Friday Watch

Late-Night Headlines
Bloomberg:
- EMC Corp.’s(EMC) VMware boosted the size of its IPO to as much as $1.1 billion, potentially making it the biggest share sale of a technology company since Google’s IPO in 2004.
- Shares of banks, hammered over the debacle in credit markets, are now at their cheapest in more than a decade. Some investors have noticed.
- Treasuries rose, pushing the two-year note’s yield down the most since 2004, after money market rates soared and the European Central Bank loaned $130 billion to banks to avert a cash crunch. Ten-year note yields exceeded the shorter-term maturities by the most since September 2005 as futures traders increased bets the Fed will cut interest rates.
- News Corp.(NWS/A) Chairman Rupert Murdoch said he will take on the New York Times(NYT) once his purchase of Dow Jones(DJ) is complete by expanding non-business coverage at the Wall Street Journal.
- The Bank of Japan added $8.49 billion to the financial system, joining central banks in the US and Europe in supplying cash to assuage a credit crunch.
- Countrywide Financial(CFC) said “unprecedented disruptions” in the US home-loan market may crimp its ability to lend and erode profit.

Wall Street Journal:
- One of the most profitable periods ever for the refining industry may be coming to an end.

AP:
- Activist Cindy Sheehan, who turned her soldier son’s death into a platform for protesting the Iraq war, announced her candidacy for the US House of Representatives. She plans to challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her seat.

Financial Times:
- Nick Scheele, president and chief operating officer of Ford Motor(F) from 2001 to 2005, has entered the bidding for the Jaguar and Land Rover brands.
- Hillary Clinton faced scrutiny on Thursday over her attitude towards the use of nuclear weapons, amid a deepening foreign policy dispute with Barack Obama, her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.
- Telecoms switch on to web television.

Sankei:
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il sent a personal message to President Bush saying he wanted to normalize ties with the US and become a close partner after North Korea tested a nuclear weapon. The US government switched its strategy toward North Korea from confrontation to dialogue after Bush received the message.

Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
Citigroup:
- Reiterated Buy on (AKAM), target $58.
- Reiterated Buy on (EFII), target $33.50.
- After years of small-cap and value stock outperformance, we have witnessed a turnaround in style trends. Our models currently favor large-caps and growth stocks. Continued large-cap and growth stock outperformance could created additional headwinds for investors who are not positioned for such a shift.

Night Trading
Asian Indices are -3.0% to -1.5% on average.
S&P 500 futures -.69%.
NASDAQ 100 futures -.55%

Morning Preview
US AM Market Call
NASDAQ 100 Pre-Market Indicator/Heat Map
Pre-market Commentary
Pre-market Stock Quote/Chart
Before the Bell CNBC Video(bottom right)
Global Commentary
WSJ Intl Markets Performance
Commodity Movers
Top 25 Stories
Top 20 Business Stories
Today in IBD
In Play
Bond Ticker
Economic Preview/Calendar
Daily Stock Events
Macro Calls
Upgrades/Downgrades
Rasmussen Business/Economy Polling
CNBC Guest Schedule

Earnings of Note
Company/EPS Estimate
- (AYR)/.45
- (CRYP)/-.11
- (WCRX)/.21

Upcoming Splits
- None of note

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- The Import Price Index for July is estimated to rise 1.0% versus a 1.05 gain in June.

2:00 am EST
- The Monthly Budget deficit for July is estimated to widen to -$35.0 billion versus -$33.2 billion in June.

Other Potential Market Movers
- None of note

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are sharply lower, weighed down by commodity and financial 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.