Stocks rise as panic subsides

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Stock markets rose for the third consecutive day as investor panic about the global economy showed signs of subsiding.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 140 points in early trading, helping to recover some of the losses that have occurred over the last three weeks as fear about a double-dip recession has grown.

Investors were cheered by a number of announcements of mergers and acquisitions that were made over the weekend, including Google’s $12.5-billion deal to buy Motorola Mobility. Japan also announced that its economy had shrunk less than expected in the wake of the devastating earthquake there, sending up Asian markets.

These positive announcements overshadowed a disappointing report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, showing that manufacturing in the New York region shrank in August more than expected.

The Dow was recently trading at 11409.19, up 140.17 points, or 1.2%. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up even more sharply, while gold continued to retreat from recent highs.

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-- Nathaniel Popper