where are the bears, page-5

And another one for the bears to read....but still some rough water of course...and some nice trading

"U.S. Stocks Gain After Home Sales, Durable Goods Top Forecasts

By Eric Martin

Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose as better-than- forecast home sales and durable goods orders helped the Standard & Poor's 500 Index complete its best weekly gain since March.

Nucor Corp. led a rally in raw-material producers after Merrill Lynch & Co. advised investors to buy the second-largest U.S. steel company. Exxon Mobil Corp., the biggest oil producer, climbed after crude prices jumped the most this month.

The S&P 500 increased 16.87, or 1.2 percent, to 1,479.37. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 142.99, or 1.1 percent, to 13,378.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 34.99, or 1.4 percent, to 2,576.69.

Government reports today showed American businesses increased spending in July and the housing market showed signs of stability, adding to evidence the economy will keep growing. The S&P 500's 2.3 percent weekly advance was bolstered by the Federal Reserve's surprise decision Aug. 17 to lower the discount rate.

``We don't see a recession in the cards,'' said Hayes Miller, who helps manage $38 billion as portfolio manager of global equities at Baring Asset Management Inc. in Boston. ``There's still going to be enough corporate spending, there's still going to be enough investment, there's still going to be enough government spending.''

European Advance

European stocks posted their biggest weekly advance since June. Asian stocks fell for the first time in five days after Bank of China Ltd. said it had almost $9.7 billion invested in U.S. subprime loans.

Nucor added $3.58, or 7 percent, to $55.11. ``We believe we are reaching a bottom for flat rolled steel and look for a rebound sometime in the fall as we believe inventories will drop lower and imports remain relatively tame,'' Merrill Lynch analyst David A. Lipschitz wrote in a note to investors.

Energy companies gained 2.1 percent as a group, the most among 10 industries in the S&P 500, as crude oil rose above $71 a barrel on signs of rising economic growth. Exxon added $1.94 to $85.69. Chevron Corp., the second-largest U.S. oil company, climbed $1.74 to $87.22.

Gap Inc. increased $1.11, or 6.4 percent, to $18.51. The retailer said profit rose for the first time in eight quarters after it eliminated jobs and reduced inventory. Gap also increased its full-year profit forecast and said it plans to buy back an additional $1.5 billion of its own shares.

Durable goods orders advanced 5.9 percent last month, the Commerce Department said. Economists in a Bloomberg survey had expected a gain of 1 percent. Excluding orders for transportation equipment such as airplanes, durable-goods orders rose 3.7 percent, topping economists' forecast of 0.6 percent.

In a separate report, the Commerce Department said purchases of new homes increased 2.8 percent to an annual pace of 870,000, exceeding the highest estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists."

`A Real Shocker'

``Everybody was looking for a disaster with these numbers,'' said Jack Bouroudjian, chief investment strategist at Chicago- based Brewer Investment Group, which oversees about $300 million. ``Durable goods was a surprise this morning, and now new homes sales is a real shocker.''

Homebuilders gained after the Commerce Department's report. Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. luxury home builder, added 44 cents to $23.09. Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., New Jersey's largest homebuilder, added 13 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $11.98.

In other markets, yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 0.03 percentage point to 4.62.

More than four stocks gained for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Some 1.19 billion shares changed hands on the Big Board, 32 percent less than the three-month daily average and the least amount since July 3.