Portfolio Manager's Commentary on Investing and Trading in the U.S. Financial Markets
Monday, April 30, 2007
Links of Interest
Detailed Market Summary
Quick Summary
Economic Commentary
Movers & Shakers
Today in IBD
NYSE OrderTrac
I-Watch Sector Overview
NYSE Unusual Volume
NASDAQ Unusual Volume
Hot Spots
NASDAQ 100 Heatmap
DJIA Quick Charts
Chart Toppers
Option Dragon
Intraday Chart/Quote
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Monday Watch
Weekend Headlines
Bloomberg:
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- Shares of Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., the nation's biggest maker of the lightweight metal, rose as much as 300% as the company started trading on the Shanghai stock exchange today.
- President Bush said he is gaining new support for immigration overhaul as his administration works with lawmakers in both political parties to try to tackle the issue this year.
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- The Fed’s Yellen said the odds are good for exceptionally strong world growth and that
- It’s a question few in
- Speculators are increasing their purchases of Russian stocks just as six years of gains grind to a halt in the world’s second-largest emerging market.
- The cost of shipping coal and iron-ore is about to decline as the supply of cargo vessels overwhelms demand.
NY Times:
- Citigroup Inc.(C) plans to spend $30 million in two months on a global advertising campaign, the first since it was created almost a decade ago.
- Michael S. Dell, the chairman and chief executive of Dell, who built his business by selling direct to his customers, is now thinking about changing the way the company markets its computers.
- The
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- The Interior Dept. will announce plans on April 30 to permit oil and gas drilling off the
Financial Times:
- News Corp.’s MySpace Web site says 70% of its advertising income now comes from branded advertising, compared with around 30% a year ago.
- Senior Citigroup(C) executives fear the world’s biggest financial services company could become the target of activist hedge funds that would press for it to be broken up.
- DE Shaw, a NY-based hedge-fund firm, may start a private equity fund into which it may place some of its existing holdings.
- Iberdrola SA considers the
- Short-sellers are facing growing structural barriers in their quest to profit from share-price declines, a reversal of fortune that helps explain the heavy losses suffered recently by hedge funds that bet against Amazon.com(AMZN), the internet retailer.
Nikkei:
- Osaka Gas Co. and Yamaha Motor Corp. are jointing developing methane gas vehicles that may be on sale within 3 years.
Commercial Times:
- Liquid-crystal display makers will accelerate price increases of some panels next month because of demand from personal computer makers. Prices of liquid-crystal displays used in computers began rising this month and may climb until the third quarter as Microsoft’s new Windows operating system spurs demand for wider screens, research firm iSuppli Corp. said.
Al-Hayat:
- Total SA plans to invest $2 billion in
Weekend Recommendations
Barron's:
- Made positive comments on (CELL) and US Dollar.
- Made negative comments on (ACP) and (AMZN).
Night Trading
Asian indices are -.50% to +.25% on average.
S&P 500 indicated -.19%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated -.21%.
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
Conference Calendar
Daily Stock Events
Macro Calls
Rasmussen Consumer/Investor Daily Indices
CNBC Guest Schedule
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
- (APC)/.76
- (ATHR)/.21
- (BEAV)/.32
- (CTX)/.63
- (CNA)/1.02
- (CVD)/.60
- (GNW)/.77
- (HLT)/.18
- (HUM)/.40
- (K)/.69
- (LTR)/.97
- (PBI)/.67
- (PPS)/.02
- (RSH)/.13
- (TSN)/.10
- (VZ)/.53
- (VMC)/.80
Upcoming Splits
- None of note
Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- Personal Income for March is estimated to rise .6% versus a .6% gain in February.
- Personal Spending for March is estimated to rise .5% versus a .6% gain in February.
- PCE Core for March is estimated to rise .1% versus a .3% gain in February.
9:45 am EST
- Chicago Purchasing Manager for April is estimated to fall to 54.0 versus 61.7 in March.
10:00 am EST
- Construction Spending for March is estimated to rise .2% versus a .3% gain in February.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Weekly Scoreboard*
Indices
S&P 500 1,494.07 +.66%
DJIA 13,120.94 +1.23%
NASDAQ 2,557.21 +1.22%
Russell 2000 829.70 +.10%
Wilshire 5000 15,051.89 +.61%
Russell 1000 Growth 590.63 +1.02%
Russell 1000 Value 857.66 +.17%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 737.42 +.46%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 1,013.53 +1.51%
Morgan Stanley Technology 600.54 +3.0%
Transports 5,122.39 -1.60%
Utilities 524.38 +.73%
MSCI Emerging Markets 122.75 +.09%
Sentiment/Internals
NYSE Cumulative A/D Line 75,694 unch.
Bloomberg New Highs-Lows Index +355 -48.10%
Bloomberg Crude Oil % Bulls 42.0 +61.5%
CFTC Oil Large Speculative Longs 199,503 -3.4%
Total Put/Call 1.0 +33.3%
NYSE Arms 1.23 +41.4%
Volatility(VIX) 12.45 +3.1%
ISE Sentiment 136.0 +8.8%
AAII % Bulls 39.2 -16.4%
AAII % Bears 38.0 +28.3%
Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 66.46 +3.6%
Reformulated Gasoline 236.13 +10.5%
Natural Gas 7.83 +4.5%
Heating Oil 191.35 +4.5%
Gold 681.80 -2.03%
Base Metals 268.43 -2.0%
Copper 353.25 -2.5%
Economy
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.69% +2 basis points
4-Wk MA of Jobless Claims 332,000 +.8%
Average 30-year Mortgage Rate 6.16% -1 basis points
Weekly Mortgage Applications 653.30 +3.6%
Weekly Retail Sales unch.
Nationwide Gas $2.90/gallon +.04/gallon
US Heating Demand Next 7 Days 34.0% below normal
ECRI Weekly Leading Economic Index 141.60 +.9%
US Dollar Index 81.53 -.1%
CRB Index 314.20 +.7%
Leading Sectors
Oil Service +5.4%
Networking +4.8%
Internet +1.7%
Biotech +1.6%
I-Banks +1.4%
Lagging Sectors
Telecom -1.8%
Steel -1.9%
HMOs -2.2%
Gold -2.5%
Airlines -6.7%
One-Week High-Volume Gainers
One-Week High-Volume Losers
Friday, April 27, 2007
DJIA Finishes at Another All-Time High, Led by Cyclicals
Friday Watch
Late-Night Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Robert “Bo” Collins, founder of the $400 million MotherRock LP hedge fund that collapsed last year, plans to start a new energy trading company next month. The firm will be called 1.618 Group LLC.
- Ritchie Capital Management Ltd. agreed to sell a “significant portion” of the assets in its flagship hedge fund to NY-based Reservoir Capital Group, a step toward returning cash to investors.
- Late payments on subprime mortgages that underlie derivative indexes rose at a slower pace in March, according to Barclays Capital Inc. and Bear Stearns(BSC). A second month of slower increases in late payments of more than 60 days, foreclosures and seized property suggests stabilizing performance for mortgage bonds issued in the past 18 months, according to Barclays.
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- The yen dropped to a record low versus the euro after Japanese consumer prices fell more than expected and industrial production declined.
Financial Times:
- French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy has the support of the leaderships of
- Gao Xiqing, vice chairman of the National Council for Social Security Fund, said
Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
Business Week:
- Cooper Cos.(COO), an optical, surgical and medical-diagnostic products maker trying to turn itself around and seeking a CEO, is a potential takeover target.
- Shares of Metabolix(MBLX), a maker of biodegradable plastic and chemicals, may rise 61% in the next 12 months. Cantor Fitzgerald LP analyst Pamela Bassett said Metabolix’s bioplastics is the only one that can biodegrade in the earth, sea or sewer without incineration or industrial composting. She said the stock will rise to $40 in the next year.
- Shares of Progressive Corp.(PGR), the low-cost auto insurer, are undervalued and will gain on strong earnings, citing Michael Camp, a principal at Northwest Criterion.
Morgan Stanley:
- Reiterated Overweight on (OSIP), target raised to $46.
Night Trading
Asian Indices are -.75% to -.25% on average.
S&P 500 indicated -.14%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated -.20%.
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
Conference Calendar
Daily Stock Events
Macro Calls
Rasmussen Consumer/Investor Daily Indices
CNBC Guest Schedule
Earnings of Note
Company/EPS Estimate
- (BEBE)/.13
- (BKC)/.22
- (CVX)/1.68
- (CVH)/.80
- (CMI)/.94
- (GT)/-.12
- (IR)/.71
- (IRF)/.59
- (ITT)/.68
- (MSTR)/1.28
- (NOV)/1.33
- (GAS)/.98
- (PD)/3.61
- (PCU)/1.88
Upcoming Splits
- None of note
Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- Advance 1Q GDP is estimated to rise 1.8% versus a 2.5% gain in 4Q.
- Advance 1Q Personal Consumption is estimated to rise 3.5% versus a 4.2% gain in 4Q.
- Advance 1Q GDP Price Index is estimated to rise 3.0% versus a 1.7% gain in 4Q.
- 1Q Employment Cost Index is estimated to rise .9% versus a .9% gain in 4Q.
10:00 am EST
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