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

4:33PM Oshkosh Corp exceeds November M-ATV delivery requirement (OSK) 37.97 -1.19 : Co announced it met the November MRAP All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) production requirement ahead of schedule on Nov. 19. This marks the fifth consecutive month the Company has exceeded the accelerated M-ATV delivery schedule. OSK will continue to increase production to meet December's requirement of 1,000 vehicles, with output remaining at that high level through April 2010.

4:32PM Document Security Systems announces ruling in patent validity gearing by Austrian Patent Office (DMC) 2.19 : Co market reported that the Nullity Department of the Austrian patent office issued its decision in the patent invalidity hearing brought by the European Central Bank (the "ECB") against Document Security Systems, Inc. The Austrian Patent Office has decided that European Patent No 0455750B1, that was awarded to the Company by the European Patent Office, has been deemed invalid in Austria due to "added matter". The judgment is the outcome of a hearing held in Vienna, Austria on October 14, 2009, and does not affect the validity of the patent in other
European countries.

4:30PM Duke Realty Corp announces renewal of unsecured revolving credit facility (DRE) 11.63 -0.05 : Co announced it has renewed its unsecured revolving credit facility, which was set to mature in January 2010. Under terms of the renewal, the facility has a borrowing capacity of $850 mln with an interest rate on borrowings of 275 basis points over the applicable LIBOR rate, and matures in February 2013. The terms also include an option to increase the facility to $1.05 bln. There is currently no balance outstanding under the facility.