[R]2:30PM NY, U.S. Market Movers[/R]

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.

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

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.


[R]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.