On the upside
Briefing.com reported rumors that Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) plans to use China BAK Battery's (Nasdaq: CBAK) lithium polymer battery in its Nexus One phone.
Spectranetics (Nasdaq: SPNC) agreed to pay $5 million to resolve a government investigation into allegations that the company illegally imported medical lasers.
McMoRan Exploration (NYSE: MMR) reported progress on its Gulf of Mexico exploration activities.
On the downside
Standpoint Research downgraded Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX).
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is expected to post significant losses in 2010 from credit card loans and mortgages.
Bank of America/Merrill Lynch analyst Guy Moszkowski lowered his earnings estimate for J. P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM).
In the broad market, advancing issues barely edged out decliners by a slim margin on the NYSE while decliners barely outpaced advancers on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a fraction to 633.
