F.N.B. Corporation Expands Franchise with Acquisition of Annapolis Bancorp, Inc.

F.N.B. Corporation (FNB) and Annapolis Bancorp, Inc. (ANNB) jointly announce the signing of a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which F.N.B. Corporation will acquire Annapolis Bancorp, Inc., the Annapolis-based holding company and parent of BankAnnapolis, in an all stock transaction valued at approximately $12.09 per share, or $51 million in the aggregate using the closing stock price as of Friday, October 19, 2012.

The acquisition of the Annapolis-based bank will provide F.N.B. Corporation with $437 million in total assets, including $343 million in total deposits, $297 million in loans and 8 banking offices in Anne Arundel and Queen Anne's counties, Maryland. The transaction will create a four-state banking presence for F.N.B. Corporation, which will have $12.2 billion in assets.

NBT Bancorp Inc., Alliance Financial Corporation Enter Into Merger Agreement

NBT Bancorp Inc. (NBT) (NBTB) and Alliance Financial Corporation (Alliance) (ALNC) announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Alliance will merge with and into NBT. The merger is valued at approximately $233.4 million and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013 subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals and approvals by NBT and Alliance stockholders.

NBT is headquartered in Norwich, N.Y. and had assets of $6.0 billion as of June 30, 2012. Its primary subsidiary, NBT Bank, N.A., is a nationally-chartered community bank with a network of over 135 banking locations in five states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

New York, New York - October 4, 2012 (Investorideas.com newswire, www.naturalgasstocks.com) Investorideas.com staff: Investorideas.com, an investor research portal specializing in sector for independent investors issues a sector snapshot for natural gas vehicle stocks for October 4th. Quantum Fuel Systems leads the group following news on a Fisker contract.

Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ:CLNE) is trading at $13.74, up 0.58 or 4.41% as of 10:50AM EDT on over 400,000 shares.

Quantum Fuel Systems (NASDAQ:QTWW) is trading 6.12%, at 0.83, gaining 0.0479 as of 10:46AM EDT on over 160,000 shares. The Company reported today that it has been awarded a new development contract from Fisker Automotive for advanced product development on the Fisker Karma. Under the contract, Quantum will continue to develop advanced features for the Fisker Karma vehicle to enable future product upgrades.

Ocwen Announces Acquisition of Homeward Residential From WL Ross & Co.

Ocwen Financial Corporation (OCN) and private equity firm WL Ross & Co. LLC entered into an agreement today whereby Ocwen will acquire Homeward Residential Holdings, Inc., including its various residential mortgage loan servicing and origination operating subsidiaries, for approximately $588 million in cash and $162 million in Ocwen convertible preferred stock. Homeward services about 422,000 mortgage loans with an aggregate unpaid principal balance of over $77 billion. Its loan origination business includes correspondent and retail lending and is focused solely on high quality Agency-conforming mortgages.