Thursday, December 23, 2004

Thursday Watch

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
AM/.69

Splits
None of note.

Economic Data
Personal Income for November estimated up .2% versus a .6% increase in October.
Personal Spending for November estimated up .3% versus a .7% gain in October.
PCE Deflator for November estimated up 2.5% versus a 2.4% increase in October.
PCE Core for November estimated up 1.5% versus a 1.5% increase in October.
Durable Goods Orders for November estimated up .6% versus a 1.1% fall in October.
Durable Goods Orders Less Transportation for November estimated up .8% versus a 1.5% decline in October.
Initial Jobless Claims for last week are estimated at 335K versus 317K the prior week.
Continuing Claims estimated at 2736K versus 2737K prior.
Final Univ. of Mich. Consumer Confidence for December estimated at 95.7 versus a prior estimate of 95.7.
New Home Sales for November estimated at 1200K versus 1226K in October.

Recommendations
Goldman Sachs reiterated Outperform on MMM, FSL and underperform on FSS, SCS.

Late-Night News
Asian indices are mostly lower on declines in commodity-related shares. The value of hostile bids globally almost tripled in 2004 to its highest since 1999, the London-based Times said, citing a report by capital-markets data provider Dealogic Holdings Plc. DaimlerChrysler AG is seeking the Indian government's approval to sell trucks and buses in the country, the Times of India reported today. Opportunity Partners LP fund manager Phillip Goldstein filed a lawsuit to block a US SEC rule that requires hedge-fund managers to register with regulators, the Wall Street Journal reported. The number of Japanese companies at least 30% owned by foreign investors rose more than 70% to a total of 82 as of Sept. 30 from the same date last year, the Nihon Keizai newspaper reported. More than 140,000 Palestinians will vote today for local councils in the West Bank, in the first such elections since 1976, Agence France-Presse reported. Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co., the world's biggest buyout firm, agreed to buy Canadian building-products maker Masonite International for $2.5 billion, Bloomberg reported. CapitalLand, Southeast Asia's biggest developer by sales, said it will join a Chinese state-owned partner of Wal-Mart Stores to buy and manage retail malls in China, Bloomberg said.

Late-Night Trading
Asian Indices are -.75% to +.25% on average.
S&P 500 indicated -.14%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated -.06.

BOTTOM LINE: I expect U.S. equities to open modestly higher on strong economic reports, short-covering and year-end positioning. The Portfolio is 125% net long heading into tomorrow.

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