By James Langton

(February 28 – 09:00 ET) – Stocks are pointing to a modest up open this morning, although many traders will be waiting for U.S. Fed chief Alan Greenspan to speak, and hopefully cut interest rates, too.

In the United States., fourth quarter GDP revealed that U.S. economy grew by just 1.1%, its slowest pace in five years.

The Bank of Japan cut interest rates 10 basis points to 0.15% overnight, although it’s not expected to do much to stave off a possible return to recession for the struggling Japanese economy. The yen fell against the U.S. dollar as a result.

In Canada, real GDP growth slowed to 0.6% in the fourth quarter, after rising at an average quarterly rate of 1.2% since mid-1998. In December, it was up just 0.2%, thanks to continued weakness in manufacturing. Excluding the manufacturing sector, output in the rest of the economy rose 0.4% in December.

StatsVan also reported the seasonally-adjusted current account surplus rose by $1.2 billion to $5.9 billion in the fourth quarter. This was the fourth large surplus in a row, and brought the total for 2000 to $18.9 billion, more than four times the last annual surplus of $4.6 billion posted in 1996.

In Europe, stocks are mixed, with the telecoms taking a beating today. Old economy stocks are picking up though. France Telecom SA is going to spend about US$10.7 billion to buy back 9.9% of the company from Vodafone Group plc. In London, the FTSE is up 17 points to 5,958. In Paris, the CAC 40 is down 35 points to 5,403. Germany’s DAX is up 17 to 6,238.

In the wake of the rate cut and weakening yen the Japanese market slipped, too. The Nikkei dropped 176 points to 12,883. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng slipped 47 points to 14,788.

In other news, Biovail Corp. announced net earnings totalled $40.4 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, an increase of 128%. For the year, net earnings reached $114.7 million, up 120%.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. has announced a 5% stock buyback.

Shiningbank Energy Income Fund is buying Ionic Energy Inc. for either 0.306 units of Shiningbank or $5.10 in cash per share up to a total $45 million. The total deal equals $185.7 million, including the assumption of approximately $59.5 million in outstanding debt.

Falconbridge Ltd. and Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. announced a strategic alliance to jointly explore for platinum group metals worldwide. Impala will contribute early stage project funding. After the earn-in phase for each project, a 50/50 joint venture will be formed.