The U.S. dollar grew stronger against other major currencies. The euro was quoted at $1.1887, down from $1.1901. The dollar bought 118.19 yen, down from $117.88. The British pound stood at $1.7385, down from $1.7441.

EARNINGS NEWS

Mercury General Corp., (MCY: chart), private passenger automobile insurance underwriter, posted Q4 income of 84 cents a share, downs from $1.36 a share in the year-ago quarter. Company-wide net premiums written were $728 million in Q4 of 2005, up 8%. Q4 net income includes net realized investment gains, net of tax, of 1 cent a share, and net realized investment gains, net of tax, of 19 cents a share for the entire year. Included in net income as well are hurricane losses, net of tax benefit, of 29 cents a share in Q4 of 2005, and hurricane losses, net of tax benefit, of 32 cents a share for the 2005 year.

ServiceMaster Core, (SVM: chart), maker of Terminix pest control and lawn care products, reported Q4 net income of 9 cents a share, down from 60 cents a share in the year-ago period, missing analyst estimate by a penny. Income from continuing operations came to 8 cents a share.

K&F Industries Holdings Inc., (KFI: chart), maker of aircraft wheels, brakes and other products, reported Q4 earnings of 41 cents a share on sales of $105.6 million, topping analyst estimate for a profit of 34 cents a share.

Great American Financial Resources Inc, (GFR: chart), market retirement products company, reported Q4 net income of 16 cents a share, down from 48 cents a share in the year-earlier period. Q4 core earnings from continuing operations before significant items advanced to $1.38 a share, up from $1.20 a share in the same period the prior year.

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd, (GILTF: chart), satellite networking technology company, reported Q4 earnings of 4 cents a share, up from a loss of 8 cents a share a year-ago despite revenue decline. The Israeli company said that its backlog rose to $206 million as of Dec. 31 from $192 million a year ago.

Orbotech Ltd, (ORBK: chart), maker of systems that inspect circuit boards and flat panel displays, reported that Q4 net income jumped 84.6% to 36 cents a share on 9.8% revenue growth, in line with analysts’ predictions. The company, said it has recently received orders worth an additional $20 million from two companies in the Far East that will be filled during 2006.

Radica Games Ltd, (RADA: chart), developer of electronic games, videogame accessories and high-tech toys, reported that it reversed to Q4 profit 18 cents a share, up from 9 cents a share on 5.1% higher sales. Sales reached $45.7 million from $43.5 million. The electronic-games segment performed the best, offset by lower VGA sales as videogame-platform producers are in transition to new models, the company announced. Gross-profit margin grew to 41.5% from 35.1%.

Syneron Medical Ltd, (ELOS: chart), producer of medical devices for aesthetic applications, reported Q4 net income growth of 47% to 43 cents a share, up vs. 30 cents a share in the year-ago period on 36% higher sales, missing analyst view of 46 cents a share. The company''s gross-profit margin was level with the year-earlier period at 87%.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc, (ANR: chart), coal producer, reported Q4 net income of 20 cents a share up more than double from 8 cents a share in the year-ago period on revenue growth, beating analyst estimate of 13 cents a share. The company announced that current quarter earnings include a previously announced after-tax charge of 5 cents a share for stock-based compensation.

Holly Corp, (HOC: chart), petroleum refining and pipeline transportation company, reported Q4 earnings of $1.31 a share, up from a profit of 23 cents a share a year-ago on revenue growth, missing analyst estimate of $1.38 a share. The company said its latest earnings were boosted by higher refined product margins, which went to $13.76 per produced barrel in the period from $7.03 a barrel a year ago.

CORPORATE NEWS

Microsoft (MSFT: chart) released software with push e-mail function built-in for handheld devices made by HewlettPackard, Chunghwa Telecom, Asus and Fujitsu Siemens.

UBS downgraded coffee chain operator Starbucks Corp to neutral from buy, citing a slowdown in the stock’s upside movement and a potential for slower same-store sales growth.