Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
Today is a half-day….tomorrow the market is closed….Friday is a full day, but we don’t expect many traders to show up to work.
The Asian/Pacific markets which were open closed mostly down. Seoul, Japan, India and China each lost more than 1%.
Many of the European markets were closed. The few that were open lost ground. London, Belgium, France, and Amsterdam each lost ground.
Futures here in the States lean to the upside. 35 minutes before the open, Nas 100 futures are up 3.75 (0.32%) to trade at 1188.25 while SPX futures are up 2.5 (0.29%) to trade at 861.
Japan’s Cabinet approved a budget proposal Wednesday that, if passed by lawmakers, will push spending to record levels as the country battles a rapidly worsening recession.
Russia will run a budget deficit in 2009 for the first time in a decade as low oil prices take their toll on government revenue, a Kremlin official said Wednesday, the state RIA-Novosti news agency reported.
More news from Toyota (TM). Their global vehicle sales plunged 21.8% in Nov – its worst drop in 8 years.
Toshiba said Wednesday it would build a new factory to boost production of advanced rechargeable batteries that can be used in hybrid cars and electric vehicles.
Music, games and DVD retailer Zavvi, Britain’s largest independent entertainment retailer, files for bankruptcy protection, stores to remain open
Wal-Mart (WMT) settled a class-action lawsuits over wage-and-hour violations – it’ll pay $640 million.
Fitch, citing weak performance and troubled financial unit, lowers Textron’s (TXT) ratings to ‘BBB+’
An investor who lost more than $1 billion in Madoff scandal commits suicide in Manhattan office
Quaker Chemical (KWR) is cutting 10% of its workforce and declared a 23-cent Q4 dividend.
Navistar (NAV) said it will restate earnings for the 9-month period ending Jul 31. This will boost earnings for the period.
Cadbury PLC (CBY) agrees to sell Australian drinks business to Asahi Breweries Ltd.
Ryder (R) agrees to buy Edart Leasing’s assets.
Britain’s Cambrian Mining agrees to all-share takeover by Canada’s Western Canadian Coal.
Lockheed Martin (LMT) agrees to buy Universal Systems; deal expected to close by early 2009
Micron (MU) reported a fiscal Q1 net loss of 91 cents per share – analysts expected a loss of 45 cents per share.
Starbucks (SBUX) will no longer guarantee a matching company contribution for employee 401k plans in 2009.
Gold is down 0.23% and Silver is up 0.29%.
Crude oil is down 1.86 to trade at 37.12.
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| UPGRADES | SUPX, PLD, SLF, PLD |
| DOWNGRADES | RCL, CCJ |
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| EARNINGS | |
| before the open | none |
| during trading | none |
| after the close | none |
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ECONOMIC RELEASES
8:30 Durable Orders
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 Personal Income
8:30 Personal Spending
10:35 Crude Inventories
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