INTERNATIONAL MARKETS NEWS

Asian-Pacific benchmarks finished mostly higher with only four bourses actively trading Tuesday as many regional markets were closed for an extended Lunar New Year holiday. The Nikkei continued its march upward with an advance of 0.6% to 16,649.82, lifted by expectations of strong earnings from key industrial stocks. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.1%, Thailand’s SET index gained 0.4%, while Australia’s All Ordinaries lost 0.3%.

European stocks traded in a tight range ahead of the Fed Reserve’s decision on U.S. interest rates. The telecommunications sector weighed on the sentiment with a profit warning from Cable & Wireless and management shake-up at France Telecom. The German DAX 30 added 0.25 %, the French CAC 40 gained 0.23 %, while London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.34%.

OIL, METALS, CURRENCIES

Crude oil prices hovered over $68 a barrel ahead of the closely watched OPEC meeting. Light sweet crude for March delivery gained 10 cents to $68.45 a barrel. Heating oil slightly advanced to $1.8374 a gallon, while gasoline inched down to $1.7730. Natural gas lost over 1 cent to $9.375 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent lost 9 cents to $66.50.

European gold prices climbed. In London gold traded at the fixed price of $569, up from $563.30. In Zurich the precious metal traded at $569.80, up from $561.80. Silver closed at $9.82, up from $9.73.

The U.S. dollar fell against other major currencies ahead of Fed Reserve’s meeting. The euro was quoted at $1.2138, up from $1.2083. The dollar bought 117.08 yen, down from 117.59. The British pound stood at $1.7765, up from $1.7666.

EARNINGS NEWS

Hilton Hotels Corp, (HLT: chart), hotel chain, reported net income of 26 cents a share, up from 16 cents a share in the year-ago period, beating analyst forecasts of 19 cents a share. Asset dispositions and hedging loss impaired Q4 of 2005 earnings per share by 4 cents.

Illinois Tool Works Inc., (ITW: chart), maker of industrial components, reported Q4 net income of $1.42 a share, up vs. $1.21 a share in the year-ago period, topping analyst estimate of $1.39 a share. Illinois Tool announced that Q1 and 2006 earnings would be $1.12-$1.18 a share and $5.60-$5.78 a share, respectively.

Cinergy Corp., (CIN: chart), electric energy company reported 30% earnings growth to 95 cents a share, up from 79 cents a share in the year-ago period on contributions from its commercial power and gas businesses If not for special items, earnings would have been 77 cents a share, beating analyst estimate of 69 cents a share.

Kellogg Co., (K: chart), cereal and packaged-food maker, reported that Q4 profit advanced to 47 cents a share, from 45 cents a year ago, beating analyst estimate by a penny. Sales for Q4 increased fractionally to $2.39 billion.

Haemonetics Corp., (HAE: chart), medical tools manufacturer, reported Q3 net income of $1.02 a share, up 155% from 42 cents a share in the year-earlier period on 7.7% revenue growth, beating analyst estimate of 45 cents a share. Q3 included an arbitration award of 61 cents a share and an impairment charge of 9 cents a share for an intangible asset related to pathogen reduction.

Station Casinos, (STN: chart), casino properties operator, reported Q4 earnings of 61 cents a share, up from 55 cents a share in the same period a year ago. If not for non-recurring items, earnings would have been 69 cents a share, beating on that basis analyst estimate of 64 cents a share. Revenue rose to $285.1 million from last year's $264.7 million, just shy of analyst forecasts of $286.5 million.

American Standard, (ASD: chart), manufacturer of control systems, reported Q4 earnings of 30 cents a share, up from a loss of 41 cents a share a year ago, missing analyst estimate of 46 cents a share. Total sales in Q4 advanced to $2.55 billion from $2.35 billion a year ago. If not for consolidation expenses and tax items, net income per share was 46 cents, the same as Q4 of 2004. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had, on average, expected the company to earn 46 cents a share.

Entergy Corp., (ETR: chart), reported Q4 earnings of 43 cents a share, down from 68 cents a share in the year-ago period, beating analyst forecasts of 54 cents a share. Operating earnings were 59 cents a share, up from 50 cents a share in the year-ago period. The utility firm said it expects 2006 operating earnings of $4.50-$4.80 a share.

Wyeth, (WYE: chart), manufacturer of pharmaceutical products, reported Q4 income of 54 cents a share, up from a loss of $1.32 in the year-ago period, missing analyst view of 60 cents a share. The year-ago period included $124 million of licensing costs, primarily for collaborations with Progenics and Trubion. The latest quarter also included charges of $94.8 million related to productivity initiatives. If not for the negative impact of foreign exchange, worldwide net revenue increased 5%.

Constellation Energy Group Inc., (CEG: chart), energy provider, reported Q4 net income of $1.09 a share, up from 76 cents in the same time the previous year, beating analyst forecasts of $1 a share. On an adjusted basis, the company posted a profit of $1.07 a share for Q4. Revenue increased to $5.16 billion from the prior year Constellation Energy expects 2006 earnings at $3.65 to $3.95 a share, while reaffirming its 2007 profit range at $4.75 to $5 a share, excluding any effects of the company's planned merger with FPL Group.

Waddell & Reed Financial Inc., (WDR: chart), financial-services company reported Q4 net income of 24 cents a share, down from 31 cents, earned in the year-ago period, beating on that basis analyst estimate of 30 cents a share. If not for items, the company would have earned 29 cents a share. Revenue rose 11.1%, paced by growth in investment-management fees.

ARM Holdings, (ARM: chart), chipmaker, reported that Q4 net income reached 13 million pounds ($23.1 million) or 9 pence a share, up from 4.5 million pounds a year ago. Revenue for Q4 advanced 51.4% to 62.9 million pounds with an operating margin of 35%. The company announced that its processor division performed particularly well in Q4 and the company has begun shipping its two latest processors to key partners.