By Rick Babson, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Dec. 5--Stocks surged Monday as Wall Street focused on a series of deals, including Bank of New York Corp.'s $16.5 billion bid for rival Mellon Financial Corp.

Wall Street surged higher Monday as investors put aside Pfizer Inc.'s decision to halt development of a key drug and focused instead on another series of takeover deals.

Bank of New York Co. has agreed to take over Mellon Financial Corp. in a $16.5 billion all-stock deal that will create the world's largest securities servicing company and one of the biggest asset managers.

NEW YORK - Bank of New York Co. has agreed to take over Mellon Financial Corp. in a $16.5 billion all-stock deal that will create the world's largest securities servicing company and one of the biggest asset managers.