Morning Coffee with TradingMarkets

  • November 30, 2007
  • David Penn

Good Morning!

Market Holds Gains…Bonds Have Best Month in 12 Years…Asian Stocks Up, Yen Down…Futures Point to Powerful Open…Bernanke Speaks…Lampert’s Sears Suffers Losses…Is Oil’s Upside Over?…Dell’s Disappoints…Changes at the Top for Morgan Stanley…White House, Banks Plan to Freeze Subprime Rates

Overnight, the market index futures are up big: 15+ points in the S&P, more than 100 points in the Dow…Fed chair Bernanke spoke yesterday, admitting that recent “market turbulence” would have to be factored into monetary policy decisions going forward. Observers suggest that Bernanke’s message of potentially lower rates might be a message that extends beyond December into possible Fed inclinations in the first part of 2008.

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TradingMarkets 5 Business Stories You Need to Know

Three Up Days in a Row – Associated Press

Dow makes third higher close in a row for the first time since September as the traditional fall correction begins to give way to anticipation of an end of the year rally.

Bernanke Backing Kuhn Comments? – CBS Marketwatch

Fed chairman admits that recent “market turbulence” should be a factor in determining monetary policy. Remarks in speech widely believed to hint at a Fed ease in December.


Oil Prices Accelerate Retreat – Bloomberg

Does the inability of crude to rally above $100 and instead reverse below $90 suggest a change in the trend toward higher prices, or merely a momentary respite?


Morgan’s Cruz: Jump or Push? – Times Online

After 25 years with Morgan Stanley, Zoe Cruz calls it a day. Was the highest paid woman on Wall Street just another casualty of the drive to move beyond the subprime woes of 2007?

Sears Holdings On the Retreat – Chicago Tribune

Eddie Lampert’s retail-as-real estate play suffers worse loss in years, as investors wonder about the ability of Lampert to turn around the troubled retailer.

For more stories as they happen, go to our Breaking News section.

TradingMarkets 7 Stocks You Need to Know for Today

Here are 7 stocks for traders for today from TradingMarkets.com:

  • Brocade [BRCD | BRCD] beat earnings on Thursday after the bell, announcing $0.17 EPS over an expected $0.13 EPS.

     

  • Dell [DELL | DELL] matched earnings on Thursday with $0.35 EPS. But investors were disappointed by profits and outlook for 2008.

     

  • OmniVision [OVTI | OVTI] beat earnings expectations on Thursday afternoon with $0.51 EPS over $0.43 EPS.

     

  • J. Crew [JCG | JCG] beat earnings on Thursday with $0.42 EPS over $0.36 EPS.

     

  • Sales were off, but profits soared in the third quarter for Big Lots
    (
    BIG |
    Quote |
    Chart |
    News |
    PowerRating)    , which reported earnings today before the bell.

     

  • Tiffany & Co. [TIF | TIF] announced its third quarter profits more than tripled on a year over year basis.

     

  • Knightsbridge Tankers [VLCCF | VLCCF] expects to report $0.44 EPS on Friday after the close.

For a list of today’s highest PowerRating stocks, click here.

TradingMarkets 5 Top PowerRatings Stocks for Today

Company
 Symbol PowerRatings
Phoenix Technologies PTEC 9
PetroCanada PCZ 8
North American Palladium PAL 8
Delek U.S. Holdings DK 8
ADVANTA ADVNB 8

View More Stocks

TradingMarkets Tracking the Wizards

Paulson’s $2.7 Billion Winning Wager – Bloomberg

Credit Opportunities Funds were up on average 340% through September due to timely bets against the mortage markets. Performance tops that of Citadel’s Griffin, who also bet, and won, big against the subprime mortgages.

Investors Flock to Multi-Strategy Funds – New York Times

Larger hedge funds that work with more than one trading strategy increasingly attract new investors. Deeper more experienced staffs, access to capital and flexibility to pursue opportunities wherever they may be are among reasons for the “multi-strategy” preference.

Babylon Fund Up 20% YTD – FINalternatives

Hedge fund with Iraq focus brings in solid returns for investors in 2007. Bjorn Englund’s fund invests in the two-year old Iraq Stock Market, as well as internationally-traded Iraqi bonds, private equity investments and international companies that do business with Iraq.

TradingMarkets Playbook

As we discussed yesterday, it was critically important that the market hold on to the gains of the past two days. And once again the market did not disappoint as the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all closed up for the third day in a row. As an example of how hard fought this accomplishment was, consider that the Dow had not been up for three days in a row since September.

The theme, again, is about holding. Some profit-taking should be expected. But we should also look for “late adopters” to the three-day rally taking advantage of any weakness to buy shares that are still well-off their highs.

We are sticking with the “perfect scenario” that we outlined here back on Tuesday. Up is good, obviously. But sideways might be even better if it allows the market to work off its short-term overbought condition, and establish a solid base for the next leg higher.

David Penn is Senior Editor at TradingMarkets.com.



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