Good morning. Happy Monday. Hope you had a nice weekend.
The market will start the new week with a slight downward bias but considering the recent gap opens, we’ll call it flat. 35 minutes before the open, Nas 100 futures are down 0.75 (0.06%) to trade at 1214.25 while S&P futures are down 3.25 (0.37%) to trade at 882.25.
The markets in Asia/Pacific rallied very nicely. Indonesia gained more than 7%, Japan more than 5%, Seoul 4%, Australia, Singapore and Taiwan 2% and Hong Kong and India more than 1%.
Europe is mostly up. Norway is up 3.6% and Austria and Germany up about 1.3%. France and London are up about 0.3%. Only the Swiss market is down noticeably (0.96%).
There’s a Fed meeting tomorrow. That’s when they tinker with the discount rate and overnight rate. Considering the deflationary pressures and the recession we are officially in, there’s no reason to raise rates. They may lower them, but I don’t think it matters. This isn’t a very important meeting.
There isn’t much company-specific news out today. Other than the Fed meeting tomorrow, Wall Street is waiting to see if a bailout of the auto industry comes soon.
Honeywell (HON), which makes products such as airplane and fire safety equipment, on Monday gave 2009 earnings guidance within the range of analysts’ expectations, but revenue guidance fell slightly short.
Investors Bancorp (ISBC) said Monday it will acquire American Bancorp of New Jersey (ABNJ) for $140 million in cash and stock.
Biotechnology company Gilead Sciences (GILD) said Friday it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) over the generic drugmaker’s move to make a version of the blockbuster HIV treatment Truvada.
Title insurer Fidelity National Financial (FNF) said late Friday it amended its plans to acquire the title insurance subsidiaries of LandAmerica Financial Group.
Battery maker turned car company BYD Co. has launched China’s first homegrown hybrid vehicle for the retail market, seeking an edge over its crisis-stricken international rivals.
Liberty Media said it is continuing with a plan to spin off Liberty Entertainment group into a separate publicly traded company.
Northern Trust (NTRS) said Monday it is cutting about 4 percent of its staff (450 jobs) to reduce costs and streamline operations amid the weakening economy.
Franklin Resources (BEN) raised its quarterly dividend 5% to 21 cents.
Sonic (SONC) will offer new value menu at end of December; expects 1st-quarter same-store sales decline.
Industrial-products company Illinois Tool Works (ITW) said Monday its operating revenue grew just 2.4 percent during the September, October and November period, as North American and international end markets declined “significantly” in November.
Charles Schwab (SCHW) said average daily trades for Nov was down 18% from Oct. They’re cutting about 100 jobs – mostly at the officer level.
Gold is up 0.82% and silver is up 1.17%.
Crude oil is up 2.15 to trade at 48.43.
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| UPGRADES |
RCRC, CLB, GET, CHH, TI, MTN, BBY , MO , TLAB, TNDM |
| DOWNGRADES | UACL, SNE, IMO, GOK, BBY, CERN, COCO , AHT, OCNF, KR, LO, ALU, INFN, RRC, SWN, DVN, BEC |
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| EARNINGS | |
| before the open | IPSU |
| during trading | none |
| after the close | ABM, CPII, SWHC, TITN |
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ECONOMIC RELEASES
8:30 NY Empire State Index
9:00 Net Foreign Purchases
9:15 Capacity Utilization
9:15 Industrial Production
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