Bloomberg:
- Merck & Co.(MRK) won dismissal of federal securities lawsuits claiming the company defrauded investors before withdrawing its Vioxx painkiller from the market in September 2004. Merck’s experimental arthritis drug Arcoxia, the successor to its withdrawn Vioxx, shouldn’t be allowed on the market because of safety concerns, US regulators said. Merck also raised its first-quarter earnings forecast to 78 cents a share, as much as 34% higher than its earlier forecasts, citing higher sales across its product lines.
- New Century Financial(NEWC) won permission to sell about 2,000 mortgages to a Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC subsidiary unless a rival tops the bank’s $47.3 million bid.
- CBS Corp.(CBS) said it will no longer broadcast Don Imus’s morning radio program in response to the talk-show host’s remarks.
- Apple Inc.(AAPL) delayed the release of its new Macintosh system software after shifting engineering resources to ensure the iPhone makes its debut in June. The stock fell 3.2% after-hours.
- The US Congress must not exclude fossil-based fuels, such as liquids extracted from coal, from proposed legislation to reduce gasoline use, said Alexander Karsner, assistant secretary for renewable energy at the Energy Dept.
- Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, said the current rise in copper prices is “temporary.”
Investor’s Business Daily:
- Jones Soda(JSDA) plans to boost sales of its premium soft drinks via mass-market retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores(WMT).
Business Week:
- US workers can more easily sue companies for being unfairly fired because federal, state and local lawmakers have passed laws expanding who qualifies for legal protection during the past 40 years. Since 1991, the number of lawsuits filed in federal court against businesses has increase to 14,353 from 8,273.
AP:
- Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong apologized to three former Duke University lacrosse players a day after they were cleared of sexually assaulting a stripper. Nifong, who stepped down as the lead prosecutor on the case in January amid charges of ethics violations, said that the judgments he made “proved to be incorrect.”
Financial Times:
- Apple Inc.(AAPL) has opened talks with some music companies about introducing a music subscription service for its iTunes online store.
Xinhua News Agency:
- China began a six-month campaign to crack down on Internet pornography yesterday, targeting distributors of videos and pictures and the organizers of online strip shows.
South China Morning Post:
- Cnooc Ltd, China’s largest offshore oil producer, increased total reserves by 7% last year, boosted by overseas acquisitions, citing the company’s annual report. The gain is the fastest in four years.
Economic Times:
- Nymex Holdings(NMX) and Merrill Lynch(MER) are interested in buying stakes in commodity exchanges in India, with the government set to allow overseas investment of as much as 49% in those bourses.
Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
CSFB:
- Reiterated Outperform on (AKAM). One of the primary drivers of our Outperform rating is our belief that with increased adoption of video content over the Internet, Internet bandwidth consumption-and in turn the use of CDNs that ease the demand for bandwidth-is poised for tremendous growth unlike anything we have seen to date.
Lehman Brothers:
- Raised Samsung Electronics to Overweight.
Business Week:
- Avalon Pharmaceuticals(AVRX) shares may rise more than 180% in a year on the promise of a drug in early-stage trials, citing Patrick Flanigan of WR Hambrecht.
- Sunpower Corp.(SPWR), a maker of panels and solar cells that generate electricity from sunlight, could have its earnings double this year and again in 2008. ThinkEquity Partners’ David Edwards raised his 12-month target price for Sunpower to $60 from $50 because of the company’s five-year outlook.
Night Trading
Asian Indices are -.25% to +.25% on average.
S&P 500 indicated -.%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated -.%.
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
Conference Calendar
Daily Stock Events
Macro Calls
Rasmussen Consumer/Investor Daily Indices
CNBC Guest Schedule
Earnings of Note
Company/EPS Estimate
- (GE)/.44
Upcoming Splits
- None of note
Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- The Trade Deficit for February is estimated to widen to -$60.0 billion versus -$59.1 billion in January.
- The Producer Price Index for March is estimated to rise .7% versus a 1.3% gain in February.
- The PPI Ex Food & Energy for March is estimated to rise .2% versus a .4% gain in February.
10:00 am EST
- The preliminary Univ. of Mich. Consumer Confidence reading for April is estimated to fall to 87.5 versus a reading of 88.4 in March.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by technology and energy stocks in the region. I expect US equities to open mixed and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher. The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment