Bloomberg:
- Crude oil is falling another .40/bbl. to $57.15 in NY after hitting a six week low yesterday on speculation demand is falling and OPEC won’t make further production cuts.
- Shares of TXU Corp.(TXU), the Texas power producer that agreed last month to be acquired in a record $45 billion buyout, rose for the first time this week after a report saying a rival bid may be in the works.
- Nissan Motor, Japan’s third-largest automaker, plans to cut production at two of its factories in Japan from April 2 until the end of June because of weaker domestic demand.
- Australia is committed to fighting the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and may send more troops, Prime Minister John Howard said during a visit to the country.
- China and Russia agreed with the US and its European allies to pressure Iran to curb its nuclear program by freezing the assets of a state-owned Iranian bank and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and restricting travel by their officials.
- The Senate rejected Democratic-backed legislation that calls for US troops to be withdrawn from Iraq just hours after a House panel approved a plan to pull the troops out.
- Harbinger Capital Partners and Paulson & Co. are two hedge-fund managers who posted record profits last month on credit derivatives that increased in value as prices for securities backed by subprime loans fell. Paulson’s 8-month-old credit fund gained 67%, swelling assets to almost $2 billion. Harbinger’s $6 billion distressed-debt fund returned 8.1%, according to an investor update.
- Eric Chaney, Morgan Stanley’s chief European economist, calls France “the new sick man of Europe.” Finding a cure may be beyond the front-runners in its presidential election campaign.
- New Zealand house sales rose in February and prices increased to a record, adding to signs central bank Governor Alan Bollard may raise interest rates further to combat inflation.
- China’s production of aluminum soared 35% in the first two months of this year from the same period a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
- Japan’s central bank will probably keep interest rates unchanged next week as consumer prices threaten to drop, making it hard to justify a third increase in eight months.
- China’s spending on factories, real estate and other fixed assets grew at a slower pace in the first two months after the government curbed lending and project approvals in the world’s fourth-largest economy.
- Bear Stearns(BSC), the biggest US underwriter of mortgage-backed bonds, said rising subprime loan delinquencies aren’t spilling over into other markets and may be an opportunity for the firm to expand its market share.
Wealth News:
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s biggest supplier of made-to-order chips, is close to filling its capacity for the second quarter, citing unidentified chip industry associates. The company’s inventories of chips used for computer graphics, video games, and communications have almost been depleted.
Wall Street Journal Asia:
- Quanta Computer Inc., the world’s largest maker of notebook computers, expects revenue to increase between 25% and 50% this year, driven by the introduction of Microsoft’s(MSFT) Windows Vista operating system.
Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
Citigroup:
- Reiterated Buy on (MCO), raised target to $78.
Business Week:
- CB Richard Ellis Group’s(CBG) growing global real estate business makes the company a good investment as the Federal Reserve avoids cutting interest rates, citing Douglas Roberts of Channel Capital Research Institute. Brandon Dobell of CSFB gives the company a 12-month target of $44 and rates the company “outperform.”
Night Trading
Asian Indices are -.75% to -.25% on average.
S&P 500 indicated -.32%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated -.34%.
Morning Preview
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Company/EPS Estimate
- (ANN)/.29
- (CCL)/.34
- (WPSC)/-.54
Upcoming Splits
- (GME) 2-for-1
- (CSL) 2-for-1
- (SEE) 2-for-1
- (RSG) 3-for-2
Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- The Consumer Price Index for February is estimated to rise .3% versus a .2% gain in January.
- The CPI Ex Food & Energy for February is estimated to rise .2% versus a .3% gain in January.
9:15 am EST
- Industrial Production for February is estimated to rise .3% versus a -.5% decline in January.
- Capacity Utilization for February is estimated to rise to 81.3% versus 81.2% in January.
10:00 am EST
- Preliminary Univ. of Mich. Consumer Confidence for March is estimated to fall to 89.0 versus 91.3 in February.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by automaker and financial shares 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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