Lower Opening

Stocks appear set to open lower
Thursday.

Merrill Lynch upgraded Royal Caribbean
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from Accumulate to Near Term Buy.

Biotech companies Celgene
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and Novartis
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were granted marketing approval from the FDA for
demethylphenidate HC1 which is used in the treatment of Attention Deficit
Disorder (ADD).

Novell
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is projecting that
October quarter numbers will be about 1 cent a share vs. consensus estimates
of a zero quarter for earnings.

Semiconductor equipment maker Kulicke
& Soffa
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reported a loss of 18 cents a share, excluding items, which
was 2
cents better than analysts’ expectations.

Asia Info
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signed a
contract with China Unicom’s national VoIP network to provide customer billing
software.

Children’s retailer Children’s Place
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posted Q3 earnings of 70 cents, beating analysts’ consensus by 5 cents a share.

Robertson Stephens upgraded Tweeter
Home Entertainment
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from Market Perform to Buy.

ILex Oncology
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has priced a
follow-on offering of 5 million shares priced at $24.00.

Teva Pharmaceuticals
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has
decided against the acquisition of the Faulding injectable business.

Urban Outfitters
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posted Q3
net earnings of 28 cents a share, beating analysts’ estimates by 2 cents.

Lightbridge Technologies
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reaffirmed guidance for Q4.

UBS Warburg downgraded Macromedia
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from Buy to Hold.

Credit card issuer Providian Financial
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has suspended its payment of a quarterly cash dividend.