I really wouldn't want to be a short-seller the next few days and weeks.

From the early reports:



Shares of financial firms also surged. Morgan Stanley was recently up 31%. Wachovia, which is said to be in possible merger talks with Morgan Stanley, jumped 28% premarket after climbing by 59% Thursday. Goldman Sachs Group, which along with Morgan is the last of the remaining big independent brokerages on Wall Street, gained 25% Friday before the bell.

American International Group added 28% premarket. New CEO Edward Liddy said that he hopes to keep intact as many of the company's largest insurance operations as possible in a publicly traded company, after selling assets to pay back a federal loan.

Amid talks that Citigroup is considering making a bid for Washington Mutual, Citigroup rose 18% premarket while WaMu climbed 42%.

Bank of America, which agreed to buy Merrill Lynch & Co. over the weekend, rallied 11% premarket after climbing 12% a day earlier.