Weekly Scoreboard*

Indices
S&P 500 1,349.99 +1.4%
DJIA 12,348.21 +1.36%
NASDAQ 2,321.80 +.73%
Russell 2000 701.52 +.37%
Wilshire 5000 13,591.01 +1.24%
Russell 1000 Growth 557.18 +1.43%
Russell 1000 Value 742.14 +1.22%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 691.10 +1.38%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 941.78 +1.23%
Morgan Stanley Technology 539.56 +1.49%
Transports 4,702.71 -.19%
Utilities 500.41 +1.22%
MSCI Emerging Markets 138.61 +4.27%

Sentiment/Internals
NYSE Cumulative A/D Line 58,877 -.7%
Bloomberg New Highs-Lows Index -224
Bloomberg Crude Oil % Bulls 19.0 +216.7%
CFTC Oil Large Speculative Longs 217,510 +5.8%
Total Put/Call 1.12 -.88%
NYSE Arms .80 -32.5%
Volatility(VIX) 25.02 -10.7%
G7 Currency Volatility (VXY) 9.84 -5.4%
ISE Sentiment 80.0 -14.9%
AAII % Bulls 33.3 -2.3%
AAII % Bears 41.9 -11.3%

Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 95.66 +4.25%
Reformulated Gasoline 249.0 +5.77%
Natural Gas 8.67 +5.24%
Heating Oil 265.0 +3.81%
Gold 905.30 -2.26%
Base Metals 243.93 +2.91%
Copper 354.25 +.83%

Economy
10-year US Treasury Yield 3.77% +13 basis points
10-year TIPS Spread 2.3% -2 basis points
TED Spread .88 +1 basis point
Fed Fund Futures 68.0% chance of 50 cut, 32.0% chance of 75 cut on 3/18
Investment Grade Credit Default Swap Index 146.0 +7.6%
Iraqi 2028 Govt Bonds 72.25 +1.31%
4-Wk MA of Jobless Claims 347,300 +3.6%
Average 30-year Mortgage Rate 5.72% +5 basis point
Weekly Mortgage Applications 1,063,500 -2.13%
Weekly Retail Sales +.6%
Nationwide Gas $2.98/gallon +.01/gallon.
US Heating Demand Next 7 Days right at normal
ECRI Weekly Leading Economic Index 133.4 -.07%
US Dollar Index 76.08 -.74%
CRB Index 384.23 +2.28%

Best Performing Style
Large-cap Growth +1.43%

Worst Performing Style
Small-cap Value +.10%

Leading Sectors
Steel +5.7%
Oil Service +5.4%
Construction +4.9%
Tobacco +4.7%
Telecom +3.5%

Lagging Sectors
Retail -1.06%
Gaming -1.6%
Gold -2.5%
Insurance -2.3%
Airlines -2.9%

One-Week High-Volume Gainers

One-Week High-Volume Losers

*5-Day Change

Stocks Mildly Lower into Final Hour on 3-day Weekend Worries, Option Expiration

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio is slightly higher into the final hour on gains in my Medical longs, Internet longs, ETF hedges and commodity shorts. I have not traded today, thus leaving the Portfolio 75% net long. The overall tone of the market is negative as the advance/decline line is lower, most sectors are declining and volume is about average. Investor anxiety is above average. Today’s overall market action is mildly bearish. The VIX is falling 1.2% today, but remains high at 25.2. The ISE Sentiment Index is a very low 78.0 and the total put/call is a high 1.16 today. Cyclicals are under mild pressure across the board today after some disappointing economic data. Tech stocks are weak on comments from electronics retailer Best Buy(BBY). However, (BBY) itself is only down 2.2% and is near session highs. Moreover, a boutique firm cut its 1Q estimates for (GS) yet it is .9% higher, at session highs. The (XLF) is also .7% higher, at session highs. Finally, (CMG) missed estimates, but is up 8 points from morning lows and is also at session highs. These are very positive signs and indicate how much bad news is already factored into many stocks at current levels. One of my longs (PWR) is jumping 6.2% today after CSFB added the stock to its Focus List with a $40 target, almost 100% higher from current levels. They said PWR is one of the most interesting infrastructure and derivative renewable power plays in their universe. With existing US power grid in dire need of an upgrade and the expected strong growth in renewable energy generation, they see several years of accelerating spending on power transmission. I agree and think their price target is reasonable. There are rumors again of a (GE) takeover of (ILMN), which I am long. Finally, the Hollywood Reporter is saying that Toshiba is expected to drop HDDVD and Wal-Mart(WMT) said it is moving exclusively towards the blu-ray format, both of which benefit my (SIGM) long. There will be a bit more competition for the company over the next year, however the market is getting significantly larger and I still think the stock will rise substantially from current levels. Corporate insiders remain very bullish on US stocks, despite the overwhelming belief by the herd that the US is plunging into a recession and protracted bear market. I suspect some of today’s selling is also related to option expiration and apprehension over the coming three-day weekend, considering what happened in Asia over the last US holiday weekend. Nikkei futures indicate a -137 open in Japan and DAX futures indicate a +70 open in Germany. I expect US stocks to trade mixed-to-higher into the close from current levels on bargain-hunting and short-covering.

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- OPEC cut its estimate of demand growth for crude oil this year. OPEC lowered its estimate of first-quarter demand this year by 130,000 barrels a day to 87.19 million barrels a day. The overall 2008 estimate was cut 80,000 barrels a day to 86.99 million barrels.
- President Bush urged Congress to pass electronic surveillance legislation when lawmakers return from the President’s Day recess, saying the nation is at risk when the current law expires tomorrow.
- A rescue plan for troubled bond insurers MBIA Inc.(MBI) and Ambac Financial(ABK) may be in place before they lose their top AAA ratings, NY Insurance Dept. Superintendent Eric Dinallo said.
- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has seized on a legal battle between the state oil company and Exxon Mobil(XOM) to drum up backing for his campaign against the US and President Bush.
- Freee vibrating toys, a packed lecture by sex therapist Dr. Ruth, skin-tight latex bodysuits and a party at a bar name the Toad. Welcome to Sex Week at Yale University.
- The US should extend tax credits for renewable energy suppliers that are set to expire at the end of 2008, the head of the International Energy Agency said.
- BP Plc(BP), Europe’s second-largest oil company, and its partners will invest $1.4 billion in US wind farm projects to generate more power. BP and partners are building five wind parks in four US states – California, Kansas, Indiana and Texas. “Wind power is growing at a phenomenal rate,” Robert Lukefahr, the president at BP Alternative Energy North American said.
- Copper rose 1.1% after inventories monitored by the LME fell 9.7% this week, the most since October 2005.
- Cognex Corp.(CGNX), the maker of industrial cameras used to detect manufacturing defects, rose the most since it began trading in 1989 after fourth-quarter earnings topped analysts’ estimates.
- Best Buy(BBY) Cuts Forecast, Citing Fourth-Quarter Sales.

Wall Street Journal:
- Citigroup Inc.(C) has barred investors in one of its hedge funds from withdrawing their money.
- US Networks, including CBS Corp.(CBS) and Sony Corp.(SNE), want to scale back television pilot shows and make the television season last all year.
- New Nike(NKE) Sneaker Targets Jocks, Greens, Wall Street.
- Qualcomm Inc.(QCOM) and Nokia(NOK) are close to an agreement on procedural issues relating to a court case between them, the two companies said.

NY Times:
- UN to Help Organize Iraqi Elections Set for October.

TheStreet.com:
- Sprint(S), Clearwire(CLWR) Near New WiMax Deal.

Walmartfacts.com:
- Wal-Mart(WMT) Moving Exclusively Toward Blu-ray Format Movies and Players.

AFP:
- Hamas staged a rally in the Gaza Strip attended by hundreds of people protesting the reprinting in Danish newspapers of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

Handelsblatt:
- Publicis Groupe SA wants to jointly develop video-marketing tools with Google(GOOG), citing CEO Levy.

Bear Radar

Style Underperformer:

Small-cap Growth -1.49%

Sector Underperformers:

Coal (-6.76%), Homebuilders (-3.35%) and Gaming (-2.64%)

Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:

BLX, AZPN, SONO, ULBI, GPRO, RCRC, ALXN, BJRI, DRYS, EMKR, B, CMG, VMI and BLX

Bull Radar

Style Outperformer:

Large-cap Value (-.13%)

Sector Outperformers:

Airlines (+2.36%), HMOs (+.52%) and I-Banks (+.35%)

Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:

PEET, CPB, HPQ, CI, CHA, CN, NPBC, STO, BMA, ALE, CGNX, EHTH, PCLN, AMMD, RADS, GIII, USTR, CENX, ASIA, SPSX, DRYS, GIFI, IPCR, IBKR, HANS, ANST, LUFK, WTW, AW and SDA

Links of Interest

Market Snapshot Commentary
Market Performance Summary
Style Performance
Sector Performance
WSJ Data Center
Top 20 Biz Stories
IBD Breaking News
Movers & Shakers
Upgrades/Downgrades
In Play
NYSE Unusual Volume
NASDAQ Unusual Volume
Hot Spots
Option Dragon
NASDAQ 100 Heatmap
DJIA Quick Charts
Chart Toppers
Intraday Chart/Quote
Dow Jones Hedge Fund Indexes