By James Langton

(December 22 – 09:15 ET) – Stocks are pointing to an up open today, perhaps a last gasp Santa Claus rally is in the cards.

Techs look to lead the way higher, with bargain hunters nibbling on Cisco Systems Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. and JDS Uniphase Corp.

On the economic front, U.S. durable goods orders were up 2.3% in November, led by aircraft orders. Economists were expecting a 1.5% rise, so today’s results are good news.

U.S. personal spending was reported up 0.3% in November, thanks to higher utility costs, meanwhile incomes were up 0.4%. This was on target with expectations.

In Canada, gross domestic product was up 0.5% in October. Statistics Canada says the economy’s resilience paralleled renewed employment growth in recent months, on track for a 4.6% annual gain.

Stocks are mixed in Europe, with trading light. In London, the FTSE is down 18 points to 6,097. In Paris, the CAC 40 is up just three ticks to 5,762. Germany’s DAX has gained 39 points to 6,240.

Overnight in Asia, stocks finished the week on a positive note. The Japanese Nikkei closed up four points to 13,427. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng added 79 points to 14,738.

In other business news, Magna Entertainment Corp. is buying Ladbroke Racing Corp.’s off-track betting facilities, The Meadows harness track in Pennsylvania and an interest in The Racing Network for $53 million.

United Dominion Industries Ltd. says CEO William Holland will step down immediately and will resign his post as chairman by April 24.

Cinram International Inc. is taking a $48 million fourth-quarter restructuring charge, including $23 million for asset write-downs, goodwill of $6 million and another $19 million mainly due to staff reductions.

Canbras Communications Corp. has filed a prospectus with Canadian regulators to raise $100 million in a rights offering.

Unican Security Systems Ltd. says Kaba Holding AG of Switzerland has agreed to make an offer for all the issued and outstanding shares in the capital stock of Unican, at a price of $36 per Unican share, payable in cash.