A tepid report on housing starts sent stocks into a tizzy and major indexes slipped from their year highs as solid earnings reports from Apple Inc. to Caterpillar were overlooked by anxious investors.  A rebound in dollar from its 14-month lows also added to the downward pressure and hurt commodities, sending energy and material shares lower. 

Weakness in share sent Treasury prices higher, with the 10-year closing up 13/32, to 102 11/32.  The yield fell to 3.34%, from 3.39% late Monday.  On Tuesday, the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average fell 50.71 points, or 0.50%, to 10,041.48.  The broad Standard & Poor's 500-stock index retreated 6.85 points, or 0.62%, at 1,091.06 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 12.85 points, or 0.59%, to 2,163.47.  Market breadth was negative.  On the New York Stock Exchange, declining shares beat those that rose in price two to one on volume of 1.24 billion

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L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (LLL) has just received a $23 million order from the U.S. Marines and been upgraded in Zacks' most recent report.

L-3 Communications provides several defense related government agencies with various reconnaissance and intelligence systems, amongst other systems and services. The company is based out of New York, has over 64,000 employees, and carries a market cap of nearly $12.5 billion.

Steady Supply of Military Contracts

On September 11th the military contractor announced a $23.2 million order to provide the U.S. Marines with 600 video devices. The mobile video systems are designed to give soldiers real-time video up dates from unmanned patrol vehicles. The video will be fed laptop taken into the battlefield to aid in tactical decisions.

L-3 also signed a contract with the Navy to produce new wing for P-3 aircraft, for $60.6 million. This is in

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