Stockhouse @ the Bell: Stocks cheer Fed's rate pledge

Today on Stockhouse

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Marc Davis of BNWnews.ca suggests this gold junior could be a tantalizing takeover target.

Top Bullboards post: "Only 39.5 million shares outstanding. The fact we're dirt cheap with a market cap under 2 million and we've hit decent gold grades on those assay results is a good thing… If we can hit a real good hole soon this thing will go through the roof on the share count alone with not many holders. I'm sure management holds a decent bit too…" From manifest30 on the Hudson River Minerals (TSX: V.HRM, Stock Forum) board.

Top Bullboard: Intertainment Media (TSX: V.INT, Stock Forum) received the most reads and the second-most posts.

Top blog:markwallace interviews a hedge fund manager about investing in Mongolia in the Capitalist Exploits blog.

For news about small stocks that made big moves Wednesday’s trading, please read the Stockhouse Canadian Small and Micro-cap Stock Report.

Word on Wall Street

"The Fed is saying, 'We're going to force people into riskier investments by making sure they can't earn anything in the money markets,' so it does lend a little bit of support to stocks," said Jerome Heppelmann, portfolio manager at Omcap Investors, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. "People are coming more and more to the realization that, if they want to outperform inflation in the next three years, they're going to have to take on a little more risk."

Today In The Markets

TSX closes higher, U.S. Fed vows to keep rates near zero until well into 2014

DJIA	12,675.75	+83.10
NASDAQ	2,818.31	+31.67
S&P500	1,326.06	+11.41
S&P/TSX	12,539.21	+143.97
S&P/TSX Venture	1,604.05	+27.76

TORONTO-NEW YORK (The Canadian Press) - The Toronto stock market closed higher Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates near zero far longer than previously thought.

The S&P/TSX composite index jumped 143.98 points to 12,539.21 while the TSX Venture Exchange was up 27.76 points at 1,604.05.

U.S. markets also turned higher as the Fed's interest rate move prompted traders to believe that the central bank could embark on a third round of economic stimulus known as quantitative easing.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 83.1 points to 12,758.85. The Nasdaq composite index gained 31.67 points to 2,818.31, while the S&P 500 index added 11.41 points to 1,326.06.

Please click here for the complete U.S. and Canadian market summaries.

After-Hours News

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX, Stock Forum)
Netflix, Inc. has released its fourth-quarter 2011 financial results by posting them to its website. Netflix reported earnings of $41 million or 73 cents per share as its revenue rose 43% to $876 million. The company said it landed more than 600,000 new subscribers during the quarter.

Peat Resources Limited (TSX: V.PET, Stock Forum)
Peat Resources Limited announces that it has negotiated, subject to regulatory acceptance, the proposed settlement of $58,842.00 of its debt by issuing 558,420 common shares of the company at $0.10 per share. In May 2011, Peat Resources Ltd. engaged IBK Capital Corp. to complete a best efforts private placement of up to $1,000,000 under certain proscribed terms (see News Release of May 18, 2011). The company received proceeds of $60,000 under these terms with the exception of the broker's commission that was waived. This engagement remains in place with different terms reflecting current economic conditions.