The major indexes were mixed after trading in a narrow range on light volume. The Dow gained 12 points while the Nasdaq lost 0.8 points and the S&P 500 declined 0.2. Fifteen of the Dow's 30 components lost ground. Advancing issues outpaced decliners by five to four on the NYSE, but on the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers by five to four. The prices of Treasuries strengthened and gold futures edged lower by 0.5% to $1,101.70 an ounce. After rising in the early trading, the price of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 1% to $81.24 a barrel. For the week, the Dow gained 0.5%, the Nasdaq rose almost 2% and the S&P 500 advanced 1%, with financial and retail stocks leading the gains.

In Other Business News

- Retail sales rose unexpectedly in February, according to the Commerce Department. In spite of a 2% decline in automobile sales, sales expanded by 0.3%. (Economists were anticipating a decline in February sales of about 0.2%.) If automobiles are taken out of the calculation, sales increased 0.8%.

- CF Industries announced it has finally secured an agreement to acquire Terra Industries for $4.7 billion. The deal, which comes after more than a year of maneuvering and competitive bidding, will create one of the world's largest fertilizer companies. The price of Terra shares (TRA) fell 1% in today's session, while CF (CF) stock lost 3%.

- Business inventories remained unchanged in January in spite of a 0.6% increase in sales, according to the Commerce Department. Wall Street economists anticipated a 0.2% increase in inventories. Wall Street is anticipating a restocking of inventories, which could give the economic recovery a boost.

- The International Energy Agency revised upward its estimate of global oil consumption, saying today that demand will increase from 85 million barrels a day in 2009 to 86.6 million barrels a day in 2010. The revision foresees that an increase in Asia consumption will more than offset a decline in Western demand. The new forecast briefly boosted crude oil prices in world markets.

- Consumer morale has slipped lower in March, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index. According to the survey, continuing gloomy sentiments about the job market caused the index to slip from 73 to 72. Overall, however, the index has changed little in recent months, said a spokesman today, "because consumers no longer fear unemployment will go up any more, but they don't expect it to improve very much in the year ahead."

*****

It's been a topsy-turvy week: Vegetables made a comeback, but not as food, Buffett got buffeted from a top ranking by a guy named Slim, and chocolate is oozing all over the place, but not as ice cream. Here's the scoop:

- Carlos Slim, Mexico's communications mogul, captured the No.1 spot on Forbes magazine's annual billionaires list. Slim is the first non-American since 1994 to top the pile that Warren Buffett and Bill Gates have dominated in recent years. (My determination to make the top is still undimmed: Slim was put over the top this year by his cell phone holdings and I own lots of cell phones.)

- A clothing manufacturer in Australia this week introduced a line of "environmentally friendly" men's underwear made from bananas. According to the company, which is called AussieBum (really!), banana fibers make the cloth extremely light and absorbent. But don't worry, the garments don't smell like bananas, which is (dare I say it?) a relief.

- Over in England, meanwhile, the University of Warwick has developed a Formula One racing car powered by carrots, potatoes, and chocolate. The engineers claim their creation, which is called "Lola", will go from zero to 60 m.p.h. in 2.5 seconds. (With a diet like that, Lola would feel right at home at my family's Easter dinner. I'll ask Kathy.) The designers are now developing brake pads for Lola made out of cashew nuts.

- Now, if you're concerned that chocolate-powered Formula One racing cars might drive the price of your favorite sweet out of reach, not to worry: A professor at Harvard University has developed "Le Whif" this week, which is a chocolate-flavored inhaler. Hey, no calories. Just sniff the chocolate. (I'm looking forward to the peanut butter, sirloin, mown grass, sawn wood, oiled leather, and salt marsh versions.

Have a great weekend. And if Cisco's announcement of a new mega router this week went over your head (as it did mine), listen to Walter Price explain why "Internet TV Goes Mainstream" as my guest for "On the Trading Desk."

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