Thursday Watch

Late-Night Headlines
Bloomberg:
- F5 Networks(FFIV) shares rose 5.3% after a Pacific Crest Securities analyst said the maker of high-speed computer-networking technology won a “large” contract.
- The yen strengthened for a third day against the dollar after a report showed demand for services in Japan unexpectedly rose to a record in February.
- Brazil’s central bank lowered the benchmark lending rate to a record low today as consumer prices rise at the slowest pace in eight years.
- EBay Inc.(EBAY) said first-quarter profit climbed 52% as it raised fees and held more auctions overseas. The company boosted its earnings and sales forecast for the year. The stock rose $1.20 to $35.65 in after-hours trading.
- Gilead Sciences(GILD) said first quarter profit jumped 55% as the biotech company raised prices and sold more of its simpler-to-take HIV drugs. The shares rose $.80 to $79.20 in after-hours trading.
- Convicted drunken drivers should be required to install a device that would keep them from starting a vehicle if they’re intoxicated, the top US highway safety official said.
- Dow Jones(DJ) named Marcus W. Brauchli as managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, replacing Paul E. Steiger.
- NBC attracted one of its smallest average prime-time audiences on record last week after the network aired reruns in many time slots.
- Labor Ready(LRW), the provider of temporary workers for industrial and construction companies said in a statement that it expects to earn as much as .35/share in the second quarter versus analysts’ estimates of $.31/share. The stock soared 28% in after-hours trading.
- Most hedge funds don’t deserve investment-grade credit ratings, according to Fitch Ratings.

Financial Times:
- Chinese individual investors are opening new share trading accounts at a record rate. More than 1 million new accounts were opened last week. That took the number of accounts opened by individual investors to more than 10 million in the past four months, surpassing the total for the previous four years.

Xinhua News Agency:
- Beijing’s transport authorities will buy 2,810 buses that run on cleaner-burning natural gas and diesel this year and put them on the roads before the Olympics.

Commercial Times:
- Four private equity firms have expressed interest in acquiring Taiwan’s Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, the world’s largest chip packager and tester.

Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
Citigroup:
- Reiterated Buy on (GILD), raised target to $94.

ThinkEquity Partners:
- Rated (ZUMZ) Accumulate, target $43.
- Rated (ZQK) Accumulate, target $14.

American Technology:
- Raised (INTC) to Buy, target $26.

AG Edwards:
- Rated (ATHR) and (IDC) Buy.

Night Trading
Asian Indices are -1.5% to -.75% on average.
S&P 500 indicated -.35%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated -.45%.

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Earnings of Note
Company/EPS Estimate
- (AMD)/-.47
- (MO)/1.04
- (AXP).79
- (ASD)/.49
- (AH)/1.10
- (BAC)/1.15
- (BAX)/.55
- (BBT)/.77
- (BLK)/1.63
- (COF)/1.99
- (CAL)/.14
- (DHR)/.77
- (DHI)/.26
- (FCS)/.15
- (FDC)/.23
- (GCI)/.89
- (GPC)/.72
- (GOOG)/3.27
- (HDI)/.73
- (HSY)/.51
- (IGT)/.36
- (ISRG)/.56
- (LEG)/.34
- (MAR)/.38
- (MDC)/-.22
- (MRK)/.72
- (MER)/1.97
- (MHK)/1.05
- (NDAQ)/.23
- (NE)/1.79
- (BTU)/.40
- (PPG)/1.09
- (DGX)/.69
- (RHI)/.46
- (SGP)/.29
- (SHW)/.83
- (SIRF)/.21
- (LUV)/.04
- (STJ)/.40
- (TXT)/1.26
- (TMA)/.57
- (TSS)/.27
- (TRB)/.30
- (UNP)/1.28
- (UB)/1.04
- (UNH)/.71
- (WYE)/.87

Upcoming Splits
- None of note

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- Initial Jobless Claims for last week are estimated to fall to 320K versus 342K the prior week.
- Continuing Claims are estimated to fall to 2510K versus 2527K prior.

10:00 am EST
- Leading Indicators for March are estimated to rise .1% versus a -.5% gain in February.

12:00 am EST
- The Philly Fed Index for April is estimated to rise to 2.0 versus a reading of .2 in March.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are lower, weighed down by technology and commodity stocks in the region. I expect US equities to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed. The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the day.