Rumour in the city of an MBO - fill yer boots up - GO man GO!!

Things are getting better


NEW YORK (AFX) - Shares rose early, reversing Tuesday's losses, after a
larger than expected fall in weekly jobless claims boosted sentiment, although
volumes are likely to remain subdued post-holiday, dealers said.
At 10.30 am, the DJIA was up 90.01 or 1.07 pct at 8538.12, the S&P 500 was
9.57 or 1.07 pct firmer at 902.04. while the Nasdaq composite was up 16.43 or
1.2 pct at 1388.90.
"The unemployment data was very good, but with the holiday in Europe and
Canada, volumes will be light," said Peter Cardillo, chief strategist at Global
Partners Securities. "We may see some volatility later in the day."
Initial claims for regular state unemployment benefits fell 60,000 to a
seasonally adjusted 378,000 for the week ended Dec 21 from the previous week,
the Labor Department said earlier.
The decline was much larger than the 26,000 fall that Wall Street economists
predicted in a poll by AFX News.
There was particular strength in technology stocks after Sun Microsystems
received a boost Tuesday after a US court ruled that Microsoft must carry Sun
Micro's rival Java technology software.
Sun was up almost 4 pct at 3.24 usd, while Intel was 36 cents higher at
17.14 usd.
Retailers were in focus after Wal-Mart -- which said Monday that December
same-store sales would be at the lower end of the 3-5 pct growth range --
lowered its guidance to 2-3 pct growth.
Wal-Mart was up 70 cents or 1.41 pct at 50.40 usd, while Sears was up 27
cents at 23.06 usd.
Philip Morris was firmer after a woman with terminal cancer said she would
accept 28 mln usd in punitive damages from the company rather than the 28 bln
originally awarded.
Last week, a Californian judge slashed the 28 bln usd of punitive damages
awarded against the company in October to a 64-year-old Betty Bullock.
Philip Morris was up 54 cents at 42.04 usd.
Among the losers was Amgen, which fell 41 cents to 51.04 usd after a federal
judge dismissed its complaint against Medicare that sought to stop the agency
from lowering the reimbursement rate for the company's anemia drug Aranesp.
Other drug stocks were lower after a report in the New England Medical
Journal showed that patients using Pfizer's arthritis drug Celebrex had a 5 pct
chance of suffering more bleeding from ulcers -- a symptom the drug is designed
to prevent.
Oils were firmer amid strong oil prices, which remain above 31 usd, as
investors remain concerned about supply shortages should US-Iraq tensions result
in a war.