STOCKS NEWS US-Cisco denies job cuts report

Stocks on the move Real-time Equity news, U.S. stock market report 1427 ET 10July2009-Cisco denies job cuts report ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cisco Systems Inc said on Friday it was not in a new round of layoffs in response to an analyst report referring to 2,000 job cuts underway. Thomas Weisel analyst Hasan Imam had said in a report that job cuts would help Cisco exceed cost cutting targets. "The Thomas Weisel report today gives the impression that Cisco is announcing a new headcount reduction of up to 2,000 jobs. That is not the case," said Cisco spokesman Terry Alberstein. Alberstein said Imam appeared to be referring to plans for job cuts of between 1,500 and 2,000 that Cisco announced during its quarterly conference call in February. He said the company was still cutting those jobs. Shares of Cisco, a Dow component, rose 0.6 percent to $18.28. Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 1256 ET 10July2009-FBR: Regional banks should post "solid" Q2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FBR Capital Markets on Friday wrote that regional and community banks should report a "solid" quarter in the second quarter, "as revenues from capital market operations, mortgage banking, and improving net interest margin trends should offset near-term concerns on rising credit costs." Despite that, the firm also said the quarter would be one of the "noisiest" on record because of capital raises, TARP redemptions, special FDIC assessments and potential asset revaluations. "On the credit front, we expect record levels of both nonperforming assets and charge-offs, but believe the sharp rise will not overly concern investors in this quarter, particularly if banks use one-time benefits to build reserves," FBR wrote. "However, if the jobs picture does not improve over the next couple of months, we believe credit costs will continue to rise at an alarming rate, pressuring bank returns on equity and valuations." Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 1246 ET 10July2009-Bernanke likely to get 2nd Fed term-poll ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will very likely win reappointment next year, according to an influential poll released on Friday, hardening market expectations that might prove costly for President Barack Obama to disappoint if he chose someone else. The July Blue Chip survey of professional economists found an 80 percent likelihood that Bernanke will be asked to stay on for another four years when his current term at the head of the U.S. central bank expires on Jan. 31, 2010. Some worry that changing the Fed chairman as the economy battles the most severe recession in a generation could spook financial markets. Investors might shun dollars and U.S. bonds because of the uncertainty a change could create, driving up U.S. borrowing costs and negatively impacting growth and jobs. Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 1124 ET 10July2009-Deutsche Bank upgrades life sciences tool group ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Deutsche Bank on Friday upgraded the life sciences tool sector to "market weight" from "underweight," citing a marginal sequential improvement in the global research and development market. The firm also upgraded PerkinElmer Inc to "hold" from "sell," and raised its price target on six life sciences tools companies. The academic and government markets should benefit from potential stimulus funds, driving growth for companies that have exposure to these markets, it wrote, adding that it expects industrial markets to remain constrained. The firm listed Life Technologies Corp, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc and Millipore Corp as its top picks. For details, see Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.