plus 4, Service Sector Grew in October, But Slower Than Expected - CNBC

Service Sector Grew in October, But Slower Than Expected - CNBC
Ancestry.com Shoots for $100M IPO - CBS News
Fifth Annual EagleBank Foundation Fight Breast Cancer Golf Classic ... - Stockhouse
Ancestry.com hopes to raise $100 million in IPO - Gather.com
House panel votes to give SEC more money, power - AOL

Service Sector Grew in October, But Slower Than Expected - CNBC

Posted: 04 Nov 2009 07:53 AM PST

The U.S. services sector, which represents about 80 percent of U.S. economic activity, grew for the second consecutive month in October, while the labor market also showed signs of improvement in data published on Wednesday.

The U.S. Institute for Supply Management's services index slipped to 50.6 last month from 50.9 in September, below economists' median forecast for a rise to 51.5, with the dividing line between growth and contraction being 50.

Although the report showed growth in the sector, analysts were disappointed in the employment index, which fell to 41.1 in October from 44.3 in September.

"It's disappointing that it didn't hit the consensus number but the good news is that the index stayed above 50," said John Canally, economist, with LPL Financial in Boston. "New orders are very strong for two months in a row and inventories are being restocked. The big disappointment is the employment number which dropped as opposed to the manufacturing sector index earlier this week."

The report was roughly in line with surveys in Europe earlier on Wednesday suggesting service sector activity expanded at its fastest in 22 months in October in the euro zone, and in Britain at its briskest since August 2007, when the global credit crunch struck.

Labor Market Hurts Less

In other U.S. data on Wednesday, private sector companies reduced jobs in October at the slowest pace in more than a year, shedding 203,000 positions, fewer than a revised 227,000 jobs lost in September, according to the ADP Employer Services LLC report.

The October private job loss was the smallest since July 2008.

"There are still a lot of people out there feeling pain," said Macroeconomic Advisers' chairman Joel Prakken. "But we are heading in the right direction."

The ADP figures are seen by some analysts as a proxy for the government's closely watched report on non-farm payrolls.

The U.S. Labor Department will release its October labor report Friday at 8:30 a.m.

Analysts polled recently by Reuters projected U.S. payrolls likely shrank by 175,000 in October, compared with a 263,000 decline in September.

Economists do not expect job growth to take place until 2010.

"We did have a month-on-month improvement in ADP but we are still losing jobs, and the 10 percent unemployment barrier has huge psychological significance," said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency analyst at BNY Mellon in New York.

Still, the pace of private job losses has slowed since the 736,000 drop in March, according to ADP data.

Also Wednesday a separate report showed planned layoffs by U.S. companies in October slowed for a third consecutive month to a 19-month low, feeding hopes the labor market will continue to improve as economic activity rebounds.

Planned job cuts announced by U.S. employers fell to 55,679 in October, down 16 percent from 66,404 in September, according to the report by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

The October job cuts were the lowest since March 2008, when employers said they would shed 53,579 workers, and the October numbers are 51 percent below the year-ago announced layoffs.

For the year through October, announced job cuts are up 36 percent from the prior-year period, at 1.19 million. The total announced layoffs this year are just 31,406 shy of last year's total of 1.22 million.

Planned layoffs in October were driven by the automobile industry, with 13,420 announced layoffs. The sector, with a total of 164,440 planned layoffs this year, may see more downsizing in 2009, the report said.

Mortgage Rates Fall

In other U.S. economic data, U.S. mortgage applications rose for the first time in four weeks, reflecting a jump in demand for home refinancing loans as interest rates on 30-year loans dropped below 5 percent, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the most widely used loan, fell below 5 percent for the first time in four weeks. The 5 percent level is something of a psychological tipping point, typically sparking home loan refinancing activity.

Later on Wednesday the Federal Reserve's policy meeting is expected to reaffirm its intention to keep U.S. interest rates at ultra-low levels for a long time to support the economy, even as signs of recovery accumulate.

The U.S. central bank cut overnight rates close to zero percent last December and it has vowed to keep them there for an "extended period." While some analysts think the Fed could start to tip-toe away from that pledge, most say it is too soon.

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Ancestry.com Shoots for $100M IPO - CBS News

Posted: 04 Nov 2009 08:36 AM PST

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Fifth Annual EagleBank Foundation Fight Breast Cancer Golf Classic ... - Stockhouse

Posted: 04 Nov 2009 07:46 AM PST

BETHESDA, Md., Nov 4, 2009 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) --

The fifth annual EagleBank Foundation Fight Breast Cancer Golf Classic raised over $250,000. The following local hospitals and organizations were the primary beneficiaries: Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Montgomery County, MD, and The George Washington University Cancer Institute, Providence Hospital and Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. Other beneficiaries were the Primary Care Coalition and the Wellness Center in Montgomery County. The tournament was held on October 12, 2009, at the Woodmont Country Club. Hospital representatives were present at the event to accept their donation checks.

"We are again proud of our efforts to raise funds to help fight the devastating effects that breast cancer has on all who are touched by it," commented Donald R. Rogers (of Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy & Ecker, P.A.), a director of EagleBank and the Chairman of the EagleBank Foundation. "Because of the tremendous generosity of our sponsors, players, contributors and volunteers, we are proud to provide this much-needed funding for breast cancer programs and services at these well-deserving local hospitals and organizations. It is unbelievable that we "over-sold" this event during these very challenging economic times. This is a testament to the passion and hard work of our Committee members and everyone else involved in organizing this event. It was truly an honor working with so many wonderful, dedicated people with the same commitment and focus," he concluded.

"As a local community business bank, this annual event brings us in contact with many others who share our commitment to the community," commented EagleBank's Chairman and CEO Ronald D. Paul. "We could not do it alone. Working with employees, board members and their spouses, vendors and suppliers, the hospitals, and our generous sponsors, donors and players, we successfully raised over $250,000, despite these very difficult and uncertain financial times. We're proud of these efforts and sincerely thank everyone involved. We look forward to next year and another chance to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer."

ABOUT EAGLE BANCORP, INC. AND EAGLEBANK

Eagle Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for EagleBank, which commenced operations in 1998. The Bank is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and conducts full service banking services through fourteen offices, located in Montgomery County, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. The Company focuses on building relationships with businesses, professionals and individuals in its marketplace.

(Logo: http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=)

The EagleBank logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6102

This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com

SOURCE: Eagle Bancorp, Inc.

CONTACT: EagleBank Ronald D. Paul 301.986.1800

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Ancestry.com hopes to raise $100 million in IPO - Gather.com

Posted: 04 Nov 2009 07:46 AM PST

NEW YORK (AP) — Genealogy Web site Ancestry.com hopes to raise about $100 million when it goes public this week. With more than a million paying subscribers, little competition, a small debt load and a record of increasing revenues, it may fare better than other IPOs that have recently priced below their filing ranges.

The Provo, Utah-based company, which is the world's largest online resource for birth certificates and marriage records, expects to price the shares between $12.50 and $14.50 apiece on Wednesday. Underwriters are being offered up to an additional 1.1 million shares to cover overallotments, which would boost total proceeds to about $115 million.

Five of the last nine IPOs have closed below their offering price in the first day. But experts say that shouldn't be the case for Ancestry because technology IPOs have collectively performed about twice as well as other sectors so far this year.

The company is a profitable niche market leader and it's growth story will likely resonate well with investors, said Scott Sweet, senior managing partner at IPO Boutique, who is optimistic about the stock debut.

"Currently they're alone out there, and for the time being their financials are showing it," Sweet said. "There is definitely strong demand for researching and building a family tree, and the people who do get involved with this really get deeply involved, going as far back as the software will allow them out of curiosity."

Not only does the Web site make family history research less painstaking and time consuming, but it lets customers collaborate with other subscribers. That gives it the edge of a social networking Web site, Sweet said.

Ancestry's revenue jumped from $122.6 million in 2004 to $197.6 million in 2008. In the nine months that ended Sept. 30, the company earned $12.2 million, or 30 cents per share, a more than threefold increase from the $3.5 million, or 9 cents per share, it earned in the same period a year earlier.

Francis Gaskins, president of IPOdesktop, said on-demand software, or the "log me in" segment, has been strong during the economic downturn. Ancestry, which relies heavily on recurring revenue from annual subscriptions, has funded its growth through internal cash flow.

"At first blush, some may think this looks like a high price-earnings ratio, but compared to other companies in the broadly defined segment it's a very attractive price," Gaskins said.

It's unclear how large the potential market is for its products, however, because Ancestry is something of a pioneer in online genealogy, said Eric Guja, an analyst for Greenwich, Conn.-based Renaissance Capital.

The company expects to expand overseas, but it hasn't gained traction internationally yet. Meanwhile, the average monthly subscriber churn rate, or the rate at which it lost customers, is relatively high at 4 percent, Guja said. Still, he expects the stock to do well.

"This deal in particular will appeal to a specific kind of investor base," Guja said. "This is a unique company that's invested more than $80 million to build up its content, and it will continue to benefit from its large user base."

About 45 percent of the shares will come from existing shareholders, the company said. Private equity firm Spectrum Equity Investors, through its affiliated funds, will own about 54.8 percent of the outstanding stock after the offering.

Ancestry plans to use net proceeds of about $48.4 million for general corporate purposes and to repay debt. The company said it may also use a portion to expand through acquisitions or investments in technologies.

Underwriters for the deal include Morgan Stanley, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, BMO Capital Markets Corp., Jefferies & Co. and Piper Jaffray & Co. It will trade under the symbol "ACOM" on the Nasdaq Global Market.

Founded in 1983 as Ancestry Inc., the company started out publishing books to help genealogy buffs research family lineage and moved to Web-based documents and tools. With more than 600 employees, Ancestry.com was spun off from The Generations Network, a group of businesses offering other Web tools, DNA testing services and Ancestry magazine.

The president, CEO and director of the company, Timothy Sullivan, was president and CEO of Match.com, a dating site run by Internet company IAC/InterActiveCorp., before joining Ancestry in 2005.

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House panel votes to give SEC more money, power - AOL

Posted: 04 Nov 2009 08:29 AM PST

DWUZZIE

11:03 AMOct 15 2009

Once again this regulation is following party lines. Now WHO would not want to regulate the thievery that robbed our economy ----- seems REPUBLICANS , champions of deregulation. Watch 'em howl

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