Bloomberg:
- President Bush today praised the Iraqis for making progress toward the formation of the first permanent unity government since the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein.
- President Bush said the US must reduce its dependence on oil and invest in alternatives, including hydrogen fueled vehicles.
- OPEC should agree at a meeting tomorrow to offer all its idle capacity to the market as soon as possible in an attempt to lower prices, Kuwait’s oil minister said.
- People’s Bank of China Governor Xiaochuan said the opening of the country’s economy to market forces, including changes to the exchange rate, can be accelerated.
- Pakistan invited OAO Gazprom and other Russian companies to explore for oil and natural gas and build pipelines.
- The G-7 said the world economy is in “strong” shape and called on some Asian nations, especially China, to allow their currencies to appreciate.
- President Bush urged Congress to take action on his immigration, energy and economic proposals, as he highlighted his top legislative priorities.
Fortune:
- Net companies are on fire again. Here’s the smart way to invest without getting burned.
NY Times:
- Former President Bill Clinton could earn tens of millions of dollars from his share of the profits of funds run by billionaire investor and friend Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos.
- A Georgia Tech student and another man traveled to Canada to meet Islamic extremists to plan a terrorist attack against US facilities, citing federal court documents unsealed yesterday.
- Saudi Arabia is turning to China as an alternative trading partner to the US and Europe.
- A former Miller beer brewery in Fulton, NY, is being converted into the northeastern US’s first ethanol plant.
- Jawad al-Maliki, the Shiite Muslim politician who was nominated yesterday to be the first permanent prime minister of Iraq, is known for being decisive and direct.
- CIA Director Porter Goss ordered employees to submit to polygraph tests in the past three months as he sought to discover the sources of unauthorized leaks of information.
Washington Post:
- Real estate speculators are exiting the Washington housing market, reducing the demand for homes, particularly condos.
LA Times:
- Southern California Edison began operations at the first large power plant built in the LA area in almost three decades.
Mercury News:
- The number of people without jobs in California’s Silicon Valley declined to 4.8% in March from 5.1% in February. The gains would have been greater except for an unexpected drop in housing construction jobs.
Barron’s:
- Mark Curtis, who manages $12 billion at Citigroup’s(C) Smith Barney unit, topped the list of the 100 best financial advisers compiled by RJ Shook for Barron’s.
Advertising Age:
- Online ad revenue soared 30% in 2005.
AP:
- Exxon Mobil(XOM), Royal Dutch Shell and other oil and gas producers are increading efforts to recruit engineers and geologists from US colleges. Job offers to undergraduate petroleum engineers recently averaged $62,236, up more than 6%.
Financial Times:
- Time Warner’s(TWX) Chinese joint venture CAV Warner has started trials of DVD films priced at $1.50 in a bid to counter sales of pirated DVDs in China.
Mail on Sunday:
- Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, told UK army commanders he wants to be deployed to a war zone and will quit if they refuse.
South China Morning Post:
- Hong Kong’s new apartment sales fell 40% in the first three months of this year, from the previous quarter, citing the Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau.
Hong Kong Economic Journal:
- China’s Lenovo Group Ltd. plans to delay selling its own brand personal computers in the US until next year.
Nihon Keizai:
- Sumitomo Corp. and Sojitz Corp. will jointly buy a 3% stake in a $6.86 billion liquefied natural gas project in Nigeria. The trading houses aim to take advantage of growing demand for LNG as crude oil prices rise by joining Nigerian National Petroleum, Chevron(CVX) and European energy firms in the project.
Xinhua:
- The US trade deficit with China is lower than is being reported because the figures don’t reflect income earned by US companies overseas as well as royalties, particularly from technology patents, citing a retired Chinese statistics official.
Weekend Recommendations
Barron's:
- Had positive comments on (LOW), (EOG), (DVN), (GDW), (JPM), (AIG), (WPP) and (TYC).
- Had negative comments on (PPD) and (MO).
Night Trading
Asian indices are -1.25% to +.50% on average.
S&P 500 indicated -.17%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated -.12%.
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
- (ACL)/.90
- (AXP)/.69
- (BEAV)/.16
- (BRO)/.36
- (CAT)/1.05
- (CHKP)/./31
- (CB)/1.11
- (RE)/3.06
- (ETH)/.56
- (HAS)/.00
- (KMB)/.92
- (LNCR)/.48
- (NBIX)/-.63
- (PBI)/.63
- (PCL)/.42
- (SLAB)/.32
- (SUNW)/-.06
- (AMTD)/.21
- (WFT)/.51
- (YUM)/.57
Upcoming Splits
- (CW) 2-for-1
Economic Releases
- None of note
BOTTOM LINE: Asian Indices are mostly lower, weighed down by exporting shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to trade mixed into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the week.
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