Abraxis BioScience (ABBI: chart), biopharmaceutical company, recorded a 47% increase in its revenue to a record $765.5 million from $520.8 in 2005. Revenue for company-wide, hospital-based products reached a record $584.4 million in 2006, a 52% increase from the prior year. The company said that its fourth-quarter adjusted earnings climbed to $46.7 million, or 29 cents per share, compared with a year-ago equivalent profit of $14.8 million, or 9 cents per share. Shares of the company went up 4.1%.

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW: chart) shares climbed 5.4% as investors snapped on a report that a group of private equity firms might make a $54 billion bid for the company.

GulfMark Offshore Inc. (GMRK: chart), transportation services to the offshore energy industry provider, said that its fourth-quarter net income increased to $30.6 million, or $1.42 per share, compared with $8.2 million, or 39 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 34% to $69 million, due to higher rates and the addition of new vessels. The firm said profit also benefited by around 17 cents a share from a previously announced sale. Shares climbed 4.8%.

Hub International Ltd. (HBG: chart) said it will be acquired by private equity firm Apax Partners, together with Morgan Stanley Principal Investments, for about $1.7 billion. Shares of the company climbed 13.9%.

Itron Inc. (ITRI: chart) rose 5% after the technology provider agreed to acquire Actaris Metering Systems for roughly $1.6 billion. The acquisition of the company is expected to add about 20 cents to 30 cents per share to adjusted earnings and between $720 million and $730 million in revenue to 2007 results. The deal is expected to close during the second quarter.

Jakks Pacific Inc. (JAKK: chart), which sells toys, writing instruments and other consumer products, said that its fourth-quarter net income increased to $23.2 million or 73 cents per share from $9 million, or 30 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding stock-based compensation and other charges, earnings increased to $26.9 million, or 84 cents per share, from $12.7 million, or 41 cents a share a year ago. Quarterly sales rose 43.3% to $238.3 million, as traditional dress-up and role play dolls and action figures sold well. Shares jumped 13.8% as company’s fiscal 2007 earnings outlook topped Wall Street estimates.

Temple-Inland (TIN: chart) said it would spin off two businesses and sell its timberland operations, sending its shares up 14.2%. The company said the spin-offs would include its financial services operations in Guaranty Bank and more than 236,000 acres of real estate operations. Temple-Inland''s timber holdings consist of about 1.8 million acres in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia, as well as the mineral rights to nearly 740,000 acres in those states.

TXU Corp. (TXU: chart) goes private through what will be the largest leveraged buyout in history. A group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Texas Pacific will pay $69.25 per share for the company; including assumed debt, the transaction is worth $45 billion. The newly privatized company said it will deliver price cuts valued at more than $300 million annually, price protection benefits to electric customers through 2008, strengthen environmental policies, make significant investments in alternative energy and institute corporate policies tied to climate stewardship. Shares climbed 13.2%.

Arris Group (ARRS: chart) shares tumbled 10.1% after the company''s bid to acquire Norway''s Tandberg Television was trumped by Ericsson (ERIC: chart). Telecom equipment maker Ericsson offered 9.8 billion crowns ($1.38 billion) for Norway''s Tandberg Television, topping an earlier accepted bid from Arris Group Inc.

Moody''s Corp. (MCO: chart) fell 5.3% after Credit Suisse cut company’s rating on the debt rating firm to underperform and reduced its price target to $64 per share from $79 per share.

New York Times Co. (NYT: chart) shares fell more than 2% after A Lehman Brothers analyst cut his rating on New York Times Co., citing a recent rise in share price and a negative outlook on the newspaper publishing sector. The company''s newspaper saw its advertising revenue slip 9.7% in January, while the regional newspapers segment took a turn for the worse, falling 6.5%.

1:00PM European markets closed higher, led by insurance and metals stocks.
European stocks finished Monday trading session in the positive, with several indexes hitting new highs, boosted by gains for insurance, oils and metal stocks. Earnings-related gains from companies such as Associated British Foods and insurer Old Mutual also contributed to the upward move. Insurers were leading gainers in Germany, with Allianz rising 3% and Munich Re adding 2.5%. The German DAX 30 rose 0.5% to 7,027.59, after the stocks benchmark hit a fresh multiyear high of 7,040.20 in the session. The French CAC-40 climbed 0.8% to 5,762.54, after hitting a high not seen since February 2001 of 5,771.69 during the session. The index was helped by 3.9% from steel giant Arcelor-Mittal. The U.K.''s FTSE 100 rose 0.5% to 6,434.70, helped by continued gains from mining shares such as Kazakhmys and Vedanta Resources, up 1.9% and 1.3% respectively, boosted by higher gold prices. Old Mutual rose 3.3% after the Anglo-South African insurer said 2006 adjusted operating profit climbed 16%. Shares of Associated British Foods, food ingredients and retail group, rallied 4.6% on better operating profit.


11:30AM U.S. stock averages traded mixed. Arris weighed on the tech sector.
U.S. stock market averages turned mixed in late morning trading, as oil prices jumped above $62 offsetting merger activity, including the $45 billion acquisition of UTX, the biggest private-equity deal ever. Stocks failed to sustain earlier gains amid concerns of a market correction. The Dow remained in the positive, helped by 3.8% gain for drug maker Merck (MRK: chart) and 1.3% for Coca-Cola (KO: chart) on the back of brokerage upgrades. The tech sector was weighed down by Arris Group (ARRS: chart), falling 11% after Ericsson bid $1.4 billion for Tandberg Television, topping Arris'' offer. The downward move by the tech-heavy Nasdaq reflected weakness among computer hardware, networking, and software stocks, due to profit taking after recent strength. Among other companies in focus, XM Satellite Radio Inc. (XMSR: chart) rose 2.3% after it said its Q4 loss narrowed from a year ago on 45% higher revenue and lower subscription acquisition costs.

On the merger-and-acquisition front, UTX Corp. (UTX: chart) soared 13% after it agreed to be purchased by a private-equity group. Dow Chemical (DOW: chart) climbed 7% on bid speculation. Station Casinos (STN: chart) rose 4.2% after it agreed to go private in a $5.4 billion deal, which is an 8% premium over its closing price on Friday. Temple-Inland (TIN: chart) spiked 14% after it agreed to spin off its real estate and financial services arms. In late morning trading, the Dow rose 9.70, or 0.08%, to 12,657.18. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 2.06, or 0.14%, at 1,453.25, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 7.81, or 0.31%, to 2,507.29. Bonds continued to rise from last week''s sell-off, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.65% from 4.68% late Friday.


9:45AM U.S. stocks opened higher, lifted by UTX, Station Casinos.
U.S. stocks opened notably higher Monday on well-received deal news, including the $45 billion takeover of TXU Corp. (TXU: chart). The shares of the utility jumped 13% after agreeing to be bought by a consortium led by Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts and Texas Pacific Group. If approved, the deal would be the biggest private buyout ever. Further boost to the market sentiment was provided by Station Casinos (STN: chart) which gained 4.2% after Company Management and Colony Capital agreed to buy the casino-operator for $8.8 billion. Among other notable gainers in morning trading, Temple-Inland Inc. (TIN: chart) surged 13% after it announced plans to separate itself into three standalone public companies. The conglomerate agreed to spin off its real estate and financial services arms, and sells its timberland business.

Dow component Merck (MRK: chart) rose 2.7% after being upgraded to buy at Citifroup on its outlook for a diabetes drug that will compete with Novartis''s Galvus. At the same time Novartis (NVS: chart) fell 1.8%. Among companies driven by analyst comments, Brightpoint (CELL: chart), cell phone distributor, gained 2.1% on brokerage upgrade, while shares of Moody''s (MCO: chart) dropped 3.6% after Credit Suisse downgraded its rating on the credit services provider. By sector, utility, housing and energy stocks posted strength in early trading, while the oil-sensitive transportation sector declined. In the first hour of trading, the Dow rose 13.06, or 0.10%, to 12,660.54.The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 4.03, or 0.28%, at 1,455.22, and the Nasdaq composite index dipped 0.71, or 0.03%, to 2,514.39. Bonds continued to recover from last week''s sell-off, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.64% from 4.68% late Friday.


9:30AM London is higher Monday on Persimmon and AB Foods.
The UK market was higher on Monday. By late morning, the FTSE 100 gained 43.7 points at 6,446.4.