VIENNA, Austria — Oil prices rose by more than a dollar today, as the bombing of a key Iraqi pipeline extended a buying spree spurred by an anemic dollar and lower U.S. fuel inventories.Crude prices, which already spiked by nearly $5 today, were propelled higher by the second bombing in a week in Basra, where Iraqi security forces have been clashing with Shiite militia fighters.Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said that ongoing clashes would not affect oil exports and drilling operations. But with an average of 1.54 million barrels a day transiting the southern city last month, an official, who demanded anonymity because he was not authorized to comment, acknowledged that the blast could impact crude sales.Iraq’s average production for February was 2.4 million barrels per day. Exports averaged 1.93 million barrels per day during that month.

Despite assault on brokerages, most accounts should be safe

Investors with brokerage accounts are asking themselves a simple question: Is my account in jeopardy?

The good news is that account holders at Bear Stearns Cos., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. or, for that matter, any of the other brokerages that are under assault can rest assured that their money should -- with a few exceptions -- be safe.

Bear Stearns averted filing for bankruptcy by agreeing to sell itself to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which will assume the firm's trading obligations. As a result, clients with brokerage accounts at Bear, which is mainly an institutional firm but oversees some individual assets, will eventually see their accounts and assets transferred to J.P. Morgan. Like Bear, Lehman Brothers, which saw its stock tumble by 19 percent Monday amid concerns the investment bank may also face funding problems, caters mostly to wealthier individual investors.

Stocks to Watch for Thursday: UDTT, MS, LMT, AMZN

Wall Street Press Wire (www.WallStreetPressWire.com) is please to highlight its "stocks on the move" for Thursday. Our list includes: Universal Detection Technology (OTC BB:UDTT.OB - News), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - News), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - News) and Amazon.com Inc. (NasdaqGS:AMZN - News).

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