NEW YORK (AP) - The Standard & Poor's 500 Index edged higher at midday
Thursday, with student lender SLM Corp. posting the biggest gain after the Bush
Administration signaled help was on the way for struggling lenders.
The S&P 500 rallied 3.93 points to 1,394.64.
Student lender Sallie Mae added $2.10, or 7.5 percent, to $30.16. On
Wednesday, Bush Administration officials told lenders that the government will
help lenders like Sallie Mae by buying up their student loans to ensure
companies have access to capital.
Fast food chain Wendy's International Inc. advanced $2.08, or 7.3 percent,
to $30.10.
Sovereign Bancorp. climbed 35 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $8.45.
Among the decliners, Moody's Corp. tumbled $3.31, or 9 percent, to $33.60.
The credit ratings agency said late Wednesday it hired a law firm to conduct an
outside review of how it rates certain debt after a disclosure that the company
erroneously gave triple-A ratings to some debt due to a computer error.
Video game retailer GameStop Corp. fell $4.50, or 8.9 percent, to $46.34. On
Thursday, the company said its first-quarter profit more than doubled on strong
sales of games such as "Grand Theft Auto IV" and "Super Smash Bros. Brawl."
Ford Motor Co. shares dropped 66 cents, or 8.5 percent, to $7.13 after the
automaker said it planned to cut its North American production of pickups and
SUVS, and said it no longer expects to be profitable in 2009.
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