Daytraderbusiness.com - countrywide_headlines - +++ testing English title COUNTRYWIDE ++++

Trade Information
Company	Date	Opening	Last Price	Variation	High	Low	Volume
cfc	2008-05-09	5.04	5.05	+0.10	5.19	4.93	16604575

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose in active trading volume on Monday, although off session highs, as two multibillion-dollar takeover deals encouraged investors to buy stocks in a vote of confidence on business conditions. Reports on the housing sector early in the day bolstered expectations of an economic rebound. Bank stocks rose sharply after Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC - News), the third-biggest U.S. bank, said it agreed to buy FleetBoston Financial Corp. (NYSE:FBF - News), the No. 7 bank, for about $43 billion in stock, likely paving the way for more deals in the sector. In the other hefty deal, Anthem Inc. (NYSE:ATH - News) said it would buy WellPoint Health Networks Inc. (NYSE:WLP - News) for about $14 billion, creating the nation's largest health insurer, with vast negotiating power across the health care industry. Blue-chip stocks pared those gains late in the afternoon after financial giant American Express Co. (NYSE:AXP - News) failed to meet some investors' sky-high expectations for its quarterly results.