Consumer Spending Rises, Markets Extend Gains
On the upside
RiskMetrics Group (NYSE: RISK) will be acquired in a $1.55 billion cash and stock deal by MSCI (NYSE: MXB).
Dilliards (NYSE: DDS) swung to a profit as the department store chain cut costs.
USEC (NYSE: USU) nearly doubled its fourth quarter earnings as revenue rose.
On the downside
Although fourth quarter earnings for Perfect World (Nasdaq: PWRD) surged, the results missed expectations.
JPMorgan Chase cited valuation concerns for downgrading Taser International (Nasdaq: TASR).
Commercial Metals (NYSE: CMC) will either sell or simply close its joist and deck business.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks soared 11 points to 640.
