Stocks are lower as the dollar rises and Wall Street digests a week of mixed economic reports

Overseas markets declined. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the ECB plans to start pulling back some of its stimulus programs as the economy begins to recover.

With little U.S. economic news to help sway the market Friday, the dollar is again pressuring stocks. A strengthening dollar drives down foreign demand for commodities, which are often traded in dollars. It also can depress U.S. exports which become more expensive as the dollar rises.

That can hurt the price of energy and materials stocks that are closely tied to commodities and companies with large operations overseas.

A disappointing earnings report from computer maker Dell Inc. is also weighing on the market. Dell said after the market closed Thursday that sales of its computers to big businesses remain sluggish. Its quarterly revenue and profit missed analysts’ expectations.

As

...

Nov. 20, 2009 (Business Wire) — Gen2Media Corporation (OTCBB: GTWO), a full service video technology and production company, has been chosen by nine-time Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Mary J. Blige to support her live performance at the American Music Awards. On Sunday November 22, the noted Queen of Hip-Hop Mary Blige, will present for the first time her new song “I Am” which is a history of Mary’s evolution from her original album “What’s the 411” through to today’s many successes. Gen2Media is building the digital visual imagery for Ms. Blige’s live performance at the ceremony by designing, producing and packaging Mary’s original, cutting-edge digital video content. Using its proprietary industry-leading technology, Gen2Media will integrate 3-D imaging, 2-D compositing and live video from the stage into a visually stunning floorshow.

Michael “Huggy” Carter, Ms. Blige’s Tour Manager notes, “Gen2Media always comes across with a technically dynamic show. We couldn’t

...

Satellite TV major Dish Network Corp.’s (DISH) third-quarter earnings slipped 12.3% on higher subscriber-related costs and litigation expenses associated with TiVo Inc. (TIVO). The company reported earnings of $80.6 million, or 18 cents per share, compared to $91.9 million, or 20 cents in the year-ago quarter and well behind the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 43 cents. The Englewood, Colorado-based company said total revenue declined 1.5% to $2.89 billion, from $2.94 billion in the year-ago period. The decrease was caused by a 0.8% contraction in subscriber related revenue to $2.86 billion as average monthly revenue per subscriber (ARPU) reduced by $0.31 to $69.51. The lower ARPU was the result of discounts on programming to new subscribers, retention efforts and reduced premium movie revenue, partially offset by price increases on popular programming packages, changes in the sales mix towards high-definition (HD) packages and advanced hardware offerings. Equipment ...

JDS Uniphase Corp. (JDSU) reported a loss of 15 cents per share for the first quarter, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of loss of 4 cents per share.   Net revenues were $297.8 million, compared to net revenues of $273.1 million for the prior quarter and net revenues of $273.1 million for the year-ago quarter.   Non-GAAP net revenues were $298.6 million, which includes $7.5 million from the acquisition of the Storage Network Tools business, increased 9% when compared to the previous quarter and decreased 21% when compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2009.

Communications Test and Measurement revenues of $143.4 million increased 8% from the previous quarter and decreased 11%, compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Revenues from this segment represented 48% of total non-GAAP net revenues.

Communications and Commercial Optical Products revenues of $101.1 million increased 12% when compared with the previous quarter and decreased

...

Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) reported its third quarter results today. Total revenues of $4.5 billion marked a 4% year-over-year improvement and were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. This solid performance was the result of the continued growth in Subscription revenue partially offset by a decline in Advertising revenue. Quarterly GAAP net income was $268 million or 76 cents per share compared to $301 million or 92 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. However, third-quarter EPS of 76 cents was exactly the same to that of Zacks Consensus Estimate.   Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization was $1.6 billion, up 4% year over year. This was primarily due to healthy growth in Digital Video, High-speed Data and Digital Phone revenue offset by higher video programming, employee and voice costs. Quarterly video programming expense was $1 billion, (up 6% year over year), Employee Cost was ...

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) today reported its third quarter results. Net income was $944 million or 33 cents, compared to $771 million or 26 cents in the prior-year quarter. The company’s adjusted (excluding tax benefit and one time financing charges) EPS stood at 28 cents, well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 25 cents. Effective expense control and working capital management were the primary reasons for this solid performance.  Total revenues were $8.8 billion, up 3% year over year and mostly in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Top-line growth was mainly attributable to the strong performance of both Cable and Programming segments.   Gross margin in the third quarter was 60.3%, compared to 60.9% in the year-ago quarter. The operating margin was 37.8% in the reported quarter, remains same year over year. For the third quarter, Comcast declared the dividend of $0.07 per common share, compared to $0.06

...

Struggling mobile phone maker Motorola Inc (MOT) is sailing through nicely with its Broadband Mobility (consisting of Home & Network Mobility and Enterprise Mobility segments) businesses. On Sept. 29, Cincinnati Bell Inc. (CBB) has selected Motorola's gigabit passive optical network (GPON), edge modulation, encryptor and encoding solutions for deployment in its fiber network. Motorola’s GPON solution will enable Cincinnati Bell to deliver next-generation video technologies including high-definition TV (HDTV), video-on-demand (VOD) and standard definition television programming. On Sept. 22, Middleburgh Telephone Company selected Motorola's gigabit passive optical network (GPON) to enable the delivery of rich, personalized media experiences to its subscribers. Motorola solutions inherently support SCTE-55-1, or Motorola RF return path functionality, for easy integration with its RF set-tops and head-end equipment. On Sept. 21, Motorola was awarded a contract to supply EuroDOCSIS 3.0 digital video modems to UPC Broadband for its pan-European network. ...

Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC) has recently deployed its first next-generation DOCSIS 3.0 (also called Wideband) service in New York City. With this, TWC has established itself as a formidable player to counter the threat from high-speed FiOS network of Verizon Wireless (VZ). Earlier this month, the company has taken a decision to continue to roll-out switched digital video (SDV) in three major markets of Los Angeles, New York City (NYC) and Dallas. Deployment of SDV will free up bandwidth that can be used by TWC to offer 100 high-definition TV channels (HDTV), HD video-on-demand programs, and DOCSIS 3.0.   TWC will offer its residential tier Wideband service with 50 Mbps downstream and 5 Mbps upstream speed for $99.95. The company will also offer two commercial tier Wideband service. Together these services will cover 1.4 million subscribers in the NYC area.   The U.S. cable MSOs ...

Recently, Motorola Inc (MOT) was awarded a contract to supply EuroDOCSIS 3.0 digital video modems to UPC Broadband for its pan-European network. UPC Broadband is the European division of Liberty Global Inc (LBTYA), the largest cable TV operator in Europe.  Using Motorola’s SBV6120E EuroDOCSIS 3.0 voice and data solution, UPC will deliver high-speed (120 Mbps) data and IP voice and services to its customers in The Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Switzerland. The SBV6120E is part of Motorola's complete portfolio of bandwidth-expanding EuroDOCSIS 3.0-certified technologies.  EuroDOCSIS 3.0 standard is based on 8 MHz channels whereas U.S. DOCSIS 3.0 standard is based on 6 MHz channels. Motorola’s DOCSIS 3.0 solutions enable cable operators to cost-effectively introduce new value-added services, increase bandwidth for feature-rich services, generate higher return on investment, and increase revenues.  Although the financial terms of this contract haves not been disclosed, ...

Arris Group Inc. (ARRS) has decided to acquire the privately held Digeo Inc., including its intellectual property portfolio, for a total consideration of approximately $20 million in cash.  Digeo is a pure-play interactive television (iTV) that has diversified its operations into digital video recorder (DVR) and interactive program guide (IPG) market after its merger with Moxi Digital Inc in 2002. The company’s flagship product Moxi(r) HD DVR is a premium hub for home distribution of digital entertainment.  The deal is expected to be closed in the fourth quarter of 2009. Purchase of Digeo together with the recent acquisition of patents and video processing technology for digital network of EG Technology Inc will significantly strengthen Arris’ combined portfolio of digital video networking and multimedia services delivery platform.  Acquisition of these valuable video processing assets will give Arris an edge in this industry, which is very competitive. ...