Wednesday Watch

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
CMVT/.05
KFY/.14
MATK/.14
VRNT/.19

Splits
TCHC 3-for-2

Economic Data
Fed's Beige Book
Consumer Credit for July estimated at $7.5B versus $6.6B in June.

Recommendations
Goldman Sachs reiterated Outperform on COH. Goldman reiterated Underperform on TLAB. Goldman lowered estimates on AAI, AWA, JBLU, LUV and UAIR on overcapacity and hurricane issues in Florida.

Late-Night News
Asian indices are mostly higher on optimism over falling energy prices and rising exports. British Broadcasting Corp., the U.K.'s public broadcasting service, will hold talks with Time Warner, Disney and Bertelsmann AG about possible selling BBC Worldwide, its publishing and commercial sales unit, the Financial Times reported. Pakistan's President Musharraf asked Islamic teachers to help fight terrorism by controlling schools that harbor extremists, Agence France-Press reported. U.S. Treasury Undersecretary John Taylor expressed concern that Taiwan's currency is undervalued, the Commercial Times reported. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's fourth-quarter sales may lag the company's original expectations because of weak demand for chips used in consumer electronics products, Commercial Times reported. GE may sell its contact center business in India for $1 billion, the Economic Times reported. China's macroeconomic controls are still at a crucial stage and banks must keep up lending curbs to prevent a resurgence of excessive investment in industries such as steel and cement, the People's Daily reported. President Bush finished 22nd out of 53 pilots in his Air National Guard flight class of 1969 and flew 336 hours in a fighter jet between 1969 and 1972, according to records released today, the AP reported. Defense officials found the records after the Associate Press filed a complaint under the Freedom of Information Act alleging that not all of Bush's records were made public, the AP said. Nokia will introduce today a slimmer version of its top-of-the-range Communicator handset to compete better in the market for phones that double as mini-computers, the Wall Street Journal reported. Crude oil extended today's 1.6% drop after OPEC's president said the group can raise capacity by 1 million barrels a day by year-end, Bloomberg said. Hurricane Ivan, the fifth hurricane this year, swept through Grenada with winds up to 135 mph and strengthened as it headed toward the eastern Caribbean Sea, Bloomberg reported. Viacom offered its shareholders the opportunity to exchange Viacom shares for shares of the company's Blockbuster video-rental chain, Bloomberg reported. America Movil, South America's largest mobile-telephone company, believes investors are underestimating its potential for revenue growth from increased subscribers in Brazil, CFO Moreno said.

Late-Night Trading
Asian Indices are -.25% to +.50 on average.
S&P 500 indicated -.09%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated -.18%

BOTTOM LINE: I expect U.S. equities to open modestly higher in the morning as investors anticipate positive comments from Alan Greenspan, oil prices fall and technology shares rebound from oversold levels. The Portfolio is 125% net long heading into tomorrow.