SERVICE SECTOR PERFORMS BETTER THAN EXPECTED IN FEBRUARY

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported this morning that the index of non-manufacturing activity came in at 49.3, up from January's 44.6. The 49.3 reading is still slightly negative in that a reading below 50 points toward contraction, but it is very close to 50 and well above what analysts expected. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones had predicted 46.5, while analysts polled by Reuters had expected 47.5. The relatively positive news started an early rally on Wall Street with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) up 0.61%, the Nasdaq up 0.89%, and the S&P 500 up 0.74% at 10:07 a.m. Central.

WORST WEEK FOR U.S. STOCKS IN MORE THAN FOUR YEARS

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.2% this week, the S&P 500 dropped 4.4%, and Nasdaq was down a whopping 5.9%. For the DJIA and S&P 500 it was the worst week points-wise since July of 2002 and the Nasdaq experienced its biggest points decline since September of 2001. Overall, U.S. stocks had experienced 45 consecutive months without a drop of 2% in a single trading session, that is until Tuesday of this week when the slide began.

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE REJECTS NASDAQ OFFER

Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. made a $5.1 billion offer for the London Stock Exchange, but the offer was quickly rejected as inadequate. Nasdaq has accumulated 28.5% of shares of the LSE. Nasdaq and NYSE Group are locked in a race to create the first trans-Atlantic exchange.

Reuters