Stocks Look To Open Flat To Higher

Stocks appear set to open flat to higher Tuesday ahead of the Federal
Reserve Board meeting.

Agilent Technologies
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reported Q3
numbers, posting a loss of 24 cents which beat analysts’ lowered views of 35 cents
according to a poll taken by Thomson Financial/First Call.

Department store chain Ames
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has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company plans to cut its
workforce by 2000 employees and close 47 stores in an effort to reorganize.

Merrill Lynch upgraded Guidant
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from Neutral to Near Term Accumulate.

Amazon.com
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was upgraded by
Prudential Securities from Sell to Hold.

Retailer Talbots
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posted Q2
earnings of 28 cents a share, beating analysts’ consensus by a penny according to
a survey taken by Thomson Financial/First Call.

Rooftop manufacturer AAON
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declared a 3-for-2 stock split to occur on September 28, 2001.

Enzon
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posted a Q4 earnings
of 8 cents, compared to a loss of 3 cents in the same quarter a year ago.
According to a poll taken by Thomson Financial/First Call, analysts’ consensus was
for 8 cents with range of 5 to 11 cents.

The dollar was in a tight trading
range this morning against the euro ahead of the FOMC decision this afternoon.

Office supply store chain Staples
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posted Q2 earnings of 9 cents a share, in line with analysts’ estimates
according to Thomson Financial/First Call.

Abby Joseph Cohen of Goldman Sachs
cut her outlook for the S&P 500 to 1500 from 1550.

BJ’s Wholesale Club
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posted Q2
earnings of 49 cents a share, in line with analysts’ estimates according to data
collected by research firm Thomson Financial/First Call.

Craftmade International
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posted Q4 earnings of 30 cents, beating analysts’ consensus of 28 cents a share
based on information from Thomson Financial/First Call.

Robertson Stephens initiated coverage
on Comverse Technologies
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with a Market Outperform.

American Eagle Outfitters
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reported Q2 numbers after the bell and warned that Q3 results would increase
only between 10% to 15%. Analysts polled estimated the company to have an earnings
increase of 19.5% for the quarter.

According to a report in the Wall
Street Journal
, JP Morgan Chase
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plans to cut its workforce by
approximately 3000 employees.

Novartis AG
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received
approval from the FDA to market Zometa.