On the upside
Ford Motor (NYSE: F) took steps to strengthen its balance sheet in part by reducing $9.9 billion in debt by the end of last year.Sallie Mae (NYSE: SLM) announced plans to add 2000 jobs in the U.S. over the next 18 month by shifting call center operations from overseas.
Casino operator MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) hired Morgan Stanley to sell off assets.
On the downside
Shares of NII Holdings (Nasdaq: NIHD) tumbled after the Latin American wireless carrier reported gains in subscribers that missed targets, particularly in Mexico, its largest market.
An analyst lowered his opinion on Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) due to some cash liquidity issues. The company engages in mining operations globally.
Shares of Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: JAVA) fell after the server and software company terminated IBM's status as its exclusive negotiating partner.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin
of nearly 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The
Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost 8 points to 447.
