Friday's Watch

Late-Night Headlines
Bloomberg:
- BHP Billiton(BHP) may need to offer cash for Rio Tinto Group(RTP) after its smaller rival rejected the largest ever takeover bid.
- Merck(MRK) may pay about $5 billion to settle claims it hid the health risks of its withdrawn Vioxx painkiller, three lawyers with direct knowledge of the accord said.
- China called on Iran to “positively respond” to international concerns it may be using its nuclear program to develop an atomic weapon.
- Nikon Corp., the world’s second-biggest maker of cameras aimed at professionals, climbed the most in almost five years after the company raised its full-year profit forecast and dividend.
- North Korea thanked the US Navy for assisting one of its cargo ships hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia last month and said the incident was a symbol of cooperation between the government in Washington and Pyongyang.
- Julius Baer Holding, Switzerland’s third-largest private bank, plans to spin off its US fund unit early next year in an IPO.

Wall Street Journal:
- Chrysler LLC plans to offer rebates and incentives next month to reduce its inventory.

CNNMoney.com:
- If it feels like more and more Americans have extra money to spend, that's because they do. The percentage of U.S. households with discretionary income rose to 64 percent last year from 52 percent in 2002, a report by The Conference Board shows. Today about 73 million U.S. households have discretionary income, up from about 57 million in 2002.
- Wall Street braces for higher tax rates. If lawmakers let capital gains and dividend rates move higher, selling pressure could pick up and buyers could get stingy. The leading Democratic candidates for president have said they’d favor higher investment taxes on upper-income taxpayers – and Wall Streeters don’t like it.
- Marvel recalling plush ‘Curious George’ dolls. About 175,000 plush dolls are being recalled for excessive levels of lead after the company re-tested its entire product line.
- Prince Alwaleed: Why Chuck had to go.

IBD:
- Intel(INTC) Unveils Its ‘Penryn’ Chip Lineup.

CNBC.com:
- NY Democratic Attorney General Andrew Cuomo was wrong to file subpoenas against Fannie Mae(FNM) and Feddie Mac(FRE) without consulting their federal regulator and may have overreached his authority, the regulator wrote in a letter Thursday.

Reuters:
- Economy faces risks, not recession: Bernanke.

Telegraph:
- Citigroup Inc.(C) is being urged by some analysts and shareholders to beak off and sell its brokerage, investment banking and retail operations, citing analysts.

Late Buy/Sell Recommendations
Citigroup:
- Reiterated Buy on (CELG), target $78.
- Reiterated Buy on (URBN), target $30.

Night Trading
Asian Indices are -.50% to +1.0% on average.
S&P 500 futures +.29%.
NASDAQ 100 futures +.40%.

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
- (KDE)/-.15
- (CLWR)/-.75
- (DRS)/.95
- (FNM)/.85
- (GG)/.15
- (JASO)/2.63

Upcoming Splits
- None of note

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
- The Trade Deficit for September is estimated to widen to -$58.5 billion versus -$57.6 billion in August.
- The Import Price Index for October is estimated to rise 1.2% versus a 1.0% gain in September.

10:00 am EST
- Preliminary Univ. of Mich. Consumer Confidence for November is estimated to fall to 80.0 versus 80.9 in October.

Other Potential Market Movers
- The (HNT) Investor Conference, (CTIC) analyst day, (GAS) Analyst Presentation and (FNM) Conference Call could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by financial and commodity stocks in the region. I expect US equities to open modestly higher and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing mixed. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.