MetLife reported a 36% increase in premiums, fees and other revenues from the insurance business outside of the U.S. in the year 2010, mainly due to the addition of about $836 million from ALICO's one month operations. MetLife acquired ALICO for about $15.5 billion from AIG as a part of its strategy to grow internationally. The acquisition has enabled MetLife to serve 90 million customers in over 60 countries and has significantly boosted MetLife's position as a leading insurance company in the U.S, Japan, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.

Shares of Anadarko Petroleum (APC) gapped higher right out of the gate Thursday morning, thanks to a report that BHP Billiton (BHP) may be eyeing the firm as a potential takeover target. According to the U.K.'s Daily Mail, BHP could be prepping an offer worth $90 per share to acquire Anadarko. However, neither company has issued a formal response to the speculation.

After jumping to a new annual high of $76.50 bright and early Thursday morning, APC is on pace to notch a weekly finish atop the $70 level for the first time since April 23. In fact, if the shares can maintain their positive momentum through Friday's close, the shares could stage their first weekly victory north of $75 since June 2008.

Suntech Power (STP) is taking a post-earnings plunge, as traders pan the company's third-quarter report.

Wednesday morning, Suntech said its third-quarter profit climbed 11% to $33.1 million, or 18 cents per American depositary share (ADS), while revenue rose 57% to $743.7 million. Gross margin for the quarter contracted to 16.4% from 17.8%, due to lower selling prices.

There's been a lot of chatter lately about a potential buyout for Palm Inc. (PALM), with various reports pointing to HTC and Lenovo as possible suitors for the parent of the Pre and Pixi smartphones. However, one long-term option trader on Monday placed a confident bet against a white-knight bid for PALM by opening a sizable, out-of-the-money put position on the equity.

Around midday Monday, a block of 6,500 contracts slipped across the tape on PALM's January 2011 2.50 put, which is currently out of the money by about three points. These puts changed hands at the ask price of $0.25, suggesting they were purchased.

Last year, Twitter said it had two goals for 2010: generate revenue and make acquisitions. At the time, the company was still sitting on a significant portion of its last round of capital, and given the $20 million annual burn rate revealed late last year -- plus the revenue it's generating -- it's unlikely that Twitter has had to deplete its coffers. So, Twitter has cash to put to work, and now we're seeing what that means.

On its blog, Twitter announced Friday that it has entered into an agreement with Atebits (aka Loren Brichter) to acquire Tweetie, which is one of the top Twitter clients for the Apple (AAPL) iPhone. In addition to acquiring the application, Twitter is also picking up talent. Brichter's efforts were good for a 2009 Apple Design Award, and he'll be part of future efforts to get Twitter for the iPad off the ground.

Medtronic (MDT) announced Monday morning that it has agreed to acquire Invatec and two of its affiliated companies.

Medtronic will issue an initial payment of roughly $350 million. Invatec develops medical technologies that are used for the "interventional treatment" of cardiovascular disease. In addition to Invatec, Medtronic will acquire Fogazzi (which provides polymer technology to Invatec) and Krauth Cardiovascular (which distributes Invatec's products in Germany)