STOCKS NEWS US-Geithner pushes for independent consumer agency

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1145 EST 22Feb2010
Geithner pushes for independent consumer agency

The Obama administration is still fighting for a single, independent consumer financial protection agency, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday as lawmakers haggled over a financial reform bill.

Geithner seized upon the implementation of new rules under a credit card reform bill signed into law last year to argue that more such protections were needed for consumers.

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1142 EST 22Feb2010
Genzyme says Icahn to nominate four to its board

Genzyme Corp on Monday said it has received notice from billionaire investor Carl Icahn that he intends to nominate himself and three others to the biotech company's board of directors.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Genzyme said it will evaluate the nominees and make a recommendation 'that is in the best interests of all of the company's shareholders.'

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Shares of Genzyme fell 0.7 percent to $55.60.

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1138 EST 22Feb2010-Fed's Yellen: economy still needs ultra
low rates

The U.S. economy still needs extraordinarily low interest rates, as inflation is 'undesirably low' and growth will likely be sluggish for several years, a top Federal Reserve offical said Monday.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Janet Yellen told the University of San Diego's business school that the U.S. economy will likely grow at a pace of about 3.5 percent this year and 4.5 percent next year.

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1133 EST 22Feb2010
Amicas rejects takeover bid from Merge Healthcare

Healthcare IT services provider Amicas Inc said it received a $6.05 a share takeover bid from peer Merge Healthcare Inc, but rejected the offer saying it was 'illusory and risky' for Amicas shareholders.

The Merge offer represents a value of $217.3 million, taking into account about 35.9 million outstanding Amicas shares as of Nov. 5, 2009.

Amicas said it stands by the $217 million Thoma Bravo LLC deal it signed in December last and urged shareholders to vote in favor of it.

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Shares of Amicas rose 0.9 percent to $5.42 on Monday while Merge Healthcare was down 0.8 percent at $2.43.

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1120 EST 22Feb2010-New bull market remains unlikely
Citi's Levkovich

A new bull market remains unlikely even though stocks may have as much as
10
15 percent further abside, says Tobias Levkovich, Citigroup's chief U.S. equity strategist.

'As cited in the past, the stock market seems to be caught in the same kind of rally and pullback environment seen after prior major booms and busts in the 1930s and 1970s within the U.S. and the 1990s in Japan,' he said in a note.

'Indeed, some sense of solution to a variety of problems ranging from substantive domestic fiscal challenges and structural unemployment may be required before investors can be convinced of a new secular bull run.'

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