Mixed Close As Ireland Credit Downgraded
A downgrade of Ireland's credit rating tempered enthusiasm for the passage of the tax cut extensions. It was a mixed close for the markets with the Dow losing 7 points to 11,491 while Nasdaq rose 5 points to 2642.
On the upside
Italian pharmaceutical firm Recordati will pay Nymox Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq: NYMX) $13 million upfront and make milestone payments for the exclusive rights to develop and market Nymox's enlarged prostate treatment NX-1207.
Allegheny Technologies (NYSE: AKS) will provide titanium for the construction of a desalination plant in Saudi Arabia.
Seeking Alpha contributor Jeremy Richards cited recent analysts comments for suggesting that Aeterna Zentaris (NYSE: AEZS) is undervalued.
On the downside
Level 3 Communications (Nasdaq: LVLT) requested that the Federal Communication Commission and the Department of Justice impose conditions for Comcast's (Nasdaq: CMCSA) acquisition of NBC Universal.
The compensation package for Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) new chief executive Ian Read will total at least $4.29 million.
Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) will spin off its Rainbow Media division in 2011.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 4 to 3 on the NYSE and by 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 2 points to 779.
