Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Lunch, our afternoon update on today's market action news and analysis.

Good afternoon. Today is Friday January 19th and I'm your host Kim Khan. Our top story so far.

shares of Spirit Airlines rallied as the embattled-Carrarrier issued guidance and stuck to its

guns on completing a merger with JetBlue.

Spirit said it disagrees with the recent U.S. District Court's ruling against the merger

on antitrust grounds and continues to believe that a combination is the best opportunity to increase much

needed competition and choice. The carrier said total revenue for Q4 is

expected to be at the high end of the initial guidance range as bookings for the

peak travel period over Christmas and New Year were strong.

Operating expenses are estimated to come in better than expected,

primarily due to lower

fuel costs and other items.

Adjusted operating margin guidance for Q4 was revised up from

negative 15 to 19 percent to negative 12 to 13 percent.

On the balance sheet, Spirit disclosed that it had $1.3 billion of liquidity, including unrestricted

cash and cash equivalents, short-term investment securities, and $300 million of liquidity under the company's revolving credit facility.

The company said it took several steps to shore up its liquidity in Q4.

In today's trading, the broader market is battling to finish the week at record levels.

The S&P 500 is up about half a percent and got within 10 points of an all-time high in trading

just before noon Eastern time. The renewed

enthusiasm for tech stocks continues, although more tempered, the Nasdak looks

assured to finish with an up-week. Tony Pasquarello, the head of hedge fund

...