U.S. stocks up for third day in five on Lehman upgrade

Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:01:03 (GMT)

U.S. stocks up for third day in five on Lehman upgrade

U.S. stocks advance after an upgrade of Lehman Brothers.

Financial stocks rise, Citi says "buy Lehman shares"

NEW YORK
U.S. financial stocks drifted higher Friday morning, aided by a 4% jump
in shares of Lehman Bros. Holdings after an analyst at Citigroup said
the shares should be bought. The analyst said the firm does not face a
liquidity crisis and that the shares are attractively priced. In the
broader sector, the Financial Select Sector SPDR , an ETF that tracks
the financial stocks in the S&P 500, rose 0.2%.

Cayne unloads entire stake in troubled Bear Stearns

Bear Stearns Cos. Chairman James Cayne sold $61.3 million of company
stock this week amid a controversial acquisition of the struggling
investment firm by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., according to a regulatory
filing.

J.C. Penney slashes first-quarter outlook; shares tumble

Citing weaker-than-expected sales, J.C. Penney Co. slashes its
first-quarter profit forecast, a move which provides further evidence of
a slowdown in consumer spending on department-store items.

Futures Movers: Crude drops nearly 2%, retracing back below $106 a
barrel

Crude-oil futures drop 1% following their surge in the previous session,
as the market follows the situation in Iraq.