Friday Watch

Late-Night Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Two members of the panel charged with dating US economic cycles said while increasing evidence of a downturn has drawn their attention, it’s too early to declare whether a recession has begun. “Notwithstanding the darkening clouds, we are still far from the point where the committee would act,” Roberta Hall, a Stanford University economist who leads the National Bureau of Economic Research’s business cycle dating committee, said in an interview.
- Crude oil fell for a second day in NY after an Energy Dept. report showed that US inventories rose almost twice as much as forecast and refiners slowed processing to perform seasonal maintenance. “There comes a point where fundamentals can no longer be ignored,” said Michael Fitzpatrick, vp for energy risk management at MF Global. “You can’t justify $100 oil when inventories are up six weeks, demand is weak and the economy is slowing.” Crude oil supplies have risen 7.9% in just the last six weeks. “Refineries are curtailing output for economic reasons. There’s weak product demand and they are responding by reducing output,” said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citigroup Global Markets. Total implied fuel demand is down 1.1% over the last four weeks from a year earlier. Gasoline inventories climbed 1 million barrels to 230.3 million, the highest since February 1994. “Gasoline supplies are near the highest level ever, and crude oil supplies are still gaining,” said Kyle Cooper, director of research at IAF Advisors in Houston.

Wall Street Journal:
- Obama, Clinton Trade Jabs on Health Care. One of the most anticipated debates of the primary season unfolded largely without drama early on, but a hint of the snarling tone that has marked the race between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama rose up as the debate progressed.

MarketWatch.com:
- RIM shares jump on raised subscriber forecast. BlackBerry maker says seasonal slowdown didn’t occur in Feb. quarter.

CNBC.com:
- Amid ‘Stagflation’ Fear, Opportunities Abound.

NY Times:
- AOL Prods Users to Switch to Firefox, Drop Netscape.
- At Toyota, a Global Giant Reaches for Agility.
- A Short-Selling Savior? Does William Ackman want to save troubled bond insurers or to bury them? A break-up proposal raises questions.

BusinessWeek.com:
- Microsoft(MSFT) Pledges Fail to Move the EU.
- Google(GOOG) Goes to the Doc’s Office. The search giant’s pilot program with the Cleveland Clinic is aimed at giving patients and doctors better access to electronic medical records.

Portfolio.com:
- Google’s(GOOG) Video AdSense: Just the Beginning?

Silicon Alley Insider:
- New York Times Co.(NYT) investor Harbinger Capital Partners may raise its stake in the newspaper company to as much as 20% stake by the end of the week, Henry Blodget said on his Silicon Alley Insider Web site today. The group believes that, without aggressive restructuring, the company could go out of business, Blodget wrote, citing a person familiar with the plans. The investors want New York Times to sell its headquarters, stakes in professional sports teams and its regional newspapers. They want the company to consider selling the Boston Globe and About.com and use the proceeds to buy digital assets.

Reuters:
- MBIA(MBI) says municipal, corporate units should split.

Financial Times:
- NY hedge fund DB Zwirn & Co is winding down its principal funds after investors – rattled by lapses in internal controls, including the expense of a private jet used by the firm’s founder – said they would withdraw more than $2 billion.

Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
Citigroup:
- Reiterated Buy on (JCP), target $58.

Night Trading
Asian Indices are -3.0% to -.50% on average.
S&P 500 futures -.30%.
NASDAQ 100 futures -.14%.

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)/.39
- (ENDP)/.44
- (HTV)/.30
- (HUN)/.25
- (LTM)/.48
- (HUN)/.25
- (SYNT)/.35
- (PCG)/.55
- (GAS)/1.10

Upcoming Splits
- None of note

Economic Releases
- None of note

Other Potential Market Movers
- The Fed’s Fisher speaking, CIBC Institutional Investor Conference, DA Davidson Electronic Systems Design Conference and EnerCom Oil Service Conference could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are lower, weighed down by technology and automaker stocks in the region. I expect US equities to open mixed and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.