Casino operators rise as market tensions ease - AP - 19th November 2008

NEW YORK

Shares of casino operators rose along with the broader markets Friday as uneasy investors re-entered the fray after the government said it had a plan to rescue banks from bad debt and the Treasury Department said it will provide guarantees for U.S. money market mutual funds.

A temporary ban on short-selling, or placing bets that a stock will fall, was also expected to give a boost to the markets.

The government's plan to help banks has not been revealed, but it has helped stemmed the uncertainty that has pressured financial stocks this week.

In other developments, the Treasury said it plans to tap into a Depression-era fund to provide guarantees for the nation's money market mutual funds while the Federal Reserve says it will expand its emergency lending program to help support the $2 trillion in assets of the funds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission also early Friday imposed a temporary emergency ban on short-selling of financial company stocks, a trading method that bets the stocks will go down. As the financial crisis widened, calls to stem a swarm of short-selling contributing to the collapse of stock values in financial companies intensified.

Some gaming companies saw a sharp bounce, including Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., which climbed $1.14, or 12.1 percent, to $10.60 in early trading. MGM Mirage's stock gained $1.33, or 4.1 percent, to $33.83, while Las Vegas Sands Corp gained $3.61, or 9.8 percent, to $40.50.

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