Bank of America continues to slide....

The slide in Bank of America (BAC -6.1%) continues, now trading at $6.55. Low print in this bear market: $6.31. Low close: $6.51. Other banking shares have given up sharp early gains, but remain slightly higher to moderately lower.

Market trades back down after strong open....

After the Dow gapping up nearly 170 points, we are now back to unchanged on the day....My guess is Margin calls are putting pressure on the market.  Typical Margin call deadlines are 11:45 am and 2:30 pm.

If we can get past 2:30 pm today with a gain, that at least prevets further margin call pressure tomorrow.

Gold Move Parabolic....

These kind of panic moves usually end badly for those who "invest" in them.  Let's keep an eye on this chart. 

Morning Movers.....

Accretive Health Inc. (AH) declined 2.1 percent to $28. The Chicago-based company that helps hospitals collect medical bills from patients reported second-quarter earnings minus some items of 12 cents a share, beating the average estimate of five analysts of 10 cents a share, according to Bloomberg data.

Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) rallied 3.1 percent to $42.10. The McLean, Virginia-based lender that acquired ING Direct USA in June, agreed buy HSBC Holdings Plc’s U.S. credit card division for about $32.7 billion. Capital One said the deal will add to earnings in 2013.

Cree Inc. (CREE) jumped 10 percent to $32.52. The maker of energy-efficient lighting posted fourth-quarter adjusted earnings that exceeded the average analyst projection, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Macy’s Inc. (M) gained 4.2 percent to $26.50. The second-biggest U.S. department-store chain reported quarterly earnings that beat analysts’ estimates and boosted its full-year profit forecast as sales increased faster than the retailer expected.

OpenTable Inc. (OPEN) gained 5 percent to $63.35. The online restaurant-reservation service was raised to “buy” from “hold” at Citigroup Inc. analyst Mark S. Mahaney, who cited an attractive valuation and the company’s prospects for growth and profitability.

Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) : The developer of customer relationship management software reported second-quarter earnings that exceeded the average analyst projection, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL) climbed 10 percent to $132.26. The clothing retailer reported first-quarter earnings of $1.90 a share, exceeding analysts’ estimate of $1.47 on average.

SunPower Corp. (SPWRA) : The second-largest U.S. solar panel said third-quarter earnings and sales will be lower than the average analyst estimate.

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) slid 4.3 percent to $33.20. The world’s biggest theme-park operator posted third-quarter studio revenue of $1.62 billion, compared with the average analyst estimate of $1.83 billion.

Disney Beats, but uncertain on Outlook....

Walt Disney Co. (DIS). The company’s quarterly results surpassed cautious Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, but the media and entertainment giant now has to grapple with an uncertain outlook for consumer spending. Disney posted net income of $1.48 billion or 77 cents per share, versus $1.33 billion or 67 cents a year earlier.

Good Morning....Futures Lower....

at 9:15 am

Dow Futures -256
Nasdaq -48
S&P -27

Markets Close MUCH Higher....

Dow +429.92
Nas +124.83
S&P +53.07

Nice closing rally...kind of erases 2/3rds of yesterdays losses.  Tomorrow is an important day.  We need a follow-up rally!!!

Traders sell into Fed news.....

Immediately following the Fed announcement, the Dow was up 180 points, 30 minutes later the Dow is down 108.

It will be an interesting close.  We have afternoon margin calls due at 3 pm....after that, hopefully we will gain some footing.

2:15 pm: Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged....

In an unprecedented move they are saying that they are not intending on raising rates until mid 2013.  Kind of an extreme statement...ultimately good for stocks, but may get a bad reception in the near term.

Expect Margin Calls.....

Market will undoubtedly face some selling pressure between 11 am and Noon today....

Keep an Eye on Gold and Silver....

Silver started selling off last Thursday...a fall in gold would be a key sign of a shift of money looking for bargains in stocks....

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades....

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning.


AECOM Technology Corp. (NYSE: ACM) Reiterated Buy with $33 target at Argus.
American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) Raised to Market Perform at KBW.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) Raised to Buy with $31 target at Argus.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Maintained Buy but cut target to $140 at Argus.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE: PPG) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
StanCorp Financial Group (NYSE: SFG) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Raised to Hold at Citigroup

All Eyes on the Fed....

The FOMC is due to meet today amid calls for the Fed to take action over slowing growth, especially after yesterday's stock plunge. However, with interest rates at zero to 0.25% for nearly three years and $2.3T of bond buying not spurring growth, there doesn't appear to be a huge amount the Fed can do. One option would be to replace shorter-term securities with longer maturities to reduce rates on longer-term debt. And if the Fed is considering QE3, it's not expected to announce it today.

Bring Back the Uptick Rule!!!!

With the Uptick Rule in place, shorting the market was much more difficult.  The SEC completely dropped the ball by allowing these ETF companies talk them into getting rid of the rule.  The result...a casino with no protection on the downside.

Medicis cuts outlook.....

Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (MRX). The company posted second-quarter profit in line with estimates and cut its full-year outlook. Medicis cut full-year earnings to $2.25-$2.56 a share from earlier view of $2.45-$2.60 a share. April-June net income fell to $28.8 million, or 43 cents a share, from $36.5 million, or 56 cents a share, a year ago.

Carrizo Oil and Gas Profit Doubles....

Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc (CRZO). The natural gas-focused energy company’s second-quarter profit rose more than fourfold helped by higher production and increase in oil prices, and said it expects 2011 production to be at par or above its prior view. Net income rose to $7.7 million, or 20 cents a share, from $1.8 million, or 5 cents a share, a year ago.

Fossil Q2 profit beats Street, but Guides Lower...

The company which sells its namesake brand as well as Michael Kors and Armani quarterly profit beat market estimates on increased sales of its watches and leather products, but the watchmaker forecast a third-quarter profit below expectations.

Fossil trading at $78 premarket down from a close of $93.  Fossil was IBD's number 2 rated stock.

Dish Network Q2 profit misses on subscriber losses

The second-largest U.S. satellite TV provider’s quarterly profit fell short of market estimates as the satellite-TV provider lost subscribers, hurt by increased competition.

Direct TV and Verizon's FIOS taking a toll on DISH.....

Futures have reversed overnight....

At 11 pm last night, the Dow Futures were down 280 points....as I write this Dow Futures are up 108 points....

Market Breadth from Yesterday....

This is about as ugly as it gets....Check out the New Lows on the NYSE (1,306).  I have been keeping track of Market Stats for 15 years, and have never seen anything close to that.  Selling volume suggests that yesterday was a complete panic selloff. 

Stocks to watch....

Apple Inc. (AAPL). The iPhone-maker said on Saturday its App Store reached landmark 10 billion downloads, further underlining the lead of the company in mobile online software battle, a counter on front page of the store showed.

Halliburton Co. (HAL). The world's second-largest oilfield services, on Monday reported higher fourth-quarter profit as drilling activity in its North American market remained strong. The company said its net profit rose to $605 million, or 66 cents per share, from $243 million, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier.

Premarket Movers.....

Gainers

Clinical Data Inc.’s (CLDA 25.00, +9.97, +66.33%)   shares rallied 44% after the company’s antidepressant received approval Friday from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Genoptix Inc. (GXDX 24.88, +5.12, +25.91%) shares rose 26% after Swiss drug maker Novartis AG (NVS 56.70, +0.28, +0.50%) said it would buy the cancer-diagnostic specialist for $470 million.


Nvidia Corp.  (NVDA 23.05, +0.83, +3.74%) shares added 5% after Barron’s said the chip maker’s stock might rise as much as 80% in the next year.

Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. (SSCC 35.10, +7.58, +27.54%) shares climbed 27% after Rock-Tenn Co. (RKT 60.17, +2.99, +5.23%) said it would buy the container-board producer for $3.5 billion.


Decliners


RadioShack Corp. (RSH 16.09, -1.52, -8.63%) shares fell 12% after the consumer-electronics retailer said Chief Executive Officer Julian Day would step down in May. Read more about RadioShack.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE 11.95, -1.55, -11.48%) shares lost 11% after the producer of wrestling matches late Friday projected fourth-quarter earnings below expectations.

Oracle breaks higher....

GE looks to breakout on positive earnings...

General Electric Co. (GE). The company on Friday said profit rose 51 percent, topping Wall Street's expectations, helped by lower loss rates at its finance arm and an unexpected 1 percent rise in revenue. The largest U.S. conglomerate said on Friday fourth-quarter net income came to $4.5 billion, or 42 cents per share, up from $3 billion, or 28 cents per share, a year earlier.

Capital One beats estimates...

Capital One Financial Corp. (COF). The company’s fourth-quarter profit rose 85 percent to $697 million, beating estimates, as losses on bad loans fell and consumers slowly started to take out new loans. The company said it earned $1.52 per share. That compared with a year-ago profit of $376 million, or 83 cents per share.

BAC continues to report losses...

Bank of America Corp. (BAC). The largest bank by assets, reported a second straight quarter loss, driven by a $2 billion writedown of its mortgage business. The bank posted fourth-quarter net loss of $1.57 billion, or 16 cents a share, compared with a loss of $5.2 billion, or 60 cents a share, a year earlier.

ISRG surges...

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG). The company on Thursday reported far better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on strong demand for its da Vinci surgical robots and an increase in procedures using the high priced systems. The company said net profit rose 56 percent to $121.2 million, or $3.02 per share, from $77.5 million, or $1.95 per share, a year ago. The company forecast 2011 revenue growth of 16 percent to 20 percent and procedure growth of 25 percent to 28 percent.

Google blows past estimates....

Google Inc. (GOOG). The company’s co-founder Larry Page will take over as CEO from Eric Schmidt, a surprise move to make the company more nimble at a time when competition heats up with fast-growing rivals like Facebook. The news came as Google reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that blew past expectations. Net income, excluding items, of $8.75 a share outstripped Wall Street's average forecast of $8.10. Net revenue, excluding fees paid to partner websites, was $6.37 billion.

Skyworks continues to roll....

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS). The cellphone chipmaker on Thursday reported better-than-expected first-quarter results and forecast second-quarter above market estimates on firm demand for smartphones, tablets and a shift to 4G. The company reported net income of $60.9 million, or 32 cents a share, from $28 million, or 16 cents a share, a year ago. The company forecast second-quarter earnings of 38 cents to 40 cents a share, excluding items, on revenue of $310 million to $320 million.

Rumors swirl on Radware (RDWR)

We've heard this story before, but rumors are out there that Radware (RDWR) will be taken out very shortly.  The stock is up 4-5 points in the last three days, after holding 20% gains when these rumors first surfaced on Sept 14.

The stock is currently at $39.10  Rumored take out price is $47.

Today's Upgrades and Downgrades...

Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) Raised to Outperform at Baird.


Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) Started as Neutral at Nomura; Raised to Positive at Susquehanna.

Calpine Corporation (NASDAQ: CPN) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.

Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.

CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Started as Buy at Nomura.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) Raised to Hold at Jefferies.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) Started as Neutral at Nomura.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Started as Neutral at Nomura.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) Started as Neutral at Nomura.

Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Reiterated Outperform and target raised to $75 at Raymond James.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Started as Reduce at Nomura.

Latest Short Interest - from Bloomberg

• Short Interest in the SP500 for the period ending Nov. 30th declined 3.51%.

The largest decreases came from Healthcare (dn. 7.68%) Consumer Discretionary (dn. 7.09%) and financials (dn. 6.35%)

3 sectors showed an increase in Short Interest, IT (+2.85%) Telecom (+2.11%) and Industrials (+0.19%)

• Largest Increases: KSS (+157.9%) RSG (+89.9%) INTC (+80.97%) AIZ (+72.21%) PWR (+63.79%) IR (+63.34%) COL (+62.87%) RF (+49.5%) HAR (+45.91%) MJN (42.81%)

• Largest Decreases: APA (dn. 64.08%) MYL (dn. 61.26%) PGR (dn. 34.95%) APC (dn. 30.2%) MHP (dn. 29.8%) MAT (dn. 29.17%) ED (dn. 28.88%) BTI (dn. 28.75%) NEE (dn. 28.48%) AEP (dn. 27.37%)

Green Mountain Coffee warns...

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR 31.98, -5.44, -14.54%)  declined 15% in the premarket. The Waterbury, Vt., coffee producer issued a softer profit forecast and withdrew its shipment guidance for its K-Cup coffee packs.

Earnings Next Week...

Corporate Events Calendar – Week of Mon Dec 13


• Mon Dec 13: analyst meetings (Air Liquide, BCR, EW); sales (GWW)

• Tues Dec 14: earnings before the open (BBY, FDS, SAFM); earnings after the close (HOV); analyst meetings (BMC, BRCM, CRL, FSLR, GE, KO, NVS, ONXX, PPG)

• Wed Dec 15: earnings before the open (JOYG); earnings after the close (NDSN); analyst meeting (AVT, CBR, DAL, DG, DGI, DHR, HON, LII)

• Thurs Dec 16: earnings before the open (ABC, ATU, DFS, FDX, GIS, PIR, RAD); earnings after the close (ACN, LUB, ORCL, RIMM, SMOD, TTWO, ZQK); analyst meetings (ATHN, CNC, IRDM, PG)

• Fri Dec 17: analyst meetings (CCE, ITT, PNR)

Latest Fund Flows

Fund Flows – from JPMorgan’s E Beinstein - For the week ending 12/8/10, all fund categories experienced inflows; HY, Equity, and Money Markets significant ones. HG had inflows of $400mn this week vs an inflow of $56mn last week. The last outflow was during the week of 11/3/10 of -$258mm. HY funds had inflows of $1bn this week vs an outflow of - $1.2bn last week. Equity funds had inflows of $8bn this week (3rd largest inflow this year) vs an outflow of -$1.6bn last week. Money markets had an inflow of $25bn this week (largest this year) vs an outflow of -$2.8bn last week.

Stocks to Watch

• Apple Inc. (AAPL). The component suppliers for the PC maker’s iPad are gearing up for a new round of production in the first quarter, sources said on Friday, with one saying the product will be a revamp of the popular tablet computer including front- and back-mounted cameras.

• Bank of America Corp. (BAC). The bank and financial holding company restarted about 16,000 home foreclosure cases across the United States on Monday, the Wall Street Journal said.

• Borders Group Inc. (BGP). The bookseller said on Thursday it is trying to obtain new financing to avoid violating the terms of its credit agreements early next year.

• Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC), F5 Networks Inc (FFIV), Netflix Inc (NFLX) and Newfield Exploration Co (NFX). The four companies will join the benchmark S&P 500 index after the closing bell on Dec. 17, S&P said in a statement on Thursday. Netflix, F5 Networks and Newfield Exploration will replace Office Depot Inc (ODP), The New York Times Co (NYT) and Eastman Kodak Co (EK) in the S&P 500. Cablevision Systems will replace King Pharmaceuticals Inc (KG) as King Pharma's takeover by Pfizer Inc (PFE) is expected to be completed soon, S&P said.

• Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO). The network equipment maker company’s CEO John Chambers on thursday said, the company would likely gain share in the overall market, including the public sector, where it suffered a fall in orders last quarter.

• Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR). The coffee company gave a weak first-quarter profit outlook due to higher marketing costs and an expected volatility in coffee costs, becoming the latest coffee company to take a hit due to soaring prices. The company, which raised coffee prices in October in response to rising coffee costs, expects a first-quarter adjusted profit of 14-18 cents a share.

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM). The bank is hiring 100 corporate bankers outside the United States, in a bet that loan demand in the rest of the world will grow faster than in the bank's home base.

• Microsoft Corp. (MSFT). The world's largest software company said November month was the best on record for xbox sales, helped by Kinect. 1.37 million of xbox consoles were sold, the company said. Separately, Microsoft, Adobe (ADBE) and other U.S. software manufacturers are pressing the Obama administration for a deal with China next week that could spur billions of dollars of additional U.S. software exports, an industry official said on Thursday.

• Sony Corp. (SNE). The electronic equipment maker on Friday said it shipped more than 5.5 million copies of Gran Turismo 5, the latest version of its motor-racing game franchise, in its first 12 days on sale.

• United Technologies Corp. (UTX). The diversified manufacturer set a wide 2011 profit target range, warning that a fluctuating euro and uncertain global economic recovery could hamper it from hitting its long-term earnings growth target of 10 percent or more. The company expected a profit of $5.05 to $5.35 per share in 2011.

FDIC keeps Insured level at $250K

Deposit insurance gets permanent increase – reconciliation conference members on Tues agreed to permanently increase deposit insurance for bank customers (from $100K to $250K); the move was unexpected. 

This move could hurt stocks....

PIMCO likes stocks...

PIMCO’s Gross says his firm is moving into equities - "We are making a move into equities...we are recognizing the global market place is not just bond related,"; Gross says equities look attractive - "Corporate equities, however, in terms of valuation are selling at very low (price-earnings) ratios.”

S&P Rebalancing this Friday...

S&P rebalance - The quarterly share rebalance for the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400, S&P SmallCap 600 Indices will take place at the close of business Friday, June 18, 2010.

BP Update....

BP Plc. (BP). The oil major said on Monday the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had already cost it $1.6 billion and that it would begin operating an additional mechanism to capture more crude from the leaking well in the coming days.

Blockbuster moves closer to Bankruptcy...

Blockbuster (BBI). The movie rental chain is in talks with bondholders to get a $150 million debtor-in-possession loan, a sign it could be closer to seeking Chapter 11 protection, the WSJ reported on Friday.

Apple - HTC battle heats up....

Apple Inc. (AAPL). A U.S. trade panel will investigate allegations made by HTC Corp that the company infringes its technology, as HTC seeks to win a ban on the U.S. sale of iPhones, iPads and iPods.

Avandia exposes patients to greater health risks...

GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (GSK). The drugmaker’s Avandia diabetes drug exposed patients to greater health risks including heart attacks, and even death, the WSJ said on Friday, citing a U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientist's study.

They keep trying to knock Apple down...

Apple Inc. (AAPL). The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened a probe into a security breach of Apple’s iPad that exposed personal information of AT&T Inc (T) customers, including those of several high-ranking government officials.

Thursday's Market Breadth....Decisively Positive..

10 am update

At 10:10 am:

Dow +19
Nas -7
S&P +1.66

This is a key day as we need to stop this recent slide.  We are way overdone, but as of yet, no investors are willing to step in and Buy.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades...

Altera Corp. (ALTR) price target cut to $26.60 from $31.70; rating outperform at Macquarie


• Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) price target cut to $150 from $155 at BofA Merrill

• Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) price target cut to $47 from $61; rating cut to market perform from outperform at FBR

• Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO) rating cut to sell from neutral at Goldman Sachs

• eBay Inc. (EBAY) price target cut to $27 from $28 at BofA Merrill

• Ensco Plc. (ESV) price target cut to $55 from $63 at FBR

• Expedia Inc. (EXPE) price target cut to $29 from $30 at BofA Merrill

• Google Inc. (GOOG) price target cut to $630 from $685 at BofA Merrill

• Halliburton Co. (HAL) price target to $38 from $44 at FBR

• Nabors Industries (NBR) rating raised to buy from neutral at Goldman Sachs

• Noble Corp. (NE) rating cut to neutral from buy at Goldman Sachs

• Rowan Companies Inc. (RDC) price target cut to $24 from $26 at FBR

• Schlumberger (SLB) price target cut to $85 from $96 at FBR

• Yahoo (YHOO) price target cut to $20 from $21 at BofA Merrill

NY & Co. trims forcasts...

New York & Co. Inc. (NWY). The women's apparel chain on Monday widened its second-quarter loss outlook and also said it now expects about flat same-store sales for the second-quarter, compared with a rise in comparable-store sales it forecast last month.

First Solar responds to high demand in Europe...

First Solar Inc. (FSLR). The world's lowest-cost photovoltaic solar manufacturer on Tuesday said it plans to double production capacity at its German plant in Frankfurt an der Oder, to cater to strong European demand. The company said it is in advanced talks with German authorities to obtain the regulatory permits and financial framework for the expansion.

Earnings Expected Today....

• Bob Evans Farms Inc. (BOBE). Expected to report Q4 earnings of 63 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S

• Pall Corp. (PLL). Expected to report Q3 earnings of 50 cents a share

• Take Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO). Expected to report Q2 earnings of 27cents a share

• Talbots Inc. (TLB). Expected to report Q1 earnings of 16 cents a share

• Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN). Expected to report Q2 earnings of 61 cents a share

US Dollar ETF....

The other place to hide...

Here's a nice chart....Natural Gas...

This makes alot of sense as there will undoubtedly be a push toward "cleaner" fuels after the Gulf dissaster. 

You know it's a bad market when....

No real surprises, as Apple's (AAPL -0.9%) new iPhone 4, introduced today, boasts a thinner design with 100 new features, including video chat, a front-facing camera and better battery life. Steve Jobs: "Beyond a doubt, the most precise thing and one of the most beautiful things we’ve ever made."

Market Breadth is getting ugly, however Volume has been low compared to recent past.  This means there are clearly no buyers around.

I don't like Mondays....

Market recap: Stock losses accelerated after a new report showed continued weakness in borrowing among U.S. consumers. It was all the excuse needed in this shaky market to send shares reeling to session lows. Decliners routed advancers on the NYSE by about four to one.

At the close:

Dow -1.16% to 9816.
S&P -1.35% to 1050.
Nasdaq -2.04% to 2174.

Wellpoint has been rising on takeover speculation.  It may be tough for it to move much as it has alot of overhead reisitance to break thru.

We were stopped out of Encore Capital at $19.30 on Friday. 

Same story with VMware.

Akamai continues to move higher in a poor market.  Once again the stock was higher early on Friday then succombed to the pressure late.  Good looking stock.

Stocks on sale....

Salesforce.com made a new high intraday, but sold off late to close right at its previous breakout level below $90.

Selling Overblown....

After a somewhat weaker jobs report, traders sent the market much lower today.  To me the selling was not justified, it seemed more like a panic selloff.  We are now back at the level we saw in the "flash crash" last month.
The selloff gives some discount prices to enter some leading stocks in here. Over the weekend, I'll give you some stocks to look at.  Have a nice weekend.

How bad is this Oil Spill...

The general consensus that the BP (BP) oil spill is the worst-ever environmental disaster is "wildly overblown," a University of Alabama professor says. The amount spilled is tiny in comparison to the amount spilled by rigs and tankers around the world every year, he says, and it's not even the worst spill ever in the Gulf of Mexico.

Noon Update....

Stocks lower following disappointing jobs report.  Traders clearly wanted to take the market lower and sure enough...

Dow -212
Nas -41
S&P -22

Dell may go private....

DELL – Michael Dell remarked late in trading on Thurs at the Bernstein Conf that he has considered taking the company private; Dell says "not necessarily" a high probability that company would do a big acquisition.

Start Buying Natural Gas stocks....

Clean Energy – Majority Leader Reid says the Senate will start debating a comprehensive clean energy bill next month.

Earnings due next week...

Mon June 7: earnings after the close (FCEL, CWST)

Tues June 8: earnings before the open (DG, TLB); earnings after the close (TTWO, PLL),

Wed June 9: earnings before the open (RGEN, MTN, CIEN, BFB).
Earnings after the close (SHFL, MW).

Thurs June 10: earnings before the open (LULU, DLM);
earnings after the close (NSM, FNSR, ARST)

The latest on BP's efforts...

BP – the co said it has successfully placed a containment cap on the oil well; the coast guard said "It will be some time before we can confirm that this method will work and to what extent it will mitigate the release of oil into the environment,"; once the cap is fully in place, the plan is to start funneling some of the crude to a ship on the surface.

Analyst Downgrades...

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) price target cut to $41 from $44; rating neutral at UBS

• Aflac Inc. (AFL) price target cut to $48 from $58; ratng neutral at UBS

• Suntech Power (STP) price target cut to $9 from $16; rating market weight at Thomas Weisel

• Walgreen Co. (WAG) price target cut to $36 from $40; rating hold at Jefferies

ULTA on a roll....

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA). The company on Thursday posted a higher-than-expected first-quarter profit, helped by improved merchandise margins, and the company forecast strong second-quarter results. The company posted first-quarter net income of 23 cents a share, compared with 8 cents a share, a year ago.

Ulta Salon sees second-quarter adjusted profit between 19 cents and 21 cents a share, on net sales of $311 million to $317 million.  Analysts were expecting earnings of 15 cents a share on revenue of $308.1 million.

It's national donut day!!!

Krispy Kreme giving away one free donut of your choice...

McDonald's recalls glasses....

McDonald's (MCD) recalls 12M "Shrek"-themed drinking glasses after discovering the cups contain the toxic metal cadmium. Cadmium is a known carcinogen that can cause bone softening and severe kidney problems.

Steel stocks hard to figure....

Goldman drops U.S. Steel (X) from its Conviction Buy list, citing a trio of negatives: weak European credit markets; a Chinese tightening; and now the Gulf oil crisis. The downgrade is Goldman's fifth switch on X during 2010 - as good a read as any on this year's economic uncertainty.

Jobs report disappointing...

Stock futures dive following strong but disappointing jump in payrolls. The key disappointment was in private payrolls, strategist T.J. Marta says. "While we did get the census hiring, the private economy is not hiring the way we would have liked." Census hirings accounted for 411K of the 431K new jobs reported.

This could hurt blackberry and Iphone subscribers...

AT&T shifts away from unlimited data plans. AT&T (T) announced yesterday that it will no longer sell unlimited internet data plans to new customers with smartphones and iPads (AAPL), opting instead for usage-based pricing that charges heavy bandwidth users more. Analysts said the move will bring some much-needed common sense to the wireless industry, and likely marks the beginning of the end for unlimited data plans.

VMware (VMW)...

Looks like a twin of CRM...

Salesforce.com (CRM)...

Pretty nice looking chart here.....

Market closes slightly higher...

Market recap: Stocks bounced around and finally ended in marginally positive territory in cautious trading ahead of tomorrow's jobs report. The major averages were boosted by a continued rebound in the tech and energy sectors, and NYSE advancers outnumbered decliners by about three to two.

At the close:

Dow +5.74
Nas +21.96
S&P +4.45

BP making progress....

BP (BP) says it achieves an "important milestone" on shearing a pipe from the blown-out Gulf well and that it could take 12-24 hours to determine success in capping the wellhead.

Bad news for drillers...

MMS stops issuing permits for new oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico regardless of water depth, effectively extending the earlier suspension of permits for deepwater drilling into shallow waters.

I need to get in the Govt. Contacting business...

Apart from Boeing's (BA) $1.7B contract to work on the FAA's GPS-based "NextGen" air traffic control system, another $2.5B is yet to be awarded on two more contracts. The program has a $7B ceiling - largest ever for the FAA - and General Dynamics (GD) and ITT (ITT) won contracts last week as well.

Mortgage Rates still low....

Mortgage rates were little changed from last week, Freddie Mac reports, with 30-year fixed-rate loans sitting at 4.79% with 0.8 points, vs. a year-ago 5.29%.

Bad news for commodities...

CEOs of Freeport-McMoran (FCX -2.4%) and Codelco say China’s plans to curb its economy threaten to reduce copper demand, further lowering commodities prices that have already slumped on Europe's economic concerns. China is a "risk to the world’s marketplace in the near term," FCX's Adkerson says, but its inflation fight "will likely lead to a more sustainable situation going forward."

Fed almost ready to start raising rates...

The U.S. economy is almost strong enough to allow the Fed to begin raising interest rates, but we're not quite there yet, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart says. "As the economy continues to improve and financial markets find firmer ground, extraordinarily low policy rates will not be needed to promote recovery and will become inconsistent with maintaining price stability."

Might be a good time to lock in a mortgage or car loan.

Kindle to go on sale at Target this Sunday...

Starting Sunday, feel free to pick up a Kindle (AMZN) at your local Target (TGT). Until now, the e-reader was only available through Amazon's website but the company is looking to get an edge on competition from the iPad (AAPL), Nook (BKS), Sony Reader (SNE),

Market rallies to close higher...

The stock market rebounded today after a jump in pending home sales raised optimism about the economy.

The gains Wednesday allowed stocks to recover the losses from the day before, when the government announced investigations into the Gulf oil spill. A rebound in energy stocks led the way.

The National Association of Realtors' index of contracts for home purchases rose 6 percent in April as buyers raced to secure a tax credit.

The Dow Jones industrials rose 226 points to 10,250, the third biggest gain of 2010. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 28 at 1,098. The Nasdaq composite index is up 59 at 2,281.

Five stocks rose for every one that fell on New York Stock Exchange. Volume totaled 1.4 billion shares, in line with Tuesday.

Noon Update....

Nice rally so far this mornin, however, we re just making back what was taken away in the last 30 minutes on Tuesday....Commodities and Tech leads the way.

Dow +99.69
Nas +30.03
S&P +13.42

Goldman thinks Monsanto is washed out...

Goldman Sachs upgrades Monsanto (MON) to Conviction Buy from Neutral. Monsanto has been the second-worst performing stock in the S&P 500 this year, but "bad news is exhausted" and investor sentiment is bottoming.

Wednesday's Economic Calendar...

May Auto sales
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
7:30 Challenger Job-Cut Report
7:45 ICSC Retail Store Sales
8:30 Hearing: Credit Ratings Credibility
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
10:00 Pending Home Sales

Obama targets RIG...

Transocean Ltd. (RIG). Obama administration on Tuesday sought to challenge the company’s bid to limit its liability for its role in the gushing oil well it drilled in the Gulf of Mexico for BP Plc (BP).

Monsanto and Dow reach license agreement...

Monsanto Co. (MON). The company and Dow Chemicals’ (DOW) Dow agrosciences on Wednesday reached a new licensing agreement on Roundup ready 2 Yield soybean technology. Under the agreement Monsanto grants Dow AgroSciences a non-exclusive, royalty-bearing license in U.S. to develop, produce, sell and sublicense seed and germplasm with Roundup Ready 2 Yield technology.

Jos.A Bank reports impressive earnings...

JoS A Bank Clothiers Inc. (JOSB). The men's apparel and accessories retailer on Wednesday reported an increase in its first-quarter earnings and sales. The company reported earnings of 85 cents a share, an increase of 37 percent from 62 cents a share, from a year ago period. The company’s total sales for the quarter increased 10 percent to $178.1 million.

Google sets sights on Microsoft Windows..

Google Inc. (GOOG). The web search group expects to release its Chrome computer operating system in the "late fall", a top executive said on Wednesday, as it aims a competitive strike at rival Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows. The Chrome system will designed initially to work on laptop PCs.

BP tries to reassure investors...

BP Plc (BP). The oil major forged ahead with its latest effort to curb the flow of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday. And also the company will seek to patch up its battered share price by reassuring investors the cost of cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is manageable and will not affect dividends.

Steve Jobs comments on Foxconn deaths...

Apple Inc. (AAPL). The company’s CEO Steve Jobs finds "troubling" a string of worker deaths at Foxconn, the contract manufacturer that assembles the company's iPhones and iPads, but said its factory in China "is not a sweatshop."

Amgen gets approval for osteoporosis drug...

Amgen Inc. (AMGN). U.S. FDA approved on Tuesday the sale of the company’s osteoporosis drug Prolia to help prevent fractures in post-menopausal women just days after the medicine received European approval. Amgen said the drug will be available within the next two weeks and cost $825 per 60 milligram injection based on wholesale acquisition cost.

Market Breadth Numbers...

Market Recap...

Market recap: Stocks moved sharply lower in the final hour of trading after staying in positive territory for most of the session, as BP's (BP -15%) woes dragged down the energy sector and new Middle East tensions added to the late selloff. Decliners led advancers on the NYSE by nearly five to one.

Tenet Healthcare looking at Healthscope...

Tenet Healthcare (THC) confirms it is discussing a potential acquisition of Healthscope, Australia's second-largest private hospital company.

BP still trying...

BP (BP) is in the middle of a major pipe cut to attempt to contain the Gulf oil spill, the Coast Guard says, contradicting reports that the company had curtailed efforts to end flow from the well. BP says its "top kill" attempt to seal the well may have failed due to a ruptured disk inside the well.

Lunchtime Update....

Lunchtime Update:

Dow +40.73
Nas +1.50
S&P -1.20

Winners:

AAPL +7.40
GOOG +3.50

Losers:

RIG -4.40
BP -5.11
APC -7.55