STOCKS NEWS US-Merck KGaA to buy Millipore for $6 bln

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1026 EST 1March2010
Merck KGaA buys Millipore for $6 bln

Merck KGaA has agreed to a $6 billion cash purchase of U.S. biotechnology toolmaker Millipore Corp, in a bid to diversify away from its embattled pharmaceuticals business.

Merck, which makes the multiple sclerosis drug Rebif and owns the rights to cancer drug Erbitux in Europe, agreed on Sunday to buy Millipore in a deal that boosts its lab equipment business.

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Shares of Millipore rose 11 percent to $104.88.

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1021 EST 1March2010
Markets add to gains after ISM data, tech boosts

U.S. stocks extended gains on Monday after a report showed the U.S. manufacturing sector continued to grow in February, while a run-up in semiconductor company shares and Apple Inc's stock underpinned advances in the technology sector.

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The Dow Jones industrial average was up 73.16 points, or 0.71 percent, at 10,398.42. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 9.12 points, or 0.83 percent, at 1,113.61. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 25.56 points, or 1.14 percent, at 2,263.82.

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1018 EST 1March2010
Manufacturing sector grew in February: ISM

The U.S. manufacturing sector grew in February, but at a slower rate than expected, according to an industry report released on Monday.

The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity declined to 56.5 in February from 58.4 in January. The median forecast of 80 economists surveyed by Reuters was for a reading of 57.5.

A reading below 50 indicates contraction in the manufacturing sector, while a number above 50 means expansion.

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1012 EST 1March2010
Construction spending down 0.6 pct in Jan

U.S. construction spending fell for a third straight month to its lowest level since June 2003 in January, pulled down by a slump in private nonresidential spending and weak public construction, a government report showed on Monday.

The Commerce Department said construction spending dropped 0.6 percent to $884.13 billion, after falling by an unrevised 1.2 percent in December.

Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast construction spending falling 0.7 percent in January.

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0926 ET 01Mar2010
Buffett: Economy on mend, health care big problem

Warren Buffett said the U.S. economy has passed the worst of its troubles but faces an uneven recovery as consumers keep a tight rein on spending.

'We got past Pearl Harbor,' Buffett said Monday on the CNBC business news channel. 'We will win the war.'

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0920 EST 1March2010-Cell Therapeutics falls after going
concern doubt

Shares of Cell Therapeutics fell in premarket trading on Monday, after the company said late Friday that its auditors had expressed 'substantial doubt' about its ability to continue as a going concern.

In its 2009 annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it does not expect that its existing cash and equivalents will provide sufficient working capital to fund operations through the third quarter of 2010.

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The stock was down 9 percent to 61 cents before the bell.

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