THE "DAILY BREAD" FOR THE MARKET

Daily Morning Insights on the Market

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 7TH. 2001

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 9605.85 = -234.99

NASDAQ: 1687.70 = -17.94

S & P 500: 1085.78 = -20.62

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed lower again as the S&P 500 closed at near 3 year lows due to the Unemployment Rate Surprise (see below). The NASDAQ, which tried a rally by late afternoon, only to give up in the last hour, had a very very heavy trading volume (for a Friday) of over 1.713 billion shares, while the NYSE had a volume of over 1.438 billion shares traded. Gainers included: Applied Materials, Applied Micro Circuits, Ariba, Bea Systems, Biolase Technology, Biologic Systems, Brasil Telecom, Broadcom, CDI Corp, Check Point Software, Chevron, Compaq, Crescent Banking Co, Dell, Equant NV, F5 Networks, Flextronics, FreeMarkets, Georgia Gulf, Global Crossing, GoTo.Com, Hewlett Packard, i2 Technologies, Indigo NV, International Rectifier, JDS Uniphase, Joann Stores, Juniper Networks, Lifecore Biomedical, Lucent Technologies, Meridian Gold, Motorola, Nextel Communications, Nortel Networks, Oracle, Orbital Engine, Peoplesoft, P& O Princess, Qualcomm, Sun Microsystems, Texaco, Value City Department Stores, Verisign, Verizon Communications, Universal Health, and Western Resources.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• US Employment declined 113,000 jobs in August, mostly from the manufacturing sector, thus pushing the Unemployment Rate up to a surprising 4.9%. Manufacturing workweek declined 0.2%, Average Hourly Earnings rose to 0.3%, while Average Workweek held steady at 34.1.

• US Wholesale Sales rose 0.6% in July, well better than the 2 previous months, which saw declines. Inventories declined 0.7%, the highest decline this year. The Inventory-to-Sales Ratio declined to 1.32.

• The Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) reported that, its Future Inflation Gauge (ECRI FIG), a good measure of future inflationary pressure, declined 3.0% in August to 99.1. Over the year, the index has declined 18%. This data shows that the economy has no inflationary pressures, and there are signs of a recovery. The unemployment data seem high, but we have all being expecting it for a time now (and besides, there are substantial lags here). Visit our Federal Reserve Monetary Policy Analysis page to read more. Also, visit our expanded message boards to discuss this topic or any other business topic by clicking here.

• eBay lost 3.88% today after announcing late yesterday its plans to raise $1 billion through equities offering.

• Circuit City lost 21.89% after reporting fiscal Q2 sales that was lower due to its exit from major appliance sales, and the poor PC market.

• Hewlett Packard (H-P) and Indigo NV gained today after H-P announced yesterday that it was paying $882 million in cash and stocks for the printing company.

• Compaq, which is to be acquired by Hewlett Packard, gained 2.32% after announcing that it is increasing its stakes in incubator CMGI from 12.05% to 13.61%. CMGI closed lower.

• Nortel Networks gained 3.17% after its CEO John Roth made known that the next 12 months will be a "drought", and that Nortel is not for sell, and it is not interested in a merger.

• TRW lost 4.59% after announcing plans to cut dividends by 50%, cut its headquarters staff by 20%, and reduce headquarters costs by 30%.

• The London Stock Exchange closed at 3 year lows today again. Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• Boeing lost 7.49% after Morgan Stanley Dean Witter downgraded it to a "neutral", despite an announcement from a Chinese government official that Boeing will complete a 30 Boeing 747s order deal by September 17th.

• Verisign gained 12.85% after SG Cowen reiterated its "strong buy" recommendation.

• GM lost 3.51% after announcing that it will finally phase out the money losing Oldsmobile unit by 2004.

• Chevron gained 0.71% after the FTC gave it a conditional approval to acquire Texaco for $39.5 billion. Texaco closed up 0.85%.

• Pork producing giant Smithfield Foods lost 0.89% after announcing that it is offering $250 million for privately held Packerland Holdings, the 5th. largest US beef producer.

• Metromedia Fiber Network lost 31.46% after warning that it will seek bankruptcy protection if its attempts to raise funds fails.

• Ashland Oil lost 1.36% after announcing that it has filed with the SEC to raise $600 million on equity markets.

• Lifecore Biomedical gained 53.22% after mediators ruled that the FDA was wrong in rejecting its medical gel that reduces scarring from surgery.

• GoTo.Com gained 10.66% on positive comments from USB Piper Jaffray analyst Safa Rashtchy.

• i2 Technologies gained 10.96% after teaming up with Caterpillar and IBM so as to collaborate and reduce costs through their value chain. Bear Stearns also initiated coverage of i2 Technologies with a "neutral" recommendation.

• AOL Time Warner lost 8.01% after Liberty Media Chairman John Malone made known on his appearance on CNNfn that AOL Time Warner has made a proposal for AT&T's money losing Broadband unit. AOL Time Warner had no comments. AT&T closed 3.59% lower.

• NEW SERVICE: Now that we have our United Kingdom and Ireland portal BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland, and our Canadian (English) portal BusinessJeeves Canada is up and running. We are confident, the quality of our content will keep you coming back.

• JOIN THE DISCUSSIONS: Due to the immense popularity this column has received recently, and the willingness of our guests to communicate with each other, we have expanded our message boards so as to serve you better. Please check out (and post on) our NEW expanded message boards here

PICKS FOR THE NEXT MARKET DAY

REASONS BEHIND THE PICKS

STOCKS TO WATCH NEXT MARKET DAY: All stocks are in play, especially technology and Internet shares. Check out our Quarterly forecasts for other picks.

Visit our Monthly Stock Picks and Guidance page to read our portfolio picks/recommendations.

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 6TH. 2001

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 9840.84 = -192.45

NASDAQ: 1705.64 = -53.37

S & P 500: 1106.40 = -25.34

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed lower down to April lows. The NASDAQ, which slumped at the opening bell, had a very very heavy trading volume of over 1.888 billion shares, while the NYSE had a volume of over 1.322 billion shares traded. Gainers included: Aastrom Biosciences, American International Group (AIG), American Locker Group, Aurora Foods, Boston Life Sciences, Brocade Communications, Christopher & Banks, Ciena, Dobson Communications, Dynex Capital, eBay, Embraer Aircraft, Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Glamis Gold, Griffin Land & Nurseries, Gulf Indonesia, Gymboree, Hain Celestial Group, Honda Motor Co, Indigo NV, Joann Stores, Johnson & Johnson, LTC Properties, Madesco SA, National Golf Properties, Noble Drilling, Norfolk Southern Group, Novo-Nordisk A/S, Philippine Long Distance Telephone, Potters Financial, Primedia, Shaw Group, Trex Co, Workflow Management, and Yahoo!

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• US Jobless Claims declined 3,000 to 402,000 for the week ending September 1st., while the data for week ending August 25th. was revised to 405,000. The 4-week moving average rose 3,000 to 398,000.

• US Chain Store Sales rose an over the year 3.5% in August. Apparel and Department Stores sales declined, while the store types sales improved.

• The National Association of Purchasing Managers (NAPM) reported that, its Non-manufacturing NAPM Index declined 3.4% to 45.5% in August - any point below 50% is a contraction. The Imports Index rose, while the other indices declined.

• The Energy Information Agency (EIA) reported that, US crude oil inventories declined 2 million barrels in the week ending August 31st, while the American Petroleum Institute (API) saw an increase of 500,000 barrels in the same period. For Distillates, the EIA and API saw decreases of 300,000 barrels and 1.9 million barrels respectively. Visit our Federal Reserve Monetary Policy Analysis page to read more. Also, visit our expanded message boards to discuss this topic or any other business topic by clicking here.

• Aastrom Biosciences gained 16.07% after announcing that it has won a patent for its integrated systems for producing human cells.

• Motorola lost after issuing a sales warning again, and announcing plans to cut 2,000 additional jobs.

• K-Mart stores lost 4.31% after announcing another round of restructuring and plans to take a $195 million charge in the next 3 quarters.

• Microsoft lost 2.92% despite the US Justice Department's announcement that it will not continue its plans to break up the software giant.

• Online Auction giant eBay gained 0.81% after announcing a marketing and e-business alliance with IBM. IBM closed 2.34% lower.

• The London Stock Exchange closed at its 3 year lows today. Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• Printing company, Indigo NV, gained 14.13% after Hewlett Packard announced that it is acquiring the remaining 86.6% of the company it doesn't already own for $882 million in cash and stocks.

• Portal giant Yahoo! gained 4.32% after Lehman Brothers analyst Holly Becker stated in research notes that Yahoo! is a "compelling buying opportunity" since it lost 40% in the last month alone.

• AFTER CLOSE: Intel is gaining in after hours and lifting technology shares too after reiterating its fiscal Q3 financials at its mid quarter conference call. Intel expects sales to be slightly below the forecasted mid point.

• AFTER CLOSE: Hain Celestial Group is still gaining in after hours despite reporting fiscal Q4 results that missed by 1 cent a share, but sales rose to $99.3 million. Hain Celestial announced that it is comfortable with analysts' fiscal 2002 estimates.

• AFTER CLOSE: eBay is losing in after hours trading after announcing that it has filed with the SEC to raise $1 billion by issuing common stocks.

• AFTER CLOSE: Cellular service provider Dobson Communications is still gaining after announcing that it has hired Banc of America Securities to explore its options.

• NEW SERVICE: Now that we have our United Kingdom and Ireland portal BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland, and our Canadian (English) portal BusinessJeeves Canada is up and running. We are confident, the quality of our content will keep you coming back.

• JOIN THE DISCUSSIONS: Due to the immense popularity this column has received recently, and the willingness of our guests to communicate with each other, we have expanded our message boards so as to serve you better. Please check out (and post on) our NEW expanded message boards here

PICKS FOR THE NEXT MARKET DAY

REASONS BEHIND THE PICKS

STOCKS TO WATCH NEXT MARKET DAY: All stocks are in play, especially technology and Internet shares. Check out our Quarterly forecasts for other picks.

Visit our Monthly Stock Picks and Guidance page to read our portfolio picks/recommendations.

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 5TH. 2001

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 10033.27 = +35.78

NASDAQ: 1759.01 = -11.77

S & P 500: 1131.74 = -1.20

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed mixed again as the Dow rallied. The NASDAQ, which staged a late afternoon rally, lost momentum in the last hour, had a very very heavy trading volume of over 1.954 billion shares, while the NYSE had a volume of over 1.400 billion shares traded. Gainers included: Alliance Data, Applied Materials, ATP Oil & Gas, AT&T, AT&T Latin America, Avon Products, Broadcom, China East Airlines, Circor International, Community Investors Bancorp, Corus Entertainment, Crayfish Co. Ltd, Dell, Dr. Reddys Labs, eBookers.Com, Ericsson, GE, HDFC Bank Ltd, InfoSpace, Intel, LastMinute.Com, Metromedia Fiber Network, Microsoft, Oakley Corp, Oilgear, Pfizer, Pope & Talbot, Repligen Corp, SFBC International, Shaw Group, Siebel Systems, SmartServ Online, Vaxgen, Weis Markets, Westaff Corp, and Worldcom Group.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• US Productivity growth for Q2 2001 was revised down to a growth of 2.1%, slightly below economists estimates, but still well better than the Q1 data. Unit Labor Costs rose 2.7% for non-farm business (manufacturing had an increase of 5.1%), while Hours Worked declined 2.6%.

• The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that its MBA Mortgage Applications Survey Index rose 11.9% to 617.8 for week ending August 31st. The Purchase Index rose 7.6% to 317.4. Refinancing again had huge gains with the Refinancing Index gaining 15.5%.

• US Vehicle Sales held steady in August at 16.5 million units sold. Light Trucks sales were the only ones showing gains. GM and Honda saw a rise in sales. Ford, Nissan and Toyota had the same sales as the month before, while DaimlerChrysler saw a decline in sales. Visit our Federal Reserve Monetary Policy Analysis page to read more. Also, visit our expanded message boards to discuss this topic or any other business topic by clicking here.

• Motorola lost 6.23% after Merrill Lynch downgraded it to a "neutral".

• Ericsson gained 1.50% despite a Merrill Lynch downgrade to "long term accumulate" after Ericsson stated yesterday that it business might not recover even in 2002.

• Hewlett-Packard (H-P) lost 3.50% and Compaq lost 6.05% as the 2 struggle to sell their (now) $18 billion deal. If this drop continues, we might be talking about a $10 billion deal early next week.

• Microsoft gained 2.92% after the software giant reiterated its fiscal 2002 earnings and sales targets.

• Dell gained 0.31% after its founder and Chairman, Michael Dell, acquired 4.2 million shares.

• Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• Data Storage giant EMC lost 3.01% after its CEO warned that the company's software and hardware discounts are hurting revenue and profits.

• eBookers.Com gained 11.79% after aligning with Yahoo! to set up an E-Book portal. Yahoo! lost 9.06%.

• Metromedia Fiber Network gained 10.23% after Kaufman Brothers upgraded it to a "strong buy".

• Crayfish Co. Ltd. gained 31.50% on news that Japan's Hikari Tsushin is paying a premium for some stake in the company.

• InfoSpace gained 12.40% after signing a deal with Verizon Communications to supply broadband and dial up applications platforms for the phone giant.

• NEW SERVICE: Now that we have our United Kingdom and Ireland portal BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland, and our Canadian (English) portal BusinessJeeves Canada is up and running. We are confident, the quality of our content will keep you coming back.

• JOIN THE DISCUSSIONS: Due to the immense popularity this column has received recently, and the willingness of our guests to communicate with each other, we have expanded our message boards so as to serve you better. Please check out (and post on) our NEW expanded message boards here

PICKS FOR THE NEXT MARKET DAY

REASONS BEHIND THE PICKS

STOCKS TO WATCH NEXT MARKET DAY: All stocks are in play, especially technology and Internet shares. Check out our Quarterly forecasts for other picks.

Visit our Monthly Stock Picks and Guidance page to read our portfolio picks/recommendations

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 4TH. 2001

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 9997.49 = +47.74

NASDAQ: 1770.78 = -34.65

S & P 500: 1132.94 = -0.64

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed mixed as the Dow rallied on good manufacturing data (see below). The NASDAQ, which was hot all day, but ended diving in the last hour, had a very heavy trading volume of over 1.536 billion shares, while the NYSE had a volume of over 1.172 billion shares traded. Gainers included: ACLN Ltd, Acme Communications, Alberta Energy, Anderson Exploration, AOL Time Warner, Baldwin & Lyons, Checkpoint, Citigroup, Clorox Corp, Colt Telecom Group Plc, Crayfish Co. Ltd, Dell, Diebold, Dominion Homes, EDO Corp, Enesco Corp, ExxonMobil, Ford Motor Co, Frontier Oil, Global Marine, IBM, Joann Stores, Johnson & Johnson, LendingTree, Luby's Cafeteria, Metromedia Fiber Network, Motorola, News Corp, Nicholas Financial, Norfolk Southern Group, Openwave Systems, Pfizer, Pinnacle Entertainment, Shopko Stores, Surmodics, Swift Energy, Terayon Communications, Tesoro Petroleum, Wal-Mart, Women First Health, and XM Satellite.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• The National Association of Purchasing Managers (NAPM) reported that, its NAPM Index rose to 47.9% in August, the highest levels it has been this year - any point above 50% is an expansion. New Orders, Production, and New Export Orders indices all rose and were above 50%. Backlog of Orders, Inventories, Employment, and Import indices also rose, but were below 50%, while Prices Paid and Supplier Deliveries declined.

• The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI), a good measure of recession risk, improved to -0.50 in July - any point away from 1 increases recession risk. The 3-Month moving average also improved to -0.82.

• US Construction Spending declined 0.1% in July to $859.4 billion. Private Residential and Private Non Residential Office spending declines accounted for it. Public Construction was very strong for the period.

• Worldwide Semiconductor Billings declined 6.1% in July. All regions of the world saw a decline. This data shows that manufacturing and the economy in general is picking up. Visit our Federal Reserve Monetary Policy Analysis page to read more. Also, visit our expanded message boards to discuss this topic or any other business topic by clicking here.

• Contract Electronics Manufacturer (CEM) Sanmina lost 11.27% and took CEMs down with it after issuing a financial warning for its fiscal Q4.

• Telecommunications equipment makers were led lower by Ericsson after it announced that the sector might not recover even in 2002.

• Hewlett-Packard (H-P) lost 18.70% after announcing Monday that it is acquiring Compaq, the #2 US PC maker, for a deal now valued at $21 billion in stocks. Compaq lost 10.28% as investors wonder if the deal really addresses both Compaq and H-P's problems.

• Canada's Anderson Exploration gained 48.86% after Devon Energy agreed to acquire it for US$3.4 billion in cash. The acquisition makes Devon Energy the largest independent oil and natural gas operator in North America. Devon Energy closed lower, but other independent producers gained.

• XM Satellite gained 1.49% on news that GM is now installing XM radios in its Cadillac DeVilles and Sevilles.

• Colt Telecom Group Plc. gained 25.14% after UK newspapers reported over the weekend that it is a takeover target. Colt Telecom on Monday announced a £47 million bond buyback and denied the takeover rumors. Colt Telecom closed.....Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• Women First Health gained 14.95% after AdvancePCS agreed to to include its Estrogen patch in its revered Performance Drug List (PDL).

• Frontier Oil gained 4.09% after raising its fiscal Q3 outlook.

• Metromedia Fiber Network gained 17.33% after receiving consent from its debt holders.

• Clorox gained 2.04% after raising its fiscal Q1 outlook.

• Johnson & Johnson (J&J) gained 6.53% after Merrill Lynch stated that research data shows that J&J's medication coated Stent is better and will challenge leaders like Medtronic and Guidant.

• Broadcom lost 4.42% despite a Salomon Smith Barney upgrade to "outperform".

• Motorola gained 0.52% after unveiling a new chip making technology that will not only reduce the cost of making chips, but can make chips 35 times faster. Motorola also announced the sale of its Multiservice Networks unit to Platinum Equity.

• Dell gained 4.35% after Bear Stearns upgraded it to a "buy".

• AOL Time Warner gained 0.40% after announcing that it is negotiating with Chinese authorities to increase the audience of its China Entertainment Television (CETV) unit based in Hong Kong.

• Openwave Systems gained 4.30% after Robertson Stephens upgraded it to a "strong buy".

• NEW SERVICE: Now that we have our United Kingdom and Ireland portal BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland, and our Canadian (English) portal BusinessJeeves Canada is up and running. We are confident, the quality of our content will keep you coming back.

• JOIN THE DISCUSSIONS: Due to the immense popularity this column has received recently, and the willingness of our guests to communicate with each other, we have expanded our message boards so as to serve you better. Please check out (and post on) our NEW expanded message boards here

PICKS FOR THE NEXT MARKET DAY

REASONS BEHIND THE PICKS

STOCKS TO WATCH NEXT MARKET DAY: All stocks are in play, especially technology and Internet shares. Check out our Quarterly forecasts for other picks.

Visit our Monthly Stock Picks and Guidance page to read our portfolio picks/recommendations.

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 31ST. 2001

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 9949.75 = +30.17

NASDAQ: 1805.43 = +13.75

S & P 500: 1133.58 = +4.55

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets finally broke their 4 day losing streak to show modest gains on the last day of trading for August, and the beginning of the long labor day weekend. The markets rose due to the New Factory Orders data (see below). The NASDAQ, which was zigzag all day, but rallied in the last hour, had a light trading volume of over 1.233 billion shares, while the NYSE had a volume of over 0.905 billion shares traded. Gainers included: AOL Time Warner, Applied Micro Circuits, AT&T, Bank of Tidewater Virginia Beach, Broadcom, Check Point Software, Cisco Systems, Comcast, Cox Communications, Dell, EMC Corp, Epoch Biosciences, FSI International, GE, Global Crossing, Hispanic Broadcasting System, Home Depot, Intel, JDS Uniphase, K-Tron International, Liberty Media, Lucent Technologies, Maytag, Microsoft, Middleby, Motorola, Nokia, Oracle, Peoplesoft, Pfizer, Prime Source, Qwest Communications International, RealNetworks, Roxio, Siebel Systems, Sun Microsystems, Sysco, Texas Instruments, Tyco International, Veritas Software, Viacom, Wal-Mart, XL Capital, and Yahoo!

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• WEEKEND NEWS: Hewlett-Packard announced Labor Day Monday that it is acquiring #2 US computer maker, Compaq, for $25 billion in stock.

• US New Factory Orders rose 0.15% in July, while the June data was revised downward to a decline of 2.9%. Durable Goods Orders declined 0.66%, while Non-durable Goods Orders rose 1.13%. The Inventory-to-Shipments Ratio declined to 1.38.

• The Chicago Purchasing Managers Association reported that, its Chicago PMI Index, a good measure of productivity in the Chicago area, rose to 43.5% - any point below 50% is a contraction. The Prices Paid Index declined, but the rest of the indices gained (and were all below 50%).

• Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan stated that......Visit our Federal Reserve Monetary Policy Analysis page to read more. Also, visit our expanded message boards to discuss this topic or any other business topic by clicking here.

• Troubled high speed internet company Excite@Home lost 19.23% after announcing that it will hire an investment bank to help it explore its financial options.

• Microsoft gained 0.19% despite the US Justice Department's petition to the US Supreme Court that it should reject the software giant's request for reconsidering a US Court of Appeals ruling that found it in violation of US anti-trust laws.

• International Gaming technology closed lower on its first day of trading as an S&P 500 Index stock.

• Procter & Gamble (P&G) lost 0.59% on news that it is in settlement talks with Anglo-Dutch rival Unilever Plc. after it was discovered that P&G used covert operations to find out about Unilever's hair products secrets. Unilever closed.....Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• Extended Stay America lost 2.54% despite SEC filings showing that Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates' Cascade Investments own about 4.96 million shares, or 5.34% of the company.

• Signalsoft gained 12.89% after Dain Rauscher Wessels initiated coverage with a "buy" recommendation.

• Maytag gained after cooking equipment maker, Middleby, agreed to acquire its cooking equipment unit Blodgett™ for $80 million in cash and $15 million in notes. Middleby gained 2.52%.

• Bank of Tidewater Virginia Beach gained 31.22% to close at $26.90/share after SouthTrust agreed to acquire it for about $28/share.

• Prime Source gained 74.64% to close at $9.78/share after announcing that Fuji Photo Film USA has offered to acquire it for $10/share.

• AOL Time Warner gained 3.75% after The Wall Street Online Late Edition reported yesterday that the media giant is the leading potential candidate to acquire the #2 Spanish TV network, Telemundo™.

• NOTE: Please let's be careful out there this long weekend. The markets need all of us back safely on Tuesday.

• NEW SERVICE: Now that we have our United Kingdom and Ireland portal BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland, and our Canadian (English) portal BusinessJeeves Canada is up and running. We are confident, the quality of our content will keep you coming back.

• JOIN THE DISCUSSIONS: Due to the immense popularity this column has received recently, and the willingness of our guests to communicate with each other, we have expanded our message boards so as to serve you better. Please check out (and post on) our NEW expanded message boards here

PICKS FOR THE NEXT MARKET DAY

REASONS BEHIND THE PICKS

STOCKS TO WATCH NEXT MARKET DAY: All stocks are in play, especially technology and Internet shares. Check out our Quarterly forecasts for other picks.

Visit our Monthly Stock Picks and Guidance page to read our portfolio picks/recommendations.

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY AUGUST 30TH. 2001

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 9919.58 = -171.32

NASDAQ: 1791.68 = -51.49

S & P 500: 1129.03 = -19.57

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed lower for the 4th. day in a row due to earnings concerns. The NASDAQ, which slumped after 10:00 AM, had a very heavy trading volume of over 1.735 billion shares, while the NYSE had a volume of over 1.150 billion shares traded. Gainers included: AB Watley, Ackerley Group, Affiliated Managers Group, American International Group (AIG), Amgen, Ask Jeeves, BankAtlanta, CanTV, Carmax Group, Crayfish Co. Ltd, Cryolife, Dominion Homes, E*Trade Group, Forest Oil, General Binding, Hancock Fabrics, Heller Financial, HMT Technology Corp, Independence Federal Savings Bank, Intuit, Liberty Media, LoudCloud, Louis Dreyfus Gas, McLeodUSA, McMoran Exploration, Modem Media, NeoForma, RF Micro Devices, Roxio, Signalsoft, Sulzer Medica, Syngenta AG, Technology Data Corp, TheStreet.Com, Vector Group Ltd, Verisign, Willbros Group, and Worldcom Group.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• US Jobless Claims for week ending August 24th. declined 1,000 to 399,000. The 4-week moving average rose 12,000 to 393,000.

• The Conference Board reported that, US Help Wanted Index, a good measure of blue collar employee demand, was unchanged in July at 58. The Mid-Atlantic,  New England, East North Central, and Mountain regions saw an increase, while the Pacific, West South Central, South-Atlantic, and West North Central saw declines.

• US Personal Income rose a strong 0.5% in July, the highest increase this year (Personal disposable income rose a whopping 1.8%). Consumption grew only 0.1%, the lowest growth rate this year. The Savings rate rose 2.5%, the highest monthly increase this year.

• The Commerce Department reported that US Q2 2001 internet sales sales stood at $7.46 billion, 1.8% below Q1 2001 levels, but 24.7% higher than Q2 2000. E-commerce as a percent of total retail sales declined from the first quarter levels to 0.92%, but still higher than the year before. Total Retail Sales for Q2 2001 rose to $807.5 billion, well better than the $728.7 billion seen in Q1 2001. Visit our Federal Reserve Monetary Policy Analysis page to read more. Also, visit our expanded message boards to discuss this topic or any other business topic by clicking here.

• E*Trade Group gained 8.51% today after announcing late yesterday that it is paying $173.5 million for market maker Dempsey & Co. E*Trade also announced that it is restructuring and will take a charge of around $220 million to $245 million.

• Bad news fed on itself today after data released today showed investors pulled out $1.23 billion from equity funds in July.

• CanTV gained 17.83% after AES made an unsolicited offer of $1.37 billion for the Venezuelan telecom company. AES closed lower.

• Sulzer Medica gained 19.37% after a US Judge gave a preliminary approval for the Swiss medical devices maker's $780 million class action settlement.

• Visit our BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland portal to read our summary and analysis of the London Stock Exchange.

• LoudCloud gained 12.27% after reporting better than expected earnings yesterday. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter today upgraded the stock to an "outperform".

• Signalsoft gained 12.89% after Dain Rauscher Wessels initiated coverage with a "buy" recommendation.

• Microsoft lost 5.49% after the European Commission expanded its investigations of the software giant to now include illegal tying in of its Media Player to Windows™.

• Charles Schwab lost 1.23% after announcing plans to cut a further 2,400 jobs.

• Heller Financial gained 0.08% after GE unit, GE Capital, extended its acquisition offer for the company to 5:00 pm on October 1st.

• Software shares were hit hard by Sun Microsystems earnings warning and pessimistic comments from Goldman Sachs.

• AFTER CLOSE: Rambus is gaining in after hours trading after reaffirming its fiscal Q4 earnings in its mid quarter report.

• AFTER CLOSE: TiVo is gaining in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 losses that were smaller than First Call estimates, and its subscribers rose  a whopping 322%.

• AFTER CLOSE: Novellus Systems is still losing in after hours despite reiterating its fiscal Q3 earnings in its mid-quarter report. As it now stands, Novellus' earnings estimate is 1 cent a share higher than First Call estimates.

• AFTER CLOSE: Pumatech is still losing in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q4 losses that were 4 cents a share wider than Wall Street estimated.

• NEW SERVICE: Now that we have our United Kingdom and Ireland portal BusinessJeeves UK & Ireland, and our Canadian (English) portal BusinessJeeves Canada is up and running. We are confident, the quality of our content will keep you coming back.

• JOIN THE DISCUSSIONS: Due to the immense popularity this column has received recently, and the willingness of our guests to communicate with each other, we have expanded our message boards so as to serve you better. Please check out (and post on) our NEW expanded message boards here

PICKS FOR THE NEXT MARKET DAY

REASONS BEHIND THE PICKS

STOCKS TO WATCH NEXT MARKET DAY: All stocks are in play, especially technology and Internet shares. Check out our Quarterly forecasts for other picks.

Visit our Monthly Stock Picks and Guidance page to read our portfolio picks/recommendations.

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY AUGUST 29TH. 2001

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 10090.90 = -131.13

NASDAQ: 1843.17 = -21.81

S & P 500: 1148.56 = -12.95

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed lower for the third day in a row, again due to economic data. The NASDAQ, which slumped after 10:00 AM, had a heavy trading volume of over 1.464 billion shares, while the NYSE had a volume of over 0.968 billion shares traded. Gainers included: Alloy Online, American International Group (AIG), Applied Micro Circuits, Beazer Homes, Biomarin Pharmaceuticals, Brocade Communications, CanTV, Ciena Corp, Epiphany, Equant NV, Excite@Home, Extended Stay America, Frontier Oil, Global Crossing, Handspring, H&R Block, H Power, Instinet Group, Integrated Data Technology (IDT), KB Home, LoudCloud, Mead Corp, NetIQ, Peregrine Systems, Perot Systems, Protein Design Labs, RPM inc, Sequenom, Sola International, Teroso Petroleum, TiVo, Valero Energy, Westvacor, and Williams Cos.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• US Second Quarter 2001 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was revised downward to a modest growth of 0.2% (still better than what economists were expecting). Consumer Spending for the period was revised upward to a growth of 2.5%, while Business Spending was revised further downward to a decline of 14.6%. The Implicit Price Deflator, a measure of inflation growth, declined to 2.2%.

• The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that for week ending August 24th, its MBA Mortgage Applications Survey rose 8.3% to 552.2. The Purchasing Index rose 0.6% to 295.0, as the Refinancing Index led the increase with an increase of a whopping 15.7%.