Imagine if I told you I could reduce my own body weight by 80%, on paper, through a series of calculations utilising my own proprietary mathematical models, so complex and prized that I could not divulge them.

US stocks reversed an early slide and ended higher today after the Federal Reserve issued a more upbeat assessment of the economy.

A volatile Wall Street advanced today for the second day in a row, as investors found renewed confidence in a report that Bank of America is close to buying struggling mortgage lender Countrywide Financial.