The telecommunication and network specialist, Ciena Corporation (CIEN) announced that it has received regulatory approval for the proposed acquisition of substantially all of Nortel Network Corp.'s (NT) optical and Ethernet division.   The company has been granted termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott Rodino Act in the United States. The Canadian Competition Bureau has also approved the takeover.  Ciena plans to acquire substantially all of the optical networking and carrier Ethernet assets of its rival Nortel Networks’ Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN) division, for a total of $521 million ($390 million in cash and 10 million in shares worth $142 million based on the Oct. 15 market price).  However, the deal also requires the approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Nortel had filed for bankruptcy in January.  The deal is ...

Omnicity Corp, the Midwest’s largest fixed Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP), recently announced an agreement with Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) to display wireless broadband service throughout its network. Omnicity CEO, Greg Jarman, said, “There are only a few carrier-grade WiMAX vendors out there today, and we are excited to have chosen Cisco as our strategic equipment supplier. Having selected a vendor, we can now turn our attention to spectrum holders across the country.”

The recent announcement represents just one of several new deals signed up over the past few months, including acquisitions in Omnicity’s home state of Indiana:

• Acquisition of NDWave, Inc., Alexandria, IN • Acquisition of North Central Communications, Peru, IN • Acquisition of Forepoint Networks, Lafayette, IN • Acquisition of Moreland Wireless, Henry County, IN

The above acquisitions have already given Omnicity over 3,000 new customers, resulting in a total subscriber base of over 5,000.

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 12, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Cisco Systems (CSCO) as the Bull of the Day and Potash Corporation (POT) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on JPMorgan Chase & Company (JPM), Citigroup Inc.(C) and Bank of America (BAC).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5506

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is a leading provider of IP-based networking and other products. The company's first quarter results were a significant improvement over prior quarters, with both revenue and earnings exceeding our expectations.

Of particular note is the growth in orders, which indicates continued business momentum. Improving operating performance, solid financials, a sound restructuring policy and new growth initiatives are the drivers behind our Outperform rating.

However,

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A drop in the number of newly laid-off workers and upbeat remarks from bellwether Cisco Systems injected confidence about an economic recovery ahead of this morning’s highly expected October jobs report, propelling the Dow average to its first close above 10,000 in two weeks. 

Cisco Systems’ (NASDAQ:CSCO) CEO John Chambers said he now sees a global economic recovery, fueling a rebound in the company’s sales this quarter.  The Dow average jumped 203 points, or 2%, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ, riding high on Cisco’s forecast, bolted up 50 points or about 2.4%. 

All ten S&P 500 industry groups ended in the green, with banking shares advancing 2.6% as analyst Dick Bove of Rochdale Securities noted the group will double by the end of 2010.  Technology shares advanced 2.2%.  Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) jumped 5.4% to $43.85 and Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MCHP) gained 3.9% to $25.37 after it was raised to “buy"

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 6, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Cisco Systems (CSCO), Intel Corporation (INTC), Dell Inc. (DELL), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Thursday’s AnalystBlog:

Cisco Beats, Guides Up

Cisco Systems’ (CSCO) first quarter 2010 earnings beat the Zacks consensus by 13 cents. Revenue beat by 3.1%. Both revenue and EPS were significantly better than the guided range.

Revenue of $9.02 billion was up 5.7% sequentially and down 12.7% year over year.

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Beware This Tech-Tonic Shift In The Global Technology Sector

by Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research

If you’re betting on a recovery in technology stocks based on third quarter earnings reports from companies such as IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), you’re not alone.

While economists and commentators debate the issue, many investors have already placed large bets on a V-shaped recovery for the tech sector.

They have some good reason to think so too, since the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite has risen 70% from its March lows. The problem is, they’re expecting “business as usual” in the industry… meaning they think spending will pick up the way it did in the 1990s.

Kris Gopalakrishman, CEO of Indian tech giant, Infosys (Nasdaq: INFY) – a company in the Xcelerated Profits Report portfolio – sees it differently,

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• Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) reported better-than-expected first quarter adjusted earnings of 36 cents a share, versus 37 cents a year ago, beating Zacks estimates of 26 cents a share.  Revenues of $9 billion, though off last year's $10.3 billion, exceeded Zacks projections of $8.75 billion. Current quarter revenue guidance was lifted to 1%-4% growth from a year ago to $9.9 billion-$10.2 billion.  CEO John Chambers said the numbers "continued to reflect strong sequential growth trends," as he noted an improving economic outlook

• Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) reported a surprise quarterly profit and halved its annual loss estimate as both its revenue and cost-cutting expectations beat estimates after vehicle demand grew in the US and Asia. The company said it now sees a $2.2 billion loss for its fiscal year ending March

• Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) reported same-store-sales rose 5% in October, ahead of estimates of a 4.7% gain, as a weak dollar

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Cisco Systems’ (CSCO) first quarter 2010 earnings beat the Zacks consensus by 13 cents. Revenue beat by 3.1%. Both revenue and EPS were significantly better than the guided range. Revenue Revenue of $9.02 billion was up 5.7% sequentially and down 12.7% year over year. Revenue was at the high-end of management’s guidance range of a year-over-year decline of 15-17%. Products generated 80% of revenue, increasing 7.0% sequentially and declining 16.6% year over year. Order rates also strengthened, particularly in the U.S. , indicating continued revenue growth in the next quarter. Management stated that the company saw bottom in the fiscal fourth quarter, with improvement in the first. Results are likely to trend upward going forward. Around 55% of total revenue was generated in the U.S. & Canada (up 5.1% sequentially), 20% came from Europe (up 9.3%), ...

The telecommunications and network equipment company Ciena Corporation (CIEN) has received the Court’s approval to begin bidding for Nortel Network Corp.'s (NT) optical and Ethernet division. The judges also said that Nov. 9 will be the deadline for bids and scheduled the auction for Nov. 13. Ciena plans to acquire substantially all of the optical networking and carrier Ethernet assets of its rival Nortel Networks’ Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN) division, for a total of $521 million ($390 million in cash and 10 million in shares worth $142 million based on the Oct. 15 market price). The company expects to incur integration-related costs of approximately $180 million, the majority of which will be paid in 2010, and expects the transaction to be significantly accretive in fiscal 2011. The deal is subject to a competitive bidding process under the United States Bankruptcy Code and the Canadian Companies' ...

Yesterday, telecommunications and network equipment company Ciena Corporation (CIEN) announced the acquisition of substantially all of the optical networking and carrier Ethernet assets of its rival Nortel Networks’ (NT) Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN) division, for a total of $521 million ($390 million in cash and 10 million in shares worth $131 million based on the Oct. 6 market price). Ciena will take over Nortel’s long-haul optical transport portfolio, metro optical Ethernet switching and transport solutions, Ethernet transport, aggregation and switching technology, multiservice SONET/SDH product families and network management software products. Moreover, Ciena expects to incur integration-related costs of approximately $180 million, the majority of which will be paid in 2010 and expects the transaction to be significantly accretive in fiscal 2011. Nortel had filed for bankruptcy protection back in January in Canada, and has since then planned to sell off its assets. Nortel had ...