or $3.21 per share, on revenues of $2.7 billion.

ATCO - which has more than 8,000 employees and assets of about $12 billion - operates pipelines, natural gas and electricity distribution companies as well as power generation and natural gas processing and storage businesses. It also makes and sells oilfield housing and other services.

The company said it expects moderating activity in the industrial, and parts and service industries, as well as across most businesses in Asia.

Ingersoll-Rand is expecting full year earnings between $2.90 and $3.10 per share, on revenues in the range of $14.0 and $14.4 billion.

For the first quarter of 2012, the company estimates earnings in the range of $0.20 and $0.26, on revenues between $2.98 and $3.08 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting $3.12 per share for full year 2012 earnings, on $14.61 billion in revenues. For the first quarter, analysts were estimating $0.45 per share in profits, on $3.16 billion in sales.

For the three months that ended December 31, Ingersoll-Rand posted earnings of $242.2 million, or $0.76 per share, up 14.2 percent from $212.1 million, or $0.62 per share, a year ago.

Total revenues for the period fell to $3.51 billion, down five percent from $3.69 billion in the same period last year.

Analysts had expected 66-cents per share in profits on $3.58 billion in sales for the latest quarter.

"In 2011, we improved the strength of our business operations, driving increased operating margins, and a 19 percent improvement in earnings per share despite a challenging economic backdrop in a number of our key residential and commercial building end markets," said president and CEO, Michael W. Lamach.

"We made notable improvements in pricing capabilities, productivity and working capital management that helped to drive the strong cash flow that supported our share buyback and dividend expansion.

"We have also taken the necessary actions to improve the performance of the residential HVAC business.

"Our management team is focused on accelerating restructuring and cost reduction actions to generate sustained profitable growth in what we expect to be a slow growth economy in 2012."

Revenues under the company's climate solutions business, which involves the company's Trane commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, as well as its Thermo King businesses, fell eight percent to $1.9 billion, as bookings during the quarter were down three percent.

However, Ingersoll-Rand's industrial technologies segment, which includes air and productivity solutions, and club car businesses, posted an eight percent increase in revenues, to $744.0 million, as volumes rose in all geographic regions, except Asia, and bookings hiked five percent.

The residential solutions division, which includes the Trane and Schlage brands, posted $442.9 million in revenues, down 13 percent as year-over-year bookings declined.

Revenues under the security technology unit fell three percent to $415.2 million, as low volumes more than offset slightly higher prices. Bookings for the quarter also fell five percent.

For the full year fiscal 2011, Ingersoll-Rand posted earnings of $343.2 million, or $1.01 per share, down 47 percent, on revenues of $14.78 billion, up six percent.

The company said it repurchased 19 million shares during the fourth quarter, for a total of about $1.2 billion.

In New York, shares of the Dublin, Ireland-based company rose 1.62 percent to $38.17, as of 12:33 pm EDT.

Net margin fell to 10.3 percent from 11.6 percent.

CGI Group president and CEO, Michael E. Roach said: "The relevance of our services and solutions to our clients' requirements was demonstrated by our strong bookings in the quarter and by the $5.1 billion in new contracts signed over the past 12 months.

"Our operational and financial discipline is reflected by our strong cash generating ability which has enabled further debt reduction and the ongoing repurchase of shares in the quarter. We continue to see opportunities to shape and develop additional profitable growth opportunities across all our markets."

During the quarter, CGI booked $1.39 billion in new contracts wins, extensions, and renewals, up 17 percent compared to the year-ago period. This brings total bookings for the 2011 calendar year to $5.1 billion, for a book-to-bill ratio of 122 percent.

At the quarter's end, the company had a backlog of $13.56 billion, up 4.5 percent from the same quarter last year.

In other news, the company purchased and cancelled 3.4 million shares of its common stock during the first quarter, for total consideration of $63.4 million. The company's board of directors also authorized the renewal of its normal course issuer bid, and the purchase of up to another ten percent of its public float of stock, representing about 22.1 million shares.

In Toronto, shares of the Montreal, Quebec-based company rose 2.72 percent to $20.80, as of 12:56 pm EDT. In the calendar year 2011, CGI's stock gained 12.74 percent.

The office printer and copier maker, an area from which the company now only makes around 45 percent of its revenue, said total revenue was flat at $6 billion for the quarter that ended December 31.

Quarterly net income was $383 million, or 26 cents per share, compared to a year-earlier profit of $179 million, or 12 cents per share.

Excluding restructuring charges and other items, the company reported adjusted earnings of 33 cents per share, up 14 percent when compared to a year ago.

Analysts expectated earnings of 33 cents per share, on sales of $6 billion, according to Bloomberg.

"Our performance reflects Xerox’s operational discipline in delivering strong bottom-line results while scaling our services business and maintaining our leadership in document technology," chief executive Ursula Burns said in a statement.

Its services unit posted revenue gains of six percent to $2.87 billion, thanks to an eight percent rise in both business process outsourcing and document outsourcing, the company said.

Xerox bulked up its services business two years ago with its $6.4 billion purchase of Affiliated Computer Services, its largest-ever takeover.

Revenue from its technology business declined five percent to $2.7 billion from $2.8 billion a year earlier, "significantly" hurt by economic weakness in Europe.

The company’s technology segment deals with the sale of document systems, technical services, as well as supplies and financing of products.

Signings for services – or estimated future revenue from contracts signed during the period – rose 15 percent in the fourth quarter.

Selling, administrative and general expenses nudged down slightly to $1.15 billion, helped by spending reductions which reflect benefits from restructuring and productivity improvements, Xerox said.

For the quarter, gross margin narrowed to 32.2 percent from 33.6 percent, as a result of the ramping up of new services contracts, lower contract renewals and a higher mix of sales from its services unit.

Looking ahead, the company expects first quarter 2012 adjusted earnings of 21 to 24 cents per share, while analysts expect profits of 24 cents per share.

For the full-year, Xerox predicts adjusted earnings to be around $1.12 to $1.18 per share. Analysts foresee full-year earnings of $1.16 per share.

In addition, Xerox’s board recently increased the company’s share repurchase authorization to $1.3 billion. With this, the company plans to buy back between $900 million to $1.1 billion of its own stock during this year.

Xerox’s shares declined 47 cents, or 5.42 percent, to reach $8.20 each Wednesday morning on the New York Stock Exchange.

Revenues rose 13.4 percent to $196.4 million in the three months that ended November 30. That compares with $173.2 million, a year ago.

Net income went up 9.5 percent to $45.5 million, or 99 cents a share, compared to a year-earlier profit of $41.6 million, or 88 cents a share.

Analysts, on average, had expected earnings of $1 per share, with revenues of $197 million, according to Bloomberg.

"Volatility in the financial markets interrupted short-term buying patterns from our clients, dampening our annual subscription value growth this quarter,” chief executive, Philip Hadley said in a statement.

"Our earnings results in the first quarter demonstrate the strength of FactSet's business model. We again delivered double digit growth for both revenues and earnings per share and our free cash flow reached a first quarter record high."

Annual subscription value (ASV) at the end of the period logged in at $782 million, up 12.5 percent over the prior year. Of this total, 82 percent was derived from buy-side clients and the remainder was from sell-side firms who perform M&A advisory work and equity research, where ASV decreased.

Over the quarter, users declined by 1,200 to 46,900, all from reductions at sell-side firms.

ASV represents the forward-looking revenues for the next 12 months from all services currently being supplied to clients, the company said.

FactSet noted that a higher first quarter effective tax rate reduced quarterly earnings per share by 2 cents in the period.

The company also bought back 150,000 shares of its own stock for $14.6 million in the quarter, and its board declared a quarterly dividend of 27 cents per share.

Looking ahead, the company expects to see second quarter profits between 99 cents to $1.01 per share, with revenues in the range of $197 to $200 million. Analysts expect earnings of $1.02 per share, with revenue of $201 million.

FactSet is a provider of financial and economic information. It supports the investment process from initial research to published results for buy and sell-side professionals. It runs operations across more than 23 countries – including New York, London, Frankfurt, Paris, Mumbai and Tokyo, among others.

Shares were down 4.79 percent, falling to $90.21 in New York on Tuesday.

Revenue climbed 23.1 percent to $162.4 million in November, up from the $131.9 million seen last year.

For the five weeks that ended December 4, PriceSmart said same warehouse sales for the 27 warehouse clubs open at least 13.5 months grew 18.5 percent compared to the prior-year five week period a year ago.

Comparable store sales are a key indicator to gauge a retailer’s financial health because it excludes any sales from stores that recently opened or closed.

For the three months that ended November 30, net sales increased 24.1 percent to $468.3 million.

At the end of November, the company operated 29 membership shopping warehouse clubs in 12 countries and one U.S. territory. PriceSmart, based in San Diego, runs U.S. style membership warehouse clubs in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company sells items like meat, produce, baked goods and natural foods, electronics and automatic supplies, among others.

Shares of PriceSmart were down $2.92, or 4.18 percent, falling to $66.93 today on Nasdaq.