U.S. Markets
Dow +187.32 (+1.52%)
Nasdaq +68.64 (+3.04%)
S&P 500 +20.37 (+1.53%)
News That Moved the Market
Markets Jump After J.P. Morgan Ups Bid. Bear Stearns (BSC, +88.8%) nearly doubled in trading today on news that J.P. Morgan (JPM, +1.3%) increased its bid for the troubled bank to $10/share from $2/share, pushing the new purchase price for the Bear to over $1 billion. The new version of the deal also stipulates that J.P. Morgan will be responsible for the first $1 billion in losses associated with its purchase of Bear assets, while the Fed will fund another $29 billion. J.P. Morgan also will buy 40% of Bear stock without a shareholder vote, making it extremely difficult for anyone to block the takeover. The markets rallied sharply right after the news broke, as many took this as a further sign that financials may have turned a corner. The financial sector was up as much as 3.4% today, before losing steam at the end of the day to finish up 0.7%.
XM and Sirius Merger Get DOJ's Approval. Sirius Satellite Radio's (SIRI, +8.6%) $4.59 billion bid for XM Satellite Radio (XMSR, +15.5%) was approved by the U.S. Department of Justice, after the DOJ concluded broadcast radio and MP3 Players provided enough competition to avoid anti-trust issues. The satellite radio companies are now waiting for a decision from the Federal Communication Commission.
Existing Homes Sales Increase 2.9%. Existing home sales unexpectedly increased to an adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million. The figure was well ahead of the 4.85 million economists were anticipating. Inventories fell to 9.6 months, the lowest level since August. Median home prices were down 8% from last year.
Quick Tics:
Tiffany & Co. (TIF, +10.5%) enjoyed its best gain in 7 years after a better than expected earnings report…
The Federal Housing Finance Board authorized Federal Home Loan Banks to double their purchases of mortgage backed securities.
Tomorrow Notable Earnings
Jabil Circuit, Inc. (JBL) After Close
Economic Events:
10:00 AM: Consumer Confidence
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