ABM Industries Inc. (ABM: chart) shares rose 5% after the company, which provides facility services including cleaning, engineering and maintenance, said that its first-quarter net earnings increased to $8.7 million, or 18 cents per share, compared with $4 million, or 8 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue climbed 5.5% to $703.5 million versus $666.6 million in the same period a year earlier.

Accuride Corp. (ACW: chart), which manufactures parts for commercial vehicles, said that its fourth-quarter profit fell 4%, as brisk demand could not rise above higher expenses. Earnings decreased to $14.3 million, or 41 cents per share, from $14.9 million, or 43 cents per share during the same period in 2005. Revenue increased 16% to $344.9 million from $297.7 million during the same period a year earlier. Based on quarterly results, shares of the company climbed 6.1%.

ADC Telecommunications Inc. (ADCT: chart), swung to a fiscal first-quarter profit of $9.4 million, or 8 cents per share, compared with year-ago losses of $1.3 million, or a penny per share. Wall Street expected the telecom-equipment maker to earn 6 cents per share on $262.8 million in revenue, according to a Thomson Financial survey. Shares of the company were 5.4% up.

Countrywide Financial (CFC: chart) CFO said that some sub-prime lenders will likely go belly up as a result of the current turmoil in the sector, but he stressed that the mortgage giant will pull through because of its broader business mix. Shares rose 5.6%.

Datatrak International Inc. (DATA: chart) shares gained 11.5% after the company announced that it has been selected as the exclusive clinical trial technology platform by an unnamed multi-billion dollar North American pharmaceutical company. Cleveland-based Datatrak said the company was not previously a customer. Specifications and budgets related to the pending projects are not yet finalized, but Datatrak said multiple clinical trials are expected to begin in 2007.

Fuel Tech Inc. (FTEK: chart), which makes air pollution control equipment, said that its fourth-quarter net profit declined to $1.46 million, or 6 cents per share, compared with $2.62 million or 11 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue increased 11% to $18.1 million versus $16.3 million in the same period last year. Shares climbed 8.4%.

International Securities Exchange (ISE: chart) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Banc of America Securities. The broker raised volatility trading volume forecast to 24% in 2007 and 25% in 2008. Shares of the company rose 7.1%.

Maidenform Brands Inc. (MFB: chart) shares rose 8.7%, after the maker of bras and underwear reported it swung to a fourth-quarter profit and an analyst upgraded the company. Maidenform said it earned a fourth-quarter profit of 13 cents per share, compared with a year-ago loss. That beat analyst expectations of earnings of 8 cents per share. The company said same-store sales, or sales in stores open at least one year, a key retail industry measure of performance, rose 4.2% during the quarter and offered stronger-than-expected fiscal 2007 guidance.

New Century Financial Corp. (NEW: chart) shares rose 27.9% after U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told reporters in Tokyo that a weakened U.S. housing market would not have a major impact on U.S. financial companies generally.

Sykes Enterprises Inc. (SYKE: chart) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $8.14 million, or 20 cents a share, down 5% from $8.6 million, or 22 cents a share, during the year-ago period. The Tampa, Fla.-based provider of customer management products and services posted revenue of $158.6 million vs. $128.8 million. Shares were up 23.9%.

InfoSonics Corp. (IFON: chart), wireless handset distributor, said that its fourth-quarter net earnings declined to $560,958, or 4 cents per share, compared with $811,179, or 6 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue rose 74.1% to $60.9 million versus $35 million in the same period a year earlier. Shares declined 11.8%.

Frozen Food Express Industries Inc. (FFEX: chart) shares fell 4.1% perishable goods carrier said that its fourth-quarter net earnings declined to $4.32 million or 24 cents per share, compared with $6.36 million, or 34 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell to $113.5 million versus $141.9 million in the same period a year earlier. Shares fell 5.9%.

1:00PM NY - European markets finished notably higher.
European stocks closed notably higher, ending a five-session losing streak. European gains followed a global markets rebound, with investors buying shares in companies that have been hurt by the recent reduction in risk appetite. Salzgitter shares rose 5.6% after Credit Suisse upped its rating to outperform from neutral. Other companies which have been pressured over the past week included miner Xstrata which rose 3%, and building materials firm Vinci, climbing 3.5%. Among other companies in focus, Novartis advanced 4.8% after the Swiss drug maker said it won U.S. FDA clearance for its high-blood-pressure treatment Tekturna. Smaller drug maker Speedel Holding surged 26%. Shares of International Power rose 6.9% after it reported a 44% profit rise on higher power prices in the U.K. and lifted its dividend 75%. The German DAX Xetra 30 closed up 0.9% at 6,595, the French CAC 40 rose 1% to 5,437.13 and the U.K. FTSE 100 advanced 1.2% to 6,138.50.


11:30AM Stock averages remained in the positive. Google and Apple boosted tech stocks.
U.S. stocks pulled off their best trading levels but remained in the positive. A report which showed a bigger-than-expected drop in factory orders erased some of the earlier gains. The Dow was led higher by financial stocks which bounced back after heavy losses. Citigroup (C: chart)gained 1.5%, as the company plans to buy a majority stake in Japan''s troubled Nikko Cordial brokerage. J.P. Morgaan (JPM: chart) gained nearly 1% ahead of the company''s presentation to investors. Blue-chip company Altria Group (MO: chart) rose 1.8% after Deutsche Bank upgraded its stock to buy, noting opportunities to unlock value through a restructuring. Google helped push the tech-heavy Nasdaq higher on the back of news that the company is working together with Apple on new projects. Google (GOOG: chart) shares rose 2.2%, while Apple (AAPL: chart) added 1.5%.

By sector, real estate investment trusts, gold and oil service stocks were leading gainers. Financial stocks were notable advancers, recovering from weakness brought by subprime mortgage lenders. New Century Financial Corp. (NEW: chart) rose 25% on Tuesday after its stock plummeted nearly 70% yesterday. Fremont General Corp. (FMT: chart) rose 13%. Homebuilders joined the overall recovery, led by gains in the likes of Beazer Homes USA (BZH: chart), rising 2.7%, Centex Corp. (CTX: chart), up 2.9% , Ryland Group (RYL: chart), higher by 2% and Toll Brothers (TOL: chart), up 1.8%. The Dow rose 47.66, or 0.40%, to 12,098.07. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 8.02, or 0.58%, at 1,382.14, and the Nasdaq composite index, especially hard hit over the past week, rose 21.24, or 0.91%, to 2,361.92.

Factory orders fell more than expected in January.
The Department of Commerce released its report on new orders for manufactured goods in the month of January on Tuesday, showing that orders fell even more than economists had been expecting following two consecutive monthly increases. The report showed that new orders for manufactured goods fell 5.6 percent in January following an upwardly revised 2.6 percent increase in December. Economists had expected orders to fall 4.0 percent compared to the 2.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. The decrease in orders reflected a drop in orders for both durable and non-durable goods. The report showed that orders for durable goods fell 8.7 percent, while orders for non-durable goods fell 2.0 percent. The report also showed that shipments of manufactured goods fell 1.2 percent in January following a 1.3 percent increase in December. Shipments of durable and non-durable goods both fell during the month. The Commerce Department also said that inventories of manufactured goods fell 0.2 percent in January following ten consecutive monthly increases. The inventories-to-shipments ratio edged up to 1.23 in January from 1.22 in December.


9:45AM U.S. stock markets opened sharply higher, led by financial shares.
U.S. stock markets rallied at opening, with the three major indexes pushing higher after five sessions of massive losses. A rebound in Asian markets and strengthening dollar boosted market sentiment. The Dow Jones industrials gained over 100 points before edging back. 29 of the 30 Dow components traded in the positive, including Alcoa Inc. (AA: chart), up 1.3%, American Express (AXP: chart), also up 1.3%, and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ: chart), rising 1.5%. Another blue-chip company, Altria Group (MO: chart) gained 1.6% following an upgrade by Deutsche Bank, which noted opportunities to unlock value through a restructuring.

Financial stocks led market higher, recovering from steep losses. Century Financial Corp. (NEW: chart), which plunged 70% on Monday, rose 14.9% in early morning. Shares in Citigroup (C: chart) rose 1.5% after the financial services company announced plans to buy a majority stake in Japan''s Nikko Cordial brokerage in wjhat would be the largest acquisition of a Japanese brokerage by a foreign company. J.P.Morgan (JPM: chart) supported the blue-chip average with a gain of 1% ahead of the company''s presentation to investors later in the day.