Thursday Watch

Late-Night Headlines
Bloomberg:
- General Motors(GM) rose in extended trading after Citi Investment Research said the stock may almost double should the biggest US automaker win concessions from the United Auto Workers union.
- PetroChina Co., the nation’s largest oil producer, fell in Hong Kong trading after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway(BRK/A) reduced its stake.
- China’s industrial-output growth slowed for a second month after cuts to export incentives.

Wall Street Journal:
- Ron Gettelfinger, president of the United Auto Workers, may agree to a union-managed health-care fund to let US-based automakers shed costs. General Motors(GM), Ford(F) and Chrysler LLC could potentially save $95 billion in costs if such a deal were arranged.
- Bill Gross’s PIMCO plans to start a $2 billion distressed debt fund. The PIMCO Distressed Mortgage Fund will invest in mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities and collateralized-debt obligations.

MarketWatch.com:
- Cisco Systems Inc.(CSCO) CEO Chambers offered his services as a pitchman for virtualization Wednesday, touting the red-hot technology as a means to foster a second Internet boom to echo the heady days of the 1990s.

NY Times:
- European Carmakers Bet That the US Is Ready for Diesel.

CNNMoney.com:
- Lamborghini unveils $1.4 million supercar.
- Refi rescue. And potentially some tax help, too. Here are breaks that borrowers in a pickle may receive in the next few months.
- Here are 47 smart ways to get on track to a rich life.

Financial Times:
- China, India and Russia top the list of the world’s most polluted places, a study of global pollution found on Wednesday.

China Daily:
- China’s birth-defect rate is triple that of developed nations, citing Li Zhu, director of the National Center for Maternity and Infant Health.

Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
Citigroup:
- We believe that Back-to-School sales are off to a strong start, driven primarily by growth in consumer electronics and solid apparel sales. The NRF expects Back-to-School spending to increase 6.9% this year to $563.49 for the average household with school-age children(K-12). For families with college-bound students, the NRF predicts average household spending will increase 8.7% to $956.93 per household. Consumer electronics should demonstrate the largest sales increase this year, with households spending 13% more on electronics than last year, according to the NRF. Electronics, such as cell phones and MP3 players, have become fashion accessories that are just as important as the rest of the ensemble.
- Reiterated Buy on (MCD), target $56.
- Reiterated Buy on (EBAY), target $41.
- Reiterated Buy on (NKE), target $65.

Pacific Growth:
- Rated (EMC) Buy.

Night Trading
Asian Indices are -.25% to +.25% on average.
S&P 500 futures -.19%.
NASDAQ 100 futures -.09%.

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Earnings of Note
Company/EPS Estimate
- (DBD)/.33
- (PLL)/.40
- (RVI)/-.14

Upcoming Splits
- (LABL) 3-for-2

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- Initial Jobless Claims for last week are estimated at 325K versus 318K the prior week.
- Continuing Claims are estimated at 2580K versus 2598K prior.

2:00 pm EST
- The Monthly Budget Deficit for August is estimated to widen to -$85.0 billion versus -$64.7 billion in July.

Other Potential Market Movers
- None of note

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by automaker 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.