US shares managed to edge higher this morning despite weak retail sales figures and President Obama's plans to hit the banks with a swingeing new levy to generate at least $90bn in tax for the US government.

Wall Street's top 50 financial firms, those with assets greater than $50bn, will all be hit by the levy, the aim of which is to recoup all of losses on the $700bn cash advanced under the TARP rescue scheme.

Goldman Sachs shares fell but Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase were higher.

US retail sales fell unexpectedly in December as cautious Americans scaled back spending over the Christmas period. Sales fell by 0.3% from November. Analysts had been expecting a rise of around 0.5%. In November, sales were up by 1.8% from the previous month. This was the first decline after four months of gains.

The unwelcome sales data comes as figures showed a bigger than expected rise in unemployment last week. Weekly jobless claims rose by 11,000 in the week ended 9 January to 444,000, according to the Labor Department. The rise was bigger than anticipated by economists.

RealtyTrac, the online marketer of foreclosed homes, reported that one in 45 households, almost 3 million homeowners, fell behind on their mortgage payments during 2009.

The Dow is 23 points higher at 10,704, Nasdaq is six points higher at 2,314, while the S&P up just over one point at 1,147.

Oil shares continue to decline as the oil price remains weak with Chevron heading the fallers for a second day.

Pharma company Merck continues to rise after yesterday's upgrade by Credit Suisse.

Meat producer Tyson Foods rose after Credit Suisse said the company is "unloved, and in the early stages of a cyclical rebound in protein processing".

Buyers continue to show interest in Chinese search engine company Baidu as Google threatens to exit the Chinese market.

Eastman Kodak said it was suing Apple and Research In Motion for infringement of its digital imaging technology.

Intel is due to report its quarterly figures after the market closes and the shares are rising in anticipation. Analysts expect adjusted earnings of 45 cents a share.


S&P 500 - Risers
Tyson Foods Inc. Class A (TSN) $13.89 +4.36%
Darden Restaurants (DRI) $35.44 +3.90%
Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) $46.16 +3.87%
Marriott International Inc. (MAR) $29.16 +3.68%
Jabil Circuit Inc. (JBL) $17.72 +3.32%
Keycorp (KEY) $6.70 +3.24%
Constellation Brd A (STZ) $16.40 +3.09%
Sprint Nxtel Corp. (S) $4.12 +3.05%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $71.45 +2.95%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $10.76 +2.87%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) $20.01 -3.01%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $17.41 -2.79%
Allegheny Tech (ATI) $46.48 -2.76%
F P L Group Inc. (FPL) $50.08 -2.76%
Tiffany And Co (TIF) $45.62 -2.69%
Priceline.Com Inc. (PCLN) $208.62 -2.65%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI) $28.55 -2.63%
Hartford Fin Svc (HIG) $27.11 -2.62%
Kla-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $35.15 -2.60%
Interpublic Group (IPG) $7.19 -2.57%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $39.64 +1.82%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.30 +1.62%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $131.79 +1.20%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $30.71 +1.19%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $24.90 +1.06%
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $52.75 +1.01%
Bank Of America Corp. (BAC) $16.73 +0.66%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $28.28 +0.53%
AT&T Inc. (T) $26.78 +0.53%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $44.40 +0.34%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $31.00 -0.93%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $54.55 -0.84%
Du Pont E I De Nemours and Co. (DD) $34.08 -0.64%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $61.96 -0.60%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $31.70 -0.53%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $62.31 -0.45%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $79.48 -0.40%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $15.92 -0.38%
General Electric Co. (GE) $16.78 -0.30%
Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $29.15 -0.27%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $462.00 +5.12%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $71.45 +2.95%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $135.20 +2.33%
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) $66.96 +2.17%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $25.33 +2.14%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $20.40 +2.05%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.30 +1.62%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $26.59 +1.30%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $35.12 +1.28%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $30.71 +1.19%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $38.65 -4.59%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $17.41 -2.79%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $41.55 -2.74%
Priceline.Com Inc. (PCLN) $208.62 -2.65%
Kla-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $35.15 -2.60%
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $30.24 -2.04%
Ebay Inc. (EBAY) $23.12 -2.03%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $33.47 -2.02%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $29.56 -1.92%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $38.12 -1.90%

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