Friday Watch

Earnings Announcements
Company/Estimate
FLML/unch.
PTMK/.31
BCF/.80

Splits
None of note.

Economic Data
Unemployment Rate for March is estimated at 5.6% vs. 5.6% in February.
Change in Non-farm Payrolls for March estimated +120K vs. +21K in February.
Change in Manufacturing Payrolls for March estimated +5K vs. -3K in February.
Average Weekly Hours for March estimated at 33.9 vs. 33.8 in February.

Recommendations
Goldman Sachs says AA will miss estimates by .04 when it reports next week. GS reiterated Underperform on GAS. GS reiterated Outperform on CAL.

Late-Night News
Asian stocks are mostly higher on strength in Japan as investors bid up exporters in anticipation of stronger sales to the U.S. Reebok(RBK) may be a takeover target of a U.S. apparel company seeking new brands, Business Week reported. European Union member states unanimously backed the ruling against Microsoft, the London-based Times said. Borland(BORL) may become a possible acquisition target of Microsoft, Business Week reported. ATS Medical(ATSI) is expected to rise to a new high this year as the maker of mechanical heart valves gains market share, Business Week reported. Governor Schwarzenegger hopes to raise as much as $2B more a year from Indian gambling revenue to help cover the budget deficit. In return, the Tribes want the right to add thousands of slot machines, the Wall Street Journal reported. U.S. forensics expert Henry Lee said Taiwan's President probably didn't stage his own shooting, Thompson TV reported. Israel may act against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the future, the AP said. U.S. commanders in Iraq are preparing to occupy Fallujah and carry out combat operations and civil-affairs rebuilding missions to defeat resistance, Bloomberg reported. The U.S. plans to seek a new UN resolution covering peacekeeping troops in Iraq before it hands power to a provisional Iraqi government July 1, the U.S. State Dept. said.

Late-Night Trading
Asian Indices unch. to +1.25%.
S&P 500 indicated -.02%.
NASDAQ indicated -.07%.

BOTTOM LINE: Bond investors are so bearish heading into the "big" jobs report tomorrow that I believe it would take a number north of 250,000 to cause rates to rise substantially. I do not feel a number of this magnitude is likely as of yet. Executives and managers are definitely looking to hire more, but I feel that it will be a few more months before hiring really gets cranked up. I also think February's report was artificially low due to the California grocers strike and very bad weather. Thus, I am expecting a number between 120,000 to 150,000 and an unemployment rate of 5.5-5.6%. This should result in a positive reaction by the stock market as it will be viewed as a significant improvement, but not enough to cause rates to rise substantially. A number that is well below expectations or way above expectations will probably prompt a sell-off. However, with energy prices falling, great earnings reports on the horizon and the market's recent technical improvement, I expect any weakness will be temporary. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into tomorrow.