SPW should create some interest tomorrow morning and for the eternal optimists amongst us, myself included there is KCOM.

Good morning traders!

US stocks extended their rally last night as the Nasdaq rose to a two-month high amid a surge in Google shares.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 51.65 points at 10,523.56 while the Nasdaq extended its win streak to seven sessions, adding 10.23 points to 2,056.65. The S&P500 rose 4.58 points to 1,193.86.

In Asia this morning, the Hang Seng ended the morning up 2.23 points at 13,701.36 and the Nikkei was last down 42.47 points at 11,116.18.

New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July was up 32 cents to $49.48 a barrel from its close of $49.16 overnight in the US, where it added 51 cents.

Off to find some UK news..........

Happy trading!

G.

P&O DOWNGRADED TO 'NEUTRAL' FROM 'BUY' BY MERRILL LYNCH AFTER TARGET EXCEEDED

MILLENNIUM & COPTHORNE UPGRADED TO 'NEUTRAL' VS 'SELL' AT MERRILL LYNCH

DETICA UPGRADED TO 'BUY' VS 'NEUTRAL' AT UBS

AFX UK at a glance share guide - 2

MARKETS
FTSE 100 4,989.8, up 18.0
FTSE 250 6,987.0, up 52.7
DJIA 10,523.60, up 51.70
Nasdaq Comp 2,056.65, up 10.23
S&P 500 1,193.85, up 4.55
Tokyo: Nikkei closed at 11,133.65, down 25.00
Hang Seng midday 13,701.36, up 2.23
Gold 418.15 usd (417.25 usd)
Oil - Brent July 48.37 usd (48.03 usd)

BREAKING NEWS
* BBC on strike; news output hit as unions say 11,500 back dispute over job cuts - FT
* Brown seeks red tape hit list; chancellor challenges business to help cull regulations; new 'risk-based' inspection regime; wary reaction from industry - FT
* Sir Ken Morrison, executive chairman of WILLIAM MORRISON, attempts to soothe concerns over the pace of governance reform at the embattled supermarket chain, telling shareholders he has no veto over the hiring of non-executive directors - FT
* JARVIS shares tumble 35 pct on new restructuring plans - FT
* BRITISH LAND could sell hundreds of millions of pounds of property in the next two years to pay for its recommended 855 pence-a-share takeover of PILLAR PROPERTY, chief executive Stephen Hester says - FT
* MERCHANT RETAIL in advanced talks with a potential buyer about a possible offer that could value the group at about 215 mln stg
* Chinese threaten long court battle over Rover rights - Times
* REXAM pulls out of the UK glass market

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on hedge funds, Equity research, European bonds, Germany - BSS (cheap) - THUS (unless you want to bet on when consolidation will start and that Thus will be a favoured bid target, you are probably better investing elsewhere) - UNIQ (investors should give this a miss for the time being)
Mail
LORIEN (MULTI GROUP acquires a 4.6 pct stake and considers launching a full-scale bid at around the 35 pence-a-share level)
Telegraph
QUESTOR: MITIE GROUP (a sound business but best invest elsewhere), BSS (hold on), THUS (best avoided)
Times
RUMOUR OF THE DAY: DIGITAL CLASSICS (talk it has secured nearly 500,000 stg of sales from the MIP TV festival in Cannes) - DIRECTORS' DEALINGS: EUROPEAN GOLDFIELDS (five directors buy stock for 50,000 stg) - TEMPUS: BRITISH LAND (buy), MITIE (buy), STAFFLINE (buy)
Guardian
DANA PETROLEUM (rumours that MHR Advisers has put its 23.5 pct stake up for sale) - HILTON GROUP (rumours it has put its health club division up for sale) - ROXBORO (rumours of a bid approach) - CALEDON RESOURCES (has a 17 pct stake in Afcan Holdings, a Canadian mining company which traders believe has abandoned plans for a London listing in favour of a takeover)
Independent
CARE UK (long-term buy), BSS (undervalued still), MITIE (hold) - INVENSYS (cash outflow fears)
Express
SHARE WHISPER: BLUE STAR MOBILE (watch out for more distribution and partnership deals during the next month) - WHO'S DEALING: TADPOLE TECHNOLOGY (Steig Westerberg sells down his stake for the second time in a week; he nets 4,426 stg from the sale of 80,484 shares at 5-1/2 pence)

Morning all. A few snippets

SPE - new product
http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/20050524070000P6DCF.html

DTC - trading update
http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/20050524070000PA33D.html

PDX - deal with GNK
http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/20050524070000PBF54.html

DATA - sounding bullish
http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200505240700076512M.html

SPS - significant?
http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200505240700116568M.html

BOR - another AIM oil listing. Falklands eh?
http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200505240700116573M.html

RPT - the plot thickens?
http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200505240700446629M.html

MOB - Mr Orange signs up!
http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200505240700236607M.html

BAG - interesting tie-up with CBRY
http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200505240700106537M.html

As for the rest, VOD still motoring and announces share buyback, as SPW, which seems to be ahead of forecasts.

Later!

Morning all.