Happy New Year!

We here at Wall Street Greek wish you and yours a happy new year! We hope 2007 brings you good fortune, health and happiness.

Friday's Brew - Closing Out 2006

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. Major equity indices opened lower today. Were it not the last day of the trading year, we would anticipate a light day. However, last minute divestiture of shares by individuals, for tax purposes, could lead trading to a higher level than it might otherwise reach for a holiday. The bond market will close at 2 PM EST, ahead of the holiday weekend.

OVERSEAS MARKETS

Activity overseas was relatively muted today, outside of mainland China. In Asia, the NIKKEI 225 Index was relatively unchanged, while the Hang Seng drifted 0.19% lower. Mainland Chinese shares rocketed higher as the state-run Xinhua News Agency announced that China will introduce wireless high-speed mobile-phone services next year, also known as 3G technology.

Across the pond, the U.K., German and Irish markets all closed early today for the holiday. European trading was relatively quiet, as the FTSE 100 Index closed down 0.32%, while the DJ STOXX 50 Index was down 0.33% through midday trading. We expect European shares to have a slow start to 2007, on tax-based profit taking. However, please review your relative tax laws, as they will play a significant role in the accuracy of this thesis.

ECONOMIC DATA & ANALYSIS

The only data set to be released Friday is the Conference Board's Help-Wanted Index for November. This index measures the amount of help-wanted advertising across 51 of the nation's newspapers, and is viewed as an indicator of labor market strength. Clearly, with the growing popularity of web-based ad postings, this metric is losing its value.

COMMODITY MARKETS

Coffee led all commodities lower earlier this morning but has since leveled off. This makes complete sense to us, as consumption has increased ten-fold in my household. In all seriousness, coffee supply has likely benefited from mild seasonal trends this year, we speculate.

Corn and sugar futures are both higher this morning, as growing ethanol demand continues to drive new demand for the commodities. Wheat on the other hand has suffered due to rising production out of China. China had historically been a net importer of grain, but is transitioning to a net exporter.

Crude oil is down 0.55% and natural gas is 1.06% lower, on mild weather forecasts for North America. The inventory report for natural gas is due out at 10:30 AM EST. Inventory is expected to fall, according to a Reuters poll. We continue to recommend purchase of these critical energy commodities ahead of an escalation of the Iranian nuclear issue. We believe President Bush is set to take military action by the end of 2007, as he set a challenge for his administration and the American people in his now famous "Axis of Evil" State of the Union Address. His legacy may hang on his ability to stop Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon, as his decisions on Iraq have clearly damaged his presidential record. For President Bush to complete an Iranian mission, we believe it must begin soon.

STOCKS IN THE NEWS

There are no earnings reports scheduled for Friday. Apple Computer shares are recovering sharply today, after it filed an SEC document exonerating "current management" and thus its iconic leader, Steve Jobs. However, we continue to believe the worst is yet to come for Apple, and its SEC filing is not the last word, the decision of regulators is. AAPL shares are up near 4% today in early trading.

You may have noticed a delay in the publishing of "Wake Up Call" today. Email recipients received their copy at 8:22 AM EST today, as we are beta testing distribution of the article. We intend for "Wake Up Call" to eventually be available only to subscribers through email and the premium site. "Today's Morning Coffee" will be available to all, but non-subscribers will receive copy post the open of the market, while subscribers will receive it pre-market. But don't worry! For the near-term, you will continue to receive all services, and we will provide adequate lead-time for you to plan accordingly. We apologize for the delayed delivery of "Today's Morning Coffee" today as we and Blogger experienced major technical problems this morning. We hope you found value in today's copy, and we wish you a good day trading. (disclosure)

Wake Up Call - Steve Jobs Cleared

Good Morning. This is your wake up call for Friday December 29, 2006. The time is 8:22 AM EST.

* In an SEC filing, Apple Computer exonerates "current management" and thus Steve Jobs, but unfortunately, they do not have the final say.

* The nation's financial markets are expected to remain closed through Tuesday, as America honors its 38th president, Gerald R. Ford.

* Saddam Hussein's execution to be videotaped, but not televised. Expected in a matter of days.

* NIKKEI 225 +0.01%; Hang Seng -0.19%; FTSE 100 -0.32%; DJ STOXX 50 -0.23%

Equity futures indicate a mixed open at this hour. The S&P 500 Index appears set to open slightly lower, while the NASDAQ and Dow are set to open modestly higher. The bond market will close at 2:00 PM today ahead of the holiday weekend. (disclosure)

Thursday's Brew - Dec 28

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. Equity markets have opened lower this morning, ahead of key housing data and important regional data from the Chicago PMI.

OVERSEAS MARKETS
Euphoria seems to be carrying over in the Hong Kong market, feeding on a slew of IPOs and continued benefits from exporting into the American market. We are stepping out on a limb a bit, but it's possible that the recent agreement of the U.N. Security Council on the Iranian nuclear issue, helped to ease concerns of a clash of views and needs between China and the United States. China is greatly dependent on Iranian oil, and we continue to expect it to avoid disturbing that oil flow. However, the agreement certainly appeased that concern for now. The Hang Seng rose 1.4%, surpassing 20,000 for the first time and closing at 20,001.91. However, mainland Chinese shares were mostly lower Thursday. Japan's NIKKEI 225 was relatively unchanged.

European shares are drifting slightly lower through midday trading. The DJ STOXX 50 and the FTSE 100 indices are both unchanged.

ECONOMIC DATA & ANALYSIS
Thursday continues this week's housing market review, with the release of the federal government's report on November existing home sales. We expect existing homes sales to trend worse than new homes, as we believe home builders have been able to keep new home sales slightly more lively with incentive offers. Bloomberg News' survey shows consensus expectations for 6.19 million sales, versus 6.24 in the last period.

For the whole of the year, the National Association of Realtors forecast 2006 sales to be 8.6% lower than in 2005, and the organization is currently forecasting a sales decline of 1% for 2007. My experience on Wall Street has taught me that a great majority of analysts typically underestimate rate of change, due to a fear of going out on a limb. Regarding the future of housing, much depends on economic growth, interest rates and the action of the Federal Reserve. Still, we would bet on a greater degree of decline than forecast in this case, as pricing remains too high in our view and inventory is still above six months.

The most widely anticipated bit of news today is the Labor Department's report on initial weekly jobless claims. Last week showed 315,000 new claims, which continued a trend below last year's average. The consensus view for this week was 320,000, and the actual result came in at 317,000, better than expected. So, we got a mildly positive measure that is unlikely to impact the market today, in our view.

Later, the Conference Board will release its consumer-confidence index, perhaps an indirect measure of how well holiday season sales may have gone this year. The consensus sees December consumer confidence measuring 102.0, versus 102.9 in November. Finally, the National Association of Purchasing Managers - Chicago Index for December will be reported, with a consensus view for a reading of 50.0, compared to 49.9 in November. A reading above 50 signals an expanding regional business sector, so this particular reading carries significant weight due to the level of consensus expectations seemingly riding the fence. Other recent regional data portends the possibility of a more significant GDP slowdown in the near future, but let's see how the Midwest is fairing today.

COMMODITY MARKETS
Weekly oil and distillate inventory will be reported today, one day late due to the shortened holiday week. Crude oil is up 0.5% this morning, to $60.7, as analysts widely expect inventories to have decreased due to Houston Channel shipping delays. The median view of a group of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News shows an expectation for a crude oil decline of 2.5 million barrels.

Natural gas is rebounding sharply this morning, up 2.4% to $6.3 /MMBtu, after suffering in recent days on a mild long-term weather outlook. Gasoline is higher by nearly a percentage point as well.

Gold is higher by 0.7%, up for the third day in a row. Gold should continue to benefit from an escalating Iranian conflict. Over the long-term, gold should be a beneficiary of a weakening dollar as well, while emerging markets strengthen. Finally, as stated here in the past, gold, food commodities and water look to benefit from a global community that is forgetting lessons learned from the past. As the greatest generation passes on, humanity grows more and more likely to repeat the past and find itself in war once again.

STOCKS IN THE NEWS
At this time last year, Apple Computer was on top of the world, benefiting from its wildly popular IPod product. Today, its iconic leader, Steve Jobs, finds himself in the middle of a scandalous controversy as it is being alleged that he received 7.5 million options without Board approval. The Financial Times reported that documents may have been falsified after the fact to hide the activity. The loss of a key figure like Jobs would be catastrophic to Apple Computer shares, in our view, and possibly even disruptive to the greater technology sector. AAPL shares are 1.2% lower in early trading. There are no earnings reports scheduled for Thursday. We hope you found value in "Today's Morning Coffee" and we wish you a good day trading. (disclosure)

Wake Up Call - Dec 28

Good Morning. This is your wake up call for Thursday December 28, 2006. The time is 8:15 AM EST.

* Criminal allegations are surfacing regarding Apple Computer, as reported by The Financial Times. It is alleged that Steve Jobs received 7.5 million in options without Board approval, and that documents were falsified after the fact.

* Ethiopian backed Somali government troops have moved to the outskirts of Mogadishu, poised to overtake Islamist rebels who are reported fleeing.

* An estimated 3 million Muslims begin the Hajj pilgrimage rituals in Mecca.

* President Bush is preparing an address concerning Iraq and the new way forward. The speech was expected for the State of the Union Address, but will come sooner according to the White House press secretary.

* A second pipeline blast hits Lagos, Nigeria. The motive has not yet been determined to be for oil or for trouble, or if it was an accident, but it occurred in a extremely poverty stricken area.

Links to these articles and more can be found at Wall Street Greek.

U.S. equity market futures indicate a lower open today, perhaps weighed on by the news at Apple Computer. If allegations are true and depending on who takes the fall, this looks to be the second leg of the bad news begun yesterday. AAPL rebounded yesterday before details were known. If its iconic leader, Steve Jobs, is shown to have acted illegally, Apple shares seem likely to collapse, in our view.

The market is waiting on three key economic reports today, including initial weekly jobless claims, November existing home sales and consumer confidence. See "The Greek's Week Ahead" under Thursday for more details. Good morning and good day. Look for "Today's Morning Coffee" to be published shortly. (disclosure)

Wednesday's Brew Dc 27

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. Overseas market optimism that drove Asian markets higher and is sending European markets broadly upward this morning, seems to be spreading to the U.S. market. U.S. equity market futures are broadly and sharply higher this morning. We attribute the optimism to post holiday euphoria and, more critically, to Tuesday's decline in oil prices.

OVERSEAS MARKETS
News that Chinese lender, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., anticipated a decrease in its bad loan ratio, helped boost Chinese shares. However, the key driver of Chinese stocks on Wednesday was a story originated from state-run Xinhua News Agency. The article reported that China's top lawmaking body had begun discussing a law that could lower taxes for domestic companies. The Hang Seng Index climbed 1.5% higher Wednesday and mainland Chinese stocks were broadly higher as well. In Japan, the NIKKEI 225 inched higher 0.31%.

European shares were broadly higher Wednesday, with the DJ STOXX 50 Index up 0.73%. National benchmarks rose in all 18 western European markets except Belgium. The broad rise could be attributed to a multitude of factors. We can only speculate that post holiday euphoria related to the merger and acquisition boom in Europe, and yesterday's decline in oil prices played a role. If a sustainable oil price decline were to occur, an important factor driving inflation would be weakened. However, as we pointed out in "Your Wake Up Call," we view yesterday's oil drop as a short-term phenomenon, despite favorable weather trends.

ECONOMIC DATA & ANALYSIS
Today, we will get a better look into how the holiday shopping season went for American retailers. The International Council of Shopping Centers will post its survey of chain-store sales for the week before Christmas. The prior week's data showed sales behind schedule, but due to the extra shopping weekend just before the holiday, it's possible that retailers made up the lost ground.

Regional economic data continues to reach the market Wednesday, with the Chicago Federal Reserve's release of its Midwest manufacturing index. Also, Moody's Economy.com will publish its survey of global business confidence. At its last reading in mid-December, global business sentiment was at its lowest level since October 2003.

Wednesday is a busy day for the housing sector, with two key releases set for the day. November new home sales data will be reported at 10:00 AM, with the consensus view for 1.02 million sales, compared to 1.0 million in the last period, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Also, the Mortgage Banker's Association will report weekly mortgage applications and its weekly refinance index today.

COMMODITY MARKETS
Natural gas continues to tumble, down 2.5% today, on mild weather trends in North America. We reiterate our statement of yesterday that natural gas is increasingly a substitute for crude oil distillates. Natural gas already efficiently produces electricity at conventional generation facilities and creates heat for homes. It is making inroads into other areas, including as a key driver of fuel cell engines. In many instances, hydrogen is created for fuel cell driven engines through the input of natural gas. It is the key fuel source, and if fuel cell technology were to take hold in its current state, natural gas would be in great demand. Also, as a mostly domestically sourced energy commodity, it has critical strategic importance for America.

We believe natural gas will be less sensitive to developments overseas, but it will be positively and highly correlated to changes in the price of oil. As the price of oil rises, the demand for gas increases and thus the price of gas rises. For example, it becomes a more economically viable heating source, when compared to heating oil.

Crude declined precipitously yesterday, and is relatively unchanged this morning at approximately $61.13 per barrel. We believe a combination of warm weather trends and a perceived ineptness of Iranian retributive ability led traders to take the price down. However, as we stated in "Your Wake Up Call" and in recent issues of "Today's Morning Coffee," we do not view Iran as inept in will or in ability.

We believe Iran will make the next move in the chess match, asking IAEA inspectors to leave, or in some way limiting inspectors from access to sites. As cargo is inevitably intercepted on its way to Iranian ports, we believe Iran may move a step further, possibly withdrawing from the NPT, or Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Behind the scenes, we expect Iran to maintain its disruptive positioning in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine. Our first issue of "The Geopolitical Factor" will detail our expectations, forecasts and scenarios we view possible for the year ahead.

Gold is higher as a result of escalating tensions with Iran and due to other factors working against the dollar. The United Arab Emirates announced it is transitioning a portion of its reserves to gold from dollars. This trend, seen in China as well, is a sign of weakening expectations for the dollar. Some of this is likely due to sharp economists' understanding that in a global environment, the playing field will level, and the strong dollar should weaken against strengthening currencies of emerging nations and groups of nations. However, some of it is likely related to a growing view that America is going too far in a geopolitical sense; that it is risking its position atop the world order. Stay tuned for our detailed thoughts near the beginning of the year.

STOCKS IN THE NEWS
Apple Computer (AAPL) is down sharply in pre-market activity, falling 4.3%. Federal prosecutors are reportedly investigating stock option administration documents that are rumored to be have been falsified. There are no earnings reports scheduled for today. We hope you found value in "Today's Morning Coffee" and we wish you a good day trading. (disclosure)

Wake Up Call - Dec 27

Good Morning. This is your wake up call for Wednesday December 27, 2006.

* President Gerald R. Ford, our 38th president, passed away at 6:45 PM Tuesday evening.

* Overseas, avian influenza is raising concern in Egypt, where the family of a lethally infected individual has taken ill.

* Iraq's former dictator Saddam Hussein will be put to death in a matter of days, with debate currently focused on whether to televise the hanging or not.

Well, I guess that's the bad news, depending on how you view capital punishment! The good news is that U.S. equity futures are sharply higher across the board this morning. Traders in Asia and Europe returned from holiday in a good mood it seems, as the dollar weakened against the yen and the euro on speculation the slowing American economy might lead to a Federal Reserve rate cut sooner rather than later. Asian and European markets are broadly higher Wednesday as a result.

Yesterday's fall in the price of oil is likely helping the drive as well. However, we anticipate that despite weather patterns that are favorable for oil conservation, the Iranian conflict is only just beginning. The long-term event timing may be tricky to pinpoint, but its clear there will be a near-term acceleration of activity as Iran responds to sanctions. We anticipate Iran could ask IAEA inspectors to leave the nation as a first response. In the event of any minor intervention of ships or cargo headed for Iranian ports or major assault on Iran's nuclear facility, we anticipate Iran will withdraw from the NPT and urge its agents overseas to begin gorilla warfare activities at minimum. We shudder to think of where the high end of the disruptive range reaches, but it could include invasion of Iraq, where Iranian troops might be welcomed as liberators; invasion of Kuwait, which would put a lot of oil into the wrong hands; and attacks upon Saudi oil refineries and facilities, which could spike the price to $150+. Yes, we believe the current drop in oil is a short-term event. We will cover our geopolitical expectations and concerns in the first issue of The Geopolitical Factor, to be published soon. Stay tuned for "Today's Morning Coffee" to be released later this morning. (disclosure)

Tuesday's Brew - Dec 26

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. The Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ indices are all up modestly in light trading. However, we view it likely that the market will take a decidedly negative direction in the near future, as tensions with oil giant Iran escalate.

OVERSEAS MARKETS

While markets are closed in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines today, trading continues in several key Asian nations. In Japan, supportive household spending and unemployment data helped to lift the NIKKEI 225 by 0.45%. Late last week, Toyota posted a forecast for 2007 that shows the firm is likely to overtake GM and Ford as the world's largest auto producer within a year's time. That news combined with a commitment from Japanese ship builders to accept a 5% price increase on steel, helped lift Nippon Steel Corporation's shares.

The U.K. market is closed for Boxing Day today, while the few European markets that are open in Italy and Switzerland are lower.

ECONOMIC DATA & ANALYSIS

As you might have expected, the economic calendar following the Christmas holiday is a rather light one. A bit of data will find its way to the market today, however, as the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond releases its manufacturing index for November and the Dallas Federal Reserve releases its manufacturing-production index. The market will be hopeful for regional data that offsets the weak results from last week's Philly Fed Index, indicating a regional decline of manufacturing production versus an expectation for an increase.

COMMODITY MARKETS

Oil is where the action is today, as tension between Iran and the world escalate. After the U.N. Security Council passed sanctions against the oil producing giant, Iran vowed to continue enriching uranium and threatened to play its oil card as a weapon if necessary. Iran is also weighing its relationship with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and it is possible Iran will withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Earlier this morning, crude oil futures for February delivery reacted sharply, rising 1.3%, but the futures have since settled to a rise of about 0.37%, or $62.64 per barrel.

Traders seem to be shrugging off forecast colder weather for North America, and paying attention to the long-term trend, warming winters. As a result, natural gas is falling 5.5% today. We believe this offers a buying opportunity for the oil substitute and domestically sourced energy commodity. Natural gas usage has expanded significantly over the years, and should continue to do so, especially if fuel cell technology grows in importance. As a domestically sourced commodity, we believe natural gas becomes a critical, strategic source of fuel in a conflict situation or oil shortage.

In our opinion, gold has regained its appeal as well, as currencies, especially the dollar, carry higher risk in an uncertain environment related to armed conflict and related gorilla warfare or terrorism. Imagine a scenario post an assault on Iran, where Iranian agents engage in terrorism upon American soil. Gold is up 1.3% today.

STOCKS IN THE NEWS

There are no earnings releases scheduled for today. Pinnacle Airline Corporation (PNCL) announced it would maintain its partnership with Northwest through 2017, and the stock was up 2.3% in morning trading.

Retail Sales data provider MasterCard Advisors released data indicating that holiday period sales appear to have risen a robust 6.6%, but that's less than last year's 8.7% increase. Still, in light of this year's housing decline and concerns about the American consumers' ability to maintain spending and continue to drive economic growth, we view the data positively. We hope you found value in "Today's Morning Coffee," and we wish you a good day trading. Look for "The Greek's Week Ahead" to be published shortly. (disclosure)

Wake Up Call - Dec 26

Good Morning. This is your wake up call for Tuesday December 26, 2006. Equity index futures indicate a mixed open this morning on what is expected to be a light but potentially volatile holiday trading week.

Crude oil appears set to be a strong negative catalyst for markets today, after Iran remains boisterously defiant to U.N. sanctions passed on Friday. Oil has already risen 1% in overseas trade, and we expect it could test $65 this week. Iran reacted rather harshly over the weekend, threatening to use any weapon in its arsenal to defend itself, including oil. At the same time, Iran's leaders vowed to continue with the enrichment of uranium. With the American detention of Iranian military officials visiting Iraq on invitation of the Iraqi government and a second U.S. aircraft carrier fleet likely headed to the Persian Gulf soon, the situation appears set to escalate. So, despite anticipated strong holiday retail data, we believe the oil catalyst will dictate the direction of equity markets today. Look for "Today's Morning Coffee" to be published later this morning, as well as "The Greek's Week Ahead." (disclosure)

The Greek's Week Ahead - Dec 25

The Greek's Week Ahead provides investors with a stock market-moving event planner for the week. We have designed it to prepare you for important news, information and happenings that are likely to impact your portfolio.

After last week's Baht bounce, when Thailand announced and then withdrew (for equities) a new restrictive investment policy, the market seemed poised for a relatively quiet holiday trading week. However, on Friday, the United Nations Security Council agreed upon sanctions on Iran, to penalize the Persian nation for its nuclear enrichment efforts. The sanctions were a watered down version of what the United States had hoped for, but they received votes from Russia and China. Iran seemed betrayed by that result, based on commentary from its President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iran's Parliament is now considering altering its relationship with the IAEA, and we suspect it will deport inspectors and possibly retreat from the NPT or Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Markets are currently reacting as if Iran is all bark and no bite, with oil turning lower in midday trading Tuesday, but we suspect the market will soon be surprised by the degree of Iranian ire.

As far as economic data release goes, the week, though quiet, will not be uneventful. A bit of data will find its way to the market Tuesday, as the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond releases its manufacturing index for November and the Dallas Federal Reserve releases its manufacturing-production index. The market will be hopeful for regional data that offsets the weak results from last week's Philly Fed Index, which indicated a regional decline of manufacturing output versus an expectation for an increase.

On Wednesday, we will get a better look into how the holiday shopping season went for American retailers. The International Council of Shopping Centers will post its survey of chain-store sales for the week before Christmas. The prior week's data showed sales behind schedule, and due to the extra shopping weekend just before the holiday, it's possible that retailers made up the lost ground.

Regional data continues to reach the market Wednesday, with the Chicago Federal Reserve's release of its Midwest manufacturing index. Also, Moody's Economy.com will publish its survey of global business confidence. At its last reading in mid-December, global business sentiment was at its lowest level since October 2003.

Wednesday is a busy day for the housing sector, with two key releases set for the day. November new home sales data will be reported at 10:00 AM, with the consensus view for 1.02 million sales, compared to 1.0 million in the last period, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Also, the Mortgage Banker's Association will report weekly mortgage applications and its weekly refinance index.

Thursday continues this week's housing market review, with the federal government report on November existing home sales. We expect existing homes sales to trend worse than new homes, as we believe home builders have been able to keep new home sales slightly more lively with incentive offers. Bloomberg News' survey shows consensus expectations for 6.19 million sales, versus 6.24 in the last period. For the whole of the year, the National Association of Realtors forecast sales 8.6% lower than in 2005, and the organization is currently forecasting a sales decline of 1% for 2007. My experience on Wall Street has taught me that analysts typically underestimate rate of change, due to fear to go out on a limb. However, much depends on economic growth, interest rates and action of the Federal Reserve. Still, we would bet on a greater degree of decline than forecast in this case, as pricing remains too high in our view.

The most widely anticipated bit of news Thursday will be the Labor Department's report on initial weekly jobless claims. Last week showed 315,000 new claims, which continued a trend below last year's average. However, the consensus for this week is 320,000.

The Conference Board will release its consumer-confidence index, perhaps an indirect measure of how well holiday season sales may have gone this year. The consensus sees December consumer confidence measuring 102.0, versus 102.9 in November. Finally, the National Association of Purchasing Managers - Chicago Index for December will be reported, with a consensus view for a reading of 50.0, compared to 49.9 in November. A reading above 50 signals an expanding regional business sector, so this particular reading carries significant weight due to the level of consensus expectations seemingly riding the fence.

Ahead of the holiday weekend, the bond market will close at 2:00 PM EST Friday. The only data set to be released Friday is the Conference Board's Help-Wanted Index for November. This index measures the amount of help-wanted advertising across 51 of the nation's newspapers, and is viewed as an indicator of labor market strength. Clearly, with the growing popularity of web-based ad postings, this metric is losing its value. We hope you found value in our weekly market-moving event planner, and look forward to providing your next issue in 2007. (disclosure)

Happy Holidays

We send best wishes to our readers and friends this holiday season! We want to take this opportunity to introduce you to some of our ancillary value-added services, and provide you with a preview of what's in store for our readers and Wall Street Greek in 2007.

Did you know that we update our Headline News section daily, whether we publish or not... Each morning, we manually survey the top stories of the day and handpick articles that we view important or believe our readers will find interesting. If we believe an article holds long-term value, we move it further down the sidebar. Our sidebar also contains links to relevant business resources, weekly newsletters, geopolitical hotspots and other sites that we view interesting and helpful.

We have completed beta testing our email delivery service, and you can now receive our postings via email. We respect your privacy, and will never share your information with another party. We will only send information rich content originating from our office and relevant to your investment efforts. We have many new enhancements planned for 2007 that we believe will add significant value to your Wall Street Greek experience.

Thank you for your interest, and we look forward to being your continuing source of strategic and critical pre-market information. Soon, we hope to provide you premium material including quality independent equity research from seasoned and skilled professionals. After eyewitnessing the negligence and violation of fiduciary responsibility that unfortunately exists on Wall Street and even within independent research firms, we seek to provide an alternative. We want to be the research department for the little guy, and help to put you on an even playing field with the professionals.

Due to the Christmas holiday, we will publish the next edition of "The Greek's Week Ahead" on Monday evening. Look for this week's first edition of "Today's Morning Coffee" on Tuesday. You will find our first copy of "The Geopolitical Factor" on the site before the turn of the year.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend. We wish you all the best.

Mark

(disclosure)

Friday's Brew - Dec 22

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. Trading volume should be light across markets today, as Wall Street mavens leave the office early to spend their excessive bonuses on congratulatory toasts and last minute shopping. Ahead of the Christmas holiday, the bond market will close at 2 p.m. A series of key economic releases this morning, including durable goods orders and personal consumption have started stocks lower.

OVERSEAS MARKETS

The NIKKEI 225 Index rose 0.34%, as good news from Toyota lifted Japanese shares. Toyota expects a 4% global production rise and 6% revenue increase for 2007. Based on market share and production estimates of rivals General Motors and Ford, Toyota's growth should make it the world's largest automobile manufacturer by year end. Toyota's shares rose 1.6% in Japan today as a result.

Trading in Hong Kong seems to be benefiting from a heavy end of year IPO calendar. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.51%, supported by the launch of trading in the shares of China's second largest rail operator. Guangshen Railway Co. climbed 64% on its first day of trading. However, Hong Kong's minor league system, mainland China, saw declines in most indices. Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh Index experienced yet another day of large losses, declining 4.5%, while India recovered from its skid of earlier this week, with the BSE Sensex 30 gaining 0.65%.

With Britain's domestic travelers grounded due to fog, the FTSE 100 Index seemed dazed and confused through midday trading, inching higher just 0.10%. The usual holiday terror rumors abound concerning the U.K., after an official leaked news that much of Europe was in a state of high alert this week and next. The CAC 40 was off 0.28% in early trading, while the DJ STOXX 50 was fractionally lower. Some of the blame for the case of the doldrums was attributed to yesterday's Philly Fed data, showing a decline in the area's manufacturing activity where growth was expected. With a good deal of the Christian world already on holiday, we believe you cannot read much into today's market movement. However, some important news was released in the U.S. this morning.

ECONOMIC DATA & ANALYSIS

Three significant data releases at 8:30 AM today will likely be the deciding factor in whether the markets will be naughty or nice. November Durable Goods were reported, with expectations for a 1.5% increase, versus an 8.3% decrease in the most recent period. Heading into the data, we published our expectation that durable goods orders might benefit from a stabilization of orders at aircraft manufacturer Boeing. The reported data showed a rise in orders of 1.9%. Excluding transportation equipment, including orders for Boeing made aircraft, the data showed a decline of 1.1%, compared to a 1.6% drop in the prior period. Also important, orders for business investment were relatively weak.

November Personal Income was seen rising 0.4%, as compared to an October rise of the same magnitude. The reported data showed a slightly lower increase of 0.3%. November Personal Consumption was anticipated to show a 0.6% increase, versus a 0.2% rise in October. Actual data showed an increase of 0.5%, again lower than anticipated. Overall, we believe the data portends to drag upon stocks today. A stronger consumption number would likely have given lift to the market, with expectations that retail spending might benefit through the important fourth quarter.

Further depressing markets, the University of Michigan's reading on consumer sentiment showed a measure of 91.7 for November, versus 92.1 in October.

In an improbable meeting, Vladimir Putin is convening in Kiev today with the man he has been accused of attempting to assassinate, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. Yushchenko's ally and foreign minister, Borys Tarasyuk, was recently voted out of office by the Ukrainian Parliament in a move Yushchenko labeled as illegal. Yushchenko's rival and current Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovych, who happens to be Russia's man and the loser of the most recent presidential election, pushed for the removal of Tarasyuk. During today's meeting, the ousted foreign minister will sit in with Putin and Yushchenko. Ah, to be a fly on that wall.

COMMODITY MARKETS

Natural gas continues lower, down 1.9%, on abnormally warm weather in North America. We recommend investors consider purchase of the domestically sourced fuel or companies involved in its production, as regional and global powers strategically position for conflict with Iran. In Wednesday's edition of "Today's Morning Coffee," we provided detail of our expectation, and in the coming week, we will publish the first issue of The Geopolitical Factor, providing a study of how current and forecast geopolitical risks may impact markets. In interesting contrast to natural gas, crude oil and heating oil are both trading slightly higher this morning.

STOCKS IN THE NEWS

Walgreen's is scheduled to report earnings results for its fiscal first quarter today. Stay tuned for our outlook for 2007, coming soon. We hope you have found value in your "Morning Coffee," and we wish you a great day trading. See our disclosure at the site, Wall Street Greek.

Wake Up Call - Independent Equity Research

Regarding independent equity research, having experience working for a poor provider of it, and understanding the need for it, we set out to be the best.

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 index futures are indicating a slightly higher open at 7:00 AM, but the 8:30 AM EST release of key economic data including November durable goods orders and personal income and consumption should set the pace for the day.

Market Moving News for You

We understand the importance of market moving news. 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. The Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ Indices have all opened higher this morning, as the Santa Claus rally seeks support from key economic data on tap for today.

OVERSEAS MARKETS

Asian markets would likely prefer the Thai government to keep quiet, as markets across developing Asia were pressured today. This was perhaps partly due to some questionable commentary emanating from the Thai government. Thailand's financial leaders labeled their stock market's reaction to the government's recent restrictive investment policy-making as "a side effect." Thai leaders pledged that the remaining restrictions upon the non-equity markets were only temporary, until the Thai Baht stabilized. The Thai Baht promptly weakened sharply, as capital flows out of the nation. Thailand's SET Index fell 2.2%, while Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh Stock Index sank 3.8%. Pakistan's Karachi 100 Index fall of 2.5% was not influenced by the new Al Qaeda tape release, as you may have guessed, but by the government's reopening of an investigation of 88 brokerages for stock market manipulation.

The NIKKEI 225 inched up 0.22%, as the weakening yen against the dollar improves Japan's export environment. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was nearly unchanged.

Across the pond, Europe's DJ STOXX 50 Index slipped 0.2% through morning trading, while the FTSE 100 was down a bit more. Third quarter U.K. GDP was revised higher 20 basis points, to 2.9%, and expectations for another interest rate hike from the Bank of England were solidified. Data this morning from the U.S., Europe's most important trade partner, is likely the main factor dragging on Europe's markets this morning.

ECONOMIC DATA & ANALYSIS

After Wednesday's rest, the economic calendar turns it up a notch today with the release of revised third quarter GDP data. A significant change to the data was not expected by most experts, but GDP growth was revised lower to 2.0%, from a previous estimate of 2.2%. We believe this reinforces the view that Fed rate action is slowing the economy, but recent PPI data, which strengthens the Fed's inflationary concerns, may preclude the Fed from cutting interest rates too soon.

Initial jobless claims for the week ended December 16th were reported this morning, showing a 9,000 claim rise to 315,000. Before you raise the warning flag, we should note that jobless claim levels thus far through 2006 have averaged 312,000, compared to 332,000 for all of 2005. We believe data directional change alone moves markets significantly, but the four-week moving average fell to 325,750. Therefore, we believe this week's measure indicates a general and weak move in the right direction, and is unlikely to impact markets.

November Leading Indicators will be reported at 10:00 AM EST, with the consensus expectation for a 0.1% rise, versus a 0.2% increase in the most recent period. The December Philly Fed Survey is also due for release today, with the consensus seeing a 3.8 measure, versus 5.1 in the most recent period, according to Bloomberg News.

Lone Fed dissenter and Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker, will address an audience in North Carolina with his outlook on the economy. This may allow critics and supporters to see the basis of his view that interest rates should be raised to curb inflation. Overseas, the ECB Governing Council will meet, though no decision on interest rates will result.

COMMODITY MARKETS

Natural gas closed at its lowest level in two months yesterday, and today's inventory data is generally anticipated to be bearish for the commodity, according to CNBC's commentary. Natural gas was down 1.5% this morning, to a level of $6.67/MMBtu. Crude and heating oil were both down roughly a half a percentage point this morning, after yesterday's data showed a heating oil inventory build of 1.2 million barrels. This first rise in inventory since September was generally attributed to relatively mild weather in North America. According to Meteorlogix LLC, heating oil demand in the Northeastern United States, where a good deal of homes burn the fuel, will be below average through the next week.

Crude oil stocks fell 6.32 million barrels, impacted by OPEC's production cut and fog caused shipping delays at the important Houston hub. Previously, we mentioned that mild weather was likely impacting gasoline usage and was being accredited for crude inventory reduction, but yesterday's increase in gas stockpiles would seem to weaken that argument. However, refinery capacity post maintenance season has increased to 90.7%, marking its highest point since September. This is also likely playing a role in crude inventory reduction, while demand for gasoline remains strong within the U.S. We refer you to yesterday's edition of "Morning Coffee," where we covered the geopolitical impact of escalating tension between Iran and the U.S. on gold and crude prices.

STOCKS IN THE NEWS

Reporting earnings on Thursday, look for General Mills, Carnival Corp., Conagra Foods, Commercial Metals, Solectron, Herman Miller, Worthington Industries, American Greetings and Shuffle Master. We hope you found value in today's edition, and we wish you a good day trading. (disclosure)

Wednesday's Brew Dec 20

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 are indicating a higher open, as international markets rebounded after a reversal of investment restrictions in Thailand.

OVERSEAS MARKETS

Global markets rebounded and are broadly higher today, following the naive and new Thai government's reversal of its restrictive investment policy. The reversal was not 100% effective, but removes restrictions from equity investment. The Thai SET Index bounced higher 11%, after the 15% drop on Tuesday. Confidence in the Thai government has decreased, the risk premium has increased, and investment flow is likely to be hampered over the medium term as a result.

Asian markets rebounded from the shock of the prior day, with the NIKKEI 225 increasing 1.4% and the Hang Seng rising 1.45%. Emerging Asian markets indices lost greater ground Tuesday than the developed Asian markets, and gained back less ground today as investors were reminded of the inherent risk of emerging market investment. India's BSE Sensex 30 Index decreased further today, down 0.31%, stressing the sensitivity of the Indian market at current valuation levels.

Europe and the U.K. are rebounding today as well, as the FTSE 100 climbs 0.28% through midday. The DJ STOXX 50 Price Index is 0.48% higher thus far. European stocks have benefited all year long from record merger and acquisition activity. European firms were involved in $1.27 trillion worth of deals in 2006, and this is a key driver for the stellar performance of world's investment banks as well. Indeed, by American standards, there is a large value add opportunity within European firms, making them more cost efficient or leak proof. However, there is something to be said for the European way of life, and it will be a shame to see that significantly less stressful lifestyle fade away.

ECONOMIC DATA & NEWS

Wednesday presents a rather light economic news day. The World Trade Organization's General Council will meet in Geneva. The Bank of England released the minutes of its December 6th-7th meeting, where it voted unanimously to keep its benchmark index at record high levels. The minutes indicated an expectation for inflation to "fall back in 2007," but also voiced concern that wage pressure may be increasing.

Today, the Federal Communications Commission will meet and might vote on AT&T's merger with BellSouth. Also, the NYSE Group will hold a special meeting of shareholders over its proposed combination with Euronext.

COMMODITY MARKETS

We believe inflation pressure is due to ease, as supply levels of metals and aggregates seem to indicate an adequate or even excess supply versus demand. As raw component costs decrease, cost of manufacturing production should ease, despite the recent PPI measure. Copper prices are leading commodities on the downside today, decreasing roughly 1.64%. Nickel is not far behind, down about 1.45%, while aluminum is higher 0.68%.

On inventory day, crude oil futures are rising roughly 0.36%, with heating oil up about 0.89% and natural gas 0.85% higher. Crude inventories are expected to show a decline in today's reported data, despite mild weather in North America. There is speculation that gasoline usage is benefiting as the weather encourages drivers in their shopping efforts and travel during the holiday season. However, gasoline futures, which reached a three-month high yesterday, seem to have already priced in that theory, as they are lower today by about 0.15%.

We have called for gold to decrease, as economic data seems to be pointing toward a soft landing for the American economy. Recent PPI results have weakened that argument, but we continue to anticipate a soft-landing scenario, barring geopolitical disruption. However, the likelihood of geopolitical disruption in 2007, and possibly by March-end 2007 seems to be increasing rapidly. Thus, gold regains its safe-haven appeal.

We took note of a recent Israeli Foreign Ministry visit to the White House, and have carefully watched movement and activity of the Bush Administration. It seems clear to us that the American government is attempting to reduce Asian demand for oil, through the sharing of nuclear technology with India and China. At the same time, we believe America has encouraged Saudi Arabia to reduce exports to Asia, as it has cut supply to the region by 8%. It is our view that America seeks to make clear to China that it needs America and Saudi Arabia more than it needs Iran. Russia is a step behind, but we expect future effort to increase Russian oil exports into China to help to keep China somewhat neutral. The Pentagon is rumored to be discussing a Persian Gulf military build, with the inclusion of a second aircraft carrier fleet to the region.

Iran has been preparing as well, lining up allies across the world, but the commitment of those allies remains questionable. Currently, England's Tony Blair is in the region attempting to drum up support against Iran. If you are interested in this topic and our view on it, we will voice our opinion through our new article, The Geopolitical Factor, to be published very soon.

STOCKS IN THE NEWS
A good deal of companies will report earnings on Wednesday, including Nike Inc., Fedex Corp., Paychex Inc., Bed Bath & Beyond, Jabil Circuit Inc., Carmax Inc., Biomet Inc., Family Dollar Stores, 3Com Corp. and AAR Corp. (disclosure)

Tuesday's Brew - Dec 19

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 indicate a lower open today ahead of key housing data and after an Asian market meltdown begun by Thailand's move to impose investment controls.

OVERSEAS MARKETS

Thailand moved in a restrictive manner today, and learned a lesson as its equity markets collapsed. The Thai SET 50 Index sank 15.8%, while the SET Index fell 14.8%. Thailand imposed investment controls, whereby foreign investors will now be able to put only 70% of funds transferred to Thailand to work in investments. Then, after the sale of their investment, international investors will only recoup all of their funds if they maintain the proceeds within the country for a year following investment divestiture. Otherwise, the funds will be subject to a 10% penalty of the original investment.

This kind of restrictive behavior, which occurs as a result of a poorly thought out attempt to stabilize and strengthen the currency, actually acts in the opposite manner, as it drives capital out of Thailand and into other less restrictive emerging markets. In this globally developing marketplace, Thailand is but one of many options for investors seeking emerging market opportunity. Thailand comprises only 2.5% of the market value of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

International investors ran for the exits in panic that the behavior might spread, but we expect the reaction of the Thai equity market will discourage other emerging market decision makers from similar action. Even the Thai regulators indicated they might take action to restore confidence in their equity markets. We recommend they replace the genius who came up with the idea for starters.

The Hang Seng Index fell 1.2% and the NIKKEI 225 slipped 1.1%, while concern about markets that are viewed as less sophisticated caused them to dropped to a greater degree. Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh Stock Index fell 2.5%, while Pakistan's Karachi 100 Index declined 2.7%. Perhaps due partly to valuation sensitivity, India's indices were all down over 2%.

The contagion threatens American markets at the open, and has carried as far as Europe already. The FTSE 100 Index has declined 0.63% through morning trading, while the European blue chip DJ STOXX 50 Index was down 0.71%. In fact, most major markets around the globe are down or have already closed down today.

ECONOMIC DATA & NEWS

Even outside of the international panic, today was already portentous, with two important economic releases on the slate. November housing starts were reported at 8:30 a.m. After October's numbers showed a sharp drop in housing and permit data, there was serious concern coming into November. However, since then, Toll Brothers reported the sighting of a possible flattening of market activity. Today's data, combined with home builder Hovnanian's earnings report yesterday, should provide enough information to sway the market's viewpoint either way.

November housing starts were expected to rise to an annual rate of $1.54 million, compared to $1.49 million in October, according to a consensus polled by Bloomberg News. The actual starts number came in at an annual rate of 1.588 million, ahead of expectations. Still, the stock market is likely to remain concerned, as housing permits fell 3% to 1.506 million, making a nine year low. Since this is the forward looking indicator, markets should remain burdened by the housing sector and its potential impact on consumers.

With the closely viewed CPI data already released last week, some of the steam may have been taken from the market-moving potential of the Producer Price Index, released today. We would not expect PPI to be a lasting market-moving factor, due to the dominance of the American service sector in driving GDP, but we believe it is still well worth watching for verification of the CPI data. Core PPI, excluding volatile food and energy, rose 1.3% today, versus expectations for a 0.2% rise, stirring market concern that inflation may still threaten the economy.

We believe global economic growth and raw material shortage are likely driving the increase in producer prices and squeezing American producers, but the service sector continues to drive the American economy and inflation should not threaten it, at least not in the near-term. Eventually, however, if persistent or not mitigated, rising producer prices could impact consumer prices. This would be dependent upon foreign producers' ability to maintain labor cost levels. We believe that eventually, though not soon, low cost Asian producers will see labor protests, unions and rising costs of labor. At that point, producer prices would rise more significantly, driving global inflation. We should note that we believe that day is still far off.

On the Fed tour, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher will provide his year-end address on the economy today. Internationally, the Bank of Japan wraps up its two-day policy meeting, which will be capped off by its decision on whether to raise interest rates. It will also release its regular monthly report. Japanese shares were enthused last week by relatively positive data from the Tankan Survey, which showed signs of economic growth and decent capital investment expectations for 2007.

In interesting geopolitical happenings, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will meet with high level Russian officials in Moscow concerning Middle Eastern issues. There has been a great deal of jostling, or travel of significant officials within the Middle East of late. We believe there is a clear positioning taking place ahead of an inevitable confrontation we see concerning Iran. Due to the rise of potency of the geopolitical factor within the capital market line, we are going to dedicate a weekly article to geopolitical happenings, entitled The Geopolitical Factor. Be prepared for tomorrow's economic calendar by reading "The Greek's Week Ahead."

COMMODITY MARKETS

Natural gas is down roughly 1.5% today, due to the abnormally warm weather in North America. Crude oil has also declined 0.63% this morning, to $61.82 a barrel. Sugar leads all commodities, up approximately 4.6%. Sugar and corn have benefited from increasing demand for ethanol, which is produced from sugar cane in Brazil.

STOCKS IN THE NEWS

InterActive Corp. will convene an investor conference call after the market open, through which it is expected to provide an overview of its key business drivers. Reporting earnings, look for Morgan Stanley, Cintas Corp., Darden Restaurants, Circuit City Stores, Factset Research Systems, Chaparral Steel Co., Nordson Corp., Palm Inc., Progress Software, Christopher & Banks and Scholastic Corp. We hope you found value in your "Morning Coffee," and we wish you a good day trading. (disclosure)

The Greek's Week Ahead - Dec 18

The Greek's Week Ahead provides investors with a stock market-moving event planner for the week. We have designed it to prepare you for important news, information and happenings that are likely to impact your portfolio. After last week's slew of mostly positive economic data, this week will bring focus back to housing. Still, barring geopolitical event risk, we anticipate that the market should begin to rally by early 2007 on the basis of the recent strength of economic data.

Monday, could bring some feedback from the American dream team's (Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chief Ben Bernanke) visit to China. The Federal Reserve will hold an open meeting to discuss rule proposals for broker exceptions for banks. This may give the Fed chairman an opportunity to share his thoughts on the future of trade with China.

The current-account deficit will be reported Monday, and is expected to have widened in the third quarter to approximately $225 billion. With roughly thirteen IPOs scheduled for the Chinese market before year-end, the Milken Institute's release of its Chinese IPO indicator and Renminbi pressure indicator should prove interesting.

In important overseas activity, the European Commission will issue its quarterly economic forecast. Also, the European Parliament is widely expected to pass a law requiring companies to prove substances in common products are safe. A rising regulatory burden on European and other internationally based companies helps to create a more even playing field for American firms already held to higher standards. The cost of regulation is measurable, and raises the bar for firms to create economic value. On the geopolitical scene, important talks will resume in Beijing between the group of six nations regarding North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Within the Bush Administration, former CIA Director Robert Gates will be sworn in as Secretary of Defense.

In company specific news, American Eagle will split its shares on Monday, and Oracle Corporation will report its fiscal second quarter. Also reporting earnings are, Joy Global, Piedmont Natural Gas and Hovnanian Enterprise.

Tuesday should be exciting, with two important economic releases keying the news. November housing starts will be reported, after October's numbers showed a sharp drop in housing and permit data. However, since then, Toll Brothers reported the sighting of a possible flattening of market activity. Tuesday's data, combined with home builder Hovnanian's earnings report Monday, should provide enough information to sway the market's viewpoint either way. November housing starts are expected to rise to an annual rate of $1.54 million, compared to $1.49 million in October, according to a consensus polled by Bloomberg News.

With the closely viewed CPI data already released last week, some of the steam may have been taken from the market-moving potential of the Producer Price Index, due for release on Tuesday. Still, inflation in prices could begin in the PPI before finding its way to CPI, unless wage increases in non-manufacturing markets were to be the driver. In any event, PPI is not likely to be a market-moving factor this week, but we believe it is still well worth watching for verification of the CPI data.

On the Fed tour, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher will provide his year-end address on the economy Tuesday. Internationally, the Bank of Japan wraps up its two-day policy meeting, which will be capped off by its decision on whether to raise interest rates. It will also release its regular monthly report. Japanese shares were enthused last week by relatively positive data from the Tankan Survey, which showed signs of economic growth and decent capital investment expectations for 2007.

In interesting geopolitical happenings, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will meet with high level Russian officials in Moscow concerning Middle Eastern issues. There has been a great deal of jostling, or travel of significant officials within the Middle East of late. We believe there is a clear positioning taking place ahead of an inevitable confrontation we see concerning Iran. Due to the rise of potency of the geopolitical factor within the capital market line, we are going to dedicate a weekly article to geopolitical happenings, entitled The Geopolitical Factor.

InterActive Corp. will convene an investor conference call after the market open on Tuesday, through which it is expected to provide an overview of its key business drivers. Reporting earnings on Tuesday, look for Morgan Stanley, Cintas Corp., Darden Restaurants, Circuit City Stores, Factset Research Systems, Chaparral Steel Co., Nordson Corp., Palm Inc., Progress Software, Christopher & Banks and Scholastic Corp.

Wednesday presents a rather light news day. The World Trade Organization's General Council will meet in Geneva. Also, the Federal Communications Commission will meet and might vote on AT&T's merger with BellSouth. The NYSE Group will hold a special meeting of shareholders over its proposed combination with Euronext.

A good deal of companies will report earnings on Wednesday, including Nike Inc., Fedex Corp., Paychex Inc., Bed Bath & Beyond, Jabil Circuit Inc., Carmax Inc., Biomet Inc., Family Dollar Stores, 3Com Corp. and AAR Corp.

After Wednesday's rest, the economic calendar turns it up a notch Thursday with the release of the third quarter revisions to GDP. A significant change to the data could threaten the market, but one is not expected by most experts. GDP growth was 2.2% in the third quarter. November Leading Indicators will be reported Thursday, with the consensus expectation for a 0.1% rise, versus a 0.2% increase in the most recent period. The December Philly Fed Survey is also due for release Thursday, with the consensus seeing a 3.8 measure, versus 5.1 in the most recent period, according to Bloomberg News.

Lone dissenter and Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, will address an audience in North Carolina with his outlook on the economy. This may allow critics and supporters to see the basis of his view that interest rates should be raised to curb inflation. Overseas, the ECB Governing Council will meet, though no decision on interest rates will result.

Reporting earnings on Thursday, look for General Mills, Carnival Corp., Conagra Foods, Commercial Metals, Solectron, Herman Miller, Worthington Industries, American Greetings and Shuffle Master.

Ahead of the Christmas holiday, the bond market will close at 2 p.m. Friday, and trading volume should be light across markets. However, some significant economic data is set for release. At 8:30 a.m. EST, three significant releases should tell us if the markets will be naughty or nice for the day. November Durable Goods will be reported, with expectations for a 1.5% increase, versus an 8.3% decrease in the most recent period. Durable goods orders should benefit from a stabilization of orders at aircraft manufacturer Boeing. November Personal Income is seen rising 0.4%, as compared to an October rise of the same magnitude. November Consumption is anticipated to show a 0.6% increase, versus a 0.2% rise in October.

Overseas, the Bank of Japan will release the minutes from its two previous monetary-policy meetings, and Toyota Motor is scheduled to announce its vehicle sales targets for 2007. In an improbable meeting, Vladimir Putin is to convene in Kiev with the man he has been accused of attempting to assassinate, Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko.

Walgreen's is scheduled to report earnings results for its fiscal first quarter on Friday. We hope you have found value in our weekly market-moving event summary, and wish you a great week trading. (disclosure)

Friday's Brew - Dec 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 indicate a higher open, after a week's worth of economic data that seems to point toward a resilient economy and not so bad inflationary outlook. Today's rather non-inflationary Core CPI data could act as icing on the cake and send the market into full Santa Claus rally mode.

OVERSEAS MARKETS

Asian markets closed higher, while European markets are also in the midst of rally. In Japan, the NIKKEI 225 closed 0.51% higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended 1% up today. The Chinese market is gearing up for 13 IPOs scheduled to reach market before the end of the year.

The Japanese market benefited from the release of the quarterly Tankan survey, Japan's most closely watched gauge of business sentiment. The Tankan indicated that confidence among large manufacturers climbed to 25 points from 24 in September, according to the Bank of Japan. The result was inline with the 25-point median estimate of 44 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, but more importantly, it was the highest number since September 2004.

In Europe and the U.K., markets are building on the strength of the year's M&A activity and the apparent health of the American economy. The FTSE 100 Index and the broad European DJ STOXX 50 are both up approximately 0.45% through midday.

ECONOMIC DATA & NEWS

Friday keys up a powerhouse of economic data, with the November consumer price index release. Economist consensus saw November CPI rising 0.2%, as compared to a 0.5% decline in October, which was greatly impacted by a decrease in energy prices. The actual result showed a rise of 0.2%, in line with expectations, and Core CPI, excluding volatile food and energy costs, was unchanged. The data partially reflected a decrease in gasoline prices that is expected to reverse next period, but overall, we read the data as decidedly positive. American equity markets should strengthen on the week's data overall, and on this very important figure.

November industrial production is scheduled for release today as well, and the consensus sees a 0.1% increase versus a 0.2% rise in October. November capacity utilization is seen at 82.1%, compared to 82.2% in October. The Empire State Manufacturing Index is expected to decline to about 18.0 in December from a 26.66 level in November. Outside of all the economic data, but also noteworthy, Ben Bernanke is scheduled to speak in China. Markets will be tuned in to see if he has something to say about today's CPI data.

COMMODITY MARKETS

Metals are once again decidedly higher today, as economic data from Asia and the U.S. paints a picture of continued global economic growth, and widespread demand for aggregates. Nickel leads metals today, up 4.5%. Crude oil and distillates also continue higher on global economic health and continued secular supply/demand tightness and volatility. OPEC's announcement yesterday to cut production by another 500,000 barrels a day starting in February, following the 1.2 billion barrels already taken offline, shows OPEC's willingness to maintain prices near current levels.

The commodity we would look to exit or short in the near-term is gold. Though we believe gold should be held as a hedge and over the long-term, with an impending wide-scale conflict possible, in the short term, we expect capital to exit the asset class to find better returns in equity and fixed income investment. Gold is down fractionally today.

STOCKS IN THE NEWS

J2 Global Communications is the only firm scheduled to report earnings on Friday. In the near-term, we expect early cyclicals and technology stocks to benefit sharply from recent economic data. However, we would use near term strength in financial stocks including sub-prime lenders to exit them or take short positions in them. The housing weakness looks to continue building upon itself in the near term, and recent foreclosure and mortgage default data showed that many lenders have made poor loans at the peak of the housing boom. We hope you find value in "Today's Morning Coffee" and we wish you a good day trading. (disclosure)

Thursday's Brew - Dec 14

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 indicate a lower open ahead of today's key OPEC meeting and following strong EPS reports from Lehman and Bear Stearns.

OVERSEAS MARKETS

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.07%, while the NIKKEI 225 rose 0.82% today, after America's retail sales data enthused exporters into the market. Markets across Europe were mostly higher today, but mixed, after OPEC announced a further production cut. The FTSE 100 appreciated 0.21% through midday, while the broader European DJ STOXX 50 was up 0.33%.

COMMODITY MARKETS

Metals markets were rebounding today, supported by the apparent consumer strength in the American market. Metals traders are perhaps speculating that the American consumer can once again revive the U.S. market and bring about a soft landing. Copper was up 1.8% while nickel was 1.5% higher.

OPEC's last meeting of 2006 began today. Several OPEC members have recently voiced views in favor of further production cuts, mainly due to the decline of the dollar. Oil is generally traded in dollars. Venezuela's interests are suspect, however, as it cannot even meet its current quota. Another pusher for cuts, Iran, sells its oil in euros. It seems clear to us that the Iranian and Venezuelan views are strategically driven. We believe that Iran seeks to pressure the U.S. economy through oil prices, as it likely hopes a stressed American economy might be limited in its ability to launch a military offensive against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Perhaps more importantly, the Saudis are voicing an opinion that current supply exceeds demand. We believe a recent meeting between Vice President Cheney and Saudi officials, likely led to a cooperative agreement. In the event of war with Iran, oil supply from Iran may be disrupted. It's our expectation that Cheney has encouraged the Saudis to use this opportunity to stockpile oil reserves for later distribution should Iranian pipes stop flowing. The Saudis are seeking to cut supply to Asia by 8%, and we believe this is a U.S. attempt to sway the Chinese view that an Iranian strike is in their interests as well. Currently most of Iran's oil is sold to China and India. If China begins to fall short on energy, due to Saudi pressure, it might see things differently. However, Russian oil could ease that stress on China.

Crude oil is 1.4% higher this morning, to about $62.24, after OPEC agreed to reduce production by another 500,000 barrels a day starting February 1st. We believe that it is clear to traders that OPEC seeks to support the $60 price level of oil, and will likely reduce production earlier should the price weaken ahead of February. Also supporting the oil price today, an Imperial Oil Ltd. refinery exploded in Ontario Canada this morning. Imperial is Canada's largest oil company and 119,000 barrels are processed per day at the refinery. The explosion is more likely to impact the price of distillates, and gasoline is 0.93% higher while heating oil is 1.5% up today.

ECONOMIC DATA & NEWS

A high powered U.S. contingent, led by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson met with Chinese officials in Beijing on Thursday. Paulson was expected to push the Chinese to move more quickly on economic reforms. European leaders will further discuss the EU candidacy of Turkey, in light of Turkey's resistance to open its ports to commerce from Cyprus. Last week, Turkey made a gesture to ease some restrictions, but the EU is tiring of Turkey's vague offers and deceitful tactics, and Turkey's candidacy has been partially frozen as a result.

STOCKS IN THE NEWS

The FDA will confer on Sanofi-Aventis' antibiotic Ketek Thursday, while Proctor & Gamble, AMD and Citigroup are scheduled to meet with analysts. Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers will report earnings after the market open, and reports are scheduled for Ciena Corp., Costco Wholesale, Multimedia Games, Pier 1 Imports, Quiksilver and Adobe Systems Inc. We hope you enjoyed "Today's Morning Coffee" and we wish you a good day trading. (disclosure)

Wednesday's Brew Dec 13

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 indicate higher open today, lifted by a more dovish tone from the Fed and better than expected retail sales data.

OVERSEAS MARKETS

The Hang Seng Index declined 1% today, while Indian shares recovered from yesterday's fall. Still, Credit Suisse and Citigroup strategists reacting to the slide yesterday, proclaimed that Indian shares appeared fundamentally overvalued. It is our view that if the shares are excessively valued, they are going to be more sensitive to negative news than positive until valuation normalizes. The NIKKEI 225 increased 0.33%, as the recently weakening Yen benefits Japanese exporters.

Across the pond, the DJ STOXX 50 PR and the FTSE 100 indices both skidded roughly a half a percent, benefiting from speculation for a continued healthy M&A market on the heels of Goldman Sachs' strong quarterly earnings report.

ECONOMIC DATA & NEWS

November retail sales were announced at 8:30 AM EST Wednesday, with the consensus view seeing a 0.1% rise, compared to a 0.4% decrease in October. Actual results showed a greater increase of 1.0%, which was the first rise in retail sales since July. Auto sales were expected to negatively impact the result, but also showed improvement. This bit of positive news should be supportive to the stock market, however, as the result of the Fed statement of yesterday and recent mixed economic data, the market remains unsure as to the direction of the economy and the Fed. There remains some possibility that the Fed's next move could even be an increase of interest rates, especially if inflation measures persist and the housing market recovers. However, we do not expect that to happen. Our view is that the housing market will continue to weaken, easing stress on inflation, but we expect commodity prices will rise, offsetting that relief. We believe the fate of the economy may rest on how the geopolitical issue with Iran plays out, and what stresses that may bring to the U.S. economy. Excluding that catalyst, we would anticipate the economic growth to slow, but to a soft landing unless a housing crash occurs. In that event, with the potential for war with Iran, the bottom is hard to see for the economy. Today, housing data showed that foreclosures and mortgage defaults rose in the third quarter as compared to the second.

October business inventories are seen equaling the 0.4% increase of September, according to Bloomberg News' survey of economists. We believe indications of greater inventory growth poses threat to markets as well, as it might suggest corporate ill-preparedness for an economic slowdown. Finally, at its open meeting, the SEC is scheduled to review several issues, including changes to audit standards.

COMMODITY MARKETS

Crude oil is up 1.2%, while natural gas is 4.8% higher, after crude inventory was reported lower than expected Wednesday. This news combined with recent strength in the price of oil may lead OPEC to hold production steady as a result of their meeting scheduled to start tomorrow.

Metals continued a recent trend lower, with copper, lead and nickel all down today. Recent data out of the London Metal Exchange indicated inventories had increased in many metals, starting the price trend downward.

STOCKS IN THE NEWS

A stock we watch closely, Martek Biosciences reported earnings last night. We were somewhat concerned going into the report, as the timing of the company's restructuring seemed ominous, just following the end of the quarter. However, we were enthused to hear that capacity could be back up in a matter of a couple months, and that significant food product deals appear likely in the first half of 2007. The stock is up approximately $1 today as a result, and we see a floor at the current level.

Over the next few weeks, we plan to provide "speculative trade" ideas much more regularly, and for free. Soon after, we will provide the information to subscribers only. We hope you enjoyed "Today's Morning Coffee" and we wish you a good day trading. (disclosure)

Tuesday's Brew - Dec 12

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 indicate a slightly lower open this morning, ahead of today's Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting.

OVERSEAS MARKETS

After yesterday's strong recovery from last week's dive, Asian shares were mixed today. The NIKKEI 225 climbed 0.66%, as the Yen weakened against the dollar and the euro. However, what is likely to drive Japanese shares this week is anticipation of the tankan survey and what it might imply about the strength of the Japanese economy and future actions of the Bank of Japan. To get an early read on the tankan survey and other events this week, see "The Greek's Week Ahead."

India's BSE Sensex 30 Index dropped 3% after its Central Statistical Organization announced that industrial production growth at factories, utilities and mines grew 6.2 percent in October from a year earlier. This was a 10-month low, after gaining 11.4 percent in September.

European and U.K. markets were mixed this morning, with the FTSE 100 down fractionally, while the DJ STOXX 50 PR was up similarly. Retailers in Europe picked up steam today, on speculation that the holiday season has been jolly. Today, the European Court of Justice will consider a challenge against a German law that prevents investors from holding more than a 20% voting interest in companies. Mexico's markets are closed today.

ECONOMIC DATA & ANALYSIS

The Federal Reserve leads all headlines Tuesday, as it meets for the last time in 2006. It is widely anticipated that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged, but the markets will be closely tuned to the coinciding official statement release by the Fed. In light of recent, less than inflationary wage and Core CPI data, we believe the market is hopeful the Fed might diverge a bit from its hawkish inflationary stance. Any sign or implicit language indicating the Fed might cut rates in the first half of 2007 would likely start a Santa Claus rally for the rest of the year and begin 2007 on a positive push.

At 8:30 AM EST, October international trade data was released. A survey taken by Bloomberg News showed consensus expectations for a narrowing of the gap by $1 billion, to $63.0 billion. Actual results indicated a much larger narrowing of the trade gap, to $58.9 billion. This could be viewed as a positive signal for the competitiveness of American producers, unless overall trade has declined, in which case this measure would be a concerning signal on the economy. Trade benefited from a decrease in the cost of imported oil and on 0.2% growth in American exports, which benefited a bit from a weaker dollar.

COMMODITY MARKETS

You know it's a dull day when lead headlines commodity news. OPEC meets Thursday, and we believe a market-moving decision to reduce production is possible (see "Greek's Week Ahead"). Lead inventory rose 5.4% today, easing concern about a supply/demand imbalance, and lead prices declined 1% on the London Metal Exchange. Nickel inventory increased 6.9%, and nickel was accordingly down about 0.9% today. A trend in metals inventory build may be an early indicator of a topping of the market, and possible sign of an easing of global demand and economic growth in major developed markets like the U.S. It's certainly worth paying attention to.

STOCKS IN THE NEWS

On the conference scene, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Merck, Safeway and Wellpoint will meet with investors and/or analysts. A slew of companies will report earnings on Tuesday, including Goldman Sachs, Best Buy, Dollar General, ADC Telecomm, Cooper Co. Inc., Martek Biosciences and ABM Industries.

Goldman (GS) posted record revenues and profits on strong M&A activity, and soared over analysts' consensus estimates, but the stock is down 0.6% in the pre-market. Over the past few days we have noticed several talking heads predicting a strong report for Goldman, and picking the stock as one for the future. Heck, we even considered making it the topic of a "Speculative Trade" article. However, we backed away, and for good reason.

What the talking heads and the idiots who just added it to their portfolios got wrong was, it is a stock for the past and present, but may not be a stock for the future. The economic and geopolitical outlook is not clear, and liquidity is due to dry some, so 2006 may not be representative of 2007. Its P/E ratio, which some fools call cheap, does not mean anything in a cyclical business. The market is dynamic and P/E alone cannot be the basis of your decision making. Unfortunately for investors, there are too many professionals who miss the big picture due to incompetence or ignorance. GS may perform well in the future, but it will not be on the catalyst of this earnings report as some thought. On the basis of technicals and an uncertain outlook, there is significant downside risk in the shares that investors must be prepared to endure should they buy. A soft landing will be a requirement for Goldman's continued strong performance, and this is possible, but beware the desperate portfolio managers who added this name in the last week in an effort to rescue their '06 performance. We hope you enjoyed your "Morning Coffee" and we wish you a good day trading. (disclosure)

The Greek's Week Ahead - Dec 11

The Greek's Week Ahead provides market participants with a market-moving event planner for the week. We have designed it to prepare you for important news, information and happenings that are likely to impact your portfolio this week. The week will be marked by the last Federal Reserve meeting of 2006, and most experts believe that the Fed, OPEC or consumer price index data will be the most significant market-moving factors of the week. However, we think that a much less anticipated economic metric could also prove influential, and that metric is business inventories. Our research indicates that inventories may have grown ahead of expectations. In our view, this could raise market concern that the economy is weakening worse than expectations and that America's corporations may be less than prepared.

Monday brings a bit of early economic data, with the release of October wholesale inventories at 10:00 AM. Wholesale inventory growth is expected to slow to an increase of 0.6% from a rise of 0.9% in September, according to Bloomberg News' survey. Recent data indicated that a good portion of manufacturing growth fed to build inventories, so wholesale and business inventories should be closely watched this period for indications of sell through efficiency.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will address a housing forum at the Office of Thrift Supervision. Housing weakness is the key threatening force to the economy at the moment, and the market is tuned in to every bit of data. Housing is seen as the consumer's base, from which his confidence and spending power has grown in recent years. The penetration of home ownership has improved substantially, benefiting from low interest rates and government programs that assist buyers to purchase a home with lower down payments. These things combined with low unemployment, a competitive lending environment and liquidity within secondary markets have created a higher level of willingness among lenders to make riskier loans, rather than lose a potential lifetime customer to a competitor. However, now it's time to pay the piper and some banks are facing rising bad debt issues and declining EPS estimates. This is a key reason why we are recommending an underweighting of the banking and financial services industries and the financial sector as a whole.

Internationally, markets in Venezuela and Thailand are closed Monday, while China is being watched closely for an easing of restrictions on financial services, lest it face a World Trade Organization case against it by the U.S. In bizarro world, Iran's foreign minister is on his second day of analysis of evidence of the Holocaust, where it is assumed he will make a finding on whether the world's most horrific human tragedy was real or myth. I apologize to those who may be offended that I even gave this topic any attention, but it's existence is evidence enough to me that Iran's government must be dealt with aggressively and immediately.

Analogic Corporation reports earnings on Monday and Emerson Electric splits 2-for-1 at the close of the day. Now that Pfizer's product lineup looks weaker than it did a week ago, the company may boost dividends this week. However, Pfizer also indicated that it may use capital in the near-term to boost its product outlook by acquiring drug companies with new drug prospects. Finally, Hartford Financial and AES both plan investor conferences for Monday.

The Federal Reserve takes the headline Tuesday, as it meets for the last time in 2006. It is widely anticipated that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged, but the markets will be closely tuned to the coinciding official statement release by the Fed. In light of recent, less than inflationary wage and Core CPI data, we believe the market is hopeful the Fed might diverge a bit from its hawkish inflationary stance. Any sign or implicit language indicating the Fed might cut rates in early 2007 would likely start a Santa Claus rally for the rest of the year and begin 2007 on a positive push.

At 8:30 AM EST, October international trade data will be released, and a survey taken by Bloomberg News indicates consensus expectations for a narrowing of the gap by $1 billion, to $63.0 billion.

Internationally, Mexico's markets are closed. The European Court of Justice will consider a challenge against a German law that prevents investors from holding more than a 20% voting interest in companies.

On the conference scene, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Merck, Safeway and Wellpoint will meet with investors and/or analysts. A slew of companies will report earnings on Tuesday, including Goldman Sachs, Best Buy, Dollar General, ADC Telecomm, Cooper Co. Inc., Martek Biosciences and ABM Industries.

November retail sales will be announced at 8:30 AM EST Wednesday, and the consensus view is for a 0.1% rise in sales, compared to a 0.4% decrease in October. Once again, auto sales are expected to negatively impact the result. Any slippage in retail sales results poses serious threat to the stock market, as it would be viewed as a sign that the consumer is losing his ability to buy, and thus drive the economy.

October business inventories are seen equaling the 0.4% increase of September, according to Bloomberg News' survey of economists. We believe indications of greater inventory growth poses threat to markets as well, as it might suggest corporate ill-preparedness for an economic slowdown. Finally, at its open meeting, the SEC is scheduled to review several issues, including changes to audit standards.

OPEC comes to the limelight Thursday, as it meets to discuss several issues, including production quotas. Several OPEC members have recently voiced views for further production cuts, mainly due to the decline of the dollar. Oil is generally traded in dollars. Venezuela's interests are suspect, however, as it cannot even meet its current quota. Another pusher for cuts, Iran, sells its oil in euros. It seems clear to us that the Iranian and Venezuelan views are strategically driven. We believe that Iran seeks to pressure the U.S. economy through oil prices, as it likely hopes a stressed American economy might be limited in its ability to launch a military offensive against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Perhaps more importantly, the Saudis are voicing an opinion that current supply exceeds demand. We believe a recent meeting between Vice President Cheney and Saudi officials, likely led to a cooperative agreement. In the event of war with Iran, oil supply from Iran may be disrupted. It's our expectation that Cheney has encouraged the Saudis to use this opportunity to stockpile oil reserves for later distribution should Iranian pipes stop flowing. The Saudis are seeking to cut supply to Asia by 8%, and we believe this is a U.S. attempt to sway the Chinese view that an Iranian strike is in their interests as well. Currently most of Iran's oil is sold to China and India. If China begins to fall short on energy, due to Saudi pressure, it might see things differently. However, Russian oil could ease that stress on China. In any event, we believe OPEC will decide to cut production on Thursday, and we believe the market has not fully priced this option in as yet.

A high powered U.S. contingent, led by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is scheduled to meet with Chinese officials in Beijing on Thursday. Paulson is expected to push the Chinese to move more quickly on economic reforms. European leaders will discuss the EU candidacy of Turkey, in light of Turkey's resistance to open its ports to commerce from Cyprus. Last week, Turkey made a gesture to ease some restrictions, but the EU is tiring of Turkey's vague offers and deceitful tactics, and it is believed Turkey's candidacy could be frozen.

The FDA will confer on Sanofi-Aventis' antibiotic Ketek Thursday, while Proctor & Gamble, AMD and Citigroup are scheduled to meet with analysts. Bear Stearns will report earnings after the market open, and reports are scheduled for Ciena Corp., Costco Wholesale, Multimedia Games, Pier 1 Imports, Quiksilver and Adobe Systems Inc..

Friday keys up a powerhouse of economic data, with the November consumer price index release. Economist consensus sees November CPI rising 0.2%, as compared to a 0.5% decline in October, which was greatly impacted by a decrease in energy prices. Anything above 0.2% would once again raise inflationary concerns. November industrial production is scheduled as well, and the consensus sees a 0.1% increase versus a 0.2% rise in October. November capacity utilization is seen at 82.1%, compared to 82.2% in October. The Empire State Manufacturing Index is expected to decline to about 18.0 in December from a 26.66 level in November. Clearly, all of this data individually poses threat to the market, should results reflect a weakening economic outlook or an inflationary environment.

Ben Bernanke is scheduled to speak in China, while the Bank of Japan will issue its tankan survey of manufacturers for the fourth quarter. Some analysts believe the report could help the market to judge whether the BOJ will raise rates this month. J2 Global Communications is the only firm scheduled to report earnings on Friday. We hope you find value in "The Greek's Week Ahead" and we wish you a good week trading. (disclosure)