MARKET PULSE-GE, McDonald's, Google, Microsoft, Marvell

Oct 19 (Reuters) - Some U.S. stocks on the move on Friday:

(For more market insights, including options activity, click

on STXNEWS/US; for the Morning News Call newsletter click on http://link.reuters.com/faq23t;

for the day ahead newsletter http://link.reuters.com/mex49s)

WALL STREET OPENS LOWER AS EARNINGS DISAPPOINT

Stocks opened lower following disappointing results from

Microsoft and McDonald's, while General Electric reported

revenue that fell short of estimates.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 66.16 points,

or 0.49 percent, to 13,482.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index

slipped 5.24 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,452.10. The

Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 12.08 points, or 0.39

percent, to 3,060.78.

** GENERAL ELECTRIC CO, $22.40, down 1.8 pct (0935

ET)

The largest U.S. conglomerate posted third-quarter revenue

of $36.3 billion, below analysts' estimates of $36.94 billion,

according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The company said foreign

exchange negatively impacted its revenue by $1.1 billion. "The

overall environment remains challenging," the company said in a

statement.

** MCDONALD'S CORP, $89.85, down 3 pct (0935 ET)

The world's biggest fast-food chain reported a lower

quarterly profit on Friday that missed analysts' expectations,

as the weak global economy and the strong U.S. dollar weighed on

results.

** GOOGLE INC, $700.00, up 0.6 pct (0936 ET)

At least seven brokerages cut their price targets on

Google's shares after the company missed Wall Street earnings

expectations, but analysts said growing mobile advertising

revenue points to better times ahead.

** HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC, $60.96, up 0.7 pct

(0936 ET)

The diversified U.S. manufacturer reported a 10 percent rise

in quarterly earnings as declining natural gas prices helped

boost profits at its UOP chemical arm, offsetting weakness in

Europe.

** SCHLUMBERGER LTD, $75.29, up 0.6 pct (0937 ET)

The world's largest oilfield services company, reported a

higher-than-expected quarterly profit, lifted by its strength

outside the volatile North American market and its exposure to

the offshore drilling boom.

** BAKER HUGHES INC, $46.22, down 2 pct (0937 ET)

The world's third-largest oilfield services company,

reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results as a slowdown in

North American drilling activity hit prices.

** INGERSOLL RAND PLC, $46.74, down 2.3 pct (0938 ET)

The maker of Trane air conditioners, Schlage locks and Club

Car golf carts reported sharply higher third-quarter earnings,

but said European and Asian markets had weakened, and its

fourth-quarter forecast was below Wall Street expectations.

** MANPOWER INC, $39.48, up 10 pct (0938 ET)

The largest U.S.-listed staffing company reported a

third-quarter profit above market expectations as higher gross

margins offset big falls in demand in Europe, and it forecast

better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.

** MCMORAN EXPLORATION CO, $12.67, down 0.7 pct

(0938 ET)

The oil and gas producer reported a bigger third-quarter

loss as production fell due to shutdowns caused by Hurricane

Isaac.

** MICROSOFT CORP, $28.71, down 2.7 pct (0940 ET)

The company's quarterly profit fell a greater-than-expected

22 percent, as sales of computers running its Windows operating

system dipped and some revenue was deferred ahead of upcoming

releases of its core Windows and Office products.

** WAL-MART STORES INC, $76.65, down 0.1 pct (0940

ET)

Indian regulators have begun an informal inquiry into

allegations that Wal-Mart violated rules restricting foreign

investment in the country's fast-growing retailing industry, the

New York Times reported. http://link.reuters.com/ruv43t

** MARVELL TECHNOLOGY GROUP LTD, $7.75, down 12 pct

(0943 ET)

The chipmaker cut its revenue estimate for the current

quarter and announced the departure of its chief financial

officer. [ID: nL1E8LIEWJ]

** FLEXTRONICS INTERNATIONAL LTD, $6.04, down 1.3

pct (0940 ET)

The contract electronics manufacturer forecast third-quarter

results below analyst estimates on Thursday, prompting a host of

brokerages to cut their price targets on the stock.

** ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, $2.58, down 1.5 pct (0941

ET)

The PC chipmaker said on Thursday that it will cut its work

force of nearly 12,000 by 15 percent - its second round of

layoffs in less than a year as it struggles with a weak global

economy and a consumer shift toward tablets.

At least two brokerages cut their ratings on the stock

citing the company's fourth-quarter forecast of 5 percent to 13

percent dip in sales.

** VIVUS INC, $21.25, down 1.3 pct (0941 ET)

European regulators recommended that its obesity pill not be

approved, citing potential safety concerns related to the

long-term use of the drug.

** COOPER INDUSTRIES PLC, $73.95, down 1.3 pct (0941

ET)

The electrical products maker that agreed to a takeover by

Eaton Corp, reported higher-than-expected quarterly

profit and sales, helped by lighting demand in North America and

growth in international energy projects.

** PARKER HANNIFIN CORP, $78.67, down 7.6 pct (0942

ET)

The maker of control systems for manufacturing and transport

reported lower quarterly earnings on Friday and cut its forecast

for the fiscal year that ends in June, citing an uncertain

economic outlook.

** SANDISK CORP, $46.42, up 8 pct (0942 ET)

The company's quarterly results topped expectations as

rising demand for chips used in smartphones and tablets and a

limited supply drove up prices for flash memory, a trend that

the chipmaker expects will continue.

** SHAW GROUP INC, $43.63, down 1.6 pct (0942 ET)

The U.S. engineering company, which agreed in July to a $3

billion takeover by Chicago Bridge & Iron Co CBI.N, reported a

fourth-quarter profit on higher sales in its power business.

** COPANO ENERGY LLC, $32.18, down 3.5 pct (0943

ET)

The company which provides services to natural gas producers

said it made a public offering of 6 million common shares on

Thursday.

** AIR PRODUCTS & CHEMICALS INC, $82.12, down 3.8

pct (0943 ET)

The company posted a sharp drop in quarterly profit on

Friday, partly due to weak demand for a solar product, and the

industrial gas producer said its chief financial officer will

retire.

** CALGON CARBON CORP, $13.1, down 6.2 pct (0943 ET)

The provider of water purification products and services

said on Thursday it expects to report a third-quarter loss

affected by lower utilization of activated carbon.

** CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP, $59.30, up 3.6 pct

(0944 ET)

The company's quarterly profit rose 44 percent after two big

acquisitions, but the lender said increasing competition for

automobile and commercial loans may curb future growth.

** RIVERBED TECHNOLOGY INC, $23.01, up 11 pct (0944

ET)

** F5 NETWORKS INC, $98.17, up 1 pct (0944 ET)

Network gear maker Riverbed reported a better-than-expected

third-quarter profit and forecast strong results for the current

quarter as demand grew for its products that boost data speeds

over wide-area networks.

Peer F5 Networks's shares also rose on the news.

** ISIS PHARMACEUTICAL INC, $9.27, up 3.6 pct (0945

ET)

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel of outside experts

recommended the Sanofi SA and Isis Pharmaceutical

drug, Kynamro, for treatment of a rare genetic disorder that

causes unusually high cholesterol and life-threatening

cardiovascular disease.

** CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL INC, $244.00 down 14.6 pct

(0945 ET)

The Denver-based burrito chain said on Thursday that

restaurant sales growth would cool in 2013 and some analysts

said that might signal the end of the hyper growth investors had

come to enjoy.

Wedbush Securities Inc downgraded the company's stock to

"neutral" from "outperform" as it does not expect same-store

sales to grow due to the company's low marketing spend and lack

of price increases.

** PIXELWORKS INC, $2.40, down 21 pct (0946 ET)

The digital display chipmaker reported lower-than-expected

quarterly sales driven by lower licensing revenue recognized in

the quarter. Third-quarter revenue fell about 8 percent to $16.3

million, below analysts' estimates of $17 million, according to

Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

** CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP, $59.68, up 4.3 pct

(0946 ET)

The bank's quarterly profit rose 44 percent after two big

acquisitions, but the lender said increasing competition for

automobile and commercial loans may curb future growth. RBC and

Nomira raised their price target on the bank.

** ACACIA RESEARCH CORP, $24.80, down 0.9 pct (0946

ET)

The company, which buys and licenses patents, reported a

surprise third-quarter loss of 17 cents while analysts'

estimated a profit of 23 cents, according to Thomson Reuters

I/B/E/S.

Barclays Capital and J.P. Morgan cut their price target on

Acacia. J.P. Morgan analyst Paul Coster said the company had a

problem in closing a strong pipeline of large licensing deals

due to prolonged negotiations.

** VOC ENERGY TRUST, $17.53, down 8.8 pct (0947 ET)

The company said its trust distribution of net profits for

the third quarter would be payable on Nov. 14 and said its

unitholders will receive a distribution of $7.82 million, or 46

cents per share.

** RAMBUS INC, $5.06, up 2.4 pct (0947 ET)

The technology licensing company reported third-quarter

revenue of $57.5 million on Thursday that was above analysts'

average estimates of $56 million, according to Thomson Reuters

I/B/E/S.

** HEALTHWAYS INC, $9.21, down 17 pct (0947 ET)

The healthcare service provider narrowly beat third-quarter

earnings estimates, but lowered its full-year profit outlook to

a range of 24 to 30 cents per share, down from previous view of

38 to 50 cents.

The company also missed third-quarter revenue estimates,

hurt by the loss of a contract with Cigna Corp, and

narrowed its full-year revenue outlook to $670 million to $685

million, from its prior view of $665 million to $670

million.

** CITY NATIONAL CORP, $50.63, down 3.7 pct (0948

ET)

The Los Angeles-based regional bank reported its

third-quarter earnings, beating analyst estimates as the bank

kept aside less money to cover bad loans.

** ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO, $28.94, 0.4 pct (0948

ET)

The company bought a 10 percent stake in GrainCorp Ltd

, valuing the Australian grains handler at $2.8 billion,

and is seeking talks on a takeover that would give the U.S.

agribusiness a stronger platform to supply Asia.

** GENESIS ENERGY LP, $33.83, up 0.5 pct (0949 ET)

Barclays Capital started coverage on the stock with

"overweight" rating.

** HOME LOAN SERVICING SOLUTIONS LTD, $19.00, up 2

pct (0949 ET)

Barclays Capital raised the company's stock to "overweight"

rating.

(Compiled by Aditi Shrivastava in Bangalore)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/market-pulse-ge-mcdonalds-google-microsoft-marvell-135240297--sector.html

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Cycling body to respond Monday to Armstrong report

AIGLE, Switzerland (AP) ? The final word on Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France titles could come Monday when cycling's governing body gives its response to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report that paints the American as a longtime drug cheat.

The UCI received USADA's 200-page report last week and has until the end of the month to decide whether to ratify USADA's decision to strip Armstrong of his seven Tour victories or appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

USADA banned Armstrong for life and said he should lose his titles because of his involvement in "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

The cycling body said Friday that UCI President Pat McQuaid will hold a news conference in Geneva on Monday.

The USADA report already has cost Armstrong key sponsors, including Nike and Anheuser-Busch. Armstrong also stepped down on Wednesday as chairman of the Livestrong cancer charity he founded.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme is waiting on the UCI's decision before removing Armstrong's name from the record books as the race prepares to celebrate its centenary edition next year.

Armstrong won consecutive Tours from 1999-2005. Prudhomme said the Tour will have no official winners for the seven races Armstrong won if he is stripped of his victories by the UCI.

If Armstrong's victories are not reassigned there would be a seven-year hole in the record books. It would also mark a shift in how Tour organizers treated similar cases in the past.

When Alberto Contador was stripped of his 2010 Tour victory for a doping violation, organizers held a ceremony to award the race winner's yellow jersey to Luxembourg's Andy Schleck. In 2006, Oscar Pereiro was awarded the victory and a place in the record books after the doping disqualification of American rider Floyd Landis.

USADA also thinks the Tour titles should not be given to other riders who finished on the podium, such was the level of doping during Armstrong's era.

The agency said 20 of the 21 rider on the podium in the Tour from 1999 through 2005 have been "directly tied to likely doping through admissions, sanctions, public investigations" or other means. It added that of the 45 riders on the podium between 1996 and 2010, 36 were by cyclists "similarly tainted by doping."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cycling-body-respond-monday-armstrong-report-150145306--spt.html

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Markets Weekahead: Blue chip earnings to dominate

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Playing For Laughs (talking-points-memo)

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GE profit meets estimates, revenue falls short

(Reuters) - General Electric Co notched an 8.3 percent rise in quarterly earnings, but its shares slipped 2 percent in premarket trading as revenue fell shy of analysts' expectations.

GE, the largest U.S. conglomerate, said on Friday that sales at its aviation and healthcare arms declined 1 percent in the quarter, though analysts noted that overall revenues were hurt by a rise in the value of the dollar - which serves to diminish the reported value of foreign sales.

GE, also the world's biggest maker of electric turbines and jet engines, stood by its forecast for full-year earnings to rise at a double-digit percentage rate.

"The global economy is uncertain, and we are prepared for a variety of economic outcomes," said Chief Executive Jeff Immelt.

Third-quarter net income increased to $3.49 billion, or 33 cents per share, from $3.22 billion, or 22 cents per share, a year earlier.

Factoring out one-time items, the profit was 36 cents per share, meeting the analysts' average estimate, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 2.8 percent to $36.35 billion from $35.36 billion. Wall Street expected $36.94 billion.

"The market will see this as a slight disappointment," after an upbeat late-September presentation to analysts that led some investors to expect stronger growth, said Jack DeGan, chief investment officer at Harbor Advisory Corp in Portsmouth New Hampshire.

"They met expectations for earnings, and they were light on revenues. If you add back forex, they beat."

GE said exchange-rate fluctuations lowered its reported revenue by $1.1 billion in the quarter.

Its shares fell 1.6 percent to $22.44 in premarket trading, giving back a little of their significant gains over the past year.

As of Thursday's close, GE has climbed some 41 percent over the past year, reaching levels not seen since the 2008 crisis and sharply outpacing the 22 percent rise of the Dow Jones industrial average.

ENERGY UNIT OFFSETS EUROPE

The company experienced the sharpest revenue growth in its energy infrastructure arm, where sales were up 12 percent. Immelt had bulked up that business in 2010 and 2011 with an $11 billion wave of acquisitions, largely in the oil and gas sector.

Most major industrials have experienced weak demand in Europe for their equipment as a result of the continent's debt crisis.

GE has been no exception to that trend, though Immelt told investors late last month that European demand has been no worse than the company had expected.

"The most important thing out of the earnings report is that they kept their full 2012 outlook. The fourth quarter, we think, is going to be challenging for companies, especially on the revenue side," said Oliver Pursche, president of Gary Goldberg Financial Services in Suffern, New York. "Them keeping that outlook intact is a positive."

The Fairfield, Connecticut-based company laid out plans last month to cut its selling, general and administrative costs by $700 million to $1 billion next year in the face of the uncertain economic environment.

Immelt has also committed the company to buy back enough shares to lower its share count below 10 billion - its level in 2008. That year GE sold new shares to raise cash during the financial crisis.

GE said it has bought back $3 billion worth of shares so far this year.

Fellow U.S. industrial Honeywell International Inc reported a better-than-expected 10 percent rise in profit on Friday.

GE competes with some of the world's largest and best financed manufacturing groups, including United Technologies Corp, Germany's Siemens AG and France's Alstom SA.

(Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder and Patricia Kranz in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Jeffrey Benkoe)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ge-profit-8-3-percent-third-quarter-energy-103833957--sector.html

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Jim Rogers: Neither Obama nor Romney Are ... - Yahoo! Finance

The Presidential Election is a chance for a national rebirth. It's a quadrennial right of passage giving Americans the chance, nay the obligation to exercise their right to vote for the candidate who best represents their interests. At least that's the way the process is sold to the masses. Famed international investor Jim Rogers isn't quite so sure.

"A pox on both their houses as far as I'm concerned," says Rogers, paraphrasing the Bard. "I will vote the protest vote. I nearly always vote the protest vote."

Rogers isn't an America basher but a citizen who feels apart from the economic policies pursued by his country. He casts a ballot for none of the above because he doesn't think President Obama or Mitt Romney can rebuild the nation's flagging economy.

In terms of fiscal and all other policies, Rogers sees one major difference between the two candidates: "One is from Boston and the other is from Chicago," he states.

The Fiscal Cliff and Taxes

The vaunted Fiscal Cliff set to take place at the beginning of 2013 worries Rogers but only as part of a greater decline of the nation. The notion of cutting some spending has limited appeal, but jacking up taxes is anathema to him. "Raising taxes is always bad for any economy throughout history," he says.

Not that it matters in regards to The Cliff. The option of allowing an arbitrary deadline to send the nation into the abyss or setting a disciplined budget are each unthinkable to political animals. That being the case Washington will do what it always does when faced with tough choices; it'll go off the menu and simply stall for more time. (See related: Bernanke Hasn't Done Anything Right as Fed Chief: Jim Rogers)

Which brings us full-circle, back to Rogers and his protest vote. He's a fiscal conservative in a centrist nation, leaving him a man without a candidate.

"I will repeat to you again; I will not vote for either one of them," he states. "I will vote the protest vote because all of them have gotten us into this situation."

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/jim-rogers-neither-obama-nor-romney-worth-vote-120100881.html

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Texas landowners take a rare stand against Big Oil

A pipeline worker walks the length of a pipe as work continues Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012, in Sumner, Texas. Oil has long lived in harmony with farmland and cattle across the Texas landscape, a symbiosis nurtured by generations and built on an unspoken honor code that allowed agriculture to thrive while oil was extracted. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

A pipeline worker walks the length of a pipe as work continues Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012, in Sumner, Texas. Oil has long lived in harmony with farmland and cattle across the Texas landscape, a symbiosis nurtured by generations and built on an unspoken honor code that allowed agriculture to thrive while oil was extracted. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Pipeline workers bend a large section of pipe in preparation for its' installation Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012, in Sumner, Texas. Oil has long lived in harmony with farmland and cattle across the Texas landscape, a symbiosis nurtured by generations and built on an unspoken honor code that allowed agriculture to thrive while oil was extracted. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Large sections of pipe are shown on a neighboring property to Julia Trigg Crawford family farm Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012, in Sumner Texas. Oil has long lived in harmony with farmland and cattle across the Texas landscape, a symbiosis nurtured by generations and built on an unspoken honor code that allowed agriculture to thrive while oil was extracted. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Julia Trigg Crawford reads letters of encouragement and support with some accompanied by donations while taking a lunch break from working her family farm Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012, in Sumner, Texas. Oil has long lived in harmony with farmland and cattle across the Texas landscape, a symbiosis nurtured by generations and built on an unspoken honor code that allowed agriculture to thrive while oil was extracted. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Julia Trigg Crawford stands on a road in front of a neighboring property to her family farm where work by TransCanada continues on a oil pipeline Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012, in Sumner, Texas. Oil has long lived in harmony with farmland and cattle across the Texas landscape, a symbiosis nurtured by generations and built on an unspoken honor code that allowed agriculture to thrive while oil was extracted. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

SUMNER, Texas (AP) ? Oil has long lived in harmony with farmland and cattle across the Texas landscape, a symbiosis nurtured by generations and built on an unspoken honor code that allowed agriculture to thrive while oil was extracted.

Proud Texans have long welcomed the industry because of the cash it brings to sustain agriculture, but also see its presence as part of their patriotic duty to help wean the United States off "foreign" oil. So the answer to companies that wanted to build pipelines has usually been simple: Yes.

Enter TransCanada.

As the company pursues construction of a controversial 1,179-mile-long cross-country pipeline meant to bring Canadian tar sands oil to South Texas refineries, it's finding opposition in the unlikeliest of places: oil-friendly Texas, a state that has more pipelines snaking through the ground than any other.

In the minds of some landowners approached by TransCanada for land, the company has broken an unspoken code.

Nearly half the steel TransCanada is using is not American-made and the company won't promise to use local workers exclusively; it can't guarantee the oil will remain in the United States. It has snatched land. Possibly most egregious: They've behaved like arrogant foreigners, unworthy of operating in Texas.

To fight back, insulted Texas landowners are filing dozens of lawsuits, threatening to further delay a project that has already encountered many obstacles. Others are allowing activists to go on their land to stage protests. Several have been arrested.

"We've fought wars for it. We stood our ground at the Alamo for it. There's a lot of reasons that Texans are very proud of their land and proud when you own land that you are the master of that land and you control that land," said Julia Trigg Crawford, who is fighting the condemnation of a parcel of her family's 650-acre Red'Arc Farm in Sumner, about 115 miles northeast of Dallas.

Oil and agriculture have lived in peace in part because a one-time payment from a pipeline company or monthly royalties from a production rig can help finance a ranch or farm that struggle today to turn a profit from agriculture. The oil giants also respected landowners' fierce Texas independence, even sometimes drilling in a different yard or rerouting a pipeline to ensure easy access to the minerals below.

TransCanada is different. For one, it has sought and received court permission to condemn land when property owners didn't agree to an easement.

"This is a foreign company," Crawford said. "Most people believe that as this product gets to the Houston area and is refined, it's probably then going to be shipped outside the United States. So if this product is not going to wind up as gasoline or diesel fuel in your vehicles or mine then what kind of energy independence is that creating for us?"

Activists have handcuffed themselves to machinery. A group has moved into a grove of trees on a TransCanada easement. A 78-year-old great-grandmother, Eleanor Fairchild, whose late husband worked in the oil industry, spent a night in jail after trespassing ? along with actress Daryl Hannah of "Splash" fame ? on land condemned on her 425-acre farm. On Monday, eight others were arrested for their protest activities.

TransCanada's pipeline, some landowners say, is more worrisome than those built by other companies because of the tar sands oil the company wants to transport. They point to an 800,000-gallon spill of mostly tar sands oil in Michigan's Kalamazoo River in 2010. It took Enbridge, the company that owns that pipeline, 17 hours to detect the rupture, and the cleanup is still incomplete.

With a pipeline, landowners give up control of the land for a one-time check, risking a spill that could contaminate their land or water for years. It's a risk many are willing to take in exchange for cash ? to a point.

Some say the risk of a spill now is too high to cooperate. Others want guarantees TransCanada will take full responsibility for a spill.

Many just want respect.

Most pipeline projects in Texas have been completed with an average of 4 percent to 10 percent of condemned land. TransCanada, however, has condemned more than 100 of the 800 or so tracts ? or about 12.5 percent ? of the land it needed to complete a 485-mile portion of the pipeline that runs through Texas.

Many of the lawsuits in Texas are about TransCanada's "common carrier" status. This allows companies building projects benefiting the public to condemn private property. The Texas Supreme Court recently ruled if a landowner challenges a condemnation, the company must prove its project is for the public good.

Crawford, whose family has denied other pipelines access to their land, argues that since TransCanada's pipeline will have only one access point ? or a place where oil can get into the pipe ? at a hub in Cushing, Okla., it does not qualify for the status, which requires the pipeline be accessible in Texas.

"This is not about the money," said Crawford, who notes that TransCanada's final offer of $20,000 amounts to less than $1 a day over 60 years, less time than her family has been on the land. "This is about the right of a landowner to control what happens on their land."

David Dodson, a TransCanada spokesman in Houston, said the company has agreements with 60,000 landowners in North America, hundreds of them in Texas. Many have been reached easily, he said. The problems in Texas, he believes, may just be a sign of the times.

"These days, anyone who attempts to build a linear infrastructure project, Texas, wherever it is, it doesn't matter, is facing increased opposition," Dodson said.

David Holland's 3,850-acre rice farm and ranch in southeast Jefferson County is littered with nearly 50 pipelines. In the five years since he was first approached by TransCanada, he said he has signed contracts with two other companies. He insists he would do the same for TransCanada ? if they offered him fair value for his 10.5 acres.

Until now, Holland said, he and other landowners had given pipeline companies a roughly 20 percent discount because it was cheaper than fighting Big Oil. TransCanada offered him more than $400,000 for his land. But that, he said, was about $200 less for every 16.5 feet than he had previously received. After Holland declined, the court allowed TransCanada to take the land for $13 for every 16.5 feet ? totaling slightly more than $20,000.

"Every landowner in the state is furious at them," he said.

Some landowners have reached agreements without a problem. Henry Duncan, whose 200-acre farm is across the road from the Crawford's, wouldn't say how much TransCanada paid, but feels he was fairly compensated for his 7 acres. He does wish they would use American-made steel for the pipe and hire local workers. He, too, feels they bullied landowners, but is realistic.

Pipeline money helps keep his 100 head of cattle roaming the pastures. It could help him and his wife as they age.

"To be quite honest, I'd like to see another one come through because they pay good," Duncan said.

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Plushnick-Masti can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RamitMastiAP

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Website: www.standwithjulia.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-10-17-Oil%20Pipeline-Texas%20Landowners/id-efb4c1eec8c941ea83482b520d291382

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