By James Langton

(May 22 – 09:00 ET) – Toronto stocks have some catching up to do. Yesterday, with Canadian traders on holiday, markets rallied in the United States. The techs led the way.

Stocks look set to open up again today in the U.S. Other markets are following with gains of their own, so the open looks sunny.

In economic news, Canadian retail trade numbers for March and the first quarter of 2001 were reported. Retailers sold $23.7 billion worth of goods and services in March, up 0.3% from the previous month. With strong growth in January, retail sales were 1.1% higher in the first quarter. This followed unchanged sales in the last quarter of 2000.

In Europe, stocks are up, following the U.S. lead. Techs and telecoms are leading the way on optimism that the world’s economy is recovering, taking profits with them. However, German business confidence declined more than expected in April, to a two-year low. This sent the euro lower too. Nevertheless, the FTSE is up 48 points to 5,990. The CAC 40 has gained 68 points to 5,720. The DAX is up 61 points to 6,311.

In Asia, the Nikkei finished lower, dropping 86 points to 14,091. The Hang Seng held onto its gains though, adding 157 points to 13,878.

In M&A news, Dexia SA of Belgium is buying Dutch merchant bank Kempen & Co. for US$871 million, according to reports.

Ballard Power Systems Inc. has signed an agreement with Textron Systems of Wilmington, Mass. that will see it acquire Textron’s carbon products business unit for US$12.8 million. The acquisition is expected to close on May 25.

Telus has reached a deal with Verizon Information Services, that will see Verizon purchase Telus’ directory information services business and incorporate it into Dominion Information Services Inc.

The transaction includes all of Telus’ Canadian directory information services assets, an initial 30-year publishing agreement and rights to the information services space on Telus’ Internet portal network, including MyBC.com, Alberta.com and MyTO.com. The deal is subject to Canadian regulatory approval and is expected to be completed this summer. Telus says it will use to the $810 million in proceeds to pay down debt.