{"id":6357,"date":"2013-01-30T07:33:50","date_gmt":"2013-01-30T12:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leavittbrothers.com\/blog\/?p=6357"},"modified":"2013-01-30T07:33:50","modified_gmt":"2013-01-30T12:33:50","slug":"before-the-open-jan-30-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.leavittbrothers.com\/?p=6357","title":{"rendered":"Before the Open (Jan 30)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning. Happy Wednesday. Happy Fed Day.<\/span>
\nThe Asian\/Pacific markets closed mostly up. China, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore led the way. Europe is currently trading mixed and with a downward bias. Stockholm is up 0.5%; Switzerland is down 0.6% – everything else falls in between. Futures here in the States point towards a flat open for the cash market.
\n<\/span>
\nThe dollar is down. Oil and copper are up. Gold and silver are flat.<\/span>
\nToday is Fed Day. I’m not going to repeat my mini rant from two days ago. If things really are improving, the Fed should remove the punch bowl sooner rather than later or else we run the risk of another bubble forming. I won’t know how to interpret the Fed needing to keep rates low while the economy and market are improving. Something has to give. It would be a shock if the Fed raised rates right now, but some language in their statement hinting at when rates will be raised will be looked for. <\/span>
\nAmazon (AMZN) has gotten hit hard the last two days, but in after-hours trading yesterday, the losses were recovered after earnings were released. Right now the stock is up about 9% and close to its high from two days ago.<\/span>
\nKinder Morgan (KMP) is buying Copano (CPNO).<\/span>
\nChesapeake Energy (CHK) is up 11.4%…its founder and CEO is stepping down.<\/span>
\nL-3 Communications (LLL) is up almost 3%…earnings related.<\/span>
\nBoeing (BA) is up 1.7% after releasing earnings It’s probably too early for their latest battery issues to effect earnings. <\/span>
\nNorthrup Grumman (NOC) announced a drop in sales and a 2.7% drop in profits. The stock has not traded premarket. <\/span>
\nHess Corp (HES) is up 1%…earnings related.<\/span>
\nMarathon Petroleum (MPC) is up 0.7%…earnings related.<\/span>
\nPhillips 66 (PSX) has earnings today, but I don’t see their numbers yet.<\/span>
\nFacebook (FB), ConocoPhillips (COP), Qualcomm (QCOM), Electronics Arts (EA), JDS Uniphase (JDSU), Murphy Oil (MUR), Owens Illinois (OI) and Las Vegas Sands (LVS) report after today’s close. <\/span>
\nThe FOMC is scheduled for 2:15 EST.<\/span>
\nAfter the FOMC, Wall St. will focus on Friday’s employment numbers. <\/span>
\nMy stance remains the same. I like the long side, but in most cases it’s too late to chase stocks higher. Buying now is not wise from a risk\/reward standpoint. Play good defense. 2013 is shaping up to be a good year, and there’s lots of time left and many trades to be had. Be patient. More after the open.<\/span>
\nheadlines at Yahoo Finance<\/a><\/span>
\nheadlines at MarketWatch<\/a><\/span>
\ntoday’s upgrades\/downgrades<\/a><\/span>
\nthis week’s Earnings<\/a><\/span>
\nthis week’s Economic Numbers<\/a><\/span>
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