“LOS ANGELES – More U.S. homes are entering the foreclosure process, setting the stage for a surge in properties repossessed by lenders this year.

The number of homes that received first-time foreclosure notices rose 7 percent in March from the previous month, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

That marks the third consecutive monthly increase this year and reflects stepped-up efforts by banks to take action against homeowners who fail to keep up with mortgage payments.

“We’re not out of the woods yet with foreclosures,” said Daren Blomquist, a vice president at RealtyTrac. “There are more batches of foreclosures coming through the pipeline.”

Full article

Gapping up

RIO +5.9%, MCK +4.1%, BHP +2.4%, BBL +1.9%, ASMI +1.9%, SAP +1.6%, T +1.1,

WAB +6.9%, TSCO +3.8%, FAST +2.6%, RAD +1.2%, T +1.1% , QCOM +0.5%,

RENN +2.9%, SINA +1.8%, BIDU +0.9%, IRE +5.1%, RBS +2.4%, CS +1.7%,

DB +1.4%, BAC +1%, C +0.8%, JPM +0.7%, BHP +2.4%, GOLD +2%, BBL +1.9%, VALE +1.7%,

Gapping down

AVID -15.4%, NOK -5.9%, RDS.A -3.5%, E -1.9%, PCRX -1.2%, TOT -0.9%, UTHR -0.7%, BBBY -0.8%,

QRE -0.9% , PCRX -3.7%,  BP -0.7%,  APOG -8.1%,

Initial Claims: Prior 357k, Market expects 355k, Actual 380k

Continuing Claims: Prior 3338k, Market expects 3350k, Actual 3325k

PPI: Prior 0.4%, Market expects 0.3%, Actual 0

Trade Deficit improves to $46 Billion

Source

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) : Roche Holding AG (ROG VX) sent a letter to shareholders of the maker of DNA analysis equipment, indicating negotiations may lead to higher offer than the $51-a- share all-cash bid the Basel, Switzerland-based company made last month.

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) : The largest U.S. maker of computer-memory chips said it will offer $870 million of convertible senior notes.

Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc. (PCRX) (PCRX US): The specialty pharmaceutical company is selling shares in a public offering, its second sale since its initial public offering in February 2011.

Quest Diagnostics Inc. (DGX) : The biggest U.S. operator of medical laboratories named Stephen H. Rusckowski to succeed Surya N. Mohapatra as president and chief executive officer, effective May 1.

In Play

On the Wires 

Full article

Asia

Europe

Futures

Currencies

Commodities

LIBOR, EURIBOR, 10 year yields for Italy, Spain, France, and Germany

Today’s Industry Highlights via YAHOO

3D heat map

S&P A/D Line

NASDAQ A/D Line 

NYSE

New Highs 10 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      HIGH                VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
AEGON 6.375% Perp Cp Secs     AEH         24.62                9,750 
BlackRock Build Am Bd Tr      BBN         22.71               23,680 
BlkRk MuniYld Inv             MYF         16.20               19,699 
BlackRockStrategicBond        BHD         14.50                5,353 
Cementos Pacasmayo ADS        CPAC        12.36                  161 
Delphi Fincl                  DFG         45.44               37,056 
EPAM Systems                  EPAM        22.86               25,279 
Hersha Hosp Tr 8% A           HTpA        25.96                  248 
PPLUS 6.7% TRUCs LMG-4        PYL         24.21                3,600 
Terra Nitrogen                TNH         276.79              10,790 

New Lows 8 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      LOW                 VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Accretive Health              AH          18.38               45,031 
Arch Cap Gp 6.75% Pfd C       ARHpC       25.14               10,118 
Newfield Exploration          NFX         33.05              132,360 
Nokia                         NOK         4.31            58,673,672 
No Amer Engy Ptnrs            NOA         4.25                 8,450 
Pulse Electronics             PULS        2.14                 1,237 
Transalta Corp                TAC         17.56               15,069 
YPF SA                        YPF         21.43              200,961

NASDAQ

New Highs 12 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      HIGH                VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Adept Technology              ADEP        6.49                 9,445 
Anika Therapeutics            ANIK        14.80               37,011 
Citizens Republic Bancorp     CRBC        16.00               16,005 
Crimson Exploration           CXPO        4.34                45,992 
Infinity Pharmaceuticals      INFI        13.12               10,218 
iSh Barclays GNMA Bd Fd       GNMA        50.61                  222 
Mattress Firm Holding         MFRM        44.21               97,218 
NewLead Hldg Ltd              NEWL        5.00               399,547 
North Valley Bancorp          NOVB        13.05                  200 
OakRidgFnlSvc                 BKOR        5.39                   200 
Titan Machinery Inc           TITN        32.05              737,964 
VeriSign                      VRSN        39.43              255,382 

New Lows 10 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      LOW                 VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Anthera Pharmaceuticals       ANTH        2.05                 7,653 
BSD Medical                   BSDM        1.91                 1,000 
Chelsea Therapeutics Intl     CHTP        1.91                92,262 
CombiMatrix                   CBMX        0.76                16,468 
Double Eagle Petroleum        DBLE        5.42                 6,900 
OPNET Techs                   OPNT        23.13              216,282 
Peregrine Pharma              PPHM        0.45                75,162 
Polycom                       PLCM        13.71              447,986 
RF Micro Devices              RFMD        4.30               323,960 
WisdomTree Emg Mkts Corp      EMCB        74.55                1,620

-CALLS- 
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE 
BAC        4/13/12           9.0000        8068            0.0700      up 0.0000 
SVU        4/21/12           6.0000        3001            0.4500      up 0.1500 
MSFT       4/21/12          32.0000        2077            0.0900      dn 0.0300 
AA         4/13/12          10.0000        2075            0.1000      up 0.0500 
AAPL       4/13/12         635.0000        2065            6.3500      up 1.5000 
VALE       5/19/12          23.0000        1915            0.6500      up 0.1500 
MSFT       4/21/12          31.0000        1771            0.3100      dn 0.0300 
AAPL       4/21/12         650.0000        1581            7.2000      up 1.2900 
BAC        4/21/12           9.0000        1564            0.2200      up 0.0400 
AAPL       4/13/12         640.0000        1471            4.3000      up 1.0000 

 -PUTS- 
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE 
SPR        10/20/12         20.0000        3050            0.8500      up 0.0500 
AAPL       4/13/12         625.0000        1449            3.7500      dn 2.3500 
BAC        4/13/12           8.0000        1250            0.0100      dn 0.0400 
AA         5/19/12           9.0000        1014            0.1300      dn 0.2200 
AAPL       4/13/12         630.0000         929            5.5000      dn 3.1500 
AAPL       4/13/12         635.0000         924            8.0000      dn 3.3500 
KORS       5/19/12          40.0000         922            1.2500      up 0.0000 
AAPL       4/13/12         620.0000         880            2.5000      dn 1.7900 
AEO        4/21/12          17.0000         819            0.6500      dn 0.2000 
AAPL       4/21/12         630.0000         784           12.4000      dn 2.6500 

 -VOLUME- 
 CALLS      PUTS           TOTAL 
293965    323331        617296

-CALLS- 
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE 
CVS        11/17/12         42.0000         650            3.9700      up 0.1200 
CVS        8/18/12          42.0000         650            3.4200      up 0.2200 
BAC        4/13/12           9.0000         413            0.0700      up 0.0000 
GE         5/19/12          17.0000         276            2.1600      up 0.2600 
FCX        4/13/12          38.0000         208            0.0700      dn 0.0200 
FCX        4/13/12          39.0000         200            0.0200      up 0.0100 
AAPL       4/13/12         660.0000         185            0.5500      dn 0.2000 
AAPL       5/19/12         615.0000         170           44.1400      up 2.9900 
BAC        5/19/12           8.0000         145            1.0700      up 0.2000 
AAPL       4/13/12         640.0000         131            4.6500      up 1.1500 

 -PUTS- 
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE 
FCX        4/13/12          35.0000         231            0.1400      dn 0.0800 
FCX        4/13/12          34.0000         200            0.0800      dn 0.0100 
NOK        4/21/12           4.0000         110            0.1200      up 0.0900 
INTC       10/20/12         23.0000         100            0.6500      up 0.0800 
PG         4/21/12          70.0000         100            3.2000      dn 0.1000 
GLD        5/19/12         155.0000          77            1.4200      up 0.0100 
TBT        4/21/12          20.0000          75            1.0500      dn 0.2800 
AAPL       4/13/12         630.0000          67            5.5500      dn 2.8500 
PHM        7/21/12           7.0000          61            0.5800      dn 0.1000 
GME        5/19/12          20.0000          60            0.6100      up 0.0600 

 -VOLUME- 
 CALLS      PUTS           TOTAL 
15765    19898        35663

Gapping up

MFRM +16.8%, OI +9%, BCS +7.6%, AA +6.2%, DB +5.3%, MT +5.2%, SMSC +5.2%, ING +4.3%,

UBS +3.6%, RIO +3.1%, BAC +2.5%, CS +2.4%, BBL +2%, HBC +1.7%, BHP +1.4%, C +1.1%,

VALE +0.7%,  MPEL +2.8%,  TEF +2.7% ,  YELP +0.7% , THLD +0.8%, CENX +3.5% ,

RENN +5.5%, TEX +2.3%, CAT +1.6%, DE +1.3%, AGCO +1.3%, CMI +0.9%, MTW +0.6%, JOY +0.6%,

SD +3.1%, WLT +2.9%, RDS.A +2.3%, SDRL +2.2%, BP +1.7%, TOT +1.7%, E +1.4%, STO +1.2%,

IRE +6.1%, BCS +5.8%, DB +5.3%, STD +4.5%, ING +4.3%, UBS +3.6%, GNW +2.6%, BAC +2.5%, KEY +2.5%,

CS +2.4%, C +1.8%, HBC +1.7%,

Gapping down

OPNT -6%, PRXI -5.8%, AMCC -4.2%, CSC -4.2%, TEAR -4.1%, JDAS -3.2%, PKT -2.7%, GOLD -2.2%,

QRE -1.6%, PSEC -1.4%, NOK -12.9%, OPNT -8.1%,  CSC -4.2%, JDAS -3.2%, HOFT-2.8%,

GME -0.8%, NTAP -1%,

Source

“Alcoa Inc. (AA) rose 5.6 percent to $9.84. The largest U.S. aluminum producer reported an unexpected first-quarter profit after customers from automakers to beverage-can manufacturers ordered more of the metal.

Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (AMCC) : The maker of chips used in networking gear said its fourth-quarter adjusted loss will be at least 10 cents a share, wider than the average analyst estimate for a loss of eight cents.

L&L Energy Inc. (LLEN) rose 2.6 percent to $2.35. The Seattle-based company operating coal businesses in China signed a sales contract with Guodian Yongfu Power Generation Co., adding about $19 million of revenue.

Mattress Firm Holding Co. (MFRM) jumped 20 percent to $44.79. The mattress retailer forecast earnings for the current fiscal year will be at least $1.40 a share, beating the average analyst estimate of $1.37.

Owens-Illinois Inc. (OI) : The world’s biggest maker of glass bottles said first-quarter earnings will exceed profit in the year-ago period by more than 35 percent on good manufacturing performance and greater-than-planned production rates.

Titan Machinery Inc. (TITN) surged 20 percent to $33. The owner of full-service agricultural and equipment stores forecast annual earnings of at least $2.55 a share, beating the average analyst estimate of $2.06.

Travelzoo Inc. (TZOO US) climbed 26 percent to $26.50. The Internet travel marketer plans to sell itself and is in the process of hiring an adviser, Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the situation.

Standard Microsystems Corp. (SMSC) : The semiconductor manufacturer forecast first-quarter earnings excluding certain items will be at least 29 cents a share, topping the 27 cents projected by analysts on average.”

In play

On the Wires

Export prices prior: 0.4%,  market expects n/a, Actual 0.8%

Import prices prior: -0.1%, market expects 0.6%, Actual 1.3%

Not enough HP is my guess. 

Asia

Europe

Futures

Currencies

Commodities

LIBOR, EURIBOR, 10 year yields for Italy, Spain, France, and Germany

European stocks opened higher, reversing earlier indications of losses, sending US futs +10 above fair value on S&P.

Asian boards

Currencies 

Chartology for the masses…