Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd., a leading, non-state-owned provider of shipping agency services operating primarily in China, today announced that its board of directors has authorized a stock repurchase program, under which Sino-Global may repurchase up to ten percent of the outstanding common stock of the Company on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions for a period of 12 months. "We have a great deal of confidence in the long-term prospects of Sino- Global that we believe are not currently reflected in the price of our stock," said Mr. Cao Lei, Sino-Global's chief executive officer. "We believe our successful use of joint ventures and contractual relationships in order to expand our business in China and internationally has reduced our expected costs of growth, and we believe this share buyback will allow us to provide long-term shareholder value to investors who have shown confidence in Sino-Global."

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (AAWW), a leading provider of global air cargo assets and services, today announced that the Company’s board of directors has approved a stock repurchase program that authorizes the repurchase of up to $100 million of AAWW common stock. William J. Flynn, President and Chief Executive Officer of AAWW, commented: “At current levels, we believe that the Company’s stock is undervalued and represents an attractive investment opportunity. We expect that we will continue to have sufficient resources available to us to fund our capital requirements. This action reflects our ongoing commitment to improving the investment value of the Company’s stock while at the same time growing our business.”

Metropolitan Health Networks said recently that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to 10 million shares of the company’s outstanding common stock. The West Palm Beach-based health care services company (AMEX:MDF) said the number of shares and when they will be bought, will be up to management’s discretion.

Foundation Coal Holdings, Inc. said Monday that it would have a production shortfall for the quarter and also said it will increase an existing share repurchase program by $100 million. The stock trades for 5.6x cash flow.

The San Francisco-based bank announced that it will add 25 million shares to its buyback plan to meet the requirements of its employees' benefit plans. Last November the company announced a 75 million share repurchase plan, and as of June 30, 2008, 24.4 million shares remained available for repurchase. Wells Fargo added, “The Company maintains a variety of retirement plans for its team members and typically is a net issuer of shares of common stock to these plans. From time to time it also purchases shares of common stock from these plans to accommodate team member preferences. Share repurchases are subtracted from the Company’s repurchase authority without offset for share issuances.” The company has about 3.3 billion shares outstanding. In other news, Wells Fargo said that it is lowering its prime rate from 5.00% to 4.5%, effective October 8, 2008. While the rest of the financial sector has been dismal since the beginning of the year, dropping 38%, Wells Fargo has remained fairly unscathed. Since January 8, 2008, WFC shares have gained 5.73%. The company is also proud to announce that it is the only bank in the U.S., and only one of two banks worldwide, to receive the highest credit rating from Moody’s, “Aaa,” and S&P’s. “AAA.” After word that Wells Fargo would buy Wachovia issued a bullish report on the news. The analysts said, “Wells Fargo gets a bank that we feel has emulated Wells Fargo and in one transaction adds a bank in the East with top market share with its bank that also has top market share in the West. The result is a cultural fit that is superior to that seen in other recent transactions.” Deutsche has a hold rating on Wells but it increased its price target 13.3% to $34 from $30.

The Marlborough, Mass.-based network equipment maker announced that its board approved the repurchase of up to $100 million in common stock. The plan is effective for one year and the company has about 405.9 million common shares outstanding. "As a Board, we are fully committed to increasing shareholder value and we believe this program is a positive step towards that objective," said Eric Benhamou, 3Com Chairman. "We made this decision after reviewing our current cash needs, as well as our current and projected financial performance, and determined this would be an appropriate use of a portion of our net cash balance." On September 22, 2008 the company reported solid first quarter 2009 earnings. Revenue in the quarter jumped 7% from $319.4 million in 2008 to $342.7 million in 2009. Net income came in at $79.8 million, or 20 cents a share, up from a net loss of $18.7 million, or 5 cents a share, recorded in the same period last year. During the quarter, 3Com generated $39.3 million in cash, bringing the company’s total cash and equivalents to $541.4 million. Bob Mao, 3Com CEO said, “In addition, we delivered our three key objectives in the quarter: solid year-over-year revenue growth, improved profit margins, including record gross margins again, and strong cash generation.” 3Com also recently reported that it named Saar Gillai as the firm's new senior vice president of worldwide products and solutions. Mr. Gillai will help 3Com with research and development and sales departments to increase its product development. Kaufman Bros. Equity Research, who view the buyback as another positive step for 3Com commented, “The company has approximately $543 million in cash and $301 million in debt, for a net cash position of $242 million. Therefore, 3Com has the financial resources to support the program.” The buyback could add 4 cents to 2009 EPS. Kaufman has a hold rating and $3-dollar price target on COMS.

The Falls Church, Va.-based defense contractor said its board approved the repurchase of up to 10 million common shares. The company has about 397.3 million shares outstanding. The company reported strong second quarter earnings as the Iraq war fueled robust sales of blast-proof trucks. Net income increased 25% to $641 million, or $1.60 a share, from $513 million, or $1.26 a share, in the same period last year. Sales jumped to $7.3 billion, an 11% gain, as demand for Gulfstream jets increased. “General Dynamics’ performance continued to be strong in the second quarter of 2008,” said Nicholas D. Chabraja, chairman and CEO. “Sales, earnings and operating margins increased in all four business segments compared to the year-ago period, cash generation was exceptionally strong and the robust backlog suggests continued healthy demand for the products and services of each business area.” Mr. Chabraja continued, “Growth in the Aerospace backlog is a reflection of continued demand for the entire existing product line and extremely strong demand for the new Gulfstream G650. We are very pleased to see this interest in the new plane and view that as an indicator of Gulfstream’s ability to anticipate and exceed its customers’ product expectations.” Cowen and Company was bullish on GD’s recent acquisition of Jet Aviation. Analyst Cal Von Rumohr said, “Proposed acquisition of Jet Aviation for $2.25 billion (10x 2009E EBITDA) brings GD a complementary portfolio of services, global presence, & .trusted partner. image that should help GD sell its upper end business jets.” He has an outperform rating on the stock.

The oil tanker company announced that its board approved the repurchase of $200 million in common stock. When the buyback is completed it will reduce the company’s outstanding shares by 14%. Since 2004, the Nassau, Bahamas-based company has repurchase 26% of its outstanding stock. “We believe Teekay's shares represent very good value and the most compelling investment we can make at this time,” stated Bjorn Moller, Teekay's President and CEO. “We have ample liquidity to act on this opportunity. Already in 2008, we have raised over $300 million of public equity at the subsidiary company level and completed over $225 million of vessel sales to third parties which have helped increase Teekay's current total liquidity to approximately $1.8 billion.” On top of the buyback, Teekay also announced that it will increase its quarterly dividend by 15%. Shareholders on record as of October 17, 2008 will receive $0.31625 a share, up from $0.275 a share in the previous quarter. For the second quarter, Teekay reported net income of $104.47 million, or $1.43 a share, up from $78.41 million, or $1.04 a share in the same period last year. Total revenue climbed to $790.53 million, up from $566.13 million, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time events, Teekay earned only $1.05 a share, well short of the $1.16 level analysts were expecting. Investors were also not happy to learn that the company will be restating its financials from 2003 to 2008. Teekay, who transports more than 10% of the world’s seaborne oil, was upgraded to outperform from neutral by Credit Suisse. They feel that the recent drop in stock price provides a great buying opportunity for investors. However, they cut their price target to $53 from $60 because they remain cautious on tanker rates in 2009.