Rumours are abounding that Swiss giant Novartis is chasing Germany’s Schering AG. The news generated great excitement yesterday, sending the latter’s shares almost 4% higher on the New York Stock Exchange to in excess of $66 dollars on a volume of 81,000 versus an average 30-day figure of 23,000.

As expected, Novartis and Schering have declined to make any comment on the speculation.