Bloomberg:
- The Iraqi government’s acceptance of responsibility for security and law enforcement of the province of Al-Muthanna is an important step towards sovereignty, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said.
- Advanced Micro Devices(AMD) agreed to buy ATI Tech(ATYT) for $5.4 billion, adding computer-graphics chips to its product lineup.
- Bain Capital, Merrill Lynch and Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts will offer to buy HCA Inc.(HCA), the biggest US hospital operator, for about $21 billion.
- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to Beirut to express US concern over what could become a humanitarian crisis as Israel’s jets struck Hezbollah installations in Lebanon and soldiers advanced in the southern part of the country.
Wall Street Journal:
- More US employers are helping rank-and-file workers to advance their careers as unemployment drops.
Advertising Age:
- Amazon.com(AMZN) plans to introduce a digital-video download service next month.
NY Times:
- The US Homeland Security Dept. is revamping many disaster-relief programs, after fraud and abuse involving as much as $1.4 billion in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
- Hollywood directors, producers and cinematographers are resisting movie studios’ long-predicted shift to digital cameras instead of traditional 35-millimeter film.
NY Post:
- Clear Channel Communications(CCU) is expected to receive a one-year contract to place ads on NYC MetroCards.
Xinhua News Agency:
- China’s President Hu Jintao called for more effective economic controls in the second half and a slowing of “blind growth” in high energy-consuming and polluting industries.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Monday Watch
Weekend Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he might accept a multinational force stationed in Lebanon, where a UN force has been stationed since 1978, as a means of ending the conflict, so long as it is manned by European Union troops and monitors Lebanon’s border with Syria.
- Amvescap Plc(AVZ), manager of the Aim and Invesco funds, agreed to buy financier Wilbur Ross’s buyout company for as much as $375 million.
- China’s economic growth, which reached the fastest pace in a decade in the second quarter, may slow as the government takes steps to clamp down on lending.
- Currency traders are losing interest in the Canadian dollar.
- India’s central bank may increase its overnight borrowing rate for the third time this year as higher fuel prices and an expanding economy threaten to stoke inflation.
- Bill Gross, manager of the world’s biggest bond fund at PIMCO, has history on his side when he predicts the “bull market has begun” for US Treasuries.
- Gold in Asian trading declined amid signs cease-fire talks may be near in the 13-day-old conflict in Lebanon between Israeli and Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces, reducing the metal’s appeal as a haven.
- Copper prices in Shanghai and New York fell amid concerns that demand will slow in China and the US, the world’s biggest users of the metal.
- China’s stock indices slid after the central bank restricted the amount of funds available for lending to rein in economic growth.
Wall Street Journal:
- HCA Inc.(HCA) is in advanced talks to be sold to an investor group for about $21 billion, a deal that may be announced as early as tomorrow.
LA Times:
- Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz is pouring billions of dollars into building projects in Los Angeles, forever changing its face.
NY Times:
- Iranians are concerned about the potential risks of the country’s support for the Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah, and resent seeing the money going abroad.
Business Week:
- Experts weigh in on ways to revive growth at Dell Inc.(DELL). Some ideas: rethink retail and bring back Mike.
Washington Post:
- A Bush administration program to cut utility emissions through a “cap-and-trade” system will clean the air as well as a Clinton-era plan to make aging power plants install pollution controls, citing a study by an independent panel.
- Representatives from Iraq’s religious, ethnic and political factions voiced optimism yesterday in the first meeting of the nation’s reconciliation panel.
San Jose Mercury News:
- Businesses in the Silicon Valley area of northern California added 6,100 workers to their payrolls in June, a quarter of them from the hospitality industry as technology companies are spending more money.
Denver Post:
- The number of workers employed in Colorado reached 2.29 million, surpassing the previous record of 2.27 million in December 2000.
AP:
- A US subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries won a $522 million contract to build 210 railcars for the state of Connecticut.
Financial Times:
- Las Vegas Sands(LVS) plans to invest more than $8 billion in its Macau casino and convention development in the next four-to-six years, citing COO Weidner.
- Large US companies, analysts and fund managers want an end to quarterly earnings guidance, saying it damages shareholders and corporate governance, citing a report by the Business Roundtable Institute of Corporate Ethics.
Reuters:
- Earnings expectations for the second quarter have climbed recently as Reuters Estimates now projects S&P 500 earnings grew 10% in the second quarter, up from an expectation of 9.2% last week.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung:
- SAP AG(SAP) is on course to boost orders and sales even after the company said second-quarter software license sales missed analyst estimates, CEO Kagermann said.
Nihon Keizai:
- Honda Motor will spend $69 million building a plant to make electric motors and other parts for hybrid cars at is Suzuka factory in Japan by 2008.
Weekend Recommendations
Citigroup:
- Upgraded (DELL) to Buy, target $24.
Barron's:
- Had positive comments on (ASH), (EGN), (DOW), (CVX), (LEH) and (ITC).
- Had negative comments on (STN).
Night Trading
Asian indices are -1.50% to -.50% on average.
S&P 500 indicated -.07%
NASDAQ 100 indicated unch.
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/Estimate
- (ACL)/1.16
- (ALTR)/.21
- (AXP)/.74
- (AMLN)/-.45
- (AV)/.12
- (BLS)/.57
- (BRO)/.29
- (CVD)/.53
- (EXP)/1.16
- (HAS)/.07
- (KFT)/.48
- (MRK)/.65
- (PRE)/2.01
- (PBI)/.68
- (PCL)/.36
- (DGX)/.76
- (SNDK)/.44
- (SGP)/.17
- (SLAB)/.33
- (TXN)/.47
Upcoming Splits
- (MRVL) 2-for-1
- (TNC) 2-for-1
Economic Releases
- None of note
Bloomberg:
- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he might accept a multinational force stationed in Lebanon, where a UN force has been stationed since 1978, as a means of ending the conflict, so long as it is manned by European Union troops and monitors Lebanon’s border with Syria.
- Amvescap Plc(AVZ), manager of the Aim and Invesco funds, agreed to buy financier Wilbur Ross’s buyout company for as much as $375 million.
- China’s economic growth, which reached the fastest pace in a decade in the second quarter, may slow as the government takes steps to clamp down on lending.
- Currency traders are losing interest in the Canadian dollar.
- India’s central bank may increase its overnight borrowing rate for the third time this year as higher fuel prices and an expanding economy threaten to stoke inflation.
- Bill Gross, manager of the world’s biggest bond fund at PIMCO, has history on his side when he predicts the “bull market has begun” for US Treasuries.
- Gold in Asian trading declined amid signs cease-fire talks may be near in the 13-day-old conflict in Lebanon between Israeli and Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces, reducing the metal’s appeal as a haven.
- Copper prices in Shanghai and New York fell amid concerns that demand will slow in China and the US, the world’s biggest users of the metal.
- China’s stock indices slid after the central bank restricted the amount of funds available for lending to rein in economic growth.
Wall Street Journal:
- HCA Inc.(HCA) is in advanced talks to be sold to an investor group for about $21 billion, a deal that may be announced as early as tomorrow.
LA Times:
- Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz is pouring billions of dollars into building projects in Los Angeles, forever changing its face.
NY Times:
- Iranians are concerned about the potential risks of the country’s support for the Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah, and resent seeing the money going abroad.
Business Week:
- Experts weigh in on ways to revive growth at Dell Inc.(DELL). Some ideas: rethink retail and bring back Mike.
Washington Post:
- A Bush administration program to cut utility emissions through a “cap-and-trade” system will clean the air as well as a Clinton-era plan to make aging power plants install pollution controls, citing a study by an independent panel.
- Representatives from Iraq’s religious, ethnic and political factions voiced optimism yesterday in the first meeting of the nation’s reconciliation panel.
San Jose Mercury News:
- Businesses in the Silicon Valley area of northern California added 6,100 workers to their payrolls in June, a quarter of them from the hospitality industry as technology companies are spending more money.
Denver Post:
- The number of workers employed in Colorado reached 2.29 million, surpassing the previous record of 2.27 million in December 2000.
AP:
- A US subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries won a $522 million contract to build 210 railcars for the state of Connecticut.
Financial Times:
- Las Vegas Sands(LVS) plans to invest more than $8 billion in its Macau casino and convention development in the next four-to-six years, citing COO Weidner.
- Large US companies, analysts and fund managers want an end to quarterly earnings guidance, saying it damages shareholders and corporate governance, citing a report by the Business Roundtable Institute of Corporate Ethics.
Reuters:
- Earnings expectations for the second quarter have climbed recently as Reuters Estimates now projects S&P 500 earnings grew 10% in the second quarter, up from an expectation of 9.2% last week.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung:
- SAP AG(SAP) is on course to boost orders and sales even after the company said second-quarter software license sales missed analyst estimates, CEO Kagermann said.
Nihon Keizai:
- Honda Motor will spend $69 million building a plant to make electric motors and other parts for hybrid cars at is Suzuka factory in Japan by 2008.
Weekend Recommendations
Citigroup:
- Upgraded (DELL) to Buy, target $24.
Barron's:
- Had positive comments on (ASH), (EGN), (DOW), (CVX), (LEH) and (ITC).
- Had negative comments on (STN).
Night Trading
Asian indices are -1.50% to -.50% on average.
S&P 500 indicated -.07%
NASDAQ 100 indicated unch.
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/Estimate
- (ACL)/1.16
- (ALTR)/.21
- (AXP)/.74
- (AMLN)/-.45
- (AV)/.12
- (BLS)/.57
- (BRO)/.29
- (CVD)/.53
- (EXP)/1.16
- (HAS)/.07
- (KFT)/.48
- (MRK)/.65
- (PRE)/2.01
- (PBI)/.68
- (PCL)/.36
- (DGX)/.76
- (SNDK)/.44
- (SGP)/.17
- (SLAB)/.33
- (TXN)/.47
Upcoming Splits
- (MRVL) 2-for-1
- (TNC) 2-for-1
Economic Releases
- None of note
BOTTOM LINE: Asian Indices are lower, weighed down by commodity and exporting shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.
Weekly Outlook
Click here for The Week Ahead by Reuters
There are several economic reports of note and a number of significant corporate earnings reports scheduled for release this week.
Economic reports for the week include:
Mon. - None of note
Tues. - Consumer Confidence, Existing Home Sales, Richmond Fed Index
Wed. - Fed’s Beige Book
Thur. - Durable Goods Orders, Initial Jobless Claims, New Home Sales
Fri. - Advance 2Q GDP, Advance 2Q GDP Price Index, Advance 2Q Personal Consumption, Advance 2Q PCE Core, 2Q Employment Cost Index, Univ. of Mich. Consumer Confidence
Some of the more noteworthy companies that release quarterly earnings this week are:
Mon. - Alcon(ACL), Altera Corp.(ALTR), American Express(AXP), Avaya(AV), BellSouth(BLS), Hasbro(HAS), Kraft Foods(KFT), Merck(MRK), Pitney Bowes(PBI), Quest Diagnostics(DGX), SanDisk(SNDK), Schering-Plough(SGP), Texas Instuments(TXN), 3M Co.(MMM)
Tues. - Aflac Inc.(AFL), Altria Group(MO), Amazon.com(AMZN), AmerisourceBergen(ABC), AT&T(T), BJ Services(BJS), Boyd Gaming(BYD), Burlington Northern(BNI), Chicago Merc(CME), Chubb Corp.(CB), Colgate-Palmolive(CL), Corning Inc.(GLW), Countrywide Financial(CFC), Diebold(DBD), Energen(EGN), ENSCO(ESV), Flextronics(FLEX), Legg Mason(LM), Lexmark(LXK), Lincare(LNCR), Liner Tech(LLTC), Lockheed Martin(LMT), McDonald’s(MCD), Nabors Industries(NBR), Murphy Oil(MUR), Omnicom Group(OMC), Panera Bread(PNRA), QLogic(QLGC), Smith Intl.(SII), Stanley Works(SWK), United Parcel(UPS), Weyerhaeuser(WY), Whirlpool(WHR), Xilinx(XLNX)
Wed. - Allegheny Tech(ATI), Anheuser-Busch(BUD), Baidu.com(BIDU), Biogen Idec(BIIB), Black & Decker(BDK), Boeing(BA), Cadence Design(CDN), ConocoPhillips(COP), Diamond Offshore(DO), Express Scripts(ESRX), General Motors(GM), Intuitive Surgical(ISRG), Kimberly-Clark(KMB), Lucent Tech(LU), Norfolk Southern(NSC), PF Chang’s(PFCB), Phelps Dodge(PD), Pulte Homes(PHM), Ruth’s Chris(RUTH), Symantec(SYMC), Terex Corp.(TEX), Under Armour(UARM), Wellpoint(WLP), Zimmer Holdings(ZMH)
Thur. - Aetna(AET), American Power(APCC), Andarko Petroleum(APC), Apache Corp.(APA), Beazer Homes(BZH), Boston Scientific(BSX), Bowater(BOW), Bristol-Myers(BMY), CB Richard Ellis(CBG), Celgene(CELG), Chesapeake Energy(CHK), Cleveland-Cliffs(CLF), Comcast(CMCSA), Cummins(CMI), Deckers Outdoor(DECK), Dow Chemical(DOW), Ethan Allen(ETH), Exxon Mobil(XOM), F5 Networks(FFIV), Fortune Brands(FO), Garmin Ltd.(GRMN), Harrah’s(HET), Kellogg(K), Kerr-McGee(KMG), L-3 Communications(LLL), Lear Corp.(LEA), Massey Energy(MEE), MBIA Inc.(MBI), McAfee(MFE), McKesson Corp.(MCK), Monster Worldwide(MNST), Newmont Mining(NEM), Northrop Grumman(NOC), OfficeMax(OMX), OSI Pharma(OSIP), Rackable Systems(RACK), Raytheon(RTN), Royal Caribbean(RCL), Sohu.com(SOHU), Starwood Hotels(HOT), THQ Inc.(THQI), Tidewater(TDW), XM Satellite(XMSR)
Fri. - American Tower(AMT), Baker Hughes(BHI), Centex(CTX), Chevron(CVX), Dolby Labs(DLB), Ingersoll-Rand(IR), Ingram Micro(IM), Multimedia Games(MGAM), Office Depot, Western Digital(WDC), Whole Foods(WFMI)
Other events that have market-moving potential this week include:
Mon. - None of note
Tue. - None of note
Wed. - None of note
Thur. - None of note
Fri. - None of note
There are several economic reports of note and a number of significant corporate earnings reports scheduled for release this week.
Economic reports for the week include:
Mon. - None of note
Tues. - Consumer Confidence, Existing Home Sales, Richmond Fed Index
Wed. - Fed’s Beige Book
Thur. - Durable Goods Orders, Initial Jobless Claims, New Home Sales
Fri. - Advance 2Q GDP, Advance 2Q GDP Price Index, Advance 2Q Personal Consumption, Advance 2Q PCE Core, 2Q Employment Cost Index, Univ. of Mich. Consumer Confidence
Some of the more noteworthy companies that release quarterly earnings this week are:
Mon. - Alcon(ACL), Altera Corp.(ALTR), American Express(AXP), Avaya(AV), BellSouth(BLS), Hasbro(HAS), Kraft Foods(KFT), Merck(MRK), Pitney Bowes(PBI), Quest Diagnostics(DGX), SanDisk(SNDK), Schering-Plough(SGP), Texas Instuments(TXN), 3M Co.(MMM)
Tues. - Aflac Inc.(AFL), Altria Group(MO), Amazon.com(AMZN), AmerisourceBergen(ABC), AT&T(T), BJ Services(BJS), Boyd Gaming(BYD), Burlington Northern(BNI), Chicago Merc(CME), Chubb Corp.(CB), Colgate-Palmolive(CL), Corning Inc.(GLW), Countrywide Financial(CFC), Diebold(DBD), Energen(EGN), ENSCO(ESV), Flextronics(FLEX), Legg Mason(LM), Lexmark(LXK), Lincare(LNCR), Liner Tech(LLTC), Lockheed Martin(LMT), McDonald’s(MCD), Nabors Industries(NBR), Murphy Oil(MUR), Omnicom Group(OMC), Panera Bread(PNRA), QLogic(QLGC), Smith Intl.(SII), Stanley Works(SWK), United Parcel(UPS), Weyerhaeuser(WY), Whirlpool(WHR), Xilinx(XLNX)
Wed. - Allegheny Tech(ATI), Anheuser-Busch(BUD), Baidu.com(BIDU), Biogen Idec(BIIB), Black & Decker(BDK), Boeing(BA), Cadence Design(CDN), ConocoPhillips(COP), Diamond Offshore(DO), Express Scripts(ESRX), General Motors(GM), Intuitive Surgical(ISRG), Kimberly-Clark(KMB), Lucent Tech(LU), Norfolk Southern(NSC), PF Chang’s(PFCB), Phelps Dodge(PD), Pulte Homes(PHM), Ruth’s Chris(RUTH), Symantec(SYMC), Terex Corp.(TEX), Under Armour(UARM), Wellpoint(WLP), Zimmer Holdings(ZMH)
Thur. - Aetna(AET), American Power(APCC), Andarko Petroleum(APC), Apache Corp.(APA), Beazer Homes(BZH), Boston Scientific(BSX), Bowater(BOW), Bristol-Myers(BMY), CB Richard Ellis(CBG), Celgene(CELG), Chesapeake Energy(CHK), Cleveland-Cliffs(CLF), Comcast(CMCSA), Cummins(CMI), Deckers Outdoor(DECK), Dow Chemical(DOW), Ethan Allen(ETH), Exxon Mobil(XOM), F5 Networks(FFIV), Fortune Brands(FO), Garmin Ltd.(GRMN), Harrah’s(HET), Kellogg(K), Kerr-McGee(KMG), L-3 Communications(LLL), Lear Corp.(LEA), Massey Energy(MEE), MBIA Inc.(MBI), McAfee(MFE), McKesson Corp.(MCK), Monster Worldwide(MNST), Newmont Mining(NEM), Northrop Grumman(NOC), OfficeMax(OMX), OSI Pharma(OSIP), Rackable Systems(RACK), Raytheon(RTN), Royal Caribbean(RCL), Sohu.com(SOHU), Starwood Hotels(HOT), THQ Inc.(THQI), Tidewater(TDW), XM Satellite(XMSR)
Fri. - American Tower(AMT), Baker Hughes(BHI), Centex(CTX), Chevron(CVX), Dolby Labs(DLB), Ingersoll-Rand(IR), Ingram Micro(IM), Multimedia Games(MGAM), Office Depot, Western Digital(WDC), Whole Foods(WFMI)
Other events that have market-moving potential this week include:
Mon. - None of note
Tue. - None of note
Wed. - None of note
Thur. - None of note
Fri. - None of note
BOTTOM LINE: I expect US stocks to finish the week higher on mostly positive earnings reports, increased speculation for a Fed “pause”, a calming in Middle Eastern tensions, short-covering and bargain hunting. My trading indicators are giving mostly bearish signals and the Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
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