[R]4:00PM NY; 9:00PM Frankfurt; 1:30AM Mumbai - GLOBAL MARKETS[/R]

U.S. markets closed with a mix performance in day’s trading despite takeover news. First Data agreed to be acquired for $29 billion and TV and newspaper publisher Tribune was sold for $8.2 billion. In Europe Telecom Italia holding company received takeover offer from American Movil and AT&T. In Asia stocks closed lower led by a sell off in Japanese steel companies. India lost 5% on higher banking reserves requirements.


Yield on 10-year bond closed at 4.645% and the 30-year bond closed at 4.838%.

Gold advanced $2.500 to close at $667.600 a troy ounce, silver decreased 6 cents to end at $13.390 a troy ounce and copper gained $115.000 to close at $6896.000 per metric ton.

Oil gained 7 cents to close at $65.940 a barrel and heating oil declined 1.440 cents to finish at 186.250 cents a gallon. Natural gas decreased 5.9 cents to close at $7.671 per MMBtu. Gasoline went down 1.250 cents to end at 204.550 cents a gallon.

Asian markets closed mostly higher as Japanese shares were hurt by a survey showing weaker confidence among large manufacturers. Chinese blue chips led the Shanghai benchmark index to a new closing high. Indian shares fell following an interest-rate rise Friday. The advancers were led by Thailand with a gain of 0.88%, Philippines with an increase of 0.81% and Indonesia with an advance of 0.64%. The decliners were India with a loss of 4.90% and Japan with a decline of 1.50%. Australia lost 1.18% hurt by a surging domestic economy and weaker overseas markets, with many investors now expecting a midweek rate rise by the central bank.

European markets finished higher, bolstered by telecom-services stocks, which rose after AT&T said it''s near a deal to buy part of Telecom Italia. Those gains countered a warning from the newly formed telecom-equipment venture of Nokia and Siemens. The advancers were led by Spain with an increase of 0.61%, Italy with an advance of 0.52% and Norway with a gain of 0.44%. The only decliner was Switzerland with a loss of 0.23%.

Latin America markets finished higher with strong gains posted by Mexico and Canada moderate ones. The advancers were led by Mexico with an increase of 1.72%, while Brazil declined with a loss of 0.44%. Canada gained 0.74% with most sectors in positive territory, notably energy and technology.

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

Automatic Data Processing (ADP: chart) shares fell 6.9% after the company completed the spin-off of its brokerage services group by distribution of a special tax-free dividend to its shareholders, consisting of roughly 138.5 million shares of common stock of Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc.

Books-A-Million Inc. (BAMM: chart) shares rose 20.2% after the book retailer reported fourth-quarter profit rose 35%, despite a drop in sales at established stores. The company said that its fourth-quarter net earnings increased to $15.1 million, or 90 cents per share, compared with $11.2 million, or 66 cents per share, in the year-ago period. The book retailer said revenue rose 8.4% to $174.6 million versus $161.1 million in the comparable period last year. Same-store sales declined 2.4%.

First Data Corp. (FDC: chart) shares climbed 20.6% after Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. agreed to take it private in a $29 billion deal. This is one of the largest private equity deals of the year, coming in second only to KKR''s deal to buy energy company TXU Corp. for $31.8 billion.

Georgia Gulf Corp. (GGC: chart), chemicals maker, said it swung to a fourth-quarter loss as a jump in costs and one-time charges offset revenue growth. The company posted a loss of $47.2 million, or $1.38 per share, compared with a profit of $18.7 million, or 55 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose 31% to $681.5 million from $518.9 million in the year-ago period. Shares of the company climbed 6.5%.

Global Imaging Systems (GISX: chart) shares jumped 46.9% after the company agreed to be acquired Xerox (XRX: chart) for a cash price of $29 per share. The deal carries a total purchase price of about $1.5 billion and represents a premium of about 49% over Tampa-based Global Imaging''s Friday closing price of $19.50.

Novavax (NVAX: chart) shares surged 23.1% after the biopharmaceutical company said preclinical research showed its flu vaccine candidate triggered an immune response and provided protection against avian influenza.

Simclar Inc. (SIMC: chart) shares jumped 17.9% after the company said that its fourth-quarter earnings increased to $949,000, or 15 cents per share, compared with a year-ago profit of $192,000, or 3 cents per share.

Allot Communications Ltd. (ALLT: chart), network technology company, said that it is lowering its first-quarter and fiscal 2007 outlooks due to weaker sales from some distributors. The company said it now sees its first-quarter revenue between $8.2 million and $8.3 million, down from its prior guidance for a level similar to its fourth-quarter sales of $9.6 million. First-quarter earnings are expected to decline on the lower revenue. Shares fell 23.7%.

FirstCity Financial Corp. (FCFC: chart) shares fell 9.9% after the company said it will delay the filing of its 2006 annual report beyond the extended filing date of April 2, due to an ongoing independent investigation by its audit committee. The financial services company said it does not know whether the outcome of the investigation will have a material effect on its financial condition or prior results.

Focus Enhancements Inc. (FCSE: chart) shares fell 15.5% after the company wrote in its 2006 audit report that it is uncertain of the company''s ability to continue as a going concern.