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Airlines warn of flight delays Monday in northeast U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Severe winter weather conditions forecast Monday for the northeast US may force some flight delays and cancellations at airports in the region, Continental Airlines Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. have warned. Continental said customers ticketed for travel through Monday at certain Northeast airports may change their flights without penalty for rescheduled travel originating by Jan. 22. If a flight has been canceled, a refund can be requested. Delta said its customers can make a one-time change without penalty or additional fees if tickets are changed by Jan. 16. New travel must begin on or before Jan. 18, 2008. Customers whose flights are canceled may request refunds.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Bright Horizons to be bought by Bain for $48.25-share

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc., the Watertown, Mass., provider of employer-sponsored child-care, early-education, and work/life solutions, definitively agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of Bain Capital for $48.25 a share, or $1.3 billion. The deal price is 47% over Bright Horizons' closing price Friday of $32.79. Bright Horizons' directors approved the deal and urge holders to accept the terms, the company said in a statement on Monday. Bright Horizons said that during the next 60 days, it will seek out better offers. In the past 52 weeks, Bright Horizons has traded as high as $47.75 -- in October -- and as low as $32.53 -- last Thursday. Serving more than 700 clients, including 95 of the Fortune 500 companies, Bright Horizons manages more than 600 early-care and family centers in the US, the U.K., Ireland and Canada. Bain Capital has arranged financing for the deal; pending conditions including antitrust clearance, the Boston private-equity firm hopes to close the deal in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs and Evercore Group are advising the Bright Horizons board on the transaction.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Equifax reaffirms 2007 forecast

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Equifax Inc. said early Monday that it still sees 2007 adjusted earnings coming in between $2.29 and $2.31 a share, with revenue rising 19%. The company expects to release its 2007 financial report on February 4. It will also issue its 2008 financial forecast at that time.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Experian shares get lift after Equifax holds onto guidance

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Experian rose in London trading, up 1.6% to 365 pence, as rival credit-checking firm Equifax reiterated its 2007 profit forecast. Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

U.S. stocks open higher, lifted by IBM's profits

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - US stocks on Monday rebounded at the start with Dow industrials member International Business Corp.'s solid earnings topping expectations and offering an oversold market reason to climb higher after last week's washout. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 124 points to 12,730.3. The S&P 500 rose 11.47 points to 1,412.49, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 28.72 points to 2,468.66.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

IBM leads technology sector rally

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Technology stocks zoomed into positive territory Monday morning with computing giant IBM Corp. leading the charge on news that the company easily exceeded Wall Street earnings estimates. IBM shares jumped more than 6% after the opening bell. The Nasdaq Composite Index , the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index were all up more than 1%. The Dow rose more than 130 points.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Energy shares rise as crude gains

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy shares rose along with crude prices on Monday as supply concerns trumped concerns over a slowing economy. The Amex Oil Index advanced 1.2% to 1,481. The Amex Natural Gas Index advanced 1.3% to 582. Oil futures advanced $1.23 to $93.92 a barrel, bouncing back from losses in the previous session. Oil services firm Tetra Technologies Inc. fell 6% to $15.06 after issuing its 2008 earnings forecast. Kirby Corp. rose 6% to $40.85 after the oil shipping firm increased its fourth-quarter earnings view. Among refiners, Frontier Oil rose 2.6% to $36.06 after it was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Friedman Billings Ramsey. Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Retail stocks open mixed; Sears fall 8% on profit warning

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Retail stocks opened mixed Monday, with Sears Holding Corp. falling more than 8% after it warned fourth-quarter earnings could be less than half of last year's. The S&P 500 Retail Index dipped 0.22 points to 366.03. Other decliners included Wal-Mart Stores and Costco Wholesale Corp. . Target rose. Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Merck, Schering-Plough slide on Vytorin study

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Drugs stocks were mixed in trade early Monday as shares of partners Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. slipped on disppointing results from a study for their cholesterol-lowering drug Vytorin. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index eased 0.3% to 353.42 while the Amex Biotechnology Index was up marginally at 808.41. Merck shares slid 2% at $59.40, with Schering-Plough's stock down 3% at $27.02. Merck and Schering-Plough said Monday morning that a study of patients genetically predisposed to dangerously high cholesterol levels showed they fared no better on Vytorin than on Merck's cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor, which is now available generically. Vytorin, which is marketed by Merck and Schering-Plough, is a combination of Zocor and another cholesterol-lowering agent, Zetia.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Dollar lower on continued U.S. rate cut expectations

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The dollar was lower Monday, pressured by expectations that another cut to US interest rates is coming at the end of the month, as well as recession fears and a report of a $24 billion writeoff from Citigroup. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was at 75.520, down from 76.030 in late US trading Friday. The euro was at $1.4888, down from $1.4773 Friday. The pound sterling rose to $1.9584, up from $1.9566. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar was buying 107.82 yen, down from 108.86 yen late Friday.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.