Hello traders!

US stocks ended higher on Monday as the market prepared for the Fed's next meeting on interest rates.

The Dow ended up 59.19 points at 10,251.70, posting its first back-to-back gains in more than three weeks. The Nasdaq Composite rose 7 points to 1,928.65 while the S&P500 climbed 5.31 points to 1,162.16.

See you in the morning with UK breaking news.....

G.

Good morning traders!

In Asia, the Hang Seng has closed marginally better at mid-day, traders cautious ahead of the Fed's interest rate decision later to day. The Tokyo exhchange is closed today.

Off to find some UK news.....

Happy trading!

G.

SPIRAX SARCO UPGRADED TO 'OUTPERFORM' FROM 'NEUTRAL' BY CSFB

AFX UK at a glance share guide - 4

MARKETS
Hang Seng 13,918.77 up 9.80
Tokyo: Closed

BREAKING NEWS
* Labour extends its poll lead; fall in support of Tories; Blair warns of contest in key marginals; top Conservatives set to call for Howard's resignation - FT
* Trade negotiators from the US and European Union agree to further talks in a bid to end their row over subsidies to rival aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus rather than turn to litigation before the World Trade Organisation - FT
* Baugur-controlled retailer Mosaic Fashions set to become the first foreign company on the Iceland Stock Exchange when it floats next month - FT
* Ofcom examines curbing harmful media content with common labelling plan - FT
* About 4,000 MG Rover workers who lost their jobs after the carmaker went into administration have received redundancy payments averaging 5,000 stg each - FT
* AgCert, an Irish company that taps methane from pig slurry and sells the resulting greenhouse gas credits, due to list on the London Stock Exchange - FT
* John Duffield's New Star Asset Management expected today to take a further step along the road to a stock market listing when the fund manager reports a more than doubling of 2004 operating profit - and forecasts a further increase this year - FT
* Global semiconductor sales increased 13.2 pct in the first quarter, confounding forecasts of a flat year - FT
* Adidas-Salomon to sell its struggling Salomon winter and adventure sports arm to Amer Sports of Finland for about 329 mln stg as the German group focuses on its more profitable clothing and footwear lines - FT
* Ubiquity Software, which develops software for the telecommunications market, plans to list on AIM to raise 20 mln stg of new money - FT
* The first New Zealand company to float on AIM plans to raise 14 mln stg through a placing; Endace has grown out of a research and development project at Waikato University in Hamilton, 80 miles south of Aukland - FT
* LONDON ASIA CAPITAL, the AIM-listed investment company, agrees to act as corporate adviser on two deals in China that will further increase its exposure to the new economic power - FT
* Micro Focus International heading for the largest flotation of a software company since the dotcom bubble burst four years ago; its advisers say its shares will be priced at between 145 pence and 185 pence each, giving it a stock market value of 310 mln stg, based on the mid price of 165 pence - Express

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on Immigrants (popular view that immigrants are lowly paid and a drain on public finances is not borne out by the facts), Neiman Marcus (could well be a while before this shopping trip pays off), Warner Music (if buying Warner's shares, investors should remember that the sunshine ahead remains a forecast, and everybody knows how reliable forecasts can be), MCI - HUVEAUX (this week's election is a boon for John van Kuffeler, chief executive of the AIM-listed group that publishes the political bible Dod's; hits on Epolitix.com, its online service, jumped to 3.6 mln last month)

Express
* DIAGEO (interested in buying ALLIED DOMECQ's Courvoiser cognac and Maker's Mark bourbon, worth a combined 870 mln stg, according to analysts) - THE INVESTMENT STRATEGIST: emerging markets offer a spicy adventure (GARTMORE EMERGING MARKETS OPPORTUNITIES and GENESIS EMERGING MARKETS)

Independent
Small Talk: Stephen Foley comments on SCOTTY (considering plans for a refinancing or a renewed equity fundraising)), VISUAL DEFENCE (floats on Friday), INCAGOLD (raising 1.5 mln stg, valuing it at 5.2 mln stg, with the cash funding the publication of new games), BEDE (speculative investors looking for a risky punt might want to look over Bede), LONDON ASIA CAPITAL (appointed to restructure two Chinese companies)

Good morning all. Up day today??

At least i got the right day tuesday yes,morning all.