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Published March 4, 2008 at 5:55 PM
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While the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 45.10 points to 12,213.80, its fourth consecutive session decline, the market could have faired much worse for the day, having tumbled nearly 150 points in midday trading Tuesday. Deal Stocks rode the Dow's ebb and flow and ultimately had a mixed finish.
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The Dow's midday sell-off was prompted by a combination of lowered earnings projections on Citigroup Inc. and a pessimistic view on future home foreclosures by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. A late-day rebound may have been driven by investors buying on the cheap as well as reports that bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc. is closer to a recapitalization deal.
- Ethanol producer U.S. Bionergy Corp., which is weeks away from the expected close of its roughly $700 million sale to VeraSun Energy Corp., spiraled downward 13.43% to $6.19 per share. Ethanol stocks crashed as investors sold off amid fear that record high corn prices will put the squeeze on these companies' bottom lines.
- IPass Inc.'s stock reacted negatively to activist shareholder Shamrock Activist Value Fund's push for a sale, as the stock slid 4.29% to $2.68 per share. Shamrock in a statement issued late Monday demanded that the technology company consider a sale.
- Spectrum Brands Inc. fell on the positive side of the mixed bag, climbing 3.37% to $3.99 per share. Spectrum over the past year and a half has announced plans to sell its home and garden business and pet products business, which has yet to come to fruition due in part to the credit crunch and recent tough season for the lawn and garden sector. Harbinger Capital Partners Master Fund I Ltd. filed a 13D with the Securities and Exchange Commission announcing that it had entered into a confidentiality agreement with Spectrum to evaluate a possible transaction.
- Michael Rudnick
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