Tag - PAY

With smart-phone applications now ranging from text messaging to marine navigation, people are using their phones for a wide variety of things thought impossible just years ago. "It's clear the American mobile phone subscriber is beginning to expect more from their phones."

This comment came from Kay Nichols, executive vice president of FIS Channel Solutions. The group, which is part of payment processor Fidelity National Information Services Inc., shares a view with an increasing number of people who believe smart-phone capabilities are reshaping social and business norms.

One practice that is gaining popularity with mobile devices is now available through a variety of applications- mobile banking.

Small-cap stocks remained higher into midday trading, with retailer, airline and technology shares leading the way in quiet pre-holiday activity. Today's small-cap percentage gainers are: National CineMedia Inc. (Nasdaq:LOPE), Synta Pharma (NYSE:CHG), and Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd.(NYSE:GNK).

Other Market Watch highlights included:

• Advancers are leading decliners on the Russell 2000 by 1,261 to 496. Nearly 60 companies are unchanged.   Dec 31, 2008 11:17am
• Small-caps edged higher in early trading, lifted in very light pre-holiday activity by the bullish surprise on weekly claims and mild support from gains in overseas trading.   Dec 31, 2008 10:02am
• The Russell 2000 chart reflects a market stuck in a consolidation range, but the quick bounce off key short-term support near 461 was a promising development.   Dec 31, 2008 8:45am
• Stock index futures had a brief, mild upside pop on the claims report, but the move seemed muted relative to the surprise element of the news.

Small Cap Gainers:

•In-theater advertising seller National CineMedia Inc. is up 12% to $10.11. (See Nasdaq:NCMI)  
•Synta Pharma continued to rise after Tuesday's announcement that it entered into a pact with Roche. Shares are up 13% to $6.45. (See Nasdaq:SNTA) 
• Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. is up 16.4% to $14.72. On Tuesday the company said it has taken delivery of a new ship chartered by Cargill International. (See NYSE:GNK)

Small Cap Losers:

• Nalco Holding Co. is down 20% to $11.21 after topping the list of biggest percentage gainers on the NYSE at the close Tuesday. (See NYSE:NLC)
• VeriFone Holdings is down 10% to $5.02. After Tuesday's close, the company said it will file its annual report with the SEC late as it assesses changes. (See NYSE:PAY)
• Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corp. is down 8% to $26.27 after reporting late Tuesday it is likely to take a material impairment charge in Q4. (See NYSE:PGC)
• Ceradyne Inc. is down 5.7% to $19.43 after Morgan Joseph downgraded the technical ceramics products maker to "Hold" from "Buy." (See NYSE:CRDN)  

VeriFone Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:PAY), Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:EIHI) and Secure America Acquisition Units (Nasdaq:HLD.U) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:PGC), Telecom Argentina ADR (Nasdaq:TEO), Eagle Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:EGBN), RHI Entertainment Inc. (Nasdaq:RHIE), Green Bankshares Inc. (Nasdaq:GRNB) and Firstbank Corp. (Nasdaq:FBMI).

Small-cap stocks edged into positive ground into midday trading on support from commodity names, but in general the market appeared to be in a “breather” mood after Tuesday’s manic upside push when Federal Reserve policy makers surprised the market with aggressive interest rate cuts. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Satyam (NYSE:SAY), Safe Bulkers Inc. (NYSE:SB) and VeriFone Inc. (NYSE:PAY).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Price action so far today in small caps has been pretty tame, with volume light and trading ranges tight.  
• Top performers today are health care facilities, coal stocks, commercial printers, railroads, mining and metal stocks and steel companies.  
• Crude oil prices held relatively steady despite a hefty 2.2 million barrel a day output cut pushed through by OPEC members.
• Real estate investment trusts (REITS) were among the poorest performers so far today, as were houseware and home furnishing stocks. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Satyam on Tuesday said it would spend $1.6 billion to purchase family-owned infrastructure companies; shareholders revolted, stock plunged 55%. Satyam's chairman backed away from the deal overnight, stock is now up 41%. See (NYSE:SAY).  
• Safe Bulkers Inc. jumped 25% and is now up 165% from the November lows. See (NYSE:SB).  
• VeriFone Inc. rose 24% as the electronic payment technology firm reported earnings in line with expectations and forecast profits above the projection. See (NYSE:PAY).  
• Energy Conversion Devices is climbing above 10% despite a maintained "sell" rating by Citi. See (Nasdaq:ENER).  

Small Cap Losers:

• MWI Veterinary Supply Inc. tumbled 19% as the distributor of animal health products erased a huge chunk of a recent rally in one fail swoop. See (Nasdaq:MWIV).  
• Leggett & Platt down 10% after it cuts Q4 guidance. See (NYSE:LEG). 
• MarineMax secures amendment of credit agreement; shares topple 8%. See (NYSE:HZO).  
• Northstar Realty Finance Corp. down 8% on lower-than-average volume. See (NYSE:NRF).  

Small-cap stocks edged into positive ground into midday trading on support from commodity names, but in general the market appeared to be in a “breather” mood after Tuesday’s manic upside push when Federal Reserve policy makers surprised the market with aggressive interest rate cuts. At 12:20 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 0.03, or 0.01%, at 482.87.

In addition to the natural pause in bullish enthusiasm after such a memorable rally Tuesday, today’s profit reports were lackluster at best and pretty much anything tied to homes, homebuilders, home furnishings or real estate was struggling. Real estate investment trusts (REITS) were among the poorest performers so far today, as were houseware and home furnishing stocks. Companies such as Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE:NWL) and Leggett & Platt Inc. (NYSE:LEG) were taking a hit, down 28% and 10%, respectively.

Financial stocks were a drag on the market today, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund off about 1.7%. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was down some 4.7% and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) was off about 2.9%.

Crude oil prices held relatively steady despite a hefty 2.2 million barrel a day output cut pushed through by OPEC members. Skepticism about OPEC’s ability to hold the line on production might account for some of the lack of rally response in energy markets, as well as concerns that slumping global demand remains on the radar screen for some time to come. Energy stocks were slightly higher even though crude oil prices were calm; commodity markets in general likely found underlying support from yet another dramatic slide in the U.S. dollar, which was down 2.2% against the euro and off 1.3% against the yen, setting 13-year lows against the latter currency.

Looking at individual S&P sectors, the top performers included health care facilities, coal stocks, commercial printers, railroads, mining and metal stocks and steel companies. Interestingly, the saga of a bailout package to automakers seems to have simmered down a tad amid all the FOMC hoopla, but Tuesday afternoon Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that automakers would get funds as quickly . . .

Small-cap stocks are expected to open lower, following yet another decline in stock markets around the world overnight and by a startling rise in unemployment claims in the U.S. Further weakness could be tied to a slide in crude oil prices and further investor flight out of stocks and into credit instruments. It should be noted however, that the market is oversold, Libor rates were lower and Swiss central bankers cut rates, which could help limit early losses. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Ultrapar Participacoes  SA (Nasdaq:UGP), Randgold (Nasdaq:GOLD) and Gymboree (Nasdaq:GYMB).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The chart structure for small caps is awful right now, with the Russell 2000 in freefall mode through support points that date back more than five years.
• Yields on two-year notes hit record lows overnight, and the yield on T-bills is now near the panic lows from October.  
• The yield on benchmark 10-year notes was down a stunning 5.2% into the stock market open, reaching the lowest level since June 2003.  
• Crude oil prices were off some $3 a barrel into the stock market open, slipping below $50 for first time since January 2007.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Ultrapar Participacoes  rose 16% as the fuels distribution and chemical firm rose on light volume buying. See (NYSE:UGP).  
• Randgold up 7.4% in pre-market on news that it aims to swallow assets of rivals. See (Nasdaq:GOLD).
• Retail sales lift Gymboree fiscal 3Q profit, analyst upgrades small cap to "overweight" from neutral." Shares climb about 5% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:GYMB).  
• NICE Systems wins $20 million order from an EMEA government agency; shares climb slightly higher in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:NICE).

Small Cap Losers:

• Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. is down 29% on sour earnings news. See (NYSE:STP).
• Woodward Governor Co. lost 27% as the energy solution provider took an earnings lump. See (Nasdaq:WGOV).  
• VeriFone Inc. tumbled 26% as the electronic payment firm made a preliminary comment on quarterly results. See (NYSE:PAY). 
• Oil and gas exploration company Linn Energy down 3% in pre-market as the majority of stocks in the energy sector are being hurt by falling crude oil prices. See (Nasdaq:LINE).

Small-cap stocks tumbled to new lows on the open, pressured by a gloomy report on employment in the United States and sinking equities around the globe. Safe haven flows continue to pummel stocks as investors move money into credit products. At 10:03 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 11.07, or 2.68%, at 401.31.

The weekly unemployment claims report produced another sour picture of the nation’s jobs situation. More people filed for unemployment insurance last week than any previous 16 years. What’s more, the four-week moving average was at a 25-year peak and continuing claims – the number of people remaining on unemployment insurance – reached 4.012 million, the highest in nearly 26 years. When the claims report came out, stock index futures were only off about 0.5%, but tumbled to 2% losses by the opening as the market absorbed the claims numbers.

In addition to the gloomy claims report, data on manufacturing from the Philly Fed Survey came out below expectations at 39.3 and the leading indicators report came in at minus 0.8%, below the forecast for a drop of 0.6%.

Around the globe, stocks were in retreat mode once again. In Japan, the market was down 6.9% as the world’s second-largest economy reported that exports to its Asian trading partners was down for the first time in six years, yet another sign of slowing activity among emerging economies. Speaking of emerging markets, Russia and Turkey were off some 4% heading into the U.S. open, and the whitewash for emerging market equities has been brutal, with those countries down a combined 62% for the year. Elsewhere overnight, Hong Kong was down 4%, Taiwan off 4.5%, Australia off 4.1%, Singapore down 3.1%, South Korea down 6.6% and India down 3.6%.

Crude oil prices were in full retreat mode again this morning, pulling down energy and commodity stocks as well. Crude oil prices were off some $3 a barrel into the stock market open, slipping below $50 for first time since January 2007. Copper futures were limit down in Shanghai overnight; copper is seen as a barometer of . . .

Forest City Enterprises (Nasdaq:FCE.A), Hiland Holdings GP LP (Nasdaq:HPGP) and Brown Shoe Company Inc. (Nasdaq:BWS) are among the new 52-week lows in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Image Sensing Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:ISNS), Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. (Nasdaq:KCP), VeriFone Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:PAY), Agree Realty Corp. (Nasdaq:ADC), Life Time Fitness Inc. (Nasdaq:LTM) and Hiland Partners LP (Nasdaq:HLND).

Pricesmart Inc (Nasdaq:PSMT), BancTrust Financial Group Inc (Nasdaq:BTFG) and AH Belo Corp (Nasdaq:AHC) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Nanosphere Inc (Nasdaq:NSPH), Hovnanian Inc(Nasdaq:HOV), Ames National Corp (Nasdaq:ATLO), Severn Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:SVBI), Stage Stores Inc (Nasdaq:SSI) and VeriFone Holdings Inc (Nasdaq:PAY).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps: