With many traders expected to take the day off Thursday and with U.S. stock markets closing at 1PM EDT until Monday, an appreciable departure from those expectations could make for an interesting morning. At least for some folks. I hope to be at the local pool by the time the news breaks. Now to your Boring recap. Again, no news.
Stocks go down, stocks go up.
Good stocks of good companies like Borders go up a lot more than down. In this case there was relevant news. This deal affects Oxford, because Oxford is a shareholder of Health Partners and its largest payor. As part of the scheme, Oxford will enter into a 10-year strategic agreement with FPA under which FPA will provide physician services to Oxford's members in existing markets and provide a framework for expansion to new markets. I expect, but have not confirmed, that as a major shareholder in Health Partners, the deal will also provide a windfall of a few pennies per share to Oxford.