>>> Dow Chemical beats by $0.22, beats on revs; raises quarterly dividend

DOW +4.5% pre market 70k...traded so far...

Dow Chemical beats by $0.22, beats on revs; raises quarterly dividend 15% and increases share buyback; CEO on CNBC: Open to suggestions when asked about Third Point activism on CNBC

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.65 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.22 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.43; revenues rose 3.4% year/year to $14.39 bln vs the $14.13 bln consensus.
Sales increased in all operating segments, excluding Feedstocks and Energy. Gains were led by record fourth quarter revenue in Agricultural Sciences (up 13%), Coatings and Infrastructure Solutions (up 10%) and Performance Plastics (up 8%) on an adjusted basis. Volume rose 2%, or 3% on an adjusted basis versus the same quarter last year. Gains were reported in most operating segments and geographic areas.
Volume growth was led by emerging geographies, which increased 7%, driven by Latin America (up 13%). Volume gains were also reported in the United States (up 3%).
Price increased 1%, primarily due to gains in Performance Plastics (up 7%) and Performance Materials (up 1%) partially offset by declines in Feedstocks and Energy (down 6%).
The Company's previously announced cost actions gained further traction in the quarter, enabling Dow to exceed its $500 million target for the year.
Board of Directors has declared a 15% increase in the first quarter dividend, from $0.32 per share to $0.37 per share. In line with its stated priorities, the Company also announced that it has expanded its authorized share buy-back program to $4.5 billion from $1.5 billion of common stock to be completed in 2014.

"We generated significant earnings growth, margin expansion and return on capital improvement through Dow-specific actions that gained momentum throughout 2013. Our focus in running a disciplined, integrated strategy, and managing our portfolio with targeted growth and productivity metrics by business and value chain was clearly evident in the quarter -- demonstrated by the EBITDA gains we achieved across every operating segment."

DOW CEO just now said co is open to all suggestions when asked about Third Point's (Dan Loeb) activism pushing for a spin-off of its petro-chemical business... co has been resturcuting/divesting.

>>> Rockwell Automation beats by $0.09, beats on revs; raises bottom end of FY14

ROK US

Rockwell Automation beats by $0.09, beats on revs; raises bottom end of FY14 EPS in-line with consensus 

Reports Q1 (Dec) adj earnings of $1.47 per share, $0.09 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.38; revenues rose 6.9% year/year to $1.59 bln vs the $1.56 bln consensus.
Co issues in-line guidance for FY14, raises bottom end of adj EPS of $6.00-6.35 from prior guidance of $5.95-6.35 vs. $6.20 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Architecture & Software fiscal 2014 first quarter sales were $695.9 million, an increase of 6 percent from $657.5 million in the same period last year. Segment operating earnings were $211.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014 compared to $183.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2013.
Control Products & Solutions fiscal 2014 first quarter sales were $895.8 million, an increase of 8 percent from $831.7 million in the same period last year.
"Sales in the U.S. were robust and I was pleased to see the Asia Pacific region return to growth. Overall organic sales growth of 7 percent and Adjusted Earnings per Share growth of 20 percent provide a strong start to the fiscal year."

>>> EMC beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides FY14 below consensus

EMC beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides FY14 below consensus 

Reports Q4 (Dec) non-GAAP earnings of $0.60 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.59; revenues rose 10.8% year/year to $6.68 bln vs the $6.63 bln consensus.
For Q4, EMC's Information Storage business accelerated revenue growth to 10% YoY. EMC's Emerging Storage business accelerated revenue to 73% YoY, propelled by the very successful launch of EMC XtremIO and continued strong growth of EMC Isilon, EMC Atmos and EMC VPLEX products. The company's Unified and Backup Recovery business5 increased revenue 11% YoY, benefitting from the recent product launches of the next-generation EMC VNX and EMC Data Domain product lines. Revenue from EMC's High-end Storage business6 returned to growth in the fourth quarter as customers continued to turn to the company's popular VMAX family. Revenue growth from EMC's RSA Information Security business and EMC's Information Intelligence business accelerated to 17% and 3% YoY, respectively.
EMC's consolidated fourth-quarter revenue from the United States increased 11%YoY to $3.5 billion, representing 52% of consolidated fourth-quarter revenue. Revenue from EMC's business operations outside of the United States increased 11% YoY to $3.2 billion and represented 48% of consolidated fourth-quarter revenue. Within this, on a year-over-year basis, revenue from EMC's Europe, Middle East and Africa region grew 15%, revenue from EMC's Asia Pacific and Japan region increased 1%, and revenue from EMC's Latin America region grew 12%. Revenue from EMC's BRIC+13 markets increased 17% YoY. The co ended the year with $17.6 billion in cash and investments.
Co issues downside guidance for FY14, sees non-GAAP EPS of $1.95 vs. $2.04 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY14 revs of $24.5 bln vs. $24.98 bln Capital IQ Consensus.

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

Gapping up: VRNG +51.1%, EZPW +17.6%, MDVN +16.1%, FSL +9.5%, HUBG +6.9%, TSEM +5.8%, AUDC +5.5%, PLUG +5.2%, CLNE +4.2%, JKS +3.3%, TEVA +3.2%, MSN +2.9%, EFII +2.7%, TSRA +2.5%, ALU +2.5%, WRB +2.4%, BIIB +2.1%, INFY +2%, ESRX +1.7%, VOD +1.7%, TSL +1.6%, NOK +1.6%, SINA +1.5%, ACE +1.5%, GOLD +1.4%, MTSC +1.3%, TWTR +1.3%, C +1.1%, EA +1.1%, SPWR +1%, YRCW +0.8%

Gapping down: PGNX -11.3%, AIRM -6.6%, CRUS -5.3%, KTCC -4.8%, RFMD -4.7%, YHOO -3.5%, VMW -3.1%, ILMN -3.1%, NMFC -2.7%, LIVE -2.5%, TSRO -2.2%, T -2.1%, FLS -1.4%, EMC -0.8%

>>> IMF's Lagarde: Monetary tightening will have an impact in certain emerging m


IMF's Lagarde: Monetary tightening will have an impact in certain emerging markets
**Note: Focus remained on the 'Fragile Five' economies (Turkey, Brazil, India, South Africa and Indonesia) and again saw rate action implemented to protect its attraction on foreign investment to finance their growth ambitions. Turkey central bank joined India (last night) and Brazil (2 weeks ago) with a more aggressive than expected policy tightening

(Barrons) Apple a Buy After Selloff --> AAPL +0.69% Pre-Market

Apple a Buy After Selloff

Apple had a strong quarter but Wall Street expected more. And while a weak revenue forecast hurt, shares look cheap. Follow Icahn.

Apple's stock registered its biggest drop in a year on Tuesday, as sluggish iPhone sales and a downbeat second-quarter revenue forecast sent investors fleeing. Apple (ticker: AAPL) shares were down nearly 8%, or $43.25, to $507.20 in midday trading.

However, today's selloff is a buying opportunity.

The bad news is that new business in China isn't offsetting sluggish smartphone sales in North America; Apple sold a record 51 million iPhones during the quarter, while analysts expected that 54 million to 56 million units would be sold. The company blamed carrier changes to phone upgrade policies, though consumers may be sitting on their hands, awaiting the possible launch of a new iPhone with a five-inch screen later this year.

Apple also forecasted that second-quarter revenue would be between $42 billion and $44 billion, below the $46 billion Wall Street estimate.

However, Apple announced better-than-expected first-quarter results late Monday, with net income of $13 billion, or $14.50 per share, which was ahead of the $14.07 analysts expected for the fiscal first quarter, ended in December. Revenue of $57.6 billion also exceeded estimates.

Moreover, Apple has a thriving ecosystem, with hundreds of millions of credit cards on file, and roughly $159 billion in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet, or about $157 in net cash per share.

Apple sells tens of millions of devices per quarter, with just under 90 million in the most recent quarter. And it does so at premium prices with a healthy 38% gross margin. Compare that to Microsoft (MSFT), which has spent its cash hoard on questionable acquisitions, and is tied to the declining PC market.

Apple stock also reflects little regard for strong iPad sales and the possibility of huge upgrade cycles, if and when Apple finally reveals a smartphone-tablet.

Apple has an attractive 2.4% yield, and could boost its dividend this spring. The company used $7.7 billion in cash flow for dividends and share repurchases in the latest quarter, bringing cumulative payments to $43 billion, CFO Peter Oppenheimer said.

And yet, the stock trades at only 11.65 times the consensus earnings estimate of $43.42 per share for fiscal 2014, and at around 8.5 times forward earnings (excluding cash from the stock price).

We're not alone in thinking Apple is cheap. Late Tuesday morning, activist investor Carl Icahn tweeted that he had just spent another $500 million on Apple shares, bringing his holdings to roughly $4 billion. Icahn is demanding that Apple return more cash to shareholders.

If Icahn doesn't get his way, and ultimately walks away from the fight, some investors who've bet on his activism resulting in a big repurchase might dump the shares, which could weaken the stock price.

And while Apple appears to be losing smartphone market share, it could reverse that trend as it boosts emerging-market sales and introduces new smartphones in North America.

With Icahn dialing in yet again, we wouldn't bet against the stock.

>>> China Mobile a step closer to buying Vodafone stake

State-run Chinese telecom operator China Mobile may be a step closer to buying a stake in its British counterpart Vodafone as US group AT&T announced on Monday it will not buy the British company, reports the Hong Kong-based Oriental Daily News.

Rumors have spread that the Chinese company plans to buy 5%-20% of Vodafone's shares, since the British company has a strong presence in Africa, a market China Mobile yearns to tap, according to South Africa's Financial Mail.

Vodafone was formerly a strategic shareholder in the Chinese company but sold out its holdings of China Mobile's shares in 2010. The two companies have remained on good terms and jointly bid for a mobile phone license in Myanmar last year.

AT&T revealed it has no intention of buying Vodafone in response to a British supervisory body's request. The company is said to have made the decision after making contact with EU communication officials.

China Mobile has not responded to the rumors nor revealed whether it will take the opportunity to buy a stake in Vodafone, which could involve HK$72.1-$288.6 billion (US$9.2-$37.1 billion). The huge amount of money could influence China Mobile's decision.

The decision may also be affected by a potential dip in China Mobile's and other Chinese telecom operators' profits, which may be reduced by 10%-20%. China is set to replace corporation tax with value-added tax in the telecommunication sector in April, which may increase telecom operators' tax rates from 3%-11%.