York Stock Exchange

NEW YORK -- The Dow Jones industrial average surged more than 190 points to a new high yesterday, a strong sign that Wall Street thinks the worst of the global credit crunch has passed. The rally on the first day of the fourth quarter was propelled in part by news from financial giant Citigroup Inc., which said its third-quarter earnings would fall 60 percent because of a $5.9 billion write-off related to soured mortgage-backed bonds and private equity loans. Despite the huge write-off, investors greeted the news as a sign that the upheaval in global credit markets was abating and that financial companies' earnings would begin to recover, some analysts said.

NEW YORK -- Stocks soared yesterday, with some market indexes smashing through to record highs, as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates a quarter-point and hinted that a single, modest increase might be all that is needed to keep the lid on inflation.The Dow Jones industrial average rose 155.45 to close at 10,970.80, rounding out a session in which the index dropped 83 points in morning trading, then popped over 11,000 for the first time since May 14.The rally propelled broader market indicators to new closing highs.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks rose yesterday, after five declines in the past six sessions left many shares inexpensive relative to the outlook for corporate profits.Drugmakers, financial and computer-related shares, among the biggest losers this week, led the gains. Almost twice as many stocks rose as fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where about 657.8 million shares changed hands.The Dow Jones industrial average rose 92.81 to 10,559.74, paced by American Express Co. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 20.43, or 1.6 percent, to 1,301.

WASHINGTON -- New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso said yesterday that he expects the world's largest stock market to convert to a publicly traded corporation in November to raise cash to buy an electronic trading network and invest in technology."

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks fell with bonds yesterday on concern that today's reports on retail sales and wholesale prices will prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its meeting at the end of the month.The Dow Jones industrial average recovered 95 points of a 164-point decline in the last half-hour of trading after Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan did not mention interest rates in a commencement speech at Harvard University.The Dow finished down 69.02 to 10,621.27.Computer-related shares such as Microsoft Corp.

NEW YORK -- The Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes set records yesterday, led by computer-related shares, after analysts predicted that Microsoft Corp. and MCI WorldCom Inc. will soar in 1999 as the companies' earnings growth rates beat the average of other S&P 500 members.The S&P climbed 16.68, or 1.4 percent, to 1,244.78, and the Nasdaq jumped 43.22, or 2.0 percent, to 2,251.27.The Dow Jones industrial average rose 126.92, or 1.4 percent, to 9,311.19, after coming within 45 points of its Nov. 23 high.

NEW YORK -- The Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes set records yesterday, led by computer-related shares, after analysts predicted that Microsoft Corp. and MCI WorldCom Inc. will soar in 1999 as the companies' earnings growth rates beat the average of other S&P 500 members.The S&P climbed 16.68, or 1.4 percent, to 1,244.78, and the Nasdaq jumped 43.22, or 2.0 percent, to 2,251.27.The Dow Jones industrial average rose 126.92, or 1.4 percent, to 9,311.19, after coming within 45 points of its Nov. 23 high.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks resumed their slide yesterday after new reports showed that the economy's surging growth has not slowed in recent months. The data renewed concerns that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week.The Dow Jones industrial average fell 63.95 to close at 10,273.00, after having been down nearly 153 points earlier in the session. Broader stock indicators also were mostly lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 edged up 0.10 to 1,282.81, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 9.31 to 2,736.

NEW YORK -- Stocks fell yesterday, with the Nasdaq composite index sustaining its worst point loss in more than a month, as investors sold shares to capture profits from the recent rally."

This is an excerpt of a Boston Globe editorial that was published Friday.THE stock market's traditional 6 1/2-hour trading day is scary enough for some investors, who can probably feel an ulcer forming at the thought of an exchange that never sleeps. But the all-night market is the way of the future -- one more convenience, or curse, of the computer age.The technological revolution that has spawned on-line brokerage houses and lets consumers into portfolios with a keystroke has also created the virtual trading floor.

Please share your thoughts on the Clipper Fund, which was recommended to me. P.R., via the Internet Run for nearly three years by respected managers Christopher Davis and Kenneth Feinberg of Davis Selected Advisors, the value-oriented fund made the mistake of owning some companies hit hard by the financial crisis, including American International Group Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. It is volatile because of its concentrated portfolio and lack of cash...

Shares of General Growth Properties Inc. rose 27 percent yesterday after the Chicago-based mall owner said it replaced its chief financial officer and suspended dividend payments to weather the seizure in financial markets. The shares climbed $2.08 to $9.67 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock had fallen 86 percent in the 12 months through yesterday. General Growth is the master developer of Columbia and owner of Harborplace and other shopping malls in the Baltimore region.

Shares of Constellation Energy Group fell 16 percent yesterday - the largest one-day drop in seven years - after one analyst questioned the company's accounting and another raised concerns about the effects of a potential credit downgrade. The stock closed down $11.79 to $61.25 on the New York Stock Exchange. It was the biggest percentage decrease for the Baltimore company since July 20, 2001, when shares fell 21 percent after Constellation lowered its earnings forecast for that year.

Municipal Mortgage & Equity LLC, the real estate and alternative energy project financier, said yesterday that it is suspending its quarterly dividend as it continues to deal with the fallout from the slumping credit market. The Baltimore company, better known as MuniMae, had reduced its quarterly dividend to 33 cents in January, marking its first cut in 43 consecutive quarters. Since that time, its stock, which was delisted by the New York Stock Exchange, has plunged 77 percent. Last month, the company said lenders and investors who take positions in the funds it manages are pulling back from the business as they deal with credit problems.

Shares in Municipal Mortgage & Equity LLC, the Baltimore company known as MuniMae, lost nearly half their value yesterday after the company announced late Monday that it was cutting its dividend and was facing delisting by the New York Stock Exchange. MuniMae shares closed yesterday at $9.19, down 47 percent from Monday's close at $17.20, just before the announcement. The company has been struggling for more than a year to restate its earnings from 2004, 2005 and 2006. On Monday, it said it wouldn't meet a March 3 deadline set by the New York Stock Exchange, meaning the exchange will likely drop MuniMae, leaving its shares to trade over the counter.

Oct. 29 1929 "Black Tuesday" descended upon the New York Stock Exchange. Prices collapsed amid panic selling as America's Depression began.

NEW YORK -- The Dow Jones industrial average surged more than 190 points to a new high yesterday, a strong sign that Wall Street thinks the worst of the global credit crunch has passed. The rally on the first day of the fourth quarter was propelled in part by news from financial giant Citigroup Inc., which said its third-quarter earnings would fall 60 percent because of a $5.9 billion write-off related to soured mortgage-backed bonds and private equity loans. Despite the huge write-off, investors greeted the news as a sign that the upheaval in global credit markets was abating and that financial companies' earnings would begin to recover, some analysts said.

This is what you call "contagion." With revelations throughout the past week that the housing recession is intensifying and infecting stock and bond investments, as well as lending practices, investors have focused on what could go wrong. "Recession chatter is surfacing," said Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg. With homeowners still facing mortgage adjustments of an extra 5 or 6 percentage points on their mortgage interest rate, consumers could face more foreclosures and struggle so much with monthly payments that they will cut back sharply on purchases.

NEW YORK -- Shares of Blackstone Group rose 13 percent on their first day of trading yesterday, as investors rushed to latch onto the private equity boom that has swept corporate and financial America. Given the fanfare surrounding the company, the event seemed more like the coronation of a new Wall Street monarch than the public debut of an up-and-coming company. And the stock's "pop" - on a day when the broader market fell sharply - was another sign of how buyout shops such as Blackstone are challenging old-school investment banks and brokerages for dominance.

NEW YORK -- The signs were everywhere, all of them bad. A television commentator standing on Wall Street chattered on about the Nikkei index in Japan, which had plunged almost 3 percent. A stock ticker inside the deli around the corner rolled through the results of every market from London to Hong Kong, most of them startlingly negative and printed in red, like blood. The American markets, it seemed, were doomed. Yet, as traders in colored vests and men in black trench coats disappeared inside the New York Stock Exchange yesterday to resume trading after the market's largest percentage drop since March 2003, they shrugged off the omens with a smile or a wink.