The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), concerned about its recent bad press, continues to prosecute insider trading through the Christmas season. Last week, the regulatory body charged seven individuals and two companies involved in an insider trading ring. The SEC alleged that Matthew Devlin, formerly of Lehman Brothers, traded on and tipped his clients and friends with confidential and non-public information about 13 impending corporate transactions. Some of these friends, who worked in the financial or legal professions, also tipped off other clients. Devlin obtained the privileged information from his wife, a partner in the NYC office of an international public relations firm working on the deals. The illicit trading occurred from at least March 2004 through July 2008, yielding more than $4.8 million in profits. Devlin was also rewarded with cash and luxury items in exchange for the information, including a widescreen TV,[More...]

Monday
Economic: Existing Home Sales (4.8M)
Earnings: FirstEnergy (FE), Lowe’s (LOW), LDK Solar (LDK), Nordstrom (JWN), Shanda (SNDA), USEC (USU), Wilson Greatbatch (GB)

Tuesday
Economic: PPI & Core (.3%, .2%), Consumer Confidence (82.5), S&P/Case-Shiller (-9.8%)
Earnings: AutoZone (AZO), CBRL (CBRL), Ceradyne (CRDN), Frontier Oil (FTO), Home Depot (HD), KBR (KBR), Macy’s (M), RadioShack (RSH), Target (TGT), Autodesk (ADSK), Covanta (CVA), Stone Energy (SGY), Overseas Ship (OSG), Ormat (ORA)

Wednesday
Economic: Durable Orders (-4.0%), New Home Sales (600K), Weekly Crude

Earnings: Boyd (BYD), LifeCell (LIFC), Lamar (LAMR), SPX (SPW), Toll Bros (TOL), Ctrip (CTRP), General Maritime (GMR), GMarket (GMKT), Limited (LTD), Salesforce (CRM), Public Storage (PSA), Tenaris (TS), Whiting Petrol (WLL)

Thursday
Economic: GDP & Deflator (.8%, 2.6%), Weekly Claims (350K)
Earnings: AmBev (ABV), Blackstone (BX), Cooper (CTB), Fluor (FLR), GrafTech (GTI), Hansen (HANS), Leap Wire (LEAP), Sears (SHLD), Sprint (S), AIG (AIG), Buenaventura (BVN), China Finance (JRJC), China Med (CMED), CVR (RIO), Dell (DELL), FTI (FCN), Scientific Games (SGMS), Ventana (VMSI), World Fuel (INT)

Friday
Economic: Inc & Spend (.2%, .2%), Core PCE (.2%), Chicago (50), Michigan (70)
Earnings: Mine Safety (MSA), Sepracor (SEPR)

Word On The Street
Armageddon was in the air on Wall Street Tuesday after the Dow fell 465 at the open. The Federal Reserve announced a surprise interest rate cut of 75 basis points and the market was able to bounce back. The Dow finished the day down 128 points and the Nasdaq fell 47 points. Karen Finerman disclosed she bought Altria Group Inc. (MO), Crocs Inc. (CROX) and sold puts on Rio Tinto plc (RTP) at the open. Pete Najarian mentioned that he still doesn’t like this market and a bottom isn’t close. Guy Adami thinks Tuesday was as close of a bottom as we are going to see. Jeff Macke says we finally saw the sky fall and capitulation and now is the time to take a shot on the long side for the next few weeks. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported a strong first-quarter, but warns on the second-quarter. The stock trades down 11% after hours. Macke explained it’s not the news it’s the reaction to the news and the market is looking for any excuse to sell. Najarian says the numbers Apple reported were incredible and he would look to buy the stock if you are already long. He feels the stock is fairly priced at current levels trading below a 25 P/E. Adami says if you see 100 million shares trade on Apple Wednesday that will be signs of capitulation and that will be the time to buy the stock. Retail stocks ripped higher Tuesday as the Fed swooped in with a 75 basis point cut. Finerman disclosed she sold some Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) into the rally. Adami and Macke both like The Home Depot Inc. (HD) for a long side trade. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway raised its stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNI) to 18.2%. Adami would look to buy BNI around $77 on the back of Buffett. He also likes CSX Croporation (CSX) and he mentioned that the railroad stocks are a great way to play the agriculture sector. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported a rise in earnings on strong consumer and pharma sales. Adami thinks JNJ’s earnings were great and he loves the consumer products business. He explained that JNJ has a great dividend and is a safe stock. Najarian says keep an eye on the diagnostic companies after Roche Holding Ltd. (RHHBY) bought Ventana Medical Systems Inc. (VMSI) for $3.1 billion. Homebuilders were strong Tuesday as the market hopes the rate cut will help the battered sector. Ara Hovnanian, CEO of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (HOV) joined the “Fast Money’ traders for his take on the sector. Hovnanian explained that the rate cut will not have a major impact on the sector because most home buyers use the 30-year fixed mortgage. He does think the cut will affect buyer’s psychology positively. Hovnanian also mentioned he isn’t concerned about the companies debt load. He feels HOV will be able to weather the storm. Macke thinks the sector will take years to bottom. Adami says Centex Corporation and Home Depot are the best plays. Najarian recommends Freddie Mac (FRE) and Fannie Mae (FNM) if the housing market rebounds. DuPont (DD) reported strong fourth-quarter and full-year sales and earnings growth. Najarian loves DD for a play on the agriculture sector.
Value Buys Off Panic
The “Fast Money” traders gave out some value stock names that they feel investors can look to build positions in with the current market panic. Macke thinks it’s time to get in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT). Adami likes Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) for the global PC story. Najarian recommends buying ConocoPhillips (COP) on a dip to $68. Finerman prefers Altria Group Inc. (MO) and she disclosed she bought some refiner names Tuesday.
World Stock Plays
Tim Seymour joined the “Fast Money” crew to discuss his take on global stocks. Seymour thinks earnings growth and valuations still look solid in some BRIC names. He likes iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (EEM) Russia, and Tata Motors Limited (TTM). Seymour went on to say that emerging markets have put in a short term bottom. He mentioned that resource companies like Vale (RIO), Petrobras Brasileiro S.A. (PBR) and Gazprom look cheap to him on a cash flow basis. Seymour also recommends owning iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index Fund (FXI) for the next 6-12 months.
Dennis Gartman
Dennis Gartman, author of The Gartman Letter, joined the “Fast Money” crew to discuss his take on the markets. Gartman thinks Wednesday morning will be ugly off the back of disappointing expectations from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). He disclosed he is short Research In Motion Limited (RIMM). Gartman doesn’t think the bear market is over yet. He explained that bear markets rarely end with “V” bottoms. He disclosed he is short net on balance, long agriculture and gold. Gartman is also looking to buy Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT) and he will continue to own wheat, corn and soybeans. He thinks high tech and steel should be sold. Finally, Gartman declared that the US is in a recession and has been since the third quarter of 2007.
Chartology
Louise Yamada, Managing Director of Louise Yamada Technical Research Advisors and John Roque, Natexis Bleichroeder Technical Analyst joined the “Fast Money” crew to discuss their take on the markets from a technical perspective. Yamada thinks the market is a long way from a strong recovery. She recommends selling the S&P 500 into any strength. Roque thinks the market is oversold and could experience a bounce at anytime. He explained the chart of gold shows a long-term uptrend and the yellow metal continues to be a safe haven. Adami says the gold story scares him and gold usually ends in tears. Macke thinks the S&P 500 is setting up for an oversold bounce.
POPS&DROPS
POPS- Circuit City Stores Inc. (CC) traded up 21% after gapping down huge at the open. Macke says not a lot of meat on the bone for the shorts. Morgan Stanley (MS) traded up 8% after gapping lower at the open. Najarian thinks the Fed rate cut helps out MS. Wachovia Corporation (WB) trades up 4% after gapping lower at the open. Adami isn’t sure if the CEO is telling the entire story yet for WB. Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) trades up 9% after gapping lower at the open. Finerman says nice pop and the stock still isn’t expensive. Washington Mutual Inc. (WM) traded up 9% off the back of the Fed rate cut. Finerman explained that financials went up Tuesday as there material cost (capital) went down off the Fed rate cut. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) traded up 5% after the firm reported a 61% rise in first-quarter profits. Adami thinks the story for JEC is strong. Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM) traded up 12% off an upgrade from Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Finerman says this was another retailer overdone to the downside.
DROPS- Motorola Inc. (MOT) fell 8% ahead of Wednesday’s earnings call. Najarian doesn’t like the way MOT is looking. Yahoo (YHOO) fell 4% after speculation hit Wall Street that the search king might cut 2,500 jobs. Macke would sell what little YHOO you have left. Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) fell 3% after oil fell below $90 a barrel. Adami thinks XOM is becoming compelling from a valuation perspective at current levels. Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) fell 6% after the networking giant said it would spend $1.5 billion to expand into the United Arab Emirates. Najarian disclosed he owns CSCO and sooner or later it will be a buy. Corinthian Colleges Inc. (COCO) fell 31% after the firm said three lenders stopped loans for students with high credit risk. Macke explained that Sallie Mae was one of the firms to stop loans and that is problematic.
Trader Radar Getty Images Inc. (GYI) traded five times its average daily volume.
Face2Face
Tish from North Carolina writes, “What do you think about the UltraShort ETFs? Do you have any recommendations on the best ones to buy now?” Dennis Gartman likes the UltraShort S&P500 ProShares (SDS) and Short Dow30 ProShares (DOG). Jerry from Tennessee writes, “I am a new investor as of last week. I hear you all say the staple name brand stocks are a value right now. As a newbie should I stick with sure bets?” Macke explained that there are no sure things in this world. He does think that The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) and McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) are getting interesting here. Gartman recommended looking at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and the rest of the banks. Andy from Arizona writes, “What about the exchanges? They have been killed. Is this an opportunity?” Adami says look at NYSE Euronext (NYX) which he thinks will trade with a 90-handle. Najarian says take a look at The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. (NDAQ). William writes, “Do you think fast food has become a consumer staple?” Macke says unless it’s McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) no. He would rather be in old traditional consumer staples.
Final Trade
Macke recommends buying the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) with a stop at $25. Adami favors Wachovia (WB). Finerman likes Macy’s Inc. (M) which she disclosed she is currently long. Najarian says buy the February $30 put options on the iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund (EWG).

UP
Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (VMSI)
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (GILT)
IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI)
General Growth Properties (GGP)
()
DOWN
The Zweig Fund, Inc. (ZF)
TASER International, Inc. (TASR)
Aluminum Corp. of China Limited (ADR) (ACH)
Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (AUY)
Suncor Energy Inc. (USA) (SU)

from Louis Jacobs of Theflyonthewall.com

Ventana’s Stalling Tactics

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche (RHHBY) is attempting to buy out diagnostic system maker Ventana Medical Systems (VMSI) and has a $3B – or $75 per share – offer on the table. This is the third time Roche has extended this offer, but it’s also the third time that Ventana shareholders have held out asking for more.

Roche has signaled that it has no intent to up their offer, with CEO Franz Humer saying he was fully confident that Ventana would come around, especially with nobody else bidding for the company. Ventana CEO Christopher Gleeson disagreed, saying there are no corporate issues between the companies, but mostly about the value. Gleeson believes the company can get more than $75 per share.

Analysts agree and think that Roche might have to up the stakes to change the shareholders’ minds. Nick Draeger of Adamant Biomedical Investments says that “they’re going to have to [raise the offer]. They don’t seem to be able to persuade enough investors to unload stock. It seems to be a real cat and mouse game.” Leernik Swann analyst Bruce Cranna also believes Roche’s offer is undervalued and when a deal is finally made, it could be worth $92-$95 a share.

The stock market seems to agree. Ventana’s shares, while down $1.67 in today’s trading, are still above $75 at $86.27. This is only slightly lower than the company’s 52-week high of $88.70. Roche’s shares don’t trade in the US.

While Roche is Ventana’s only bidder, the Swiss giant desperately wants to get into the diagnostic field and this might be the company’s best chance. Roche keeps affirming the same offer, but Ventana’s shareholders know their value and can feel Roche's desperation. With everything going in Ventana’s favor, the company would do best to wait for Roche to increase their offer. It would be a win-win for both companies.