News Summary: Natural Gas Futures Hit Eight-Week High (TDC, F, S, WMT)

The possibility of a recovery in fuel demand has increased and natural gas futures climbed to an eight- week high in New York. The move was triggered by a government report that showed that fuel stockpiles grew less than forecast, signaling that fuel demand is recovering from the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. Michael Rose, director of trading at Angus Jackson Inc said, “The word is optimism, optimism about a recovery. That’s what is propelling this market forward.” Investors seem to welcome Teradata Corp

analyst upgrade as the data storage firm is continuing to touch new 52-week highs. Oppenheimer had earlier in the day upgraded TDC from “perform” to “outperform.” At 11:53 am, the stock had climbed 7.90% to $34.01. Automaker Ford

is concentrating on removing its debt load and is expecting to improve profits in 2011, as announced by executive chairman Bill Ford in the company’s annual meeting. According to Ford, F will consider reinstating its dividends once its balance sheet is stronger. He also said that 65-year-old CEO Alan Mulally has been "completely superb" and can continue to serve the company till the time he wishes to. Sprint Nextel

climbed 8.43% to $4.49 after Raymond James upgraded the company from “neutral” to “outperform.” S also announced that Wal-Mart

will carry of its new prepaid wireless service, Common Sense, which rounds calls down to the lowest minute. At present, Wal-Mart is selling Sprint’s other prepaid services. That’s all for now! See you later in the day with more interesting news. Read more