Stocks fell Monday as investors took a pause from a historic rally in September and held back ahead of a busy week of economic and earnings reports.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell about 100 points in midday trading after a report showed factory orders fell slightly more than expected in August, but pending home sales rose a bit more than forecast.

Analysts say the market was due for a pullback following a 10.4 percent gain in the Dow last month. The monthlong rally has come on relatively low volume, a sign that many investors are still waiting on the sidelines.

Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at Channel Capital Research, said the market has been trading in a broad range over the past six months. And with it approaching the high end of that range, a pullback is natural.

The market has been "alternating between euphoria and despair," Roberts said of the wide trading range dating back to late April, when stocks hit their high for the year.

This week brings a number of potentially important news events for stocks, including the monthly jobs survey on Friday and earnings from Dow component Alcoa Inc. on Thursday, the traditional kickoff to the quarterly earnings season.

Nearly two million policyholders of Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSX:GWO) and its London Life subsidiary could get payouts of an average $300 each after the company lost a class-action lawsuit over the financing of an acquisition it made 13 years ago.

A $455.7-million settlement is set to be distributed amongst 1.8 million Canadians after a judge in London, Ont. ruled Friday that Great-West breached sections of the Insurance Companies Act. when it transferred money from the accounts of subsidiaries London Life Insurance Co. and Great-West Life Assurance Co. to finance the 1997 takeover of London Insurance Group.

After a 45-day trial in London, Ont., Justice Johanne Morissette ordered Great-West Life, which is controlled by Montreal giant Power Financial Corp. (TSX:PWF), to pay $372 million to policyholders of London Life and $84 million to those of Great West Life.

All Canadians who held a participating life insurance policy of London Life Insurance Company or The Great-West Life Assurance Company between 1997 and the judgement issued Friday will be eligible for the one-time dividend, if the ruling holds up on an expected appeal.

Depending on the type of policy and how much was invested, the amount each policyholder receives could vary from as little as $50 to as much as $6000, but the average will be about $300 each, said a source familiar with the case who did not want to be named as it is still before the courts.

According to the terms of the judgement, a litigation trustee is to be set up and will distribute the assets in the trust as dividends.

Great West Life has said it will appeal the decision and that several aspects of the decision are "in error."

The company could not be reached for comment Monday. However, it said in a press release that even if the decision is upheld it is not expected to have a material impact on the capital position of the companies.

A U.S. judge has awarded class-action status to a lawsuit filed by traders against Amaranth Advisors over the firm’s 2006 collapse following bad bets on natural gas prices, according to Reuters. On Monday, New York district judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that futures traders who bought, sold, or held natural gas futures or options with the $6.4 billion hedge fund between Feb. 16 and Sept. 28, 2006, could sue as a group in order to lower litigation costs and possibly increase their settlements.

In her ruling, Scheindlin stated that the case “involves more than 1,000 potential claimants who are asserting claims based on common issues,” and the judge noted, “Claimants likely have no interest in pursuing their own claims, which may be prohibitively small.” The traders allege that Amaranth manipulated prices of New York Mercantile Exchange natural gas futures contracts in violation of U.S. law. A lawyer for the firm declined to comment, and Amaranth founder Nicholas Maounis is among the defendants that remains in the case.

PC and semiconductor stocks face trouble as sales growth slows. Warnings from Intel, National Semi, PMC-Sierra worry investors.

Earnings warnings from the chip industry have started to pile up. In late August, Intel cut its third-quarter sales guidance, cautioning that "revenue is being affected by weaker-than-expected demand for consumer PCs in mature markets." Not long after, there was a similar pre-announcement from National Semiconductor, which in early September said that "in the near term, slower growth in our end markets and distribution channel, along with some likely inventory reduction, will mute the seasonal growth that we would normally see in our business during this time of the year."

There were warnings earlier this month, as well, from Monolithic Power Systems and Silicon Laboratories. Last week, PMC-Sierra, known mostly for selling chips to the communications sector, cut third-quarter guidance with little explanation. Thursday afternoon, Advanced Micro Devices warned third-quarter revenue would be 1% to 4% below that of the second quarter, "due to weaker than expected demand, particularly in the consumer notebook market in Western Europe and North America."

So, is the worst over? I doubt it. CreditSights analysts Ping Zhao and Jordan Chalfin noted in a commentary last week that inventory in a number of sectors—including semiconductors, storage, PCs and distribution—has been ratcheting steadily higher. The analysts report that most tech sectors saw second-quarter inventory days rise from first-quarter levels—the opposite of the pattern a year earlier. The CreditSights analysts are particularly concerned about rising inventory at electronics distributors, warning that "any distribution inventory correction could have a negative impact to semiconductor companies' margins."

The law firm of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been brought on behalf of a class (“Class”) consisting of purchasers of the securities of Duoyuan Printing, Inc. (“Duoyuan Printing” or the “Company”) (NYSE: DYP) pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and prospectus issued in connection with the Company's initial public offering (“IPO”) on November 6, 2009, as well as purchasers of the Company's securities between November 6, 2009 and September 13, 2010, inclusive (the “Class Period”).

If you are a member of the Class, you may move the Court for appointment as lead plaintiff by no later than November 19, 2010. A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your share of any recovery in this action will not be affected by your decision of whether to seek appointment as lead plaintiff. You may retain Lieff Cabraser, or other attorneys, as your counsel in this action.

Duoyuan Printing shareholders that wish to learn more about this action and how to seek appointment as lead plaintiff should visit Lieff Cabraser's website at http://www.lieffcabraser.com/cases.php?CaseID=341 or contact attorney Sharon Lee toll free at (800) 541-7358.

Background on Duoyuan Printing Securities Class Litigation

The action, pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, was brought against Duoyuan Printing and certain of its officers and directors for violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Duoyuan Printing, headquartered in Beijing, China, designs, manufactures and sells offset printing equipment.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that (1) the authenticity of certain Company expenses relating to advertising and tradeshow costs could not be verified; (2) the Company had improper relationships with certain distributors and vendors; (3) as a result of the foregoing, the Company's financial statements were allegedly materially false and misleading at all relevant times; and (4) Duoyuan Printing lacked adequate internal and financial controls.

On September 13, 2010, Duoyuan Printing disclosed that it dismissed its independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CPA Ltd. (“Deloitte”), and was reorganizing its top management in connection with its “desire to resolve open issues and file our 10-K on a timely basis.” The Company also disclosed that its Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and four members of its Board of Directors had resigned after the dismissal of Deloitte. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Company revealed that it had refused to grant Deloitte permission to access its original bank statements to complete audit procedures to verify the identity of certain individuals and entities associated with distributors and vendors. On this news, the price of Duoyuan Printing common stock fell $3.60 per share, or more than 54 percent, to close at $2.99 per share on September 13, 2010.

About Lieff Cabraser

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, with offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville, is a nationally recognized law firm committed to advancing the rights of investors and promoting corporate responsibility.

Since 2003, the National Law Journal has selected Lieff Cabraser as one of the top plaintiffs' law firms in the nation. In compiling the list, the National Law Journal examined recent verdicts and settlements in addition to overall track records. Lieff Cabraser is one of only two plaintiffs' law firms in the United States to receive this honor for the last seven consecutive years.

For more information about Lieff Cabraser and the firm's representation of investors, please visit http://www.lieffcabraser.com.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

Source/Contact for Media Inquiries Only:
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
Sharon Lee, 415-956-1000