Weekly Scoreboard*

Indices

• S&P 500 1,770.61 +.51%

• DJIA 15,761.70 +.94%

• NASDAQ 3,919.23 -.o7%

• Russell 2000 1,099.97 +.39%

• S&P 500 High Beta 28.68 +.14%

• Wilshire 5000 18,544.30 +.35%

• Russell 1000 Growth 821.16 -.03%

• Russell 1000 Value 893.10 +.70%

• S&P 500 Consumer Staples 438.69 +.35%

• Morgan Stanley Cyclical 1,388.08 +.25%

• Morgan Stanley Technology 847.93 +.32%

• Transports 7,017.34 -.43%

• Utilities 502.46 -.43%

• Bloomberg European Bank/Financial Services 105.2 -.76%

• MSCI Emerging Markets 41.39 -2.97%

• HFRX Equity Hedge 1,139.86 -.01%

• HFRX Equity Market Neutral 947.74 +.64%

Sentiment/Internals

• NYSE Cumulative A/D Line 193,038 -.95%

• Bloomberg New Highs-Lows Index 108 -92

• Bloomberg Crude Oil % Bulls 20.0 -17.15%

• CFTC Oil Net Speculative Position 299,514 -.89%

• CFTC Oil Total Open Interest 1,736,874 -2.11%

• Total Put/Call .83 -9.78%

• OEX Put/Call 1.34 +35.35%

• ISE Sentiment 102.0 -8.93%

• NYSE Arms .48 -28.35%

• Volatility(VIX) 12.90 -2.86%

• S&P 500 Implied Correlation 39.53 -1.89%

• G7 Currency Volatility (VXY) 8.10 +.25%

• Emerging Markets Currency Volatility (EM-VXY) 9.41 +9.53%

• Smart Money Flow Index 11,684.07 -.84%

• Money Mkt Mutual Fund Assets $2.672 Trillion +.15%

• AAII % Bulls 45.5 +1.1%

• AAII % Bears 21.8 +1.5%

Futures Spot Prices

• CRB Index 274.39 -.21%

• Crude Oil 94.60 -.01%

• Reformulated Gasoline 255.34 +.24%

• Natural Gas 3.56 +1.31%

• Heating Oil 287.16 -.36%

• Gold 1,284.60 -2.35%

• Bloomberg Base Metals Index 189.50 -2.30%

• Copper 325.40 -1.35%

• US No. 1 Heavy Melt Scrap Steel 335.67 USD/Ton unch.

• China Iron Ore Spot 135.90 USD/Ton +.44%

• Lumber 374.70 +1.30%

• UBS-Bloomberg Agriculture 1,390.66 +.12%

Economy

• ECRI Weekly Leading Economic Index Growth Rate 1.80% +10 basis points

• Philly Fed ADS Real-Time Business Conditions Index .1075 unch.

• S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 119.32 +.12%

• Citi US Economic Surprise Index 19.40 +14.1 points

• Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index -12.60 -3.80 points

• Fed Fund Futures imply 36.0% chance of no change, 64.0% chance of 25 basis point cut on 12/18

• US Dollar Index 81.30 +.72%

• Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 138.10 -.48%

• Yield Curve 244.0 +13 basis points

• 10-Year US Treasury Yield 2.75% +13 basis points

• Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet $3.808 Trillion +.22%

• U.S. Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 30.83 +2.06%

• Illinois Municipal Debt Credit Default Swap 197.0 +4.0%

• Western Europe Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap Index 66.48 -3.43%

• Asia Pacific Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap Index 110.96 +3.52%
  

• Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt CDS Index 236.0 +1.17%
  

• Israel Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 110.0 -1.79%

• Egypt Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 683.53 -1.55%

• China Blended Corporate Spread Index 366.0 +2 basis points

• 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.18% +4 basis points

• TED Spread 19.0 -1.25 basis points

• 2-Year Swap Spread 11.75 unch.

• 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -2.75 +1.5 basis points

• N. America Investment Grade Credit Default Swap Index 72.95 -1.93%
  

• European Financial Sector Credit Default Swap Index 106.25 -8.88%
  

• Emerging Markets Credit Default Swap Index 299.97 +8.03%
  

• CMBS AAA Super Senior 10-Year Treasury Spread  to Swaps 109.0 -1.0 basis point

• M1 Money Supply $2.654 Trillion -1.08%

• Commercial Paper Outstanding 1,070.30 -1.0%

• 4-Week Moving Average of Jobless Claims 348,300 -8,000

• Continuing Claims Unemployment Rate 2.2% unch.

• Average 30-Year Mortgage Rate 4.16% +6 basis points

• Weekly Mortgage Applications 449.60 -7.05%

• Bloomberg Consumer Comfort -37.90 -.3 point

• Weekly Retail Sales +3.40% +20 basis points

• Nationwide Gas $3.21/gallon -.06/gallon

• Baltic Dry Index 1,593 +5.92%

• China (Export) Containerized Freight Index 1,013.52 +.19%

• Oil Tanker Rate(Arabian Gulf to U.S. Gulf Coast) 35.0 +7.69%

• Rail Freight Carloads 264,264 +1.16%

Best Performing Style

• Large-Cap Value +.7%

Worst Performing Style

• Mid-Cap Growth -.4%

Leading Sectors

• Software +3.3%

• Networking +2.7%

• Banks +2.5%

• I-Banks +2.3%

• Defense +2.0%

Lagging Sectors

• Papers -2.3% 

• Disk Drives -3.1%

• Hospitals -4.2%

• Homebuilders -4.2%

• REITs -4.3%

Weekly High-Volume Stock Gainers (35)

• ENDP, PMC, BEAT, BCOR, GHDX, AEIS, GTI, DWRE, ININ, AOL, KOP, AWAY, OPEN, CLDT, FNP, IMPV, ANEN, ABMD, ACIW, SQI, ESC, VCLK, SYKE, EXH, VSI, DATA, IPGP, TPH, JOE, RRGB, EFSC, VMC, PBH, RHP and MRC

Weekly High-Volume Stock Losers (48)

• LPX, PHH, HPT, POWR, HTZ, IGT, EPAY, ANF, CHTR, CNQR, THO, WFM, WAC, VRSK, GVA, FURX, HNT, PIKE, ABCO, CSU, THC, GSVC, MYRG, FF, ITMN, WRLD, FWM, BPI, AGIO, BGC, SWM, LXU, IMGN, BDE, CKP, TTPH, PPO, LAYN, JCOM, RST, IRG, CARB, NXTM, FSYS, BSFT, FUEL, NSM and QUAD

Weekly Charts
ETFs

• High-Volume Gainers

• High-Volume Losers

Stocks

• High-Volume Gainers

• High-Volume Losers

*5-Day Change

Stocks Surging into Final Hour on Better US Economic Data, Short-Covering, Investor Performance Angst, Financial/Biotech Sector Strength

Broad Equity Market Tone:

• Advance/Decline Line: Substantially Higher
  

• Sector Performance: Most Sectors Rising
  

• Volume: Below Average

• Market Leading Stocks: Performing In Line

Equity Investor Angst:

• Volatility(VIX) 13.23 -4.89%

• Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 138.10 +.59%

• Emerging Markets Currency Volatility(VXY) 9.40 -.11%

• S&P 500 Implied Correlation 38.73 -5.31%

• ISE Sentiment Index 103.0 -3.74%

• Total Put/Call .84 -7.69%

• NYSE Arms .60 -60.26% 

Credit Investor Angst:

• North American Investment Grade CDS Index 71.99 -2.56%

• European Financial Sector CDS Index 106.25 -3.52%

• Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 66.48 +.67%

• Emerging Market CDS Index 300.04 +4.31%

• 2-Year Swap Spread 11.75 unch.

• TED Spread 18.5 +.25 basis point

• 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -2.75 +1.25 basis points

Economic Gauges:

• 3-Month T-Bill Yield .06% unch.

• Yield Curve 243.0 +11 basis points

• China Import Iron Ore Spot $135.90/Metric Tonne -.73%

• Citi US Economic Surprise Index 19.40 +6.4 points

• Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index -12.60 unch.

• 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.17 unch.

Overseas Futures:

• Nikkei Futures: Indicating +189 open in Japan

• DAX Futures: Indicating +9 open in Germany

Portfolio: 

• Slightly Higher: On gains in my tech/retail/biotech/medical sector longs and emerging markets shorts

• Disclosed Trades: Covered some of my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges

• Market Exposure: Moved to 50% Net Long

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• France’s Bonds Decline With Spain’s After S&P Ratings Downgrade. France’s government bonds declined after Standard & Poor’s lowered the country’s sovereign-credit rating by one level. Spanish bonds dropped following a rally yesterday when the European Central Bank unexpectedly cut its key interest rate to counter a risk of deflation. S&P downgraded France to AA from AA+ with a stable outlook saying the government’s reform of tax, labor markets, products and services won’t raise medium-term growth prospects. 

• European Stocks Climb for Fifth Week as ECB Cuts Rates. Stocks in Europe posted a fifth week of gains, the longest winning streak this year, as the European Central Bank unexpectedly lowered its key interest rate and U.S. economic growth and jobs data beat forecasts. Commerzbank AG posted the largest advance in three months after reporting third-quarter profit that surpassed analysts’ estimates. ArcelorMittal surged the most in almost two years as earnings increased at the world’s biggest steelmaker. Ryanair Holdings Plc slid 5.6 percent after the budget airline forecast its first annual income decline in five years. Finmeccanica SpA dropped 4.8 percent after cutting its full-year outlook. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.4 percent to 322.72 this week.

• China Stocks Fall for Weekly Loss Before Plenum, Inflation Data. China’s stocks fell, capping a weekly loss for the benchmark index, before the start of a Communist Party meeting tomorrow. Technology and agriculture shares slid. Sanan Optoelectronics Co. dropped 3.3 percent, paring this year’s gain to 43 percent. China Cosco Holdings Co. slumped the most in two months after the largest shipping company said an executive director is under investigation. Zhongken Agricultural Resource Development Co. lost the most in two weeks, paring this week’s gain to 17 percent. The government is scheduled to release data on consumer prices and industrial output tomorrow. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.1 percent to 2,106.13 at the close, adding to a 2 percent loss this week.

• Fed’s Lockhart Says Fed Can’t Rule Out QE Tapering Next Month. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said the central bank will consider reducing its bond-buying program at next month’s policy meeting. “I would not take off the table at least consideration at that time,” Lockhart told reporters in Oxford, Mississippi, in response to a question on tapering in December. “The question of changing the mix of accommodative tools ought to be on the table at every meeting for the foreseeable future.”  

• Gold Falls to 3-Week Low. Gold futures for December delivery declined 1.8 percent to settle at $1,284.60 an ounce at 2:01 p.m. on the Comex in New York, extending the week’s drop to 2.2 percent. Earlier, prices touched $1,280.50, the lowest for a most-active contract since Oct. 17.

• Stock Options Among Tax Breaks Democrats Target in Budget Talks. Executive stock options, corporate jets and the tax break enjoyed by hedge-fund managers are among the targets for Democratic lawmakers seeking to negotiate a budget deal by next month. The Democrats’ list of options, obtained by Bloomberg News, sets the stage for a renewed clash with Republicans, who reject proposals to raise revenue as part of an agreement. Democrats say taxes must be on the table as lawmakers seek an annual budget that would replace some of the $1 trillion in automatic spending cuts now in effect. 

• Treasuries Drop Most in 4 Months. “The discussion and the decision of taper is back on the table,” said Dan Heckman, a fixed-income strategist in Kansas City, Missouri, at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, which oversees $112 billion. “They could announce it in December and start in January, that’s a real possibility. This is forcing yields on the long end higher.” The benchmark U.S. 10-year yield rose 14 basis points, or 0.14 percentage point, to 2.74 percent at 12:42 p.m. New York time, Bloomberg Bond Trader data showed.

Fox News:

• Former NBC News Host Dylan Ratigan Has His Insurance Canceled for Much More Expensive Plan. “Thnx Mr. President.” That’s all former MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan had to say to President Barack Obama on Thursday when he announced that the health insurance plan he purchased on the individual market after leaving the news network was being cancelled. The new plan he was eligible would cost him 3.5 times more than his previous plan. “I bought a catastrophic health policy for $170/mo when I left MSNBC,” Ratigan confessed. “Obamacare cancelled the policy. New rate $600/mo. Thnx Mr. President!”

MarketWatch:

• Marc Faber: China could spark a bigger crisis than in 2008.

CNBC: 

• US consumers tapped out as holidays approach. American shoppers have a way of rallying when the holidays roll around. But years after the Great Recession, consumers' budgets remain badly squeezed by flat wages, higher payroll taxes and a weak job market. 

• Surprise! Shutdown may have pushed jobs numbers higher. Friday morning's shockingly high payroll numbers might have been boosted by the government shutdown in October.

Zero Hedge: 

• Consumer Confidence Collapses To Lowest Since Dec 2011 (Biggest Miss Since 2006). (graph)

• October Housing Traffic Weakest In Two Years On "Broad-Based" Housing Market Slowdown. (graph)

• The Stunning Magic Of "New Normal" Hedge Fund Leverage. (graph)

• GREcovery Interrupted: Greek Deflation Worst In 50 Years. (graph)

• BofAML Warns "Treasury Bears Beware". (graph)

• Obama's 'Socialism' Experiment Brought Home.

Business Insider:

• Hedge Funds Just Had Their Best Year Since 2009. The monthly index, which proxies for hedge fund returns across sectors, gained 1.5% last month, which pushed up its year-to-date performance by 7.2%.

Townhall.com:

• Poll: 78% Of Uninsured Not Interested In ObamaCare. A new Gallup poll brings more terrible news for President Obama and his signature health plan. Only 22% of uninsured Americans intend to buy insurance through the ObamaCare exchanges. One of the major selling points for using ObamaCare to disrupt our health care system (that polls showed up to 80% of Americans were satisfied with), was to insure the uninsured. But according to this poll, only a very small minority of that small minority is even interested in being insured.

Washington Post:

• The Insiders: Six reasons Obamacare will only get worse for Democrats. 1) There will be more canceled health insurance plans. 2) If you like your doctor, you can’t keep your doctor. 3) Sticker shock. 4) Obamacare ads. 5) Navigators. 6) Security breaches.

USA Today:

• Israel warns of 'very bad' Iran nuclear deal. Secretary of State Kerry's decision to fly to Geneva comes after signs that global powers and Iran were close to a deal. Speaking before a meeting with Kerry in Jerusalem on Friday, Netanyahu said it appears that the Iranians "got everything and paid nothing." "They wanted relief of sanctions after years of grueling sanctions, they got that. They paid nothing because they are not reducing in any way their nuclear enrichment capability. So Iran got the deal of the century and the international community got a bad deal," Netanyahu said.

Telegraph:

• Hollande approval rating slumps as France downgraded. Approval ratings at record low as debt grade cut from AA+ to AA due to weak economic growth, high unemployment and government spending constraints.  

• Five charts that show the state of the French economy. France's credit rating has been downgraded by Standard & Poor's. We look at the state of the country's economy.

Bear Radar

Style Underperformer:

• Large-Cap Value +.89%

Sector Underperformers:

• 1) Homebuilders -2.43% 2) REITs -1.41% 3) Gold & Silver -1.32%

Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:

• LEN, CST, SLCA, AREX, AVG, NSM, FF, EAC, MSCC, UNXL, TOL, HNT, MTD, MNTX, NVO, BFAM, SWY, UEIC, CUBE, ALJ, POWR, CIB, TSLA, EXR, SAH, POWR, TTS, FF, AREX, EZPW and FUEL

Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:

• 1) TWX 2) ITB 3) IYR 4) SHLD 5) XLU
  

Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:

• 1) FB 2) TSLA 3) WCG 4) WMT 5) DE
  

Charts:

• ETFs Falling on Unusual Volume

• Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume

Bull Radar

Style Outperformer:

• Small-Cap Growth +1.66%

Sector Outperformers:

• 1) Biotech +2.88% 2) Banks +2.59% 3) Hospitals +2.16%
  

Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:

• CSTM, SNTS, BCC, SLXP, ZLTQ, AIRM, OLED, RVBD, LCI, UBNT, HMSY, PCLN, NKTR, HALO, INFI, BAS, SUNE, PCYC, SGMS, GPS, GRPN, LNC, ISIS, ENDP, VCLK, UNM, MET, NVDA, PRU, CXO and SCHW

Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:

• 1) SNTS 2) NBL 3) FE 4) JNY 5) ARAY

Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:

• 1) RVDB 2) GPS 3) GRPN 4) MCD 5) YHOO
  

Charts:

• ETFs Rising on Unusual Volume 

• Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume

Friday Watch

Evening Headlines 
Bloomberg:

• Japanese Households Without Savings Climb to Most Since ’63. The share of Japanese households with no financial assets rose to a record as falling incomes forced people to dig into their savings, highlighting the potential for widening disparities under Abenomics. The proportion reached 31 percent, according to a Bank of Japan survey released in Tokyo yesterday, up from 26 percent a year earlier and the highest since the poll began in 1963. The BOJ surveyed 8,000 households of two or more people aged 20 years or older from June 14 though July 23. 

• China Muni-Bond Stalling Shows Debt Threat as Party Meets. Two years after China started a trial municipal-bond program, plans to take it nationwide have stalled, leaving local authorities reliant on off-budget funding fueled partly by land seizures. While authorities added two provinces to the trial this year, a draft budget proposal authorizing national sales with approved quotas was dropped in June 2012 and has yet to be revived. This year’s municipal-bond issuance is equivalent to less than 1 percent of local-government borrowing as of 2010, the last official tally.

• Asia Stocks Fall on U.S. Stimulus Bets After GDP Quickens. Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index heading for the longest streak of weekly losses in five months, after faster U.S. economic growth fueled concern the Federal Reserve may reduce stimulus sooner than expected. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FMG) sank 4.4 percent after Teck Resources Ltd. sold a stake worth about A$500 million ($473 million) in Australia’s third-biggest iron-ore exporter. Sony Corp., a TV maker that gets 68 percent of sales outside Japan, lost 3.1 percent after the yen yesterday surged against the dollar, curbing the outlook for exporters. Samsung Electronics Co. preferred shares declined 4.8 percent in Seoul after Citigroup Inc. managed the sale of a $350 million stake in the electronics firm. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.5 percent to 139.62 as of 12:34 p.m. in Hong Kong, extending this week’s retreat to 1.1 percent, its third straight weekly loss.

• Indian Rupee Leads Losses in Asian Currencies on Fed Outlook. India’s rupee led losses in Asian currencies this week as overseas investors cut holdings of the region’s stocks on speculation U.S. policy makers will cut stimulus this year. The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index fell 0.1 percent in the five days, following last week’s 0.5 percent drop. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg Oct. 17-18 predicted the Fed would begin paring stimulus in March. 

• Rebar Futures in Shanghai Swing Before Communist Party Plenum. Steel reinforcement-bar futures in Shanghai swung between gains and losses before a key policy meeting in China starting tomorrow that may introduce measures to curb polluting industries. Rebar for May delivery, the most-active contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, rose as much as 0.2 percent and declined as much 0.4 percent before trading at 3,670 yuan ($602) per metric ton at 11:21 a.m. local time.

• Euro Bulls Crack as Odds of Return to 2013 Lows Jump: Currencies. The surprise decision by the European Central Bank to cut interest rates means there’s now about an even chance that the euro, this year’s best performing major currency, erases all of its gains in a matter of months. There is an almost 50 percent probability the euro, which has risen more than 5 percent against the greenback since reaching a 2013 low in April, will give back its increase by mid-2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The odds are the highest in seven weeks and up from 37 percent prior to the ECB lowering its key rate yesterday to a record.

• JPMorgan(JPM) Banker Backed $200 Million Madoff Loan in 2008. A former JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) banker who managed Bernard Madoff’s account said the con man was on track to receive a $200 million loan less than a month before his arrest if the request hadn’t been dropped.

• Fed Anxiety Rises as QE Raises Risk of Loss With Political Cost. The longer the Federal Reserve continues its bond-buying stimulus, the higher the odds it will face a year without any money to give the U.S. Treasury after taxpayers received a record $88.4 billion profit in 2012. The Fed’s financial-crisis actions -- from acquiring debt in the 2008 rescues of Bear Stearns Cos. and American International Group Inc. to three rounds of quantitative easing -- have led so far to the record payments. Now, the prospect of a stronger economy and rising interest rates means the value of the Fed’s bond holdings will fall at the same time its funding costs climb because the central bank pays interest on the excess reserves it holds for banks.

• Obama Said to Favor $10 U.S. Minimum Wage Pushed by Democrats. President Barack Obama supports an effort by congressional Democrats to raise the federal minimum wage to about $10 an hour, higher than the rate he called for earlier this year, according to a White House official.

Wall Street Journal: 

• Yellen Hearing to Stir Up Fed Issues. Senators will press Janet Yellen on a number of issues next week during a confirmation hearing on her nomination to lead the Federal Reserve, but one likely topic is a matter over which she has no control: the vacancy for a Fed vice chairman for supervision. It is up to President Barack Obama to nominate a candidate for the job, a new role within the seven-member Fed board created by the Dodd-Frank financial law more than three years ago. He has yet to do so, frustrating Republican critics and some Democratic supporters of the law.

• Shift on Defense Gives GOP Budget Leverage. As More Republican Lawmakers Back Pentagon Cuts, a Democratic Bargaining Chip Loses Value. 

• Iran Nuclear Deal Expected as Early as Friday. Agreement Will Mark the First Agreement in Decades.

• Boom Years Are Over, Says Russia's Economy Ministry. The Energy-Driven Growth Model Is Exhausted and There Is Little to Replace It.

• Fred Siegel: Fracking, Poverty and the New Liberal Gentry. The energy bonanza has bypassed New York, where socialites and celebrities have come out in force to stop it.

MarketWatch.com:

• Fed’s Dudley blasts big banks for ethical lapses. There is evidence of deep-seated cultural and ethical failures at many large U.S. banks, a top Federal Reserve official said Thursday. William Dudley, the president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, said many large financial institutions display an “apparent lack of respect for law, regulation, and the public trust.”

• Three things that could trigger a near-term correction: B. of A. Merrill Lynch.

CNBC: 

• Get ready for the Obamacare fight in 2014. 

• Why small caps might be signaling bigger problems: Pro. Selling that started in small caps has spread to the major indexes, and now the S&P 500 and Dow are both signaling a possible broader selloff. Paul LaRosa, chief market technician at Maxim Group, points out that the Dow and the S&P 500 both had "outside days" Thursday.

Zero Hedge: 

• Obama: "I Am Sorry" Americans Will Lose Their Existing Health Plan Because Of Obamacare.

• David Stockman Blasts, Brace For "The Explosion Of The Mother Of All Bubbles".

• UBS Warns The Fed Is Trapped.

• Does The CIA Pay AT&T $10 Million A Year To "Surrender" Phone Logs?

• Which America Do You Live In? – 21 Hard To Believe Facts About 'Wealthy America' And 'Poor America'.

Business Insider:

• The World's Most Powerful Storm Slams Into The Philippines.

• John Kerry Warns Of A Third Intifada If Israel Doesn't Back Down.

The Blaze:

• Two Major Fact Checkers Are Saying President Obama Isn’t Telling You the Full Truth. As the White House flails to defend President Barack Obama’s discredited pledge about keeping your old insurance even under Obamacare, it’s not just Republicans pointing out that the administration has being less than honest when explaining what it really meant. On Thursday, The Washington Post’s Fact Checker gave Obama and White House press secretary Jay Carney three out of four “Pinocchios” for blaming the insurance companies, rather than the new health care law, for the growing number of cancellation letters. On Wednesday, the Pulitzer-winning PolitiFact website gave Obama its highest ranking for dishonesty, “Pants on Fire,” for his tortured defense earlier this week of what he really meant when promising no one would lose their current plan.

Reuters: 

• Exclusive: Snowden persuaded other NSA workers to give up passwords - sources. Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden used login credentials and passwords provided unwittingly by colleagues at a spy base in Hawaii to access some of the classified material he leaked to the media, sources said. 

• Priceline.com(PCLN) posts higher profit, names new CEO. Priceline.com, the online travel agency known for its name-your-own price auction, on Thursday said quarterly profit rose and named a new president and chief executive as of next year. 

• Nvidia's(NVDA) current-quarter revenue misses Street. Nvidia Corp gave a revenue forecast for the current quarter that was shy of Wall Street's expectations as the graphics chipmaker faces tough competition in tablets and a slow personal computer market. With the personal computer industry losing steam, Nvidia has expanded its graphics chips into mobile devices, but it is meeting stiff competition from Qualcomm In c and other rivals. In the third quarter, revenue from Nvidia's Tegra mobile business fell 54 percent and revenue from its PC graphics chip business declined 2 percent.

• U.S.-based stock funds have $2 bln outflow -Lipper.

Telegraph:

• It could be time to prick the housing bubble. The Bank of England must find a way of slowing demand without bringing the economic recovery to a halt.

Economic Daily News:

• Cathay Pacific Sees Cargo Volume Slowing Next Year. Co. doesn't expect performance of its cargo unit to return to "stable growth" this and next year, citing James Woodrow, director for cargo.

Jiefang Daily:

• Shanghai Urges Strengthening of Property Curbs. Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong aks the city to "strictly" implement property curb policies, strengthen market supervision and ensure healthy and orderly development of the city's real estate industry, citing Yang speaking at a government meeting. The city should strictly carry out differentiated credit, tax polices and restrictions on home purchases, according to the meeting.

Evening Recommendations

• None of note

Night Trading

• Asian equity indices are -1.0% to -.5% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 138.0 +.5 basis point.

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 107.25 -1.0 basis point. 

• FTSE-100 futures -.47%.

• S&P 500 futures +.21%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.22%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate

• (CVC)/.12

• (COV)/.90

• (EBIX)/.33

• (HMSY)/.22

• (MINI)/.31

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST

• The Change in Non-farm Payrolls for October is estimated at 120K versus 148K in September.

• The Unemployment Rate for October is estimated to rise to 7.3% versus 7.2% in September.

• Average Hourly Earnings for October are estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.1% gain in September.

• Personal Income for September is estimated to rise +.3% versus a +.4% gain in August.

• Personal Spending for September is estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.3% gain in August.

• The PCE Core for September is estimated to rise +.1% versus a +.2% gain in August.

9:55 pm EST

• Preliminary Univ. of Mich. Consumer Confidence for November is estimated to rise to 74.5 versus 73.2 in October.

Upcoming Splits

• (VXX) 1-for-4

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Bernanke speaking, Fed's Williams speaking, Fed's Lockhart speaking,   China Trade Balance, USDA Crop Report, China Inflation Data and the (OC) investor day could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are lower, weighed down by technology and industrial 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 day.