Pick The Dow

[bazanster2]

BG,

JPMorgan Chase & Co. posted a second quarter profit of $2.72 billion, a 36 percent jump that easily surpassed expectations as
strength in its core consumer and investment banking businesses offset a jump in credit losses

The number of U.S. households on the verge of foreclosure soared nearly 15 percent in the first half of the year,
affecting more than 1.5 million homes.

CIT Group (CIT), the cash-starved small business lender, said late Wednesday that it has been told it won't be
getting much-needed bailout funds from the government anytime soon.

Going with UP on Thursday,

gl,

baz
.................................................. .................

Initial Claims......552K, much better than the 553K expected. Continuing claims totaled 6.27 million.
New Long-Term TIC Flows 9:00am(Eastern)
Philadelphia Fed 10:00am(Eastern)

[bazanster2]

BG,

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures fell on Friday as caution took root following four days of gains,
after General Electric Co'quarterly earnings sank and Google pointed to weaker advertising and revenue growth,
despite beating expectations.

Bank of America Corp shares dipped after it posted a lower quarterly profit, hurt by a surge in troubled loans as
more credit card and mortgage customers fell behind on payments.

Citigroup has surprised Wall Street, reporting a $3 billion second-quarter profit instead of the big loss analysts expected.
Citigroup earned 49 cents a share vs.the -37 cent loss expected.


Going with DOWN on Friday,

gl,

baz
----------------------------------------------------------------------


Economic Reports:
Building Permits.....563K, better than the 520K expected.
Housing Starts.......582k, well above the 525k forecasted.

By August, 65% of all filers for unemployment insurance will have run out of their standard 26 weeks.

[StarnetGypsy]

The rest of the world is positive going into this week w/re saving CIT, i don't see why we shouldn't be?

UP today

^FTSE 4:53AM ET +42.13 +0.96%
- - - - -
^HSI 4:53AM ET +696.71 +3.70%
- - - - -
^SSEC 3:00am ET +77.18 +2.42%

- - - - -

World stocks gain as earnings, CIT boost sentiment- AP
Asian stock markets extended their advance Monday, with investors emboldened by U.S. lender CIT Group's eleventh-hour deal to stave off bankruptcy and optimism about corporate earnings.

- - - - -

By Alan Zibel, AP Business Writer
On Monday July 20, 2009, 3:54 am EDT
.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- CIT Group Inc.'s board approved a deal late Sunday with major bondholders to keep the company out of bankruptcy with a $3 billion rescue loan, the New York Times reported.

The emergency financing is intended to give the ailing company time to restructure some of the billions of dollars in debt payments coming due this year, the Times reported, citing anonymous sources.

CIT representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

New York-based CIT had been negotiating with key bondholders -- including bond manager Pimco -- in an attempt to avoid a bankruptcy filing. Jeffrey Peek, the company's chairman and chief executive, was actively involved in the talks, according to a person briefed on the matter. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential.

CIT has been scrambling to raise $2 billion to $4 billion after the federal government refused to bail out the company. Rescue talks with government regulators broke off late Wednesday after days of round-the-clock negotiations.

Under the deal, CIT's main bondholders would give the company $3 billion at an initial rate of 10.5 percent, the Times reported.

A bankruptcy filing would have threatened funding for scores of small businesses across the country. It also would have wiped out $2.3 billion in federal bailout money injected into the company in December.

The lender faces $7.4 billion in debt due in the first quarter of next year. Highlighting its woes, CIT will be removed from the Standard & Poor's 500 index next Friday and replaced with software distributor Red Hat Inc.

CIT had warned that depriving it of more federal aid could imperil about a million corporate borrowers -- from Dunkin' Donuts franchisees to retailer Dillards Inc. But the Obama administration turned down the company's request, showing it's drawing a line on federal rescues for troubled financial firms.

In recent weeks, as the prospect of a CIT bankruptcy filing loomed, industry trade groups increased their pitch to lawmakers to prevent the collapse of CIT, which they say would imperil their small-business members and derail the already fragile economy.

CIT serves as short-term financier to about 2,000 vendors that supply merchandise to 300,000 stores, according to the National Retail Federation. Analysts say 60 percent of the apparel industry depends on CIT for financing, so other lenders taking up all the slack would pose a big financial strain.

AP Business Writer Stevenson Jacobs contributed to this report from New York.

[bazanster2]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Monday after CIT Group Inc clinched a deal that could help it avoid bankruptcy,
removing some uncertainty as the financial sector recovers from a deep crisis.

Despite warning there is still a significant risk of a "double-dip" recession, Goldman Sachs raised its year-end target for the
benchmark S&P 500 index to 1,060 from 940 -- an upward move of almost 13 percent.

Adding to the positive tone, White House Budget Director Peter Orszag said Sunday that second-quarter U.S. gross domestic product
data is likely to be better than first-quarter levels, indicating improvement in the economy.

Going with UP on Monday,

gl,

baz

--------------------------------------------
Economic Report:
Leading Indicators 10:00am(Eastern)

Earnings Reports:
Haliburton(HAL)........29 cents, a 48% decline. CEO says no end to natural gas glut this year.
Johson Controls (JCI)...26 cents, first profitable quarter since last autumn.
Texas Instruments(TXN)
Legg Mason(LM)
Boston Scientific(BSX)

[StarnetGypsy]

Originally Posted by bazanster2

Going with UP on Monday,

gl,

baz

here's to hope, Baz!

according to the talking heads, the administration felt it wasn't necessary to loan CIT the $2bil because they felt the economy has improved enuff for them to find the $$ on their own, which they have from the private sector

[Bostongambler]

Down on Tues.

[bazanster2]

BG,

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke scheduled to report on the country's economic and financial health on
Capitol Hill starting Tuesday at 10am(Eastern) in front of the House Financial Services Committee.


Caterpillar(CAT) reported 2Q Earnings of .72 cents well ahead of the .22 cents forecasted.
Texas Instruments(TXN) reported earnings of .20, 2 cents better than expected.

Apple, Coca Cola, America Movil highlight some of today´s earnings.

No Economic Reports.

Going with UP today,

gl,

baz
.................................................. ...........

The economy may finally be nearing the bottom of the recession in 23 of the nation's metro areas,
according to the latest Adversity Index data on jobs, manufacturing and housing from Moody's Economy.com

[StarnetGypsy]

Originally Posted by Bostongambler

Down on Tues.

he speaks!

UP again today. not enuff gain for takin profits yet, imho ...

[bazanster2]

BG,

U.S. stock futures fell, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may drop from the highest level since November,
as earnings at Morgan Stanley trailed analysts’ estimates and Wells Fargo & Co. said credit losses may increase.

Going with DOWN on Hump Day,

gl,

baz
-------------------------------------------


Economic Reports:
Crude Inventories 10:00am(Eastern)

[Bostongambler]

Down on Thurs.

[bazanster2]

Going with UP on Thursday,

gl,

baz

[Bostongambler]

Good call Baz.


Down on Friday.

[bazanster2]

BG,

Thanks, trying for a sweep this week, been a while.
Going with DOWN on Friday, thinking that traders take some profits off the table heading into the weekend,

gl,

baz
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Economic Report:
Michigan Sentiment Report 9:45am(Eastern)...65.0 expected, briefing.com forecasts slightly less at 64.5


Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner are scheduled to testify
at 10:30 a.m. ET before the House Financial Services Committee

Microsoft (MSFT) reported a sharp drop in quarterly sales.
Amazon (AMZN) posted a decline in quarterly profit.


Second quarter output in the United Kingdom declined more than expected.
In a preliminary estimate, sources said output contracted -0.8% quarter-over-quarter.
The annual output contraction was -5.6%, the biggest decline since quarterly records began in 1955.

CIT Group Inc., the commercial lender seeking to avoid collapse, said it may still need to seek bankruptcy
protection even if its debt tender offer succeeds because of the risk of a draw down of loans by its customers.

[bazanster2]

Market set to Open flat.
No real idea which direction it may take.
Biggest week of earnings.
Going with UP on Monday,

gl,

baz

---------------------------------------------
Economic Reports:
New Home Sales 10:0am(Eastern)

[bazanster2]

Office Depot, posted quarterly losses almost twice as bad as projected.
Coach, the biggest U.S. maker of luxury leather handbags, fell 7.1 percent as sales trailed estimates.
Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. declined after Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s
biggest lender, set aside more money for bad loans than analysts estimated.

Going with DOWN on Tuesday,

gl,

baz
----------------------------------------------------------------

Economic Reports:
S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index 9:00am(Eastern)
Consumer Confidence 9:00am(Eastern)

[bazanster2]

Sprint Nextel Corp., reported a loss of $384 million, or 13 cents per share for the 2nd Quarter.

Health insurer WellPoint Inc. said Wednesday its profit fell 7.6 percent in the second quarter.
however, earnings excluding the investment losses topped Wall Street estimates and it reaffirmed
its full-year guidance.

Automaker Daimler has Q2 loss of euro1.06 billion ($1.51 billion), result beats analyst estimates.

Arcelor Mittal (MT) posted a deeper-than-expected loss of $0.57 per share.

Going with DOWN on Hump Day,

gl,

baz
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Economic Reports:
Durable Goods........................-2.5%
Durable Ex.Transportation............+1.1%
Crude Inventories 10:30am(Eastern)
Fed´s Beige Book 2:00pm(Eastern)

[bazanster2]

"Waves of earnings announcements have been coming since the prior session's closing bell.
Results have generally been better than expected, as has been the case since earnings season began."

Earnings on the Upside: MasterCard, Visa, Colgate-Palmolive, Alcatel-Lucent, Motorola.
Earnings on the Downside: Exxon, Dow Chemical, Sony, Sharp, Nintendo, Eastman Kodak.

Futures indicators positive,
going with UP on Thursday,

gl,

baz
------------------------------------------------------------


Economic Report:
Intial Claims.......584k, above the 575k expected.

[bazanster2]

July 31 (Bloomberg) -- The first 12 months of the U.S. recession saw the economy shrink more than twice
as much as previously estimated, reflecting even bigger declines in consumer spending and housing, revised figures showed.
The world's largest economy contracted 1.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the last three months of 2008,
compared with the 0.8 percent drop previously on the books.

Stock futures erased gains after the government said personal consumption slumped more than forecast last quarter
and Chevron Corp. posted earnings that trailed estimates.

------------------------------------------------------------------

About three out of every four companies in the S&P 500 that released results since June 17 have exceeded analysts’
second- quarter profit estimates, data compiled by Bloomberg show. They’ve beaten forecasts by an average of 9 percent,
even as per- share earnings tumbled 31 percent and sales slid 15 percent.

Going with DOWN on Friday,

gl,

baz
.................................................. .........................


Economic Reports:
GDP-Adv. -1.0%
GDP Rev. 6.4% vs. 5.55% previous reading.
Personal Consumption -1.5% vs. -0.5% consensus.
Core PCE +2.0%
Employment Cost Index....+2.0% quarter-over-quarter(consensus ´+2.3%)
Chicago PMI 9:45am(Eastern)
Chain Deflator 9:45am(Eastern)

[StarnetGypsy]

Baz & BG .. upbeat article i found in USA Today.

http://www.majorwager.com/forums/mes...ml#post1579628