>>> AOL Ticks higher on renewed speculation that the company could be a potentia

Ticks higher on renewed speculation that the company could be a potential target for Yahoo
- Canadian hedge fund Ironfire Capital said to speculate that recent AOL options activity suggests the merger may be imminent. 

**NOTE: Yahoo/AOL merger chatter has gone around since 2010. Several times in 2011 and 2012, AOL's CEO stated that he was not in any talks with Yahoo and had no plans to sell AOL.

>>> Fed's Evans : Fed is in no hurry to raise interest rates,

Fed's Evans (dove, FOMC 2014 alternate): Fed is in no hurry to raise interest rates, Fed has no intention of reducing accommodation in an economy featuring high unemployment and low inflation
- Unemployment should fall to 6% or a bit lower, inflation to rise to 1.5% by the end of 2015. 
- The very low level of inflation despite accelerating growth and easy monetary policy is worrying and puzzling. 
- Tapering QE asset purchases was a rebalancing of the Fed's policy mix, not a reduction in accommodation. 
- Labor market has improved somewhat, but the unemployment rate is still well above a more normal rate of 5.25%. 
- Fed has all the tools it needs to manage risk.

>>> 3D Systems : Expect to be able to double revenue over next c

Expect to be able to double revenue over next couple years through ~30% organic growth - slides
- Willing to tolerate temporary eps compression and even slight margin compressio do substantially accelerate growth rate and market share
- Continue to increase R&A and marekting spend to accelerate top line growth and extend first mover advantage

>>> Monster Beverage trading lower on renewed energy drink conce

--> Reports out this morning indicate California and NY AG may partner to investigate the co's marketing

{http://www.inquisitr.com/1095172/monster-drinks-lawsuit-says-caffeine-dangerous-if-energy-drinks-marketed-to-kids/}

Monster Drinks Lawsuit Says Caffeine Dangerous If Energy Drinks Marketed To Kids

A Monster drinks lawsuit may be possible if prosecutors discover the Monster energy drinks have been marketed to children.


As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit over Monster drinks being marketed to kids before.

The original lawsuit over the Monster drinks was actually a race to the courts. Monster apparently heard their business practices were being investigated by San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, so they preemptively sued the city. San Francisco then sued them right back.

In a statement from May of 2013, Herrera explained the reason they were investigating was solely because of Monster drinks’ caffeine levels:

“Monster Energy is unique among energy drink makers for the extent to which it targets children and youth in its marketing, despite the known risks its products pose to young people’s health and safety. Consumption of highly caffeinated energy drinks by children has been widely condemned by pediatricians and scientists, and the NCAA has banned its member institutions from providing these products even to college athletes because of the grave safety risks.”

The fight was recently renewed because a California federal judge threw out the lawsuit by Monster Beverage Corp. So now, Herrera and the New York state attorney general have banded together to file a lawsuit claiming Monster drinks are “violating state law by misbranding its drinks and marketing them to minors.” They say the Monster lawsuit is aimed to change their business:

“We are disappointed that Monster has remained defiant in marketing products to children. We hope this effort will cause the company to correct its irresponsible marketing practices.”

But company representatives claim that Monster drinks already clearly list any risk to children, with the can saying the “beverage is not recommended for children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant women, or women who are nursing.” The warning labels also say people shouldn’t drink more than 48 ounces of the energy drink, which is the equivalent of four Monster drinks.


(NY Post) Mattress merger would be king-size pain for Sleepy’s

A pair of king-size mattress retailers are looking to make the springs squeak.
Mattress Firm — the No. 1 chain in the US, with more than 1,100 stores — is in talks to acquire Sleep Train, which dominates California, The Post first reported Tuesday night on nypost.com.
Houston-based Mattress Firm, whose shares trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “MFRM,” is looking to acquire privately held Sleep Train in an all-stock deal that could be worth upwards of $200 million, according to sources briefed on the situation.
The negotiations are ongoing, and could still fall apart, sources cautioned. Mattress Firm hasn’t yet finalized an offer for Sleep Train, according to a source.
“There’s no deal on the table,” Jennifer Ritchie, a spokeswoman for Sleep Train, said Tuesday, declining to comment further.
Mattress Firm didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Nevertheless, insiders said Sleep Train, an employee-owned chain of more than 100 stores that ranks itself as the nation’s fourth-largest, could hop into bed with Mattress Firm in the coming weeks.
The roll-up would create the only specialty mattress retailer in the US with a coast-to-coast footprint, increasing its clout with the nation’s dominant manufacturers, led by Tempur Sealy and Serta Simmons, insiders said.
The merger would likewise solidify Mattress Firm’s size advantage over Sleepy’s, the Hicksville, NY, chain that dominates the Northeast.
“This is going to turn up the pressure on Sleepy’s to grow, and you could argue that they haven’t been aggressive enough,” one industry insider said.
Sleepy’s didn’t respond to a request for comment.
With their fortunes closely tied to the sluggish US housing market, mattress retailers have been consolidating what has been a highly fragmented business in recent years.
Indeed, Mattress Firm CEO Steve Stagner has added a few notches to his bed post of late, acquiring a pair of Midwest-based chains in November that operate 44 stores combined.
In May 2012, Mattress Firm bought Mattress Giant, a rival with 180 stores in Texas and Florida.
Even as he digests those deals, Stagner is investing aggressively in advertising and employees, a strategy that lately appears to be paying off. Last month, Mattress Firm’s shares soared after it raised its financial forecast on a 46-percent profit surge.
Sleepy’s, a 55-year-old, family-owned company said to be the country’s No. 2 mattress retailer, currently operates more than 900 stores in 17 states up and down the East Coast from Maine to North Carolina.
Compared with Mattress Firm, Sleepy’s has focused on opening its own stores instead of acquiring smaller chains.
Last June, Sleepy’s announced it was expanding into Chicago with 10 new stores.