Friday Watch

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
None of note.

Splits
None of note.

Economic Data
None of note.

Recommendations
Saks Inc.(SKS), which operates 350 traditional and luxury department stores, owns a high portion of is shops, making its stock an attractive buy, Business Week reported. Shares of Boston Scientific(BSX) are worth buying because the company has a "rich" pipeline of products, Business Week said. Shares of Bioenvision(BIVN), a maker of drugs to treat cancer, are expected to rise as the U.S. FDA considers approving the company's Clofarabine drug, Business Week said.

Holiday News
U.S. experts expressed reservations over an accord signed by European officials and Iran to stop the country's uranium enrichment program, the NY Times reported. U.S. Steel is interested in bidding for two steel operations of insolvent Stelco, possibly provoking a bidding war, the Globe and Mail reported. A laboratory for the manufacture of chemical weapons was found in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, Reuters reported. The Ukrainian Supreme Court today suspended publication of the Nov. 21 presidential election results until it can examine an opposition appeal challenging them, Agence France-Presse reported. The European Central Bank is waiting for the right moment to sell euros or buy dollars and curb the European currency's record-breaking rally, Reuters said. TiVo's plan to use pop-up ads is too intrusive, the AP reported. Companies plan to hire 20% more college graduates this year, Business Week reported, citing a study of 582 companies by Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State. American Express said it would replace Ernst & Young LLP as the company's independent auditor. The U.S., as a net international borrower, has "little to fear" from the dollar's slide, said Paul McCulley, a managing director at PIMCO. The European Union and Russia clashed over the results of Ukraine's presidential election, with the EU rejecting the vote outcome and Russian President Putin urging other countries to stay out of Ukraine's domestic affairs, Bloomberg said. Warehouse Group, New Zealand's largest retailer, is betting it can revive flagging sales in its peak Christmas season by adding name-brand products such as Eastman Kodak digital cameras and Dell notebook PCs, Bloomberg reported. Asian stocks are mixed tonight, with a regional benchmark set for its sixth straight weekly gain, the longest winning stretch in 14 months, Bloomberg said. China's government has cut its holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds in the nation's foreign-exchange reserves to $180 billion, First Economic and Finance Daily said. Cell phones are increasingly becoming attractive targets to computer hackers, the Washington Post says. Asian steelmaker shares are advancing, led by Nippon Steel and Posco, on speculation automakers including Toyota Motor and Nissan will pay higher prices, Bloomberg reported. Crude oil futures may decline next week on speculation the U.S. is importing enough to boost inventories, easing concern about a shortage of winter fuel, according to a Bloomberg survey.

Late-Night Trading
Asian indices are mixed, -1.25% to +.25% on average.
S&P 500 indicated -.16%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated +.06%.

BOTTOM LINE: I expect U.S. stocks to open modestly lower on worries over higher interest rates and energy prices. However, stocks should rally later in the day on short-covering and more optimism as interest rates stabilize. The Portfolio is 125% net long heading into tomorrow.