Stocks Close Mixed as Rising Energy Prices Offset Positive Economic Data Ahead of Fed Meeting

Indices
S&P 500 1,285.20 +.12%
DJIA 10,899.92 -.07%
NASDAQ 2,306.78 +.11%
Russell 2000 730.87 -.18%
S&P Barra Growth 612.77 +.15%
S&P Barra Value 668.26 +.08%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 597.19 -.30%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 798.87 +.02%
Morgan Stanley Technology 544.38 +.28%
Transports 4,354.49 +1.04%
Utilities 413.71 -.57%
Put/Call .65 -16.67%
NYSE Arms .78 -14.00%
Volatility(VIX) 12.39 +3.51%
ISE Sentiment 238.00 +20.20%
US Dollar 89.43 +.12%
CRB 350.06 +.89%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 68.54 +.28%
Unleaded Gasoline 177.49 +.01%
Natural Gas 9.38 -.10%
Heating Oil 183.38 +1.49%
Gold 568.10 +.41%
Base Metals 169.61 +.45%
Copper 222.80 -.07%
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.53% +.49%

Leading Sectors
Oil Service +2.93%
Energy +2.30%
Airlines +2.94%

Lagging Sectors
Semis -.71%
Tobacco -.90%
Hospitals -1.53%

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Afternoon Recommendations
Goldman Sachs:
- Reiterated Underperform on (SGP).

Afternoon/Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- President Bush will nominate Stanford University economist Ed Lazear to be chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers.
- OPEC agreed to keep production near a 26-year high in the second quarter after most members said prices were too high to warrant an output cut, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said.

San Francisco Chronicle:
- California builders plan to construct tens of thousands of homes on flood-prone delta lands to meet demand for housing from Sacramento to the Bay Area.

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished higher today on gains in my Medical Information Systems longs, Semi longs and Computer longs. I exited my VLO short and took profits in a few longs in the final hour, thus leaving the Portfolio 100% net long. The tone of the market was slightly negative today as the advance/decline line finished modestly lower, sector performance was mixed and volume was about average. Measures of investor anxiety were mostly lower into the close. Overall, today’s performance was neutral ahead of a number of market-moving catalysts. The Airline Index (XAL) was up almost 3% today, even as oil remains near $70/bbl. The recent correction in the group looks like it has run its course. (AMR) and (SKYW) are my two favorites in this despised group.

Stocks Mixed Mid-day Ahead of Fed Meeting

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio is higher into the final hour on gains in my Semi longs, Medical Information Systems longs and Computer longs. I have not traded today, thus leaving the Portfolio 100% net long. The tone of the market is slightly negative as the advance/decline line is modestly lower, most sectors are rising and volume is around average. Measures of investor anxiety are mostly lower. The energy sector saw the most insider selling of any group in the S&P 500 last week. Insider sales totaled $144,191,838 while buys totaled $24,776. This is the largest weekly net insider selling for energy this cycle. I expect US stocks to trade mixed into the close from current levels as higher energy prices and apprehension ahead of the Fed meeting offsets positive economic data and stable long-term rates.

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Google(GOOG) is releasing a custom toolbar for Web browsers as part of efforts to attract more visitors to its sites.
- People should drink less alcohol because it contributes to several types of cancer, according to a review published in the medical journal Lancet Oncology today.
- Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Colony Capital LLC agreed to buy Fairmont Hotels & Resorts for $3.24 billion, adding 87 luxury hotels to Colony’s Raffles chain.
- GM(GM) bonds and shares rose as a Citigroup(C) unit joined negotiations to buy a majority stake in the automaker’s auto-loan and mortgage business.

Wall Street Journal:
- Time Warner(TWX) will probably announce today that it’s teaming up with Bertelsmann AG to start an online service that will sell films and television shows in Germany.
- US Congress has boosted foreign aid to help fight diseases to $4 billion, almost triple what the US spent in 2001 in inflation-adjusted terms.
- US publishers say fact-checking books they produce has become too expensive for them to handle, prompting concern that many works, especially non-fiction, may contain inaccurate information.
- EarthLink(ELNK) plans to start offering this week high-speed Internet and online-calling services in partnership with Covad Communications(DVW).
- Warner Music and Skype Technologies SA may today announce an agreement to make ringtones available over Internet phones.
- The Federal Aviation Administration’s head of air traffic control is struggling to cope with high costs and chronic delays.
- The NY Merc’s grip on global energy and metals markets may be weakening, just as the exchange is preparing to sell a minority stake and become a public company.

NY Times:
- News Corp.’s(NWS) Fox network may overtake CBS and ABC to win the highest viewership in the 18-to-49 category this season because of the high ratings of its “American Idol” show.
- Microsoft Corp.(MSFT) is developing a mobile phone that could be connected to a television and a keyboard to function as a computer to be used in the developing world.

NY Post:
- Some Walt Disney Co.(DIS) shareholders may try to oust Chairman George Mitchell.

LA Times:
- California recreational boat sales increased about 8% last year, fueled in part by a real estate market boom.

Sabah:
- Turkey won’t back referring Iran to the UN over its nuclear program, putting the nation at odds with the EU.

Personal Incomes Remain Healthy, Spending Accelerates, Inflation Decelerates

- Personal Income for December rose .4% versus estimates of a .4% increase and a .4% gain in November.
- Personal Spending for December rose .9% versus estimates of a .7% gain and a .5% increase in November.
- PCE Core(M-o-M) for December rose .1% versus estimates of a .2% increase and a .2% gain in November.

BOTTOM LINE: US personal spending increased more than expected in December as incomes grew, suggesting a pickup in demand at the end of 2005 that may help boost first-quarter growth, Bloomberg reported. The PCE Core, the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge, rose a less-than-expected .1%. Inflation-adjusted spending on big-ticket items such as cars and furniture rose 5.0% in December, the largest gain since July. For all of 2005 the PCE Core gained 1.9% versus a 2.3% increase in 2004. Incomes rose 5.4% for all of 2005, almost double most measures of inflation. I continue to expect consumer spending to remain relatively healthy and measures of inflation to decelerate over the intermediate-term.

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Monday Watch

Weekend Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Wal-Mart(WMT) said January same-store sales rose about 4.7%, the biggest January gain in two years.
- Former President Clinton called on Hamas to renounce violence as it prepares to form a government after winning Palestinian parliamentary elections.
- President Bush called on Congress to hold a confirmation vote on US Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr., and lashed out at Democrats for their handling of the judge’s nomination.
- The NFL said it will show eight regular-season games on its cable-tv channel on Thursday and Saturday nights starting next season.
- Morgan Stanley’s(MWD) international chairman Jonathan Chenevix-Trench downplayed the recent departure of four senior investment bankers, saying the firm is in “great shape.”
- Israel said it will cut off contact with the Palestinian Authority unless Hamas, which won last week’s legislative elections, meets four conditions, including acceptance of prior Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements.
- Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said OPEC shouldn’t cut production when the group meets in two days.
- OPEC should leave oil production unchanged, Algeria’s energy minister said.
- Japan’s industrial production rose for a fifth month in December, the longest expansion since 1999, as robust overseas and domestic demand encourages companies to increase output of electronics and motor vehicles.
- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will press US allies today in London to deprive the incoming Hamas-led Palestinian government of financial support unless it abandons terrorism and accepts the existence of Israel.
- Arcelor SA, the world’s second-largest steelmaker, said its board unanimously rejected a $22.5 billion hostile takeover bid by rival Mittal Steel Co., the largest producer of the metal.

Wall Street Journal:
- Citigroup Inc.(C) may bid for General Motors’(GM) finance unit, GMAC.

Washington Post:
- China’s Communist Party introduced economic, educational and medical reform to “help” farmers since their protests have become increasingly violent.
- Some Democrats are using blogs and mass e-mails to denounce members of their own political party for trying to appeal to a broad spectrum of US voters.
- Target Corp.(TGT) operates one of the most advanced crime labs in the US at its headquarters in Minneapolis as part of its efforts to aid local and national law-enforcement agencies.
- The White House may be reluctant to pay for 19 planned NASA shuttle flights and may delay deploying a new generation of manned spacecraft until 2014.

LA Times:
- Sales of new home rose 4.4% in 2005, the highest percentage increase since market researcher DataQuick Information Systems began taking data in 1988.

Seattle Times:
- Microsoft(MSFT) is acquiring Seadragon Software, a Seattle-based company developing technologies that could be used across several of the software giant’s businesses.

Financial Times:
- Microsoft(MSFT) may face new antitrust action from the European Commission which could force it to disclose more information about its Windows operating program.
- The SEC plans to randomly inspect hedge fund managers of businesses it regards as high risk, citing Gene Gohlke, associate director of the SEC’s compliance office.

Independent on Sunday:
- John Lasseter, the creative chief of Pixar Animation Studios(PIXR) told Walt Disney(DIS) that production on “Toy Story 3” will be scrapped.

AFP:
- Ex-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein walked out of his trial in Baghdad after his half-brother was thrown out by the judge.
- Kuwaiti Oil Minister al-Sabah urged OPEC to maintain oil supplies close to a 25-year high when it meets Jan. 31.

Focus:
- German authorities uncovered clues that Iran is expanding an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, increasing concern that the country may have a secret nuclear-weapons program.

Nihon Keizai:
- Hitachi Ltd. may invest $852 million to build a new flat-screen plasma TV panel factory and expand capacity to keep up with rivals.

El Mundo:
- Mexico and the US may be close to an agreement on immigration, Mexican President Vicente Fox said.

Tehran Times:
- Iran will begin drilling for oil and gas in the Caspian Sea by June, citing an Iranian oil official.
- Iran will export 2.6 million barrels of crude oil a day in 2006, citing figures in the latest government budget plan.

Weekend Recommendations
Barron's:
- Had positive comments on (MHP).
- Had negative comments on (PCL) and (AMLN).

Goldman Sachs:
- Reiterated Outperform on (PFE).

Night Trading
Asian indices are +.50% to +1.0% on average.
S&P 500 indicated -.01%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated +.09%.

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Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
(AFL)/.63
(CHKP)/.35
(CMI)/3.11
(EK)/.39
(XOM)/1.44
(GILD)/.53
(KFT)/.53
(MAT)/.48
(PCL)/.34
(SGP)/.08
(SEE)/.74
(SII)/.43
(SYY)/.35
(TSN)/.16
(ZMH)/.83

Upcoming Splits
- (MRBK) 3-for-2
- (CTHR) 5-for-4

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- Personal Income for December is estimated to rise .4% versus a .3% increase in November.
- Personal Spending for December is estimated to rise .7% versus a .3% increase in November.
- PCE Core(M-o-M) for December is estimated to rise .2% versus a .1% gain in November.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian Indices are higher, led by financial, material and technology shares 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.