Wednesday Watch

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
EL/.37
EDS/.08
FOX/.37
IACI/.21
QCOM/.29
SONS/.02
TWX/.14

Splits
None of note.

Economic Data
Factory Orders for September are estimated to rise .4% versus a .1% decline in September.
ISM Non-Manufacturing for October estimated at 58.0 versus 56.7 in September.
Total Vehicle Sales for October estimated at 16.5M versus 17.5M in September.
Domestic Vehicle Sales for October estimated at 13.5M versus 14.3M in September.

Recommendations
Goldman Sachs reiterated Outperform on VZ, IR, AMLN, CZN, AG and EPD. Goldman reiterated Underperform on PPS, HCC and VICL.

Late-Night News
Asian indices are higher on optimism over President Bush's apparent victory and the prospects for accelerating world economic growth. Royal Philips Electronics, Europe's biggest consumer-electronics maker, forecast sales derived from China will reach $15 billion in 2007, double the level in 2002, the Shanghai Daily said. Microsoft has won a $919 million contract to put its software on U.K. National Health Service computers, the London-based Times reported. The California Public Employees' Retirement System has invested about $100 million in Indian stocks since April, the Financial Express reported. China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will begin forming a free-trade zone next year, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Saudi Arabia is boosting purchases of oil-drilling equipment to tap new reserves and meet rising global demand for oil, the Wall Street Journal reported. California voters approved a plan to sell $3 billion in state-backed municipal bonds to pay for stem cell research, the AP reported. Switzerland signed agreements with the European Union last week which will allow it to keep its banking confidentiality rules, the Wall Street Journal reported. American Intl. Group would have its books examined by an independent monitor under a proposal from the SEC, the NY Times reported. Colorado voters rejected a ballot measure that would have changed the state's winner-takes-all system for awarding its 9 electoral votes to one that allocates them in proportion to the popular vote, CNN reported. The Republican Party retained control of the U.S. Senate by picking up seats in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, Bloomberg reported. Republican beat four incumbent Democrats in Texas and picked up the seat of a retiring Democratic lawmaker in Kentucky to retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives, Bloomberg reported. U.S. stock futures and the dollar are soaring as President Bush appears poised for re-election, Bloomberg said.

Late-Night Trading
Asian Indices are +1.0% to +1.75% on average.
S&P 500 indicated +1.27%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated +1.77%

BOTTOM LINE: I expect U.S. equities to open sharply higher in the morning on optimism over an end to one of the most negative elections in U.S. history, plummeting domestic terrorism fears, the prospects for accelerating economic growth, short-covering and bargain hunting. At this hour, President Bush has not officially won re-election, however barring some unforeseen circumstance this should occur shortly. Senator Kerry needed to win Ohio for any chance at the Presidency. Ohio is currently very close, but based on my calculations it would be virtually impossible to close the gap of 105,000 given the tendencies of the counties that are still unreported. Fox News and NBC have already called Ohio for President Bush. By tomorrow, it should be apparent that the President succeeded in his bid for re-election.