STOCKS NEWS US-FBR upgrades Noble Corp to 'outperform'

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0948 EST 1Feb2010
FBR upgrades Noble Corp to 'outperform'

FBR Capital Markets upgraded Noble Corp to 'outperform' from 'market perform,' citing potential for the drilling contractor to deploy up to $5 billion capital by 2011.

'As operators increase their demand for jackup rigs, Noble will be well positioned to put its underutilized fleet back to work,' the brokerage said in a note.

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Shares of Noble rose 2.9 percent to $41.50.

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0938 EST 1Feb2010
Markets gain on Exxon, data hopes

U.S. stocks rose on Monday after three weeks of losses following better-than-expected results from energy bellwether Exxon Mobil Corp and as investors bet data will show the U.S. economy continued to mend.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 63.71 points, or 0.63 percent, at 10,131.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 7.30 points, or 0.68 percent, at 1,081.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 9.85 points, or 0.46 percent, at 2,157.20.

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0905 EST 1Feb2010-Lower loan losses to drive net at midcap banks
MS

Morgan Stanley said it views midcap banks as 'attractive' as it expects lower loan-loss provisions to drive strong earnings improvement at several of the more challenged banks in 2010.

Analyst Ken Zerbe said although the industry still faces considerable credit headwinds, the most notable being deteriorating commercial real estate portfolios, credit is beginning to stabilize.

The analyst raised Comerica Inc by a notch to 'overweight' as he sees improvement in the bank's credit in 2010.

Comerica shares closed Friday at $34.51.

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0858 EST 1Feb2010
Citi bullish on oil services sector

Citigroup on Monday issued a bullish note on the oil services and equipment sector, saying that the v-shaped recovery in U.S. drilling 'has been underway for seven months and shows no signs of stalling.'

The firm raised its estimate of the average U.S. rig count in the U.S. by 11 percent and said recent data confirmed continued production growth.

Citi added that it favored Halliburton and Helmerich & Payne as the best plays on the recovery in U.S. drilling.

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0851 EST 1Feb2010
Peet's extends exchange offer on Diedrich buy

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc, which trumped Peet's offer with its cash offer of $35 a share, said it received requests for additional information from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission relating to the deal.

Reuters in a story on Sunday said Peet's plans to extend its tender offer for shares of Diedrich by 30 days, citing a person with knowledge of the situation.

Peet's decided that it should offer Diedrich shareholders the option to tender their shares to Peet's, should Green Mountain's proposal run into regulatory roadblocks, the source said.

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