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

Alanco Technologies (ALAN: chart) shares climbed 38.8% after data storage and tracking company said that it expects sales in its third quarter ended to more than quadruple from the year-ago period on the acquisition of StarTrak Systems LLC. The company said it expects sales of more than $4.4 million, versus revenue of $988,000 in the prior-year quarter.

Arch Coal Inc. (ACI: chart) said its first-quarter profit tumbled 53% because of soft conditions in the U.S. coal markets. Arch Coal earned $28.7 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with $60.6 million, or 42 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2006. Coal sales fell 10% to $571.3 million from $634.6 million in the year-ago period. Shares climbed 6.8%.

Bausch & Lomb Inc. (BOL: chart) shares surged 9.8% amid market chatter that the eye-care products maker could be taken private in a leveraged buyout. Bausch & Lomb, which last year made a worldwide recall of a popular contact lens solution, could not be immediately reached for comment. Bausch & Lomb has a market capitalization of about $3 billion.

Hasbro (HAS: chart) swung to a first-quarter profit on growth in its Marvel product line and core brands and said it was anticipating strong sales this spring and summer in movie-related products. Its shares rose 8.7%. The company reported a profit of $32.9 million, or 19 cents per share, for the last quarter versus a loss of $4.9 million, or 3 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 34% to $625.3 million from $468.2 million, beating Wall Street's estimate of $507.9 million.

Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU: chart) was upgraded to buy from hold at A.G. Edwards. Shares climbed 6%.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD: chart) said it increased its existing share buyback program by $450 million and will now repurchase up to $750 million worth of its stock. Since acquiring Evergreen Resources in 2004, Pioneer has repurchased about 31 million shares. Shares climbed 6.8%.

Administaff Inc. (ASF: chart) shares fell 14.1% after the company said that its forecast for first-quarter earnings was below Street expectations, citing higher-than-expected healthcare costs. The company said it expects to post earnings of 30 cents a share for the quarter.

Whole Foods Market (WFMI: chart) shares climbed 2.7% and reached its highest level since the first half of March. The company started off as a small giant in Austin, Texas, decided to become a public company and now it's a national presence.

Independent Bank Corp. (IBCP: chart) reported its first quarter earnings fell more than 60% from the previous year due to lower interest income. Net profit for the period 2007 was $4.67 million, or 20 cents per share, down from $12.34 million, or 53 cents per share, in the same period last year. Shares fell 13.9%.

Lee Enterprises Inc. (LEE: chart) said its second-quarter profit fell 18% as a surge in online ad sales failed to offset softness in print advertising. The company said net income dropped to $11.9 million, or 26 cents per share, from $14.4 million, or 32 cents per share, in the prior year. Revenue for the quarter slipped 2% to $261.7 million from $266.2 million in the previous year.


[R]1:00AM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt - European stocks closed down as the banking sector weighed.[/R]

European stock markets closed in the negative on Monday, despite positive news from Swiss giants Novartis and Nestle. The banking sector weighed as investors digested a 67-billion-euro bid launched by Barclays to buy ABN Amro. Shares of ABN Amro turned lower to close down 1.4% after a potential bidding consortium cancelled talks they were due to have with the Dutch bank on Monday.

Barclays shares lost 2.3%. As part of the Barclays deal, ABN Amro agreed to sell its Chicago-based bank, LaSalle, to Bank of America Corp. for $21 billion. In other deal news, Scottish & Newcastle shares climbed 2.8% amid a report that SABMiller and Diageo held talks about a joint bid for the U.K. brewer. The German DAX Xetra 30 closed down 0.1% at 7,335.62, while the U.K. FTSE 100 lost 0.1% at 6,479.70. The French CAC-40 fell 0.4% at 5,917.32 a morning after the first round of the French presidential election. Banking group Societe Generale also weighed, falling 2.5%.


[R]11:30AM U.S. market averages traded in a lackluster fashion.[/R]
U.S. stocks traded in a lackluster fashion, with the Dow a little off the 13,000 mark weighed down by Pfizer (PFE: chart). The company lost 1.4% following a brokerage downgrade on its stock. Hasbro (HAS: chart), the No. 2 U.S. toymaker, climbed 7% after it reported quarterly profit well above analyst estimates. Biotech stocks were the most notable gainers, driven higher by surging MediImmune on the back of a $15.6 billion buyout offer from AstraZeneca. MedImmune (MEDI: chart) soared 17.9%, while AstraZeneca (AZN: chart) dropped 5%.

Oil service stocks also posted some strength in morning trading. National Oilwell Varco (NOV: chart) rose 2.5% and Noble (NE: chart) gained 1.8%, turning in two of the sector's best performances. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 4.06, or 0.03%, at 12.957.92, after rising to 12,983.92, a new trading high. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 0.13, or 0.01%, at 1,484.48, while the Nasdaq composite index was up 0.40, or 0.02, 2,526.79. With little economic data on the schedule Monday, bonds fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.69% from 4.67% late Friday.


[R]9:45AM U.S. markets opened modestly higher.[/R]
Wall Street posted modest gains at opening on Monday, reflecting some profit taking after last-week strong gains, as well as news of two mega mergers, including the UK's Barclays which agreed to buy Dutch bank ABN Amro for $91 billion in the biggest bank deal in history. Shares in ABN Amro slipped 1.4%, while Barclays dropped 2.1%. Bank of America (BAC: chart) agreed to buy ABN Amro's U.S. bank, LaSalle. In another deal, drug maker AstraZeneca agreed to pay $15.6 billion for U.S. biotech company MedImmune, sending biotechnology stocks notably higher. AstraZeneca (AZN: chart) shares lost 4.3%, while MedImmune (MEDI: chart) surged 17.5%.