Weekly Recap - Week ending 20-Nov-09The major indices kicked off the week on a strong note, with the S&P 500 hitting fresh highs for 2009. But selling pressure eventually emerged, resulting in a mixed finish. Overall it was a relatively slow week, with earnings season winding down and a small amount of corporate news.

For the week, the S&P 500 fell 0.2% in mixed trade as six of the 10 sectors posted a loss. Tech (-1.4%) and consumer discretionary (-1.1%) underperformed, while healthcare (+1.9%) and materials (+1.4%) outperformed.

Retailers made up the bulk of the major companies to report earnings this week, a clear sign that third quarter earnings season is coming to end.

Of the 17 S&P 500 companies that reported earnings this week, 11 topped EPS estimates, two reported in-line results and four missed the consensus.

Among retailers, Target (TGT 47.46) posted upside EPS results ($0.58 versus the $0.50 consensus), while revenue came in-line with expectations.

TJX Cos (TJX 38.80), Limited Brands (LTD 17.25), Sears Holdings (SHLD 72.64) and Gap (GPS 21.95) all posted upside EPS results, while Lowe?s (LOW 21.35) posted in-line earnings.

In other notable earnings news, Dell (DELL 14.29) disappointed investors after its earnings ($0.23 versus $0.28 consensus) and revenue came up short of the consensus. Shares of Dell dropped 7.2% on the week despite the company saying that it is seeing improvement in overall underlying IT demand.

In economic news, initial claims met consensus expectations at 505,000, but was unable to drop below the 500,000 barrier. The labor market remains weak, with claims holding to a range between 500,000 and 515,000 since

4:53AM 51job beats by $0.09, beats on revs; guides Q4 revs above consensus and announces resignation of CFO (JOBS) 16.66 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.19 per ADS, includes non-recurring items, $0.09 better than the First Call consensus of $0.10; revenues rose 4.6% year/year to $32.2 mln vs the $29.9 mln consensus. Gross margin expanded to 62.4% compared with 52.7% in 3Q08 primarily due to cost control and efficiency measures Co issues guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.17-0.20 per ADS, may not be comparable to $0.09 consensus; sees Q4 revs of $31.5-33.0 mln vs. $29.70 mln consensus. Co announces resignation of Peter Lui as Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Co names Kathleen Chen as Acting CFO.

2:11AM On The Wires : NICE Systems (NICE) announces the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire the security management solution assets of Orsus, a provider of Security Management Solutions. Under the terms of the agreement, NICE will be acquiring the security management solution assets of Orsus in an all-cash transaction for a total consideration of $22 mln, subject to certain adjustments. Acquisition is expected to be accretive on a non-GAAP basis, within one year after closing.

1:56AM Ameris Bancorp files $60.0 mln mixed shelf offering (ABCB) 6.25 :