Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Al-Qaeda’s Heirs. Osama bin Laden is dead. So is much of the influence his organization built with the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. Al-Qaeda, however, lives on through a collection of like-minded Islamist militias holding territory and threatening to redraw the map in the Middle East and North Africa. Inspired by bin Laden’s jihad and hardened by battle, they have capitalized on the security and political vacuum left by the toppling of autocrats in the 2011 Arab Spring. They feed off the area’s sectarian and tribal conflicts, and are united by an ambition to bring new states with strict interpretations of Islamic law to the Arab world. The region’s governments are mired in a battle to fight them, while the U.S. and its allies struggle to form a response.

• Iraqi Forces Search Baghdad Homes as Residents Hoard Food. Iraqi forces searched homes in Sunni Muslim-dominated areas in Baghdad as they prepared to defend the capital from a possible attack by an al-Qaeda breakaway group that captured the biggest city in the north. Army and security forces looked for weapons yesterday and made residents sign papers confirming they don’t belong to armed groups or are providing any with shelter. Military spokesman Qassim Ata said yesterday that the government was conducting pre-emptive operations in the capital.

• Ukraine Says Russia Has 38,000 Troops on Border Amid ‘Invasion’. Russia has amassed as many as 38,000 soldiers on its borders with Ukraine and continues to supply arms and personnel to rebel forces in the eastern part of the country, Ukraine’s National Security Council chief said. Russia has moved about 16,000 troops to Ukraine’s eastern frontier and has another 22,000 in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that President Vladimir Putin annexed in March, Andriy Parubiy told reporters in the capital Kiev today. “The military invasion is continuing,” Parubiy said. “We are dealing with Russian occupiers and weapons and militants are being brought in.” 

• Emerging Market Shares Fall While U.S. Stocks Fluctuate. Emerging market shares fell, while U.S. stocks fluctuated following last week’s drop as escalating violence in Iraq offset takeovers and growth in American industrial output. Treasuries reversed early gains and oil fell from a nine-month high. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index slipped 0.3 percent for a fourth straight loss.

• European Gas Jumps Most Since March as Russia Cuts Ukraine Flows. U.K. and Dutch natural gas prices climbed the most in more than three months as Russia’s pipeline-gas export monopoly OAO Gazprom (GAZP) cut shipments to Ukraine, threatening flows to the European Union. U.K. front-month gas jumped as much as 8.8 percent on ICE Futures Europe, the biggest increase since March 3, the first trading day after Russian President Vladimir Putin got approval from lawmakers to send troops into Ukraine’s Crimea region. Dutch prices rose 10 percent to their highest level since May 12, according to broker data compiled by Bloomberg.

• China Bigger Than U.S. With $14 Trillion in Company Debt. Chinese companies borrow more than their American counterparts as the world’s second-largest economy takes center stage in corporate-debt markets. Borrowers from China had $14.2 trillion in debt at the end of last year, exceeding than every other country including the U.S., which had $13.1 trillion in company obligations, according to a report dated June 15 by Standard & Poor’s. Needs of Chinese issuers will increase to $20 trillion through the end of 2018, a third of the $60 trillion in global funding needs. 

• Puts Abandoned in Calmest Stock Market in Two Decades: Options. For 40 days, the S&P 500 Index has failed to post a gain or loss exceeding 1%, the longest stretch of calm since 1995. That's squashing demand for options that protect against turbulence. For every 100 bullish calls trading on the CBOE in the 10 days through June 11, 80 puts to sell changed hands, the fewest since January. The measure tracking options on individual equities and indexes shows traders abandoning bearish bets as the S&P 500 steadily climbs higher.

• Oil at $125 Seen as Iraq Chaos Brings Price Swings: Opening Line. Brent crude rose as high as $113.28 a barrel in London this morning as Iraq struggles to contain civil war and dismemberment. “Practically speaking, the country has broken apart,” he said. “Geographically we practically have to cross another country to get to Baghdad.” 

• ECB Likely to Refrain From New Measures for Next Months. The European Central Bank is likely to refrain from any new stimulus package in coming months as it reviews lenders’ balance sheets, according to two euro-area central-bank officials familiar with current policy discussions. The effect of any ECB measures could be blunted by the reluctance of banks to increase lending during the assessment, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations aren’t public. The health check is scheduled to end in October. An ECB spokesman said that the Governing Council discusses its policy stance every month.

• Bonds Liquidity Threat Is Revealed in Derivatives Explosion. The boom in fixed-income derivatives trading is exposing a hidden risk in debt markets around the world: the inability of investors to buy and sell bonds. While futures trading of 10-year Treasuries is close to an all-time high, bond-market volume for some maturities has fallen a third in the past year. In Japan’s $9.6 trillion debt market, the benchmark note didn’t trade until midday on two days last week. As a lack of liquidity in Italy caused transaction costs in the world’s third-largest sovereign bond market to jump last month, Lombard Odier Asset Management helped propel an eightfold surge in Italian futures by relying more on derivatives. The shift reflects an unintended consequence wrought by central banks, which have dropped interest rates close to zero and implemented policies such as buying debt to restore demand in economies crippled by the financial crisis. Inefficiencies in the $100 trillion market for bonds may make investors more vulnerable to losses when yields rise from historical lows. “Liquidity is becoming a serious issue,” Grant Peterkin, a money manager at Lombard Odier, which oversees $48 billion, said in a June 11 telephone interview from Geneva. The worry is that when investors try to exit their positions, “there may be some kind of squeeze.”

• Level 3(LVLT) Agrees to Buy TW Telecom(TWTC) in $5.7 Billion Deal.

• SanDisk(SNDK) to Buy Fusion-io(FIO) for $1.1 Billion. 

• BofA(BAC) Fined for Overbilling Ministers, Charities, School Workers. Bank of America Corp., the second-largest U.S. lender, agreed to an $8 million fine and returned almost $90 million to clients of its Merrill Lynch unit who were improperly charged fees over six years. About 6,800 retirement plans for charities, ministers and public-school workers and 41,000 for small businesses paid purchase charges for mutual funds when none was required from 2006 to 2011, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. While Merrill Lynch discovered the improper charges in 2006, it didn’t inform Finra until 2011, according to settlement papers released today.

Wall Street Journal 

• Iraq Government Loses Control of Another Key City. Forces Led by a U.S.-Trained Iraqi Military Commander Give Way to Islamist Fighters. Iraqi government forces led by a U.S.-trained commander lost control of another key northern Iraqi city to Sunni extremists on Monday, triggering warnings from neighboring Turkey that the escalating violence risked opening another front in sectarian fighting. The loss of Tal Afar and the defeat of one of Iraq's top generals underlined the fragility of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government and raised fresh questions about its...
  

• Manhattan Seeing Surge in New Office Construction: Report. Manhattan is experiencing a surge in new office construction that is set to outpace previous years, but whether the economy will generate the office jobs to keep vacancy rates from rising remains a question, according to a new report. Manhattan will add 9 million square feet of new office space between 2013 and 2015, more than two-thirds of it located in three towers – One World Trade Center, 4 World Trade Center and 10 Hudson Yards, according to the report released by the New York Building Congress, an association promoting the construction industry. If realized, that would be the highest amount of new office space built in a three-year period since 1990. The report forecasts about 24.4 million square feet of new office space will be built between 2010 and 2019, up about 26% from the 19.4 million square feet added between 2000 and 2009.

ZeroHedge:

• Call Of Allah Duty: What Happens When Al-Qaeda Captures A Tank. (video)

• Heads, You Lose.

• Homebuilder Confidence Beats; Remains Negative For 5th Month. (graph)

• Industrial Production Beats But Autos Drop 3rd Month In A Row. (graph)

• Empire Fed Hits 4 Year High Despite Tumble In Employee Index. (graph)

ValueWalk: 

• Christine Lagarde: EM To Slow As China Is Doing.

Business Insider: 

• There's A Staggering Humanitarian Crisis On The US Border, And It's Only Going To Get Worse.

• One Glaring Problem With Any US Cooperation With Iran.

• Yahoo(YHOO) Drops 5% After Alibaba Reveals A Significant Drop In Sales Growth.

• Argentina's Stock Market Is Crashing.

• Local Police Are Using Surveillance Tactics The Obama Administration Doesn't Want You To Know About.

• Janet Yellen Is Looking At Charts That Should Make All The Bulls Nervous.

Vanguard:

• 15 Killed in Fresh Borno Village Market Attack. No fewer than 15 people, including traders, were killed, yesterday, when some suspected members of Boko Haram terrorists stormed a local market in Daku village in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State and set ablaze several shops, houses, vehicles and motorcycles.

USAToday:

• Greenpeace loses $5.2 million on currency trading. Greenpeace International has acknowledged losing $5.2 million on a bet the euro would not strengthen against other currencies in 2013— but it did.

Bear Radar

Style Underperformer:

• Large-Cap Growth -.02%

Sector Underperformers:

• 1) Coal -1.50% 2) Airlines -1.22% 3) Gaming -1.13%

Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:

• MDT, KPTI, LVLT, EDN, BT, ALDR, YPF, TAXI, DWA, LAYN, GGAL, BWEN, GULF, VSAT, BMA, SXL, VRTX, TEO, ARSD, RNET, SHEN, IBOC, DORM, CUK and AGIO

Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:

• 1) OIH 2) AMJ 3) ACHN 4) OPK 5) S
  

Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:

• 1) EV 2) CVG 3) GNC 4) RNR 5) SKX 
  

Charts:

• ETFs Falling on Unusual Volume

• Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume

Bull Radar

Style Outperformer:

• Small-Cap Growth +.29%

Sector Outperformers:

• 1) Utilities +2.79% 2) Medical Equipment +2.34% 3) Alt Energy +.87%
  

Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:

• COV, BLUE, TWTC, FIO, WPZ, WMB, LAD, EIGI, NMBL, SPWR, FCN and SUNE

Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:

• 1) CNP 2) FIO 3) MOS 4) ABT 5) LVLT

Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:

• 1) CAB 2) PCLN 3) NFLX 4) COV 5) WMB
  

Charts:

• ETFs Rising on Unusual Volume 

• Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume

Monday Watch

Weekend Headlines 
Bloomberg:

• Iraq Army Tries to Roll Back Sunni Militants’ Advance. Iraq’s military pummeled the positions of Sunni Muslim insurgents who have captured large chunks of territory north of Baghdad, trying to turn back battlefield advances that threaten to split apart the country. The army killed more than 279 “terrorists” with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and destroyed 50 of the group’s vehicles within 24 hours, military spokesman Qassim Ata said in a televised news conference yesterday. “The security situation is improving” and government forces are conducting pre-emptive operations in Baghdad, which is under their control, he said.

• U.S. Should Hit Militants in Iraq, Negroponte Says. President Barack Obama should authorize air strikes “as quickly as possible” to thwart radical Islamist forces advancing toward Baghdad, said former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte. Given the momentum shown by the Sunni insurgents, it is “entirely appropriate” for the U.S. to help Iraq’s government as it marshals its own defense forces, he said. 

• Pro-Russian Rebels Shoot Down Military Plane Killing 49. Pro-Russian rebels shot down a transport plane in eastern Ukraine, killing 49 servicemen and threatening to ratchet up east-west tensions over suspicions President Vladimir Putin is backing the uprising. The killing of the 40 soldiers and nine crew was the most deadly strike on Ukrainian forces since separatists seized government buildings on April 6. The IL-76 aircraft went down as it neared Luhansk airport at 1:10 a.m. local time under anti-aircraft and machine-gun fire, authorities including the Kiev-based Prosecutor General’s Office said today. “All linked to this terrorist action of such scale will be punished, for sure,” Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said on his website, announcing tomorrow as a day of national mourning. “Ukraine needs peace, but terrorists must get a relevant response.” 

• Putin Seeks Paris Landmark as Hollande’s Russia Ties Defy Obama. A stone’s throw from the Eiffel Tower and Paris’s famed Alexandre III bridge, Russia’s Vladimir Putin is putting his mark on the French capital. Construction of a new Russian Orthodox church with five golden domes in central Paris gets under way in the next few weeks, with U.S. and European efforts to slam Putin’s Russia for its incursions into Ukraine doing little to halt its progress. The yet-to-be-named church is being built on a plot of land sold in 2010 to Russia by the French state for 73 million euros ($99 million). The deal was sealed by Former President Nicolas Sarkozy. His successor Francois Hollande’s government says it’s “determined” to see the monument erected. 

• Ukraine Faces Russian Gas Cutoff as Payment Talks Fail. Ukraine risks the cutoff of natural-gas supplies from Russia after overnight talks to resolve a pricing dispute between the two countries ended without a deal less than eight hours before a payment deadline. Ukraine must pay $1.95 billion to partially settle its debt to the Russian-owned natural gas exporter OAO Gazprom for past deliveries by 10 a.m. Moscow time today, said Sergei Kupriyanov, a company spokesman, by phone. He said the deadline won’t be waived. “The Russian side has stated that if there will be no upfront payment, it will start limiting gas,” said Ukraine Energy Minister Yuri Prodan.

• Jihadis Recruitment Drive in Riyadh Revives Biggest Saudi Threat. The al-Qaeda breakaway group that has captured Iraq’s biggest northern city is on a recruitment drive in Saudi Arabia. The evidence showed up last month in Riyadh, where drivers woke up to find leaflets stuffed into the handles of their car doors and in their windshields. They were promoting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, which has grabbed the world’s attention by seizing parts of northern Iraq. The militant group is also using social media, such as Twitter and YouTube, to recruit young Saudi men.

• BOJ’s Bond Paralysis Seen Spreading Across Markets: Japan Credit. The Bank of Japan’s unprecedented asset purchase program has released a creeping paralysis that is freezing government bond trading, constricting the yen to the tightest range on record and braking stock-market activity. Historical price volatility on Japanese bonds slid to a 2 1/2-year low of 0.913 percent on June 13 and a lack of activity delayed the start of trading for four days last week. The yen has been in a 4.68-yen range since Jan. 1, the tightest since Japan ended currency controls four decades ago. Average trading on the Topix index is near its lowest level in 1 1/2 years. 

• Draghi Stock Rally Runs To Record Price-Earnings Ratio. The two-year rally that has restored more than $4 trillion to European share prices is sending equity valuations to levels not seen in a decade just as investors turn away from record low bond yields. Gains have pushed the Stoxx Europe 600 Index to 17.5 times annual earnings, the highest since 2002, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

• Most Asian Stocks, U.S. Futures Drop Amid Iraq Violence. Most Asian stocks fell, after the regional benchmark index posted a fifth week of gains, and U.S. futures dropped amid an escalation of violence in Iraq. Korean Air Lines Co. sank 1.9 percent, pacing a retreat among industrial firms as Brent crude oil prices advanced. Panasonic Corp. (6752) led consumer shares lower, dropping 1.2 percent in Tokyo. Echo Entertainment Group Ltd. surged 7.9 percent in Sydney after the casino operator said its profit forecast is above market expectations. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) lost 0.2 percent to 143.86 as of 9:37 a.m. in Hong Kong, with almost two shares falling for each that rose.

• Hedge Funds Cut Crop Wagers the Most Since January: Commodities. Hedge funds cut wagers on rising agricultural prices at the fastest pace since January before the U.S. government predicted rising supplies of everything from wheat to rice. Money managers are now holding the smallest wager on farm goods including cotton and soybeans in almost four months.

• Oil Topping $116 Seen Possible as Iraq Conflict Widens. Brent crude was projected by Wall Street analysts to average as much as $116 a barrel by the end of the year. Now, with violence escalating in Iraq, how far the price will rise has become anyone’s guess.

• Williams to Buy Access Midstream Partners for $5.99 Billion Cash. Williams Partners LP (WPZ) is proposing a merger with Access Midstream Partners LP (ACMP) after a $6 billion purchase that would create one of the biggest U.S. transporters of oil and natural gas.

• Citigroup(C), BofA(BAC) Said to Face U.S. Lawsuits as Talks Stall. Citigroup Inc. (C) and Bank of America Corp. are facing the prospect of being sued by the Justice Department after officials broke off talks aimed at settling probes into the banks’ sales of mortgage-backed bonds. Justice Department officials suspended negotiations with the banks June 9 because they’re unsatisfied with the offers, said a person familiar with the discussions who asked not to be named because they are confidential. A civil lawsuit against Citigroup could be filed as early as next week, the person said.

Wall Street Journal: 

• Iraq Militants Claim Soldier Massacre. Photos of Alleged Killings Posted Online as U.S., Iran Near Talks on Cooperation to Counter Insurgents. The radical Sunni militia that has plunged Iraq into chaos bragged on Sunday that it had executed hundreds of Shiite Iraqi soldiers, even as the Obama administration said it is preparing to open direct talks with Iran on how the two longtime foes can counter the insurgents.

• U.S. Preparing to Discuss Iraq's Woes With Iran. Dialogue Marks Rapid Move Toward Rapprochement Between Washington, Tehran. The Obama administration is preparing to open a direct dialogue with Iran on the security situation in Iraq and ways to push back the radical Sunni militia that has gained control of vast territories in western Iraq, said senior U.S. officials. The dialogue, which is expected to begin this week, will mark the latest in a rapid move toward rapprochement between Washington and Tehran over the past year. It also comes as the... 

• Medical Merger Part of 'Tax Inversion' Wave. Medtronic's(MDT) Deal to Buy Covidien(COV) for $42.9 Billion Will Help It Escape U.S. Corporate Taxes. 

• Only America Can Prevent a Disaster in Iraq. Without U.S. help, the civil war may spiral into a regional conflict as other countries, including Iran, intervene.

Fox News:

• Kerry points at Hamas in Israel kidnappings that include teen with US citizenship. The Obama administration on Sunday joined Israel in implicating the militant group Hamas in connection with the kidnapping of three Israeli teens and called the move a “despicable terrorist act.” The teens, including one who holds US citizenship, disappeared late Thursday apparently while hitchhiking in the country’s West Bank region. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already accused Hamas of being responsible for the kidnappings.

CNBC: 

• Obamacare subsidies could hurt at tax time.

Zero Hedge:

• Lines In The Sand - The 5 Key Maps Of The Middle East Crisis.

• 50 Fascinating Facts About Bitcoin.

• The Subprime Auto-Lending Credit Bubble Is Bursting.

• CEOs Warn Q2 "Less Robust" Than Expected. (graph)

• US Claims "Video Evidence" Shows Russia Providing Tanks To Rebels In Ukraine.

• 5 Things To Ponder: GDP, Dollar And Subprime.

• Stocks Suffer Worst Week In 2 Months As Black & Yellow Gold Surge. (graph)

• The Baltic Dry Index Is Having Its Worst Year Ever. (graph)

• Congressman Asks NSA To Restore Two Years Of "Lost" Lois Lerner IRS Emails.

• China's Collateral Rehypothecation Fraud Is Systemic.

• Personal Insights from a Global Hedge Fund Trader.

• Macro Hedge Funds Throw In The Towel, Boost Their Equity Exposure To Highest In Three Years. (graph)

• Chart Of The Day: All The President's Golf Games. (graph)

• Convoys Of Russian Tanks Heading For Ukraine Border Ahead Of 2amET Deadline.

Business Insider:

• This Photo Is The Clearest Sign Of An Imminent Iraqi Civil War.

• Russia Just Significantly Escalated The Crisis In Ukraine.

• More Than 50 US Attack Jets Stand Ready To Strike Iraq.

• Iraqi Kurds Prepared For ISIS Offensive For A Year And Expanded Their Territory By 40% In Hours.

• Former Defense Officials Blast Obama As Having A 'Complete Lack Of Strategy' For Iraq.

• The Ukraine Crisis Has Driven Tens Of Thousands Of People From Their Homes.

• The Islamic State Of Iraq And Greater Syria: Two Arab Countries Fall Apart.

• The Dark Side Of Facebook(FB), Where People Lie, Steal, And Make Millions.

• In Just One Tweet, The Islamic Militants Who Are Taking Over Iraq Reveal How Barbaric They Really Are.

• Massive Groups Of Young Iraqis Are Flooding Volunteer Centers To Fight Militants. 

• The Taliban Has Gone From A Religious Group To A Profit-Hungry Criminal Enterprise.

• Chinese Public Anger About Air Pollution Is Surging.

• Here's Why A Brutal ISIS Executioner Doesn't Hide Behind A Mask.

• Chicago Is Facing Financial Calamity — And Rahm Emanuel May Not Be Able To Save It.

• The American Consumer Is Clearly Putting On Leverage.

• Dubai Faces Looming Property Bubble.

• A Development That Should Have Wall Street Terrified. It increasingly looks like anger toward Wall Street was not just crisis-era phenomenon but a potent element of the new political landscape (on both the right and the left).

• The Inside Story Of How Greenpeace Built A Corporate Spanking Machine To Turn The Fortune 500 Into Climate Heroes.

• Investors Are Ignoring The Emerging Market Debt Warning Signs.

• Two Bombings In Baghdad Kill At Least 21 As Extremists Threaten The Capital. 

Reuters:

• INSIGHT-German eurosceptics go mainstream in threat to Merkel. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) failed to make as big a splash in European elections last month as its eurosceptic counterparts in France and Britain. But that may be about to change.

Institutional Investor:

• Revived U.S. CLO Market on Pace for Record Year. After a slow start, the collateralized loan obligation market is having its best year since the financial crisis, maybe ever. Here's why.

Financial Times:

• Central banks shift into shares as low rates hit revenues. Central banks around the world, including China’s, have shifted decisively into investing in equities as low interest rates have hit their revenues, according to a global study of 400 public sector institutions. “A cluster of central banking investors has become major players on world equity markets,” says a report to be published this week by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (Omfif), a central bank research and advisory group. The trend “could potentially contribute to overheated asset prices”, it warns.

Telegraph:

• At some point there will be a reckoning on house prices. Supply and demand may rule the market but there are many classic signs of a speculative bubble.

Xinhua:

• China Property Market Won't Collapse, Qin Says. China's property market will see adjustment this year, according to an article in People's Daily, written by Qin Hong, director of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development's policy research center. It is exaggerated to conclude the nation's property market will soon collapse after property sales in Jan-April declined, Qin says. 

Shanghai Securities News:

• China Money Policy Biased Toward Moderate Tightening. China's current prudent monetary policy is biased toward moderate tightening with a loose aggregate monetary supply, citing Wu JInglian, a senior researcher at State Council Development Research Center. Fund shortages have arisen in many areas because of structural problems, Wu said. Policymakers shouldn't shift to general expansionary policy, he said.

Weekend Recommendations

Barron's:

• Bullish commentary on (MSG), (TRBAA), (GT), (TJX), (ALTR), (EA), (LUV), (TROW) and (BEN).

• Bearish commentary on (BIG), (QLTY) and (ALK).

Night Trading

• Asian indices are -.5% to unch. on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 106.0 +1.0 basis point.

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 77.25 unch.

• FTSE-100 futures -.33%.

• S&P 500 futures -.32%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.29%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate

• (KFY)/.39

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST

• Empire Manufacturing for June is estimated to fall to 15.0 versus 19.01 in May.

9:00 am EST

•  Net Long-Term TIC Flows for April are estimated to rise to $37.5B versus $4.0B in March.

9:15 am EST

• Industrial Production for May is estimated to rise +.5% versus a -.6% decline in April.

• Capacity Utilization for May is estimated to rise to 78.9% versus 78.6% in April.

• Manufacturing Production for May is estimated to rise +.6% versus a -.4% decline in April.

10:00 am EST

• The NAHB Housing Market Index for May is estimated to rise to 47.0 versus 45.0 in April.

Upcoming Splits

• (ARLP) 2-for1

• (UFS) 2-for-1

• (TRN) 2-for-1

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone CPI and (FCN) investor day could also impact trading today.

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

Weekly Outlook

Week Ahead by Bloomberg. 
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 modestly lower on Iraq turmoil, Ukraine/Russia tensions, global growth fears, emerging markets debt angst, yen strength, technical selling and profit-taking. My intermediate-term trading indicators are giving neutral signals and the Portfolio is 25% net long heading into the week.

Market Week in Review

• S&P 500 1,936.16 -.68%*

 The Weekly Wrap by Briefing.com.

*5-Day Change