Stocks Higher into Final Hour on Short-Covering, Bargain-Hunting, US Election Hopes, Tech/Healthcare/Homebuilding Sector Strength

Today's Market Take:

Broad Market Tone:

• Advance/Decline Line: Modestly Higher
  
• Sector Performance: Mixed
• Volume: Light
• Market Leading Stocks: Performing In Line

Equity Investor Angst:

• VIX 18.26 +3.81%
• ISE Sentiment Index 113.0 -22.6%
• Total Put/Call .81 -.10%
• NYSE Arms .90 -30.66%

Credit Investor Angst:

• North American Investment Grade CDS Index 96.84 bps -.72%
• European Financial Sector CDS Index 174.51 bps +1.26%
• Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 113.86 bps +3.93%
• Emerging Market CDS Index 235.54 bps -2.26%
• 2-Year Swap Spread 9.5 -.25 basis point
• TED Spread 22.0 unch.
• 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -25.75 -.25 basis point

Economic Gauges:

• 3-Month T-Bill Yield .09% unch.
• Yield Curve 141.0 -2 basis points
• China Import Iron Ore Spot $120.50/Metric Tonne +.33%
• Citi US Economic Surprise Index 52.80 -3.8 points
• 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.47 -1 basis point

Overseas Futures:

• Nikkei Futures: Indicating +13 open in Japan
• DAX Futures: Indicating +10 open in Germany

Portfolio:

• Higher: On gains in my tech, biotech, medial and retail sector longs
• Disclosed Trades: Covered some of my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges, covered some of my (EEM) short, added to my (AAPL) long
• Market Exposure: Moved to 75% Net Long

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• German Yield Falls Below Zero on Greece Vote; Spanish Bonds Drop. German government bonds rose, pushing two-year note yields below zero for the first time in two months, as Greece prepared for a vote as soon as this week on austerity measures needed to keep the nation in the euro. Ten-year bund yields fell to the lowest level in more than five weeks as Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras struggled to win political support for the measures needed to assure the country’s financial lifeline. Spanish bonds declined for a second day after a report showed jobless claims rose the most in nine months in October. The country is scheduled to sell a combined 4.5 billion euros ($5.75 billion) of debt with maturities of up to 20 years this week. “The market is clearly in a more negative sentiment and we can see Spanish yields creeping higher again,” said Allan von Mehren, chief analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen. Greece is “approaching a more decisive phase again and investors will look for safety until we get past those hurdles,” he said.
• Italy Said to Rebuff Bad Bank Plan That May Boost Sovereign Tie. Italian Treasury officials rejected proposals to create a so-called bad bank for the non-performing loans of the nation’s lenders amid concern the plan would strengthen the link between sovereign and bank debt, said people with knowledge of the matter. At least three restructuring advisers held talks with government officials about a bad bank that Italy could fund without seeking external aid, said the people, who declined to be identified because the discussions were private. The bad bank could hold 30 billion euros ($39 billion) to 100 billion euros of assets and lenders would receive government bonds in return for their bad loans, according to one person.
• Italian GDP to Shrink as Unemployment Gains, Istat Says. The Italian economy won’t start recovering until the second half of 2013 as foreign demand fails to offset the effect of a decline in household spending, the national statistics institute said. Gross domestic product will shrink 2.3 percent in 2012 and 0.5 percent in 2013, Rome-based Istat said today in an e-mailed report. In May, Istat projected a 1.5 percent contraction this year and a 0.5 percent expansion next. Household consumption will fall 3.2 percent in 2012 and 0.7 percent in 2013, Istat said today. The euro region’s third-biggest economy will experience an “easing of unfavorable pressures and a modest recovery in the second half” of next year, according to the report. Still, household “spending will remain negative due to the persistent difficulties in the labor market.” Italy’s jobless rate will rise to 10.6 percent this year, before climbing to 11.4 percent in 2013, Istat said. Its GDP projections are subject to downward revisions should “global trade slow down and tensions on financial markets sharpen,” the statistics agency said. 
• World-Beating Euro Imperiled by Biggest Loan Drop Since ’09. The euro’s three-month rally against all but one of its major peers is imperiled by a deepening credit crunch for European companies that adds to the risk of another recession as the region’s counterparts recover. The currency has weakened 3.1 percent versus the dollar from a four-month high on Sept. 17 as small and medium-sized companies that Deutsche Bank AG says generate as much as 70 percent of the economy are starved of credit. Loans from European banks slumped 0.8 percent in September from a year earlier. The last time lending contracted that much, in October 2009, the euro fell 5.8 percent in the following three months.
• Breaking: Gallup to Show Romney, Obama in Dead Heat. Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport tells Bloomberg Businessweek that the release of Monday’s tracking poll, set for 1 p.m., will show Mitt Romney leading President Obama 49 percent to 48 percent among likely voters nationally. This is the first tracking poll released since Hurricane Sandy and is notable for the strong movement to Obama.
• U.S. Debt Risk Soars as Election Anxiety Fuels Fiscal Cliff Woes. The cost of insuring U.S. Treasuries jumped by the most in three years before tomorrow’s presidential election on concern a failure to tackle the so-called fiscal cliff will tip the world’s largest economy into recession. Credit-default swaps on U.S. government debt rose as much as seven basis points to 37, and cost 35 basis points at 11:30 a.m. in New York, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the biggest increase since at least 2009 when Bloomberg began tracking the data. As Americans prepare to vote for President Barack Obama or Republican Mitt Romney, Group of 20 finance ministers pressed the U.S. to prevent the $600 billion in tax increases and government spending cuts set to occur unless Congress can reach a budget compromise by the end of the year.
• Apple Sells 3 Million IPads in Debut Fueling Optimism. Apple Inc. said it sold 3 million units of its iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad during the debut weekend, a sign that the new devices can help the company withstand accelerating competition in the tablet market. “Demand for iPad mini exceeded the initial supply and while many of the pre-orders have been shipped to customers, some are scheduled to be shipped later this month,” Cupertino, California-based Apple said today in a statement.
• Michigan Couple Stole GM(GM) Secrets for Chinese, U.S. Says. A former General Motors Co. (GM) engineer and her husband stole trade secrets of the automaker’s related to hybrid-car technology to help develop such vehicles in China, a U.S. prosecutor said at the beginning of their trial.

Wall Street Journal: 

• Election 2012: Streaming Coverage. 
• Wave of Death Hit New York Enclave. As superstorm Sandy barreled toward New York City, Jack Paterno, who got around in a wheelchair, stayed put in the low-lying neighborhood of Midland Beach. Nearby family members assumed the storm wasn't going to be so bad. But when it hit, a wall of water submerged Mr. Paterno's one-story bungalow in a matter of minutes.
• Bomb Blasts Rock Bahrain's Capital. A series of bomb blasts in Bahrain's capital killed two people Monday, authorities said, a sign that some factions within the opposition may be increasingly turning to violence in the nearly 21-month uprising against the Gulf nation's Western-backed rulers.
• Intense Fighting Erupts in Syrian Capital. Palestinian supporters and opponents of Syria's regime got swept up in intense fighting in Damascus Monday while rival rebel groups clashed over control of a border crossing with Turkey, activists said.

CNBC:

• Middle Class Worse Off Than You Think: MIT Professor. 
• Natural Gas Could Be Bigger Than the Internet, Welch Says. Too much regulation is standing in the way of the key to America's energy future and in turn its economic growth, former General Electric Chairman Jack Welch said on CNBC. Removing barriers to developing natural gas is every bit as important as resolving the "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax increases that looms ahead, the head of the Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University said in a "Squawk Box" interview. "We have a chance in this country to make this the American century," Welch said. "This gas thing is huge. The gas that we have found is in the first inning — it's like the Internet in 1990. This is the first inning of the great American century."
• Is Asia Planting the Seeds of the Next Financial Crisis? Asia’s economies may still be booming, but a worrying amount of private sector credit is laying the groundwork of the next financial crisis, according to a new research by Capital Economics.

Zero Hedge: 

• How Canada Became Spain's Best Friend; Or Why The ECB Does Not Need To Haircut Toxic Spanish Bonds. 
• Meet The French Major Whose Spanish "A" Rating Keeps The ECB €17 Billion Margin Call Away. 
• Service ISM Posts First Miss And Decline In 3 Months. (graph) 
• Peripherals Plunge As Swiss/German Safety Sought Once Again. (graphs)

Business Insider: 

• A Large Fire Has Broken Out In Jersey City. 
• US Crashes Out Of The Top 10 In World Prosperity Index. An "unprecedented" decline.
• The Police Can Now Put Hidden Cameras In Your Home Without Your Permission.

Wall Street All-Stars:

• Indicator Update: Dangerous Curves Ahead?

The Blaze:

• The Most Devastating Anti-Obama Election Video of 2012? You Decide. (video)

RasmussenReports: 

• Daily Presidential Tracking Poll. The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows Mitt Romney attracting support from 49% of voters nationwide, while President Obama earns the vote from 48%. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate, and one percent (1%) remains undecided.

Reuters: 

• Copper hits 2-month low as U.S. election, China in focus.

Telegraph:  

• UK services sector slows to 22-month low: reaction. Growth in the UK services sector grew in October, but the pace has slowed to an almost two-year low, according to "disappointing" official data. We look at analyst reaction to the figures. 

Bear Radar

Style Underperformer:

• Large-Cap Value -.05%

Sector Underperformers:

• 1) Gaming -2.22% 2) Utilities -1.65% 3) Gold & Silver -.60%
  

Stocks Faling on Unusual Volume:

• TWC, LBTYA, PWE, LRE, EBIX, PCYC, WAC, OCN, ENDP, NKA, ETR, NSM, CHTR, MHP, PLL and EQIX

Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:

• 1) SYY 2) MCO 3) CI 4) MPC 5) OCN
  

Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:

• 1) CCC 2) AVP 3) GM 4) ETR 5) TWX
  

Charts:

• ETFs Falling on Unusual Volume
• Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume

Bull Radar

Style Outperformer:

• Small-Cap Growth +.39%

Sector Outperformers:

• 1) Coal +1.90% 2) Disk Drives +1.80% 3) Networking +1.51%
  

Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:

• EGHT, WNC, PDFS, CBEY, INFN, NTE, BMRN, GNRC, RIG, BRKR, ROK, SINA, KBW, BCO, DRIV, HUN and MTZ

Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:

• 1) MPEL 2) NE 3) HES 4) MDVN 5) ESRX
  

Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:

• 1) DOV 2) MDF 3) TGT 4) LMT 5) NRG

Charts:

• ETFs Rising on Unusual Volume 
• Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume

Monday Watch

Weekend Headlines 
Bloomberg: 

• Euro Area Resolve for Single Currency Faces Greek Test. European leaders’ determination to keep Greece in the euro area will be tested this week as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras struggles to secure political support for measures to assure the country’s financial lifeline. Samaras pledged yesterday that the raft of wage and pension cuts in the latest austerity package will be the last and that Greek society won’t tolerate any more, according to comments made to lawmakers of his New Democracy party. The first parliamentary vote in Athens may come as early as Nov. 7. “The Greek risk could come to a head this week,” Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank AG, wrote in a Nov. 2 note. “Greece matters as a trigger of potential contagion to the much bigger economies of Italy and Spain.”
• EU Debt Crisis Seen Hindering Closer Trade Ties With Asia. European and Asian leaders will this week discuss a stalled trade agenda between the world’s fastest and slowest-growing regions, as the debt crisis undermines expansion of commercial ties. Europe’s economic woes may exacerbate protectionist tendencies that make it harder to expand trade with its biggest commerce partner at a time when the U.S. and Australia are forging new agreements, according to Fredrik Erixon, head of the European Centre for International Political Economy in Brussels. Apart from a trade deal with South Korea, the 27-member European Union has seen talks lag with China, Japan, India and Southeast Asian countries since 2007. “Europe needs to improve its policy toward the entire Asian region in order to take up a greater part of Asia’s economic expansion, but we’re not really seeing it,” he said by phone. “The train is about to leave the station and Europe certainly isn’t on it.”
• G-20 Tells U.S. to Avoid Fiscal Cliff as Focus Widens. Global finance chiefs pressed the U.S. to avoid harming the fragile world economy with excessive austerity, widening their focus on fiscal challenges beyond concerns over Europe’s debt woes. On the eve of the U.S. presidential election, Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers meeting in Mexico City pushed for swift action to prevent the $607 billion in tax increases and spending cuts that will hit in January unless lawmakers act. As President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney tussle for the White House, the fear of foreign officials is that failure to limit the damage of the so-called fiscal cliff would tip the world’s largest economy into recession and drag their countries down with it.
• Chanos: Still Shorting China Bank Shares. (video)
• China’s Stocks Drop on Data Before Leadership Change, U.S. Polls. China’s stocks fell for the first time in five days as investors assessed reports on China’s non- manufacturing industries before a leadership transition and the U.S. presidential election this week. Jiangxi Copper Co. led declines for metal producers after a gauge of raw materials slid by the most in a month on Nov. 2. PetroChina Co., the biggest energy producer, dropped after Shanghai-based commodity researcher C1 said China may cut fuel prices on Nov. 15 by 310 yuan a ton.
• China Probes Wen’s Family Wealth After NYT Story, SCMP Says. China began a probe of Premier Wen Jiabao’s wealth at his request after the New York Times reported his relatives had amassed at least $2.7 billion of assets, the South China Morning Post reported today. The premier called for a formal inquiry in a letter to the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee, of which he is a member, the newspaper said, citing unidentified people. Conservative party elders who dislike Wen’s more liberal stance have called on him to explain the New York Times’s reporting, the sources said, according to the South China Morning Post.
• H.K. Used Home Sales Fall on Non-Locals Tax. The number of property transactions recorded at Hong Kong’s 10 largest estates on the weekend fell to the lowest level since January as a tax on non-local buyers imposed last month curbs investors’ interest.
• Sharp Default Odds Seen at 94.9% as Panasonic Cut: Japan Credit. Sharp (6753) Corp.’s bond risk is signaling a 94.9 percent chance of default in five years as the yen near postwar highs swells losses at Japanese electronics companies, prompting Standard & Poor’s to cut Panasonic Corp. (6752)’s rating. The cost of insuring 1 billion yen ($12.4 million) of Sharp’s debt for five years rose by 125 million yen in the past month to 680 million yen in advance and 10 million yen annually, according to data provider CMA. Credit-default swaps of Panasonic and Sony Corp. (6758) have also surged, with contracts pricing in a non-payment risk of about 30 percent.
• Hedge Funds Reduce Bullish Bets Most in Five Months: Commodities. Hedge funds cut bullish wagers on commodities by the most since June as prices retreated to a three-month low on mounting concern that Europe’s debt crisis will worsen and U.S. growth slow. Money managers reduced combined net-long positions across 18 U.S. futures and options in the week ended Oct. 30 by 11 percent to 1.05 million contracts, the lowest since July 10, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Copper holdings fell to an eight-week low, and gold wagers are now the smallest since September. Gasoline bets declined for a fourth week, and those in oil reached the lowest level in four months as Hurricane Sandy forced U.S. East Coast refineries to shut.
• Rebels Bomb Syrian Army Headquarters and Seize Oilfield in East. A bomb exploded yesterday near the Syrian army’s headquarters in Damascus in an attack claimed by rebel forces that also were said to have seized control of an oilfield in the east. The blast occurred near an officers’ club and close to the government workers’ union parking lot, according to Dubai-based television network Al Arabiya. Syrian state TV said several people were injured in the attack, which the government blamed on “terrorists.” Two of the 12 union members hurt by shattered glass were in critical condition, the Associated Press reported, citing union chief Mohammad Azouz.

Wall Street Journal: 

• Election 2012: Streaming Coverage.
• Votes of Independents Could be Key. The Republican nominee is leading among independent voters 47% to 40%, in a new national Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. Independents accounted for about 14% of likely voters in the Journal survey.
• Media Firms Signal Sluggish Ads. Warning signs from several big advertising companies late last month about a significant slowdown in ad spending puts the spotlight on U.S. media-company earnings due this week.
• Health-Care Law Spurs a Shift to Part-Time Workers. 
• Obama's Progressive Gamble. He bet his Presidency on expanding government because that's who he is.
• Sheldon G. Adelson: I Didn't Leave the Democrats. They Left Me. There is an anti-Israel movement among the rank and file, and the party no longer appears to value self-reliance, charity and accountability.

Fox News:

• Germany's Roesler: Greek Debt Relief Would Hurt German Budget - Report. German Economics Minister Philipp Roesler rejects having official creditors renounce claims on Greece's debt, arguing this would blow a hole into Germany's budget and potentially endanger the country's top credit rating. Mr. Roesler, of the business-friendly FDP party in Germany's center-right governing coalition, told business magazine Wirtschaftswoche that Greek debt forgiveness from official creditors "would ultimately also bleed through to the federal budget and this gap" would need to be filled. Furthermore, Germany "itself can't miss its [budgetary] targets, rather must remain an anchor of stability and solidity in the euro zone." 
• Exclusive: Security officials on the ground in Libya challenge CIA account. (video) Despite a carefully narrated version of events rolled out late this week by the CIA claiming agents jumped into action as soon as they were notified of calls for help in Benghazi, security officials on the ground say calls for help went out considerably earlier -- and signs of an attack were mounting even before that. The accounts, from foreign and American security officials in and around Benghazi at the time of the attack, indicate there was in fact a significant lag between when the threat started to show itself and help started to arrive.

Business Insider:

• Hoboken Pier Suffered 'Overwhelming' Devastation. (video) 
• A Full On The Ground Look At Hurricane Sandy's Local Devastation. (pics) 
• There's Another Financial Crisis That's Just As Dangerous As The Sovereign Debt Crisis. 
• RED HOOK: 'It's So Depressing, People Don't Know What To Do'. (pics)
• Sheryl Sandberg And Other Facebook(FB) Execs Have Started Selling Stock. 
• MELTDOWN COMING: Canada Is Bleeding Private Sector Jobs, And Its Housing Market Is Tanking. 
• A Big Change In This Poll Question Is Great News For Mitt Romney. In the new poll, 43% of likely voters surveyed said that the nation's economy would only get better if Romney was elected. Only 34% said the same would happen if Obama is re-elected, a significant change from August, when the president had a slim lead on the issue. Moreover, voters don't hold a very positive view of the nation's economy. Only 28% of those surveyed say the nation's economic conditions are good, compared with 71% that say they are poor. That's a worse reading for the economy from a CNN/ORC poll taken in early September, when 32% said it was good and 68% rated it as poor.
• China's HSBC Services PMI Slips. (graph) 
• Trillions Of Dollars Worth Of Stocks May Have Been Damaged By Hurricane Sandy.
• It May Take Months To Get The NYC Commuter Trains Back To Normal. 
• DEAR TRADERS: The 'Biggest Political Risk' In The World Is Looking More And More Possible.

Zero Hedge: 

• After The Flood Comes The Freeze: "Tens Of Thousands Need Housing" Says Cuomo, As Nor'Easter Approaches.
• Step Aside Apple Line, Here Comes The Gas Line: Photo Album Of A Nation Waiting, Waiting, Waiting. 
• Friday Humor: The ECB Explains What A Ponzi Scheme Is; Awkward Silence Follows. 
• Syrian Tanks Enter Golan Heights DMZ, Israel Military Warns. 
• Is This Why Markets Can't Catch A Bernanke Bid? (graph)
• Job Creation Under Barack Obama: Less Than Meets The Eye? (graph) In summary: while those in the 55-69 age group have gained nearly 4 million jobs under President Obama, everyone else has lost just over 2.5 million. 
• China 'Addicted To Credit'.
• Is A 15%-Plus Devaluation Coming For Spain And Greece?
• Spanish Banks May Face €17 Billion Margin Call As ECB Found To Lie About Collateral Haircuts.

CNBC:  

• GM(GM) Badly Lags Ford(F) in Europe Restructuring. 

CNN:

• I'm Young, Female and... Voting for Romney.

Forbes: 

• Obama Knew by 2PM on September 12 at the Latest but Invented a False Narrative Nevertheless. The American people must believe in the veracity and forthrightness of their commander in chief. Barack Obama concurs (November 2, New York Times): “You do want to be able to trust your president. You want to know that the president means what he says, and says what he means. And after four years as president, you know me.” We’ll we may know more than we wish to.

Rasmussen Reports:

• Daily Presidential Tracking Poll. The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows the race tied with President Obama and Mitt Romney each attracting support from 49% of voters nationwide.

Reuters:  

• Utilities feel heat as 1.9 mln still dark after Sandy. About 1.9 million homes and businesses remained in the dark on Sunday as pressure mounted on power companies to restore electricity to areas hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy nearly a week ago. 
• Libyan militiamen set Tripoli security HQ on fire, loot shops. Libyan militiamen set a security headquarters building on fire on Sunday in central Tripoli and looted it as fighting raged with a rival armed militia. Government-aligned fighters also looted shops in the Zawiya Street area which was strewn with goods and debris.
• Mail-in ballots: the hanging chads of 2012?

USA Today:

• Q&A: Looming small business tax hike explained.

Telegraph: 

• China's economic destiny in doubt after leadership shock. The forces of reaction and economic folly threaten to prevail in China. The long political arm of Jiang Zemin has reached out from the shadows to thwart reform, with huge implications for Asia and the world.

WirtschaftsWoche:

• The euro group of finance ministers is considering forcing the implementation of reforms in Greece even if the country's parliament hasn't approved them. 
• Thomas Mayer, former Deutsche Bank AG chief economist, said Europe should not give many more credit to finance Greece's budget, citing Mayer. The agreed EUR71b in aid that has not yet been paid out should be used to stop a potential Greek banking collapse. Greece's banks should be transferred to the ESM and made into EU banks to prevent them from being used as "money machines" for the Greek state, said Mayer.

DPA:

• German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe needs "a long breath" of five years and more until the currency and economic crisis in the region has been overcome, citing Merkel. Large, structural changes needed to restore euro-area confidence among investors and create economic momentum. Europe needs "rigor" to convince the world that it's worth investing in Europe, Merkel said.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung:

• European Central Bank Governing Council member Erkki Liikanen urged shareholders and creditors to take over losses at distressed banks, citing an interview with Liikanen. Still risk in the banking system that profits stay at banks while losses are assumed by taxpayers, he said.

Handelsblatt:

• A majority of the 15 economists from the ECB shadow council said it is "too early" for a second debt cut for Greece. It would send a "wrong signal" to other countries with an aid program, citing Jose Alzola, who works for the monetary policy advisory firm Observatory Group.

Kyodo:

• Mazda China Oct. Sales Fall 45% y/y to 9,511 Vehicles.

China Securities Journal:

• China's economic situation won't be "optimistic" in 2013 as exports face "large pressure" and government-led investment can't last, citing Xia Bin, a researcher with the State Council's Development Research Center.

Weekend Recommendations

Barron's:

• Made positive comments on (ELY), (CSX) and (BK).
• Made negative comments on (RDN).

Night Trading

• Asian indices are -.50% to unch. on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 118.0 unch.
• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 90.5 -3.25 basis points.
• FTSE-100 futures -.35%.
• S&P 500 futures +.23%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures +.28%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate 

• (HUM)/2.05
• (ROK)/1.32
• (ICE)/1.73
• (SYY)/.50
• (CVD)/.67
• (MDR)/.24
• (CF)/5.75
• (Z)/.07
• (EOG)/1.11
• (ESRX)/.99
• (WRC)/1.15

Economic Releases
10:00 am EST

• ISM Non-Manufacturing for October is estimated to fall to 54.5 versus 55.1 in September.

Upcoming Splits

• (HMST) 2-for-1

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Williams speaking, RBA rate decision and the Robert W. Baird Industrial Conference could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by technology and real estate shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 25% net long heading into the week.

Weekly Outlook

U.S. Week Ahead by MarketWatch (video). 
Wall St. Week Ahead by Reuters.
Stocks to Watch Monday by MarketWatch.
Weekly Economic Calendar by Briefing.com.

BOTTOM LINE: I expect US stocks to finish the week mixed as rising Eurozone debt angst, US "fiscal cliff" concerns and the effects of Hurricane Sandy offset an end to US election uncertainty, bargain-hunting and short-covering. My intermediate-term trading indicators are giving neutral signals and the Portfolio is 25% net long heading into the week.