U.S. stocks surge as Fed rate decision nears

Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:01:03 (GMT)

U.S. stocks surge as Fed rate decision nears

U.S. stocks soar, bolstered by better-than-anticipated earnings from
Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers, as well as expectations of another
Federal Reserve interest-rate cut later in the day.

Economic Report: Single-family housing starts fall to 17-year low

With no end in sight to the housing bust, new construction on
single-family homes drops by 6.7% in February to a seasonally adjusted
annual rate of 707,000, the lowest in 17 years.

The Fed: Federal Reserve policymakers expected to pull out all the
stops

WASHINGTON
The Federal Reserve is expected to continue pulling out all the stops to
combat the two-headed threat of a financial-market meltdown and a U.S.
recession by slashing interest rates later Tuesday, Fed watchers said.

Quarterly profits cut in half at Goldman Sachs, Lehman Bros.

Wall Street titans Lehman Bros. and Goldman Sachs say quarterly profits
fell by more than half as investment business slows and trading revenues
drop.

Bear stock price suggests shareholders may hold out for more

The prospect that Bear Stearns investors may reject the $2 a share offer
-- at least for a few months -- is now being priced into the market,
analysts say.