Gleacher & Company, Inc. Commences Self Tender Offer to Purchase up to 10 million Shares

Gleacher & Company, Inc. (Nasdaq:GLCH - News) today announced the commencement of a modified “Dutch auction” tender offer to purchase up to 10 million shares, or up to 7.84%, of its outstanding common stock at a price of not less than $1.30 and not more than $1.55 per share. The tender offer will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on November 2, 2011, unless extended.

A modified “Dutch auction” tender offer allows stockholders to indicate how many shares and at what price(s) they wish to tender their shares within the specified price range. Based on the number of shares tendered and the prices specified by the tendering stockholders, the Company will determine the lowest price per share within the range that will allow the Company to purchase up to 10 million shares of its common stock, or a lower amount depending on the number of shares properly tendered and not properly withdrawn.

TD Economics: U.S. Economy Stuck in Neutral

Forecast real GDP growth of 1.6% in 2011; slight improvements of 1.7 percent in 2012 and 2.6 percent in 2013.

The U.S. economy should continue to expand at a meager pace, though it has very little cushion to absorb additional shocks. This is according to a report released today by TD Economics (www.td.com/economics), an affiliate of TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank.

While temporary shocks to the economy in the first half of 2011 - rapidly rising gas prices, the supply shock from Japan, and just plain old bad weather - have dissipated, the upset to confidence is likely to dampen economic growth over the next several quarters.

ACE to Acquire Agribusiness Insurer Penn Millers, Expanding Its Presence in the U.S. Agricultural Market

ACE Limited (NYSE:ACE - News) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Penn Millers Holding Corporation (PMHC) (NASDAQ:PMIC - News) for $107 million in cash.

PMHC’s primary insurance subsidiary, Penn Millers Insurance Company, is a well-established underwriter of agri-related insurance in the U.S., providing specialty property and casualty insurance coverages to companies that manufacture, process and distribute agricultural products. Based in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., the company has served the agribusiness market since 1887 and currently operates in 34 states.

 Why solar stocks are down in the dumps – and why they are worth keeping an eye on. Solar energy stocks are going to make a handful of investors very rich one day. The question is when.

Over the long term, the basic appeal of solar is not hard to figure out. In spite of global slowdown concerns, the possibility of deflation, and even the odds of a flat-out China crash, we still live in a peak oil world.

As you have heard before, all the "easy" crude oil is gone. What untapped crude oil remains is often in the hands of poorly run NOCs, or national oil companies. Or else it exists in a form that is expensive to extract, like oil sands or shale.