U.S. stocks rise after Monday slide

Date: Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:01:13 -0500

U.S. stocks rise after Monday slide

U.S. stocks see early gains accelerate, a day after the Dow Jones
Industrial Average records its fourth-biggest point drop on record, as
investors turn to prospects for a bailout of the ailing auto industry.

FORD MAKES PLEA FOR ACCESS TO $9 BILLION IN LOANS

Making a second pitch for $25 billion in emergency loans, the Big
Three U.S. automakers will send restructuring plans to Capitol Hill
emphasizing cost-cutting, the development of fuel-efficient
technologies and downsizing, reports said.

GE RALLIES AS IT VOWS TO MAINTAIN DIVIDEND

General Electric Co. expects fourth-quarter net income of 50 cents to
52 cents a share, the low end of its previously announced range of 50
cents to 56 cents a share, as the conglomerate weathers the credit
crisis and the economic downturn.

BRITISH AIRWAYS HOLDING MERGER TALKS WITH AUSTRALIA'S QANTAS

British Airways on Tuesday says it's holding merger talks with
Australia's Qantas Airways in a deal that could combine two of the
world's best-known international carriers.

SEARS SWINGS TO WIDER-THAN-EXPECTED LOSS

Sears Holdings, already struggling with declining sales and traffic in
the face of rising competition, swings to a wider-than-expected
third-quarter loss after the downturn in the U.S. economy hurts demand
at both its Kmart and Sears chains.