STOCKS NEWS US-Discovery Labs completes quality test for drug

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0847 ET 19May2010
Discovery Labs completes quality test for drug

Drug developer Discovery Laboratories Inc said it completed the revalidation of quality control and stability test of its drug to treat respiratory illness in infants.

In April, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve the drug, Surfaxin, raising questions on certain aspects of a biological activity test -- a quality control stability and release test.

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Shares of Discovery rose 14 percent to 56 cents in premarket trading.

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0841 ET 19May2010
Loan demand to buy U.S. homes sinks post credit

Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes shriveled to a 13-year low last week, following the expiration of federal tax credits, while near-record low mortgage rates stoked refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Mortgage purchase applications sank 27.1 percent to the lowest level since May 1997 in the absence of the popular government support, the group said.

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0836 ET 19May2010
Consumer prices down in April

U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly fell in April for the first time in a year, with the core annual rate recording its smallest gain since 1966, according to a government report on Wednesday that pointed to scant inflation pressures and low interest rates.

The Labor Department said its seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index slipped 0.1 percent, pulled down by a decline in energy costs, after a 0.1 percent gain in March.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast consumer prices would rise 0.1 percent in April. In the 12 months through April, prices increased 2.2 percent.

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0829 ET 19May2010
Hardinge asks shareholders to reject new offer

Hardinge Inc, a maker of precision metal-cutting tools, said its board recommended shareholders to reject the sweetened $10 per share offer by Brazilian rival Industrias Romi SA saying it was 'still highly inadequate and opportunistic.'

Hardinge's Chief Executive Richard Simons maintained that the industrial sector and the machine tool industry were showing signs of recovery, and that the company would benefit from a rebound in these sectors.

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Shares of Hardinge closed Tuesday at $9.59.

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0814 ET 19May2010-Futures lower on German short
selling ban

U.S. stock index futures fell sharply on Wednesday, with markets rattled by Germany's decision to ban naked short selling of certain financial instruments and comments from its chancellor that the euro was in danger.

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S&P 500 futures fell 7 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures dropped 56 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 12.25 points.

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0804 ET 19May2010
Target Q1 profit rises, comparable sales up

Target Corp on Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings that rose from the prior year, while same-store sales were up 2.8 percent.

The retailer has benefited from consumers becoming a bit more willing to spend on discretionary items such as clothing and home furnishings.

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Shares of Target closed Tuesday at $54.22.

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