Sunday, March 26, 2006

Monday Watch

Weekend Headlines
Bloomberg:
- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it is “entirely likely” that more US troops will be withdrawn from Iraq in 2006 as the country’s own forces continue taking on more responsibility for security.
- BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the biggest producers of iron ore, may be forced by China to limit price increases.
- Hamas, the Islamic movement that won Palestinian elections in January, wants to end the crisis with Israel, incoming Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Hania said.

Economist.com:
- China hopes to use the 2008 Olympics in Beijing to market its emergence on the world stage.

NY Times:
- New York state leaders are negotiating a set of tax cuts funded by a budget surplus of $2 billion to $4.5 billion
- US families are taking advantage of hundreds of time-saving stores with already peeled and sliced ingredients to prepare home-cooked meals to avoid to take-out food and to make ready meals faster.
- Vinod Khosla, a founder of Sun Microsystems(SUNW), as well as Richard Branson and Bill Gates are among executives investing in ethanol, a fuel made from corn or other organic matter.

Washington Post:
- The US Federal Election Commission yesterday proposed treating political Web logs and Internet news sites similarly to newspapers, leaving speech other than campaign advertisements largely unregulated.

Financial Times:
- Alcatel SA(ALA) and Lucent Technologies’(LU) plan to combine will spark a review from the US government and Congress on national security grounds.

Business:
- Exxon Mobil(XOM) and Chevron Corp.(CVX) have discovered oil and natural-gas in fields in western Africa.

Die Welt:
- Continental AG CEO Wennemer said the German tiremaker is interested in buying parts of US auto-parts makers Delphi Corp. and Dana Corp.

Le Figaro:
- France was the only country of 20 polled where most people reject free markets, citing a survey by GlobeScan.

London-based Times:
- Apple Corps, owned by the former Beatles and their heirs, is going to court this week demanding multimillion-pound damages against iPod-maker Apple Computer(AAPL)

Weekend Recommendations
Barron's:
- Had positive comments on (WEN), (XOM), (CVX), (APC), (DVN), (CHK), (KMG), (PPP), (XEC), (THX), (WLL), (LAUR) and (COP).
- Had negative comments on (THI).

Night Trading
Asian indices are unch. to +.75% on average.
S&P 500 indicated +.03%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated +.03%.

Morning Preview
US AM Market Call
NASDAQ 100 Pre-Market Indicator/Heat Map
Pre-market Commentary
Before the Bell CNBC Video(bottom right)
Global Commentary
Asian Indices
European Indices
Top 20 Business Stories
In Play
Bond Ticker
Daily Stock Events
Macro Calls
Rasmussen Consumer/Investor Daily Indices
CNBC Guest Schedule

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
- (WAG)/.52
- (PHH)/.52

Economic Releases
- None of note

BOTTOM LINE: Asian Indices are higher, boosted by exporting shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to maintain gains into the afternoon. The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the week.

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