Mid-day Update

S&P 500 1,091.82 +.71%
NASDAQ 1,897.31 +1.10%

Leading Sectors
Iron/Steel +2.50%
Retail +2.24%
Gaming +2.21%

Lagging Sectors
Restaurants -.01%
Energy -1.94%
Oil Service -1.95%

Other
Crude Oil 40.70 -2.05%
Natural Gas 6.20 -3.49%
Gold 377.00 -.68%
Base Metals 100.69 +.77%
U.S. Dollar 91.14 +.15%
10-Yr. Long-Bond Yield 4.72% +.76%
VIX 19.34 -3.11%
Put/Call .82 -32.79%
NYSE Arms .90 -66.29%

Market Movers
GILD +8.5% after saying regulators will decide on the company's application to sell a two-drug combination pill for HIV by 9/12, earlier than expected.
MLNM +9.07% after saying its Velcade medicine helped people with a blood cancer called multiple myeloma live longer.
HD +3.53% after beating 1Q estimates and raising 04 guidance.
TXU +10.5% after saying Cap Gemini will run its customer services for 10 years, reducing operating costs by $175M.
CSC +8.76% after beating 4Q estimates and raising 1Q/04 forecast.
ENDP -7.57%after saying it had decided to launch it oxycodone extended-release tablets after an appellate court decision.
TNP -5.83% after selling 2.5M shares at $28.75.

Economic Data
Housing Starts for April 1969K versus estimates of 1985K and 2011K in March.
Building Permits for April 1999K versus estimates of 1960K and 1975K in March.

Recommendations
Goldman Sachs upgraded integrated oil/E&P/R&M sector to Attractive. Goldman upgraded ETN and IR to Outperform. NAV cut to underperform at Goldman. Goldman reiterated Outperform on BSX, GILD, AGN and HD. Citi SmithBarney said to Sell SUP, target $29. Citi reiterated Buy on CI, target $75. Citi reiterated Sell on AMD, target $12. Citi reiterated Sell on MU, target $12. Citi reiterated Buy on INTC, target $33. Citi reiterated Buy on CY, target $21. Citi reiterated Buy on NSM, target $24. Citi reiterated Buy on LLTC, target $45. Citi reiterated Buy on MXIM, target $56. Citi reiterated Buy on LOW, target $67. Citi reiterated Buy on MATK, target $90. LDG rated Overweight at JP Morgan. THQI raised to Buy at UBS, target $26. SOTR rated Buy at Deutsche Bank, target $36. RF rated Buy at Deutsche Bank, target $39. CTSH raised to Buy at Legg Mason, target $53. SRX raised to Buy at Legg Mason, target $44. CNO rated Outperform at CSFB, target $24.

Mid-day News
U.S. stocks are higher mid-day as strong earnings reports and a fall in oil prompted bargain hunting by investors. Stephen Cutler, director of enforcement for the SEC told CNBC that the pace of new cases has slowed since the WorldCom and Enron scandals. Sales of low-carbohydrate products have declined at health-food and specialty stores, leading some food industry analysts to say the dieting trend may be waning, the Washington Post reported. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office has issued subpoenas to several major insurance companies in his probe of fees received by insurance brokers, the NY Times said. Four people were arrested in connection with the beheading of Nick Berg, an American seeking work in Iraq, Agence France-Presse reported. UTStarcom and Sina say power failures in China are disrupting business, Bloomberg reported. OPEC said it's ready to make more oil available to meet demand as it forecast oil consumption in 04 will rise by the biggest rate since 97 because of the vigorous world economy, Bloomberg reported. Home Depot reported a sales gain of 16% for the first quarter, its best in 2 years, as strong demand for John Deere lawn tractors and remodeled stores boosted customer traffic. Time Warner will consider buying bankrupt cable operator Adelphia Communications, Bloomberg reported. Sentiment among global money mangers this month dropped the most in three years on concerns about slowing growth in China and rising U.S. interest rates, a Merrill Lynch survey showed. The SEC should move slowly in extending its oversight to the $800 billion hedge fund industry, said Representative Michael Oxley, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. The Fed's Broaddus said the risk of accelerating inflation is manageable because increased global competition and considerable excess capacity in many areas are also likely to discourage aggressive price increases. Broaddus also said the Fed won't have to act as aggressively as it did in 1994, Bloomberg reported. President Bush said he plans to re-nominate Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Fed, Bloomberg reported.

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio is having a good day today as a few of my China ADRs and Biotech longs are rising substantially. I added a few new tech longs this morning, bringing the Portfolio's market exposure to 100% net long. One of my new longs is VECO and I have a $23.00 stop-loss on the position. I expect US stocks to remain neutral to higher into the close as bonds rally and oil weakens.