4:00PM NY; 10:00PM Frankfurt; 2:30AM Mumbai - GLOBAL MARKETS
Markets around the world felt the sting of changing investor sentiment, worries of economic slow down and rising commodities prices. Europe, Asia, Latin America and the U.S. fell for the week dragging major country based indexes into losses for the year to date performance.

Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.516% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.653%.

Gold decreased $18.700 to close at $646.000 a troy ounce, silver lost 61 cents to end at $13.040 a troy ounce and copper advanced $108.000 to close at $6100.000 per metric ton.

Oil lost 53 cents to close at $61.470 a barrel and heating oil decreased 0.810 cents to finish at 176.820 cents a gallon. Natural gas declined 6.7 cents to close at $7.221 per MMBtu. Gasoline went down 1.060 cents to end at 189.950 cents a gallon.

Asian markets closed mostly lower, with Japan''s Nikkei shedding more than 1%, as shares extended their losses after a week of declines, but Hong Kong and Shanghai bucked the trend as investors hunted for bargains. The decliners were led by India with a decrease of 2.08%, Philippines with a loss of 1.56% and Japan with a decline of 1.35%. The advancers were Hong Kong with a gain of 0.49% and Indonesia with an increase of 0.03%. Australia declined 0.40%.

European markets finished mostly lower failed to retain early gains for the second session in a row and turned in their worst weekly performance since the start of the Iraq war four years ago on a host of concerns, ranging from China''s economy to U.S. mortgage lending. The decliners were led by France with a decrease of 0.62%, Germany with a decline of 0.56% and Spain with a loss of 0.47%. The advancers were Norway with an increase of 0.69%, Switzerland with an advance of 0.19% and Belgium with a gain of 0.10%.

Latin America markets finished lower on worries about equity valuations and the pace of global growth. The decliners were led by Brazil with a decrease of 2.3%, Argentina with a decline of 2.01% and Mexico with a loss of 0.76%. There were no advancers. Canada lost 0.80% as investors remained cautious on resource stocks after this week''s sell-off.

2:30PM NY, U.S. Market Movers

Bristol West Holdings (BRW: chart) soared 36% after the auto insurer agreed to be acquired by Farmers Group, a subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services, for about $712 million in cash. As part of the agreement, Bristol will be allowed to solicit other bidders until March 31. If another deal is reached, though, Bristol would have to pay Farmers a break-up fee of $14 million. If Bristol accepts another deal after March 31, it would have to pay Farmers a break-up fee of $21 million.

Dendrite International (DRTE: chart) jumped 22% after the company, which provides technology products to the pharmaceutical industry, agreed to be acquired by France-based Cegedim for about $751 million in cash. The French software company will pay Dendrite shareholders $16 per share, representing a 25% premium over Dendrite''s closing price of $12.79 on Thursday. The deal is expected to close within the next few months.

Immersion Corp. (IMMR: chart) soared 22% after the technology developer settled a patent-infringement suit with Sony. As part of the settlement, Immersion will receive $97.2 million in damages and 12 quarterly licensing payments totaling $22.5 million through December 2009.

Kohl''s Corp. (KSS: chart) rose 5% after the retailer posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and issued in-line 2007 earnings guidance. For the quarter the company earned $484.6 million, or $1.48 per share, on revenue of $5.43 billion. During the year-earlier period, the company earned $374.9 million, or $1.08 per share, on revenue of $4.65 billion. Looking ahead, Kohl''s sees 2007 earnings of $3.68 to $3.84 a share on revenue growth of 9% to 11%, or revenue of $16.94 billion to $17.25 billion.

KongZhong Corp.''s (KONG: chart) shares dropped more than 8% after the Chinese wireless service provider posted solid fourth-quarter results but issued a disappointing outlook. The company said it expects first-quarter sales between $20 million and $21 million, below the $21.6 million. KongZhong''s American Depositary shares fell 68 cents, or 8.5%.

Pall Corp. (PLL: chart), a maker of filtration and separation systems, said its fiscal second-quarter profit grew 72%, aided by strong growth in sales to municipal water, energy and other markets. Quarterly earnings rose to $55.8 million, or 45 cents per share, from $32.4 million, or 26 cents per share, in the prior-year period. Excluding certain items quarterly earnings per share climbed to 43 cents from 28 cents. Sales grew to $544.9 million from $478.4 million in the same period a year earlier.

Palm Inc. (PALM: chart) shares rose 8.3%, again fueled by speculation that the maker of the Treo phone may be a takeover target.

Scottish Re Group Ltd. (SCT: chart) shareholders approved a takeover of the life reinsurer by MassMutual Capital Partners and Cerberus Capital Management. The expected approval came at a shareholders meeting in Bermuda, where Scottish Re is based. Insurance regulators had threatened to shut it down if the sale did not go through, Scottish Re said in recent federal filings. Shares climbed 7.6%.

Advocat Inc. (AVCA: chart), rehabilitation center operator, said that its fourth-quarter net earnings declined to $2.28 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with $12.9 million, or $1.99 per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue climbed 3.8% to $55.8 million versus $53.7 million in the same period a year earlier. Shares fell 29.8%.

AMN Healthcare Services Inc. (AHS: chart) projected next-quarter earnings of 21 cents to 23 cents a share, which would miss the consensus by at least 3 cents; full-year profits are pegged at $1.10 to $1.14 a share, at least a nickel under the mean. Fourth-quarter and full-year revenue estimates, respectively at $282 million to $284 million and $1.18 billion to $1.2 billion, are about in line. In its most recent quarter the health-professional recruiter posted per-share income of 29 cents, which, stripping out a 5-cent one-off benefit related to its professional liability insurance reserve, flat-lines with last year''s 24-cent profit. Revenue was up 28% from last year to $283.5 million, scraping past the $279.6 million estimates. Shares lost 13.8%.

Credence Systems Corp. (CMOS: chart) surged 23% after the semiconductor equipment maker posted first-quarter results that fell short of expectations and warned that second-quarter results would be lower than expected. For the quarter the company reported a loss of $11,000, or less than a penny a share, on revenue of $118.8 million. Results included charges of $1.4 million and a one-time gain of $3 million.

Focus Enhancements Inc. (FCSE: chart), video production company, said that its fourth-quarter net loss narrowed to $3.01 million, or 4 cents per share, compared with $3.26 million, or 5 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue climbed to $10.3 million versus $6.08 million in the same period a year earlier. Shares fell 7.4%.