U.S. MARKET AVERAGES

U.S. stocks opened higher on strong consumer spending data. The jump in stock prices follows a selloff Tuesday that sent the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 100 points.

The Commerce Department revealed that personal income rose in January by 0.7%, following a revised 0.5% increase in December with the gains attributed to a variety of factors including cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security benefits and the new prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. The report also said that personal spending advanced by 0.9%, following the December's revised gain of 0.7%.

Google regained some ground, following a sharp decline Tuesday after CFO said the company's key revenue source would see slower growth.

Medco Health Solutions Inc., one of the nation's biggest pharmacy benefits management companies, reported Q4 earnings jump of 33% on volume from new clients and higher prices.

In the first hour of trading, the Dow rose 36.10, or 0.33%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.59, or 0.28%, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 8.58, or 0.38%.

Bonds fell, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.57% from 4.55% late Tuesday.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Joy Global (JOYG: chart) said Q1 net profit surged to $60 million, or 48 cents a share, from $22 million, or 18 cents a share a year ago. Revenue jumped 48% to $553.3 million. It predicted revenue between $2.35 billion and $2.55 billion for the year. The company’s shares rose 11%.

Altera (ALTR: chart), semiconductor maker, was upgraded at Bear Stearns to outperform from peer perform, citing the belief that the company will raise its revenue outlook during its mid-quarter update on March 6. The broker introduced a year-end 2006 stock price target of $25. The stock gained 4.2%.

HouseValues (SOLD: chart) reported net income increase of 15 cents a share from 8 cents in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to $25.2 million from $14.4 million. Analysts expected per-share earnings of 14 cents on revenue of $29 million. The stock slipped 26%.

Cogent Systems (COGT: chart), provider of fingerprint biometric solutions, reported Q4 net income per share doubled from the year-earlier period to 22 cents, beating estimates of 20 cents. Revenue rose 46% to $46.2 million. The company’s shares fell 19.2%.

Hedrick & Struggles (HSII: chart), human-resources consulting firm, reported Q4 net income drop of 36 cents a share against 44 cents in the year-earlier period, citing higher tax rate. Earnings for the quarter failed to meet estimate of 50 cents per share. Revenue rose 2.1% to $100.7 million. The stock dropped 11%.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Personal income and spending showed notable growth in the month of January, according to a report from the Department of Commerce. At the same time, the report also showed an acceleration in the pace of inflation.

The report said personal income rose 0.7 percent in January following an upwardly revised increase of 0.5 percent in December. Economists had expected income to increase by 0.6 percent compared to the 0.4 percent growth originally reported for December.

The Commerce Dept. noted that the increase in personal income reflected several special factors, including new Medicare prescription drug plan payments and cost-of-living adjustments to several federal transfer payment programs.

The report also showed that personal spending grew by 0.9 percent in January after a downwardly revised increase of 0.7 percent in December.

The growth in personal spending came in slightly below the expectations of economists, who had expected growth of 1.0 percent compared to the 0.9 percent growth originally reported for December.

With personal spending growth outpacing the increase in personal income, the personal savings rate came in at a negative 0.7 percent in January compared with a negative 0.4 percent savings rate in December.