Wednesday's Brew Nv 15

Enjoy your fresh morning coffee with our summary of the market outlook for the day and a medley of important information you should find useful. Stock futures across the Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ indices are down across the board this morning ahead of tomorrow's important CPI data. U.S. Airways added some energy to the day, announcing an $8 billion bid for Delta Air Lines.

OVERSEAS MARKETS

While the NIKKEI reacted lower after Tuesday's sharp rise on strong GDP growth, the Hang Seng climbed 1.14% as Chinese industrial production rose less than expected, easing concerns the government might restrict lending.

Stocks are up across major indices in Europe, Africa and the Middle East so far today, driven by signals from U.S. Fed officials that rates are likely to remain unchanged. The FTSE 100 Index is up 0.32% in early activity, while the OMX Stockholm 30 is 1% higher.

ECONOMIC DATA & NEWS

Wednesday brings important data, most important likely being internationally sourced. The release of three economic indicators on China by the Milken Institute have the potential to impact markets, and include data on the renminbi, Chinese IPOs and debt.

In the U.K., the Bank of England released its report on inflation. The BOE sees inflation slowing ahead of schedule, and anticipates it could ease to a rate of 2% by mid-2007. However, ahead of the decrease, it sees inflation rising into the end of this year to 2.7% or so. The forecast is predicated on the view that the cost of imports and energy will ease further this year.

GEOPOLITICAL SCENE & COMMODITY MARKETS

Likely grabbing media attention today, ex-CIA director James Woolsey will speak at an American Foreign Policy Council confab on "Understanding the Iranian Threat." Crude is up 0.5% in early trading, as Iran is back in the spotlight. President Bush met with Israeli leaders earlier this week and is speaking this morning with Vladimir Putin. Mahmoud Amadinejad announced yesterday that his country is near completing the nuclear cycle and is a nuclear state.

Threatening Rhetoric from Israel portends an air assault on Iran's facilities if the international community fails to resolve the issue with diplomacy. Iran responded, announcing it would not wait a single second before countering any attack on its sovereign territory. Crude is not currently pricing in the probability of an Israeli intervention on Iran, or the counter attack likely from Iran and its agents across the world. It seems apparent that President Bush is intent on addressing the Iranian issue before he leaves office, thus placing a one-year time line on the issue, as any military effort is not likely to occur later than that in our view. Metals, including gold, are down in early trading today.

STOCKS IN THE NEWS

Wal-Mart executives will address the Morgan Stanley Consumer & Retail Conference in New York. Reporting earnings Wednesday are: Tyco International, Applied Materials, Network Appliance, Limited Brands Inc., Petsmart Inc. and UGI Corp. (See the disclosure at Wall Street Greek.)