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Market Currents Thursday, August 14, 2008 Today's
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  • 05:01 PM During bear markets, P/E ratios typically contract as prices fall faster than earnings. This time around, the S&P's P/E ratio has risen from 19.62 to 25.67. Comment!
  • 04:57 PM With an estimated 2/3 of global Olympics viewers tuning in online, look for Sohu.com (SOHU), with exclusive online broadcast rights for China's 1.3B people, to get a lift. Comment!
  • 04:15 PM Agilent Technologies (A): FQ3 EPS of $0.57 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $1.44B (+5.1%) in-line. Sees FQ4 EPS of $0.58-0.62 vs. $0.64. Shares -5.25%. [PR] Comment!
  • 04:14 PM Nordstrom (JWN): Q2 EPS of $0.65 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $2.29B (-4.3%) vs. $2.31B. Sees Q3 EPS of $0.49-0.54 vs. $0.56. Shares +2.6%. [PR] Comment!
  • 04:05 PM Kohl's (KSS): Q2 EPS of $0.77 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $3.73B (+3.8%) in-line. Sees Q3 EPS of $0.51-0.56 vs. $0.57. Shares -0.5%. [PR] Comment!
  • 04:03 PM Markets close in the top half of their intraday range. Dow +0.72% to 11,615. S&P +0.56% to 1,293. Nasdaq +1.03% to 2,454. Crude -0.86% to $115. Gold -2.4% to $811.60. Comment!
  • 03:55 PM FWIW, Google (GOOG $159.2B) retakes market-cap lead from Apple (AAPL $158.86B). Comment!
  • 03:46 PM Gannett (GCI) +10% on news of 1,000 job cuts - and perhaps a short squeeze? Comment!
  • 03:35 PM When WPP Group (WPPGY) landed an unprecedented deal to create a new agency (spoof) just to handle Dell's (DELL) massive account last year, it upended the ad business. Nine months later, detractors are counting the days until the deal falls apart. Comment!
  • 03:27 PM Netflix (NFLX +1.2%) concedes it's experiencing a serious disruption that has prevented it from sending out rental DVDs to most of its customers since Tuesday. It still doesn't know the cause of the technical problem, nor when it will be fixed. Comment!
  • 03:15 PM Earnings previews for companies reporting after today's market close: A, ADSK, JWN, KSS Comment!
  • 03:10 PM Notable earnings after Thursday's close: A, ADSK, DV, JWN, KSS Comment!
  • 03:00 PM Sector ETF weakness: Silver– SLV -4.7%. Natural Gas– UNG -4%. Gold Miners– GDX -3.1%. Gold– GLD -2.1%. Energy– XLE -1.7%. Comment!
  • 02:59 PM Sector ETF strength: Retailers– XRT +3.35%. Homebuilders– XHB +2.9%. Commercial Banks– KBE +2.1%. Regional Banks– RKH +2%. Comment!
  • 02:57 PM Benchmarks going into final hour: Dow +0.7%. S&P +0.47%. Nasdaq +0.87%. Crude -0.95% to $114.90. Gold -1.79% to $816.90. Comment!
  • 02:56 PM Fed's Gary Stern in Montana. "The need to address 'too big to fail' through a framework which reduces spillovers is critical." The housing contraction is worse than the 80s-90s version, while economic conditions are better, he says. Comment!
  • 02:46 PM Apollo Global Management's most recent pre-IPO filing reveals how once-eager institutional investors are now eager to pull their money out. Comment!
  • 02:40 PM Qwest (Q) faces a possible 20,000 worker strike this Sunday. Verizon (VZ) reached a deal with the union last Sunday, which could pave the path for Quest. Comment!
  • 02:27 PM A $10B outsourcing pact between UPS (UPS +2%) and DHL will face congressional scrutiny in September, after it became a political target of McCain and Obama. DHL says the move is critical to saving its U.S. business and its 43,000 jobs. Comment!
  • 02:08 PM A top Toyota (TM) executive calls for rapid change through greater collaboration, innovation and risk-taking. "There's no more time-outs. The game is on the line here." Still, he sees U.S. auto sales again topping 17M in the not too distant future. Comment!
  • 01:53 PM US Airways (LCC) sells 19M shares to Merrill Lynch (MER +2.6%) at $8.50/share, sending LCC down 3.4% to $8.80. A month ago, it could have bought in for just $1.75. Comment!
  • 01:51 PM Martha Stewart (MSO) on Cramer. Shares +7.6%. Comment!
  • 01:40 PM Activist investor Nelson Peltz's Trian fund dissolves its Starbucks (SBUX) stake, sending shares up 4%. Are shareholders growing tired of activists? Comment!
  • 01:37 PM U.S. stocks are outperforming their European counterparts by a wide margin this year - something they haven't done since 2003. Comment!
  • 01:28 PM "The economy has yet to feel the tightening" that will from banks holding back on lending to consumers, Deutsche Bank's chief U.S. economist says. As to the recent upturn? It's a sugar high. Comment!
  • 12:59 PM Why a housing rebound in Cleveland is bad news for the rest of the country. Comment!
  • 12:46 PM New research shows heart stents' advantage over medicine, exercise, and a diet plan fades over time. This could pose a problem for stent manufacturers, notably Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Boston Scientific (BSX) - who expect up to $5B in sales next year. Comment!
  • 12:32 PM On the one hand, the SEC's one-month short-sale limits boosted the 19 affected stocks by 26%. On the other hand, the boost only got them to their 'Bear Stearns Monday' levels. Comment!
  • 12:18 PM T. Boone Pickens has spent millions promoting alternative energy, but his hedge fund BP Capital is said to have lost 35% in July on declines in oil and natural gas. Comment!
  • 12:04 PM Vikram Pandit is revealed to be an obsessive Citigroup (C) history buff. Some hope he imbibes Citi's once-unique culture and tradition - and not the past decade's unruly patchwork. Comment!
  • 11:49 AM Crude dips below $115. -1.1% to $114.70. Comment!
  • 11:46 AM JPMorgan (JPM) agrees to buy back $3B in auction-rate securities at par from retail clients, plus a $25M fine. It expects to lose $400M on the differential. Comment!
  • 11:41 AM KKR and Apollo Global Management, private-equity firms soon to go public, are growing increasingly fond of debt and distressed-assets. Leveraged buyout financing is scarce, with global private-equity deals down 71% Y/Y. Comment!
  • 11:28 AM Battered by $19B of losses, Merrill Lynch (MER) may have to cut dividends for the first time. The board reaffirmed the quarterly $0.35 dividend in July, but options data already reflects an expected Q4 cut to $0.18. Comment!
  • 11:16 AM NY Post says Cherry Lane Music Publishing is on the block. Universal, Warner (WMG) and Sony (SNE) will likely kick the tires. Starbucks (SBUX) partner Concord Music may also take a look. Comment!
  • 11:02 AM Stocks reverse direction, as the Dow surges ahead +0.65%. S&P +0.42%. Nasdaq +0.69%. Comment!
  • 10:55 AM British Airways (BAIRY.PK) and American (AMR) agree to act as a single trans-Atlantic carrier. They've tried before, but analysts think regulators may be more flexible under the new Open Skies treaty. Comment!
  • 10:43 AM General Motors (GM) is trying to speed up the restructuring plan it announced last month, with the aim of shifting some of the $10B projected savings from 2009 to 2008. Comment!
  • 10:34 AM Internet ad spending will be lower than expected this year and next, putting extra pressure on Google (GOOG), Yahoo (YHOO), and Microsoft (MSFT). Comment!
  • 10:23 AM Existing Home Sales fall 16% to 4.91M in Q2, NAR says. Prices fall 7.6% to $206,500 as surging foreclosures drive bargains. Foreclosures and short sales (homes sold for less than the unpaid mortgage balance) accounted for 1/3 of all Q2 sales. Comment!
  • 10:09 AM Sector ETF strength: Homebuilders– XHB +2.2%. Regional Banks– RKH +1.7%. Commercial Banks– KBE +1.6%. Retailers– XRT +1.6%. Financials– XLF +1.3%. Agribusiness– MOO +1.3%. Comment!
  • 10:09 AM Sector ETF weakness: Silver– SLV -3.3%. Energy– XLE -1.5%. Oil Services– OIH -1.4% Commodities– GSG -1.3%. Coal– KOL -1.2%. Energy– IYE -1.2%. Comment!
  • 10:05 AM Dow laggards: T -1.4%. AA -1.3%. WMT -1.0%. VZ -0.9%. Comment!
  • 10:03 AM Dow leaders: GM +3.3%. BAC +0.9%. BA +0.5%. Comment!
  • 09:58 AM Banc of America downgrades Jefferies (JEF) from Neutral to Sell on concerns about the company's near-term profitability. Says JEF's its "least favorite name in the group." Shares -4.9%. Comment!
  • 09:47 AM Economist Keith Hembre thinks that with today's surprise CPI jump, we've probably seen the peak of the inflation readings, at least in the near-term. Some anomalous readings are likely to reverse out in coming months. Comment!
  • 09:32 AM More than 33,000 buyers have signed a waiting list for General Motor's (GM) Volt, an all-electric car. The rechargeable car is expected to hit streets in 2010. Comment!
  • 09:28 AM U.S. futures: Dow -0.36%. S&P -0.53%. Nasdaq -0.27%. Crude -0.65% to $115.30. Gold -0.84% to $824.80. Comment!
  • 09:28 AM After initial indifference, Treasurys are now sharply higher following troublesome labor and inflation data. 30-year +0.57%. 10-year +0.32%. 5-year +0.21%. 2-year +0.07%. Comment!
  • 09:23 AM Trading down premarket on earnings: IPI -6%. NTAP -5.6%. Comment!
  • 09:12 AM Trading up premarket on earnings: NOA +14%. CVI +7%. EL +6.8%. CTRP +5%. URBN +2.5%. Comment!
  • 09:07 AM Invesco (IVZ) +6.75% premarket on news it's replacing IAC/Interactive (IACI) in the S&P 500. IAC down 4.1%. Comment!
  • 08:56 AM Crocs (CROX) +4.6% premarket after Skechers (SKX) bids $143M for Heelys (HLYS). HLYS +14% premarket to $5.55, $0.30 more than Skechers' bid of $5.25. SKX is willing to raise if HLYS can prove it's worth more. Comment!
  • 08:45 AM Struggling mortgage insurer PMI Group (PMI) +50% premarket following news it is selling its Australian mortgage insurance subsidiary for about $1B to QBE. Comment!
  • 08:40 AM As of Wednesday's close, Apple's (APPL) market cap surpasses Google's (GOOG) ($158.8B vs. $157.2B, respectively). Is Apple changing the playing field? Comment!
  • 08:39 AM Futures reverse direction following troublesome labor and inflation data. Dow -0.38%. S&P -0.51%. Nasdaq -0.35%. They had been positive. Comment!
  • 08:36 AM CPI jumps to 5.6% Y/Y, way higher than the 5.1% consensus. Core CPI +0.3% vs. +0.2%. Prices increased 0.8% from June, double consensus. Comment!
  • 08:35 AM Weekly jobless claims 450,000 - down 10K from last week (revised to 460K from 455K) but 15K above consensus. Four-week average jumps 19,500 to 440,500. Comment!
  • 08:20 AM Preliminary numbers on the integration of CBS (CBS) and CNET (CNET) show increased traffic on both websites. CBS Interactive's CEO Quincy Smith says on-air call outs and cross promotion helped attract more users. Comment!
  • 08:11 AM eBay (EBAY) is in talks to buy a minority stake in Korean rival Gmarket (GMKT). eBay has often bought leading auction sites in countries where it has competed; 42% of its revenue comes from acquired properties. Comment!
  • 08:01 AM Economists expect to see that cost of living increased 0.4% in July (+5.1% Y/Y) and that core CPI rose 0.2%. Official consumer price numbers will be released at 8:30am. Comment!
  • 07:54 AM Amid concerns about high energy prices, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission proposes a rule which prohibits petroleum-market manipulation, and allows for fines of up to $1M. Comment!
  • 07:43 AM Elizabeth Arden (RDEN): FQ4 EPS of $0.22 in-line. Revenue of $236M (-2.6%) in-line. [PR] Comment!
  • 07:40 AM Estee Lauder (EL): FQ4 EPS of $0.61 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $2.01B (+14.2%) vs. $1.93B. [PR] Comment!
  • 07:39 AM Alan Greenspan denounces the government bailout of Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE). He expects home prices to bottom out in the first half of 2009. Comment!
  • 07:30 AM A WSJ review shows a heart stent manufactured by Boston Scientific (BSX) and expecting FDA approval for U.S. sales is backed by flawed research. Boston Scientific denies that the clinical study failed or that the research is flawed. Comment!
  • 07:22 AM U.S. futures are trading to the upside. Dow +0.4%. S&P +0.4%. Nasdaq +0.3%. Crude +0.3% to $116.34. Gold +0.95% to $839.40. Comment!
  • 07:21 AM Europe is higher at midday. London +1%. Paris +1.1%. Frankfurt +0.4%. Comment!
  • 07:14 AM J.M. Smucker (SJM): FQ1 EPS of $0.82 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $664M (+18.2%) vs. $647M. [PR] Comment!
  • 07:05 AM In addition to its $3B bid for UnionBanCal (UB), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MTU) is quietly looking for other acquisitions. MTU could eventually invest several billion dollars in a regional or commercial U.S. lender. Comment!
  • 06:50 AM Rumors are growing that BHP Billiton (BHP) might make a bid as high as $25B for Impala Platinum [Implats] (IMPUY.PK), the No. 2 global platinum producer. BHP is the world's largest metal/mineral producer, but has no platinum exposure. Comment!
  • 06:38 AM Bank seizures nearly tripled in July and U.S. foreclosures jumped 55% Y/Y. "It's getting worse," RealtyTrac's Rick Sharga says. "The number of properties that have been foreclosed on by the banks and still haven't sold is the highest we've ever seen." Comment!
  • 06:24 AM Q2 GDP in the Euro zone contracted for the first time in nearly a decade, falling 0.2% from Q1 growth of 0.7%. Annual GDP slowed to 1.5% amid high inflation, weak export demand, and faltering investments. Comment!
  • 06:20 AM Wal-Mart (WMT): Q2 EPS of $0.86 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $102.7B (+10.4%) vs. $101.7B. Sees Q3 EPS of $0.73-0.76 vs. $0.76. [PR] Comment!
  • 06:15 AM Barnes & Noble (BKS) is not expected to make a bid for its bricks-and-mortar rival Borders, WSJ says. Investors loaded up on Borders (BGP) in recent months in hopes of a bid. Comment!
  • 06:05 AM Urban Outfitters (URBN): Q2 EPS of $0.33 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $454M (+30.4%) vs. $450M. [PR] Comment!
  • 05:46 AM Heightened interest in gymnastics and swimming helped NBC (GE) reach its highest ratings yet in 2008 Olympic coverage. The ratings are a 12% increase over a similar night in the 2004 Olympics. Comment!
  • 05:30 AM Earnings previews for companies reporting before today's open: URBN Comment!
  • 04:54 AM Europe is trading up. London +1.27%. Paris +0.91%. Frankfurt +0.51%. Comment!
  • 04:52 AM Asia closed mostly down on Thursday. Nikkei -0.51% to 12,957. Hang Seng +0.47% to 21,393. Shanghai -0.38% to 2,437. BSE -1.46% to 14,874. Comment!
  • 04:48 AM China's industrial production slows to an 18-month low (+14.7% in July Y/Y) on weaker export demand and an Olympic Games curb on air-polluting factories. Comment!
  • 03:54 AM Wal-Mart (WMT) will invest at least $1B to expand operations in Brazil, Latin America's largest economy. Comment!
  • 12:10 AM Notable earnings after Thursday's close: A, ADSK, DV, JWN, KSS Comment!
  • 12:05 AM Notable earnings before Thursday's open: CCJ, EL, MPEL, URBN, WMT Comment!
  • 12:00 AM Thursday's economic calendar:
    8:30 Consumer Price Index
    8:30 Jobless Claims
    10:35 EIA Natural Gas
    4:30 PM Money Supply Comment!
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