Monday, August 22, 2005

Monday Watch

Weekend Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Wal-Mart Stores said August sales at its US stores open at least a year are rising within its forecast range as food sales outpaced general merchandise for the sixth week in a row.
- Northwest Airlines mechanics, saying they’d rather see the carrier go bankrupt than yield to demand for job cuts, went on strike.
- The US dollar is poised for a second consecutive week of gains against the euro amid rising interest rates and the most bullish trader sentiment since June 24, according to a Bloomberg survey.
- US Treasuries are benefiting from a rising dollar and yields that are higher than on comparable German, Canadian and Japanese government bonds.
- US companies, which have been reluctant to part with their mountain of cash, may start spending more of it – and spur the economy in the process.
- North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il may give up the communist nation’s nuclear weapons program in return for security guarantees, energy and economic aid.

Barron’s:
- KFx says its most recent effort to create a coal-drying process that improve the energy content of western US coal will work, and shareholders are sitting tight and hoping the company is right.

New York Times:
- The prices of big-screen televisions are likely to drop further in coming months, citing industry analysts.
- At least 10 of more than three dozen members of the Bancroft family, which controls Dow Jones, are “unhappy” about the performance of the company’s management.
- Some investment advisers are recommending caution of energy stocks, forecasting that record-high crude oil prices may drop.
- Real estate investment trusts focused on categories as narrow as car dealerships, movie theaters and college dormitories are getting increased attention from institutional investors.

San Francisco Chronicle:
- California’s unemployment rate last month fell to 5.1% from 5.4% in June.
- California owners of hybrid-electric cars are rushing to get state permits that let them drive without passengers in freeway carpool lanes, with about 1,000 people applying per day.

Philadelphia Inquirer:
- European drug companies are focusing on the US because of its pool of scientists, funding for research, and market without price controls.

Washington Post:
- Russian’s crumbling biological research laboratories may be vulnerable to penetration by terrorists and criminal gangs who could unleash the diseases that the system was built to combat.
- The Washington Redskins football team has become one of the most profitable professional sports franchises in the US since marketing executive Daniel Snyder bought the team in 1999.

Oil & Gas Journal:
- US oil demand fell in July by the greatest amount in 3 1/2 years.

Reuters:
- Denmark’s Grundfos A/S said yesterday that two employees paid bribes to Iraqi authorities under the UN/Iraq oil-for-food program.

London’s Sunday Times:
- The families of up to 2,000 UK users of Vioxx, a painkiller owned by drug-maker Merck, may sue the company in the US.
- Google and Yahoo! may seek to buy Trader Classified Media NV, the publisher of Canada’s Auto Trader, to increase customers.

the Business:
- Dow Jones’ controlling owner, the Bancroft family, has received three takeover bids.

Sunday Morning Post:
- Donald Trump plans to have a Chinese version of his US reality television program “The Apprentice.”

Sunday Telegraph:
- Iran is supplying bombs triggered by an infrared beam to insurgents in Iraq.

Weekend Recommendations
Barron's:
- Had positive comments on PG.
- Had negative comments on SINA.

Goldman Sachs:
- Reiterated Outperform on CAKE.
- Reiterated Underperform on HRB.

Night Trading
Asian indices are +.50% to +1.25% on average.
S&P 500 indicated +.08%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated +.16%.

Morning Preview
US AM Market Call
NASDAQ 100 Pre-Market Indicator/Heat Map
Pre-market Commentary
Before the Bell CNBC Video(bottom right)
Global Commentary
Asian Indices
European Indices
Top 20 Business Stories
In Play
Bond Ticker
Daily Stock Events
Macro Calls
Rasmussen Consumer/Investor Daily Indices
CNBC Guest Schedule

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
HNZ/.49

Upcoming Splits
HRB 2-for-1

Economic Releases
None of note

BOTTOM LINE: Asian Indices are higher, spurred by financial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher, boosted by gains in Asia. My trading indicators are still giving bullish signals and the Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the week.

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