U.S. stock futures climbed Wednesday morning after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said recession is very likely over. With more data coming out this morning, the upbeat sentiment about the economy might be tested. Still, deal action from Adobe Systems further pushed positive sentiment.Bernanke said Tuesday that the Great Recession has "very likely" ended, but he also warned that growth may be too tepid to cut the unemployment rate significantly anytime soon. "It's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time," he said.
Meanwhile, Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE) acquired Omniture (NASDAQ: OMTR) for $1.8 billion in cash. This is seen "as a very positive sign -- not just for tech, but for the broader mergers and acquisitions market, as well as the economy as a whole."
Economic data set for today includes August consumer prices at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, August capacity utilization and industrial production at 9:15 a.m., and the NAHB housing market survey for September at 1 p.m. CPI is expected to have risen 0.3% in August after showing no change in July, according to Briefing.com. Core CPI, which excludes the often volatile food and energy prices, is expected to have edged up 0.1% in August.
Overseas, world stock markets rallied Wednesday after Bernanke's comments. However, according to the latest OECD report, unemployment in the industrialized world will hit its highest level since World War II next year, surpassing the current peak, even as the global economy starts recovering slowly. The jobless rate in the 30 nations will approach 10 percent in the second half of next year.
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