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A day after taking a breather, the bulls returned Friday fully rested and ready to silence the bears yet again with another upward surge into the record books. The Dow closed at another new high, its 24th record this year, while the S&P 500 finished at its best level in 6 1/2 years, and within five points of its all-time closing high. All 10 economic sectors finished positive.
The bulls were established early in the session when a preliminary read on consumer sentiment unexpectedly rose for the first time in four months. More M&A news, though, and anticipation of another merger-filled Monday was the driving factors behind the broad-based move that forced sellers to the sidelines going into the weekend.
Reports that General Electric (GE 36.91 +0.38) is nearing a deal to sell its plastics division for roughly $11 bln was the first, noteworthy item to hit the wires
The second item, and the bigger M&A driver was word from Microsoft that it will acquire aQuantive for $6 bln or $66.50 per share in cash. That marked a huge premium to AQNT's closing price on Thursday and it underscored the liquidity factor that continues to provide a floor of support in this market.
Some upbeat analyst commentary provided an added boost of optimism. Intel a suggested holding in the Briefing.com Active Portfolio, and Verizon Communications were upgraded. Fellow Dow component IBM hit a new multi-year high after UBS raised its price target on the stock to $124.
The performance of those three components, along with GE's 1.0% gain and Exxon Mobil's surge to an all-time high, even as oil prices closed flat, accounted for more than half of the Dow's 79-point gain.
And now for our Small Cap News… brought to you by Hybrid Technologies, Inc. (HYBT.OB)
Hybrid is a development stage company who engages in the development and marketing of electric powered vehicles and products in the
…Some of the movers and shakers we’ll be watching this week,
Dot VN Inc. announced that Dr. Mai Liem Truc has joined the Company's Strategic Advisory Board. Dr. Truc will assist the Company with strategic planning for future growth and implementation of key projects.
The company also announced last month the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Quang Trung Software City Development Company to build out a 20,000 square foot
This will become the largest software park in
BioStem, Inc. had a nice week, getting a boost on the anticipation of the company's planned acquisition of Cryobanks International, Inc. (CII) which reports state is progressing to its final stages. The Merger, which is contingent upon Cryobanks raising at least $9,000,000 pursuant to a private placement, has been extended to March 31, 2007.
If the financing successfully closes, this will put Cryobanks substantially over the $9,000,000 financing condition, and BioStem and Cryobanks will immediately proceed to close the merger.
BioStem, Inc. specializes in the collection, processing, and banking of stem cells derived from the umbilical cord immediately after birth. BioStem, Inc. opens their week at $2.01 cents a share
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