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

Deerfield Triac Capital Corp. (DFR: chart) said it has agreed to acquire Deerfield & Co. from Triarc Cos. and others for about $290 million in cash and stock. The consideration includes $145 million in Deerfield Triarc stock, or 9.6 million shares, plus $145 million in cash. In a separate statement, Triarc valued the deal at $300 million, including the distribution of about $4.6 million in Deerfield Triarc stock and $4 million in cash distributions. Shares climbed 13.2%.

Genesco Inc. (GCO: chart) is considering a $1.2 billion cash takeover offer from Foot Locker Inc. The proposal came in a letter that Matthew Serra, Foot Locker''s chairman and chief executive, sent on April 4 to Hal Pennington, chairman, president and CEO of Genesco. Shares climbed 14.1%.

Hub Group Inc. (HUBG: chart), transportation logistics provider, shares rose 16.9% after the company said that its first-quarter earnings raced past Wall Street''s expectations. Hub Group said that its first-quarter profit increased 25% to $11.4 million, or 29 cents per share, compared with $9.1 million, or 22 cents per share, a year ago. Transportation-management company’s revenue increased 10% to $393.3 million.

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG: chart) shares climbed 8.6% after the company said that its first-quarter profit rose 65% to $23.8 million, or 62 cents per share, helped by recurring revenue growth and sales of its da Vinci Surgical System. Revenue climbed 48% to $114.2 million.

NVR Inc. (NVR: chart) shares climbed 10% after the company reported first-quarter earnings of $84.8 million, or $12.96 per share, down from a year-ago profit of $132.6 million, or $19.48 per share. Revenue fell 9% to $1.09 billion from $1.2 billion in the same period a year earlier. The company said new orders for homes increased 8% in the quarter to 3,917 units, while mortgage closed loan production totaled $715 million, 3% lower than last year.

Oakley Inc. (OO: chart) shares rose 13.1% after the company said that its first-quarter profit more than tripled as sunglasses and apparel sales grew. Oakley earnings totaled $5.7 million, or 8 cents per share, compared with $1.9 million, or 3 cents per share. Results for the 2007 quarter included 1 cent per share from an income tax refund, the company said. Oakley''s quarterly sales grew 31.3% to $199.2 million versus $151.7 in the year-ago period.

Packeteer Inc. (PKTR: chart) shares climbed 9% after the company swung to first-quarter loss of 17 cents per share from a year-earlier profit of 13 cents per share. Excluding stock-based compensation and other items, the company loss was 9 cents compared with earnings 20 cents. Revenue climbed 7.4% to $34.7 million.

Sonoco Products Co. (SON: chart) shares jumped 8.9% after the company said that its first-quarter net income increased to $53.1 million, or 52 cents per share, compared with $45.1 million, or 44 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, earnings were 57 cents a share for the quarter. Sales rose 17% to $955.7 million versus $818.8 million a year ago. Sonoco expects second-quarter base earnings of 55 to 58 cents per share for the quarter.

Capital Bancorp (CBC: chart) shares dropped 17.6% after the company said its first-quarter net income declined to $6.27 million, or 36 cents per share, compared with $9.95 million, or 61 cents per share, a year ago. Net interest income rose to $44.68 million, from $41.35 million a year ago.

Capital One Financial Corp. (COF: chart) shares fell 6% after the company said that its first-quarter profit fell 24% to $675.1 million, or $1.62 a share, hampered by a 23% decline in its national-lending segment and higher expenses.

RightNow Technologies Inc. (RNOW: chart), which sells customer management software and services, reported a first-quarter net loss of $6 million, or 18 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $440,000, or a penny per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding certain items, the company posted a loss of $4.7 million, or 14 cents per share. Revenue climbed to $19.8 million versus $19.3 million in the same period a year earlier. The company expects a second-quarter per-share loss of 18 cents to 20 cents, or 11 cents to 13 cents excluding items, on revenue of $26.3 million to $26.8 million. Shares fell 17%.

Stamps.com (STMP: chart) shares fell 15.4% after the company said it would make investment in PC Postage marketing that would be consistent with, or higher than, its prior expectations in 2007. As a result, it now sees non-GAAP earnings of 77 to 87 cents per share for the year. The company also launched the latest version of its PC Postage software.

Zhone Technologies Inc. (ZHNE: chart) shares dropped 8.8% after the company said that its first-quarter net loss flat with the year-earlier period at 3 cents per share. Revenue declined to $43.1 million versus $52.7 million in the same period a year earlier.

1:00AM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt European stocks closed sharply higher on merger speculation in the bank sector.

European stock markets rebounded to close sharply higher Friday. The positive sentiment was generated by merger speculation in the banking sector, a bidding war for pharmacy chain Alliance Boots, and stronger-than-expected profit for technology group SAP. Shares in Societe Generale surged 7.7% on speculations that the bank is in merger talks with Italy''s UniCredit. Shares of UniCredit rose 3.9%. Commerzbank shares rose 3.6%, Deutsche Bank rose 4.2% and BNP Paribas shares advanced 3.9%. Shares in pharmacy chain

Alliance Boots climbed 7.2% after a bidding battle for the company loomed. Among earnings-related movers, SAP rose 2.1% after the world''s largest maker of business software reported 10% growth in Q1. Again in the tech sector, shares in Siemens rose 4.2% after the company said that chairman Heinrich von Pierer will step down April 25 in the wake of a multinational probe into possible bribery. The German DAX 30 climbed 1.4% to 7,342.54, and the French CAC-40 increased 1.9% to 5,938.90, and the U.K. FTSE 100 added 0.7% to 6,486.80.


11:30AM U.S. market averages traded record high.[/R

U.S. markets continued to post gains, benefiting from stronger-than-expected earnings from Dow members like Caterpillar (CAT: chart), Honeywell (HON: chart), American Express (AXP: chart) which boosted the index toward its first assault on the 13,000 mark. The Nasdaq and S&P''s 500 were both at six-year highs. In deal news, the largest U.S. shoes retailer Foot Locker (FL: chart) rose 3.7% after it made an unsolicited $1.2 billion bid for Genesco to gain footwear chains including Journeys and Johnston & Murphy. Foot Locker offered $46 a share said it is likely to raise the bid.