Late-Night Headlines
Bloomberg:
The cost of protecting Asia-Pacific bonds from default fell after money market rates declined and U.S. stocks rallied. The Markit iTraxx Japan index fell 7 basis points to 200 at 9:04 a.m. in Tokyo, according to prices from Credit Suisse Group AG. ``The market is starting to believe that central banks' policy actions are taking out some of the financial systemic risk,'' said Craig Saalmann, a Sydney-based credit strategist with JPMorgan Chase & Co. The three-month London interbank offered rate for dollars fell 5 basis points to 4.5 percent yesterday, the fourth consecutive drop and the longest sequence of decline since June. The spread on the Markit CDX North America Investment-Grade index of 125 companies in the U.S. and Canada fell 2 basis points to 198, according to broker Phoenix Partners Group. The Markit iTraxx Australia index declined 12.5 basis points to 215 at 11:37 a.m. in Sydney, Citigroup Inc data show. The Asia index of 50 investment-grade borrowers outside Japan was 15 basis points lower at 300, while the high-yield benchmark shed 40 basis points to 925 at 8:11 a.m. in Hong Kong, according to Morgan Stanley.
- Investors should buy more Fannie Mae(FNM) and Freddie Mac(FRE) mortgage bonds because US government actions to shore up financial companies are potential “game changers,” according to Credit Suisse Group.
- The U.S. Treasury's pledge to inject $250 billion into banks may coax private-equity leaders Stephen Schwarzman, David Rubenstein and Henry Kravis to resume investing after more than a year spent mostly on the sidelines. The founders of Blackstone Group LP, Carlyle Group and KKR & Co. LP told investors in Dubai this week that the biggest government intervention in the financial system since the 1930s will help attract private capital to lenders.
- U.S. government plans to inject capital into banks and other ``powerful'' efforts to unblock credit should revive economic growth next year, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said.
- Google Inc.(GOOG), owner of the most popular Internet search engine, said third-quarter profit climbed 26 percent as more customers used Web search ads to spur sales in a slowing economy, sending the shares 10% higher in after-hours trading. Advertisers are shifting budgets away from TV and print media toward ads that run alongside search listings, targeting online shoppers. The Internet will account for 8.7 percent of the $284 billion in U.S. ad spending this year, up from 7.2 percent in 2007, according to Barclays Capital.
- The FBI is looking into accusations of voter fraud involving a grassroots organization highlighted in last night's presidential debate, the Associated Press said, citing law enforcement officials. The FBI is examining possible evidence of a coordinated nationwide effort by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, to commit fraud, the AP reported. In the debate, Republican presidential nominee John McCain said Democratic rival Barack Obama should reveal the full extent of his relationship with ACORN. Obama said he represented the group in a motor-voter case and had no other ties. Some employees have been accused of submitting false voter registration forms with names such as Mickey Mouse and those of Dallas Cowboys football players.
- Investors withdrew a record $43 billion from hedge funds in September as they fled distressed-securities and stock funds because of poor performance, TrimTabs Investment Research said today. The estimated outflows were the most since TrimTabs started tracking the industry in 2000, Chief Executive Officer Charles Biderman said in an interview.
- China Shipping Container Lines Co., the country's second-largest container line, forecasts traffic will plunge, as a global economic slowdown curbs demand for Chinese goods in North America and Europe.
- The U.S. economy will grow 2 percent at most in 2009, a second year of ``sluggish'' expansion, a majority of chief executive officers forecast in a survey completed before the government approved a $700 billion bailout plan to rescue the U.S. financial system.
- Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000 vowing to destroy Russia's oligarchs ``as a class.'' Within two years, he'd driven two into exile and imprisoned another. Now, he may use the global markets meltdown to finish the job.
Wall Street Journal:
General Motors Corp.(GM) and Chrysler LLC are accelerating merger discussions amid strong support from potential lenders that are eager to see a deal done.
- Mideast and Chinese money is back. After largely staying on the sidelines during the past few tumultuous weeks of the global financial crisis, the cash-rich governments of the Persian Gulf and China appear to be getting back in the game. The Qatar Investment Authority, with an estimated $65 billion war chest, on Thursday led a capital injection of 10 billion Swiss francs ($8.83 billion) into Credit Suisse Group. The investment will boost Qatar's stake in the Swiss banking giant to something under 10%, from just under 2%, according to a person familiar with the situation.
- Signs that the U.S. economy is using less and less oil sent world crude prices below $70 a barrel for the first time in 14 months, a dramatic turnaround for a market that not long ago had some analysts predicting $200-a-barrel oil as early as next year. Rattled by the swift price drop and evidence of plunging demand, members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries hastily agreed Thursday to meet next week in Vienna to weigh a production cut, in a bid to firm up prices. If the price stabilizes at around $80 a barrel, as many now expect, "that will amount to essentially a $275 billion stimulus package to the U.S. economy," says Lawrence Goldstein, an analyst with the Energy Policy Research Foundation. Hedge funds, responsible for a large amount of the speculation in crude oil, have had to play defense in the credit crisis lately by unwinding trades that use a lot of borrowed money, such as oil futures bets. Hedge funds are also being hit by heavy redemptions as risk-averse investors cash out. This forces funds to sell at inopportune times, adding to the spiral. For the first time since the last U.S. recession in 1991-92, world oil demand this year could end up being essentially flat. Many private forecasters went into the year predicting that world oil demand would jump by around 1.3 million barrels a day in 2008. As prices soared in the spring, Goldman Sachs went so far as to predict that robust demand and crimped supply could send prices to more than $200 a barrel by next year. Even as gasoline prices are now heading back toward $3 a gallon, and below, in most states, analysts expect demand to keep falling. MasterCard said that by its estimates gasoline sales in the week of Oct. 10 dropped 9.4% from a year ago.
- Some hedge-fund managers are coming under increased pressure to liquidate their positions as banks ask for more collateral to back funds' borrowing. The changes are hitting a number of funds across the industry, which experienced its latest blow Thursday, when Dallas-based Highland Capital Management LP said it was closing of two of its five hedge funds, which managed about $1.5 billion of Highland's $38 billion war chest.
- Food Companies May Profit From Decline in Commodities
NY Times: Google(GOOG) on Thursday quietly appointed David Rosenblatt, the former chief executive of DoubleClick, as president for global display advertising, a new position. His appointment may signal that Google, whose business is built almost entirely on small text ads that appear next to search results and on partner Web sites, is getting ready to accelerate its push in the display advertising market.
Business Week:
- The European Commission on Wednesday (15 October) changed EU accounting rules to help banks avoid sharp drops in the value of their assets at times of market volatility, such as the present financial crisis. The move on "mark-to-market" accounting—made by the commission's accounting regulatory committee—has unanimous support from EU member states and will apply for 2008 third quarter corporate results, due to be published soon.
Forbes.com: Biotechnology company Gilead Sciences Inc.(GILD) on Thursday said its third-quarter profit shot up 27 percent, as sales of its drugs to treat HIV soared. The results topped Wall Street's expectations, and shares gained in after-hours trading.
USA Today.com:
- More than 50 million seniors will see their Social Security benefits increase 5.8% next year, the biggest cost-of-living increase in more than 25 years, the Social Security Administration said Thursday. The cost-of-living increase will boost the average retiree's benefit check by $63 a month. The average retired couple will see an increase of $103 a month.
Reuters:
- The allure of heavily-battered stocks has grown so strong that some of Wall Street's most prominent investors are dipping their toes into the market, suggesting the brutal declines may be over the worst. Jeremy Grantham, Bill Ackman, Chris Orndorff and Bob Doll are some of the savviest U.S. money managers who are betting that equities have fallen to levels far below their intrinsic value. "Things have just gotten a bit silly," said Chris Orndorff, who helps oversee $50 billion in assets as managing principal at Payden & Rygel Investment Management in Los Angeles. "We are very, very close to a bottom in equities."
- Intuitive Surgical Inc(ISRG) said on Thursday that its third-quarter profit rose a better-than-expected 41 percent on surging sales of its da Vinci robotic surgical systems. "These results reflect the continued adoption of robotic surgery as a growing number of patients benefit from the improved clinical outcomes and reduced surgical trauma that our da Vinci products enable," Chief Executive Lonnie Smith said in a statement.
TimesOnline: Hedge fund managers are paranoid. And they are right to be. The other day I had lunch with a senior financial official whose view of hedge funds was simple. “They were a con. The returns were all due to leverage. And now that the leverage has gone everyone will see they were a con.” You may disagree with this analysis. You may be convinced that for some hedge funds at least the returns were down to skill. You may argue that their role in the credit crisis has been at worst neutral. But you cannot deny it is pretty worrying for hedge funds when this is the view of a top regulator.
Daily Telegraph:
- Prime brokers have this week hiked up the cost of trading for hedge funds. The move has pushed some funds closer to the brink and triggered yet more havoc in global stock markets. The bankers say that the wild swings in stock prices across the globe has radically increased their risk, forcing them to demand as much as five times more collateral from the hedge funds. The extra demand has left funds scrambling to find the extra cash or collateral, forcing many to sell other positions to fund their more important ones.
AFP:
- US computer giant IBM on Thursday reported third-quarter earnings slightly better than analysts' expectations and said it was confident for the remainder of the year despite the slowing economy. Net profits rose 19.6 percent in the third-quarter, compared with the same period last year, to 2.8 billion dollars while revenue rose five percent to 25.3 billion dollars, IBM said in a statement.
Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
Citigroup:
- Reiterated Buy on (FISV), target $59.
- Reiterated Buy on (GILD), target $59.
- Reiterated Buy on (POT), target $210.
Night Trading
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 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 Upgrades/Downgrades Rasmussen Business/Economy Polling
Earnings of Note
Company/EPS Estimate
- (HON)/.95
- (NVR)/7.22
- (SLB)/1.25
- (VFC)/2.03
Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- Housing Starts for September are estimated to fall to 872K versus 895K in August.
- Building Permits for September are estimated to fall to 840K versus 857K in August.
10:00 am EST
- Preliminary Univ. of Mich.
Upcoming Splits
Other Potential Market Movers
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by automaker and financial stocks in the region. I expect US equities to open mixed and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher. The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the day.
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