Summary: Stocks rallied in midday trading Thursday, boosted by rising oil prices and calming worries over Greece as deals news takes center stage. Pfizer (PFE) is buying injectable drugs maker Hospira (HSP) for nearly $17 billion. Both shares are higher with Hospira, the big gainer up 35%. Another deal that may be brewing is in the telecom space. The Wall Street Journal is reporting Verizon (VZ) is close to selling wireline assets to Frontier Communications (FTR) for about $10 billion. But shares of Michael Kors (KORS) are dropping despite beating earnings expectations. Investors didn't like the retailer's disappointing outlook for the current quarter.
