Stocks improved and were at Friday's best levels, holding modest gains. Equities had wavered on a batch of mixed economic reports and worries over the budget cuts. The Dow Jones industrial average average, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 each climbed 0.3%. Volume was tracking higher across the board in the stock market today, especially on the NYSE. IBD 50 issue, Air Methods (AIRM) pulled back after ramping to an all-time high earlier. Shares jumped as