U.S. MARKET AVERAGES

Blue chips fell Friday after news of a suicide bomb attack at a large Saudi Arabian oil facility sent oil prices back above $62. General Motors was the Dow's biggest percentage decliner, falling 1.5%. Food and tobacco company Altria Group also weighed on the Dow with a drop of 1%.

However, the S&P 500 edged higher, pulled up by energy companies' shares, including Exxon Mobil Corp. which rose 1.1%. Apple Computer, up 1% and Research in Motion, up 3.3% boosted the Nasdaq.

On the economic news front, the Commerce Department reported that durable goods orders fell 10.2% in January, the biggest drop in 5 1/2 years and far less than the 0.1% drop economists expected.

In merger-and-acquisition news, British power company National Grid Plc announced it was in talks with KeySpan Corp. Negotiations are likely to lead to a $7 billion takeover of the U.S. natural gas distributor.

American Tower (AMT: chart) ticked higher during the morning on upbeat earnings to set a new 52-week high. Western Silver (WTZ: chart) broke to a fresh high on a deal to be acquired. Apex Silver Mines (SIL: chart) added to recent gains to reach a fresh peak.

Westwood One (WON: chart) dropped more than 15% on earnings news,falling to a new 52-week low. Handleman (HDL: chart) has also fallen to a fresh low on earnings news. Dana Corp. (DCN) fell sharply on Thursday, setting a new low, and is extending its nadir with a further 18% decline on Friday.

In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 26.66, or 0.24%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 0.70, or 0.05%, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 0.79, or 0.03%.

Bonds edged lower, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.57% from 4.56% late Thursday.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Texas Industries (TXPI: chart) agreed to acquire the U.S. butadiene and related methyl tert-butyl ether operations from Huntsman Corp. for $275 million, which earlier this week agreed to buy the textile effects unit of Ciba Specialty Chemicals. The manufacturing facility has a capacity of approximately 900 million pounds of butadiene per year and approximately 11,000 barrels per day of MTBE. The company’s shares climbed 10%.

Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK: chart) reported Q4 net income jump of $452.5 million, or $1.11 a share, compared with $208.5 million, or 52 cents a share, during the year-earlier period. Revenue advanced to $1.75 billion, compared with $942.1 million last year, exceeding estimates for revenue of $1.23 billion. The company’s shares gained 3.7%.

Westwood One (WON: chart) reported Q4 net income decline of $24 million, or 27 cents a share, down from $29.6 million, or 31 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue fell to $147 million from $152 million. The quarterly results failed to meet forecasts for earnings of 28 cents a share and revenue of $147.9 million. For Q1 of 2006, the company expects double digit declines in operating income before depreciation and amortization. The stock dropped 18%.

Midway Games (MWY: chart) reported a Q4 net loss of $37.8 million, or 42 cents a share, compared with net income of $17.6 million, or 19 cents a share last year. Revenue rose to $69.8 million from $77.2 million last year. For 2006, Midway expects a net loss of $66 million on a 3% revenue growth of $155 million. For Q1 the company projects revenue of $13 million, with a net loss of $22 million. The stock slipped 10.2%.

Nordstrom (JWN: chart), retailer, posted Q4 net income rise of $190.4 million, or 69 cents a share, compared with $140 million, or 50 cents a share a year ago, beating estimates by a penny. Revenue rose to $2.3 billion from $2.1 billion reported last year. The company expects to earn $2.15 to $2.23 a share for 2006, below estimates of $2.24. Company’s shares fell 5.5%.

ECONOMIC NEWS

AM Friday morning, the Department of Commerce released its report on durable goods orders in the month of January, a reading of the demand for goods that are expected to last for at least three years. The report showed that orders fell far more than anticipated

The Commerce Dept. said that durable goods orders fell 10.2 percent in January following an upwardly revised increase of 2.5 percent in December. Economists had expected a much more modest decline of 1.2 percent compared to the 1.3 percent increase originally reported for December.

The report showed that the decrease was largely due to a sharp drop in new orders for transportation equipment, which fell by 31.2 percent in January after rising by 3.6 percent in December. The drop in orders for transportation equipment reflected a steep decline in orders for commercial aircraft and parts.

Excluding the transportation sector, new orders for durable goods rose by 0.6 percent compared to a 1.9 percent increase on the same basis in December.