Weekend HeadlinesBloomberg:- Wal-Mart Stores(WMT) said January same-store sales are rising within its forecast.
- President Bush urged the US Congress to slow the growth of spending on entitlement programs and suggested that Democrats who oppose extending tax cuts risk undermining the economy.
- Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor and Honda Motor are posed to sell at least 19 new and redesigned vehicle models in the US this year, their biggest-ever roll-out.
- US two-year Treasury yields will fall at a faster pace than those on 10-year notes as the Federal Reserve moves closer to ending its 18-month policy of raising interest rates, say some of the world’s biggest bond investors.
- Democratic Senators Edward Kennedy and Charles Schumer said they haven’t ruled out staging a filibuster to block confirmation of Judge Samuel A. Alito to the US Supreme Court.
- Boston Scientific(BSX), which waited to bid for Guidant(GDT) until Johnson & Johnson(JNJ) forced the price down, moved to seal its $25 billion purchase of the troubled cardiac device maker.
- The US doubled its supplies of food aid to survivors of the Oct. 8 earthquake that struck Pakistan’s northern Kashmir region as snow storms interrupted deliveries by air and road to mountain villages.
- Coal is likely to decline this year from a record because of increased exports from Indonesia, South Africa and Australia.
Barron’s:- Vonage Holdings, Force10 Networks and Synarc are among technology and health-care companies backed by venture-capital firms that may sell shares to the pubic this year.
Wall Street Journal:- Viacom’s(VIA) Paramount Pictures business is in exclusive talks to sell the DreamWorks(DWA) movie library to George Soros’ private equity fund.
NY Times:- General Motors(GM) expects its billion-dollar losses at its North American business to begin to “moderate” this quarter as cost cuts take effect.
- The UN World Food Program ended all feeding programs in North Korea after the government told it to stop efforts that had helped a third of the 22 million people there.
- The Environmental Protection Agency will announce changes in how it calculates fuel-economy ratings for cars and trucks, the first revisions in 20 years.
- Companies in the S&P 500 spent $315 billion to buy back shares last year, a 60% increase from 2004.
- Eastman Kodak(EK) CEO Perez said the camera company is increasing its revenue and profit from digital photography.
- The US and several European allies sought to encourage China and Russia to join their efforts to put political pressure on Iran to end its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons.
- The city of New Orleans’ official redevelopment plan to recover from Hurricane Katrina envisions allowing all areas of the city to be rebuilt no matter how bad the damage.
Crain’s Chicago Business:- Google Inc.(GOOG) is paying to run ads for its advertisers in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Washington Post:- An increasing number of Christian evangelicals are embracing “philo-Semitism,” the opposite of anti-Semitism, fueled by common beliefs shared by Jews and Christians.
LA Times:-
Shanghai’s hot housing market has fizzled after a run-up fed by speculators, threatening a significant part of China’s economy.
Time magazine:- CIA Director Porter Goss is cracking down on information leaks from within the US intelligence agency by banning current officers from writing books and ordering stricter reviews of books by retired agents.
Interfax:- Ukraine said its natural gas supply agreement with Russia is a good one even as it pays double for the fuel, citing Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.
Weekend RecommendationsBarron's: - Had positive comments on (BLK).
- Had negative comments on (RL).
Goldman Sachs:- Reiterated Outperform on (BSX) and (MSFT).
- Reiterated Underperform on (JBLU) and (TFX).
Night Trading Asian indices are +.25% to +1.0% on average.
S&P 500 indicated -.04%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated unch.
Morning PreviewUS AM Market CallNASDAQ 100 Pre-Market Indicator/Heat MapPre-market CommentaryBefore the Bell CNBC Video(bottom right)
Global CommentaryAsian IndicesEuropean IndicesTop 20 Business StoriesIn PlayBond TickerDaily Stock EventsMacro CallsRasmussen Consumer/Investor Daily IndicesCNBC Guest ScheduleEarnings of NoteCompany/Estimate(AA).37
(SCHN).85
(TDS).29
Upcoming Splits(PTC) 3-for-2
(CERN) 2-for-1
(E) 5-for-2
(PSYS) 2-for-1
Economic Releases3:00 pm EST- Consumer Credit for November is estimated to rise to $5.0 billion versus -$7.2 billion in October.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian Indices are higher, boosted by commodity producing companies in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to rise into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher. The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the week.
