Monday Watch

Weekend Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Citigroup Inc.(C), Bank of America(BAC) and JPMorgan Chase(JPM) will announce as soon as tomorrow that they are establishing a fund of about $80 billion aimed at reviving the asset-backed commercial paper market, said people familiar with the plan.
- Paulson & Co., the hedge fund that profited from bets on rising foreclosures this year, will donate $15 million to consumer groups backing bankruptcy legislation that would further reduce the value of subprime laons.
-Biogen Idec(BIIB) is considering a sale of the company after billionaire investor Carl Icahn and unspecified potential buyers expressed interest.
- China ordered banks to set aside more money as reserves for the eighth time this year to cool speculation in stocks and real estate and curb the fastest inflation in 10 years.
- US stocks rose for a fifth straight week, the longest stretch of gains since May, after minutes from the Federal Reserve and better-than-expected retail sales bolstered expectations that the economy will keep expanding.
- Citigroup cut its forecasts for the yen and Swiss franc because gains in global stocks will encourage investors to borrow money from Japan and Switzerland and invest in higher-yielding assets.
- Treasuries fell after minutes of the Fed’s Sept. 18 meeting suggested policy makers are in no hurry to cut borrowing costs further.
- Advantest Corp., the world’s biggest maker of memory-chip testers, rose the most in almost 21 months in Tokyo trading after Samsung Electronics said it will increase planned investment on chip production.
- Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he expects the House to pass a non-binding resolution that labels the World War I-era killing of Armenians by Turks as genocide before Nov. 16, when Congress is slated to recess for the year. Hoyer and Speak Nancy Pelosi, appearing today on separate news shows, said the threat of Turkish reprisals would not stop the vote.
- Alibaba.com Ltd., operator of China’s largest trading Web site for businesses, and its parent may raise as much as $1.3 billion in a Hong Kong IPO.
- European Central Bank council member Nout Wellink said the credit market “turbulence” isn’t over and European economic growth will slow next year.

NY Times:
- Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called yesterday for a Muslim nation boycott of a US-led conference planned for last November intended to spur Middle East peace.
- Some States Consider Leasing Their Lotteries.
- A Need for a Will? Often, There’s an Online Way.

CNBC.com:
- Surprise! Americans Set to Open Wallets This Holiday.
- Genzyme(GENZ) Reports Progress on Multiple Sclerosis Drug.

MarketWatch.com:
- Lord Abbett skipper rides a strong tailwind from smaller, fast-moving firms.
- As Nasdaq nears 3,000, a fresh confidence prevails.
- BEA(BEAS) learns lessons from past Oracle(ORCL) battles.

IBD:
- Oracle Bid For Rival May Spark A Battle With SAP, HP, IBM.
- GPS Leader Garmin(GRMN) May Be Headed In Cell Phone Direction.
- Semiconductor Manufacturing: Suddenly, A Chipper Outlook.

NY Post:
- Over the last six months, Jimmy Cayne went from being the only billionaire head of a Wall Street bank to nearly being forced to go globe-trotting, hat in hand, seeking out financial backers for his floundering Bear Stearns(BSC).

TheStreet.com:
- Galloping Google(GOOG) Propels Tech Funds.

CNNMoney.com:
- Big oil getting squeezed on refining margins.
- Hitachi: 4 terabyte hard drives by 2011.

Business Week:
- Marcial: This Market Rally Has Legs. Recession fears are misplaced, and despite some sluggish sectors in the US, worldwide growth should keep pushing the numbers up.

USA Today:
- Google’s(GOOG) GPhone strategy could keep user costs low.
- Once thought a sure bet, Fed rate cut is uncertain.
- Fat is beautiful – and profitable – to biodiesel makers.

AP:
- Arrowcopter Inc., and other small US toymakers are expanding production as retailers look for alternatives to stock Christmas shelves following the recalls of Chinese-made products.

Financial Times:
- Citigroup(C) is planning to restore links between its stock research analyst and its institutional securities business five years after they were separated under pressure from regulators investigating Wall Street conflicts of interest.
- Pfizer will on Monday lead Big Pharma into internet-based social networking, as the world’s biggest drugmaker unveils a collaboration with Sermo, the fast-growing US networking site for doctors.
- Carl Icahn, the US activist investor, has signaled the possible launch of a new campaign against Motorola(MOT) if performance at the telecommunications equipment maker does not improve.
- SAP has sought to allay investor fears about a new bidding rivalry between the German business software maker and US rival Oracle(ORCL) by pledging big acquisitions only to enter new markets rather than to consolidate existing ones.

Daily Telegraph:
- British Airways Plc insisted on a minority stake in its bid with TPG Inc. for Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA because it wants to retain the option of making a major US purchase, citing CEO Willie Walsh.

Interfax:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin may face an assassination attempt by suicide terrorists while on a visit to Iran this week, citing the Russian intelligence services.

Weekend Recommendations
Barron's:
- Made positive comments on (CVS) and (FTEK).

Citigroup:
- Reiterated Buy on (VFC), target $101. .

Night Trading
Asian indices are unch to +.25% on average.
S&P 500 futures -.10%.
NASDAQ 100 futures -.11%

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/Estimate
- (HUB/B)/.95
- (JNC)/.67
- (MAT)/.70
- (C)/.44
- (ETN)/1.67
- (DNA)/.72
- (SONC)/.33
- (BMET)/.51
- (CNK)/.24
- (GWW)/1.26

Upcoming Splits
- (CTSH) 2-for-1
- (DKS) 2-for-1

Economic Data
8:30 am EST
- The Empire Manufacturing report for October is estimated to fall to 13.1 versus 14.7 in September.

Other Potential Market Movers
- The Fed’s Bernanke speaking and (ISV) analyst meeting could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are higher, boosted by commodity and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher. The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the week.