Tuesday, March 23, 2004

Tuesday Watch

Earnings Announcements
Company/Estimate
FDO/.46
GS/1.66
RHAT/.03

Splits
NIHD 3-for-1

Economic Data
None of note.

Recommendations
CBA raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley. Goldman Sachs reiterated Underperform on EDS. GS reiterated Outperform on YUM.

Late-Night News
Asian stocks are mixed as strength in Hong Kong, South Korea and India is overshadowed by another significant decline in Taiwan. A statement purportedly from the al-Qaeda terrorist network called for retaliation against the U.S. after Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Agence France-Presse reported. Comcast will leave its bid to buy Disney on the table for no longer than three to six months, the New York Times reported. The U.S. is prepared to consider granting India the status of a non-NATO ally, New Delhi Television reported. General Motors is paying parts suppliers higher prices to cover rising steel costs, while at the same time suing two suppliers that threatened to stop deliveries, the WSJ reported. Anheuser-Busch is under pressure to spend more money on advertising its Bud Light brand because of growing competition from other beers, the WSJ reported. China protested a U.S. resolution prepared for a UN commission that criticizes the Chinese government for "backsliding" on human rights.

Late-Night Trading
Asian Indices -.50% to +1.0% on avg. with Taiwan's TWSE Index declining another 3.0%.
S&P 500 indicated +.27%.
NASDAQ indicated +.47%.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian stocks opened mostly lower and have rallied throughout the day. It is likely that U.S. stocks will attempt to rally in the morning off their oversold short-term condition. I will analyze the strength of the rally in the morning to decide whether or not to add some exposure on any weakness into the afternoon. However, if the indices open lower, I will likely add 25% long exposure in the morning. The Portfolio is 25% net long.

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