Monday's Trading Summary...

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

WalMart Breaking out!!!

I thought we were in a recession....

Wal-Mart (WMT) is currently up .56 to $53.79.

The stock has been flying since last Wednesday. It is hitting 4 year highs as we speak.

Technical Alert: ISRG

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) is up 27 to $327.70.

The stock is breaking higher out of a classic "cup and handle" formation. It has some resistance at $335, after that it's off to the races.

ISRG reports earnings on April 17. They have already guided higher on that earnings number. The stock also moved up to #1 on the Top 100 stocks list put out weekly by Investor's Business Daily.

Walgreen's Net Income Rises 5.2%..

Walgreen's (WAG) - Drug store operator's 2Q net income increases to $685.9 million, or 69¢ a share, amid an 11.1% increase in prescription drug sales. Revenue rises 10% to $15.39 billion, while total same-store sales increase 4.7%. Shares rise 3% pre-market.

Average Wall Street Bonus Drops 1.6%...

Despite the massive write-downs, subprime mess and credit crunch seeping out of Wall Street the average bonus fell only 1.6% in 2007, according to a survey by WallStreetComps.com. The average was $344,683, down from $350,349 in 2006.

That's it???

JP Morgan to Boost Bid for Bear Stearns???

JPMorgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon is in talks for a $10/share deal that would quintuple its original $2/share offer for Bear Stearns (BSC). Dimon hopes the move will placate angry shareholders, who vowed to fight the original deal. The Fed is balking at the price, because it doesn't want the public to perceive the deal as a bailout. Bear's board also moved to authorize a 39.5% stake sale to JP Morgan, which would give it an upper hand in gaining majority shareholder approval. Dimon may also be motivated by a need to change the original agreement, which inadvertently left JPM on the hook for Bear losses even if the deal fails.