Earnings Expected Tomorrow....

Earnings Releases on Thursday...

Affiliated Computer Svcs Inc (ACS) 2Q .83
Altera Corp. (ALTR) 4Q .18 4:15PM
Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. (BUD) 4Q .32
Apache Corp. (APA) 4Q 2.31 BMO
AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) 4Q .95 6:00AM
bebe Stores Inc. (BEBE) 2Q .26
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) 4Q .34
Callaway Golf Co. (ELY) 4Q (.18)
Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) 4Q .89
Columbia Sportswear Co. (COLM) 4Q 1.01
CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS) 4Q .55 BMO
E.W. Scripps Co. (SSP) 4Q .70 BMO
Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) 3Q .78 AMC
Flowers Foods Inc. (FLO) 4Q .21
Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI) 2Q .13 1:00AM
Goodrich Corp. (GR) 4Q .91 BMO
Google Inc. (GOOG) 4Q 4.09
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) 1Q .45 8:00AM
ImClone Syss Inc. (IMCL) 4Q .24
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) 4Q 1.03
Key Energy Svcs Inc. (KEG) 4Q .29
L-3 Commun Hldgs Inc. (LLL) 4Q 1.60 BMO
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) 4Q 1.05
MasterCard Inc. (MA) 4Q .70
Mattel Inc. (MAT) 4Q .72 6:00AM
Monster Worldwide Inc. (MNST) 4Q .37 AMC
Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. (NDAQ) 4Q .46 7:00AM
Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NWL) 4Q .45 BMO
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) 4Q .69
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) 2Q .97
Raytheon Co. (RTN) 4Q .90 6:00AM
RF Micro Devices Inc. (RFMD) 3Q .05 4:00PM
Sony Corp. (SNE) 3Q 1.53
Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT) 4Q .67 BMO
Tesoro Corp. (TSO) 4Q .12
Under Armour Inc. (UA) 4Q .31 7:00AM
Western Union Co. (WU) 4Q .31 7:30AM
Wyeth (WYE) 4Q 0.790

and Friday.....

Arch Coal Inc. (ACI) 4Q .47 BMO
Automatic Data Processing (ADP) 2Q .53 BMO
Chevron Corp. (CVX) 4Q 2.26
Cummins Inc. (CMI) 4Q 1.05
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) 4Q 1.93
L.M. Ericsson Telephone Co. (ERIC) 4Q .55 1:30AM
Oshkosh Truck Corp. (OSK) 1Q .50
Simon Ppty Grp Inc. (SPG) 4Q .62 BMO
Tidewater Inc. (TDW) 3Q 1.55 BMO

So...we missed on the degree of the cut....

but the market sold off as we expected would happen with a 50 bp cut.

Now the Fed is out of ammo.

Fed cuts rates 1/2 point....

The Dow has turned positive, up 75 points.

Should be a wild afternoon.

What Will the Fed Do???

We think they will cut 25 basis points.

The market will initially sell off and then rally and close higher....then the Fed saves 25 bps for a later cut if needed.

If they go 50 basis points, the Fed just shows that they are a slave to the traders. If they cut 50, then we think the market will sell off and stay lower.

Hey...we gotta predict something.

VMware Catching a Bid This Morning....

VMW up 1.13 to $56.00.

The stock was obliterated yesterday (down nearly 30 points) on a slight miss in Revenues.

A little overdone on the downside...don't you think???

Robert Half Rises After Earnings....

RHI up 1.30 to $26.15

Want a good economic indicator??? This is the stock.

Specialty staffing company Robert Half International Inc (RHI) reported higher quarterly profit on Tuesday, citing demand in its international divisions.

Earnings rose 4.5 percent to $78.8 million, or 50 cents per share, from $75.4 million, or 45 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, had expected a profit of 47 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue rose 15 percent to $1.22 billion, compared with Wall Street forecasts for sales of $1.2 billion.

PBM's Breaking Higher....

Express Scripps (ESRX) + 2.76 to $67.60
Medco Health (MHS) + 2.35 to $50.38

Looks like traders don't care that WalMart is entering the business.

Check Out Rambus.....

Rambus (RMBS) up 1.40 to $17.92.

This is a crazy stock, but it tends to move in large waves. This is its first move higher since falling from $22 in December.

Shipping Stocks up again....

Dry Bulk Shipping stocks are up for the 2nd straight day.

Leaders:

DRYS + 2.90 to $65.35

DSX + 1.50 to $28.25

Crocs (CROX) continues to break higher...

CROX +.75 to $31.35 on the open.

$31 is a key breakout level.

GDP Slows ....

US GDP Slows To 0.6% Growth In 4Q
U.S. gross domestic product rises at a 0.6% annual rate October through December, pulling growth for all of 2007 to its lowest speed in five years as the housing slump takes a heavy toll. Slowing consumer spending, inventory liquidation and lower overseas sales also restrain the economy.

ADP Sees US Private Sector Jobs Up 130,000

Payrolls giant Automatic Data Processing and consultancy Macroeconomic Advisers says U.S. private sector jobs increase by 130,000 in January, beating forecasts by big margins, setting stage for Friday's payrolls report from the Labor Department.

Stock Futures traded higher after this release.

Baker Hughes...Another Miss...

Baker Hughes misses by $0.02, misses on revs (BHI) 73.44 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.26 per share, $0.02 worse than the First Call consensus of $1.28; revenues rose 11.7% year/year to $2.74 bln vs the $2.79 bln consensus.

Constellation Energy Beats...

Constellation Energy beats by $0.06, beats on revs; guides FY08 EPS in-line (CEG) 92.50 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.48 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the First Call consensus of $1.42; revenues rose 12.3% year/year to $4.46 bln vs the $3.71 bln consensus.

Co issues in-line guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $5.25-5.75 vs. $5.61 consensus.

Kraft Guides Lower...

Kraft Foods reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides FY08 EPS below consensus (KFT) 30.19 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.44 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.44; revenues rose 10.9% year/year to $10.4 bln vs the $10.05 bln consensus.

Co issues downside guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $1.90, excluding $0.34 in costs related to restructuring, vs. $1.94 consensus.

Merck...No Surprises, but Stock Lower...

Merck beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY08 EPS guidance (MRK) 48.01 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.80 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the First Call consensus of $0.74; revenues rose 3.3% year/year to $6.24 bln vs the $6.29 bln consensus.

Co reaffirms guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $3.28-3.38, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.37 consensus.

Boeing Lowers Guidance....

Boeing beats by $0.04, beats on revs; lowers FY08 rev guidance but raises FY08 EPS guidance (BA) 80.96 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.36 per share, $0.04 better than the First Call consensus of $1.32; revenues fell 0.4% year/year to $17.48 bln vs the $17.33 bln consensus. Co lowers its FY08 revenue guidance slightly to $67-68 bln, down from prior guidance of $67.5-68.5 bln and vs $69.6 bln consensus due to the 787 delay.

Co raises FY08 EPS guidance to $5.70-5.85 from $5.55-5.75, as productivity gains are being realized ahead of earlier plans, however it's still below consensus of $5.95.

UPS Reports In-Line Earnings...

UPS reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS in-line; guides FY08 EPS in-line (UPS) 70.92 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.13 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of $1.13; revenues rose 6.1% year/year to $13.39 bln vs the $13.11 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.94-0.98 vs. $0.98 consensus.

Co issues in-line guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $4.30-4.50 vs. $4.45 consensus.

Centex (CTX) Loss Widens....

Home Builder Centex's 3Q net loss widens to $975.2 million, or $7.94 a share, hurt by weakness in housing market. Quarter includes a non-cash charge of $500 million to establish a valuation allowance related to deferred tax assets. Revenue falls 30% to $1.91 billion