York Stock Exchange

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.

WASHINGTON -- The Nasdaq stock market, the New York Stock Exchange and most other U.S. financial markets will close Tuesday in observance of a national day of mourning for former President Gerald Ford. The closing delays the start of 2007 trading by one day and will mark the longest closing of major U.S. stock markets since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Federal Reserve and most U.S. government offices will also close in honor of the former president, who died Tuesday at age 93. The bond market will close at 2 p.m. "President Ford was a historic American president and a notable businessman, who served on the NASD board from 1999 to 2000, during a critical time for the Nasdaq stock market," Bob Greifeld, Nasdaq's president and chief executive, said.

NEW YORK -- For more than 200 years, the New York Stock Exchange has been the symbol of American capitalism. Now, it's poised to go global. The exchange's parent company is nearing completion of a $14 billion deal to buy Euronext, an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based company that runs securities markets in five European capitals. The combination would create the first trans-Atlantic stock market and could become the model for future mergers with stock markets in Asia and around the planet - a reflection of the seismic forces reshaping financial markets.

ST. LOUIS -- Express Scripts Inc. made an unsolicited $26 billion hostile bid for Caremark Rx Inc. to become the biggest U.S. manager of drug benefits, topping a bid by drugstore chain CVS Corp. Caremark investors would receive $58.50 in cash and stock for each share, 15 percent more than the Dec. 15 closing price, Express Scripts said yesterday. CVS proposed on Nov. 1 to buy Caremark for $48.53 a share, offering no premium. "The perception before was that Caremark was selling out cheaply," said Kemp Dolliver, an analyst with Cowen & Co. LLC in Boston.

NEW YORK -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said yesterday that it will pay Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard S. Fuld an extra $188 million over the next 10 years. Fuld was awarded grants a decade ago for about 2.5 million shares, which would have been payable if the fourth-largest U.S. securities firm was sold. Instead, the board plans to give Fuld 10 annual installments of 246,395 shares starting next year, provided he stays at Lehman, according to a Dec. 1 regulatory filing.

NEW YORK -- NYMEX Holdings Inc.'s initial public offering vaulted 125 percent into the record books yesterday as the top-performing U.S. IPO since 2000. The commodities bourse ended its 134-year run as a private, member-owned exchange with a big splash on Wall Street as the latest financial marketplace to tap into greater profit margins from electronic trading. Its added appeal comes from its leading role in hot energy and metals businesses and its status as a player in the global consolidation of financial marketplaces.

Athletic wear company Under Armour Inc. submitted an application to the New York Stock Exchange yesterday and expects to begin trading on what is considered the world's most prominent bourse next month. The Baltimore company hopes to make the jump to the NYSE not long after having become a public company. Under Armour has traded on the Nasdaq stock market since Nov. 18 last year. Shares have risen 85 percent from the closing price of $25.30 on the first day of trading. It closed yesterday at $46.25, down 60 cents.

NEW YORK -- Aeropostale Inc., a retailer of teen apparel, fired chief merchandising officer Christopher L. Finazzo for not telling the company he was an owner and officer of "entities" linked to one of its vendors. The lack of disclosure violated Finazzo's employment contract and the company's code of ethics, Aeropostale said yesterday. Aeropostale said it thinks the violations were confined to Finazzo. Chief Executive Officer Julian R. Geiger will fill Finazzo's job while Aeropostale searches for a successor.

NEW YORK -- Stocks rose moderately for a second consecutive session yesterday on strong earnings at United Technologies Corp. and McDonald's Corp. The day's earnings reports were mostly upbeat, although investor reactions were mixed. Since earnings season began two weeks ago, stocks have been swinging with each day's announcement as investors react to companies' earnings as well as their outlooks. "Stocks are either going way, way up or way, way down," said Paul McManus, senior vice president and director of research at Independence Investment LLC. "There appear to be more surprises."