Recap

A day of strength in the Nasdaq and tech in general while there was weakness in the Dow and S&P. Volume was fairly unimpressive thought the Qs keep surging to new highs. We will not have any clear direction till next week at the earliest. It appears traders are still on vacation.

The best sectors were hotels and travel and leisure due to Blackstone Groups Hilton buyout while automobiles and auto parts were the losers led by GM and F on weak sales.

Big gainers on the day included LOCM HLT JSDA CMPP CPSL BRR . Among the big losers were LIV PNSN ENTU TMY .

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Advanced Medical Optics Inc. made a $75 cash-and-stock offer for rival eye care company Bausch & Lomb Inc., according to a published report Thursday afternoon, trumping a $65-a-share deal with private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
The offer from Advanced Medical is valued at $45 in cash and $30 in stock, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. MarketWatch

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Six major U.S. airlines agreed to sell their stakes in ARINC Inc. to an affiliate of private-equity firm Carlyle Group.

AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, UAL Corp.'s United Airlines Inc., Continental Airlines Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., Northwest Airlines and US Airways Group Inc. participated in the deal, according to ARINC. Together these airlines own more than 90% of the common stock of ARINC. WSJ

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Samsonite Corp. agreed to be bought by CVC Capital Partners Ltd. for about $1.1 billion, giving the 97-year-old luggage maker its fifth owner in 21 years.

Investors will get $1.49 for each Samsonite share, the company said in a statement today. That values Samsonite at 12 percent more than its share price July 3. Including the assumption of debt, the transaction value totals $1.7 billion. Bloomberg

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