Friday Watch

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
GE/.38

Splits
VLO 2-for-1

Economic Data
Unemployment Rate for September estimated at 5.4% versus 5.4% in August.
Average Hourly Earnings for September estimated up .3% versus a .3% rise in August.
Change in Non-farm Payrolls for September estimated up 148K versus 144K in August.
Change in Manufacturing Payrolls for September estimated up 10K versus a 22K rise in August.
Average Weekly Hours for September estimated at 33.7 versus 33.8 in August.
Wholesale Inventories for August estimated up .8% versus a 1.3% gain in July.

Recommendations
Goldman Sachs reiterated Outperform on AMGN. Goldman reiterated Underperform on PSS.

Late-Night News
Asian indices are mixed as declining energy prices are offsetting jitters over tomorrow's U.S. jobs report. General Maritime, the second-largest owner of mid-size tankers, may issue a dividend because of record revenue in the oil shipping business, the company's CEO told CNBC. David Pottruck, former president and CEO of Charles Schwab, has started a buyout firm to invest his own money, Business Week reported. U.S. lawmakers have formally rejected a $23 billion deal to buy refueling tankers from Boeing, the Wall Street Journal reported. MetLife may acquire Taiwan's financial institutions in order to expand its business on the island, the Commercial Times reported. IBM and Sun Micro are among the companies forming a partnership this month specifically for grid computing, which uses the Internet to link computers, Business Week reported. Semiconductor Manufacturing Intl., China's biggest supplier of made-to-order chips, will expand production to meet an order from Texas Instruments, Reuters reported. Saddam Hussein transferred money through HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's largest bank, as part of a financial web his bankers built to skirt sanctions imposed by the United Nations, a CIA report said. JP Morgan Chase will combine its capital markets businesses in North and South America as part of a reorganization of its investment bank, Bloomberg reported.

Late-Night Trading
Asian Indices are -.50% to +.25% on average.
S&P 500 indicated +.05%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated +.10%

BOTTOM LINE: I expect U.S. equities to open modestly lower in the morning on a weaker-than-expected jobs report as a result of the record-setting hurricanes. However, stocks should attempt a rally later in the day on a solid earnings report from GE, a substantial upward revision to prior employment reports, declining energy prices and short-covering. The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into tomorrow.