A drop in first time applications for unemployment benefits lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow rising 13 points to 13,427. Nasdaq gained 14 points to 3108. On the upside
Tempur-Pedic (NYSE: TPX) will pay a premium of approximately $242 million to acquire Sealy (NYSE: ZZ). Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR) will offer approximately $500 million in senior notes. Royale Energy (Nasdaq: ROYL) said that test wells in the Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska successfully discovered oil. On the downside Peregrine Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PPHM) has enough capital to run operations until April 2013. Shares of Savient Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: SVNT) continued falling after announcing grants made to chief financial officer John P. Hamill. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd filed a class action lawsuit against Questcor Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: QCOR) alleging securities fraud. In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added a point to 835.