Dow Finishes Year Up Nearly 17%

With many traders away from their desks
ahead of the long weekend, the U.S. stock markets are turning in a lackluster
performance in trading Friday. The major averages have had difficulty sustaining
any significant moves.

AT&T
(
T |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) continues to lead the Dow today after offering additional
concessions to federal regulators moving it closer to acquiring BellSouth
(
BLS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
which will make the deal the largest telecommunications merger in U.S. history. 
Other notable leaders are Apple Computer
(
AAPL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), which moved up sharply
after an internal probe found no misconduct on the part company executives in
regards to options granted to CEO Steve Jobs. 

The price of gold turned higher over the
course of the trading session on Friday, with gold for February delivery closing
up $1.10 at $638 an ounce after hitting a low of $634.50 an ounce. With the
turnaround, the price of gold closed higher for the fifth consecutive session.

With the gain on Friday, the price of gold
closed up 2.5 percent for the week, contributing to a 23 percent gain for the
full year.

After moving lower in early trading, the
price of oil turned higher over the course of the shortened trading session on
Friday. Crude for February delivery closed up $0.52 at $61.05 a barrel after
hitting a low of $59.90 a barrel.

Please note the NYSE
and Nasdaq will be closed on Tuesday, January 2, in honor of President Gerald
Ford’s funeral.

Stocks on the Move

Reinsurance Group
(
RGA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Receives Upgrade by UBS from Neutral to
Buy.  RGA shares rise by 2.26%.

Beacon Power
(
BCON |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Receives Downgrade from Merriman Curhan Ford
from Buy to Neutral.  BCON shares drop over 8%.

Gorman-Rupp Company
(
GRC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Receives Downgrade from Matrix Research
from Buy to Hold.  GRC shares fall by 5%.

Apple
(
AAPL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Files Form 10-Q For Q3, Form 10-K For FY06; To
Record $84 Mln Stock Option Charge (full
story).  AAPL shares rise by nearly 5%.

AT&T
(
T |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Offers New Concessions To Get Regulatory Approval For
BellSouth Acquisition (full
story).  T shares rise by 0.8%.

Delta Air Lines
(
DALRQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Reports Narrower Loss For November (full
story).  DALRQ shares fall by 1.5%.

For more stories as they happen, go to our
Breaking News section.

Market Snapshot

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Economic News

No economic reports released.

Darren Wong
darrenw@tradingmarkets.com

P.S.

Click here to use PowerRatings to identify stocks that could potentially
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