Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Wednesday Watch

Late-Night Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Ford Motor(F) is asking US lawmakers to change bankruptcy law so automakers and parts suppliers can recover their equipment and inventory held by companies that have filed for Chapter 11.
- Crude oil is falling in NY on speculation that US stockpiles rose for a fourth straight time last week.
- Nippon Oil Corp., Japan’s biggest petroleum refiner, plans to expand its fuel export potential to 10% of total production capacity this business year, seeking sales in China and Southeast Asia, as Japanese fuel demand falls.

Financial Times:
- EBay’s Skype said its China partner Tom Online filters cell phone text messages to comply with China’s censorship laws.
- Toyota Motor(TM) plans to offer a US vehicle by 2008 that can run on a mix of ethanol and gasoline, amid growing interest in so-called bio-fuels.

Daily Journal:
- Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP, a securities class-action law firm, may be indicted for making illegal payments to plaintiffs.

Independent:
- Royal Dutch Shell Plc will today say it started production form its Cutter platform in the UK southern North Sea, the world’s first gas platform powered by wind and solar energy alone.

Securities Times:
- China’s investment in fixed assets rose 27.7% in the first quarter, a faster pace than the 22.8% of a year earlier.

Xinhua News:
- Cnooc Ltd. plans to invest $12.5 billion in the next five years to search for oil and gas near China’s coast.

Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
- None of note

Night Trading
Asian Indices are +.50% to +1.25% on average.
S&P 500 indicated +.07%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated +.30%.

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/EPS Estimate
- (ABT)/.57
- (ADS)/.62
- (ASD)/.40
- (AMR)/-.77
- (AAPL)/.43
- (AZR)/.38
- (BLK)/1.12
- (CIT)/1.12
- (KO)/.48
- (CMA)/1.16
- (ET)/.33
- (EBAY)/.24
- (FSL)/.39
- (GD)/.84
- (HON)/.49
- (INTC)/.23
- (JPM)/.83
- (JNPR)/.19
- (JCI)/.75
- (KMI)/1.48
- (KFT)/.42
- (MDC)/2.25
- (NVLS)/.21
- (PFE)/.53
- (QCOM)/.40
- (RDN)/1.41
- (STJ)/.36
- (UTX)/.73

Upcoming Splits
- (PDA) 3-for-1

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- The Consumer Price Index for March is estimated to rise .4% versus a .1% gain in February.
- The CPI Ex Food & Energy for March is estimated to rise .2% versus a .1% gain in February.

10:30 am EST
- Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude build of 2,300,000 barrels. Gasoline inventories are estimated to fall 2,200,000 barrels, and distillate supplies are expected to decrease by 1,400,000 barrels. Refinery utilization is expected to rise .20%.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are higher, boosted by technology and other exporting stocks in the region after the US Fed hinted at an imminent “pause.” I expect US equities to open modestly higher and to maintain gains into the afternoon. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.

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