North American markets are getting an early morning boost from General Electric. GE’s fourth quarter earnings report is impressive with earnings up 47%.

In the only economic news out this morning, the U.S. Commerce Department is reporting that business inventories rose by 0.3% in November after advancing 0.4% in October. Inventories had been expected to grow of 0.2%. However, analysts say that due to low inventory levels and rising growth, companies need to keep rebuilding their stock.

At 09:30 ET, the Federal Reserve will report on December capacity utilization and industrial production. Economists expect capacity utilization of 75.9%, up from November’s 75.7%. Production is expected to rise by 0.4%, compared with a rise of 0.9% in November.

Then at 09:45 ET, the University of Michigan will release its preliminary measure of consumer sentiment for January. Economists expect an increase advance from the December reading

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Tokyo stocks bounced back due to bargain-hunting. The Nikkei Stock Average closed up 192.05 points, or 1.8%, at 10,857.2. Hong Kong shares ended lower, after a major developer announced it will be issuing a convertible note. This created fear that other property companies could also be planning to tap the market for funds. The Hang Seng Index ended down 82.05 points, or 0.6%, at 13167.76.

In London at midday, the FTSE100 is up 0.37%. Frankfurt’s DAX has gained 1.16%. Paris’s CAC is up 1.01%.

On Thursday, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index added 20.17 points at 8,423.94. Canadian bank stocks were propelled by a proposed US$58-billion takeover of Bank One by J.P. Morgan Chase. The TSX Venture Exchange fell 27.79 points to 1,746.23.

On Wall Street, the Dow industrial average added 15.48 points to 10,553.85. The Nasdaq slid 2.05 points to 2,109.08, while the S&P 500 index skidded back 1.53 points to 1,132.05.