Thursday Watch

Late-Night Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Fisker Automotive Inc., a startup planning to build rechargeable hybrid luxury cars, will be able to begin sales by 2009 because it’s using a power system already developed for military vehicles, a company director said.
- The International Monetary Fund predicted economic growth in Iraq will accelerate this year to the fastest pace since 2004 as security improves and crude oil output climbs. Iraq’s economy will expand 7.1% this year. Growth is expected to pick up to 10.4% by 2010, the IMF said.
- Harvard University received a record number of applicants for the next freshman class after the end of the school’s early-admissions program gave officials more time to recruit a broader array of students.
- “American Idol,” the most-popular show on primetime television, attracted 33.4 million viewers in its seventh-season debut on the Fox network.
- Ambac Financial Group Inc.(ABK) is being reviewed by Moody’s Investors Service for a possible downgrade.
- Sharp Corp., Japan’s biggest liquid-crystal display maker, climbed the most in more than a month after Goldman Sachs Group(GS) raised the rating on the stock, citing demand for panels.

Wall Street Journal:
- JPMorgan(JPM) CEO Is Hunting In the Credit-Crunched Jungle. It’s time to pounce for JPMorgan CEO James Dimon and other top bosses of financial companies that have avoided a serious battering from the credit crunch.
- Will Silicon Valley Deals Kick Into Overdrive?
- President Bush says “there’s a hope” that, after his talks with Saudi King Abdullah seeking to restrain oil prices, OPEC “would be encouraged to authorized an increase in production,” a White House official said.

MarketWatch.com:
- US lawmakers on Wednesday debated ways to juice a languishing US economy with tax cuts or rebates.
- Wall Street losing its own confidence game.

CNBC:
- US mortgage applications surged last week, with demand hitting its highest in nearly four years as interest rates plunged, an industry group said Wednesday.
- Intel(INTC) Earnings: Is Wall Street Overreacting to Shortfall?

BusinessWeek.com:
- Wall Street is speculating WaMu(WM) will go the way of Countrywide Financial(CFC) and be acquired by a larger player, perhaps JPMorgan Chase(JPM).
- Bank of America’s(BAC) CEO tell Maria Bartiromo why the bank’s acquisition of troubled Countrywide Financial is a good deal.
- A buzzy Web site brings scrutiny to the previously secretive world of VC investing.
- The Economy: Five Signposts to Recovery.

CNNMoney.com:
- The current mortgage mess requires a more intelligent approach than the buzzsaw plan floated by Hillary Clinton.

SmartMoney.com:
- What You Need to Know About Sovereign Wealth Funds.
- Herman Miller’s(MLHR) Business Built to Last.

EnergyNewsToday:
-.Valero Energy Corp.(VLO), the largest US refiner, plans to reduce its processing rate for low-sulfur crude oil by as much as 20% because of shrinking profitability. The move would follow a reduction by Tesoro Corp.(TSO), the owner of seven US refineries, which said Jan. 14 that it cut fuel production this month.

USA Today.com:
- Retirement: Why older boomers have more to lean on financially.
- Apple’s(AAPL) skinny MacBook Air is fat with features.

Reuters:
- Adidas AG, the world’s second-largest sporting-goods maker, reiterated its forecast for sales to increase in the high single-digit percentage range this year.
- Delta(DAL) in merger talks with Northwest: congressman
- Dell(DELL) seen back to strong growth.
- SAP(SAP) sees no sign of global slowdown in ’07 results.

Commercial Times:
- Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. will probably be the second contract manufacturer for Apple Inc.’s(AAPL) MacBook Air laptop computers. Taiwan’s Quanta Computer Inc. has been making the slim laptops for Apple.

Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
Citigroup:
- Reiterated Buy on (JAVA), target $29.
- Lowered (HOG) to Sell, target $36.

Night Trading
Asian Indices are -1.50% to +.25% on average.
S&P 500 futures +.36%.
NASDAQ 100 futures +.32%.

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
- (PH)/1.19
- (PNC)/1.07
- (CAL)/.06
- (BK)/.69
- (CMA)/1.06
- (CIT)/.27
- (BLK)/2.15
- (AMTD)/.38
- (MER)/-4.82
- (IGT)/.36
- (BBT)/.78
- (PPG)/1.12
- (AMD)/-.38
- (XLNX)/.32
- (WM)/-1.43
- (STX)/.74
- (IBM)/2.68
- (BGG)/.05
- (ORB)/.24

Upcoming Splits
- (FWLT) 2-for-1

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- Housing Starts for December are estimated to fall to 1145K versus 1187K in November.
- Building Permits for December are estimated to fall to 1135K versus 1162K in November.
- Initial Jobless Claims for this week are estimated to rise to 331K versus 322K the prior week.
- Continuing Claims are estimated to rise to 2705K versus 2702K prior.

10:00 am EST
- The Philly Fed for January is estimated to rise to -1.0 from -5.7 in December.

Other Potential Market Movers
- The Fed’s Bernanke speaking, Fed’s Fisher speaking, Fed’s Lockhart speaking, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report, (AMAT) analyst meeting, (AEE) analyst meeting and Goldman Sachs Energy Conference could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly 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.