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For U.S. stock market report double-click 0825 ET 22June2009-Fox-Pitt upgrades E*Trade to in-line ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fox-Pitt on Monday upgraded E*Trade Financial Corp to in-line from underperform, saying a recent capital raise should provide a sufficient cushion for the company through the first quarter of 2010.

The firm added that it firmly believes that the online broker will be bankrupt or sold by the middle of 2010, with the latter option looking more likely.

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Shares of E*Trade fell 2 cents to $1.24 in premarket trading.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net 0821 ET 22June2009-FTC requests more data on Merck-Schering merger ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drugmakers Merck & Co and Schering-Plough Corp on Monday said they had each received requests from the Federal Trade Commission for more information on their proposed merger. They said they had anticipated the request and would cooperate fully.

The companies still expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter.

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Shares of Merck, a Dow component, fell 1 cent to $25.90 in premarket trading while Schering-Plough shares closed Friday at $23.80.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net 0811 ET 22June2009-Yahoo sees charges from job cuts ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yahoo Inc late Friday said it would incur $22 million to $27 million in restructuring charges in the current quarter to account for previously announced layoffs of five percent of its staff.

The Internet company detailed the charges in a regulatory filing on Friday, two months after Chief Executive Carol Bartz announced plans to cut nearly 700 jobs. Yahoo said at the time that it wasn't able to estimate the total charges because of the layoffs.

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Shares slid 1.1 percent to $15.62 in premarket trading.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net 0800 ET 22June2009-Barron's sees downside for gun co's, shares fall ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shares of gun makers fell in premarket trading on Monday, after Barron's wrote that share prices were likely to fall for the firms.

Sales which had been up recently, the financial publication wrote, because of fears that the Obama administration would reinstate bans, are set to decline.

A report in the online edition of the June 22 publication said the gun industry's leading indicator, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's monthly data on background checks for gun dealers, showed numbers settling back to pre-election levels. "Both companies are likely to disappoint investors who expect a continuation of post-election business levels. A return to normal for these companies could easily cut their earnings -- and stocks -- by half," the report read.

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Shares of Smith & Wesson slid 3.8 percent to $5.80 in premarket trading while Sturm Ruger & Co was down 7.7 percent to $11.76.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net 0747 ET 22June2009-GFT sees lower open for the markets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GFT on Monday forecast a lower open for U.S. markets, expecting the Dow Jones industrial average to open down 50 points while the S&P 500 opens down 5 points.

"In the absence of any economic figures today, it feels like there is a bit of a buyers' strike rather than concerted selling," the firm wrote. "Although Asia was a touch higher, shares in the UK and Europe are weaker this morning and this is reflected in early trade on U.S. stock indices."

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS

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