North American stocks may open higher Thursday after a report suggested that inflation doesn’t appear to be taking control of the U.S. economy.

U.S. wholesale prices rose 0.9% in May on higher energy prices, but outside of volatile food and energy sectors prices remained largely contained, with the “core” number up just 0.2%, the U.S. Labor Department reported today.

Here at home, Statistics Canada reported that all Canadian governments, including the Canada and Quebec pension plans, recorded a consolidated surplus in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007.

The nation’s federal, provincial, territorial and local governments, as well as the Canada/Quebec Pension Plans, recorded a combined surplus of $29 billion in 2007, up slightly from the $28 billion surplus in 2006.

The record $29 billion surplus mark was reached only twice in the last 20 years. The 2007 surplus was a result of revenues of $603 billion and expenditures of $575 billion, StatsCan said.

The Canadian dollar opened at US93.70¢, off 0.06 cent.

In today’s M&A news, Finning International said its Hewden Stuart PLC subsidiary in Britain is selling its tool rental division for £115 million pounds, or $245 million. The buyer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Speedy Hire plc.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings plans to increase the value of its US$10 billion bid for the Chicago Board of Trade by adding a special dividend for owners of CBOT Holdings. The move is designed to respond to a similar proposal from IntercontinentalExchange, which is pursuing a hostile bid for CBOT.

In earnings, Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns reported record revenue, but earnings fell 33% due to charges and subprime weakness. Goldman Sachs said revenue slipped 1% to $10.2 billion, while net income edged higher.

news, alternative mortgage lender Xceed Mortgage raised its dividend while reporting a 43% increase in quarterly earnings to $4.7 million.

Furniture maker Shermag reported a 29% year-over-year revenue decline in its latest quarter. The company said it lost $4.1 million in its fourth quarter ended March 30, as sales fell to $34.1 million from $47.8 million.

In overseas trading, the FTSE 100 rose 1% in London and the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.6% in Tokyo.

Toronto stocks ended sharply higher on Wednesday, boosted by resource issues.

The S&P/TSX composite index jumped 135.19 points, or 1%, at 13,859.52, making up for its 108.49-point loss the previous session.

All of the index’s 10 main sectors were higher, led by a 1.6% rise in the resource-laden materials group and a 0.9% jump in energy shares.

The financial group rose 1.1%.

RBC Royal Bank and Bank of Montreal announced Wednesday they would be boosting their mortgage rates by up to a fifth of a percentage point.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slipped 3.03 points, or 0.1%, to 3,126.89.

In New York, U.S. stocks soared as bond yields slipped, while signs of strength in the economy reassured investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged 187.34 points, or 1.41%, to end at 13,482.35. The S&P 500 index gained 22.67 points, or 1.52%, to finish at 1,515.67. The Nasdaq composite index jumped 32.54 points, or 1.28%, to close at 2,582.31.