Monday, July 05, 2004

Monday Watch

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
AYI/.44

Splits
None of note.

Economic Data
ISM Non-Manufacturing for June estimated at 63.0 versus 65.2 in May.

Weekend Recommendations
Forbes on Fox had guests that were positive on F, KKD, HAIN, WEN, WFMI and mixed on PLMO. Bulls and Bears had guests that were positive on SNP, IMOS and mixed on IPMT, SLR, DLX and ELX. Cashin' In had guests that were positive on BA, mixed on RIMM and negative on ADSK, WGO. Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street had guests that were positive on CD, SDS, EOP, SPG, MDT, CMCSA, URS, AXK and PRV. Wall St. Week w/Fortune had guests that were positive on TLT, BAC, NOK and APCC. Barron's had positive comments on BA. Goldman Sachs reiterated Outperform on WAG, SYMC, MERQ, BSX and Underperform on INFA.

Weekend News
Libya started exporting oil to the U.S after the two countries renewed diplomatic ties last week, ending 24 years of estrangement, al-Hayat newspaper said. The number of U.S. travelers taking trips abroad has rebounded from a slump after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, with international traffic on U.S. airlines up 20% this year through May, the LA Times reported. Senator Kerry has tempered his message about the importance of deficit reduction and instead is talking more about his health-care policy, the NY Times reported. Kerry is also trying to win the votes of rural and small-town voters by convincing them that he supports gun ownership, the NY Times said. Pennsylvania lawmakers approved bills that legalize slot machines at horse-racing tracks and use the estimated $1 billion a year in tax revenue to pay for property-tax reductions, the AP reported. China's central bank probably won't raise interest rates in the short-term, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Boeing expects to win a $23 billion order to supply the Air Force with refueling tankers based on its 767 plane in 2005, Handelsblatt reported. Nortel Networks plans to install SAP AG's software companywide to oversee its accounting, Handelsblatt said. Iraq plans to buy 200 megawatts of electricity from Kuwait and link its power grid with other neighboring countries to meet local electricity demand, the Kuwait news agency reported. Kuwait Oil Minister al-Sabah said OPEC would raise its output ceiling as planned next month to push prices in New York down below $35 a barrel, the Kuwait News Agency reported. North Korea and the U.S. made enough progress at last month's six-nation talks for specific accords to be reached on dismantling North Korea's nuclear program, Interfax said. Shanghai General Motors was China's top car seller in June, beating Volkswagen's local venture for the first time, Shanghai Daily reported. A 20-ton cornerstone of Adirondack Mountain granite inscribed with a tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks was lowered into the pit at New York's World Trade Center site, signaling the start of construction on the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower. Aluminum prices may rise 3.2% in the second half to the highest six-month average in nine years, benefiting producers, a survey of analysts showed. Premier Wen Jiabao's effort to cool China's growth rate to about 7% from last year's 9.1% may trim global growth by half a percentage point in 2005 and Asia's expansion by a full percentage point, said Stephen Roach of Morgan Stanley. Crude oil futures in New York are rising after a pipeline ruptured in Iraq, halving exports, Bloomberg reported.

Late-Night Trading
Asian indices are mostly higher, unch. to +1.0% on average.
S&P 500 indicated +.11%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated +.10%.

BOTTOM LINE: I expect U.S. stocks to open modestly higher tomorrow as there were no significant terrorist attacks over the holiday weekend. Rising oil prices will likely temper gains. The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the week.

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