Spotlight: Intuit Stock Jumps on American Express Buyout Talk

Shares of Intuit Inc., maker of personal finance software, jumped 24% amid market speculation that American Express Co. is about to buy the struggling company. Shares of Mountain View-based Intuit, which publishes the best-selling Quicken personal finance computer program, surged $7 to close at $36.50 on Nasdaq. American Express rose 12.5 cents to $48.50 on the New York Stock Exchange. Executives of the companies declined to comment. An Intuit spokeswoman called the speculation “wild.”