ORCL Faces Battle Over PSFT

February 26, 2004
Brice Wightman

Stocks
settled into a trading range today, finishing off flat. New
home sales slipped 1.7% to a seasonally adjusted 1.106 million from previous
forecasts of 1.125 million. Weekly Initial claims rose by another 10K,
strengthening the argument of a jobless recovery. According to the World Health
Organization, scientists are just weeks away from a human bird flu vaccine. The
dollar peaked at a one-month high against the euro at $1.2427 on a possible ECB
rate cut. The Justice Department will block Oracle’s bid to acquire
PeopleSoft
(
PSFT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) because it is “anti-competitive, pure, and simple.”
Larry Ellison said he would sue the government if they tried to block the
acquisition. PSFT is down 3% today.

Genentech
(
DNA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) received early
approval from the FDA for Avastin, used as a first-line treatment for metastatic
colorectal cancer. Avastin works by preventing the formation of new blood
vessels, potentially extending the life of a patient by 5 months. The drug is
expected to cost $400 a month with annual sales exceeding $1 billion. Darden
Restaurants
(
DRI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) upped its quarterly forecasts with earnings to reach
45 cents. Its Olive Garden same-store sales have risen 4% and a turnaround in
its struggling Red Lobster chain is in the works. The news was followed by three
upgrades from Wachovia, Thomas Weisel and Raymond James. Retailer Kohls
(
KSS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
reported fourth-quarter earnings that fell to $246.8 million with net sales
rising to $3.6 billion. Same-store sales fell by 2.1%.

Dow	-21.48	10580.14
S&P 500	+1.24	1144.91
Nasdaq	+9.60	2032.58

Economic news releases included
initial claims that rose 10k to 350k. Durable orders fell by 1.8%. New home
sales were lower-than-expected at 1.106 million units and the Help-Wanted index
fell a point to 38.

10-year Notes were -65
at 114 300

The dollar
was +0.47 at 87.79

Gold was +4.00 at 395.90

Crude oil was -0.21 at
35.47

The euro
was -0.60 at 124.31

Volume was 1,368,000,000
on the NYSE, and 1,722,000,000 on the Nasdaq.

Market breadth was positive.

NYSE	Issues
Advancing	1783	Up Vol 327
Declining	1298	Down Vol 242
Ratio	1.40	1.34
Nasdaq
Advancing	1616	Up Vol 534
Declining	1336	Dow Vol 222
Ratio	2.22	2.41

Top Dow stocks were:

Stocks in the news:

J.C. Penney
(
JCP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported a loss
of $928 million on revenue of $17.79 billion with earnings from continuing
operations up 43%. For the first quarter, JCP expects earnings from continuing
operation to exceed 9 cents a share. Excluding charges, JCP earned 83 cents a
share, ahead of analysts’ estimates.

Pension fund Calpers stated that it had lost
confidence in Disney’s
(
DIS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Eisner’s leadership. Its holdings in
Disney have dropped 23% over the last 5 years.

Men’s Wearhouse
(
MW |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported
earnings of $20.8 million on revenue of $422.7 million The company expects
first-quarter earnings to be $1.63 a share.

Calpine
(
CPN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported
fourth-quarter earnings of $119.6 million from a loss of $25.2 million with
revenue at $1.92 billion a year ago.

bricew@tradingmarkets.com

ORCL Faces Battle Over PSFT

BUY THE FEAR, SELL THE GREED

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