STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday October 20

[ozymandius]

Friday October 20, 2006

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 822 DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2123 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 1829 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1790
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 6
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54


U.S. FUTURES & MARKETS INDICATORS
NASDAQ FUTURES-----------------------------S&P FUTURES




AT THE CLOSING BELL WHEN BUSH TOOK OFFICE on January 22, 2001
Dow - 10,578.24
Nasdaq - 2,757.91
S&P 500 - 1,342.90
Oil - $27.69/bbl
Gold - $266.70/oz.

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON October 19, 2006

Dow... 12,011.73 +19.05 (+0.16%)
Nasdaq... 2,340.94 +3.79 (+0.16%)
S&P 500... 1,366.96 +1.00 (+0.07%)
Gold future... 602.50 +9.90 (+1.64%)
30-Year Bond 4.91% +0.02 (+0.37%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.79% +0.02 (+0.46%)






GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver


PIEHOLE ALERT

Heads Up!
Preliminary info on appearances by Bush & Co. throughout the country. Details & links are added as they become available so check back. And if you know more, are organizing something, or would like to, contact [e-mail]

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

[ozymandius]

1. WrapUp by Martin Goldberg

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF GOLD BUGS INDEX STOCKS

The Gold Bugs Index (HUI) is now at a level where many of the stocks can be purchased with a logical and not-too-painful stop loss. It is therefore appropriate to technically examine the charts of the stocks which make up this index. The results of this analysis, presented in tonight’s article, reveal some key technical leaders and some conspicuous laggards. I wish to focus on the weekly charts covering a two year timeframe. This timeframe provides the performance of the stocks from the May ’05 to May ’06 impulsive bull run in gold stocks, and the corrective wave from May of ’06 to the present.

-cut-

Today’s Market

Another up day in US equities as the Dow Industrials closed over 12,000 for the first time ever. Besides that, there was very little movement in the market on relatively high volume. Google reported after today’s close and the after hours crowd is stepping all over each other to buy the shares in the aftermarket. We saw similar action in Apple stock last night, with the stock trading up over 5% in the aftermarket, although the close today was less than the opening price.

All of the stocks of the HUI were up decisively today, with the HUI up 3.7%. So the statement I made in last night’s draft, “The Gold Bugs Index (HUI) is now at a level where many of the stocks can be purchased with a logical and not-too-painful stop loss”, is somewhat less true now as it was then.

Most relevant from a long term perspective is the Elliott Wave analysis of the HUI; once again re-ran again because it is so important. Since May of this year, the HUI has been in a corrective mode and when this correction is over it will be in the third wave of a third wave, and this promises to be rewarding for those who are long of strong gold stocks. It is bullish that during this correction, the weekly RSI momentum indicator refused to become extremely oversold (so far). (A decisive close below the dashed renders this analysis no longer relevant.)

http://www.financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htm

[ozymandius]

2. Oil prices rise on OPEC decision

LONDON - Oil prices rose moderately Friday after OPEC said it would cut output by a greater-than-expected 1.2 million barrels a day to reverse a three-month price slide. Some members indicated the cartel was open to further reductions.

The cut will take effect Nov. 1, just as global oil demand should begin to rise as winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere.

"This was a surprise, and gave the market an impression they are serious," said Ken Hasegawa, a broker at Himawari CX in Tokyo.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 33 cents to $58.83 a barrel around midday in Europe. The futures contract, which was to expire Friday, rose 85 cents to settle at $58.50 a barrel Thursday.

more

[ozymandius]

3. Schlumberger quarterly earnings nearly double

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE:SLB - news), the world's largest oilfield services company, on Friday said quarterly earnings nearly doubled on strong drilling demand and sharp growth in its seismic business, which measures oil and gas deposits.

However, Chief Executive Andrew Gould said high natural gas storage levels in North America had begun to affect drilling activity in the region, especially in higher-cost operations such as coal bed methane and shallow gas production in Canada.

"This has not yet materially impacted our activity; however, if the coming winter fails to stimulate strong natural gas demand, there is a growing likelihood of excess equipment capacity in the pressure pumping business at some point in 2007," Gould said in a statement.

-cut-

Schlumberger and others in the oilfield sector have seen revenues surge in the past two years as oil and gas producers have spent heavily to increase production and take advantage of historically high energy prices.

more

[UpInArms]

11. OPEC members agree to cut output by 1.2 mln barrels a day

Just in time for the price to rise after the elections :eyes:

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BD614431A%2D7ED8%2D492E%2DABAE%2DF4FC52ACA08A%7D&siteid=mktw&dist=bnb

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to cut crude-oil output by 1.2 million barrels a day, according to a media report Thursday. The decrease, which was decided in Doha, Qatar, represents about 4.4% of the group's current output, and just over 1% of global consumption, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site. Venezuela's oil minister said immediately after the meeting that the group was willing to cut an additional 500,000 barrels a day at its next meeting in December if required, the Journal said.

[ozymandius]

4. Third quarter GDP stronger than forecast

Economic growth exceeded expectations in the third quarter of the year, with services bouncing back from weakness in July and manufacturing continuing to expand at a healthy rate for the third quarter running.

The Office for National Statistics said that the economy grew by 0.7 per cent in the three month period, a rate above the UK's long run average and one that tends to make the Bank of England concerned about rising inflationary pressure.

Along with unexpectedly high inflation figures earlier this week, an interest rate rise in November is now almost certain, economists think.

more

[ozymandius]

5. European equities at fresh five year peak

European stocks moved to a fresh five year high in morning trade on Friday, as higher oil and metal prices boosted mining and energy companies.

Bullish sentiment in stocks was also fuelled by the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing above 12,0000 for the first time on Thursday..

Crude oil rallied after Opec decided to cut supply by a larger than expected 1.2m barrels per day. Investors had expected a cut around 1m barrels per day, and the rise in oil to $59 a barrel was accompanied by a better tone for metal prices.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index gained 8.6 points, or 0.6 per cent at 1,449.74, its highest level since June 2001. Frankfurt's Xetra Dax added 32.71 points, or 0.5 per cent at 6212. France's CAC 40 index was higher by 31.4 points, or 0.6 per cent at 5393.

more

[ozymandius]

6. Target joins move to $4 generics

In a move that brings cheaper drug prices to the masses, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., said they will compete against one another in Arizona with generic drug plans offered in their stores.

On Thursday, Wal-Mart rolled out a $4 generic prescription program at 1,264 Wal-Mart and Sam's Club pharmacies in 14 states, including Arizona and the Tucson-area stores.

Target Corp. announced it would match Wal-Mart's prices, while some experts and some competitors questioned the value of the deal.

-cut-

Target, based in Minneapolis, said in a statement that the move was "consistent with our long-standing practice to be price competitive with Wal-Mart on like items in local markets."

http://www.azstarnet.com/business/151991

[ozymandius]

7. Judge goes against Grasso in pay dispute

The impact of the decision was not immediately clear, but the office of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said in a statement that the judge has ordered Grasso to give back about $100 million.

In his 73-page ruling, New York State Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos sided with Spitzer's argument that Grasso breached his fiduciary duty to the NYSE, by accepting big retirement and savings packages and not disclosing them properly to the directors of the Big Board.

At issue in the case is the supplemental executive-retirement plan, or SERP, that offered Big Board executives income when they retired. Another offering, known as the supplemental executive savings plan, gave executives the chance to defer parts of their salary to be paid out when they left the exchange.

more

[ozymandius]

8. U.S. stocks rise as Dow closes above 12,000

NEW YORK, Oct 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, driving the Dow industrials to end above 12,000 for the first time as strong earnings from companies like Coca-Cola Co. (KO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and UPS countered rising oil prices and a report of business weakness in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Coca-Cola, the world's largest soft-drink maker, topped earnings estimates with strong sales in emerging markets, sending its stock up 2.2 percent to $44.91 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The market received more good news after the closing bell when Web search company Google Inc. (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said quarterly profit rose 92 percent, sending its shares up 7.7 percent to $459 in electronic trading.

-cut-

But the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its business activity index fell in October to a level sharply lower than forecasts, raising concerns about the sustainability of corporate profits. A rise in oil prices fed worries about increased costs for businesses.

more

[ozymandius]

9. 92% profit explosion for Google

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Google Inc. said Thursday that third-quarter profit almost doubled as the company beat Wall Street estimates by 20 cents a share.

-cut-

Google continued to tighten its grip on the online ad market. In September, Google held a 45 percent share of the U.S. search market, up from 44 percent in August, according to ComScore Media Metrix. No. 2 Yahoo Inc.'s search share dipped to 28 percent in September from 29 percent the month before.

Google stuck to its policy of not forecasting earnings, a practice the company says is designed to prevent managing earnings to meet estimates.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0610200184oct20,0,7078753.story?coll=chi-business-hed

[UpInArms]

10. daily dollar watch

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX&v=i

Last trade 86.23 Change -0.03 (-0.03%)

US Leading Index Ominous For GDP

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_financial_markets_headlines/US_Leading_Index_Ominous_For_1161277068082.html

The majors were able to clear overnight ranges in favor of their counter currencies though today’s US data seemed to play a restrained role. Today’s fundamental highlights included the weekly jobless claims figure and September’s Leading Indicators Index, but the real dollar move looks to have been triggered by Saudi Arabia’s acceptance of the proposal for supply cuts promoted by OPEC.

Action started off for the euro early in the European session. After settling on 1.2530 support for some time, two bidding runs helped push the EURUSD to 1.2605. Performing the opposite, spot USDCHF began its own slide off of 1.2705 and continued for 100 points before taking a breather. The Japanese yen was able to move ahead 65 points to 118.20, edging closer to the closely watched 118 figure. Finally, the pound was once again racking up the biggest move when a 110 point move helped break above short-term resistance at 1.8740 on its way to 1.8775.

After three days of notable indicators, the data flow from the US finally began to taper off Thursday. Market reaction to Monday’s Empire survey, Tuesday’s PPI and TICS reports and Wednesday’s CPI and housing starts was unexpectedly reserved. This made a sizable move sometime in the later half of the week a big job. The first report this morning was the weekly claims data from the Labor Department. Continuing claims for the week through October 7th picked up more than expected to 2.453 million, but the real interest was in the initial number. First time claims for the period ending October 14th shrugged off expectations of a slight increase to actually fall to 299,000. This was the first time in nearly three months that claims have slipped below 300,000. However, an immediate correlation to stronger NFPs in two week’s time is likely to be very low as firms hold onto their current employees, but are reluctant to further boost staff levels with demand slowing.

The later released Leading Indicators Index drew a little more attention. The Conference Board’s composite of leading economic indicators grew 0.1 percent in September. While this was an improvement over August’s 0.2 percent contraction, it had also fallen short of the market’s 0.3 percent forecast. Breaking down the index into its 10 components, exactly half were contributing to the positive turn. From the receding group however, the most notable one, due to its, timing was the building permits figure used to measure future construction activity. The sub-gauge weighed on the leading index with a 0.17 percent contraction that was based on the 6.3 percent drop in permits reported yesterday in the housing report. Soundly absorbing the shock in the building forecast though, the consumer expectations figure jumped 0.3 percent. This sentiment figure is based on the University of Michigan’s survey of consumer optimism for the same month, which happened to grow 10.2 points to 78.2 over the month. Such a strong report in sentiment was based in the sudden decline in energy prices, which may make such a strong shift hard to repeat in the following month. While this indicator has shown its use in guiding predictions for growth in the following three to six months, its instantaneous impression on currencies has long been mild. This is because seven of the ten components in the index are known ahead of time. One reason this month’s figure may be a little more interesting to market participants however may be in its comparison to next week’s third quarter GDP report. Annualized economic growth for the three months through September is expected to slow to 2.2 percent. Looking ahead to tomorrow, there are no scheduled indicators available to resuscitate a dollar move.

...more...

[mojavekid]

16. Australia, Costello seeks orderly $US withdrawal

TREASURER Peter Costello has called on East Asia's central bankers to "telegraph" their intentions to diversify out of American investments and ensure an orderly adjustment.

Central banks in China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong have channelled immense foreign reserves into American government bonds, helping to prop up the US dollar and hold down American interest rates.

snip...

Asked if a muscular China would be a force for good, however, Mr Costello said it would be good for growth and stability. "With the growing economic strength you will see growing influence in diplomacy in the regional architecture, as you would expect.

more..

http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/costello-seeks-orderly-us-withdrawal/2006/10/17/1160850931319.html

[ozymandius]

12. Goldman Sachs giveth and it taketh away

10:06
Dow 11,963.39 Down 48.34 (0.40%)
Nasdaq 2,330.46 Down 10.48 (0.45%)
S&P 500 1,363.82 Down 3.14 (0.23%)
10-Yr Bond 4.7840% Down 0.0020
NYSE Volume 523,003,000
Nasdaq Volume 396,012,000

10:00 am : All three major indices are now in the red, spearheaded by reversals in the two most influential sectors -- Financials and Technology. With regard to the latter, SanDisk (SNDK 49.91 -11.82) is this morning's worst performing S&P 500 component, tumbling 19% after a larger than expected drop in average selling prices for its flash chips contributed to a 4% year/year decline in Q3 profits. Eight out of 10 sectors now trade in negative territory with upside support only coming from Utilities and Telecom, which only account for a combined 6.9% of the total weighting on the S&P 500 compared to a 37.8% combined weighting for Financials and Tech.DJ30 -62.19 NASDAQ -11.32 SP500 -4.86 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1389/1005/265 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1479/1137/210 mln

09:40 am : Stocks open modestly higher, paced by gains on the Nasdaq after Google (GOOG 457.99 +31.93) posted another blowout earnings report last night. The stock is up 7.5% after handily beating expectations as Q3 earnings nearly doubled on 70% year/year revenue growth. However, now that Caterpillar (CAT 61.90 -7.12) has opened and shares of the Dow component are currently down 10% after missing analysts forecasts and cutting its FY06 outlook, the major averages are trading in split fashion. DJ30 -26.81 NASDAQ +3.53 SP500 -0.65 NASDAQ Vol 182 mln NYSE Vol 90 mln

[AnneD]

13. Morning Marketeers,

:donut: and lurkers.
Will wonders never cease. We may have our first labour strike in Houston in a blue moon. Seems the janitors that work for several cleaning companies that work downtown are going on strike any day now. They are paid minimum wage and recieve no insurance. They are striking for $8.50 plus insurance. By the way, this is what they pay their workers in other cities-an Houston's COL is not cheap. Judging by the worker they chose to highlight...I think management needs to pony up and do the right thing.

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou061019_gj_workingpoor.54f07bfb.html


Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[UpInArms]

14. 1:46 EST numbers and blather

Dow 11,982.36 29.37 (0.24%)
Nasdaq 2,339.74 1.20 (0.05%)
S&P 500 1,365.95 1.01 (0.07%)
10-Yr Bond 4.782% 0.004

NYSE Volume 1,666,390,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,225,899,000

1:30 pm : Not much has changed since the last update as the indices still struggle to regain their positive footing. One area that is bucking the slightly bearish bias, though, is the Dow Jones Transportation Average. Oil prices recently falling to a fresh 2006 low at $57.20/bbl is helping Truckers regain some momentum and the Railroads extend their gains as one of this month's best performing industry groups (+8.1%). Airlines, however, are among the biggest contributors after Fitch Ratings upgraded raised debt ratings on AMR Corp (AMR 27.71 +1.43) and Continental Airlines (CAL 34.86 +2.21). ..XAL +3.7%.DJ30 -18.81 DJTA +0.7% NASDAQ -0.92 SP500 -0.02 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1741/1151/1.16 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1745/1373/972 mln

1:00 pm : The recovery effort continues, ever so slightly, as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 inch into the green for the first time since the open. Even though both have since slipped back below the flat line, the recent rebound speaks volumes about the market's underlying bullish tone that has let stocks run virtually unabated since bottoming out in mid July. After averaging a 4.6% gain for Q3, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are currently up 2.7%, 2.3% and 3.6%, respectively, just three weeks into the fourth quarter. DJ30 -17.42 NASDAQ -0.54 SP500 -0.06 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1737/1136/1.07 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1799/1324/896 mln

12:30 pm : While there's little change in market breadth as the afternoon session gets underway, the indices are breaking out of the recent trading range. Oil prices slipping to their lowest levels of the session are the most noticeable reason behind the market's improvement, but investors will maintain a close eye on how much oil's decline will weigh on the Energy sector (-1.0%). Crude futures are now down 2.0% at $57.35/bbl as traders price in some uncertainty as to whether OPEC will abide by its plans to cut production by 1.2 mln barrels a day.DJ30 -15.28 NASDAQ -1.46 SP500 -0.08 XOI -0.7% NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1782/1053/968 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1878/1230/814 mln

12:00 pm : Stocks are taking a breather midday as investors weigh a disappointment from Dow component Caterpillar (CAT 60.69 -8.33) against another blowout quarter from Google (GOOG 455.27 +29.21).

With the Dow closing above 12,000 for the first time ever Thursday, a Q3 earnings miss and a lowered full-year profit outlook from one of index's best performers (CAT) has renewed concerns about the pace of economic growth and left investors questioning the sustainability of the three-month rally in stocks.

Fortunately for the bulls still confident that the S&P index will rise at an even faster pace than earnings growth, Google handily beat expectations again after Q3 earnings nearly doubled. That report, coupled with better than expected Q3 earnings from Dow components 3M Co. (MMM 77.53 +1.13) and Merck (MRK 45.22 +0.73), are lending some validation to current valuations and helping to keep market losses at a minimum. DJ30 -29.59 NASDAQ -3.36 SP500 -1.39 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1808/991/872 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1863/1210/728 mln

[AnneD]

15. Looks like

no ponies and ice cream today.

[AnneD]

17. HISD's software system gets an 'F' for frustration

Just three months into the academic year, the Houston school district has racked up nearly $600,000 in overtime expenses and countless hours of lost teacher productivity because of problems with new student information software that cost $18.4 million.

<snip>

Some teachers arrive on campus at dawn or stay past dark to log on when the system isn't backlogged. Others have resorted to keeping grades in old-fashioned gradebooks or using $100, low-tech software to print their progress reports, district leaders said.

<snip>

Software's troubled history
After spending nearly $30 million overhauling their business and payroll systems in recent years, Houston school trustees voted in August 2005 to replace the district's outdated student information software with the new $18.4 million Chancery interface.
<snip>

School nurses, for example, had to navigate nearly 60 screens to enter a child's immunization records before the function was recently improved. And the system seems to come to a halt during high-traffic hours, Saavedra said.

<snip>
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4274792.html

That School Nurse that is navigating through 60 screens, yeppers, that was me. Now that was for one kids shot record. Try multiplying it by 200+ new kids and you get the picture. The improvements mean that instead of taking 30 mins to enter a record WHEN THE SYSTEM IS WORKING, it now only takes 25:eyes: They gave us a bit of a reprive, but we stand to lose federal money over this. I heard that one of the Bush's has some involvement----anyone got ideas on how to track this.

[skids]

18. Tinfoil thought for the day -- say Dems win the house...

...at that point, if the economy is "booming" in 2008 or in a new "recession" the blame/credit falls both on/to the Democratic House and the GOP executive.

Granted the fundamentals are so miserable they may overwhelm any market manipulation --
but my guess would be the inclination of manipulators would be to have it more or less flatline -- what say you -- will the fairies continue to push ever upward for 2008?

Another DU poster suggested Dems should claim the recent upsurge in the market was proof that the economy is responding well to the prospect of a Democratic House. :-)

[AnneD]

19. But Bush is such a screw up...

we can be blaming him for everything for the next 50 years.

[UpInArms]

20. sweeping the floor and closing the door - miracle saves closing above 12k

Dow 12,002.37 9.36 (0.08%)
Nasdaq 2,342.30 1.36 (0.06%)
S&P 500 1,368.60 1.64 (0.12%)
10-Yr Bond 4.784% 0.002

NYSE Volume 2,594,025,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,932,134,000

With the Dow closing at a new record for the ninth time in two weeks, it wasn't surprising to see blue chips look fatigued throughout most of the session Friday.

What did surprise Wall Street, though, was an earnings miss from one of the average's best performers. Caterpillar (CAT 59.40 -9.62) had its worst day since the market crash on October 19, 1987, plunging 14% after taking its Q3 misfortune a step further by reducing its full-year EPS guidance and providing 2007 forecasts significantly lower than analysts' estimates.

While IBM (IBM 90.51 +0.65) was largely responsible for lifting the Dow past 12,000 two days ago, Caterpillar was largely responsible for erecting a wall of worry that left the Dow struggling to close above its latest milestone. Caterpillar's sell-off had a 77-point negative impact on the index. Fortunately for the bulls still confident that the S&P index will rise at an even faster pace than earnings growth, Google (GOOG 459.70 +33.64) handily beat expectations for the eighth time in nine tries since going public.

As the fourth most influential component on the Nasdaq, Google's 8% advance eventually overshadowed declines in SanDisk (SNDK 49.14 -12.58) and Broadcom (BRCM 27.51 -1.46) and helped the tech-heavy Composite eke out a gain. SanDisk was the day's worst performing S&P 500 component, tumbling 20% after a larger than expected drop in average selling prices for its flash chips contributed to a 4% year/year decline in Q3 profits. Broadcom sold off after it lowered Q4 sales forecasts.

When it was all said and done, Google's report, coupled with better than expected Q3 earnings from Dow components 3M Co. (MMM 78.33 +1.93) and Merck (MRK 45.54 +1.05), lent some additional validation to the market's underlying bullish tone that has let stocks run virtually unabated since bottoming out in mid July.

Oil prices closing at their lowest levels of the year provided some additional reassurance. Crude for November delivery closed down 2.9% at $56.82/bbl as traders priced in some uncertainty as to whether OPEC members will abide by their plans to cut production by 1.2 mln barrels a day. However, with the November contract expiring today, there was more open interest in the December contract, which was off 1.9% at $59.35/bbl. DJ30 -9.36 NASDAQ +1.36 SP500 +1.64 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1823/1204/1.91 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1776/1446/1.61 bln

3:30 pm : Slowly but surely, the Dow within the last 10 minutes inched back into positive territory for the first time this afternoon, again sidelining traders trying to fight the upward trend in equities. Albeit short-lived, as the index has since pulled back below the flat line, the Dow is still above 12,000 and on pace to record its fourth straight weekly gain as earnings on the whole remain solid. To recap, 10 of the 13 Dow components posting results this week beat expectations (e.g. JNJ, UTX, IBM, INTC, JPM, KO, HON, PFE, MRK, MMM). Only two missed (e.g. C, CAT) and one company -- McDonald's (MCD 41.36 +0.59) -- was in line; but analysts' estimates were raised after it guided Q3 earnings above consensus last week. DJ30 -1.92 NASDAQ +1.15 SP500 +1.30 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1880/1140/1.56 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1838/1372/1.30 bln

3:00 pm : Indices continue to run in place just below the flat line with few catalysts to get buying efforts back on track. While that may leave some market bulls heading into the weekend hanging their head, today's flat showing is not all that unusual since the market is often cautious early in earnings season and some fatigue was bound to set in following three consecutive weeks of solid gains. DJ30 -12.15 NASDAQ -1.99 SP500 -0.24 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1896/1095/1.44 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1887/1314/1.20 bln

Have a great weekend, all! :hi: