Countrywide beat stocks after takeover offer

-- Traders looking to profit fromCountrywide Financial Corp.'s takeover by Bank of America Corp.should have bet on the bonds. --Countrywide's $2 billion of 5.8 percent notes due in 2012 rose 29.75 cents on the dollar to 90.75 cents since Jan. 9, a gain of 49 percent, according to closing prices from Trace, the bondprice reporting service of Financial Industry RegulatoryAuthority. Countrywide shares climbed about 24 percent in the sameperiod on the New York Stock Exchange.