Chindex International Inc. (CHDX: chart), provides health care products and services in China, reported a third-quarter net profit of $679,000, or 9 cents per share compared with the same quarter last year, when the company posted a net loss of $463,000, or 7 cents per share. Revenue rose to $30.3 million versus $22.6 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Shares went down 15.8%.

1:00PM European markets closed lower, despite merger activity.
European stocks closed lower on Monday, as companies in the construction sector declined, offsetting gains from mobile telecom giant Vodafone Group. France's Saint Gobain and Britain's Hanson dropped more than 1% amid interest-rate worries. Shares in mobile operator Vodafone Group rose 1.3% after the company agreed to buy a 67% stake in India's Hutchison Essar for $11.1 billion. Another merger-inspired gainer was U.K.-headquartered tour operator MyTravel Group which rose 29% after MyTravel and KarstadtQuelle-owned Thomas Cook agreed to merge to form an international leisure travel company. KarstadtQuelle shares rose 4.2%, while TUI declined 1.4% as investors weighed up the potential impact of the deal on the German travel operator. First Choice Holidays dropped 13.5% in London as talks to sell its mainstream holiday business had been called off. Again on the M&A front, German chipmaker Infineon Technologies rose 1.3% on news it had been approached by at least three private-equity groups in the last six months. In Italy, Tenaris slipped 1.1% after agreeing to buy Hydril for more than $2 billion. The German DAX 30 index slipped 0.8% at 6,859.45, the French CAC-40 dropped 0.9% at 5,643.95, and the U.K. FTSE 100 fell 0.5% at 6,353.50.

Crude oil prices declined below $59 on expectations that the OPEC will not cut production. Light, sweet crude March delivery fell $1.30 to $58.59 a barrel. Heating oil slipped 5 cents to $1.6785, while gasoline fell 3 cents to $1.5795. Natural gas dropped 42 cents to $7.409 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent lost $1.47 to $57. The U.S. dollar traded higher against its major currency rivals. The euro was quoted at $1.2956, down from $1.3006. The dollar bought 121.83 yen, up from 121.64. The British pound was quoted at $1.9467, down from $1.9503. European gold prices lost ground. In London, gold traded at $661.20 per troy ounce, down from $663.30. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $661.85 per ounce, down from $661.95. Silver closed at $13.55, down from $13.82.


11:30AM U.S. stock markets extended losses amid collapsed merger deals.
U.S. stock markets continued to post losses amid disappointment over the collapse of several acquisition deals and cautiousness ahead of key economic data. Bristol Myers (BMY: chart) dropped 5% on news that Sanofi-Aventis (SNY: chart) ended deal talks amid a disagreement over price. Another disappointment came from Nasdaq Stock Market (NDAQ: chart) which slipped 5.4% as its shareholders refused to support its planned takeover of the London Stock Exchange. At the same time, Four Seasons Hotels (FS: chart) dropped 3% after it agreed to be taken private by Cascade Investment, Kingdom Hotels and Isadore Sharp for $3.8 billion, or $82 a share in cash. On the positive side, the UK's Vodafone (VOD: chart) rose 2.4% after it agreed to buy Hutchison Telecom International Ltd.'s (HTX: chart) 67% stake in Indian mobile operator Hutchison Essar for $11 billion, including the assumption of $2 billion in debt. Further in deal news, Aluminum producer Novelis Inc. (NVL: chart) jumped 13.7% after it agreed to be bought by India's Hindalco Industries Ltd.

Losses posted by American Express Co. (AXP: chart), Intel Corp (INTC: chart) and United Technologies Corp. (UTX: chart) weighed on the Dow. Another drag on the blue-chip average was Walt Disney Co. (DIS: chart) which fell 1.2% although CIBC upgraded the stock to sector performer from underperform, and raised its price target on the stock to $40 from $35. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM: chart) also weighed, losing 0.6% on falling oil prices. Some support to the Dow was provided by shares of Home Depot Inc. (HD: chart), which rose 1.3% after the company said it is evaluating strategic alternatives for its HD Supply business, including a possible sale, spinoff or IPO. In the tech sector, Apple (AAPL: chart) rose 1.4% after Citigroup upgraded the stock to buy from hold, while Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE: chart) rose 1.2% after Oppenheimer upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. However, heavy losses for Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO: chart) and Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT: chart) weighed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 4.57, or 0.04%, to 12,576.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 2.11, or 0.15%, at 1,435.95 and the Nasdaq composite index retreated 7.20, or 0.29%, to 2,452.62. Bonds barely budged ahead of economic data due out this week, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note unchanged from Friday at 4.78%.


9:45AM U.S. stocks opened mixed amid disappointing deal news.
U.S. stocks opened narrowly mixed on Monday, as an upgrade of Apple failed to offset disappointing deal news and uncertainty ahead of key economic data due out later this week. Tech shares were supported by Apple (AAPL: chart) which rose 1.3% after Citigroup upgraded the stock to buy from hold on expectations the company would benefit from several key products and lower prices. The Dow got a lift from 1.7% gain for Home Depot Inc. (HD: chart) after the company said it is evaluating strategic alternatives for its HD Supply business.

In deal news, two anticipated merger deals seemed to be on the verge of falling apart. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY: chart) fell 4% following a report that Sanofi-Aventis (SNY: chart) ended merger talks with the U.S. pharmaceutical group. The Nasdaq Stock Market (NDAQ: chart) fell 1.6% after saying over the weekend that shareholders did not approve its bid to acquire the London Stock Exchange. On the other hand, the UK's Vodafone (VOD: chart) rose 2.4% after it agreed to pay $11 billion for Hutchison Telecom International Ltd.'s (HTX: chart) 67% stake in Indian mobile operator Hutchison Essar. Four Seasons Hotels (FS: chart) dropped 3% after it agreed to be taken private by Cascade Investment, Kingdom Hotels and Isadore Sharp for $3.8 billion, or $82 a share in cash.

In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average added 3.53, or 0.03%, to 12,584.36. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 1.26, or 0.09%, at 1,436.80 and the Nasdaq composite index retreated 9.02, or 0.37%, to 2,450.80. Bonds edged lower ahead of economic data due out this week, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.79% from 4.78% late Friday.


9:30 AM NY Vodafone wins the battle for Indian Hutch Essar.
Vodafone acquired 67% of Hutchison Essar in a deal struck last night that puts the fourth-largest Indian mobile operator value at $19 billion. Vodafone’s bid, topped the auction and valued Hutchison Essar at $18.8 billion. The deal is expected to provide a much-needed respite and boost to Vodafone stock in an otherwise luck-luster top-line growth at the British company, the largest mobile operator in the world.

Still, Arun Sarin, Vodafone CEO may be faced with question by some investor whether the group has overpaid. One shareholder has already said that the deal may get some resistance from shareholders of Vodafone on that premise. As part of the deal, the British company has signed an agreement for sharing its network with Bharti Airtel, which could help both companies to share telecom network and reduce network build-out cost.

Bharti was also granted an option to buy out Vodafone’s 5.6% of the 10% stake in the company for $1.6 billion, which is double the acquisition price. The deal is expected to be executed in the second quarter.

India is the world fastest growing mobile phone market with an additional 6.5 million net subscribers per month in the last quarter. Only 15% of people in India have cell phone service and less than half of country has cell phone coverage.

Vodafon may be looking at India as its largest market by subscribes in the next two years. Currently its German subscriber base is more than 26 million, and through a joint venture partner Verizon it has more than 24 million subscribers in the U.S. Its Indian subscriber base is likely to reach 30 million or more by the end of calendar year 2008.


8:00AM NY-6:00PM Mumbai Sensex plummets on selling pressure.
The Sensex on BSE finished 348.20 points, or 2.39%, lower at 14,190.70. The market-breadth was very weak as there were seven decliners for each advancer. For 2,312 shares that declined on BSE, only 334 advanced and only 27 shares were unchanged. The turnover on BSE was Rs 3,266 crore, lower than Rs 4,332 crore on Friday. The turnover on NSE was Rs 8,908.45 crore, compared to Rs 9,175.13 crore on Friday.

Economic news

Industrial production in December 2006 advanced 11.1%, compared with 5.7% in the same month last year. The growth figure for November 2006 has also been revised upwards to 15.4%, from the earlier estimate of 14.4%. Growth in the manufacturing sector was 11.9% in December 2006, higher than 6.4% in December 2005, while electricity generation grew by 9.3% in December 2006, compared to 3.4% a year ago. The figures raised concerns that the Reserve Bank of India may hike the interest rates in order to curb inflation and to prevent overheating of the economy.