Today's Key Market News - F Day

Stocks generally rose today in Asia and are trading higher in Europe, following U.S. market strength on Monday. American shares benefited from anticipation of today's Federal Open Market Committee meeting, and its resulting policy decision and statement. The market is actively pricing in the likelihood of Fed inaction on rates, with a new focus on liquidity and economic growth, and less attention to inflation. We expect the Fed will continue to stress its interest in controlling inflation, but will also address the credit crunch and it's willingness to come to the rescue with expansionary action if necessary. We would like to see the Fed strongly word its attentiveness to the current credit crisis, as the system needs restored confidence in the Federal Reserve at this point

We will discuss productivity, ICSC figures and other data in "Today's Coffee," which will follow. In other news, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is cutting prices on its Xbox, countering a recent move to do so by competitor, Sony (NYSE: SNE). A great number of companies are reporting earnings today, including Harrah's Entertainment (NYSE: HET), International Securities Exchange (NYSE: ISE), Tyco International (NYSE: TYC), Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), Dean Foods (NYSE: DF), Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: LEAP), Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY), Priceline.com (NASDAQ: PCLN), Playboy Enterprises (NYSE: PLA) and many others. Please find today's sidebar section "Headline News" below:


CNN Money: Asia Rallies
Bloomberg: Productivity Soft, Labor Costs Sharp
Forbes: Corporate Bond Market Slows
Financial Times: Bear Stearns Seeks Backing
Bloomberg: What's Next for Oil?
MarketWatch: Gold Futures Fall on Dollar Strength
Yahoo! Earnings Calendar
CNN Money: Microsoft Cuts Xbox Price
AP/Yahoo!: Harrah's Entertainment Profits
AP/Yahoo!: ISE Earnings Rise 16%
AP/Yahoo!: Tyco Posts Loss on Settlement Charge
AP/Yahoo!: Duke Energy Earnings Fall
AP/Yahoo!: Dean Foods Profit Dips
AP/Yahoo!: Marvel Entertainment Profit Up
Forbes: WalMart Deals to Enter India
BBC: Russian Missile Finds Georgian Territory
BBC: Pakistani Army Strikes Tribal Area
Iran Daily: Tales from the Dark Side

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