EF Johnson Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: EFJI) surged by 43 cents, or 41.8% to $1.46 in the premarket session after the company said it has entered into an amendment to its merger agreement with an affiliate of Francisco Partners. Under the terms of the amended merger agreement, an affiliate of Francisco Partners will acquire all of the outstanding shares of EF Johnson Technologies’ common stock for $1.50 per share in cash.  This is an increase of over 42% over the $1.05 per share cash purchase price previously announced on May 17, 2010. The 50-day average daily volume for EF Johnson Technologies is 144,000 shares, and its Board of Directors unanimously approved the amended merger agreement.

“Our amended merger agreement with Francisco Partners provides increased all-cash premium value to our stockholders and reflects Francisco Partners’ strong commitment to the transaction,” said Michael E. Jalbert, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of EF Johnson Technologies, Inc. “We are proud of the value we have delivered to our stockholders through this amended merger agreement, and are excited to work closely with Francisco Partners to complete the transaction as expeditiously as possible.”

In addition to increasing the cash purchase price, the amendment increases the termination fees payable under certain circumstances, increases the amount of allowable transaction expenses and amends certain representations and warranties contained in the merger agreement.  The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions.  As in the original merger agreement, there is no financing condition to the obligations of Francisco Partners to consummate the transaction. EF Johnson Technologies, Inc. is currently trading at $1.44, up $.41 or 39.81%.

Raymond James & Associates, Inc. is acting as the Company’s financial advisor in connection with the transaction, and Haynes and Boone, LLP is acting as the Company’s legal counsel.  Shearman & Sterling LLP is acting as Francisco Partners legal counsel. 

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Disclosure: no positions

- About the Author:   About World Market Media:WorldMarketMedia.com (The Global Online Investment Community) is a high traffic stock market, news data website providing cutting edge new media products and services to publicly traded companies worldwide. Our Editor’s Desk authors insightful real-time coverage on the economy, the capital markets and their listed companies. Article Source

Today was a mixed day on Wall Street with the DOW finishing the dat at 9,913.16 up 96.67 or .98%. The Nasdaq finish lower amid weak Tech stocks, finishing the day at 2,165.73 down 8.17 points of .38 points. Finally, S&P closed up 8.94 or .85% finishing at 1,059.41.

Gold continued to be investor’s weapon of choice breaking an all time high of $1,254.50. Currently, Gold is trading at 1,235.80 selling off 3.50 points or .28%. Oil rallied slightly trading at up .63 or .88% at $72.07. The Euro closed at 1.1946 against the dollar.

Arguments whether the U.S. economy is undergoing a double dip recession continue with Ben Bernake stating that he does not think we will be experiencing one. As noted in our morning outlook post, the public is very focused on the unemployment level which will not be driven down anytime soon by rapid economic growth. Projected time frame for a full recovery is anywhere from five to ten years.

On the other side of the coin it was reported today that lumber prices are sinking. If this is an indication that the overall price of goods has begun to fall, it could be a tip that deflation is occurring, causing business to cut back production and lay off workers, which then pushes the economy further into a hole as consumers have less expendable income overall. This cycle, should it occur, could confirm the suspicions of those who are calling for a double dip recession.

JP Morgan is under heavy scrutiny after reporting heavy losses on coal-price bets. JP Morgan was attempting to exploit cheaper prices in South Africa in shipping to Europe. The discount later narrowed as demand increased in Europe and JPM was caught holding the ball. Although this story has not been confirmed by JP Morgan, many are using this as yet another example to further regulate the activities of banks.

In world news, China’s workers are beginning to stand up for themselves, successfully demanding higher wages and working conditions from the governments. A company that supplies Honda Motors with exhaust pipes experienced a worker’s strike today. This is only the first domino to fall in a series of many, the Chinese culture is collectivist, and those acting in large groups will influence countless others. A lshift in the power of the Chinese government is approaching as well as an increase in the worldwide price of imports in the upcoming months.

Finally, the U.N. has geared up to approve trade sanctions against Iran in response to President Ahmadinejad’s refusal to stand down concerning nuclear weaponry. The country insists that it’s nuclear weapons purpose is for civilian use only.  

  For WMM Indices, our Micro Cap Index closed down 15.5 points or 1.8% and was lead by Empire Resorts (NYNY) and Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (RNN)   Our Nano cap index closed down 8.4 points or .88 points lead by Cereplast, (CERP) and GTX Corp (GTXO)

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- About the Author:   About World Market Media:WorldMarketMedia.com (The Global Online Investment Community) is a high traffic stock market, news data website providing cutting edge new media products and services to publicly traded companies worldwide. Our Editor’s Desk authors insightful real-time coverage on the economy, the capital markets and their listed companies.     Article Source

The overall focus in the U.S. market as of late has been Europe, whether it is BP, Greece or Turkey, Wall Street’s collective eye has been away from our economic numbers and on those of our friendly neighbors to the east.

And rightly so, in such an interconnected world economy, any little tick can set off alerts in HFT programs everywhere setting off trading all over the globe. The butterfly effect absolutely applies. Today, European worries have again been blamed in the market‘s poor performance. The DOW finished down 89 points of .9%, S&P closed down 11 points of 1.13% and the NASDAQ ended the day 41 points lower or 1.8%.

Oil closed low, finishing the day at 70.93 down .58 or .81%.

Gold, as highlighted by our previous posts increased 23 points or 1.9% for the day as investors continue to run for the safe investment. It would appear that investment banks ran to the metal in order to cover, and many day traders were stuck short thinking that the price was inflated. The combination of the two has sent prices soaring

The European Union has begun to finalize its bailout planning, structuring the package as a vehicle chartered under the law of Luxembourg, owned and guaranteed by all 16 members of the European Union. A few details remain such as how the vehicle will market its debt. Whether the debt will be packaged as a whole; or if slices debt will be applied to certain bonds is still undecided.

Germany remains the biggest critic of the bailout because of its economic upstanding and fiscal long-sightedness, but the country’s parliament has caved and given its share of the credit guarantee. Today German manufacturing orders were reportedly increased.

Whether these developments take root is still unseen, investor confidence has not been re-established, with many investors running away from currency in general, especially the euro (trading at 1.1923 against the dollar) Euro-fear will continue to plague American markets until this is resolved.

  For WMM, our Micro Cap Index closed down 27 points or 3% lead by PSWS, Puresafe Water Systems and ASYI, AISystems.  our Nano Cap Index closed down 23 points or 2% lead by EDGR, Edgar Online, and AEMD, Aethlon Medical Inc.

Disclosure: no positions

To view this article at World Market Media click on the link below: http://www.worldmarketmedia.com/779/section.aspx/1746/post/market-wrap-up

- About the Author: About World Market Media:WorldMarketMedia.com (The Global Online Investment Community) is a high traffic stock market, news data website providing cutting edge new media products and services to publicly traded companies worldwide. Our Editor’s Desk authors insightful real-time coverage on the economy, the capital markets and their listed companies.   Article Source

People often say that the best way to earn money in the stock markets is to buy penny stocks. Broadly it is a good idea because if you buy penny stocks then you will get higher returns within two or three quarters. But if we look deep inside it then it is not absolutely true because it contains many hidden issues which can make your whole investment a troubled issue.

In reality, it is considered just the reverse. It is more difficult to foresee what would occur with a particular penny stock, as the market moves upwards and downwards really fast. The little cost of every stock signifies that it is extra enticing to purchase more shares and so a considerable sum of money could be moved very rapidly either upwards or downwards.

Trading in penny stocks is fraught with higher degree of risk than its counterpart – traditional trade, as there is none to control the trading activities of these penny stocks. Traditional trades are highly scrutinized and monitored by exchanges like NASDAQ, there is not much chance of manipulation in their prices and of illegal activities. As majority of trades in penny stocks take place outside these secure exchanges, there is high chance of fraudulent, manipulative and illegal activities. However, risk is quite lower for those penny stocks which trade in secured exchanges.

You have to take into account the practice of the pump and dump, when considering to buy penny stocks, what happens here is that shady individuals and groups will attempt to drive up the price of a stock through manipulative means, and then sell all their shares, leaving others with the now worthless stock.

The interested group spreads tempting information about penny stocks to lure the innocent people who are not so well-informed about these companies and stock market, to buy these stocks. For wide publication of false and manipulative information they use spam, different publications and message boards as these can easily reach many people and does not cost much. The sum total of these manipulative practices results in pushing up the prices of these worthless penny stocks and once prices sufficiently go up, these groups off load their holdings and earn huge profit. Just after that due to lack of provocative information, prices of these penny stocks reach their bottom again and those who invested in them are left with worthless piece of paper.

Though you may have planned to buy penny stocks of some reputed company, still other risks do remain there. The biggest thing is that the movement of penny stocks is very quick in either direction, up or down. It is possible that the profit may be high or low too but, in any case one has to constantly monitor the stock market so that one can sell the stocks at the right time.

You need to be on top of your investments, checking them constantly. In as short a time as a few minutes a profit can turn to a loss.

When choosing to invest in penny stocks, there is less room for error than with traditional stocks. Making the decision to buy penny stocks will either make you money or lose the money that you invested. It is important to be aware of the decision you are making by investing time in addition to money.

This indicates steady and regular watching of your stocks and scrutinizing their performance, and inspecting the proceedings in the remaining part of the market and in related industries that might cause impact on your stocks. This engages a substantial time investment sitting on the computer. In case you cannot devote this time, you would not be a triumphant penny stock trader.

- About the Author: Did you find those tips on penny stock trading useful? You can learn a lot more about how and where to buy penny stocks by clicking here. Article Source

Adams Golf focuses on developing high-performance and technologically innovative golf products. On May 11, the company released its first quarter 2010 results. It reported a 5% decrease in net sales compared to the 3 months ended March 31, 2009, but had an overall higher net profit ($1.7 million) than the previous year ($0.4million). The company had open orders totaling $18.1 million at the end of the quarter as compared to open orders of $5.3 million at the same point in 2009. Chip Brewer, CEO and President of Adams Golf, commented that “we believe this increase in open orders is primarily a result of more forward looking planning by select retailers as well as delays in product availability from various vendors. We expect the product availability delays to be resolved during the current quarter.”

The company has experienced significant growth in U.S. market shares. They have been energized with the market response to their current product offerings. One of its newest products, the Speedline Fast 10 drivers, has reduced drag by 10% throughout the swing for a faster club head speed that generates more distance (an additional 15 yeards of carry distance) than previous driver models. According to Golf Datatech LLC, their U.S. iron dollar share was 11.96%, up 21% year over year for the first quarter of 2010. The wood dollar share was 6.53%, up 11% year over year. Furthermore, in March 2010, the Idea A7OS iron set was the #1 selling model of irons in the U.S. Through increased tour exposure, Adams has continued to strengthen its brand and sustained its position as the #1 hybrid on the PGA, Nationwide and Champions tours. Brewer comments that “we are encouraged with the progress we have made in both the product and brad side of the business as well as the improved financial results.”

- About the Author:   About World Market Media:WorldMarketMedia.com (The Global Online Investment Community) is a high traffic stock market, news data website providing cutting edge new media products and services to publicly traded companies worldwide. Our Editor’s Desk authors insightful real-time coverage on the economy, the capital markets and their listed companies.     Article Source

Understanding economic activity as well as the direction of the market will lead you to profitable trades. Keep up with our live news feed – Sign up at TraderMongers.com

S&P 500 Pivots

Another positive day for the S&P 500, the Nasdaq, and the Dow as they all traded into positive terrority on the day after of the FOMC announcement. Currently all the major indexes are broke through their natural resistance levels: Dow 11,000. Nasdaq 2500, and S&P 500 1200.

After strong economic earnings and jobless claims falling to 448,000 pushed the indexes higher. The S&P 500 Index is still below Wednesday’s previous high of 1211. Breaking this level would represent a significant upward dash to the 52 week high of 1220.

Friday is the last day in April so expect some end of the month activity with various economic numbers expect. GDP numbers will give us the momentum of the market going into the first quarter of 2010. The market is mostly likely to be weak after the April 15th tax deadline. Since the S&P 500 is back below the natural support level of 1200 – the daily chart may indicate the beginnings of a trend change as we reach the ‘Sell in May’ prophecy. However the daily trend remains quite strong.

The market volatility index fell to 18.44 after nearing the 200 moving average on the daily chart. It reached the 52 week low of 15.23.

Summary of Pivot Levels:

1220: 52 Week High

1211: Wednesday’s Previous High

1203: Friday’s Primary Pivot Level

1200: Natural Support

Disclaimer

The content in this website is provided for educational and informational purposes only. We offer no investment advice, and nothing in this material should be construed as such. There is a risk of loss when you invest; past performance is never a guarantee of future performance. Trading is the sole responsibility of the individual. No reader should act on the basis of any matter contained herein without getting appropriate professional advice. Every investor or trader should consider all advice and all offerings of products and services on their own merits and for suitability to the individual’s personal needs and circumstances.

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- About the Author: Shamim Ziyaaudhin is one of the editors of TraderMongers.com a one stop trading news feed source for worldwide traders and investors. Their philosophy is to establish the standard for providing market news feed that is comprehensive, accurate, and concise. Providing technical and fundamental trading setups, economic numbers, and calendar events throughout the trading day. Shamim has a Masters in Business Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University and holds a degree in Psychology from Rutgers University. Click here to subscribe to Tradermongers E- News Article Source

Futures trading probably isn’t the trading option for novice traders, but it is a great asset class to aspire to. Many traders that have found success with stocks or options later step up to futures because the leverage used in futures trading gives traders the opportunity to make larger profits in a shorter amount of time.

Given that futures trading can be a vexing game even for seasoned traders, we like the idea of using a signal service as part of a comprehensive futures trading strategy. For those new to futures trading, a signal service can be a great way to understand the various futures markets and what goes into finding a winning futures trade.

So without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the traits you should be on the watch for when evaluating futures signal services.

One aspect of futures trading that we’ve frequently highlighted is the wide array of securities that have accompanying futures products. Certainly, we love the fact that the futures market has something for everyone, but this gift can also be a burden to new traders and it can definitely be a burden when shopping for a signal service.

Traders can become overwhelmed by trying to focus on too many futures products at once. Once you’ve nailed down which futures markets you want to focus on (Remember to limit the total to two or three when you first start out), you can start to focus on what signal service is right for you. This is the easy part. If you like to trade index futures like the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500, make sure your signal service is proficient in this area of futures trading.

The point here is that just as a trader can spread himself too thin by watching too many stocks, currency pairs or futures products, any signal service can suffer from the same problem if it’s trying to catch winners all over the place. Futures signal services with laser-like focus are the way to go.

Every signal service has a different method for finding and recommending trades. Some are fully automated and will just place trades for you. Others tell you what the trade is and give you, the trader, the option of taking the trade or passing on it. The differences don’t end there because every signal service uses different indicators. Some search for overbought and oversold conditions in the market to find the best trades. Others use volume and momentum indicators, while some signal services attempt to put traders on the right side of a strong trend. Still other signal services look for trend reversals and suggest trades that are counter to the most recent obvious market move.

It seems obvious, but a lot of traders only hear the part about the signal service finding the trades and assume all the work is going to be done on their behalf. If only things were that easy. While no successful futures trader would pass on a signal service that has consistently delivered stellar results, that same trader also wouldn’t pass on learning everything he can about the system’s inner workings and methodology. The long and the short of it is you should know why a signal service picks the trades that it does before using real money with that system.

Want to get a sense for how a signal service will perform without risking your hard-earned dough? There’s a solution and you should definitely take advantage of it. Most reputable futures brokers offer free demo or simulated accounts where you can test the efficacy of your signal service without putting real money on the line. If you like what you see in the demo account, then give your signal service a whirl on a live account.

As we always say about any of the signal services we discuss, make sure you take the time to go over the service’s past trades. This is your opportunity to play trade detective and verify beyond a shadow of a doubt if all those winners the service boasts of could have really taken place.

Make a checklist of factors that are important to you. What are the amounts of the biggest winners and losers the service has had recently? Does it perform well in a variety of market conditions? Is the system too conservative or too risk-indulgent? These are just a few of the factors you need to verify before getting involved with a futures signal service. Trust us, you’ll be glad you took the time to do your homework.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/day-trading-articles/the-lowdown-on-futures-signals-services-1701619.html