Thursday, September 07, 2006

Friday Watch

Late-Night Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Crude oil traded near a five-month low in NY after a government report showed supplies of gasoline in the US unexpectedly rose in the last week of the country’s peak summer demand.
- The US Senate unanimously approved an extra $200 million to intensify the hunt for Osama bin Laden, as al-Qaeda released a video tape showing the group’s leader meeting some of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers.
- Amazon.com(AMZN) introduced a digital-video download service, offering thousands of television shows, movies and other content from more than 30 studio and network partners.
- Three naturalized US citizens were indicted by a federal grand jury in California for allegedly acquiring secret US defense information and stolen military equipment and conspiring to send them to Yemen.
- Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said the US and Europe should offer to negotiate with Iran about its nuclear program without any conditions. On Sunday, Sept. 10, the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Khatami will make an address at Harvard University.
- China’s producer-price inflation unexpectedly slowed for the first time in four months in August as gains in gasoline and raw material prices eased.
- Crude oil prices may continue to fall on speculation that US fuel inventories are sufficient to meet demand in coming months, a Bloomberg survey showed.

Wall Street Journal:
- Last year, more than 3,000 terrorist suspects wanted internationally were arrested, more than triple the number in 2001, wrote Intepol Secretary-General Ronald Noble.

Fortune:
- Frank Quattrone, the former Credit Suisse Group investment banker who struck a deal last month that would clear him of charges he obstructed justice, may reunite with former colleagues.

Apple Daily:
- Motorola(MOT) is evaluating possible acquisitions of handset, network and home-entertainment companies in Taiwan.

Xinhua:
- China’s economy is not overheating in general and the government’s macroeconomic control will show more results in the second half of the year, citing vice premier Wu Yi.

Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
Citigroup:
- Reiterated Buy on (URBN), target $24.

Night Trading
Asian Indices are -.50% to +.25% on average.
S&P 500 indicated +.13%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated +.08%.

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/EPS Estimate
- (VOL)/.61

Upcoming Splits
- None of note

Economic Releases
3:00 pm EST
- Consumer Credit for July is estimated to fall to $6.8B versus $10.2B in June.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by commodity stocks in the region. I expect US equities to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.

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