MORNING BUSINESS MINUTE, THURS., FEB. 16, 2006

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before the House Financial Committee yesterday. He didn`t manage to do much, if any damage, but also didn`t make investors jump for joy. Chairman Bernanke didn`t do much to fuel hopes about an end to federal interest rate hikes -- and he did raise concerns about the federal deficit. On the other hand he did sound optimistic about the spread between bond yields. As a result, we saw the Dow rise +30.58 (+0.28%) to close at 11,058.97. The NASDAQ rose +14.26 (+0.63%) to close at 2,276.43 and the S&P 500 added +4.47 (+0.35%) to finish at 1,280.00. Local stocks turned in a mostly positive session of trade. Tyson Foods (TSN) lost -0.20% to finish at $14.71. JB Hunt (JBHT) added +1.10% to close at $25.74. Acxiom (ACXM) added +0.04% to finish at $24.92 and Wal-Mart (WMT) added +0.95% to close at $46.89. Today, we`ll see January Building Permits and Housing Starts. Also out today, import and export prices and initial jobless claims. Earnings include numbers from Target, Dell and DaimlerChrysler. Overseas in Asia last night, the Nikkei rose +0.7% to reach 16,044.11 at the mid-day break in Tokyo. Back in the U.S., in extended hours trading, the NASDAQ 100 Afterhours Indicator rose +1.73 (+0.1%) to close at 1,674.88.