U.S. Indexes Falter; Berkshire Hathaway, Lubrizol in $9.7 B Deal

Arthi Gupta
14 Mar, 2011
New York City

U.S. indexes declined as Japan earth quake added to worries related to Saudi Arabia and Libya. The OECD leading index rose in January. Berkshire Hathaway agreed to acquire Lubrizol for $9.7 billion. Eli Lilly offered to buy Janssen Animal Health.

[R]10:30 AM New York – U.S. indexes declined as Japan earth quake added to worries related to Saudi Arabia and Libya. The OECD leading index rose in January. Berkshire Hathaway agreed to acquire Lubrizol for $9.7 billion. Eli Lilly offered to buy Janssen Animal Health.[/R]

World indexes slumped after worries about a possible meltdown at quake-crippled nuclear reactors. Japan''s benchmark Nikkei 225 Index plunged 6.2% and the Tokyo exchange imposed trading halts on several stocks.

Nuclear meltdown worries in Japan added to the worries related to Libyan turmoil and sovereign credit defaults in Europe.

The Bank of Japan pumped 15 trillion yen, or $183 billion, into the financial system in an effort to provide stability. The central bank also decided to increase its asset purchase program by about 3 trillion yen.

""The Bank will provide ample funds sufficient to meet demand in financial markets and will do its utmost to ensure financial market stability,"" the Bank of Japan said.

OECD Leading Index Rise

The leading indicator for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development area improved in January, the OECD said on Monday.

The Composite Leading Index rose to 103.1 in January from 102.8 in December

Berkshire Hathaway Acquires Lubrizol

Lubrizol Corp., the specialty chemical company announced a deal to be acquired by Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for $135 per share or for a total value of about $9.7 billion, including $0.7 billion in net debt.

Sony Suspends Operation at Seven Plants in Japan

Sony Corp., the Japanese electronics giant said it suspended operations at seven plants due to power outages following the earthquake in Pacific Coast of Tohoku and tsunami on March 11.

The company is currently evaluating the full impact of these issues on its businesses and consolidated financial results.

Eli Lilly Purchases Janssen Animal Health

Elanco, the animal health division of Eli Lilly and Company today announced that Lilly made an irrevocable, unconditional offer to acquire the animal health business of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, a Johnson & Johnson Company.

Following the deal, Eli Lilly''s animal health division Elanco would obtain a portfolio of about 50 marketed animal health products.

The deal would provide European expansion and portfolio diversification for Elanco.

3D Systems Buys Accelerated Technologies

3D Systems Corp. said it acquired Accelerated Technologies, Inc., a Texas based provider of custom parts services, as part of the company''s continued expansion of its 3Dproparts services.

Intel Purchases Assets of SySDSoft

Intel Corp. through its standalone business entity, Intel Mobile Communications, said it acquired most of the assets of SySDSoft, a privately held software company based in Cairo, Egypt and hired around 100 of the company''s electrical engineers and computer scientists.

SySDSoft''s solutions enhance Intel Mobile Communications'' existing multi-communications portfolio, mainly accelerating its 4G LTE efforts with the addition of leading software development and design capabilities.

Earnings Review

Ensign Energy Services Inc. ((ESI.TO)), the oilfield services provider reported fourth quarter revenue rose 45% to C$404.0 million from C$278.7 million in the year-ago quarter. Net income in the quarter increased 83% to C$41.3 million or C$0.27 per share compared to net income of C$22.6 million or C$0.15 per share for the year-ago period.

Family Dollar Stores, Inc. ((FDO)), the operator of self-service retail discount stores reported second quarter total sales rose 8.3% to $2.26 billion compared with $2.09 billion in the year-ago quarter as comparable store sales increased 5.1%.

Gulfport Energy Corporation ((GPOR)), the independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company reported fourth quarter revenues grew 51% to $37.5 million from $24.9 million last year. Net income in the quarter rose 57.1% to $14.3 million or 32 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $9.1 million or 21 cents per share for the year-ago quarter.