Hello traders!

US stocks closed at their best levels of the session tonight.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 55.71 points higher at 10,889.44. The S&P500 rose 5.33 points to 1,268.12 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 14.83 points to 2,246.49.

See you in the morning with the latest....

Sleep tight!

G.

Good morning traders,

In Asia today, the Hang Seng ended the morning up 22.70 points at 15,205.23 but trade was very thin. The Tokyo market is closed today for the Emperor's birthday.

New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, was up three cents at $58.31 a barrel from its close of $58.28 in the US yesterday.

Off to find some UK news.....

Don't forget the UK market closes at 12:30pm today.....

Happy trading!

G

Outlook

LONDON (AFX) - Leading shares are expected to open higher this morning, starting a truncated pre-Christmas session on the front foot, thanks to a positive session on Wall Street last night, dealers said. According to spread-betting firm IG Index, the FTSE 100 index is expected to open 10 points higher after closing at 5,602.0 yesterday.

MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,597.0, up 9.6
FTSE 250 8,727.0, up 63.0
DJIA 10,889.44, up 55.71
Nasdaq Comp 2,2467.49 up 14.83
S&P 500 1,268.12, up 5.33
Tokyo: Nikkei closed for public holiday
Hang Seng midday 15,205.23, up 22.70
Gold 510.55 usd (494.10 usd)
Oil - Brent Feb 56.55 usd (56.72 usd)

TODAY'S PRESS
* ASTRAZENECA agrees to pay up to 1 bln usd to buy in stroke drug - Independent
* Ofcom finds support for ending BSKYB's monopoly of Premiership football -
Guardian
* Broker brothers, Simon and Julian Hirst resign from PANMURE GORDON - Guardian
* Threshers enters into exclusive talks with KPMG over Unwins deal -Independent
* Apax Partners near deal to buy Tommy Hilfiger for 1.5 bln usd - Independent
* SFO quizzes former BAE chairman, Sir Richard Evans over allegations of fraud
linked to Saudi Arabian defence contracts - Telegraph
* Private equity firms eye big fish with 180 bln eur war chest - Telegraph
* CBI pulls support for parental leave plan - FT
* Pensions shift opens unit trust floodgates - Telegraph

PRESS COMMENT
FT
The Lex Column: Private Equity (serially acquiring public companies at premiums, without industrial synergies, is a text-book strategy for value destruction. Should private equity be any different)

Daily Telegraph
Questor: WILSON BOWDEN (buy); MCBRIDE (worth holding); WHITE NILE (sell)

Independent
The Investment Column: WILSON BOWDEN (Investors should resist the temptation to take profits); WHITE NILE (avoid)

Guardian
Market Forces: VODAFONE (speculation about the future of chief executive Arun Sarin)

Daily Express
Share Whisper: MITCHELLS & BUTLERS (gossip private equity or entrepreneur Robert Tchenguiz could be lining up a bid surface again)

Morning all and a Merry Xmas to everyone.

A very good morning to you all and hope you have a happy christmas and a great 2006

And so say all of us.

Happy Christmas and a cheery and profitable 2006.

Morning All,

Wishing every one a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Good Morning all,

Seasons greetings - A Happy Christmas & New Year to you all.

Well I'm done for now, hope you all had a good Year, must go and buy some last minute things which have just come to light, will call in later (if possible) to update FTSE thread.

Wish you all a Merry Xmas and a healthy and Prosperous New Year.

A Merry Christmas and Happy 2006 to you all!

I'm looking forward to a winning year and just hope I've sobered up enough by January 3rd to pick some winners. :-)

2005 for me has been a good year in general, topped off nicely by Inventive Leisure when I sold my remaining stake yesterday for a goodly profit. That should ensure that we have a good holiday.....

See you all in the New Year!

G.

AFX UK at a glance share guide - weekend & Boxing Day

LONDON (AFX) - MARKETS (Dec 23)
FTSE 100 5.595.4 down 1.6
FTSE 250 8,759.80 up 32.80
DJIA 10,883.27 down 6.17
Nasdaq Comp 2,249.42 up 2.93
S&P 500 1,268.67 up 0.55
Gold 501.55 usd (501.55 usd)
Oil - Brent Feb 56.69 usd (56.55 usd)

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY PRESS
* Christmas Eve fails to deliver the last-minute reprieve for retailers this year; the number of shoppers on the high street is reported to be 18 pct down compared with Christmas Eve last year; Footfall says Friday turned out to be "boom day", in contrast with the performance on Saturday, when the number of shoppers was down 15.4 pct on the previous week - Monday Times
* A record number of stores will open Boxing Day in a cut-throat battle for customers; prices have been slashed by up to 80 pct in the winter sales as retailers try to make up for a disappointing Christmas - Monday Mail
* SHELL's LPG auction fails to generate much heat; sale hangs in balance after a year on block as bid come in 1 bln eur lower than expected - Monday Telegraph
* ROYAL DUTCH SHELL resumes limited operations in southern Nigeria after a pipeline exploded in the Niger Delta on Tuesday - Monday Times
* Indian technology workers are flooding the UK on temporary permits, undercutting local wages and raising the prospect of a homegrown skills shortage, Association for Technology Staffing companies claims - Monday Telegraph
* UNILEVER signs a seven-year contract with IBM to outsource some of its finance functions as part of its One Unilever programme to streamline the company - Monday Telegraph
* Antofagasta agrees a 133 mln usd joint venture with an Australian group to explore and exploit Pakistan copper and gold properties
* Boeing understood to be close to edging out its European rival Airbus to clinch a 10 bln usd deal with Singapore Airlines - Monday Telegraph
* Two of Europe's biggest ferry operators put up for sale, with price tags totalling 950 mln stg, in a major shake-up of the Baltic shipping market; equal joint-owners of Scandlines - Germany's state-back rail operator Deutsche Bahn and the Danish transport ministry - bury their differences to hoist the for sale sign over the ferry operator - Monday Telegraph
* Abigail Johnson, heir to the founding family that controls Fidelity Investments, leaves the board of the group's main investment management company, which her father, Edward Johnson, chairs; her departure appears to have followed a power struggle with colleagues - Monday Times
* Property price boom shifts away from south; north still playing catch-up despite regional rises - Saturday FT
* Retailers will be hoping for a last-minute rush to end the Christmas shopping season after further evidence emerges that the UK's consumers are spending less than last year; figures released by Footfall show the number of people visiting the nation's shops in the week to Thursday was down by 3.9 pct against the same period last year - Saturday FT
* Defined contribution pensions set to outstrip final salary schemes by 2007, according to Threadneedle Asset Management - Saturday FT
* AEGIS buys Roland Berger's market research business for 3.6 mln stg
* Analysts believe HILTON GROUP is worth up to 450 pence a share, or 7.2 bln stg, in the event of a break-up; it is poised to sell its hotels division to America's Hilton Corporation for 3.6 bln stg - Saturday Mail
* PERSIMMON comes under fire from Pensions Investment Research Consultants for giving shareholders just six working days over the Christmas holiday to consider and vote on its acquisition of WESTBURY - Saturday FT
* Saint-Gobain puts its Calmar plastic pumps business on the block as it launches the non-core disposal programme promised after its 3.9 bln stg acquisition of BPB - Saturday FT
* Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, signs documents to open up share trading in Gazprom, the world's largest gas producer - Saturday FT
* ASOS, the online fashion retailer forced to stop trading after the Buncefield oil depot fire in Hertfordshire, expects to be up and running again by the middle of next month - Saturday FT
* ASOS, the online fashion retailer forced to call a temporary halt to trading as a result of the recent fire at Hemel Hempstead, will try to tempt back customers in the new year by offering them discounts - Monday Telegraph
* INDEPENDENT NEWS & MEDIA's 22.5 mln stg investment in Jagran Prakashan, Indian newspaper publisher, expected to be valued at three to four times the initial investment made in June when JPL raises fresh capital in 2006 - Saturday FT
* Natural health retailer Neal's Yard Remedies sold to former book publisher Peter Kindersley for 10 mln stg

SATURDAY PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on retailers (a solid presence abroad is still seen as crucial for long-term profitability; it also helps to be at one end or other of the market spectrum - either a hard-discounter or a luxury-good retailer; after all, it's a combination the consumer loves), Nation of non-shoppers (investors should mind less about margins and more about a simpler measure - how much cash a retailer is generating), Across the pond (beating up on suppliers can only go so far and compensation costs have already been tightly controlled; the bigger threat to margins could come from aggressive pricing, investors' least favourite strategy for nabbing market share)

Independent
MARKET REPORT: ALEXON (fears of a dismal new year)

Mail
MARKET REPORT: GEORGE WIMPEY (vague talk of a possible bid from rival BARRATT DEVELOPMENTS) - INVESTMENT EXTRA: Brian O'Connor advises readers to keep their utility shares until the Continentals come calling

Guardian
Market forces: CHARACTER GROUP (by all accounts, Character's robotic dinosaur Roboraptor has been flying off the shelves in the run-up to the big day), NWF (Atorka, the Icelandic investment company, has a raised holding of 15.2 pct)

Express
MARKET REPORT: WOLVERHAMPTON & DUDLEY BREWERIES (talk it is thirsty for more earnings-boosting acquisitions)

Times
Directors' dealing: HARDY UNDERWRITING (sale of stock for 4.85 mln stg by its founder served to clear an overhang; Peter Hardy, a non-executive, sold 2.29 mln shares, leaving him with 375,000; three directors bought 900,000 between them at the same price) - Rumour of the day: VICTORIA OIL & GAS (dealers hear it is in talks to buy further licences elsewhere in the former Soviet Union) - MAJESTIC WINE uncorks formula for niche success; as Unwins faces ignominy, Sara Butler looks at a wine rival that is scouring the world to please its sophisticated clientele (BUSINESS p.45) - STOCK MARKETS - LARGE CAPS: VODAFONE GROUP (persistent talk of boardroom changes), WILLIAM MORRISON SUPERMARKETS (property director and his wife sell stock for 191,000 stg); SMALL CAPS: ALEXON (brokers' concerns over early discounting) - TEMPUS: Some sectoral picks for 2006: non-food retailers, IT software, insurance, engineering and machinery, banks, construction and tobacco

Telegraph
THE MARKET: COOKSON (market whispers it may find itself on Merrill Lynch's buy list for 2006), AERO INVENTORY (talk it could feature in Corporate Synergy's tip sheet), TRAFFICMASTER (non-executive chairman buys 100,000 shares at 26 pence), D1 OILS (dealers say bear trader Simon Caulkwell has taken a short position in the stock)

BOXING DAY PRESS COMMENT
Telegraph
AIM MARKET: Companies Richard Ratner, retail analyst at Seymour Pierce, rates include ALBEMARLE & BOND, STANLEY GIBBONS, BLOOMS OF BRESSINGHAM, DOBBIES GARDEN CENTRES; however, he advises clients to steer clear of FLOORS 2 GO
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