[R]4:00PM NY – Rinker Group Ltd based in Australia agreed to be bought by Mexico based Cemex for $14.2 billion, revised offer by 22%.[/R]

Cemex (CX: chart) shares soared 5.1% after Australia's Rinker Group Ltd. (RIN: chart) recommended its shareholders accept the Mexican firm's $14 billion bid for the building materials company. Cemex described the offer as its ‘best and final’, an attempt to end a five-month battle for Australia's largest building materials maker. The offer closes on May 18.

The Cemex offer was 45% premium to the last traded price of Rinker on Australian Stock Exchange on October 22, 2006 and 22% premium from the initial offer of $13.00 in the U.S. dollars. Including the debt the total enterprise value of Rinker is U.S. $15.3 billion. The final offer is in the U.S. dollar for 15.85 per share.

Cemex, third largest cement company, was built on series of acquisition over the last twenty years by its current CEO Lorenzo H. Zambrano. The company recently bought for U.K. based RCM Group Plc for $5.8 billion in cash and debt.

With this purchase Cemex’s pro forma revenue will be $23.2 billion with 67,000 employees in 50 countries.

The offer was unanimously approved by the board of directors of Rinker and under the contract the company signed, Cemex has agreed to offer for the first 2,000 shares held by each investor an option to purchase shares at a fixed price of A$19.50 per share.

In New York trading at close Rinker Group (RIN: chart) gained $3.25 to $78.55 and Cemex (CX: chart) advanced $1.99 to $35.32.

[R]2:30PM NY, U.S. Market Movers[/R]

DivX Inc. (DIVX: chart), video compression software maker, shares climbed 13.6% and investors are buying on a positive quarterly preannouncement. The company raised its first-quarter revenue and earnings outlook above Wall Street expectations.

Renovis Inc. (RNVS: chart) said it extended its research agreement with Pfizer Inc. until 2008 for a class of compounds that affect cell signaling. Shares jumped 10.8%.

United Rentals (URI: chart) shares surged 17.3% after the tool and equipment rental company said it is exploring a possible sale of itself. The Greenwich, Conn. equipment rental company said its chief executive officer, Wayland Hicks, will retire effective June 4. The company said Hicks will be succeeded by current chief operating officer Michael Kneeland as interim CEO.

Adolor Corp. (ADLR: chart) suspended clinical studies and withdrew an application for a constipation-relief drug. Shares plunged 58.4%.

Gasco Energy Inc. (GSX: chart) shares tumbled 18.7% after the oil and gas exploration and production company priced its public offering of 10 million shares of common stock, saying it expects gross proceeds of about $19.3 million.

Harris Interactive (HPOL: chart), market research company, shares dropped 18.3% after it predicted lower-than-expected third-quarter revenue growth due to its reduced third-quarter sales bookings expectations. The company said quarterly sales bookings are seen at approximately $58 million, down from its prior outlook for $66 million in sales bookings. While Harris anticipates $4 million to $7 million in contracts to be decided in the fourth quarter, it said the delays will hurt its second-half revenue.

ImClone Systems Inc. (IMCL: chart), biotech drug maker, and drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said a late-stage clinical trial studying Erbitux with chemotherapy did not significantly prolong the survival of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. Shares fell 7.3%.

Seagate Technology (STX: chart) tumbled 8.1% after the company lowered its sales forecast for its third quarter. It expects to report sales of $2.8 billion, lower than its past target for revenue between $2.9 billion and $3 billion.

[R]1:00AM NY European stocks closed higher, helped by deal news and DaimlerChrysler.[/R]
European stock markets closed higher on Tuesday, boosted by merger-and-acquisition news and strength in the shares of DaimlerChrysler. The automaker rose 3.6% after investor Kirk Kerkorian offered $4.5 billion for the group''s struggling Chrysler unit last Thursday. Among other companies in focus, Germany''s Puma AG surged 9.4% as French luxury-goods group PPR offered to buy the sportswear group for about $7.1 billion. PPR bought 27.14% of Puma for 330 euros a share and is planning to bid the same price for the rest of the shares. Shares of PPR rose 3.2% in France. In other deal news, the Dutch Rodamco Europe jumped 8.7% after it agreed to be acquired by France''s Unibail Holding in a $15 billion, which will create Europe''s largest commercial real-estate company. Shares of Unibail slipped 4.8% in Paris. Resource stocks also provided support, as mining stocks benefited from a rise in metal prices. Among the biggest gainers, Vedanta Resources climbed 3.6% and Rio Tinto rose 2.5%. German DAX 30 index closed up 0.9% at 7,166.67, the U.K.''s FTSE 100 added 0.3% to 6,417.80, while the French CAC 40 gained 0.4% at 5,766.27.


[R]11:30AM U.S. markets were little changed. Oil and gold stocks gained, tech shares dropped.[/R]
U.S. stocks were little changed on Tuesday morning, as investors remained reluctant to buy stocks ahead of the first-quarter earnings season. Alcoa Inc. (AA: chart), the first company to report Q1 earnings, lost 0.6%. The gold sector made one of the market''s best performances in morning trading, as the price of gold advanced $6.90 at $683.80 an ounce. Oil service stocks also showed some strength, helped by a rebound by the price of oil. Baker Hughes (BHI: chart) and National Oilwell Varco (NOV: chart) turned in two of the sector''s best performances, each rising 1.7%. Among other gainers in the sector, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM: chart) added 0.7% and Chevron Corp. (CVX: chart) rose 1%. Natural gas, biotechnology, and telecommunication sectors were also among the gainers.

However, computer hardware stocks moved to the downside, with shares of Seagate Technology showing a notable decline. Seagate (STX: chart) dropped 9% after the hard disc drive manufacturer cut its Q3 revenue outlook, citing lower-than expected industry demand for 3.5-inch ATA disc drive. Homebuilders showed weakness, as D.R. Horton (DHI: chart)lost 1.8% after it said orders for new homes fell 37% last quarter. Mortgage lenders also moved notably down on concern about the health of housing. Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. (IMH: chart) dropped 9.4% and Novastar Financial Corp. (NFI: chart) fell 3.1%. Some chemical stocks also came under pressure, as Dow Chemical (DOW: chart) fell 2.5% after the company said that it has no interest in the reported $50 billion leveraged buyout.