By James Langton

(December 13 – 09:00 ET) – The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to halt the vote recount in Florida, making it almost certain that George W. Bush will ascend to the White House. Stocks like that news, and the futures market is rallying.

There are no economic releases in Canada today. In the United States,. retail sales declined 0.4% in November for the first time in seven months. Ex autos, sales were up 0.2%.

Sales were expected to rise by 0.2%. The November results show the economy slowing faster than expected, heightening expectations for a rate cut soon in the U.S.

Weighing against this morning’s upward momentum is Compaq Computer Corp., which issued a profit warning last night and saw its share price drop. This morning the computer makers are down, but the news isn’t weighing on all tech stocks.

In Europe stocks are mixed. London’s FTSE is up just six points to 6,396. In Paris, the CAC 40 is off 47 points to 6,001. In Germany, the DAX has dropped 63 points to 6,670.

In M&A news, Allied Domecq is buying Mumm and Perrier-Jouet, the champagne makers, for US$501 million, stepping out of the bidding for Seagram’s drinks unit.

Overnight in Asia stocks popped on the heels of the election news. The Japanese Nikkei closed up 54 points to 15,169. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 292 points to 15622.

In other news, Royal Bank is offering a new issue of 10.7 million common shares at $46.80 a share, adding $500 million to its coffers.

Inco Ltd. announced that it will proceed with the next phase of its Goro nickel-cobalt project in New Caledonia and is on schedule to begin production from a commercial facility in late 2004 or early 2005. Scott Hand, Inco’s president, says it will invest a further US$100 million in 2001 to position the company to proceed with the construction phase.