Perot Systems Corp. (NYSE: PER) shares surged 66 percent to $29.67 in premarket trade on Monday after the company agreed to be acquired by Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) for $3.9 billion. Dell shares fell 3.5 percent to $16.10.
Shares of Lennar Corp (NYSE: LEN) fell 3.6 percent to $15.95 in premarket trading on Monday, after the company reported a larger quarterly loss in its third-quarter results, as it wrote down the value of land and other assets to deal with the recession, but it pointed out signs of real estate market recovery. -Reuters

Fertilizer giant Potash Corp. (NYSE: POT) slashed its earnings forecast late Friday amid stagnant demand. Potash now expects earnings of $3.25 to $3.75 a share in fiscal 2009. It previously expected $4 to $5 a share. Potash also expects third-quarter, per-share earnings to come in at the low end of a range between 80 cents to $1.20. -Marketwatch

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is extending the Wednesday deadline for international tax dodgers to apply for an amnesty program in an effort to give applicants more time to prepare paperwork. More than 3,000 Americans holding assets overseas have applied for the program, which promises no jail time and reduced penalties for tax cheats who come forward, said a government official who spoke anonymously. The IRS plans to announce Monday that the program will be extended until Oct. 15, said the official, who was not authorized to speak on record ahead of the public announcement. -AOL Money & Finance

AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) stated that it will pay Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $125 million upfront to license NKTR-118, a late-stage product being evaluated for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation and the NKTR-119 program, an early-stage program that is intended to deliver products for the treatment of pain without constipation side effects. Including future regulatory and sales milestone payments, Nektar could receive as much as $1.5 billion. –Marketwatch

A Bear Market Lurks as Dow Nears 10,000: Rarely has the stock market witnessed a six-month rally like the one it just turned in. The Dow Jones Industrial Average’s (DJIA) 46% surge was one of just six of that magnitude in the last 100 years, and that is exactly what worries many analysts today. All previous rallies of this size took place in the 1930s and the 1970s, according to Ned Davis Research. These were turbulent times for both the economy and the markets. Ultimately, none of the gains achieved were sustained. -The Wall Street Journal

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) head of banking for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Tom King, is stepping down after 20 years with the company. King, 48, left the bank “to pursue other interests,” New York-based Citigroup said in the memo this morning. He will be replaced on an interim basis by the current chairman of U.K. banking and broking, David Wormsley. –Bloomberg

-Jutia Group