Wednesday Watch

Late-Night Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Hewlett-Packard(HPQ), the world’s largest personal-computer maker, posted first-quarter profit and sales that beat estimates and raised its annual forecast on demand overseas, spurring a 6.5% gain in the stock.

Wall Street Journal:
- The next chapter of the increasingly combative Democratic primary race ended this evening with Sen. Barack Obama landing his ninth straight victory in his nomination battle against Sen. Hillary Clinton with a decisive win in Wisconsin’s Democratic primary. Sen. John McCain sailed to victory in Wisconsin’s Republican primary Tuesday night, beating former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and edging closer to the 1,191 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination.
- Musharraf Insists He’ll Stay in Job After Defeat.
- Crude-oil prices finished just above $100 a barrel for the first time yesterday despite signs the world’s petroleum thirst may be subsiding.

BusinessWeek.com:
- Health Care Equipment’s Quickening Pulse. S&P says the group’s strong stock-price performance and positive fundamentals point to the potential for further gains.
- Priceline.com(PCLN) Flies High.

CNNMoney.com:
- How to profit from Castro’s resignation.

SmartMoney.com:
- Good Near-Term Visibility Favors Two Small Caps.

Forbes.com:
- Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obamaq accused rival Hillary Clinton Tuesday of rewarding the rich and hurting future mortgage seekers with her plan to end the US housing crisis.
- The Next VMware.

Chicagotribune.com:
- Lufthansa is mulling investing in a United-Continental merger.

USA Today.com:
- A railroad based smack in the center of the country isn’t the most obvious play on globalization. But tiny Kansas City Southern(KSU) is emerging as a major beneficiary of surging trade between the USA and an increasingly prosperous Mexico.

Financial Times:
- Barack Obama’s campaign on Tuesday accused Hillary Clinton of planning to “subvert the will of the voters” following reports that she would be prepared to lobby elected delegates to change their vote if the battle for the nomination went to the Democratic convention in August.
- Investors in two Bear Stearns(BSC) hedge funds began legal action in the Cayman Islands yesterday in an attempt to seize control of the funds, which they hope to use as a platform to demand compensation from the bank.

TimesOnline:
- London’s position as an international financial center is threatened, citing the Global Financial Centres Index. Two developments are cited in the index, due out next month, as affecting the city’s popularity as a business hub: the government’s handling of the Northern Rock Plc crisis and the proposal to levy the offshore income of wealthy foreigners living in the UK.
- Wal-Mart(WMT), the world’s biggest retailer, achieved another milestone yesterday by reporting sales of more than $100 billion for a three-month period for the first time.
- Forget biofuel, forget hydrogen cells, how about a car that runs on air?

Handelsblatt:
- The US economy is expected to grow 1.7% this year, citing a report from the European Economic Advisory Group. Germany’s GDP is forecast to increase by 1.6% this year, citing the report.

China Daily:
- China Diabetes Suffers Rise to 40 Million. Diabetes is fast becoming a major health problem in the country with close to 40 million currently suffering from the disease, a health expert said.

Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
Citigroup:
- Reiterated Buy on (JCP), target $53.
- Maintained Buy on (AMAT), target $26.
- Reiterated Buy on (WMB), target raised to $45.

Night Trading
Asian Indices are -1.50% to -.50% on average.
S&P 500 futures -.47%.
NASDAQ 100 futures -.21%.

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
- (GRMN)/1.12
- (STP)/.37
- (XEC)/1.20
- (JBX)/.56
- (TJX)/.62
- (ADI)/.40
- (OII)/.81
- (CECO)/.31
- (TEX)/1.39
- (HTZ)/.26
- (SINA)/.32
- (SNPS)/.38
- (HMA)/.08
- (NTES)/.32
- (WCG)/1.62
- (RIG)/2.52

Upcoming Splits
- None of note

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- The Consumer Price Index for January is estimated to rise .3% versus a .4% gain in December.
- The CPI Ex Food & Energy for January is estimated to rise .2% versus a .2% gain in December.
- Housing Starts for January are estimated to rise to 1010K versus 1006K in December.
- Building Permits for January are estimated to fall to 1050K versus 1068K in December.

2:00 pm EST
- Minutes of Jan. 29-30 FOMC Meeting

Other Potential Market Movers
- The Fed’s Poole speaking, weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report, (KMT) analyst meeting, (FFIN) analyst meeting, (TKR) analyst day, (SFY) analyst meeting, (NSR) analyst meeting, Morgan Stanley Basic Materials Conference, Piper Jaffray Clean Tech & Renewables Conference and Roth Capital Growth Conference could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are lower, weighed down by automaker and utility 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.