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Orbitz posts wider quarterly loss

BANGALORE (Reuters) – Orbitz Worldwide, an online travel agency, reported a wider quarterly loss, hurt by charges, and forecast first-quarter revenue below analysts' expectations, sending its shares down as much as 8 percent.

The company said its U.S. leisure business is being hurt by the absence of American Airlines from Orbitz.com and Orbitzforbusiness.com sites, and reduced transaction share from travel site kayak.com.

AMR Corp's American Airlines had said in December it would no longer sell flights on Orbitz Worldwide after a ruling from an Illinois court. The carrier had said it would stop displaying and selling fares through Orbitz and Orbitz for Business.

American had warned earlier this year that it would stop selling tickets on Orbitz on December 1 if Orbitz did not use a direct link to the airline's inventory. A court in November temporarily blocked that move.

The operator of Orbitz.com and Cheaptickets.com reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $78 million, or 76 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $18.1 million, or 21 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 4 percent to $182.4 million, helped by an increase in hotel volume and average daily rates for hotel rooms.

Shares of Orbitz, which fell as much as 8 percent to $3.78 in early trade, pared most of their losses and were trading down 1 percent at $4.13 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Jennifer Robin Raj and Bijoy Koyitty in Bangalore, Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal, Jarshad Kakkrakandy)

San Francisco Bay Area United V.I. Plumbing Offering 15% Discount Through End of June 2011

UnitedV.I. Plumbing, a locally-owned San Francisco Bay Area plumbing company, is offering homeowners two ways to save 15% of installation of a tankless hot water heater or any other plumbing service.

Nocato, CA (Vocus/PRWEB) February 05, 2011

United V.I. Plumbing of Novato, a well-respected , is offering homeowners savings on services. Through the end of June, 2011 they are offering 15% off any job, including the installation of tankless water heaters. United V.I. Plumbing is a locally-owned independent plumbing contractor and emergency plumber that serves the entire San Francisco Bay Area.

“As a locally owned and operated company, we strive to exceed our customer’s expectations by providing fast, friendly and efficient service for all their plumbing needs,” says owner Victor Ixmay. “We firmly respect your home and your time.”

United V.I. Plumbing knows that homeowners these days are looking for excellent service and competitive prices. That’s why they’re offering a 15% discount on all services, which include drain and sewer cleaning/clearing; water heater repair and replacement; low water pressure resolution; emergency earthquake gas shut-off valve installation; replacing or repairing faucets and garbage disposals; water, drain, and gas re-piping;water pressure regulator valve and sewer ejector pump installation; energy-saving tankless hot water heater installation; trenchless sewer line replacement; video pipe inspection; underground pipe replacement; drain/sewer clean-out; sump pump installation and repair; bath and kitchen remodel plumbing installation; new construction plumbing installation, and 24-hour emergency plumber services.

United V.I. Plumbing specializes in the installation of tankless water heaters, which is why they are offering 15% off installation costs. Tankless water heaters save energy and money by only heating water when it is needed.

For more information about the 15% discount on tankless water heater installation or any other services offered, contact United V.I. Plumbing at (415) 320-8888 or visit their website at .

About United V.I. PlumbingUnited V.I. Plumbing is acompany that provides complete plumbing services, repair and installation, and are specializes in tankless water heater systems.

United V.I. Plumbing offersand the Bay Area communities of Alameda, Antioch, Berkeley, Castro Valley, Concord, Daly City, Dublin, Emeryville, Fairfield, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Marin, Martinez, Mill Valley, Mountain View, Napa, Novato, Oakland, Palo Alto, Pleasanton, Redwood City, Rimond, San Bruno, San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo, San Rafael, San Ramon, Santa Clara, Sonoma County, Solano County, Vacaville, Vallejo, and Walnut Creek.

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Victor IxmayUnited V.I. Plumbing415-320-8888Email Information

Wright State holds off Youngstown State 74-70

DAYTON, Ohio – Vaughn Duggins scored 24 points to lead Wright State to a 74-70 victory over Youngstown State on Monday night.

The Raiders (17-9, 10-4 Horizon League) trailed 68-67 with 1:18 left to play when Cole Darling knocked down two free throws to give Wright State a 69-68 lead.

N'Gai Evans, who finished with 17 points, added a layup and a pair of free throws in the final 1:01 to seal the win. Cole Darling scored 11 points and Matt Vest added 10 for the Raiders, who scored 23 points off 15 turnovers.

Vytas Sulskis led the Penguins (8-16, 2-12) with 26 points, matching a career high. Sulskis was perfect in the first half, scoring 20 points on 7-of-7 shooting, including four 3-pointers and a pair of free throws.

Kendrick Perry added 16 points for Youngstown State, which has lost seven of its last eight games.

The teams were tied 15 times and exchanged leads on 16 occasions.

Wall Street extends gains on M&A, earnings

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Dow and S&P 500 advanced to their highest levels since June 2008 on Monday as a flurry of merger news and solid earnings sparked broad gains.

Buying accelerated after the S&P 500 broke through the high end of its recent range, suggesting Wall Street has the strength to move the market higher. Almost three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

"A lot of analysts are saying that we need a correction before we can move higher, but I think there's still room to grow," said Ron Kiddoo, chief investment officer at Cozad Asset Management in Champaign, Illinois, which has $700 million in assets under management.

Diversified industrial company Danaher Corp (DHR.N) agreed to buy medical diagnostics company Beckman Coulter Inc (BEC.N) for about $6.8 billion. Oil driller EnsCo Plc (ESV.N) said it would buy Pride International Inc (PDE.N) for about $7.3 billion.

Danaher Corp rose 2.9 percent to $49.38 while Beckman Coulter gained 9.8 percent to $82.50. EnsCo fell 4.6 percent to $51.92 while Pride International rose 16 percent to $39.91.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was up 77.99 points, or 0.64 percent, at 12,170.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was up 9.88 points, or 0.75 percent, at 1,320.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was up 21.26 points, or 0.77 percent, at 2,790.56.

Loews Corp (L.N) reported its best quarter of the year, posting a better-than-expected 16 percent jump in profit. The conglomerate's stock gained 4.1 percent to $43.10.

About 72 percent of S&P 500 companies that have reported results so far posted stronger-than-expected earnings, according to Thomson Reuters data. Investors expect aggregate earnings rose 37 percent in the last quarter, the highest estimate for that period in more than 10 months.

"People thought the number of companies beating on both the top and bottom line might slow, but it doesn't appear to be," Kiddoo said. "With the earnings and the M&A, which is a sign companies are undervalued, there's really no bad news today."

UBS raised its 2011 target for the S&P 500 index by 7.5 percent to 1,425 from 1,325, citing an improving outlook for the economy and earnings.

Struggling U.S. Internet company AOL Inc (AOL.N) has agreed to buy The Huffington Post, the rapidly growing news, analysis and lifestyle website, for $315 million. AOL shares fell 2.6 percent to $21.38.

Adding to Wall Street's image problem, Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ.O) said on Saturday that computer hackers had infiltrated the operator of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

"Hacking is going to be a global problem and like a war breaking out, it is hard to hedge against it. There will be concerns, but it's not going to have an impact on how investors see opportunities for the stock market," said Joe Battipaglia, market strategist at a private client group for Stifel Nicolaus in Philadelphia.

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Pavlyuchenkova ousts Sharapova, takes Russia to win

PARIS (AFP) – Teenage star Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova replaced a struggling Maria Sharapova on Sunday and inspired four-time champions Russia to an historic 3-2 win over France and a place in the Fed Cup semi-finals.

Pin-up Sharapova, playing her first Fed Cup match in three years, had crumbled to a 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Virginie Razzano on Saturday in her opening singles rubber and did not feature in Moscow on Sunday.

Russia had been 2-0 down overnight after Alize Cornet had seen off Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

But on Sunday, 19-year-old, world number 14 Pavlyuchenkova defeated Cornet 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 before Kuznetsova levelled the World Group I clash by seeing off Razzano 6-4, 6-4.

No team had ever overturned a 2-0 deficit in the history of the event, but Pavlyuchenkova ignored the record books to partner Kuznetsova to a 7-6, (7/4), 6-0 win over Alize Cornet and Julie Coin in the decisive doubles.

Russia, the 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008 winners, will now face two-time defending champions Italy at home in the semi-finals in April.

Italy completed a 4-1 rout of Australia in Hobart with world number Flavia Pennetta extending her winning streak in the competition to 10 matches with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Jarmila Groth.

That followed world number four, and French Open champion, Francesca Schiavone's 7-6 (7/1), 3-6, 7-5 win over fifth-ranked Samantha Stosur.

Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani saved two match points to fight back and beat the Australian combination of Rennae Stubbs and Anastasia Rodionova, 2-6, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 in the dead doubles rubber.

"We are really happy about this match (result). It was really tough for everyone here," Pennetta said.

Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters secured Belgium's ticket for the semi-finals thanks to a 6-7 (10/12), 6-2, 6-1 victory over Bethanie Mattek-Sands in Antwerp as the home side took an unassailable 3-0 lead over the United States.

Yanina Wickmayer breezed past Melanie Oudin 6-2, 6-0 to make it 4-0.

Belgium will tackle the Czech Republic, who saw off neighbours Slovakia 3-2 in Bratislava, for a place in the final.

The Czechs reached their third successive semi-final after Petra Kvitova, the world number 18, swept aside Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-2 in the first of Sunday's reverse singles to grab the key third point.

"I got Daniela under pressure, that was the key. She didn't have a chance to get in the game and I kept the pace till the end," said Kvitova.

"We've had enough playing the semi-finals, I think we're considering the next step. We'd like to finally fight for the cup," said Czech coach Petr Pala.

In the second singles match on Sunday, Slovakia's 437-ranked teenager Jana Cepelova won the first point for her country against Safarova, who retired from a 1-1 tie after the second set.

The Slovak team, playing the World Group after a seven-year absence, grabbed a late consolation as Cepelova and Magdalena Rybarikova beat Kveta Peschke and Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 in the doubles.