a canadian company is putting your rose on the table for a copper producer, equinoxes the.-- equinoxes economy -- equinoxe. >> mines and africa, europe, and elsewhere around the world are producing a maximum amount of copper possible. demand for copper is high. its prices have been soaring ever since the recovery from the global downturn kicked in. in recent weeks, gold hit $10,000 per ton before falling back slightly. it usually takes a number of years for copper deposits to be located in for the mine to begin, but for the canadian corporation, acquiring the australian company gives it instant access to mineral rights. the metal is used for power lines and electron components and industrial applications. it is not surprising that a chinese company was also trying to sweep uip -- up equinox. >> portugal has released its 2010 budget deficit figures for the second time in one month. an audit has increased it to 9.1%. this is a setback, as lisbon negotiates a deal on the bailout between the eu and the imf. portugal has to repay 5 billion euros in debt. it is the third country in the euro

barrick wants to spend $7.7 billion to buy australian miner equinox. barrick's offer tops that of a hostile bid for equinox by a chinese miner. if barrick is successful, it will double its position in copper thanks to a big west african mine. technology was the best sector today. lexmark led the way, up 3.7%. intel led the dow industrials with its 2.2% gain. and memory maker sandisk gained 1.6% thanks to stronger-than- expected earnings. one tech to watch tomorrow may be oracle. after hitting a new high, shares fell as much as 1%. its chief financial officer resigned and president of oracle safra catz will take over the duties permanently. and that's tonight's "market focus." >> susie: late today, a victory for professional football players. a federal judge ruled in favor of the n.f.l. players, lifting the owners' lockout. the owners are expected to appeal, but if the lockout lift stands, it could force n.f.l. owners to reopen for business within days. >> tom: tonight's "beyond the scoreboard" looks at collateral damage if there's no n.f.l. season. ric

canadian based barrett gold outbid a chinese company with $7.7 billion in cash to buy equinox minerals and its increasingly valuable global compromise. after the bell, fell hard after a disappointing second quarter outlook. finally, if online gamers seem particularly touchy lately, be kind to them. for a fifth day, sony's playstation network remains down after being hit by hackers last week. >>> coming up, a judge halts football's lockout, the thunder can't seal the deal and san antonio is wondering what hits them. plus, tampa bay forces a final and deciding game. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >>> historic flooding is heading for the ohio and mississippi river. we could use a dry day or two. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." >>> good morning if you are just waking up this is "early today." and in sports, the san antonio spurs finished the regular season 15 games ahead of their rivals. >> good morning. before the nba playoffs started, they made it clear they wanted to play the spurs and now we know why. game four at memphis, highlights

it's always in the spring, the first sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.s a jellybean. you know how sometimes people say they see the virgin mary in a piece of toast? in this case they say tate middleton in a jellybean. >> i know. it really does sort of look like kate middleton. that's scary. >> thank you for the split screen. that's going to be auctioned off on ebay. somebody noticed it in a jar of jelly beans. >> they want to get like $600,000 for it or something. >> no. >> that's what they said in the meeting this morning. >> no, $815. >> no. >> no. that did not -- no. >> it's not just my eyes that are going, it's my ears, too i gave up on my thighs. still how much are they trying to get for it? >> $800. >> that's ridiculous. maybe wills will buy it for her for a wedding present. >> everyone seems to be -- it's weird about the wedding. a lot of people are talking about it. a lot of people aren't. >> a lot of people are talking about the fact why aren't they into it? there is going to be a lot of money spent to cover it, but i'll be curious. >> i want to