ADP numbers

The US added 297,000 private-sector jobs in De cember, according to a report by payroll giant Automatic Data Process ing. The number was much better than econo mists were expecting, and added to hopes of a strong official Labor Department report due to morrow.

Juicy Apple

Apple yesterday sur passed PetroChina and now trails only Exxon Mobil Corp. in market capitalization. Apple climbed $2.71 to $334 yes terday, giving it a market value of $306.4 billion.

LinkedIn IPO

LinkedIn, the social networking site for pro fessionals, plans to go public in 2011 and has se lected Morgan Stanley, BofA and JPMorgan as underwriters, sources told Reuters.

Retailer hit

Family Dollar Stores shares dropped 8.76 per cent, to $44.99, after issu ing a forecast for the cur rent quarter that is below Wall Street estimates.

Volcker out

Former Federal Re serve Chairman Paul Vol cker plans to leave his role as head of a panel of experts advis ing Presi dent Barack Obama on the economy, sources said.