Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Nintendo will start selling its smallest player next month as Sony prepares for European sales of its PlayStation Portable after releases in Japan and the US.
- Iran received a military delegation from China, paving the way for cooperation in the defense field, Iran’s Mehr News agency reported, citing Brigadier General Nasser Mohammadi Far.
- Google plans to sell as many as 14.8 million shares in a secondary offering.
- Manufacturing growth in the Philadelphia area accelerated this month as companies rebuilt inventories and stepped up production to meet demand.
- The US dollar is rising for a fifth straight day against the euro, the longest streak in two months, and advanced versus the yen as a report showed the biggest gain in Philadelphia-area manufacturing since April.
- The yield on the 10-year T-note is falling after a Japanese government report showed that the country’s investors doubled their purchases of overseas bonds.
- Crude oil is falling again on signs that higher prices are finally cutting consumption.

NY Times:
- New York City and its suburbs have one of the highest death rates from heart disease, which is usually more common among poor people.

Wall Street Journal:
- India’s national oil companies will team up with Chinese counterparts to bid jointly for foreign energy assets, to cut the cost of fuelling their economies.
- Tommy Hilfiger is planning to put itself up for auction.
- Many Chinese are turning to the growing number of drugstores instead of state hospitals for medication, fueling a new market for over-the-counter treatments from multinational pharmaceutical companies.
- China’s health-care system is experiencing an increase in private programs for people who don’t want the lines and low-quality of care at government-run hospitals.
- Citadel Investment Group LLC, a Chicago hedge fund, played a leading role in a shortage of 10-year US T-notes recently.
- Morgan Stanley will probably raise $2 billion from the sale of its aircraft-leasing business.
- Generic drugs are boosting profit for companies such as Carmark and Express Scripts.
- Barclays Global Investors has be come the first asset manager to start an ETF tracking micro-cap US companies.
- More new US stocks have come to the market in the first two weeks of August than in any full month so far this year.

LA Times:
- Re/Max International plans to compete with Realtor.com in displaying all US residential property listings on its Web site.

Taloussanomat:
- Nokia Oyj plans to install Apple Computer’s iTunes software on its new music phone.

Jobless Claims Remain Low, Leading Indicators Rise Slightly

- Initial Jobless Claims for last week rose to 316K versus estimates of 310K and 310K the prior week.
- Continuing Claims rose to 2593K versus 2575K the prior week.
- Leading Indicators for July rose .1% versus estimates of a .1% gain and an upwardly revised 1.2% in June.

BOTTOM LINE: The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits rose to 316,000 last week, low enough to suggest companies are adding workers as the economy accelerates, Bloomberg said. Jobless claims are averaging 18,000 few this year than last year. The insured employment rate, which tends to track the unemployment rate remained at 2.0%. Jobless claims between 310,000-320,000 are consistent with monthly non-farm payroll gains of 200,000-220,000. I would like to see the labor market cool a bit to prevent an acceleration of unit labor costs. I expect this to happen over the next couple of quarters.

The index of leading US economic indicators rose .1% in July after surging a month earlier, the first back-to-back gains this year, lifted by an improving job market and the housing boom, Bloomberg reported. The gain follows a revised 1.2% increase the prior month that was the largest jump in 15 months. I continue to believe US GDP growth will exceed 4.0% this quarter and 3.5% in the fourth quarter.

Links of Interest

Market Snapshot
Detailed Market Summary
Market Internals
Economic Commentary
Movers & Shakers
IBD New America
NYSE OrderTrac
I-Watch Sector Overview
NYSE Unusual Volume
NASDAQ Unusual Volume
Hot Spots
NASDAQ 100 Heatmap
DJIA Quick Charts
Chart Toppers
Option Dragon
Real-time Intraday Chart/Quote

Thursday Watch

Late-Night Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Christopher Hill, the chief US negotiator in six-nation talks aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program, said he is hopeful an agreement can be reached in two months that helps the communist regime embrace the world economy.
- The US dollar is gaining against the yen in Asia on speculation reports today will show manufacturing in the Philadelphia region increased and an index of leading US economic indicators rose for a second straight month.
- Crude oil fell for a fourth day, heading for its biggest weekly decline since April, after a US government report showed gasoline demand dropped as the end of the summer driving season approaches.
- China and Russia started their first joint military exercise today, with army, naval and air force units performing maneuvers in the Russian Far East and China’s northern coastal Shandong province.

Washington Post:
- The US biotech industry may be profitable by 2008 as revenue and earnings grow at companies such as Amgen and Genentech, citing a study by consultant Ernst & Young.

Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
Goldman Sachs:
- Reiterated Outperform on MDT.
- Reiterated Underperform on SIAL.

Night Trading
Asian Indices are -.50% to +.50% on average.
S&P 500 indicated +.02%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated +.09%.

Morning Preview
US AM Market Call
NASDAQ 100 Pre-Market Indicator/Heat Map
Pre-market Commentary
Before the Bell CNBC Video(bottom right)
Global Commentary
Asian Indices
European Indices
Top 20 Business Stories
In Play
Bond Ticker
Daily Stock Events
Macro Calls
Rasmussen Consumer/Investor Daily Indices
CNBC Guest Schedule

Earnings of Note
Company/EPS Estimate
ARO/.13
ADSK/.24
BKS/.20
BEBE/.19
DDS/-.28
GME/.15
GPS/.28
HIBB/.20
LTD/.24
MRVL/.29
TSA/.49
ELOS/.33

Upcoming Splits
None of note

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- Initial Jobless Claims for last week are estimated to rise to 310K from 308K the prior week.
- Continuing Claims are estimated to rise to 2575K versus 2573K prior.

10:00 am EST
- Leading Indicators for July are estimated to rise .1% versus a .9% increase in June.

12:00 pm EST
- Philadelphia Fed. for August is estimated to rise to 14.0 versus a reading of 9.6 in July.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, led down by energy-related shares in the region. I expect US equities to open mixed-to-higher on continuing strength in the tech sector. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.

Stocks Finish Higher as Commodity Prices Fall

Evening Review
Detailed Market Summary
Market Gauges
Daily ETF Performance
Style Performance
Market Wrap CNBC Video(bottom right)
S&P 500 Gallery View
Economic Calendar
Timely Economic Charts
GuruFocus.com
PM Market Call
After-hours Movers
Real-time/After-hours Stock Quote
In Play

BOTTOM LINE: I am unable to post a full evening review due to a scheduling conflict. I will post the Thursday Watch at its regular time tonight. The Portfolio finished higher today and I am positioned 75% net long.

Stocks Higher Mid-day on Lower Energy Prices

Indices
S&P 500 1,222.65 +.27%
DJIA 10,565.20 +.49%
NASDAQ 2,149.48 +.58%
Russell 2000 656.71 +.32%
DJ Wilshire 5000 12,177.42 +.21%
S&P Barra Growth 585.49 +.33%
S&P Barra Value 633.38 +.30%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 587.03 +.23%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 744.27 +.43%
Morgan Stanley Technology 505.51 +1.13%
Transports 3,725.60 +.55%
Utilities 391.30 -.04%
Put/Call 1.06 +1.92%
NYSE Arms .96 -55.11%
Volatility(VIX) 13.16 -2.66%
ISE Sentiment 164.00 +19.71%
US Dollar 87.94 +.62%
CRB 314.41 -1.62%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 63.85 -3.37%
Unleaded Gasoline 191.75 -3.33%
Natural Gas 9.49 -2.69%
Heating Oil 181.00 -2.90%
Gold 445.20 -1.40%
Base Metals 128.16 -2.63%
Copper 165.70 -3.35%
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.25% +1.24%

Leading Sectors
Computer Hardware +2.24%
Airlines +2.26%
Semis +1.55%

Lagging Sectors
Energy -2.0%
Gold & Silver -2.23%
Oil Tankers -2.24%

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio is higher mid-day on gains in my Computer, Medical and Retail longs. I exited my IWM and QQQQ shorts this morning, thus leaving the Portfolio 75% net long. The tone of the market is positive as the advance/decline line is higher, most sectors are rising and volume is below average. Measures of investor anxiety are mostly lower. Today’s overall market action is modestly positive, considering the decline in energy prices, above-expectations PPI report and rise in long-term rates. Insider Buy of Note: A director of Capital One Financial (COF) recently purchased 232,980 shares at an average price of $83.13, bringing his total holdings to 854,445 shares. This stock is near a 52-week high. I expect US stocks to trade mixed-to-higher from current levels into the close on lower energy prices.