THE "DAILY BREAD" FOR THE MARKET

Daily Morning Insights on the Market

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MARKET SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY JULY 23RD. 2002

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 7702.34 = -82.24

NASDAQ: 1229.05 = -53.60

S & P 500: 797.71 = -22.14

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed lower for the second day in a row. The NASDAQ, which slumped after 10:00 AM, had a very very heavy trading volume of over 2.600 billion, while the NYSE had a very very heavy trading volume of over 2.414 billion shares. Gainers included: 3M, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Ameritrade Holdings Group, Amgen, Bank of the Northwest, Bemis, Black & Decker, Butler International, Career Education Corp, Centennial, Centex, CKE Restaurants, Colgate Palmolive, Dun & Bradstreet, ExxonMobil, Federated Department Stores, Gillette Co, Grupo Radio SA, Home Depot, H.U.B. International, Imanage, Jack Henry & Associates, Joann Stores, Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly Clark, Lincare Holdings, Marsh & McLennan, Moody's Corp, Novogen Ltd, Olympic Steel, Pegasystems, Pfizer, Pulte Homes, Royal Dutch Petroleum, Sierra Health, Texas Instruments, Tippingpoint, Tripos, US Bancorp, Verisity Ltd, Wal-Mart, Waters Corp, and Wyeth Corp.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi reported that for weekending July 20th, US Chain Store Sales rose 0.4%. 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.

• Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase & Co. closed lower after they were criticized for their dealings with Enron.

• Black & Decker gained 9.61% after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings that rose 59% to 81 cents a share, as sales rose 7.2% to $1.13 billion.

• Moody's gained 7.95% after reporting strong earnings and getting analysts upgrades. Former Moody's parent, Dun & Bradstreet, also gained and enjoyed an upgrade too.

• Dynegy lost 63.61% and took energy stocks lower after announcing that it expects its cash flow to decline by as much as 40% this year.

• Wyeth, formerly known as American Home Products (AHP), gained 3.02% after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings that rose 25% and revenue that rose 12%. Apparently, the Hormone Replacement Therapy negative publicity recently didn't affect earnings. Wyeth also received $1 billion from Amgen as a breakup fee, after Amgen acquired Immunex. Amgen closed higher too.

• Gillette gained 6.59% after its fiscal Q2 net income rose 26% on strong razor sales.

• Career Education gained 14.59% after JP Morgan upgraded it to a "buy".

• Lucent Technologies lost 21.43% after reporting a fiscal Q3 loss of $7.9 billion today.

• Visit our Up to the minute market charts covering commodities, derivatives, foreign exchange, futures, interest rates, and global stock markets for the closing numbers worldwide.

• Texas Instruments gained 0.38% today after reporting strong earnings late yesterday.

• Marsh & McLennan gained 0.51% after reporting strong fiscal Q2 results - thanks to insurance premiums increases.

• Insurance related stocks generally closed lower after Dutch-Belgian unit, Fortis, issued an earnings warning today. 

• AFTER CLOSE: Merck & Co. is gaining in after hours trading after its board approved a $10 billion common stock buyback.

• AFTER CLOSE: Expedia is still losing in after hours trading after reporting a fiscal Q2 earnings of 45 cents a share, 4 cents a share better than First Call estimates, as revenue almost doubled to $144.9 million.

• AFTER CLOSE: CNET Networks is unchanged in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 loss and revenue that missed First Call estimates.

• AFTER CLOSE: Amazon.Com is still losing in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 EBITDA loss of 1 cent a share, 5 cents a share less loss than First Call estimates, as revenue rose 21% to $806 million. Amazon also announced that it will now start expensing its options plans.

• AFTER CLOSE: Applied Micro Circuits is gaining in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q1 loss of $1.35 a share, almost unchanged from year ago. The company also announced plans to cut 275 jobs.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

• 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. 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 MONDAY JULY 22ND. 2002

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 7784.65 = -234.68

NASDAQ: 1282.65 = -36.50

S & P 500: 819.85 = -27.91

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed at its lowest levels since October 1998. The NASDAQ, which slumped after 10:00 AM, had a very very heavy trading volume of over 2.360 billion, while the NYSE had a very very heavy trading volume of over 2.167 billion shares. Gainers included: 3M, Allen Telecom, Amgen, AOL Time Warner, Applied Materials, Big Foot Financial, Broadcom, Brocade Communications, Catuity, Charter One Financial, Check Point Software, Del Monte Foods, Federal Agricultural Mortgages Corp. (Farmer Mac), Finger Lakes Bancorp, Finlay Enterprises, First Niagara Financial, Gateway, Heico Corp, Immunogen, JDS Uniphase, Johnson & Johnson, KLA-Tencor, KOS Software, Liberate Technologies, Lucent Technologies, MIM Corp, Net2Phone, ON Semiconductor, QLogic, Pozen, Right Management Consulting, Santander Bancorp, SFBC International, Solutia, Specialty Labs, Stamps.Com, Vignette, Virage Logic, Wilson Greatbatch, Wireless Facilities, Worldcom Group, and Xilinx.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• 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.

• Worldcom Group gained 55.56% after late Sunday filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection - the largest in US history. Worldcom has about $41 billion in debts and $107 billion in assets (assets are actually worth only about $15 billion). 3 of the 5 largest corporate bankruptcies in US history have happened in the last 10 months!

• Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase & Co, and Goldman Sachs all declined due to their exposure to Worldcom's debt.

• Vignette gained 11.97% after its President and COO, Thomas Hogan, also assume the duties of CEO.

• Swift Transport lost 1.35% despite announcing plans to buyback about 3 million of its common stocks.

• AOL Time Warner gained 3.71% after the company stated that the rumors circulating that Steve Case is resigning from the Chairmanship position due to his displeasure of the recent management is false. The company emphasized that Mr. Case is very confident of current CEO, Richard Parsons.

• Crude Oil prices and oil stocks closed lower after Nigeria threatened to withdraw from the OPEC cartel. Nigeria has been pressing for more output on its part.

• Bellsouth lost 18.11% after reporting lower quarterly profits and trimming its full year outlook.

• American Express lost 8.47% despite reporting fiscal Q2 earnings that more than tripled to 51 cents a share. American Express was however, cautious of the future.

• Right Management Consulting gained 3.49% after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of 65 cents a share, 5 cents a share better than First Call estimates, on revenue that rose to $125.8 million. Right Management also raised its outlook.

• Amgen gained 3.80% after the FDA approved its Anemia treatment drug, Aranesp™.

• Check Point Software gained 7.73% after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of 26 cents a share, 1 cent a share better than First Call estimates, as revenue declined 24% to $108.6 million.

• 3M gained 0.11% after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of $1.36/share, 2 cents a share better than Wall Street estimates, as revenue rose 2.1% to $4.16 billion. 3M also raised its full year outlook.

• Visit our Up to the minute market charts covering commodities, derivatives, foreign exchange, futures, interest rates, and global stock markets for the closing numbers worldwide.

• Liberate Technologies gained 4.60% after announcing that, it is buying back 3.96 million shares of its stock that Cisco Systems owns for $9.96 million. Cisco Systems closed lower.

• Finger Lakes Bancorp gained 45.38% after agreeing to be acquired by First Niagara Financial for $67 million. First Niagara gained 9.30% on the news.

• KOS Pharmaceuticals lost 1.28% after filing with the FDA to expand the use of its drug, Niaspan™. 

• AFTER CLOSE: Triquint Semiconductor is gaining in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of 2 cents a share and raising its fiscal Q3 outlook. Triquint also named a new CEO.

• AFTER CLOSE: Computer Associates is gaining in after hours trading after reporting a fiscal Q1 loss that narrowed.

• AFTER CLOSE: Altera is gaining in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of 6 cents a share, 1 cent a share better than First Call estimates, on revenue that declined 17% to $178.9 million.

• AFTER CLOSE: Novellus Systems is still losing in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings that declined 80%, and the company lowered its fiscal Q3 outlook.

• AFTER CLOSE: Texas Instruments is gaining in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings that met First Call estimates.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

• 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. 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 JULY 19TH. 2002

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 8019.26 = -390.23

NASDAQ: 1319.15 = -37.80

S & P 500: 847.76 = -33.80

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed to another 5 year lows after Johnson & Johnson accounting problems. The NASDAQ, which was down all day, had a moderate trading volume of over 1.306 billion, while the NYSE had a very very heavy trading volume of over 2.639 billion shares. Gainers included: Accenture Ltd, AES Corp, Anglogold Ltd, Ashanti Goldfields Ltd, Ask Jeeves, AVX, Broadcom, Capital One Financial, CommScope, Durban Roodepoort Deep, EOTT Energy, Federal Agricultural Mortgages Corp. (Farmer Mac), FPIC Insurance, Giga-Tronics, Gold Fields Ltd, Goldman Sachs Group, Glamis Gold, Harmony Gold Mining, Hecla Mining, Inco Ltd, Integrated Defense Technologies, Maxtor, Meridian Gold, National Golf Properties, Network Equipment, Peoplesoft, Placer Dome, PMC-Sierra, Principal Financial, Prudential Financial, Rank Group Plc, Sigma Designs, Sipex Corp, Stoneridge, Sybase, Titan Corp, TVX Gold, Tyco International, United Parcel Service (UPS), Universal Health Realty Income Trust, Vail Resort, Video Display, Washington Post, Webex Communications, Wyeth, and Xilinx.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• WEEKEND NEWS: Worldcom Group filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Sunday. This is the largest bankruptcy in US history.

• US Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.1% in June. The Core CPI also rose 0.1%.

• US Trade Balance worsened in May, as the trade deficit rose to $37.6 billion for the month. 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.

• Ericsson lost 17.11% and took telecommunications shares after reporting a loss and announcing that it sees full year sales declining as much as 15%.

• Gold shares and prices rose due to the weak US Dollar, and as investors sought safer havens.

• AOL Time Warner lost 6.99% today after announcing late yesterday the resignation of its COO, Robert Pittman.

• Microsoft and Sun Microsystems lost 3.03% and 26.72% respectively as the market reacted to their earnings reported late yesterday.

• Johnson & Johnson lost 15.85% after stating that regulators are looking at its bookkeeping practices at its Puerto Rican operations.

• Eli Lilly closed lower after reporting a sharp decline in profits, due to generic competition against its blockbuster anti-depressant, Prozac™.

• Capital One Financial gained 5.70% after its CEO bought about $5 million of the company's stocks.

• Visit our Up to the minute market charts covering commodities, derivatives, foreign exchange, futures, interest rates, and global stock markets for the closing numbers worldwide.

• Peoplesoft and PMC-Sierra gained 12.47% and 6.73% respectively today after reporting strong earnings late yesterday. Sybase also gained 9.17% on strong earnings..

• Overture Services lost more than 15% after Ask Jeeves dropped it in favor of privately held Google™. Ask Jeeves gained 16.54% today after reporting late yesterday a smaller than expected loss and increased revenue.

• AES gained 8.60% after raising its fiscal 2002 earnings outlook. 

• Washington Post gained 5.28% after reporting strong earnings, due mostly to its cable business.

• Webex Communications gained 14.05% after late yesterday reported fiscal Q2 EBITDA of 6 cents a share, as sales almost doubled.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

• 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. 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 JULY 18TH. 2002

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 8409.49 = -132.99

NASDAQ: 1356.95 = -40.30

S & P 500: 881.56 = -24.48

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed to another 5 year lows on earnings worries. The NASDAQ, which was down all day, had a heavy trading volume of over 1.840 billion, while the NYSE had a volume of over 1.712 billion shares traded. Gainers included: Alliance Data, Atlas Air Worldwide, Bitstream, Boyd Brothers Transport, British Energy Plc, Capital One Financial, Celestica, Citizens Communications, Copper Mountain Networks, Crosswave Communications, Elder-Beerman, Faro Technology, Featherlite, Gaia inc, Gerdau SA, Globecomm Systems, Honeywell International, IBM, Interphase, Internet Initiative Japan, Introgen Therapeutics, Ispat International, Ixia, Legget & Platt, Limited Brands, Mego Financial, Nextel Communications, Oakley, Onvia.Com, Pharmaceutical Product Development, Placer Dome, Planet Zanett, Qualcomm, Qwest Communications International, Rogers Wireless, Royal Dutch Petroleum, Scientific Technology, Scottish Power Plc, Spire Corp, Sprint PCS Group, Sun Microsystems, Tefron Ltd, Trump Hotels/Casinos, Vivendi Universal SA, and Worldquest Networks.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• US Jobless Claims for weekending July 13th. declined 28,000 to 379,000. The 4-week moving average declined 4,750 to 391,000.

• The Conference Board reported that US Leading (Economic) Index held steady in June. The Coincident Index rose 0.3%, while the Lagging Index declined 0.1%.

• The Philadelphia Fed (Manufacturing) Survey declined from over 22 seen in June to 6.6 in July, its lowest reading since December. 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.

• Siebel Systems lost 18.09% today after missing earnings estimates late yesterday.

• Copper Mountain Networks gained a whopping 774% today - we couldn't find a piece of news accounting for the rally.

• Ixia gained 15.20% after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings and revenue that rose, despite a poor market condition. Merrill Lynch upgraded it to a "buy", and CS First Boston also upgraded.

• IBM gained 1.92% today after reporting earnings late yesterday that beat Wall Street estimates.

• Honeywell International gained 2.99% after UBS Warburg upgraded it to a "buy".

• AOL Time Warner lost 5.03% after the Washington Post newspaper accused it of inflating revenue.

• Internet Initiative Japan gained 35.71% after announcing a possible merger with PoweredCom. Crosswave Communications, which gained 18.81%, also announced it might join the merger.

• Globecomm Systems gained 16.54% after winning a $17.3 million contract from British Telecom to provide satellite bandwidth for video services in Eastern Europe.

• Visit our Up to the minute market charts covering commodities, derivatives, foreign exchange, futures, interest rates, and global stock markets for the closing numbers worldwide.

• ADP lost 23.58% and Prudential downgraded it to a "sell" after warning about its profit growth.

• AFTER CLOSE: AOL Time Warner is gaining in after hours trading after announcing the resignation of its COO, Robert Pittman. Don Logan, former Chairman of Time, was promoted to Chairman of Media & Communications, while Jeff Bewkes, was promoted to chairman of Entertainment and Networks.

• AFTER CLOSE: Peoplesoft is gaining in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of 14 cents a share, 1 cent a share better than First Call estimates, on revenue of $482 million. 

• AFTER CLOSE: Microsoft is still losing in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q4 EBITDA of 43 cents a share, 1 cent a share better than First call estimates, on revenue of $7.25 billion.

• AFTER CLOSE: eBay is still losing in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of 19 cents a share on revenue of $266 million.

• AFTER CLOSE: McData is gaining in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 loss of of 2 cents a share, 5 cents a share less loss than First Call estimates, as revenue also beat at $77.3 million.

• AFTER CLOSE: Gateway is unchanged in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 loss of 19 cents a share, 2 cents a share more than First Call estimated, while revenue beat at $987.8 million.

• AFTER CLOSE: Sun Microsystems losing in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q4 earnings of 1 cent a share, which met First call estimates, as revenue rose to $3.4 billion.

• AFTER CLOSE: Ask Jeeves is gaining in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 pro forma loss of 16 cents a share, 5 cents a share less loss than First Call estimates, as revenue rose to $17.6 million. Ask Jeeves also announced a search listing agreement with Google™ that will generate $100 million for the 2 companies over 3 years.

• AFTER CLOSE: PMC-Sierra is gaining after reporting fiscal Q2 loss of 7 cents a share, 1 cent a share less loss than expected, as revenue came in at $54.5 million.

• AFTER CLOSE: Sybase reported fiscal Q2 earnings of 26 cents a share, 2 cents a share better than Wall Street estimates, as revenue declined 12.4% to $205.3 million.

• WORLDCOM Drama: Former Worldcom executives on July 8th took the 5th. in congressional hearings.

• ENRON Drama: Three British bankers were charged with a $7.3 million wire fraud relating to Enron late Thursday June 27th. The 3 were bankers at Greenwich NatWest, now part of Royal Bank of Scotland Plc.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

• 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. 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 JULY 17TH. 2002

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 8542.48 = +69.37

NASDAQ: 1397.25 = +21.99

S & P 500: 906.04 = +4.99

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed higher on strong earnings. The NASDAQ, which was up most of the day, had a very very heavy trading volume of over 2.337 billion, while the NYSE had a volume of over 1.913 billion shares traded. Gainers included: Adecco SA, Amgen, AOL Time Warner, Ask Jeeves, AT&T, Avanex Corp, BG Group Plc, Boeing Co, Citigroup, Commerce One, Covista Communications, Dell, DRS Technologies, Ericsson, ExxonMobil, Fairchild Corp, Flextronics International, Ford Motor Co, GE, Handspring, Home Depot, Human Genome, IBM, Imax Corp, Infocus, Intel, IXOS Software, JDS Uniphase, JMar Technology, Juniper Networks, Lloyds TSB Group Plc, Lockheed Martin, Manpower, Microsoft, Millipore, Motorola, Nicholas Financial, Nokia, Northrop Grumman, Onyx Acceptance, Oracle, Pfizer, Pharmacia, Pharmanetics, Piccadilly Cafeteria, Plantronics, Qualcomm, Quanta Services, Qwest Communications International, RazorFish, Royal Dutch Petroleum, Siebel Systems, Sitel, Stryker, Sun Microsystems, Symantec, Symbol Technology, Texas Instruments, TheStreet.Com, Turkcell, Veritas Software, Worldcom Group, and Yahoo!

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• US New Residential Construction declined 3.6% in June to 1.672 million units.

• The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that for weekending July 12th, declined 1.3% 722.2. The Purchase Index declined to 377.1. The Refinance Index rose to 2729.5. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate declined to 6.31%.

• The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that for weekending July 12th, US crude inventories declined 2.0 million barrels, while Distillates gained 2.1 million barrels. 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.

• Financial portal, TheStreet.Com gained 22.18% after fiscal Q2 losses narrowed, as revenue rose 54% - due mostly to its subscription services and increase in advertisement revenue.

• Fairchild Corp. gained 71.73% after Alcoa paid $657 million cash for its fastener business.

• Intel gained 5.88% today after the market accepted its strong sales figures released late yesterday.

• Boeing Co. gained 5.06% after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of 92 cents a share, which beat Wall Street estimates, on revenue of $13.86 billion. Boeing also announced plans to continue its job cuts. Separately, the company received the Pentagon's permission to upgrade 30 Apache Helicopters for the United Arab Emirate (UAE) for $1.5 billion.

• Motorola gained 4.27% after stating that it will return to profitability in fiscal Q3 and Q4.

• Citigroup gained 2.02% after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings that rose 15% to 78 cents a share, which beat Wall Street by 1 cent a share, as revenue rose 10% to $22.35 billion.

• Corporate web builder, RazorFish, which gained 2,225.17% yesterday after its approved a 1-for-30 reverse stock split on Monday, gained 2.82% today after winning the contract to develop an online initiative for Los Angeles Department of Water & Power.

• JP Morgan Chase & Co. lost 1.26% after its fiscal Q2 earnings came in at 58 cents a share, 7 cents a share less than expected, on revenue of $7.9 billion. JP Morgan Chase also gave a cautious outlook.

• Worldcom Group gained 1.01% despite being named in a lawsuit by the West Virginia Investment Management Board.

• Visit our Up to the minute market charts covering commodities, derivatives, foreign exchange, futures, interest rates, and global stock markets for the closing numbers worldwide.

• Veritas Software gained 11.18% after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of 13 cents a share, in line with estimates, on revenue of $364.7 million. Veritas sees fiscal Q3 earnings of between 11 to 13 cents a share. The market was happy that it wasn't as bad as it expected.

• Apple lost 12.49% today after reporting fiscal Q3 earnings late yesterday that met, but gave a cautious outlook.

• AT&T gained 2.55% after naming its President, David Dorman, as successor to C Michael Armstrong as CEO and Chairman. 

• AFTER CLOSE: E*Trade Group is gaining in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of 11 cents a share, 1 cent a share better than First call estimates, on revenue of $316 million.

• AFTER CLOSE: Kraft Foods reported fiscal Q2 pro forma profit that beat Wall Street earnings by 1 cent a share, on revenue of $7.5 billion.

• AFTER CLOSE: IBM is still gaining in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of 81 cents a share, 1 cent a share better than First Call estimates, as revenue also beat at $19.7 billion.

• AFTER CLOSE: Symantec is losing in after hours trading despite reporting fiscal Q1 earnings of 36 cents a share, 3 cents a share better than First call estimates, as revenue also beat at $316 million. Symantec also announced that it is acquiring privately held security company, Recourse Technologies, for $355 million in cash.

• AFTER CLOSE: AMD is still losing in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 loss of 54 cents a share, 9 cents a share worse than First Call estimates, as revenue met at $600.4 million.

• AFTER CLOSE: Handspring is still gaining after reporting fiscal Q4 loss of 11 cents a share, 1 cent a share less loss than expected, as revenue came in at $49.0 million. Handspring expects to be profitable sometime this year.

• AFTER CLOSE: Siebel Systems is losing in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of 6 cents a share, 3 cents a share short of Wall Street estimates. Siebel Systems also announced plans to cut 1,200 jobs.

• WORLDCOM Drama: Former Worldcom executives on July 8th took the 5th. in congressional hearings.

• ENRON Drama: Three British bankers were charged with a $7.3 million wire fraud relating to Enron late Thursday June 27th. The 3 were bankers at Greenwich NatWest, now part of Royal Bank of Scotland Plc.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

• 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. 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 JULY 16TH. 2002

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 8473.11 = -166.08

NASDAQ: 1375.26 = -7.36

S & P 500: 899.99 = -17.94

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed lower despite Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's remarks at his congressional testimony that the US economy has held on "remarkably well". The NASDAQ, which was up and down all day, had a very very heavy trading volume of over 2.378 billion, while the NYSE had a volume of over 1.820 billion shares traded. Gainers included: Agere Systems, American Tower Cop, America West Holdings, Amgen, Aphton, AT&T Wireless, AutoByTel, Bionx Implants, Birney Dental, Broadwing, Brocade Communications, Cadence Design Systems, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Conexant Systems, Crown Cork & Seal, Cygnus, Dell, Elan Corp, Endocare, Genuity, Home Depot, i2 Technologies, Johnson & Johnson, Juniper Networks, Kinder Morgan, L-3 Communications, Labor Ready, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, MSC Software, Nextel Communications, Nextel Partners, North Fork Bancorp, Nucentrix Broadband, Parametric Technology, Pharmacia, QLogic, QRS Corp, Qualcomm, Qwest Communications International, RazorFish, Special Labs, Stryker, Sun Microsystems, Symbol Technology, Taylor Devices, TheStreet.Com, Three Five Systems, Triton PCS Holdings, United Defense Industries, and Yahoo!

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• US Industrial Production rose 0.8% in June.

• The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported that its Housing Market (New Home Sales) Index rose 1 point to 61 in July.

• The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi US Chain Store Sales Index for weekending July 13th. declined 0.3%. 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.

• Caterpillar lost 4.85% after warning about its full year results.

• Amgen gained 5.79% after announcing that it has completed the acquisition of Immunex.

• Orthopedics products maker, Stryker, gained 1.65% after reporting fiscal Q2 net earnings that rose 31%.

• Nextel Communications gained 30.60% after reporting its first ever profit. Nextel led wireless shares higher after fiscal Q2 earnings came in at 37 cents a share, as sales rose 25% to $1.72 billion.

• Parametric Technology gained 8.31% after announcing that its fiscal Q3 loss will rise, but expects to breakeven in fiscal Q4.

• Motorola gained 4.99% after reporting a $2.3 billion loss in fiscal Q2 - a company record. The Loss was big due to the previously announced plans to take a $3.4 billion charge.

• The once mighty corporate web builder, RazorFish, had a 2,225.17% gain today!

• Home Depot gained 1.80% after announcing plans to buyback $2 billion in stock, and the company reiterated its long term outlook.

• L-3 Communications gained 6.11% after reporting fiscal Q2 profit of 49 cents a share, 2 cents a share better than First Call expected.

• Visit our Up to the minute market charts covering commodities, derivatives, foreign exchange, futures, interest rates, and global stock markets for the closing numbers worldwide.

• JP Morgan Chase & Co. closed lower on the eve of its earnings report, and concerns about its liquidity.

• General Motors (GM) lost 4.34% despite reporting fiscal Q2 earnings that almost tripled to $1.29 billion, but investors were more worried about future results. GM also announced it is taking a $2.4 billion charge for its 20% stake in Fiat.

• Johnson & Johnson gained 2.24% after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings that rose 11.5% to $1.65 billion, and raised its full year outlook. AG Edwards upgraded the stock to a "buy". 

• AFTER CLOSE: Intel is gaining in after hours trading despite reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of 7 cents a share, which missed First call estimates, but revenue met at $6.3 billion. Intel also announced it is cutting 5% of its workforce, or 4,000 jobs.

• AFTER CLOSE: Apple Computer is still losing in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q3 earnings of 9 cents a share, which met First Call estimates. Apple is however, cautious about the future.

• AFTER CLOSE: i2 Technologies is still gaining in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 loss that was 1 cent a share less loss than First Call estimates. i2 Technologies also announced that it is cutting 30% of its workforce starting next week.

• WORLDCOM Drama: Former Worldcom executives on July 8th took the 5th. in congressional hearings.

• ENRON Drama: Three British bankers were charged with a $7.3 million wire fraud relating to Enron late Thursday June 27th. The 3 were bankers at Greenwich NatWest, now part of Royal Bank of Scotland Plc.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

• 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. Check out our Quarterly forecasts for other picks.

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

<---D724--->

MARKET SUMMARY FOR MONDAY JULY 15TH. 2002

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 8639.19 = -45.34

NASDAQ: 1382.62 = +9.12

S & P 500: 917.93 = -3.46

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed mixed as the NASDAQ gained, while the Dow closed lower. The NASDAQ, which rallied in the last hour of trading, had a very very heavy trading volume of over 2.125 billion, while the NYSE had a volume of over 1.890 billion shares traded. Gainers included: Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Airborne, Akamai Technologies, Antigenics, Applied Materials, Array Biopharmaceuticals, AT&T, Avista, Bea Systems, Bristol Myers Squibb, Broadcom, Brocade Communications, Cash America International, Cisco Systems, Citigroup, CMS Energy, Conexant Systems, Cornell Companies, Culp Corp, Dave & Busters, Dell, eCollege.Com, Electro Scientific Industries, EMC Corp, Emulex, Ethyl Corp, FindWhat.Com, Ford Motor Co, Frontier Oil, Home Depot, Hughes Electronics, InfoSpace, Intel, Intermune, JDS Uniphase, Juniper Networks, KLA-Tencor, Kosan Biosciences, Lanoptics Ltd, Legato Systems, Lucent Technologies, MarketWatch.Com, Merck & Co, Morton's Restaurant Group, Network Equipment Co, Nextel Communications, Oracle, Peoplesoft, Pharmacia, Plumtree Software, QLogic, Qualcomm, Qwest Communications International, Sanmina-SCI, Sears Roebuck & Co, Siebel Systems, STMicroelectronics, Sun Microsystems, Target Corp, Tellabs, Texas Instruments, TheStreet.Com, Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Tyco International, United Rental, Visx, Vitesse Semiconductor, Wabtec, Wal-Mart, Xilinx, Yahoo!, and Zomax Corp.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• US Business Inventories rose to an unexpected 0.2% in May, while Sales declined 0.4% in the same period, thus pushing the Inventory-to-Sales Ratio higher to 1.36. 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.

• FleetBoston Financial lost 5.58% after reporting fiscal Q2 losses and taking a $1.1 billion charge in relation to closing of its Robertson Stephens brokerage unit, and losses due to Argentina's sovereign loan defaults.

• EMC Corp gained 6.43% after addressing investors concerns about having too many insiders on its board. The data storage giant today named Gail Deegan, formerly of Houghton & Mifflin, to its board, and will sit on the audit committee.

• Pharmacia gained 20.44% after bigger rival, Pfizer, agreed to acquire it for $53 billion. The news rallied smaller drug shares.

• Qwest Communications International gained 3.63% after confirming that it has received many bids for its phone directory publishing business.

• Wal-Mart gained 1.12% after stating that its same store sales for July will increase by around 5% to 7%, which is in line with estimates.

• Semiconductor related stocks did quite well today.

• Visit our Up to the minute market charts covering commodities, derivatives, foreign exchange, futures, interest rates, and global stock markets for the closing numbers worldwide.

• Hewlett Packard lost 1.77% after announcing plans to close its corporate networking software unit it inherited in a 2000 acquisition. The 500 jobs to be affected will be moved to other company units, and some will be laid off.

• AFTER CLOSE: Maytag is still losing in after hours trading despite reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of 86 cents a share, 1 cent a share better than First Call estimates, and more than double last year's. Maytag's sales rose 22% to 1.19 billion, thanks to its recently acquired Amana unit.

• AFTER CLOSE: Electro Scientific Industries is still gaining in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q4 loss of 3 cents a share, 2 cents a share less loss than First Call estimates, on sales of $41.1 million.

• AFTER CLOSE: Plumtree Software is losing in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings that beat Wall Street estimates, on revenue of $19.4 million.

• AFTER CLOSE: Castle Harlan sweetened its takeover deal for Morton's Restaurants Group to $17/share, thus matching Carl Icahn's offer.

• WORLDCOM Drama: Former Worldcom executives on July 8th took the 5th. in congressional hearings.

• ENRON Drama: Three British bankers were charged with a $7.3 million wire fraud relating to Enron late Thursday June 27th. The 3 were bankers at Greenwich NatWest, now part of Royal Bank of Scotland Plc.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

• 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. Check out our Quarterly forecasts for other picks.

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

<---D723--->

MARKET SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY JULY 12TH. 2002

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 8684.53 = -117.00

NASDAQ: 1373.50 = -0.93

S & P 500: 921.39 = -5.98

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed lower on disappointing consumer sentiment data. The NASDAQ, which zig zaged most of the day to finally dip in the last 15 minutes, had a very very heavy trading volume of over 2.008 billion, while the NYSE had a volume of over 1.579 billion shares traded. Gainers included: Agere Systems, American Pharmaceutical Partners, Anaren Microwave, A.O. Smith, Applied Materials, Arris Group, AT&T, AT&T Wireless, Bristol Myers Squibb, Broadcom, Brocade Communications, Cambridge Antibody Plc, Celeritek, Charles & Colvard, Chromcraft, Ciena Corp, Cisco Systems, CNET Networks, Conexant Systems, Dell, Dickie Walker, Elan Corp, Embarcadero, EMC Corp, Flextronics International, Fresenius Medical Care AG, GE, Immunex, Impath, Inktomi, Internet Initiative Japan, Jilin Chemical, JLM Couture, Juniper Networks, InfoSpace, Lucent Technologies, MarketWatch.Com, Medi-Hut, Merck & Co, Motorola, Nextel Communications, NPS Pharmaceuticals, Oracle, Overture Services, Protein Design Labs, QLogic, Qualcomm, Rainbow Media Group, Roper Industry, Sequenom, SPCIE Holdings, Symbol Technology, Terra Lycos SA, Texas Instruments, Titan Corp, USANA Health Sciences, Wyeth, and Yahoo!

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• WEEKEND NEWS: Congressman Bill Tauzin (R Louisiana) stated on ABC's "This Week" show on Sunday that, Worldcom has been cooking books since 2000.

• WEEKEND NEWS: Coca Cola announced on Sunday that, it will start expensing its stock option plans sometime this year, as corporate accounting woes force corporations to become more transparent about their accounting practices.

• The University of Michigan reported that the US Consumer Sentiment Index declined sharply in July to 85.6.

• US Retail Sales grew a better than expected 1.1% in June. 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.

• Dell gained 4.60% after announcing late Thursday that it will see a higher than expected fiscal Q2 financial results.

• GE gained 4.57% after reporting fiscal Q2 results that met Wall Street estimates, and also reiterated its fiscal 2002 outlook.

• Home Depot lost 7.36% after Merrill Lynch downgraded it to a "neutral" recommendation.

• AOL Time Warner lost 4.09% on a Wall Street Journal report that the company has maintained a recruitment agency to find a head for its America Online unit. The Journal also expressed doubts on the future of Robert Pittman, AOL Time Warner's COO.

• Visit our Up to the minute market charts covering commodities, derivatives, foreign exchange, futures, interest rates, and global stock markets for the closing numbers worldwide.

• Immunex gained 0.26% after the FTC approved its $11 billion acquisition by Amgen. Amgen lost 0.32%.

• Pharmaceutical stocks continued their recovery today. Internet search engines/directories didn't do bad either, thanks to Yahoo's stellar results in the week.

• Duke Energy lost 11.45% after announcing that the US Attorney's office in Houston, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have subpoenaed it concerning its energy trading practices.

• Celeritek gained 30.23% after wireless parts maker, Anaren Microwave, acquired 6% of it on the open market - a step towards an acquisition. Anaren Microwave gained 3.76% on the news.

• WORLDCOM Drama: Former Worldcom executives on July 8th took the 5th. in congressional hearings.

• ENRON Drama: Three British bankers were charged with a $7.3 million wire fraud relating to Enron late Thursday June 27th. The 3 were bankers at Greenwich NatWest, now part of Royal Bank of Scotland Plc.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

• 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

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STOCKS TO WATCH NEXT MARKET DAY: All stocks are in play. Check out our Quarterly forecasts for other picks.

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

<---D722--->

MARKET SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY JULY 11TH. 2002

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 8801.53 = -11.97

NASDAQ: 1374.43 = +28.42

S & P 500: 927.37 = +6.91

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed mixed as the NASDAQ rallied, while the Dow overcame an earlier 200+ points deficit to close with a minor loss. The NASDAQ, which rallied after 12:00 PM, had a very very heavy trading volume of over 2.296 billion, while the NYSE had a volume of over 2.083 billion shares traded. Gainers included: Act Teleconferencing, Aether Systems, Agere Systems, Altera, Amazon.Com, Amgen, AOL Time Warner, Applied Materials, Arris Group, AT&T, Brocade Communications, Celestica, Cisco Systems, CIT Group, Citigroup, Dell, Deltagen, Eastman Kodak, EMC Corp, Flextronics International, GE, Genzyme Biosurgery, GM, Good Guys, Hologic, Intel, Jabil Circuits, JDS Uniphase, Johnson & Johnson, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Juniper Networks, KLA-Tencor, Level 3 Communications, Lexicon Genetics, Lucent Technologies, MedImmune, Micrel Semiconductor, Microsoft, Mirae, Nextel Communications, Nokia, NPS Pharmaceuticals, Oracle, Pfizer, QLogic, Qualcomm, Royal Olympic, Sanmina-SCI, Solectron, Sun Microsystems, Texas Instruments, TheStreet.Com, Tyco International, Verisign, Veritas Software, VI Technologies, Wal-Mart, Workstream, Wyeth, Xilinx, and Yahoo!

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• The US Producer Price Index (PPI) gained 0.1% in June, while the Core PPI rose 0.2%.

• US Chain Store Sales rose a strong 5.1% in June.

• US Jobless Claims for weekending July 6th. rose 16,000 to 403,000. The 4-week moving average rose 2,000 to 395,000. 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.

• Eastman Kodak gained 11.04% after raising its outlook.

• Wal-Mart gained 0.78% after raising its full year outlook.

• GM gained 0.23% despite a UBS Warburg downgrade to "hold".

• Yahoo! gained 5.99% after its better than expected earnings report late yesterday, and raising its outlook too. Merrill Lynch downgraded it to "reduce/Sell" and expressed concerns if the company can sustain its current growth.

• Verisign gained 19.04% after the market viewed its financial warning last night as being better than they were expecting.

• Pfizer gained 5.06% after paying #200 million for co-marketing rights in the US for Serono's Multiple Sclerosis drug, Rebif™.

• Bristol Myers Squibb lost 4.49% after stating that the SEC is investigating it about inflated revenues.

• Visit our Up to the minute market charts covering commodities, derivatives, foreign exchange, futures, interest rates, and global stock markets for the closing numbers worldwide.

• Contract Electronics Manufacturers (CEMs) gained after Goldman Sachs had bullish comments on the sector. Goldman Sachs also initiated coverage of Flextronics International, Celestica, Sanmina-Sci, and Solectron to "market outperform", while Jabil Circuits to "market performer".

• MedImmune gained 15.92% on optimism that the FDA will likely approve its Flu Vaccine, FluMist™.

• CIT Group gained 2.06% after filing with the SEC to sell $12.2 billion in debt over time.

• Network Associates lost 18.36% after announcing that though its fiscal Q2 results will meet, its full year revenue will miss estimates.

• AFTER CLOSE: Dell is still gaining in after hours trading after raising its fiscal Q2 sales and earnings estimates.

• AFTER CLOSE: Juniper Networks is still gaining in after hours trading after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of a breakeven, 1 cent a share better than First Call estimates, thanks to the acquisition of Unisphere Networks. Juniper also raised its fiscal Q3 guidance and announced plans to cut 10% of workforce, or 1,650 jobs, and take a $200 million charge relating to the Unisphere acquisition.

• WORLDCOM Drama: Former Worldcom executives on July 8th took the 5th. in congressional hearings.

• ENRON Drama: Three British bankers were charged with a $7.3 million wire fraud relating to Enron late Thursday June 27th. The 3 were bankers at Greenwich NatWest, now part of Royal Bank of Scotland Plc.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

• 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. Check out our Quarterly forecasts for other picks.

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

<---D721--->

MARKET SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY JULY 10TH. 2002

DOW INDUSTRIAL: 8813.50 = -282.59

NASDAQ: 1346.01 = -35.11

S & P 500: 920.47 = -32.36

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS & SECTORS

The markets closed lower for the Third day in a row. The NASDAQ, which slumped after 10:00 AM, had a very heavy trading volume of over 1.845 billion, while the NYSE had a volume of over 1.774 billion shares traded. Gainers included: Artisan Components, AT&T Wireless, Broadcom, Brocade Communications, Circor International, Cisco Systems, Citizens Communications, Coeur d'Alene Mines, Community Capital Bancshares, Consolidated Mercantile, Doral Financial, eBay, Electronics Arts, EMC Corp, FashionMall.Com, Franklin Covey, Goldcorp, Goldman Sachs, Grubb & Ellis, Harman International Industries, Infinium Software, Internet Commerce, JDS Uniphase, Juniper Networks, Lawson Software, Lifeway Foods, Lucent Technologies, Meridian Gold, Mesabi Trust, Mortons Restaurants Group, National Golf Properties, Nelson, Nextel Communications, Principal Financial Group, Prudential Financial, RPC inc, Sports Authority, Sungard Data Systems, Tefron Ltd, Tellabs, TVX Gold, Union Acceptance, United Parcel Service (UPS), United Surgical Partners, and Verisign.

MAIN REASONS FOR ACTIVITY

• The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that for weekending July 5th, the MBA Mortgage Applications Survey Index rose 3.3% to 732.0. The Purchase Index rose to 408.0. The Refinance Index declined to 2616.6. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage declined to 6.46%.

• The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that for weekending July 5th, US crude oil inventory declined 4.2 million barrels, while Distillates rose 3.1 million barrels.

• US Wholesale Sales declined 0.2% in May, as Inventories rose 0.1%. The Inventory-to-Sales Ratio rose 1 point to 1.24.

• US Import Prices, excluding oil, rose 0.1% in June.

• US Export Prices, excluding agriculture, declined 0.1% in June. 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.

• The stock market was slammed today as the Dow closed below the 9,000 mark, and at its lowest levels in 5 years.

• AT&T Wireless gained 5.88% on market rumors that it is in talks to acquire VoiceStream.

• Qwest Communications International lost 31.92% after announcing today that it is facing criminal investigation from the US Attorney's office in Denver, Colorado.

• K-Mart lost 2.47% after announcing that it received a delisting letter from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Most organized exchanges delist shares after they trade below the $1/share mark for 30 days.

• eBay, Electronics Arts, Goldman Sachs, Principal Financial, Prudential Financial, Sungard Data Systems and UPS all gained due to their addition to the S&P 500 Index late yesterday.

• Ford Motor Co. and General Motors lost 7.41% and 6.90% respectively after Banc of America Securities downgraded them to "market perform".

• Cisco Systems gained 2.82% after Merrill Lynch upgraded it to a "strong buy".

• Oil services giant Halliburton lost 4.04% after an interest group sued it and its former head, US Vice President Dick Cheney, for overstating revenues due Cheney's tenure.

• Mortons Restaurants Group gained 5.33% after the sweetened deal from Castle Harlan was quickly topped again by Billionaire investor, Carl Icahn.

• Visit our Up to the minute market charts covering commodities, derivatives, foreign exchange, futures, interest rates, and global stock markets for the closing numbers worldwide.

• Juniper Networks gained 0.28% after the Wall Street Journal reported that the networking company might cut its workforce by as much as 10%.

• AFTER CLOSE: Yahoo! is gaining in after hours trading after reporting a fiscal Q2 profit and revenue that rose 24%, due mostly to paid services. Yahoo! also raised its revenue outlook for fiscal Q3.

• AFTER CLOSE: McAfee.Com is gaining in after hours trading after returning to profitability by posting a fiscal Q2 profit as sales surged. Subscriptions alone rose 200,000 customers for the quarter.

• AFTER CLOSE: Genentech is gaining in after hours trading after reporting that for fiscal Q2, it had an (excluding charges) earnings that beat First Call estimates by 1 cent a share, due mostly to increased revenue.

• AFTER CLOSE: Verisign is still gaining in after hours trading despite reporting fiscal Q2 earnings and revenue that missed estimates.

• AFTER CLOSE: Redback Networks is still losing in after hours trading despite reporting a fiscal Q2 loss that was 1 cent a share less than First Call estimates, as revenue rose to $40.1 million.

• WORLDCOM Drama: Former Worldcom executives on July 8th took the 5th. in congressional hearings.

• ENRON Drama: Three British bankers were charged with a $7.3 million wire fraud relating to Enron late Thursday June 27th. The 3 were bankers at Greenwich NatWest, now part of Royal Bank of Scotland Plc.

• ANOTHER ADDITION: We now have services for Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK & Ireland, and United States. We will continue our qualitative, informative, and useful content policies at all our portals. Thank you for your support.

• 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. Check out our Quarterly forecasts for other picks.

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