Friday Watch

Late-Night Headlines
Bloomberg:
- The yen traded near a record low against the euro and a 16-year low versus Australia’s dollar as gains in global stocks encouraged investors to borrow in Japan’s currency to buy assets elsewhere.
- China is likely to raise interest rates this quarter to cool inflation and investment. Some economists expect an increase today.
- Chinese bonds, Asia’s worst performers this year, will drop further should the central bank raise interest rates and cut taxes on deposit income, according to China Galaxy Securities.
- China’s government said unregistered fish farms were responsible for producing the seafood that was found by the FDA to contain banned chemical substances.
- Korea Gas Corp., the world’s largest buyer of liquefied natural gas, plans to increase storage capacity 72% by 2012 to meet higher demand for the fuel during winter months.
- China, the world’s biggest producer of steel, said it boosted crude-steel output by 19% to 240 million tons in the first half of this year from a year earlier.
- Light-emitting diodes started as the little red indicators on clock radios and are backlights in most cell phones. Now the LEDs are helping Apple Inc.(AAPL) and Sony Corp.(SNE) slim down computers and televisions and cut power usage.
- Dow Jones(DJ) director Dieter von Holtzbrinck resigned, saying he couldn’t support the board’s recommendation that the Wall Street Journal publisher be sold to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.(NWS/A).

Business Week:
- Viacom Inc.(VIA/B), owner of the Paramount film studio, might lose director Steven Spielberg and the DreamWorks name after buying the company last year for $1.53 billion.
- Brink’s Co.(BCO) is under pressure to split its armored-truck and security-services businesses into two publicly traded companies.

Dow Jones:
- The United Auto Workers union and Lazard Ltd. have been discussing ways to restructure retirees’ health-care benefits to help limit the cash drain on US automakers.

China Securities Journal:
- China’s economic policy makers should reconsider whether the country’s 3% inflation target is suitable and weight the possibility of raising it, citing unidentified Chinese experts. The consumer price index is likely to surpass 4% or “remain at a high level” in the next reporting period. Inflation, tracked by the price index, may even exceed 5% for a single month.

Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
Business Week:
- Pipex Pharmaceuticals(PP) stock may double in a year as the company’s drug pipeline draws investors, citing Steven Winters, president of Gemini Strategies.
- Research Frontiers(REFR) will probably have a large stock bounce when the company’s major licensees sign up for its light-control technology.

Night Trading
Asian Indices are +.50% to +1.50% on average.
S&P 500 futures -.10%.
NASDAQ 100 futures -.16%.

Morning Preview
US AM Market Call
NASDAQ 100 Pre-Market Indicator/Heat Map
Pre-market Commentary
Pre-market Stock Quote/Chart
Before the Bell CNBC Video(bottom right)
Global Commentary
WSJ Intl Markets Performance
Commodity Movers
Top 25 Stories
Top 20 Business Stories
Today in IBD
In Play
Bond Ticker
Economic Preview/Calendar
Daily Stock Events
Macro Calls
Upgrades/Downgrades
Rasmussen Business/Economy Polling
CNBC Guest Schedule

Earnings of Note
Company/EPS Estimate
- (BSX)/.09
- (CAT)/1.49
- (C)/1.14
- (GAP)/-.30
- (SLB)/.96
- (WB)/1.22
- (WHR)/1.87

Upcoming Splits
- None of note

Economic Releases
- None of note

Other Potential Market Movers
- The Fed’s Poole speaking, SEMICON West and the (SCHW) Business Update could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are higher, boosted by commodity and technology stocks in the region. I expect US equities to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher. The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the day.