TOP STORIES BEFORE THE OPEN, WED
U.S. chip stocks were stepping up after Morgan Stanley turned more
bullish on the sector and raised its rating on Intel Corp (INTC), Texas
Instruments (TXN) and Xilinx (XLNX). The upgrade, while helping the
semiconductor stocks, did little to invigorate the stock futures and
market bellwether General Electric (GE) remained under modest pressure,
indicating at best a mixed start after Tuesday's rally. Wachovia Corp.
(WB) and Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU) confirmed they merging their
retail brokerage forces, with Wachovia ending up with a 62 percent
ownership interest in the new firm, and Prudential with the remaining
38
percent.
U.S. chip stocks were stepping up after Morgan Stanley turned more
bullish on the sector and raised its rating on Intel Corp (INTC), Texas
Instruments (TXN) and Xilinx (XLNX). The upgrade, while helping the
semiconductor stocks, did little to invigorate the stock futures and
market bellwether General Electric (GE) remained under modest pressure,
indicating at best a mixed start after Tuesday's rally. Wachovia Corp.
(WB) and Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU) confirmed they merging their
retail brokerage forces, with Wachovia ending up with a 62 percent
ownership interest in the new firm, and Prudential with the remaining
38
percent.