2:30PM NY, U.S. Market Movers

Atari Inc. (ATAR: chart) said that Bruno Bonnell, the founder, chairman and chief executive of its France-based parent company Infogrames Entertainment SA, has resigned from Infogrames and all of its subsidiaries. Bonnell served Atari as chairman, director, acting chief financial officer and chief creative officer. Bonnell''s resignation is effective immediately. Infogrames, which Bonnell is leaving after 24 years, named a director, Patrick Leleu, chairman and CEO to replace Bonnell. Shares of the company climbed 9.2%.

Biosite Inc. (BSTE: chart) said it received an unsolicited cash offer from Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. of $90 per share, rivaling an offer made by hospital lab equipment maker Beckman Coulter Inc. Inverness, which already owns 4.9% of Biosite''s outstanding shares, wants to buy the rest of Biosite''s stock. Shares climbed 9.5%.

Cox Radio (CXR: chart) shares jumped 7.9% after a couple of analysts upgraded the radio broadcaster, saying it may be taken private. John Klim of Credit Suisse thinks that the potential for a full takeover by privately owned media conglomerate Cox Enterprises Inc. may have increased with the company''s sale of its 25% stake in Discovery Communications. Discovery, which operates the Discovery Channel and other networks, said last month it is buying the stake from Cox in exchange for The Travel Channel, Antenna Audio and $1.28 billion in cash.

Encorium Group (ENCO: chart), which designs and manages clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies, forecast 2007 revenue at the high end of a previously announced range of $30 million to $34 million. The company said the company is also maintaining its guidance for the first quarter of 2007 for revenue of $7.9 million to $8.3 million. the company said that its European division has signed $4.7 million in new contracts. More than 20 clients are covered by the contracts, Encorium said, in fields such as oncology, cardiovascular, and vaccines. Shares climbed 9.5%.

Epoch Holding Corp. (EPHC: chart) unit Epoch Investment Partners Inc., an investment manger and adviser, on Wednesday said its assets under management grew 22% during the first three months of the year. Assets stood at $5.38 billion as of March 31, from assets of $4.41 billion as of Dec. 31. Shares jumped 19%.

Fuwei Films Holdings Co. (FFHL: chart), maker of plastic films, shares surged 18% after reporting 2006 earnings jumped 16%, thanks to increased sales of special films and also stronger export revenue. Net income for calendar 2006 grew to RMB 67.7 million ($8.7 million, or $7.88 per share), from RMB 57.1 million a year ago. Sales increased 26% to RMB 436.8 million (or $56 million), from RMB 346.2 million in the prior year.

Immucor Inc. (BLUD: chart), blood-testing equipment maker, said its third-quarter profit jumped 28% on higher revenue from product price increases. For the quarter the company earned $15 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with a profit of $11.7 million, or 17 cents per share, during the same period a year prior. Revenue rose to $57.1 million versus $47.1 million last year. Shares climbed 9.5%.

Jarden (JAH: chart), consumer products maker, shares climbed 6.2%, hitting a 52-week high, after an analyst said the company has strong cash flows and upgraded the stock. Goldman Sachs believes the company''s strong cash flows in the fourth quarter could extend into the first quarter.

Matrix Service Co. (MTRX: chart), industrial services provider, said that its third-quarter earnings increased to $6.2 million, or 24 cents per share, compared with a year-ago profit of $1.8 million, or 8 cents per share. The latest results include a charge of $500,000, or a penny per share, related to accounting for stock-based compensation. Revenue jumped 41.1% to $168.7 million versus $119.6 million in the same period a year earlier. The company lifted its revenue outlook for fiscal 2007 to a range of $630 million to $640 million from a prior projection of $560 million to $580 million. Shares climbed 11.4%.

NeuStar Inc. (NSR: chart) shares rose 6.8% after the communications technology company affirmed its outlook for the year, reassuring investors who thought it might miss expectations. NeuStar late Wednesday backed projections for 2007 profit of $1.04 to $1.09 per share on revenue of $428 million to $438 million.

ScanSource (SCSC: chart), which makes bar code scanners and electronic security products, projected a first-quarter sales increase of 19% to 21%. The company estimated sales between $484 million and $492 million for the first quarter ended March 31, compared with sales of $405.6 million in the same period a year ago. Shares climbed 5.5%.

United Retail Group Inc. (URGI: chart), specialty retailer, said that its fourth-quarter net income declined 78% to $4.6 million, or 32 cents per share, compared with $21.3 million, or $1.54 per share. Revenue for the period, which included an extra week compared to the fourth quarter of 2005, climbed 6.8% to $127.6 million pounds. Same-store sales rose 0.5%. The drop in profit was largely due to a $16.9 million tax gain a year earlier, compared to a gain of $1.3 million in the 2006 final quarter. Adjusted net income fell to 14 cents per share from 20 cents per share as the company increased its spending on growth. United Retail said it hopes to open at least 30 new stores in 2007. Shares climbed 8%.

Webmethods (WEBM: chart) agreed to be acquired by Germany''s Software AG for $9.15 a share, or roughly $546 million. Shares climbed 25.8%.

Cutera (CUTR: chart) share fell 29.6% after the company said it now expects revenue of about $23 million for the first quarter, below its prior projection of $26 million.

Hayes Lemmerz International (HAYZ: chart) shares dropped 31.6% after the company said its loss in 2006 narrowed to $166.9 million, or $4.36 share, from $457.5 million, or $12.07 a share, a year ago, due in part to higher sales in the Asian market. The company''s loss from continuing operations was $3.16 for the year. The supplier of automotive and commercial highway wheels, brakes and powertrain components said net sales climbed to $2.06 billion from $1.96 billion a year ago.

Restoration Hardware Inc. (RSTO: chart) shares fell 6.9% after the company said that it swung to fourth-quarter net income of $13.6 million, or 34 cents a share, from a year-earlier loss of $19.5 million, or 52 cents a share. The home-furnishings retailer''s revenue increased 27% to $243 million in the period ended Feb. 3, from $191 million a year ago, while same-store sales rose 9.1%.

1:00PM NY European markets closed in the positive.
European stocks closed in the positive territory Thursday, supported by U.K. banking stocks after Bank of England kept interest rates steady at 5.25%. Investors refrained from significant moves on cautiousness ahead of key U.S. jobs data and the Easter holiday break. The U.K. stocks were boosted by shares of mortgage bank Alliance & Leicester, which rose 1.6% after the central bank''s decision. On the side of the losers, DaimlerChrysler dropped 1.5% and truckmaker Volvo slipped 2.7%, as both companies traded without rights to the next dividend payment. Telecom stocks were in focus. Nokia rose 1.2% after the mobile-phone maker settled its patent dispute with Qualcomm by paying $20 million for patent licenses over UMTS licenses. Airline stocks were driven by analyst comments on Thursday. Deutsche Bank upgraded British Airways, pushing it up 0.3%, Air France-KLM, up 3.6% and Ryanair up 1.2%. Alitalia''s shares lost 1.7%, following a downgrade. In other brokerage news, shares of Old Mutual rose 2.4% in London after the insurer was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup. French information-technology services group Atos Origin rose 5.6% after it was upgraded at Credit Suisse. The U.K.''s FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, the French CAC-40 index rose 0.04% at 5,741.38 and the German DAX Xetra 30 index climbed 0.4% at 7,099.91.


11:30AM U.S. markets traded in a lackluster fashion.
Wall Street traded in a light pre-holiday mood Thursday as investors, awaiting the release of March employment figures, keeping a cautious tone ahead of a three-day weekend. In corporate news, Constellation Brands (STZ: chart) rose 2.7% after it reported 26% profit increase in Q4, helped by strong wine sales. On the side of the losers, mattress maker Sealy (ZZ: chart) dropped 4.7% after it reported 7% profit rise in Q1 after it charged lower prices to maintain sales growth. Nokia (NOK: chart) added 1.3%, while Qualcomm (QCOM: chart) slipped 2.6% after Nokia agreed to pay Qualcomm $20 million in Q2 for using its UMTS license. Shares of Dow component DuPont (DD: chart) slipped 1.4%, helping to keep the blue chip index lower.