U.S. stocks rally on Microsoft's strong profit, Fed hopes

4:03 pm ET Oct 26, 2007

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U.S. stocks rally on Microsoft's strong profit, Fed hopes

NEW YORK
U.S. stocks rallied Friday, and posted solid weekly gains, with
technology stocks leading the charge after Microsoft Corp.'s earnings
blew past analysts' estimates while raised forecasts from Countrywide
Financial Corp. helped soothe concerns about bad home loans.

The Fed: Mishkin defends Fed as lender of last resort

WASHINGTON
The Federal Reserve has an obligation to act as a lender of last resort
and to provide liquidity to markets that are temporarily malfunctioning
because of a financial shock, said Fed Gov. Frederic Mishkin in prepared
remarks at a gathering at the Museum of American Finance in New York on
the Panic of 1907.

All hype aside, Microsoft's mainstays bring results

SAN FRANCISCO
Though Microsoft Corp.'s first-quarter results were boosted by a spike
in video-game sales and news that it won an online advertising deal with
a red-hot social networking site, the real meat in the company's
financial report came from its stalwart Windows and Office products.

MarketWatch First Take: Who wants Stan O'Neal gone?

NEW YORK
If Merrill Lynch & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Stan O'Neal did
explore a merger with Wachovia Corp. or J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. it
wouldn't have been the first time.

Shades of Green: Ten ways to supercharge your cash flow and avoid credit
woes

SAN FRANCISCO,
So your mortgage payment just ratcheted upward or an unforeseen event
has shot the heart out of your finances. Don't succumb to money
melancholy just yet.