Don't Diversify!

By Ryan Delany - Personal Finance & Investing for Military and Marine Corps

"The average person can concentrate on a few good companies, while the fund manager is forced to diversify. By owning too many stocks, you lose this advantage of concentration. It only takes a handful of big winners to make a lifetime of investing worthwhile."

--Peter Lynch

Small investors need to exploit their strategic advantages if they are to beat the market. One often overlooked advantage is the option to put all our eggs in a few well chosen baskets.

For the individual investor 5 - 10 stocks is a good number; to own more stocks would require more time and expertise than most laymen have. Each stock investment should be viewed like purchasing a business. This means that you should be well-versed in the industry, familiar with the company and management, and very happy with the income statements and balance sheets. If you examine 20 different companies and only find one that meets your criteria, then only buy one! Don't settle for inferior companies in the name of "diversification."

To be fair, diversification has its benefits--specifically it can spread out your risk. If all of your investments were in tech stocks in the early part of the millennium you would have been in trouble, whereas if only a tenth of your investments had been in tech stocks you would have been better off. My point is not that you shouldn't spread out your risk, but rather that purchasing inferior stocks in different industries could also increase your risk. Spreading out your risk (diversifying, if you will) among several smart investments is a good idea.

Fund managers diversify for a few reasons: one is to spread risk; another is that with their additional resources they can cast a wider net to look for big fish; and finally because they have to spend huge amounts of money. When a manager spots a great stock, he or she can only buy enough of it for a tiny portion of the total fund (that is, without driving up the price). Since funds have so much money to spend, they have to purchase many, many stocks--sometimes hundreds. There are, however, only a finite number of companies to buy, so even with a fund's many resources, the pool of stocks to choose from becomes smaller with each pick. If a manager has to purchase 100 stocks, only 5% of those stocks will be his or her top five picks, while 50% of those will be his or her 50th - 100th pick. I would rather have my money concentrated in my top 5 or 10 picks, then to "diversify" capital among my top 100 picks. Unfortunately for them, fund managers do not have that luxury.

Most people have some level of expertise in one or a few industries. Invest in what you know; never invest in industries that you don't understand for the sake of "diversification." If you know the auto-industry and have worked in it for twenty years, please don't start investing in biotechnology (if you don't understand it) just to "diversify." Pick stocks from industries that you know and understand.

If you find that owning less than a dozen stocks constitutes an unacceptable amount of risk or volatility, then perhaps you should consider choosing more secure stocks. My point is that all of your investments should be intimately familiar to you. Having more than a dozen or so at a time can be too much for the casual investor. Always make your best choices for investing your money, this may mean investing some money in stocks and some money in other vehicles. More is not always better, and a "diversified" stock portfolio does not necessarily mean a safer or smarter one.

Article interests NYSE: NOC, NYSE: LMT, NYSE: RTN, NYSE: GD, NYSE: ATK, NYSE: COL, AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX. Please see our full disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website, and Ryan's disclosure on his bio page.

Personal Finance & Investing for Military & Marine Corps, by Ryan Delany

Senior Analyst - Personal Finance & Investing (Guiding U.S. Military Servicemen)

Ryan is a Marine (former infantry Sergeant), entrepreneur and financial blog author (Semper Finance) currently attending Harvard College.

Ryan lives by the saying "once a Marine, always a Marine," applying the discipline, work ethic and integrity he learned in the corps to all of his work. A veteran of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, Ryan, served as a designated marksman with the 4th MEB anti-terrorism unit in Afghanistan and as a corporal of the guard on ships in support of OIF. Ryan first started learning about stock market investing and buying stocks while still in the service.

After Ryan finished his contract with the Marines, he began his career in college attending Columbia's School of General Studies. While a student at Columbia, Ryan took time off to get his Series 7 and work at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter with a renowned financial adviser group. During his time at Morgan Stanley, Ryan refined his investment strategies and expanded his industry knowledge. Shortly after returning to Columbia, Ryan transferred to Harvard College to complete his degree.

Ryan studied at Harvard for a year when he took a leave of absence to found an Internet start-up, Pennyreel Inc. and to begin his financial writing. Ryan has served as CEO of Pennyreel for over a year, guiding the company through its formative stages. In addition to founding Pennyreel, Ryan began the blog Semper Finance to teach personal finance and stock investment to Marines and military servicemen. He is returning to Harvard in the Fall of 2008, to complete his degree.

"Wall Street Greek was founded by a patriot, and one proud to now enlist a U.S. Marine within our own ranks. Ryan strikes me as a driven, intelligent and well-composed individual, and I expect our readers will learn from him. I just hope he doesn't kick my butt."

The Greek

Ryan's Article Portfolio:

• Investing Like a Marine
  
• 5 Reasons Why SPY is the ETF to Buy
  
• Don't Diversify
  

Full Disclosure: Ryan has agreed to Wall Street Greek policy to not write about securities he personally owns. In the event of a special case, Ryan will make full disclosure of ownership interest. The work of contributors to Wall Street Greek may not necessarily agree with the opinion of the site or its founder, and does not constitute financial advice. Please see our full disclosure at the site.

India Equity Market Briefing

By Guneet Singh Sahni - Indian Market

Indian markets rallied for the third consecutive week boosted by political stability and declining oil prices. The major market mover for the week was the survival of the Indian government in the trust vote. As a result, the BSE Sensex posted its biggest absolute gain in four months on Wednesday as the political instability hovering around for weeks came to an end. The market expects the current government to bring in reforms in the Indian Banking, Insurance and Pension sector by allowing more overseas investments. However, the last two days halted the week long gain, and investors booked profits once triggered by disappointing Reliance Industries (NSE: RELIANCE.NS) quarterly results, concerns over deficit rains in Western and Southern parts of the country and negative global cues. Even the below expected Inflation number of 11.89% failed to provide momentum on Friday.

India-US Nuclear deal to go through

The news of the ruling UPA Government winning the trust vote was welcomed by the White House and Indian market. The turn of events will help the survival of the Indo-US nuclear deal, which was signed way back in July 2005 between Manmohan Singh and George Bush. The deal will allow India to meet its energy requirement by purchasing nuclear fuel and technology without joining the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). However, the deal still needs the approval of several bodies, including the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and 45 member Nuclear Supplier’s Group (NSG). It is expected to be ratified by the US Congress by the end of 2008. The potential of the deal is worth billions of dollars to US and European nuclear supplier companies, as the world nuclear association has forecast that India will add 20-30 new reactors by 2020. This will require an investment of more than $57 billion. Global majors like Areva (Paris: CEI.PA, NSE: AREVA.NS), Rolls Royce (OTC: RYCEY), Mitsubishi (Nasdaq: MITSY), Siemens (NYSE: SI), Alstom (EPA: ALO) and GE (NYSE:GE) have already made their first moves in India eying this future potential.

Indian stocks which gain from this deal include Larsen & Toubro (BOM: 500510), Bharat Heavy Electricals (BOM: 500103), National Thermal Power Corporation (BOM: 532555), Gammon India (BOM: 509550), Reliance Infrastructure (BOM: 500390), Hindustan Construction Company (BOM: 500185 ), Alstom Projects India Ltd (BOM: 532309), Tata Power Company (BOM: 500400), Areva T&D India (BOM: 522275) and ABB India (BOM:500002 ).

Inflation

WPI inflation for the week ended July 12 declined marginally to 11.89% Y/Y (11.91% the previous week), against the consensus estimate of 12%, on back of a high base effect in the previous year. Inflation was 4.76% a year back. Poor monsoon conditions in the southern parts of the country led to an increase in primary food article prices, which in effect increased primary articles prices by 10.15% Y/Y (9.92% last week). Manufacturing articles prices increased by 10.7% (10.8% last week). Fuel inflation continued to remain stagnant at 16.9%. Inflation continues to hover around 13-year high levels, but has moderated slightly from last week’s number of 11.91%. The lower-than-expected inflation figure, however, cannot be taken as a sign of inflation peaking. In the case of prices of primary articles and manufactured food products, monsoon conditions have a key role to play.

Markets Ahead

Monday

Quarterly results from HDFC Bank Ltd (NYSE: HDB), Sterlite Industries (NYSE: SLT), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BOM: 500547), Hindalco Industries Ltd (BOM: 500440), Larsen and Toubro Ltd (BOM: 500510), and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (BOM: 524715) will start the week.

Tuesday – All eyes on the RBI quarterly rate review

Market direction next week will be decided by the quarterly policy decision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), due on Tuesday, through which a rate hike is expected. Inflation is already hovering at a 13-year high and had crossed RBI's comfort level of 5% way back in February 2008. The Street is expecting RBI to hike rates by 25-50 basis points on Tuesday. The government has already taken supply side measures including export bans and price controls that have not been effective in bringing inflation down. With limited fiscal options and elections looming large in 2009, the burden of fighting inflation will fall on monetary policy. In the current fiscal year, the CRR has been raised by 125 BPS, from 7.50% to 8.75%, while the repo rate has been raised by 75 BPS, from 7.75% to 8.5%.

We believe that lower incremental inflation will not lead the RBI to leave its rate unchanged, as the prevailing risks should drive more tightening measures; especially because the money supply growth at 20% continues to remain higher than the 17% target for FY08.

Cairn India Limited (BOM: 532792), Hero Honda Motors Ltd (BOM: 500182), NTPC Ltd (BOM: 532555) and Ranbaxy Laboratories (OTC: RBXLY) will announce their quarterly results.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Y.V. Reddy will hold a press conference in connection with the annual policy for 2008-09 at 3:00 PM Indian Standard Time.

Wednesday

ITC Ltd (BOM: 500875), Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (BOM: 500520), Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd (BOM: 532898), Punjab National Bank (BOM: 532461), Suzlon Energy Ltd (BOM: 532667), Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) and Unitech Ltd (BOM: 507878) come out with their quarterly results.

Thursday

India’s biggest realtor DLF Ltd (BOM: 532868), Tata Steel Ltd (BOM: 500470) and Reliance Communications (BOM: 532712) will release their results.

Outlook

While crude prices have significantly declined from their peak levels, the absolute price level is still too high for comfort. We believe that volatility is going to persist this week on the back of the RBI policy decision and derivatives expiration. Quarterly results have been in line with expectations on an aggregate basis. We believe that the jump over the last two weeks can be viewed as just another strong bear market rally. This rally could sustain if the RBI delivers a benign policy decision, crude oil prices remain soft and global financial markets prove stable.

Article interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX, Nasdaq: ASIA, Nasdaq: PRASX, AMEX: PUA, AMEX: NWD, Nasdaq: MEAFX, Nasdaq: EBASX, Nasdaq: EVASX, Nasdaq: MACSX, Nasdaq: MATFX, AMEX: CZJ. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

Asian Stocks Outperform

By Guneet Singh Sahni - Asian Markets,

Volatility ruled the Asian markets last week... They rallied the most in two months, on the back of easing oil concerns and falling commodity prices, but ended up giving back most of their gains on the last day. Asia took its cue therein from disappointing existing home sales and job figures released in the US.

However, some of the key Asian indices still managed to post an impressive overall weekly gain of more than 4%. There was a short-term recovery in market sentiment in the beginning of the week that drove a surge in the stocks of financials across Asia. However, sales data on existing U.S. homes showed a drop to a 10-year low and dampened sentiment on Friday. This halted a four-day strong rally and revived worries about the US housing slump. The decline was further aided by the National Australia Bank (OTC: NABZY, Nasdaq: NAUBF.PK) announcement that its credit losses may surge, and by news that Samsung Electronic (Nasdaq: SSNLF, SEO: 005930) had missed its profit estimates.

The Nikkei 225 increased 4.1% or 531 points; the Hang Seng climbed 4 % or 867 points; the Strait Times went up 2.6% or 75 points; the CSI 300 index scaled up by 4.4% or 124 points; and the BSE Sensex made a gain of 4.7% or 639 points.

Japan's core consumer price index rose 1.5% Y/Y in May, its fastest pace in a decade on the back of a surge in food and energy prices. Japanese consumer prices, stripped of energy and fresh food, surged 0.1% Y/Y, the first increase since 1998 and a sign that Japan could be close to shaking off 10 years of deflation. In our article, "Asian Growth Engines Face Challenges and Stiff Inflation," we discussed how inflation is taking a toll on the Asian economies. Some of the other key developments for the week include Malaysia's central bank decision to keep its interest rates unchanged at 3.5%, putting economic growth ahead of fighting inflation. Inflation had earlier accelerated to 7.7%, the fastest pace in 26 years, owing to rising food and energy costs.

Outlook

The global cues continue to remain mixed. Light sweet crude for September delivery, the dropped more than $20 a barrel to $123.26 on worries among oil investors that high prices and a sluggish economy are reducing demand. Inflation is soaring across the whole of Asia, putting central banks into dilemma. We expect a mixed week, even as the U.S. data for strong new home sales continue to provide some positive cues.

Article interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: DOG, Nasdaq: QQQQ, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: ASIA, Nasdaq: PRASX, AMEX: PUA, AMEX: NWD, Nasdaq: MEAFX, Nasdaq: EBASX, Nasdaq: EVASX, Nasdaq: MACSX, Nasdaq: MATFX, AMEX: CZJ. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

This Week - A Bridge to Nowhere

One has to wonder exactly where we are going... The stimulus package kept the economic engine running through the second quarter, but has it only put off the inevitable? GDP is due for reporting this week, and the consensus is looking for upward of 2% growth, compared to 1.0% in Q1. So what does it all mean? Where's the recession? Is there one? Or, has the government simply built us a bridge to nowhere, taking us deeper into the abyss where we'll eventually fall into nothingness...

When government stimulus is all but a faded memory, will housing stimulus be the right medicine to take the baton? And what of the Fed. For all their cutting of interest rates and capital flooding, have they saved us from the spin, or simply created an economic fishtail of their own making. In other words, as we stated in our now famous article with the same name, will the inflation hangover be more painful than the embarrassment of the excesses we enjoyed from leverage...

Geopolitical Bridge

The war to end all wars was in fact the one that creates the next. Post World War Two border mapping by the divine victors have in fact given birth to scores more conflicts than there are borders in fact! Also, as Iraq settles into a more comfortable state, isn't chaos about to break out in Iran or the broader Middle East... So it seems, the end (broader war) will define the means (nation building through war). And even if there was no Iran, as we withdraw troops from Iraq, the government speaks of increasing our presence in Afghanistan. Yours truly has been a proclaimant for amassing redemption in the form of U.S. Marine Corps in the mountainous region where Bin Laden lies, but didn't someone who was once somewhat well-known say, "he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword?" Pakistan tells President Bush yesterday, don't act unilaterally in our territory. "The Greek" says something he cannot write in answer to that.

Change

So "change" is the word then is it?; I ask my liberal critics, reminding you of my independence? Or, is Obama simply a cynic, since he advises Iran this week to NOT wait for his ascension before undoing its nuclear mess. At the same time he assured Israel of his sponsorship, pronouncing Jerusalem should be its capital. How do you like that radical Islam (a minority in a greater, hopefully more pious state of being), and you thought Obama was your savior...

Ah yes, we seem to be building a lot of bridges, but all of them leading to nowhere.

Monday

The first day of the business week often starts light on economic data, and this week fits the mold. There are no major reports to note for the day. However, in an interesting address, by one very interesting Fed Governor who is set to step down in August I believe, Fred Mishkin will speak to the topic of Fed communications.

"When you have a Fed Policy Statement that disagrees with some of the individual voices of the Fed, we feel you serve not market efficiency but rather market confusion."

You'll recall "The Greek" has often criticized the mixed messages that have originated from the mouths of Fed babes. We feel that, as is the case at most other professional organizations, there should be one, reliable voice conveying the important message the Fed wants received by the financial markets. When you have a Fed Policy Statement that disagrees with some of the individual voices of the Fed, we feel you serve not market efficiency but rather market confusion.

A few significant events on the international scene deserve note here. President Bush will meet with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yousuf Raza Gilani. This while India has stepped up its state of alertness after a series of bombs exploded in Ahmedabad and Bangalore over the weekend, killing at least 45 people. In Taiwan, markets are closed as the country buckles down for the arrival of Typhoon Fung-Wong.

EPS Reports for Monday, July 28 Company Symbol Time ADANI EXPORTS LTD Nasdaq: ANIEF.PK Time Not Supplied ADVANCED ANALOG TECH INC Nasdaq: AAAYF.PK Time Not Supplied Advanced Analogic Technologies Nasdaq: AATI After Market Close Alberto-Culver Co. NYSE: ACV Time Not Supplied Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. Nasdaq: ARLP Before Market Open American Dental Partners Nasdaq: ADPI After Market Close American Safety Insurance NYSE: ASI Before Market Open AMERIGO RESOURCES LTD ARG.TO Before Market Open Amgen Nasdaq: AMGN After Market Close Analysts International Nasdaq: ANLY Before Market Open ANANT RAJ INDS LTD ARJIF.PK Time Not Supplied Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Nasdaq: ANPI Before Market Open Anglo Platinum Limited AGPPY.PK Before Market Open Atheros Communications, Inc. Nasdaq: ATHR After Market Close Australand Property Group ALZ.AX Time Not Supplied AUTHENTEC INC Nasdaq: AUTH After Market Close B&G Foods, Inc. NYSE: BGF After Market Close Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA) NYSE: BBV Time Not Supplied Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones NYSE: BLX Before Market Open BANK NIAGA TBK BNGA.JK Time Not Supplied Bank of Hawaii Corporation NYSE: BOH Time Not Supplied Banner Corporation Nasdaq: BANR After Market Close BARON DE LEY BDL.MC Time Not Supplied BLUE STAR LTD BUSRF.PK Time Not Supplied Bluegreen NYSE: BXG After Market Close Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP NYSE: BWP Before Market Open Cal-Maine Foods Nasdaq: CALM Before Market Open CARDICA INC Nasdaq: CRDC Time Not Supplied CF Industries NYSE: CF After Market Close CH Energy Group NYSE: CHG Before Market Open Chemed Corporation NYSE: CHE After Market Close Chemical Financial Nasdaq: CHFC Time Not Supplied CHINA BAK BATTERY INC Nasdaq: CBAK After Market Close CHINA COAL ENERGY CO LTD CCOZF.PK Time Not Supplied Choice Hotels International, Inc. NYSE: CHH After Market Close CNA Financial Corporation NYSE: CNA Before Market Open Cognex Nasdaq: CGNX After Market Close Community Health Systems, Inc. NYSE: CYH After Market Close Compass Minerals NYSE: CMP After Market Close Crane NYSE: CR After Market Close DONG WHA PHARM INDS CO LTD DVVIF.PK After Market Close Ducommun NYSE: DCO Before Market Open E I D PARRY INDIA LTD EDPRF.PK Time Not Supplied EDUCATION REALTY TRUST INC NYSE: EDR After Market Close Empresas ICA S.A.B. de C.V. NYSE: ICA Time Not Supplied Enbridge Energy Management NYSE: EEQ After Market Close Endesa, S.A. ELEZF.PK Before Market Open Euler Hermes ELE.PA Time Not Supplied ev3 Inc. Nasdaq: EVVV After Market Close FEMSA NYSE: FMX Before Market Open Filtronic plc FTC.L Time Not Supplied Financiera Independencia SA FINDEP.MX Time Not Supplied First Advantage Corporation Nasdaq: FADV After Market Close First Citizens BancShares Nasdaq: FCNCA Time Not Supplied Franklin Electric Nasdaq: FELE 4:05 pm ET Gehl Nasdaq: GEHL Time Not Supplied General Employment Enterprises NYSE: JOB Time Not Supplied Grenke Leasing AG GLJ.F Time Not Supplied GRUPO AEROPORTUARIO DEL PACIFICO SA NYSE: PAC Time Not Supplied Grupo Casa Saba, S.A. de C.V. NYSE: SAB Time Not Supplied GRUPO MEXICO SA DE CV GMBXF.PK Time Not Supplied Grupo TMM, S.A NYSE: TMM After Market Close Harmonic Nasdaq: HLIT After Market Close Hartford Financial Services NYSE: HIG After Market Close Hdfc Bank Limited NYSE: HDB Time Not Supplied Heartland Financial USA, Inc. Nasdaq: HTLF Before Market Open HickoryTech Nasdaq: HTCO After Market Close Interactive Intelligence Nasdaq: ININ After Market Close Intevac, Inc. Nasdaq: IVAC 4:00 pm ET IRIS International, Inc. Nasdaq: IRIS After Market Close ITM POWER ITM.L Time Not Supplied JDA Software Nasdaq: JDAS 4:00 pm ET Klepierre S.A. LI.PA After Market Close Kontron AG KBC.F Time Not Supplied Kookmin Bank NYSE: KB Time Not Supplied Kraft Foods NYSE: KFT Before Market Open Ladish Nasdaq: LDSH After Market Close LINK SOLUTIONS FOR INDUSTRY FII.PA After Market Close Loews Corp. NYSE: L Before Market Open Lorillard, Inc. NYSE: LO Before Market Open LOTTE SHOPPING CO LTD LOSPF.PK Time Not Supplied Maguire Properties, Inc. NYSE: MPG After Market Close Manitowoc NYSE: MTW After Market Close Meadowbrook Insurance NYSE: MIG After Market Close Meritage Homes Corporation NYSE: MTH After Market Close METAVANTE TECHNOLOGIES INC NYSE: MV Before Market Open Microtune, Inc. Nasdaq: TUNE After Market Close Mine Safety Appliances NYSE: MSA Before Market Open Mittel MIT.MI Time Not Supplied MTI WIRELESS EDGE MWE.L Time Not Supplied NBT Bancorp Nasdaq: NBTB After Market Close Network Equipment Technologies NYSE: NWK After Market Close NicOx COX.PA Before Market Open NUEVO GRUPO IUSACELL SA DE CV NUGPF.PK Time Not Supplied OIL & NATURAL GAS CORP LTD ONGCF.PK Time Not Supplied Old National Bancorp NYSE: ONB Before Market Open Owens & Minor NYSE: OMI After Market Close Pace plc PCMXF.PK Before Market Open Par Technology NYSE: PTC Before Market Open PartnerRe Ltd. NYSE: PRE After Market Close Pearson plc PSORF.PK Before Market Open Phase Forward Incorporated Nasdaq: PFWD After Market Close Plum Creek Timber NYSE: PCL After Market Close PLX Technology Nasdaq: PLXT After Market Close Power Corp of Canada POW.TO Time Not Supplied PrePaid Legal NYSE: PPD Time Not Supplied PRG-Schultz International, Inc. Nasdaq: PRGX After Market Close Provident Bancorp Nasdaq: PBNY Before Market Open Provident Financial Holdings Nasdaq: PROV Before Market Open PT BANK MANDIRI PERSERO TBK BMRI.JK Time Not Supplied Questar Corp. NYSE: STR After Market Close Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. NYSE: RAH Before Market Open Rent-A-Center Nasdaq: RCII After Market Close RIOCAN REIT REI-UN.TO Time Not Supplied Rock-Tenn Company NYSE: RKT After Market Close Scopus Video Networks Ltd Nasdaq: SCOP Time Not Supplied Secure Computing Corporation Nasdaq: SCUR Time Not Supplied SHANDONG XINHUA PHARMACEUTICAL CO XIN.F Time Not Supplied Simon Property Group, Inc. NYSE: SPG Before Market Open SIMTEK CORP Nasdaq: SMTK Time Not Supplied Singapore Airlines SINGF.PK Time Not Supplied SL Green Realty NYSE: SLG After Market Close Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation Nasdaq: SSCC After Market Close SODIFF ADVANCED MATERIALS CO SDFAF.PK After Market Close SOHU.com Nasdaq: SOHU Before Market Open Solutia Inc. NYSE: SOA After Market Close Spherion Corporation NYSE: SFN After Market Close Superior Bancorp Nasdaq: SUPR Before Market Open TATA COMMUNICATIONS LTD NYSE: TCL Time Not Supplied Texas Roadhouse, Inc. Nasdaq: TXRH Time Not Supplied TGC NYSE: TGE Before Market Open The Mosaic Company NYSE: MOS After Market Close The Navigators Group, Inc. Nasdaq: NAVG After Market Close TNT NV TNTTY.PK Before Market Open Trident Microsystems Nasdaq: TRID After Market Close Tyson Foods NYSE: TSN Before Market Open ULTRA CLEAN HLDGS INC Nasdaq: UCTT After Market Close United America Indemnity, Ltd. Nasdaq: INDM After Market Close United Fire Nasdaq: UFCS Before Market Open Universal Health Services NYSE: UHS After Market Close URBI URBI.MX Time Not Supplied Veeco Instruments Inc. Nasdaq: VECO After Market Close Verizon NYSE: VZ Before Market Open VIMICRO INTERNATIONAL CO-ADS Nasdaq: VIMC After Market Close Wausau Paper Corp. NYSE: WPP After Market Close Websense Nasdaq: WBSN After Market Close Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. NYSE: WWY Before Market Open Wright Medical Group, Inc. Nasdaq: WMGI 4:00 pm ET WSP Group PLC WWSPF.PK Before Market Open XL Capital Ltd NYSE: XL After Market Close ZIJIN MINING GROUP CO LTD ZIJMF.PK Time Not Supplied Zoran Corporation Nasdaq: ZRAN After Market Close

Tuesday

The regular ICSC-UBS Weekly Same-Store Sales Reports intrigues us as funds delivered by the economic stimulus package dissipate. Still, last week resulted in a very strong reading of 2.5% sales growth year-to-year. The Johnson Redbook Survey concurred, as it posted a 2.6% rate of growth. Still, we've been regularly predicting a return to February's soft spending characteristics as consumers continue to contend with the troubling price increases and economic softness that inspired the stimulus package in the first place.

At 10:00 AM on Tuesday, look for the Conference Board's Consumer Sentiment Index. Bloomberg pegs the July consensus at 50.0, down from June's measure of 50.4. Last week saw the Michigan figure post a surprising surge to 61.2, which was up from 56.4 the month before. One Barron's columnist speculated that it was stimulus aided, but we expect it was just as likely a case of heat exhaustion among a majority of survey participants after they got too much sun. Or perhaps, the collective consciousness senses the same thing Kudlow, Cramer and Douville have declared, the bottom of housing... We'll receive a bit of housing data on Tuesday, as the S&P Case Shiller Index is released for May.

Pharmaceuticals will headline the day on the corporate front, as Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) is expected to present data on its Alzheimer's treatment and an FDA panel could make an announcement regarding Roche Holdings' rheumatoid arthritis drug Actemra. Overseas, the Indian Central Bank is expected to raise its key rate by a quarter point.

EPS Reports for Tuesday, July 29 Company Symbol Time ACE Limited NYSE: ACE After Market Close Actel Nasdaq: ACTL After Market Close Advanta Corporation Nasdaq: ADVNA Before Market Open Advent Software Nasdaq: ADVS After Market Close AGCO NYSE: AG Time Not Supplied AirTran Holdings, Inc. NYSE: AAI Time Not Supplied Akzo Nobel N.V. Nasdaq: AKZOF.PK 01:00 am ET Alcatel-Lucent NYSE: ALU Time Not Supplied ALESCO CORPORATION LIMITED (ALS) ALS.AX Time Not Supplied Alexion Pharmaceuticals Nasdaq: ALXN Before Market Open Align Technology Nasdaq: ALGN After Market Close Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. NYSE: ANR Before Market Open AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Nasdaq: AMAG Before Market Open Amedisys, Inc. Nasdaq: AMED Before Market Open America Service Group Inc. Nasdaq: ASGR After Market Close AMERICAN CAPITAL AGENCY CORP Nasdaq: AGNC After Market Close American Commercial Lines Inc Nasdaq: ACLI After Market Close American Dental Partners Nasdaq: ADPI Time Not Supplied American Medical Systems Nasdaq: AMMD After Market Close American Shared Hospital Services NYSE: AMS Time Not Supplied AMTRUST FINANCIAL SERVICES INC Nasdaq: AFSI After Market Close Answers Corporation Nasdaq: ANSW Time Not Supplied Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. NYSE: AJG After Market Close ArvinMeritor, Inc. NYSE: ARM Before Market Open Associated Estates Realty NYSE: AEC Before Market Open ATC Technology Corporation Nasdaq: ATAC Time Not Supplied AudioCodes Ltd. Nasdaq: AUDC After Market Close AVX Corporation NYSE: AVX Before Market Open Ballard Power Systems Nasdaq: BLDP Time Not Supplied Barrett Business Services Nasdaq: BBSI After Market Close BE Aerospace Nasdaq: BEAV Before Market Open Bemis Company, Inc. NYSE: BMS Before Market Open Black Box Network Services Nasdaq: BBOX After Market Close Bodycote International plc LSE: BOY.L Before Market Open BP plc NYSE: BP Before Market Open BRE Properties, Inc. NYSE: BRE After Market Close BRIGHAM EXPLORATION CO Nasdaq: BEXP After Market Close BUCKEYE GP HOLDINGS LP NYSE: BGH Time Not Supplied BUCKEYE GP HOLDINGS LP NYSE: BGH Time Not Supplied Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. Nasdaq: BWLD After Market Close C4 TECHNOLOGY INC TOKYO Nasdaq: CFTKF.PK 02:00 am ET Callidus Software Inc. Nasdaq: CALD After Market Close CANADIAN OIL SANDS TR NEW COS-UN.TO After Market Close Canadian Utilities CU.TO Time Not Supplied CAPITAL TRUST INC MD NYSE: CT After Market Close Cardiac Science Nasdaq: CSCX After Market Close Cascade Microtech, Inc. Nasdaq: CSCD After Market Close Catalyst Paper Corporation CTL.TO Time Not Supplied CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. NYSE: CBG After Market Close Centex Corporation NYSE: CTX After Market Close Cephalon, Inc. Nasdaq: CEPH After Market Close CGI Group NYSE: GIB Before Market Open Chicago Bridge & Iron NYSE: CBI Time Not Supplied CHINA WATER AFFAIRS GROUP LTD Nasdaq: CWAFF.PK Time Not Supplied Christian Dior Paris: CDI.PA Time Not Supplied Claimsnet.com CLAI.OB Time Not Supplied Coach, Inc. NYSE: COH Time Not Supplied COFINIMMO SA COFB.BR 11:40 am ET Colgate-Palmolive NYSE: CL Time Not Supplied CommScope NYSE: CTV After Market Close Compugen Nasdaq: CGEN Time Not Supplied Continental Resources, Inc. NYSE: CLR Before Market Open Corporate Office Properties Trust NYSE: OFC After Market Close Covanta Holding Corporation NYSE: CVA After Market Close Croda International plc CRDA.L Before Market Open CSR plc CSR.L Before Market Open CTC MEDIA INC Nasdaq: CTCM Before Market Open CTS Corporation NYSE: CTS After Market Close Cynosure, Inc. Nasdaq: CYNO Before Market Open DAB Bank AG DRN.F 01:30 am ET Denny's Corporation Nasdaq: DENN After Market Close DENTSPLY International Inc. Nasdaq: XRAY After Market Close Dialight plc DIA.L Time Not Supplied DineEquity NYSE: DIN Before Market Open DOCDATA NV DOCD.AS 01:30 am ET Double-Take Software, Inc. Nasdaq: DBTK After Market Close DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. NYSE: DWA After Market Close EAGLE TEST SYSTEMS INC Nasdaq: EGLT After Market Close EarthLink Nasdaq: ELNK Before Market Open Ebro Puleva SA (formerly Azucarera Ebro Agricolas) EVA.MC Time Not Supplied Edgar Online Nasdaq: EDGR After Market Close Electronic Arts Nasdaq: ERTS After Market Close Electronics for Imaging Nasdaq: EFII After Market Close Embarq Corporation NYSE: EQ After Market Close EMCOR Group, Inc. NYSE: EME Time Not Supplied Enagas ENG.MC Before Market Open ENBRIDGE INCOME FD ENF-UN.TO Time Not Supplied Endurance Specialty Holdings NYSE: ENH After Market Close ENERGIAS DO BRASIL SA ENBR3.SA After Market Close Entegris, Inc. Nasdaq: ENTG Before Market Open Entergy NYSE: ETR Time Not Supplied Entrust, Inc. Nasdaq: ENTU After Market Close EOG Resources, Inc. NYSE: EOG After Market Close Equity One NYSE: EQY After Market Close EXTRA SPACE STORAGE INC NYSE: EXR After Market Close FARO Technologies Nasdaq: FARO After Market Close FEI Company Nasdaq: FEIC After Market Close FGX International Nasdaq: FGXI After Market Close First Financial Bancorp Ohio Nasdaq: FFBC After Market Close FirstService Nasdaq: FSRV Before Market Open Fiserv Nasdaq: FISV After Market Close FMC Corporation NYSE: FMC After Market Close FORTUNE REAL ESTATE INV TRUST F25U.SI Time Not Supplied Franklin Street Properties NYSE: FSP After Market Close Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. NYSE: FDP Before Market Open Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica GCTAF.PK Time Not Supplied Gas Natural SDG S.A. GAS.MC Before Market Open General Cable Corporation NYSE: BGC After Market Close Genworth Financial, Inc. NYSE: GNW After Market Close George Weston Limited WN.TO Time Not Supplied GEOX SPA BIADENE DI MONTEBELLU GXSBF.PK Time Not Supplied Getty Realty NYSE: GTY After Market Close Gevity Nasdaq: GVHR Time Not Supplied GMARKET INC Nasdaq: GMKT Time Not Supplied GrafTech International Ltd NYSE: GTI Time Not Supplied Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. Nasdaq: GCFB After Market Close Group 1 Automotive NYSE: GPI Before Market Open GUJARAT HEAVY CHEMICALS LTD GJHVF.PK Time Not Supplied GulfMark Offshore NYSE: GLF Before Market Open Hanesbrands NYSE: HBI After Market Close Hanger Orthopedic Group NYSE: HGR After Market Close Hanmi Financial Corporation Nasdaq: HAFC After Market Close Harrington West Financial Group, Inc. Nasdaq: HWFG After Market Close Harsco Corporation NYSE: HSC Before Market Open HAULOTTE GROUP PIG.PA Time Not Supplied Headwaters Inc. NYSE: HW Before Market Open HealthSpring, Inc. NYSE: HS After Market Close Hemisphere GPS Inc. HEM.TO Before Market Open Hercules Offshore Nasdaq: HERO Before Market Open Highwoods Properties NYSE: HIW After Market Close HOLLY ENERGY PARTNERS LP NYSE: HEP Before Market Open Hutchinson Technology, Inc. Nasdaq: HTCH After Market Close Idearc, Inc. NYSE: IAR Time Not Supplied Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Nasdaq: IDIX Before Market Open IDS Scheer AG IDS.F Time Not Supplied Inchcape PLC INCH.L 04:15 am ET Industrial-Alliance Life Insurance Co IAG.TO Time Not Supplied InFocus® Corporation Nasdaq: INFS Before Market Open InfoVista IFV.PA Time Not Supplied Inmet Mining Corp. IMN.TO Time Not Supplied Integrated Device Technology Nasdaq: IDTI After Market Close Integrated Management Information, Inc. INMG.OB Before Market Open Inverness Medical Innovations NYSE: IMA Before Market Open Iteris, Inc. NYSE: ITI Time Not Supplied Jarden Corporation NYSE: JAH Before Market Open Jazz Technologies Inc NYSE: JAZ Time Not Supplied JET AIRWAYS INDIA LTD JTAIF.PK Time Not Supplied Jones Lang LaSalle NYSE: JLL After Market Close Kaydon NYSE: KDN 07:00 am ET Keynote Systems, Inc. Nasdaq: KEYN After Market Close Kforce, Inc. Nasdaq: KFRC After Market Close KONA GRILL INC Nasdaq: KONA After Market Close Lam Research Nasdaq: LRCX Time Not Supplied LAN Airlines NYSE: LFL Time Not Supplied LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc. NYSE: LFG After Market Close Landauer NYSE: LDR Before Market Open LCA-Vision Nasdaq: LCAV Before Market Open Lear Corp. NYSE: LEA Before Market Open LECG Corp Nasdaq: XPRT After Market Close LECTRA LSS.PA Time Not Supplied LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. Nasdaq: LMAT After Market Close Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc. Nasdaq: LXRX Before Market Open Lincoln National NYSE: LNC After Market Close Lithia Motors, Inc. NYSE: LAD After Market Close LodgeNet Interactive Corporation Nasdaq: LNET After Market Close Louisiana-Pacific Corp NYSE: LPX Before Market Open LVMH Moet-Hennessy Louis Vuitton LVMHF.PK Time Not Supplied Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia NYSE: MSO Before Market Open Masco NYSE: MAS Time Not Supplied Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. NYSE: MC 02:30 am ET MetLife, Inc. NYSE: MET After Market Close Modine Manufacturing Company NYSE: MOD Time Not Supplied Monogram Biosciences Inc Nasdaq: MGRM After Market Close MoSys, Inc. Nasdaq: MOSY After Market Close Mothers Work Nasdaq: MWRK Time Not Supplied MRV Communications Nasdaq: MRVC After Market Close Nalco Holding Company NYSE: NLC After Market Close National Instruments Nasdaq: NATI After Market Close National Oilwell Varco NYSE: NOV Before Market Open NATIONAL THERMAL POWER CORP Nasdaq: NTHPF.PK Time Not Supplied NCI, Inc. Nasdaq: NCIT After Market Close NCR Corporation NYSE: NCR Before Market Open Ness Technologies Inc Nasdaq: NSTC Before Market Open NewAlliance Bancshares NYSE: NAL After Market Close Nidec NYSE: NJ 02:30 am ET NIPPON CHUTETSUKAN KK Nasdaq: NIPHF.PK 01:00 am ET Nomura Holdings, Inc. Nasdaq: NRSCF.PK 02:00 am ET Northrop Grumman NYSE: NOC Time Not Supplied NOVATEK MICROELECTRONICS 3034.TW Time Not Supplied NRG Energy NYSE: NRG Time Not Supplied OfficeMax NYSE: OMX After Market Close Online Resources Corporation Nasdaq: ORCC After Market Close OSG NYSE: OSG After Market Close OSG America L.P. NYSE: OSP After Market Close PAB Bankshares Nasdaq: PABK After Market Close Papeles & Cartones Europa SA PAC.MC Time Not Supplied Patriot Coal Corporation NYSE: PCX Time Not Supplied PC MALL, Inc. Nasdaq: MALL After Market Close Peoples Bancorp Nasdaq: PEBO Before Market Open Perot Systems NYSE: PER Before Market Open Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology Nasdaq: PVTCY.PK 02:00 am ET Pilgrim's Pride NYSE: PPC Time Not Supplied PokerTek, Inc. Nasdaq: PTEK After Market Close Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc. Nasdaq: PRAA After Market Close POZEN Inc. Nasdaq: POZN Before Market Open PrivateBancorp, Inc. Nasdaq: PVTB Before Market Open PROEX ENERGY LTD PXE.TO After Market Close PULEVA BIOTECH SA BIO.MC Time Not Supplied PUNJ LLOYD LTD PNJLF.PK Time Not Supplied PZ Cussons plc PZC.L 02:00 am ET QLT Inc. Nasdaq: QLTI Before Market Open Quantum Corporation NYSE: QTM After Market Close RadiSys Corporation Nasdaq: RSYS After Market Close Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust NYSE: RPT After Market Close Regal-Beloit Corporation NYSE: RBC Before Market Open RENAISSANCE CORPORATION LTD RNS.NZ Time Not Supplied RenaissanceRe Holdings NYSE: RNR After Market Close RF Micro Devices, Inc. Nasdaq: RFMD After Market Close Rogers Communications Inc. NYSE: RCI Before Market Open RTI International Metals NYSE: RTI Before Market Open Saipem SPM.MI Time Not Supplied Santander Central Hispano NYSE: STD Time Not Supplied SAP AG NYSE: SAP Time Not Supplied Sartorius AG SRT.F Time Not Supplied SAVVIS, Inc. Nasdaq: SVVS After Market Close SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Nasdaq: SCLN Time Not Supplied SECURITY BANK CORP Nasdaq: SBKC After Market Close Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) NYSE: SMI Time Not Supplied Sepracor Nasdaq: SEPR Before Market Open SI International Nasdaq: SINT Before Market Open SILIC SIL.PA Time Not Supplied Silicon Motion Technology Corporation Nasdaq: SIMO After Market Close Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. Nasdaq: SSTI After Market Close SILVER WHEATON CORP NYSE: SLW After Market Close Simpson Manufacturing NYSE: SSD After Market Close SINGAPORE POST LTD SPSTF.PK After Market Close Snam Rete Gas S.p.A. SRG.MI Before Market Open So-net Entertainment Corporation SYCMF.PK After Market Close Sonic Automotive NYSE: SAH Time Not Supplied SonicWALL Nasdaq: SNWL After Market Close Sony Corporation NYSE: SNE Time Not Supplied Spectranetics Nasdaq: SPNC Before Market Open SPSS Nasdaq: SPSS After Market Close St. James's Place plc STJ.L Before Market Open Starent Networks Corporation Nasdaq: STAR After Market Close StellarOne Corporation Nasdaq: STEL Before Market Open Stepan Co. NYSE: SCL Before Market Open Strattec Security Corp. Nasdaq: STRT Time Not Supplied SumTotal Systems, Inc. Nasdaq: SUMT After Market Close Switch and Data Nasdaq: SDXC After Market Close Talisman Energy TLM.TO Before Market Open Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. NYSE: SKT After Market Close Teleflex Incorporated NYSE: TFX Before Market Open Tennant Co. NYSE: TNC Before Market Open Teppco NYSE: TPP Before Market Open Teva Pharmaceutical Nasdaq: TEVA Time Not Supplied Thales SA HO.PA After Market Close The McGraw Hill Companies NYSE: MHP Before Market Open TRANSFORCE INC NEW TFI.TO Time Not Supplied TranSwitch Nasdaq: TXCC After Market Close TTM Technologies Nasdaq: TTMI After Market Close Twin Disc Nasdaq: TWIN Before Market Open UCAL FUEL SYSTEMS LTD UCLFF.PK Time Not Supplied Ultimate Software Nasdaq: ULTI After Market Close Under Armour, Inc NYSE: UA 07:00 am ET United Rentals NYSE: URI After Market Close United States Steel Corp. NYSE: X Time Not Supplied UNITED TRACTORS UNTR.JK Time Not Supplied Valero Energy Corp. NYSE: VLO Before Market Open Viacom NYSE: VIA Time Not Supplied Villeroy & Boch VIB3.F Time Not Supplied Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. NYSE: VSH Before Market Open VNUS Medical Technologies Nasdaq: VNUS After Market Close VUELING AIRLINES SA VLG.MC Before Market Open Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. NYSE: WDR Before Market Open Walter Industries NYSE: WLT Time Not Supplied Waste Management NYSE: WMI Before Market Open Watts Water Technologies NYSE: WTS After Market Close Wolfson Microelectronics PLC WLF.L Before Market Open World Acceptance Corporation Nasdaq: WRLD Time Not Supplied WPCS International Inc Nasdaq: WPCS 4:00 pm ET XANTREX TECHNOLOGY INC XTX.TO After Market Close Zix Corporation Nasdaq: ZIXI After Market Close

Wednesday

Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages climbed some 37 basis points or so last week, and so the adjusted Market Composite Index of mortgage activity, produced by the Mortgage Bankers Association, declined 6.1% week-to-week. This regular Wednesday morning report will be followed up by the ADP Private Employment Report for July this week at 8:15 AM ET. We do not have a consensus figure for ADP, but look for our commentary on Wednesday in the pre-market. June's ADP data showed a private labor market loss of 79K jobs (May +40K).

The SEC will review a plan to issue guidance to mutual funds on "soft dollar" deals. At 10:30, all eyes will be on the EIA Petroleum Status Report release. Last week, oil prices fell another 4.8%, to $123 per barrel; this occurred despite an inventory draw of 1.6 million barrels of oil, as reported by the EIA.

EPS Reports for Wednesday, July 30 Company Symbol Time Acadia Realty Trust NYSE: AKR After Market Close Acciona, S.A. ANA.MC Before Market Open ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. ACS.MC Time Not Supplied Acxiom Nasdaq: ACXM After Market Close Admiral Group plc ADM.L Before Market Open Agfa-Gevaert AGFB.BR Time Not Supplied Aguas de Barcelona AGS.MC After Market Close AICHI TOKEI DENKI CO LTD AITDF.PK 01:00 am ET Akamai Technologies Inc. Nasdaq: AKAM After Market Close Alleanza Assicurazioni S.p.A. AL.MI Time Not Supplied Allegheny Energy, Inc. NYSE: AYE After Market Close Allergan NYSE: AGN Time Not Supplied Allied Irish Banks p.l.c NYSE: AIB Time Not Supplied Allied Waste Industries, Inc. NYSE: AW After Market Close Alphameric plc ALM.L Time Not Supplied Alpharma NYSE: ALO Before Market Open Alvarion Nasdaq: ALVR Before Market Open Ambassadors International, Inc. Nasdaq: AMIE Before Market Open American Equity Investment Life Holding Co. NYSE: AEL After Market Close American Tower Corp. NYSE: AMT Before Market Open Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Nasdaq: ANDS After Market Close Applied Micro Circuits Corporation Nasdaq: AMCC After Market Close Apria Healthcare Group NYSE: AHG Time Not Supplied ArcelorMittal NYSE: MT Time Not Supplied ARM Holdings plc ARM.L 02:00 am ET Armstrong World Industries Inc. NYSE: AWI Time Not Supplied ARRIS Group, Inc. Nasdaq: ARRS After Market Close Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. NYSE: ABG Before Market Open Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited NYSE: AHL After Market Close Asyst Technologies Nasdaq: ASYT After Market Close Atmel Corporation Nasdaq: ATML Time Not Supplied AUSTAR UNITED COMMUNICATNS LTD AUN.AX Time Not Supplied Avalonbay Communities NYSE: AVB After Market Close Avigen Nasdaq: AVGN Before Market Open Avista Corporation NYSE: AVA Before Market Open Aviva plc AV.L Time Not Supplied Avon Products Inc. NYSE: AVP Time Not Supplied AXT Inc Nasdaq: AXTI After Market Close BAINS MER MONACO BAIN.PA Time Not Supplied BANCA GENERALI BGN.MI 04:00 am ET Banco Santander-Chile NYSE: SAN Time Not Supplied Bare Escentuals, Inc. Nasdaq: BARE After Market Close Bayer BAYRY.PK 01:30 am ET Bel Fuse Inc. Nasdaq: BELFB Before Market Open Bio-Imaging Technologies Nasdaq: BITI Time Not Supplied BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. NYSE: BMR After Market Close BlueLinx Holdings Inc NYSE: BXC Before Market Open Brandywine Realty Trust NYSE: BDN After Market Close BTU International Nasdaq: BTUI After Market Close Cadbury plc NYSE: CBY Before Market Open CAI INTERNATIONAL INC NYSE: CAP After Market Close Cal Dive International NYSE: DVR After Market Close California Water Service Group NYSE: CWT After Market Close Callaway Golf NYSE: ELY After Market Close Cameron NYSE: CAM Time Not Supplied Canfor Corporation CFP.TO Time Not Supplied CAPITARETAIL CHINA TRUST CPITF.PK Time Not Supplied CDL HOSPITALITY TRUSTS J85.SI Time Not Supplied Cedar Shopping Centers NYSE: CDR After Market Close Cementir CEM.MI Time Not Supplied Centennial Communications Nasdaq: CYCL Before Market Open Central European Media Enterprises Nasdaq: CETV Before Market Open Circor International NYSE: CIR After Market Close Cleveland-Cliffs NYSE: CLF After Market Close CNX Gas Corp. NYSE: CXG Before Market Open Cogdell Spencer, Inc. NYSE: CSA After Market Close Coherent Nasdaq: COHR Time Not Supplied Comcast Corporation Nasdaq: CMCSA Time Not Supplied Concur Technologies Nasdaq: CNQR After Market Close Corning NYSE: GLW Before Market Open COSAN S A INDUSTRIA E COMERICO CSAN3.SA After Market Close Covance NYSE: CVD After Market Close Cox Radio Inc. NYSE: CXR Before Market Open Cummins Inc. NYSE: CMI Before Market Open Curis Nasdaq: CRIS Before Market Open Deutsche Postbank AG DPB.F Time Not Supplied Digital River, Inc. Nasdaq: DRIV After Market Close Drew Industries Incorporated NYSE: DW After Market Close DTE Energy Company NYSE: DTE After Market Close Duke Realty Corporation NYSE: DRE After Market Close DXP Enterprises Nasdaq: DXPE Time Not Supplied Echelon Corporation Nasdaq: ELON Before Market Open Eclipsys Nasdaq: ECLP After Market Close Edgewater Technology Nasdaq: EDGW Before Market Open EFG Eurobank Ergasias SA EGFEF.PK After Market Close EFJohnson Technologies, Inc. Nasdaq: EFJI Time Not Supplied eHealth, Inc. Nasdaq: EHTH Time Not Supplied Empresa Nacional de Electricidad SA - Endesa Chile NYSE: EOC Time Not Supplied EMS Technologies Nasdaq: ELMG Before Market Open Energias de Portugal, S.A. EDPFY.PK After Market Close Energizer, Inc. NYSE: ENR Time Not Supplied Entertainment Properties Trust NYSE: EPR Time Not Supplied Equity Residential NYSE: EQR After Market Close Erie Indemnity Nasdaq: ERIE After Market Close Erste Bank Der Osterreichischen EBS.VI Time Not Supplied Essex Property Trust NYSE: ESS After Market Close Euronet Services Nasdaq: EEFT Before Market Open European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS N.V. EAD.PA 01:00 am ET Evans Bancorp, Inc. Nasdaq: EVBN Time Not Supplied Exactech Nasdaq: EXAC After Market Close EXCO TECHNOLOGIES LTD XTC.TO Time Not Supplied Express Scripts, Inc. Nasdaq: ESRX After Market Close Famous Dave's of America Nasdaq: DAVE After Market Close Federal Realty Investment Trust NYSE: FRT Time Not Supplied Finmeccanica FINMF.PK Time Not Supplied First Mercury Financial Corporation NYSE: FMR After Market Close First Potomac Realty Trust NYSE: FPO After Market Close First Solar, Inc. Nasdaq: FSLR After Market Close Flowserve Corporation NYSE: FLS After Market Close Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust PLC FRCL.L Time Not Supplied FormFactor, Inc. Nasdaq: FORM After Market Close FPIC Insurance Group, Inc. Nasdaq: FPIC After Market Close Fresenius Medical Care NYSE: FMS Time Not Supplied FRESENIUS SE FSNPF.PK Time Not Supplied FUJIFILM HOLDINGS CORPORATION Nasdaq: FUJI 02:00 am ET Garmin Ltd. Nasdaq: GRMN Before Market Open Gartner NYSE: IT Before Market Open General Communication Nasdaq: GNCMA After Market Close General Growth Properties Inc NYSE: GGP After Market Close General Maritime Corporation NYSE: GMR After Market Close Geron Nasdaq: GERN Before Market Open Granite Construction NYSE: GVA After Market Close GREAT WEST LIFECO INC GWO.TO Time Not Supplied GUJARAT ALKALIES & CHEM LTD GJAKF.PK Time Not Supplied Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. NYSE: HA After Market Close Health Grades Nasdaq: HGRD Before Market Open Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. NYSE: HLX After Market Close Hess Corporation NYSE: HES Before Market Open Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Company NYSE: HRH After Market Close Hologic Nasdaq: HOLX After Market Close Horace Mann Educators Corp. NYSE: HMN After Market Close Hudson Highland Group Inc Nasdaq: HHGP After Market Close Human Genome Sciences Nasdaq: HGSI After Market Close Huntsman Corporation NYSE: HUN Before Market Open Huttig Building Products, Inc NYSE: HBP After Market Close I-many, Inc. Nasdaq: IMNY After Market Close IAC Nasdaq: IACI Before Market Open Imperial Sugar Nasdaq: IPSU Before Market Open Indesit Company IND.MI Time Not Supplied Indigo Books & Music Inc. IDG.TO After Market Close Innospec Inc. Nasdaq: IOSP After Market Close Innovative Solutions and Support, Inc. Nasdaq: ISSC After Market Close Insure,com, Inc. Nasdaq: NSUR Time Not Supplied itelligence AG ILH.F Time Not Supplied Itron, Inc. Nasdaq: ITRI After Market Close JAPAN STEEL TOWER CO LTD JPTEF.PK 03:00 am ET JAVO BEVERAGE COMPANY INC JAVO.OB Time Not Supplied Jones Apparel Group Inc. NYSE: JNY Before Market Open Kemet NYSE: KEM Before Market Open KEPPEL LAND LTD KPPLF.PK Time Not Supplied Kimco Realty Corporation NYSE: KIM Before Market Open KURITA WATER INDUSTRIES KTWIF.PK 01:00 am ET Kyocera Corporation NYSE: KYO 03:00 am ET L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc. NYSE: ID Before Market Open Lazard Ltd. NYSE: LAZ Before Market Open LHC GROUP INC Nasdaq: LHCG After Market Close LITTELFUSE INC Nasdaq: LFUS Before Market Open Lloyds TSB Group LLDTF.PK Before Market Open LoopNet, Inc. Nasdaq: LOOP After Market Close MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. MDA.TO 5:00 pm ET Magal Security Systems Nasdaq: MAGS Time Not Supplied MAGIX AG MGX.F Time Not Supplied MAN AG MAN.F Time Not Supplied ManTech International Corporation Nasdaq: MANT After Market Close MarketAxess Holdings Inc. Nasdaq: MKTX Before Market Open MARSULEX INC MLX.TO After Market Close MasTec NYSE: MTZ After Market Close MDC Partners Inc. Nasdaq: MDCA After Market Close MEDIATEK INC 2454.TW Time Not Supplied MELCOR DEVS LTD MRD.TO Time Not Supplied Mercer International Nasdaq: MERC After Market Close Mercury Computer Systems Nasdaq: MRCY Time Not Supplied Meredith Corporation NYSE: MDP Before Market Open Merix Nasdaq: MERX Before Market Open Michelin ML.PA 02:00 am ET MILTON CORP MLT.AX Time Not Supplied MIRANDA TECHNOLOGIES INC MT.TO Time Not Supplied Monaco Coach NYSE: MNC Time Not Supplied Mondadori (Arnoldo) Editore SP MN.MI Time Not Supplied MONDI PLC MONDY.PK Before Market Open Moody's Corporation NYSE: MCO Before Market Open Morton's Restaurant Group, Inc. NYSE: MRT After Market Close MPS Group NYSE: MPS Before Market Open MTR Gaming Group Nasdaq: MNTG Before Market Open Murphy Oil Corporation NYSE: MUR After Market Close NAGAHORI CORP NAAHF.PK 12:00 am ET Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. Nasdaq: NBIX After Market Close New Jersey Resources NYSE: NJR Time Not Supplied Newport Corporation Nasdaq: NEWP After Market Close NIC Nasdaq: EGOV After Market Close NightHawk Radiology Holdings, Inc. Nasdaq: NHWK Time Not Supplied NIPPON MINING HOLDINGS INC. NMHDY.PK 02:00 am ET Noble Energy, Inc. NYSE: NBL Time Not Supplied NTT DoCoMo NYSE: DCM 02:00 am ET O-I NYSE: OI After Market Close O2 Micro Nasdaq: OIIM After Market Close Oceaneering International, Inc. NYSE: OII After Market Close Office Depot Inc. NYSE: ODP Before Market Open Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. NYSE: OPY Before Market Open Owens Corning NYSE: OC Before Market Open Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Nasdaq: PANC After Market Close Parmalat SPA PRF.MI Time Not Supplied PDF Solutions Nasdaq: PDFS Time Not Supplied Penske Automotive Group NYSE: PAG Before Market Open Pfizer Ltd. PZRLF.PK Time Not Supplied PGT, Inc. Nasdaq: PGTI After Market Close Pinnacle West Capital Corporation NYSE: PNW Time Not Supplied Poligrafici Editoriale POL.MI Time Not Supplied POLYPORE INTL INC NYSE: PPO After Market Close Prosegur Compañía de Seguridad S.A. PSG.MC Time Not Supplied Provident Financial plc PFG.L 02:00 am ET Prudential Financial, Inc. NYSE: PRU After Market Close Psychiatric Solutions, Inc. Nasdaq: PSYS After Market Close PZENA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC NYSE: PZN Time Not Supplied Quaker Chemical Corporation NYSE: KWR After Market Close R.H. Donnelley Corporation NYSE: RHD Before Market Open RAB CAPITAL PLC RBCPF.PK Before Market Open RC2 CORP Nasdaq: RCRC After Market Close Realty Income Corporation NYSE: O Time Not Supplied Red Eléctrica de España (REE) REE.MC Time Not Supplied RehabCare Group, Inc. NYSE: RHB Before Market Open Reliv International Nasdaq: RELV Before Market Open Reynolds American, Inc. NYSE: RAI Before Market Open Rhodia S.A. RHADF.PK 01:30 am ET Richardson Electronics Nasdaq: RELL After Market Close RightNow Technologies, Inc. Nasdaq: RNOW After Market Close Rockwood Holdings, Inc. NYSE: ROC Time Not Supplied Rogers Corporation NYSE: ROG After Market Close RUBICON TECHNOLOGY INC Nasdaq: RBCN Time Not Supplied Sadia S.A. NYSE: SDA After Market Close Safilo Group SpA SFL.MI Time Not Supplied SAMUEL MANU TECH INC SMT.TO Time Not Supplied SANJO MACHINE WORKS LTD SNJOF.PK 01:00 am ET Sauer-Danfoss NYSE: SHS After Market Close Sciele Pharma, Inc. Nasdaq: SCRX After Market Close Scientific Learning Nasdaq: SCIL Time Not Supplied Sealed Air NYSE: SEE Time Not Supplied SEASPAN CORPORATION NYSE: SSW After Market Close SELOGER.COM SLG.PA After Market Close Sequenom Nasdaq: SQNM After Market Close Shinhan Financial Group Co. Ltd. NYSE: SHG Time Not Supplied SHUTTERFLY INC Nasdaq: SFLY Time Not Supplied Siemens AG NYSE: SI Time Not Supplied Silicon Laboratories Inc. Nasdaq: SLAB Before Market Open SNC-Lavalin Group SNC.TO Time Not Supplied Southern Company NYSE: SO Before Market Open Southwestern Energy NYSE: SWN After Market Close Span-America Medical Systems Nasdaq: SPAN Time Not Supplied Spartan Stores, Inc. Nasdaq: SPTN After Market Close Sport Chalet Nasdaq: SPCHB After Market Close SPX NYSE: SPW Time Not Supplied STAAR Surgical Nasdaq: STAA After Market Close Standard Pacific Corp. NYSE: SPF After Market Close Starbucks Nasdaq: SBUX After Market Close State Bancorp, Inc. Nasdaq: STBC Time Not Supplied Steiner Leisure Nasdaq: STNR After Market Close STERIS NYSE: STE Before Market Open Stewart Information Services NYSE: STC Before Market Open SUNTEC REAL ESTATE INVT TRUST F3G.SI Time Not Supplied Superior Energy Services NYSE: SPN After Market Close Symantec Nasdaq: SYMC After Market Close Symyx Technologies, Inc. Nasdaq: SMMX Time Not Supplied Synthes, Inc. SYST.VX 01:00 am ET Sypris Solutions Inc. Nasdaq: SYPR Time Not Supplied TECHWELL INC Nasdaq: TWLL After Market Close TECO Energy Inc. NYSE: TE After Market Close Tele Norte Celular Participações S.A. (Amazonia) NYSE: TCN Before Market Open TeleCity PLC 3TH.F Before Market Open Telular Corporation Nasdaq: WRLS After Market Close TEMENOS GROUP AG TMNSF.PK Time Not Supplied Temple-Inland Inc. NYSE: TIN Before Market Open Tesoro Corporation NYSE: TSO After Market Close Tetra Tech Nasdaq: TTEK After Market Close The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. NYSE: IPG Before Market Open The Timberland Company NYSE: TBL Before Market Open The Timken Company NYSE: TKR Time Not Supplied Thomas Weisel Partners Nasdaq: TWPG Time Not Supplied THQ Inc Nasdaq: THQI After Market Close Titan International NYSE: TWI Time Not Supplied Travis Perkins plc TPK.L Before Market Open Trex Company, Inc. NYSE: TWP Before Market Open Trican Well Service Ltd. TCW.TO After Market Close Trinity Industries NYSE: TRN After Market Close Tronox Incorporated NYSE: TRX Before Market Open TSYS NYSE: TSS After Market Close Tyco Electronics NYSE: TEL Before Market Open UGI NYSE: UGI Time Not Supplied United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) NYSE: UMC Time Not Supplied Unum Group NYSE: UNM After Market Close USJ CO LTD OSAKA USJCF.PK 02:00 am ET Vidrala SA VID.MC Time Not Supplied Virage Logic Corporation Nasdaq: VIRL Time Not Supplied ViroPharma Nasdaq: VPHM Before Market Open Virtusa Corporation Nasdaq: VRTU After Market Close Visa Inc. NYSE: V After Market Close Visteon Corporation NYSE: VC Before Market Open VIVO PARTICIPACOES S A VIVO4.SA Before Market Open Voltaire Nasdaq: VOLT Before Market Open Vossloh AG VOS.F Time Not Supplied Wabash National NYSE: WNC After Market Close WABCO Holdings Inc. NYSE: WBC Time Not Supplied Walt Disney NYSE: DIS After Market Close West Fraser Timber Co. WFT.TO Time Not Supplied WEST JAPAN RAILWAY CO WJRYY.PK 02:00 am ET WestJet Airlines WJA.TO Time Not Supplied Whiting Petroleum Corp. NYSE: WLL After Market Close Willis Group Holdings Limited NYSE: WSH After Market Close Wright Express Corporation NYSE: WXS Before Market Open Zoom Technologies Inc. Nasdaq: ZOOM Before Market Open Zucchi S.p.A ZUC.MI Time Not Supplied

Thursday

Thursday and Friday should more than make up for the quiet start to the week, with a ton of data reaching the wire. The Monster Employment Index (Nasdaq: MNST) kicks off the festivities with its 6:00 AM release. The index fell three points last month to 163, but had been as low as 160 in January.

At 8:30, the Advance Report for Q2 GDP is expected to show economic stimulus and export driven real growth of 2.4% quarter-to-quarter. First quarter GDP rose just 1.0% by the time the final tally was taken. So, you must be thinking, "wow, what recession?" Stimulus will disappear in Q3 though, but the government hopes its done enough to stabilizing housing and the financial sector to drive economic recovery. Those concerned with the global economic situation, and that should be all of you, will note Japan's indusrial output release for June, set for Thursday.

Initial weekly jobless claims picked up last week, reaching 406K. The consensus forecast seems to track closely to the prior week result, and so this coming week's expert view is for another 398K of new filings. In any event, it looks like unemployment is trending higher moving into the second half. We think there's good reason for this, since stimulus will dissipate, leading consumers to spend even less on restaurant and retail outings. As a result, we expect store closings and layoffs to intensify in the very saturated consumer sector. Also, as global growth slows and slips into recession in some markets, American exports should suffer and manufacturing capacity could stand alone in the cold of excess. Also at 8:30, the Employment Cost Index is expected to post a 0.7% increase, as compared to the same rise in Q1.

The monthly tally on Chicagoland manufacturing is set for Thursday at 9:45. NAPM-Chicago is seen measuring at 49.0, as the Midwest remains in economic contraction. The Midwestern measure showed tough times in June as well, when it measured 49.6. Still, we've been as low as 44.5 in February, so the struggle is not so bad relatively speaking.

Treasury Secretary Paulson is set to speak on Thursday, so mark your schedule for 1 p.m. ET to catch it. Keeping with regulators, the SEC has scheduled a telephone conference on the topic of financial reporting. Also, Donald Marron, White House economic advisor, will also speak on Thursday and might catch some media attention.

At 10:30, look for the EIA's Natural Gas Report. It has regularly offered data showing builds in gas stocks. Oil giant ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) posts results on Thursday as well. Closing out the day in the late afternoon, at 3:00, look for Farm Prices news. Interesting how this report has become interesting in such a short time.

EPS Reports for Thursday, July 31 Company Symbol Time 3PAR inc. NYSE: PAR Before Market Open 8x8, Inc. Nasdaq: EGHT Time Not Supplied ABINGTON BANCORP INC Nasdaq: ABBC Time Not Supplied Activision Blizzard, Inc. Nasdaq: ATVID After Market Close Adaptec, Inc. Nasdaq: ADPT Time Not Supplied Aetna Inc. NYSE: AET Before Market Open AGL Resources NYSE: ATG Before Market Open Aker Solutions AKSO.OL 02:30 am ET Akorn, Inc. Nasdaq: AKRX After Market Close All Nippon Airways ALNPY.PK 02:00 am ET ALLGREEN PROPERTIES LTD A16.SI Time Not Supplied Alliance Imaging, Inc. NYSE: AIQ After Market Close Altria Group, Inc. NYSE: MO Before Market Open ALUMINA LTD NYSE: AWC Time Not Supplied American Ecology Nasdaq: ECOL Before Market Open American Electric Power NYSE: AEP Time Not Supplied American Financial Group NYSE: AFG After Market Close Anglogold Ashanti Limited NYSE: AU Before Market Open ANTENA 3 DE TELEVISION SA A3TV.MC Time Not Supplied Antigenics Inc. Nasdaq: AGEN Before Market Open Aon Corporation NYSE: AOC After Market Close Apache Corporation NYSE: APA Before Market Open APCapital, Inc. Nasdaq: ACAP After Market Close APP Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Nasdaq: APPX After Market Close Arch Chemicals, Inc. NYSE: ARJ Before Market Open ASAT Holdings Limited ASTTY.OB Time Not Supplied ASM International N.V. Nasdaq: ASMI Time Not Supplied Assurant, Inc. NYSE: AIZ Before Market Open ASTRA OTOPARTS TBK AUTO.JK Time Not Supplied AstraZeneca PLC NYSE: AZN Before Market Open Atlantic Tele-Network Nasdaq: ATNI After Market Close Atlas Pipeline Holdings, LP NYSE: AHD After Market Close Automatic Data Processing NYSE: ADP Before Market Open Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Nasdaq: AUXL Before Market Open AVANQUEST SOFTWARE SA AVQ.PA Time Not Supplied Aventine Renewable Energy, Inc. NYSE: AVR After Market Close Balchem Nasdaq: BCPC 09:30 am ET Baldwin&Lyons A Nasdaq: BWINA Before Market Open Ballantyne Omaha NYSE: BTN After Market Close BANCO PASTOR SA LA CORUNA PAS.MC 02:15 am ET BANK PAN INDONESIA PNBN.JK Time Not Supplied Barrick Gold NYSE: ABX Before Market Open BASF BASFY.PK Time Not Supplied BE Semiconductor Industries BESIY.PK 02:30 am ET Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc Nasdaq: BBGI Before Market Open BEIJING NORTH STAR CO LTD BEIJF.PK Time Not Supplied Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation Nasdaq: BGFV After Market Close BigBand Networks Nasdaq: BBND After Market Close BioScrip Nasdaq: BIOS Before Market Open BorgWarner, Inc. NYSE: BWA Time Not Supplied Breakwater Resources Ltd. BWR.TO After Market Close Brembo SPA BRE.MI Time Not Supplied British American Tobacco NYSE: BTI Before Market Open British Sky Broadcasting Group plc BSY.L Time Not Supplied British Sky Broadcasting Group plc BSY.L Time Not Supplied Brookfield Properties Corp NYSE: BPO Before Market Open BT Group PLC BTGOF.PK Time Not Supplied Builders FirstSource, Inc. Nasdaq: BLDR After Market Close CA NYSE: CA After Market Close Cabela's Inc. NYSE: CAB After Market Close Cablevision Systems Corp. NYSE: CVC Before Market Open Calgon Carbon Corporation NYSE: CCC Before Market Open Camden Property Trust NYSE: CPT After Market Close Cap Gemini SA CAP.PA 01:00 am ET Capella Education Company Nasdaq: CPLA Before Market Open CARBO Ceramics NYSE: CRR Time Not Supplied Carpenter Technology NYSE: CRS Before Market Open Cbeyond Inc. Nasdaq: CBEY After Market Close CBIZ, Inc NYSE: CBZ Before Market Open CBS Corporation NYSE: CBS Before Market Open CDI Corp. NYSE: CDI Before Market Open CENTERRA GOLD INC CG.TO Before Market Open Central Pacific Financial Corp. NYSE: CPF Before Market Open Centrica plc CNA.L Time Not Supplied CenturyTel, Inc. NYSE: CTL Before Market Open Cerus Nasdaq: CERS Time Not Supplied CGGVeritas NYSE: CGV 02:00 am ET Chart Industries Inc. Nasdaq: GTLS Time Not Supplied Chemtura Corp. NYSE: CEM After Market Close Chesapeake Energy Corporation NYSE: CHK After Market Close CHI MEI OPTOELECTRONICS CORP CMEOF.PK Time Not Supplied Chiquita Brands International, Inc. NYSE: CQB After Market Close Chordiant Software Nasdaq: CHRD After Market Close Cincinnati Bell Inc. NYSE: CBB Before Market Open CIR S.p.A. CIR.MI 04:30 am ET CITRA MARGA NUSAPHALA PERSADA CMNP.JK Time Not Supplied Cofide COF.MI Time Not Supplied Cognizant Technology Solutions Nasdaq: CTSH After Market Close Coinstar, Inc. Nasdaq: CSTR After Market Close Comfort Systems USA NYSE: FIX After Market Close COMSCORE INC Nasdaq: SCOR After Market Close COMSYS IT Partners, Inc. Nasdaq: CITP Before Market Open CONSOL Energy NYSE: CNX Time Not Supplied Constellation Energy Group, Inc. NYSE: CEG Before Market Open CORDERO ENERGY INC COR.TO Time Not Supplied Cott Corporation NYSE: COT Before Market Open Credit Agricole ACA.PA 11:00 am ET CryoLife, Inc. NYSE: CRY Before Market Open CV Therapeutics Nasdaq: CVTX After Market Close CVS Caremark Corporation NYSE: CVS Before Market Open Cytokinetics, Inc. Nasdaq: CYTK After Market Close D&B NYSE: DNB Time Not Supplied DAEKYO CO LTD DAEKF.PK Time Not Supplied DAIICHI SANKYO CO LTD DSKYF.PK 12:00 am ET Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd. DFILF.PK Time Not Supplied Dalsa Corp DSA.TO After Market Close Dassault Systemes Nasdaq: DASTY Time Not Supplied Dawson Geophysical Nasdaq: DWSN Before Market Open DELPHI ENERGY CORP DEE.TO 09:00 am ET Deluxe Corporation NYSE: DLX Before Market Open Depomed Nasdaq: DEPO After Market Close Deutsche Bank NYSE: DB Time Not Supplied Deutsche Börse AG DB1.F Time Not Supplied Deutsche Post AG DPW.DE Time Not Supplied DIANA SHIPPING INC NYSE: DSX Before Market Open Dolby Laboratories, Inc. NYSE: DLB After Market Close Dominion Resources Inc. NYSE: D Time Not Supplied Dresser-Rand Group Inc. NYSE: DRC Before Market Open drugstore.com Nasdaq: DSCM After Market Close DUNDEE PRECIOUS METALS INC DPM.TO Time Not Supplied Dynamic Materials Nasdaq: BOOM After Market Close Dynamics Research Corporation Nasdaq: DRCO Time Not Supplied Eastman Kodak Company NYSE: EK Before Market Open ELEC & ELTEK INTERNATIONAL CO E16.SI Time Not Supplied EMAK Worldwide Inc. EMAK.PK After Market Close Enbridge NYSE: ENB Before Market Open Endo Pharmaceuticals Nasdaq: ENDP Time Not Supplied Enel S.p.A. ESOCF.PK Time Not Supplied Energy East Corporation NYSE: EAS Time Not Supplied Energy Focus, Inc. Nasdaq: EFOI Time Not Supplied Enersis SA ADS NYSE: ENI Time Not Supplied Eni S.p.A. NYSE: E 01:45 am ET Environmental Power NYSE: EPG Time Not Supplied EPCOS EPCYY.PK Time Not Supplied EQUITABLE GROUP INC ETC.TO Before Market Open Exar Nasdaq: EXAR After Market Close Expedia, Inc. Nasdaq: EXPE Before Market Open Extreme Networks Nasdaq: EXTR After Market Close ExxonMobil Corporation NYSE: XOM Before Market Open Fairfax Financial Holdings NYSE: FFH After Market Close FIRST CALGARY PETROLEUM LTD FCP.TO Time Not Supplied Fisher Communications, Inc. Nasdaq: FSCI Before Market Open Forrester Research Nasdaq: FORR Time Not Supplied FPL Group NYSE: FPL Time Not Supplied France Telecom NYSE: FTE Time Not Supplied FRASER PAPERS INC FPS.TO 6:00 pm ET GEA Group G1A.DE Time Not Supplied Gen-Probe Nasdaq: GPRO After Market Close Genco Shipping & Trading Limited NYSE: GNK Time Not Supplied GENESIS LEASE LTD NYSE: GLS Before Market Open GENOPTIX INC Nasdaq: GXDX After Market Close Gentiva Health Services Nasdaq: GTIV Before Market Open GFI Group Inc. Nasdaq: GFIG After Market Close Giga-tronics Incorporated Nasdaq: GIGA After Market Close Goldcorp NYSE: GG Before Market Open Goodyear Tire & Rubber NYSE: GT Before Market Open Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. Nasdaq: GMCR Before Market Open Greenhill & Co., Inc. NYSE: GHL Before Market Open Greggs plc GRG.L Before Market Open Grey Wolf, Inc. NYSE: GW After Market Close Gruppo Finarte - Semenzato Casa d'Aste FCD.MI Time Not Supplied GSI Group Inc. Nasdaq: GSIG Before Market Open GSI TECHNOLOGY INC Nasdaq: GSIT After Market Close Guaranty Financial Group Inc. NYSE: GFG Before Market Open Hansen Medical, Inc. Nasdaq: HNSN After Market Close Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. NYSE: HNR Before Market Open Hawesko Holding AG HAW.F Time Not Supplied HBOS plc HBOS.L Before Market Open Helmerich & Payne, Inc. NYSE: HP Before Market Open Hitachi Limited NYSE: HIT 01:00 am ET Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. NYSE: HOS 06:00 am ET HOUSEVALUES INC Nasdaq: SOLD Time Not Supplied HUDBAY MINERALS INC HBM.TO Time Not Supplied Hugo Boss AG BOS.F Time Not Supplied I.D. Systems Nasdaq: IDSY After Market Close iCAD, Inc Nasdaq: ICAD Before Market Open IGM Financial Inc. IGM.TO Time Not Supplied ILOG Nasdaq: ILOG Time Not Supplied Imerys SA NK.PA Before Market Open Immersion Corporation Nasdaq: IMMR After Market Close Imperial Oil Limited NYSE: IMO Time Not Supplied Incyte Corporation Nasdaq: INCY Before Market Open Innophos Nasdaq: IPHS After Market Close Insightful Corporation Nasdaq: IFUL After Market Close IntegraMed America, Inc. Nasdaq: INMD Before Market Open INTELLON CORP Nasdaq: ITLN After Market Close Intermec, Inc. NYSE: IN After Market Close InterMune Inc. Nasdaq: ITMN Time Not Supplied International Flavors & Fragrances NYSE: IFF Before Market Open International Paper Co. NYSE: IP Before Market Open Internet Capital Group Nasdaq: ICGE Before Market Open Investment Technology Group NYSE: ITG Before Market Open IPCS INC Nasdaq: IPCS After Market Close Iron Mountain Incorporated NYSE: IRM Before Market Open ISILON SYSTEMS INC Nasdaq: ISLN After Market Close iStar Financial NYSE: SFI Before Market Open K-Swiss Inc. Nasdaq: KSWS Before Market Open Kaman Corporation Nasdaq: KAMN After Market Close Kansas City Southern NYSE: KSU Before Market Open Kaupthing Bank KPBIF.PK Before Market Open Kellogg Co. NYSE: K Time Not Supplied KEPPEL CORPORATION LTD KPELF.PK Time Not Supplied Kindred Healthcare Inc. NYSE: KND After Market Close KLA-Tencor Nasdaq: KLAC After Market Close Kopin Corporation Nasdaq: KOPN Time Not Supplied KUMHO INDUSTRIAL CO LTD KUHOF.PK After Market Close Lafarge LFRGY.PK After Market Close LAUTAN LUAS LTLS.JK Time Not Supplied Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Nasdaq: LGND After Market Close LKQ Corporation Nasdaq: LKQX Before Market Open Lojas Americanas LAME4.SA Time Not Supplied Lottomatica S.p.a LTOMF.PK Time Not Supplied Lubrizol NYSE: LZ Before Market Open Luxottica Group NYSE: LUX Time Not Supplied M.D.C Holdings NYSE: MDC Before Market Open M/I Homes, Inc. NYSE: MHO Time Not Supplied Mack-Cali Realty Corporation NYSE: CLI Before Market Open Magellan Health Services Nasdaq: MGLN Before Market Open Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited NYSE: MTE Time Not Supplied Makita Corporation Nasdaq: MKTAY 02:10 am ET Marathon Oil Corporation NYSE: MRO Before Market Open Marcopolo, S.A. POMO3.SA After Market Close MarineMax Inc. NYSE: HZO Time Not Supplied Massey Energy Company NYSE: MEE After Market Close MasterCard Incorporated NYSE: MA Time Not Supplied Maxygen, Inc. Nasdaq: MAXY After Market Close McAfee, Inc. NYSE: MFE After Market Close Mediaset MS.MI Time Not Supplied Mediolanum MED.MI 04:30 am ET MELEXIS NV MELE.BR Time Not Supplied Mentor NYSE: MNT After Market Close METALICO INC NYSE: MEA Time Not Supplied Metro Group MEO.F 01:15 am ET Metrovacesa SA MVC.MC Time Not Supplied Mid-America Apartment Communities NYSE: MAA Time Not Supplied Milacron MZIA.PK Before Market Open Millipore Corp. NYSE: MIL After Market Close MITSUBISHI CORP MSBHY.PK 12:00 am ET Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. Nasdaq: MPWR Time Not Supplied Monster Worldwide Nasdaq: MNST After Market Close MORNINGSTAR INC Nasdaq: MORN After Market Close Motorola Inc. NYSE: MOT Before Market Open MPC AG MPC.F Time Not Supplied Muehlbauer Holding AG MUB.F Time Not Supplied Multi-Color Corporation Nasdaq: LABL 08:00 am ET MWI Veterinary Supply, Inc. Nasdaq: MWIV Time Not Supplied NAGARJUNA CONSTRUCTIONS CO LTD NGRJF.PK Time Not Supplied Nanometrics Nasdaq: NANO After Market Close National Express Group NEX.L Time Not Supplied NATIONAL INTERSTATE CORP Nasdaq: NATL After Market Close National Retail Properties, Inc. NYSE: NNN Before Market Open Natus Medical Incorporated Nasdaq: BABY Before Market Open Nautilus, Inc. NYSE: NLS After Market Close Navigant Consulting NYSE: NCI After Market Close NEI, Inc. Nasdaq: NENG Before Market Open NESTLE INDIA 500790.BO Time Not Supplied Newell Rubbermaid NYSE: NWL Before Market Open NewMarket Corp NYSE: NEU After Market Close Newpark Resources, Inc. NYSE: NR After Market Close NIFTY CORP TOKYO NFTYF.PK 03:00 am ET NITTO FLOUR MILLING CO LTD NFMLF.PK 03:00 am ET NMS Communications Nasdaq: NMSS After Market Close NN Inc. Nasdaq: NNBR Before Market Open Nordfyns Bank A/S NRDF.CO Time Not Supplied NorthBridge Financial Corp NB.TO After Market Close Northgate Minerals Corp AMEX: NXG Time Not Supplied NORTHSTAR NEUROSCIENCE INC Nasdaq: NSTR After Market Close NorthWestern Corporation NYSE: NWE Time Not Supplied Novamed, Inc. Nasdaq: NOVA Before Market Open Nu Skin NYSE: NUS Before Market Open NYMEX Holdings, Inc. NYSE: NMX Before Market Open OCEANA GOLD LTD OGC.NZ Time Not Supplied Odyssey Re Holdings Corp. NYSE: ORH After Market Close OGE Energy NYSE: OGE Before Market Open Oil States International NYSE: OIS After Market Close Olympic Steel Nasdaq: ZEUS Time Not Supplied Omnicare NYSE: OCR Before Market Open Onvia.com, Inc. Nasdaq: ONVI Time Not Supplied Orchid Cellmark Inc Nasdaq: ORCH Before Market Open ORIGEN FINL INC Nasdaq: ORGN After Market Close Osteotech Nasdaq: OSTE Time Not Supplied OUTDOOR CHANNEL HLDGS INC Nasdaq: OUTD After Market Close Palomar Medical Technologies, Inc. Nasdaq: PMTI 08:00 am ET Parker Hannifin Corp. NYSE: PH Before Market Open Partner Communications Nasdaq: PTNR Time Not Supplied Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. Nasdaq: PTEN Before Market Open PC Connection, Inc. Nasdaq: PCCC Before Market Open Peet's Coffee & Tea Nasdaq: PEET 4:00 pm ET Pericom Semiconductor Nasdaq: PSEM After Market Close PETROSEA PTRO.JK Time Not Supplied Pharmacopeia Nasdaq: PCOP After Market Close PharmaNet Development Group, Inc. Nasdaq: PDGI Before Market Open Photon Dynamics Nasdaq: PHTN After Market Close Pioneer Corporation PNCOF.PK 02:00 am ET PMA Capital Corporation Nasdaq: PMACA After Market Close Poniard Pharmaceuticals Nasdaq: PARD After Market Close Powerwave Technologies Nasdaq: PWAV Time Not Supplied PRIMUS Telecommunications Group, Incorporated PRTL.OB After Market Close PROGRESS ENERGY TR PGX-UN.TO After Market Close PROSPEX RES LTD PSX.TO Time Not Supplied Prudential PLC NYSE: PUK Before Market Open Radiant Systems Nasdaq: RADS After Market Close RADVISION Nasdaq: RVSN Before Market Open Rainmaker Systems, Inc. Nasdaq: RMKR After Market Close Randgold Resources Limited Nasdaq: GOLD Before Market Open Rank Group Plc. RANKF.PK 02:00 am ET RealNetworks Nasdaq: RNWK After Market Close Reed Elsevier Group PLC RUKEF.PK Time Not Supplied Repsol YPF NYSE: REP Before Market Open Revlon, Inc. NYSE: REV Before Market Open RHI AG WIEN RHI.VI Time Not Supplied Rit Technologies Limited Nasdaq: RITT Time Not Supplied Rochester Medical Corporation Nasdaq: ROCM After Market Close RPS Group PLC RPS.L Before Market Open RSC HOLDINGS INC NYSE: RRR After Market Close Ruddick Corporation NYSE: RDK Time Not Supplied SAFRAN SAF.PA Time Not Supplied SALARY.COM INC Nasdaq: SLRY After Market Close Sanofi-Aventis NYSE: SNY 01:00 am ET Santander BanCorp NYSE: SBP Before Market Open Sappi Limited SPPJF.PK Before Market Open Scientific Games Corporation Nasdaq: SGMS After Market Close Selective Insurance Group, Inc. Nasdaq: SIGI After Market Close SGL Carbon SGLFF.PK Time Not Supplied Shire Plc SHP.L 07:00 am ET SODA NIKKA CO LTD SDNKF.PK 12:00 am ET SOURCEFIRE INC Nasdaq: FIRE After Market Close Souza Cruz CRUZ3.SA Time Not Supplied Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc NYSE: SPR Before Market Open SQUARE ENIX CO LTD TOKYO SQNXF.PK 01:00 am ET Stanley, Inc. NYSE: SXE After Market Close Stantec Inc. NYSE: SXC Time Not Supplied StarTek NYSE: SRT Before Market Open Stoneridge NYSE: SRI Before Market Open Stratasys Nasdaq: SSYS Before Market Open Strategic Diagnostics Nasdaq: SDIX After Market Close Sun Life Financial Inc. NYSE: SLF 1:00 pm ET SupportSoft Nasdaq: SPRT After Market Close Synaptics Incorporated Nasdaq: SYNA After Market Close Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) NYSE: TSM Time Not Supplied Takkt AG TTK.F Before Market Open Taleo Corporation Nasdaq: TLEO After Market Close TATA STEEL LTD TAELF.PK Time Not Supplied TC PipeLines, LP Nasdaq: TCLP Time Not Supplied TDK NYSE: TDK Time Not Supplied Technip NYSE: TKP 01:00 am ET Telecinco TL5.MC Before Market Open TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. Nasdaq: TSYS After Market Close Telefonica S.A NYSE: TEF Time Not Supplied Telegate AG TGT.F Time Not Supplied Tenneco Inc NYSE: TEN Before Market Open Tessera Technologies Inc Nasdaq: TSRA After Market Close TF1 SA TFI.PA Time Not Supplied The Brinks Company NYSE: BCO Time Not Supplied The First American Corporation NYSE: FAF Before Market Open The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. NYSE: THG After Market Close The Laclede Group, Inc. NYSE: LG After Market Close The Pantry Inc. Nasdaq: PTRY Before Market Open The Phoenix Companies, Inc. NYSE: PNX Before Market Open The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company NYSE: SMG After Market Close Theragenics Corporation NYSE: TGX Before Market Open TheStreet.com Nasdaq: TSCM Before Market Open thinkorswim Group Inc. Nasdaq: SWIM After Market Close Thoratec Corporation Nasdaq: THOR After Market Close Tomkins PLC NYSE: TKS Before Market Open TOP Ships Nasdaq: TOPS Before Market Open Torstar Corp. TS-B.TO 06:30 am ET Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. Nasdaq: CLUB Time Not Supplied Transalta Corporation NYSE: TAC Before Market Open TransCanada Corporation NYSE: TRP Time Not Supplied TriMas Corporation NYSE: TRS Time Not Supplied Trinity Mirror plc TNI.L Before Market Open TRW Auto NYSE: TRW Before Market Open Tyco International NYSE: TYC Before Market Open Ultralife Corporation Nasdaq: ULBI Before Market Open Unifi NYSE: UFI Before Market Open Unilever PLC NYSE: UL 02:00 am ET UNIMICRON TECHNOLOGY 3037.TW Time Not Supplied Union Drilling, Inc. Nasdaq: UDRL After Market Close United Stationers Inc. Nasdaq: USTR After Market Close United Therapeutics Nasdaq: UTHR Before Market Open Universal American NYSE: UAM After Market Close UROPLASTY INC NYSE: UPI After Market Close USA Mobility Nasdaq: USMO After Market Close Valassis Communications Inc. NYSE: VCI Before Market Open Vallourec VK.PA 11:45 am ET ValueClick, Inc. Nasdaq: VCLK After Market Close Vectren Corporation NYSE: VVC After Market Close Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Nasdaq: VRTX After Market Close VIRGINIA MINES INC VGQ.TO Time Not Supplied VistaPrint Nasdaq: VPRT After Market Close VOLGATELECOM PUB JT STK CO VLGAY.PK Time Not Supplied Wacker Chemie AG WKCMF.PK 01:15 am ET Wayside Technology Group, Inc. Nasdaq: WSTG After Market Close Weight Watchers International, Inc. NYSE: WTW After Market Close Weingarten Realty Investors NYSE: WRI After Market Close Wessanen WES.AS 02:00 am ET WEST BANCORPORATION INC Nasdaq: WTBA Before Market Open William Hill PLC WMH.L 02:00 am ET Wisconsin Energy Corporation NYSE: WEC Before Market Open Wyndham Worldwide NYSE: WYN Before Market Open Xcel Energy NYSE: XEL Before Market Open Zeltia, S.A. ZEL.MC Time Not Supplied Zilog Nasdaq: ZILG After Market Close Zones Inc. Nasdaq: ZONS Time Not Supplied

Friday

Friday, August 1st brings with it monthly motor vehicle sales data. Buckle your seat belt because this could get nasty (or nastier). Toyota Motors (NYSE: TM) just adjusted its global demand forecast lower, perhaps a sign of trouble upcoming within its own data. If Toyota gets hit, that will leave Honda Motors (NYSE: HMC) as the last survivor, but for how long...

Friday also of course brings the monthly Employment Situation Report, and the data will be released at 8:30 promptly, so you'll want to be near a TV to catch CNBC's timely commentary. Nonfarm Payrolls are seen declining 72,000 in July, after a loss of 62K jobs in June. The unemployment rate is expected to edge higher to 5.6%, from 5.5% reported in June. June's data allowed for digestion of May's jump from 5.1% to 5.5%, so we expect you'll see a modest rise again this month. Of more significance, weekly jobless claims have stuck hot. Average hourly earnings should keep up with its recent pace, rising 0.3%.

The national manufacturing survey is due a day after the Midwest data. ISM's Manufacturing Report at 10:00 AM is expected to mark contraction at 49.2. This compares to the June report above water at 50.2. Corporate investment is at a cautionary level now, consumer spending is seen declining, even globally, so it seems just a matter of time before order data wanes again, despite last week's decent Durables news for June.

Construction Spending for June is seen declining 0.3%, after a drop of 0.4% in May. No surprises here. We told you over a year ago that commercial construction, the hot space at that time, would follow residential lower as the broader economy recessed. Look around and you'll note vacancies where there use to be your favorite little shop, even within malls.

EPS Reports for Friday, August 1 Company Symbol Time Administaff NYSE: ASF Before Market Open Allete NYSE: ALE Before Market Open Alliance & Leicester AL.L Time Not Supplied Ameren Corporation NYSE: AEE Before Market Open Andritz AG ANDR.VI Time Not Supplied Apartment Investment & Management NYSE: AIV Before Market Open ARC Energy Trust AET-UN.TO Time Not Supplied Astronics Nasdaq: ATRO Before Market Open Bekaert BEKB.BR Before Market Open BOLSAS Y MERCADOS ESPANOLES SOHMF.PK Time Not Supplied Boyd Gaming NYSE: BYD Before Market Open British Airways BAIRY.PK Time Not Supplied Brookfield Homes Corporation NYSE: BHS 08:00 am ET Brush Engineered Materials NYSE: BW Time Not Supplied Bulgari SpA BUL.MI Time Not Supplied CapitaLand C31.SI Time Not Supplied Caraustar Nasdaq: CSAR Time Not Supplied Cell Genesys Nasdaq: CEGE After Market Close Chevron NYSE: CVX Before Market Open CIGNA NYSE: CI Before Market Open Ciments Français S.A. CMA.PA Time Not Supplied Clorox NYSE: CLX Before Market Open Dada SPA DDB.MU Time Not Supplied Digimarc Corporation Nasdaq: DMRC Time Not Supplied Dorman Products, Inc. Nasdaq: DORM Before Market Open DSV A/S DSV.CO Time Not Supplied Eldorado Gold Corporation NYSE: EGO Time Not Supplied ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE EDF ECIFF.PK Time Not Supplied EMERA INC EMA.TO Time Not Supplied EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG EBK.F Time Not Supplied Equitable Resources, Inc. NYSE: EQT Before Market Open FirstEnergy NYSE: FE Before Market Open GAMMA HLDG NV GAMMA.AS Time Not Supplied Gefran GE.MI Time Not Supplied Gold Fields Limited NYSE: GFI Before Market Open Graham NYSE: GHM Before Market Open Haemonetics NYSE: HAE Before Market Open Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. NYSE: HTV Before Market Open HMS Holdings Corp Nasdaq: HMSY Before Market Open Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd. NYSE: IR 07:00 am ET Ingles Markets, Incorporated Nasdaq: IMKTA Before Market Open Iowa Telecommunications Services Inc NYSE: IWA Before Market Open Italcementi SPA IT.MI Time Not Supplied JARDINE CYCLE & CARRIAGE LTD JCYCF.PK Time Not Supplied Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group PLC JLT.L Time Not Supplied JCDecaux DEC.PA Before Market Open KBR, Inc. NYSE: KBR 11:00 am ET Libbey NYSE: LBY Time Not Supplied Linde AG LIN.F Time Not Supplied MEISEI ELECTRIC CO LTD MSRCF.PK After Market Close Navarre Nasdaq: NAVR After Market Close Negri Bossi NGB.MI Time Not Supplied Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. Nasdaq: NSANY 02:50 am ET NITTO KAKO CO LTD NKKLF.PK 01:00 am ET Nortel Networks NYSE: NT Before Market Open NUVO RESEARCH INC NRI.TO Time Not Supplied NYSE Euronext NYSE: NYX Before Market Open OneBeacon Insurance Group NYSE: OB Before Market Open Oshkosh Corporation NYSE: OSK Before Market Open OTRUM ASA OTR.OL Before Market Open Pargesa Holding SA PRGAF.PK Time Not Supplied Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation NYSE: PGC Time Not Supplied PPL Corporation NYSE: PPL Before Market Open Premuda S.p.A. PR.MI Time Not Supplied PSEG NYSE: PEG Before Market Open RAIT Financial Trust NYSE: RAS Before Market Open SCANA Corporation NYSE: SCG Time Not Supplied SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC S A SBGSF.PK Before Market Open StatoilHydro ASA NYSE: STO 02:00 am ET Sun Microsystems Nasdaq: JAVA Before Market Open SYSTRAN SA RAN.PA Time Not Supplied Tasty Baking Company Nasdaq: TSTY Time Not Supplied TEMBEC INC TMB.TO After Market Close The Washington Post Company NYSE: WPO Time Not Supplied Tidewater NYSE: TDW Before Market Open Total NYSE: TOT 02:00 am ET TRIPEP AB TPEP.ST Time Not Supplied Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited NYSE: TNP Before Market Open UCB S.A UCB.BR Time Not Supplied Vianini Industria VIN.MI Time Not Supplied WILH WILHELMSEN ASA WWI.OL Time Not Supplied Winbond Electronics Corporation 2344.TW Time Not Supplied

* Wall Street Greek has not reviewed, and in no way endorses the validity of earnings time of report data or the accuracy of ticker symbols. Wall Street Greek shall not be liable for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website. Article interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX, Alberto-Culver (NYSE: ACV), American Safety Insurance (NYSE: ASI), Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN), Analysts Int'l (Nasdaq: ANLY), Angiotech Pharma (Nasdaq: ANPI), Atheros Communications (Nasdaq: ATHR), Authentec (Nasdaq: AUTH), B&G Foods (NYSE: BGF), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE: BBV), Bancolatinamericano (NYSE: BLX), Bank of Hawaii (NYSE: BOH), Banner Corp. (Nasdaq: BANR), Bluegreen (NYSE: BXG), Boardwalk Pipeline (NYSE: BWP), Cal-Maine Foods (Nasdaq: CALM), CF Industries (NYSE: CF), CH Energy (NYSE: CHG), Chemed Corp. (NYSE: CHE), Chemical Financial (Nasdaq: CHFC), China Bak Battery (Nasdaq: CBAK), Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH), CNA Financial (NYSE: CNA), Cognex (Nasdaq: CGNX), Community Health (NYSE: CYH), Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP), Crane (NYSE: CR), Duccomun (NYSE: DCO), Education Realty Trust (NYSE: EDR), Empresas ICA (NYSE: ICA), Enbridge Energy (NYSE: EEQ), ev3 (Nasdaq: EVVV), FEMSA (NYSE: FMX), First Advantage (Nasdaq: FADV), Franklin Electric (Nasdaq: FELE), Gehl (Nasdaq: GEHL), General Employment Enterprises (NYSE: JOB), Groupo Aeroportuario (NYSE: PAC), Grupo TMM (NYSE: TMM), Harmonic (Nasdaq: HLIT), Hartford Financial (NYSE: HIG), HDFC Bank (NYSE: HDB), Heartland Financial (Nasdaq: HTLF), HickoryTech (Nasdaq: HTCO), Interactive Intelligence (Nasdaq: ININ), Intevac (Nasdaq: IVAC), Iris Int'l (Nasdaq: IRIS), JDA Software (Nasdaq: JDAS), Kookmin Bank (NYSE: KB), Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT), Ladish (Nasdaq: LDSH), Loews (NYSE: L), Lorillard (NYSE: LO), Maguire Properties (NYSE: MPG), Manitowoc (NYSE: MTW), Meadowbrook Insurance (NYSE: MIG), Meritage Homes (NYSE: MTH), Metavante Technologies (NYSE: MV), Microtune (Nasdaq: TUNE), Mine Safety Appliances (NYSE: MSA), NBT Bancorp (Nasdaq: NBTB), Network Equipment (NYSE: NWK), Old National Bancorp (NYSE: ONB), Owens & Minor (NYSE: OMI), Par Technology (NYSE: PTC), PartnerRe (NYSE: PRE), Phase Forward Inc. (Nasdaq: PFWD), Plumb Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL), PLX Tech (Nasdaq: PLXT), PrePaid Legal (NYSE: PPD), PRG-Schultz (Nasdaq: PRGX), Provident Bancorp (Nasdaq: PBNY), Provident Financial (Nasdaq: PROV), Questar (NYSE: STR), Ralcorp (NYSE: RAH), Rent-A-Center (Nasdaq: RCII), Rock-Tenn (NYSE: RKT), Scopus Video (Nasdaq: SCOP), Secure Computing (Nasdaq: SCUR), Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG), SIMTEK (Nasdaq: SMTK), SL Green Realty (NYSE: SLG), Smurfit-Stone Container (Nasdaq: SSCC), SOHU.com (Nasdaq: SOHU), Solutia (NYSE: SOA), Spherion (NYSE: SFN), Tata Communications (NYSE: TCL), Texas Roadhouse (Nasdaq: TXRH), TGC Industries (NYSE: TGE), The Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), Navigators Group (Nasdaq: NAVG), Trident Microsystems (Nasdaq: TRID), Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN), Ultra Clean Hldgs (Nasdaq: UCTT), United America Indemnity (Nasdaq: INDM), United Fire (Nasdaq: UFCS), Universal Health (NYSE: UHS), Veeco Instruments (Nasdaq: VECO), Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Vimicro Int'l (Nasdaq: VIMC), Wausau Paper (NYSE: WPP), Websense (Nasdaq: WBSN), Wrigley (NYSE: WWY), Wright Medical Group (Nasdaq: WMGI) and Zoran (Nasdaq: ZRAN).

Week in Video - July 21 - 27

Welcome to the latest edition of "Week in Video Review." We've compiled for you some 70 videos we feel define the week that was. There's plenty of Obama's international tour covered here, along with the week's financial market news and other important events... plus the wonderful comedy of The Late Late Show's Craig Ferguson. Enjoy! If you cannot see the video where you are, you'll have to visit our site through the link here: Wall Street Greek.



As always, the opinions expressed within the videos may not agree with those of Wall Street Greek. Article interests NYSE: F, Nasdaq: YHOO, NYSE: WB, NYSE: WM, NYSE: DAI, NYSE: GM, Nasdaq: SIRI, Nasdaq: XMSR, Nasdaq: AMZN, NYSE: MCD, NYSE: WMT, Nasdaq: COST, AMEX: DIA, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: FNM, NYSE: FRE. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

Lucky Hand Investing and Index Benchmarking

By Tim Poulus
Tech & Telecom,

I have some unfinished business to attend to. In my first column, "What is Value?," I presented DCF (discounted cash flow) modeling as the best way to value assets. In the second, "DCF Valuation Improves Naive Value and Growth Strategies," I focused on multiples-based valuation (or other quantitative methods) as a tool for managers who are tracking a large set of stocks and simply have no time to do a DCF on each individual title. It is a suboptimal method that really makes no sense when you look at individual stocks. But from a statistical point of view, it could be a way to at least beat the average.

So now we can tie some loose ends together. When you work with multiples, your valuation will only make sense on an aggregated level, not on an individual level. So, to say that a stock is undervalued because its P/E is low, is just plain dumb. But maybe you have a method to link P/E values to performance, in which case the best you can hope for is to beat the average by selecting a portfolio using this method. And the average, as we all know, is... the relative index!

"And the average, as we all know, is… the relative index!"

My next observation is that, yes, it does make sense to benchmark, or track an index. This is at least true for investors who resort to using multiples instead of "decent" DCF models. If they feel they have some sound quantitative rule (linking a multiple to outperformance), they can expect to beat the index.

Unfortunately however, academics teach us that it is not possible to outperform the market (on a risk adjusted basis). So why benchmark? Well, first of all, this is an entrenched method. People have come to expect it from their managers. Above all however, statistics will allow individual investors to have a "lucky hand," and outperform the market for a number of years. There will even be some outliers who may be lucky for a very long time. And as they say: "In the long term, we're all dead," so who cares about mean reversion?

Finally, why doesn’t everybody do decent DCF models? To start with, as I stated before, people may not have the time or knowledge to do it, especially when they have to cover a large set of stocks. Secondly, they may believe that "traditional" investing works better for them, secretly hoping to be an "outlier" of sorts. And finally, if DCF is all there is to go by, how do you locate undervalued stocks among the thousands of stocks listed on dozens of exchanges worldwide?

Now that is a question that I will leave to our readers to think about.

Article interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: SDS, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX, AMEX: QLD, NYSE: DCF. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

Is China Ready for a Post Olympic Downturn?

By Guneet Singh Sahni
Emerging Markets Asia:

Last week, China reported its first half of '08 GDP growth ran at a rate of 10.4% Y/Y, the slowest pace seen over the last 3 years. Relatively speaking though, it was still one of the highest among the world's economies. Going forward, we have to ask how long China can sustain its double digit growth rate? High overall inflation, rising commodity prices and slowing exports are expected to put the brakes on the Asian giant.

On the other hand, the Olympics will give the economy a short-term boost by increasing aggregate demand. However, a Bank of China survey of the last 12 Olympic Games shows most host nation economies have suffered a post Olympic economic downturn, which has been termed by economists as – "Valley Effect."

Japan and South Korea, which were enjoying double-digit growth in the period running up to Olympics, slowed down by more than 2% Y/Y after the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and the Seoul Olympics in 1988, respectively. So we wonder if China is equipped to ward off the Valley Effect.

Tightening monetary conditions are already expected to cool an overheated economy. We believe that the solution to Chinese problems of speculative high capital inflows, falling exports and high inflation best lie in a "soft landing" of the economy rather than a steep fall.

China Equity Market Briefing

The government’s economic policies led to a cooling down of GDP growth for the fourth straight quarter, which recorded a growth rate of 10.1% Y/Y in second quarter. This represented a 0.5% sequential decline. The Consumer Price Index rose 7.1% in June, down from 7.7% in May. This slower growth led to the biggest drop in the yuan in seven weeks; expectations grew that the government will slow the currency appreciation to protect exporters. Despite the slowdown, the economy’s growth is in line with the government’s primary target, which is to prevent an overheating of the economy.

China has witnessed increased investment in infrastructure ahead of the Olympics, which will boost the productivity of its economy. Additionally increased tourist inflow will lead to higher consumption and demand for goods and services. However, after the Olympics ends, the biggest challenge for the government will be to ensure a soft landing of economic activity and not a sharp drop. The biggest challenge for the Chinese government will be to balance its tightening monetary policy and investment in the Olympics, so that the slowdown from monetary policies and post Olympics syndrome don’t lead to a sharp downfall.

World class infrastructure to boost growth

In preparation for the Olympics, China has invested nearly $40 billion in infrastructure from 2002 to 2006. This will help it to maintain its productivity in terms of better connectivity and transport after the Olympics. High investment and consumption will boost aggregate demand. We note that the Chinese economy, despite its size, has been growing strongly before Olympics effect, and so the percentage increase in economic activity as a result of the Olympics Games should be relatively small as compared to the aggregate increase.

Sporting facilities and the "White Elephant" effect

Beijing has been forced to reduce other infrastructure projects in order to concentrate on the construction of sports venues. Athens and other host city Olympic stadiums have gone mostly useless after their Olympic games... This has been termed by economists as the "White Elephant Effect." Beijing plans to convert these venues to serve residents as sports and entertainment facilities. As per the Director of the National Economic Research Institute at the China Reform Foundation, Beijing's investment to build sports venues and other infrastructure accounted for a mere 3% of the country's total investment in fixed assets.

Tourism to further put upward pressure on yuan

Beijing expects to receive about 400,000-450,000 overseas tourists during the Olympics, and analysts believe this could bring in $400 million in revenues. A lot of tourists from within China are also expected to arrive, which will also boost consumption. We believe that the tourist influx will put some upward pressure on the yuan apart from spiraling inflation.

Hotels to cash in the Olympics boom

The number of hotels in Beijing has also jumped in recent years since the country reduced hotel ownership restrictions to expand capacity. Starting in 2006, wholly-foreign-owned hotels were permitted to be established. These moves cleared the way for an extensive expansion of foreign-owned hotels and other tourism facilities. The average cost of a hotel room in Beijing was $127 a night in 2007, while the city’s occupancy rate was 70.8%.

However, as per recent reports from the Beijing Tourism Bureau, hotels are facing tough competition due to oversupply that was built just ahead of Olympics. With some exceptions in top end hotels, the industry is also reporting below expected occupancy rates.

Real Estate

The Beijing Tourism Authority predicts the city will be flooded by 3.5 million visitors, both domestic and international, during the games. Hotels and houses for rent are going quickly, and insiders say that rental rates during the Olympics will be 10 times the usual amount. Conscious of the investment opportunity, Beijing residents have been grabbing up as much real estate as possible to prepare.


Thursday's U.S. EPS Reports:

Thursday's abbreviated earnings schedule includes reports from 3M (NYSE: MMM), Abaxis (Nasdaq: ABAX), affymetrix (Nasdaq: AFFX), Alaska Airlines (NYSE: ALK), AmeriSourceBergen (NYSE: ABC), Arctic Cat (Nasdaq: ACAT), Ashland (NYSE: ASH), AutoNation (NYSE: AN), Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL), Becton, Dickinson (NYSE: BDX), BMC Software (NYSE: BMC), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), Brunswick (NYSE: BC), Burlington Northern Sante Fe (NYSE: BNI), Cabot Oil and Gas (NYSE: COG), Cache (Nasdaq: CACH), Cash America Int'l (NYSE: CSH), Celgene (Nasdaq: CELG), Chubb (NYSE: CB), Cohu (Nasdaq: COHU), Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS), Daimler (NYSE: DAI), Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO), Dover Motorsports (NYSE: DVD), DSP Group (Nasdaq: DSPG), East West Bancorp (Nasdaq: EWBC), Eastman Chemical (NYSE: EMN), Ecolab (NYSE: ECL), Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), Encana (NYSE: ECA), Federal-Mogul (Nasdaq: FDML), Federated Investors (NYSE: FII), Ford Motor (NYSE: F), Foundry Networks (Nasdaq: FDRY), Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN), Friedman Billings Ramsey (NYSE: FBR), Global Payments (NYSE: GPN), Goodrich (NYSE: GR), ImClone (Nasdaq: IMCL), J&J Snack Foods (Nasdaq: JJSF), Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS), Juniper Networks (Nasdaq: JNPR), Kennametal (NYSE: KMT), Kimberly Clark (NYSE: KMB), Lab Corp. (NYSE: LH), Level 3 Communications (Nasdaq: LVLT), Mathews Int'l (Nasdaq: MATW), Medco Health (NYSE: MHS), National City (NYSE: NCC), Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM), Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), Penn National Gaming (Nasdaq: PENN), Pool Corp. (Nasdaq: POOL), Potash Corp. (NYSE: POT), RadioShack (NYSE: RSH), Raytheon (NYSE: RTN), Smith Int'l (NYSE: SII), Taser Int'l (Nasdaq: TASR), The Cheesecake Factory (Nasdaq: CAKE), Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW), Travelzoo (Nasdaq: TZOO), UST (NYSE: UST), VCA Antech (Nasdaq: WOOF), Xerox (NYSE: XRX) and Zebra Technologies (Nasdaq: ZBRA).

Article interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX, Nasdaq: ASIA, Nasdaq: PRASX, AMEX: PUA, AMEX: NWD, Nasdaq: MEAFX, Nasdaq: EBASX, Nasdaq: EVASX, Nasdaq: MACSX, Nasdaq: MATFX, AMEX: CZJ, Nasdaq: CHINA, PCX: FXI, PCX: CYB.

Ford (NYSE: F) News: F-$1.50 Launch

By "The Greek"


Inspired by poor operating results, dissident investors, soft sales of the Ford (NYSE: F) F-150, and market demand for higher fuel efficient vehicles, America's greatest family run business today announced the launch of the new F-$1.50.

Okay, not really! However, as demand for gas guzzling SUVs and pickup trucks wanes in America, Ford outta consider this shiny yellow model right here. It's lightweight, flexible and runs on Flintstones engineered leg power. Word has it, Ford is already working on the second generation, varmint powered F-$10.50.

The F-$1.50, however, is perfect for the modern day woman (and man) who have both the purse and fitness in mind. This easily produced in China, modern day miracle of pedal and plastic could sell at a huge discount to the recently launched and then pulled back, F-150. Indeed, volume sales of pickups could skyrocket again. At an all-inclusive sticker price of a dollar and fifty cents, you just can't beat it!

And Ford's competitors haven't been sleeping on the new design either. Rumor has it, General Motors (NYSE: GM) is working on its new Plasticado, to replace the Silverado. Toyota (NYSE: TM) is already in production on the new "YouMustBeInAComa" (to buy it) to replace the Tacoma. And what of the "new" market leader in fuel efficient vehicles, Honda (NYSE: HMC)?; well, HMC is about to release the target-market-brand-inspired "UnemploymentLine" to replace the Ridgeline. It's simply a must have for the newly jobless...

The early newspaper reviews are:

Motown MaoTown - "It's kind of a tight fit for a normal sized human being, but it matches the new energy realities of our times."

Detroit Slave to China Press - "At least we can produce it in the States for almost the same cost as in China, especially given the new union contract."

Kerkorianic Times - "This is a visionary creation, exactly what I was talking about."

Article also interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: QLD, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SDS, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

The Real Estate Bottom is in Place

By Michael Douville
Real Estate Market,

Things are getting better. Sales are being made. Builder inventory is being cleared. Affordability is returning. A pricing floor has been established at which properties will sell. The bottom is in place. However, let me define the bottom.

The bottom is that price at which an educated, qualified buyer is willing to purchase. Most buyers are educating themselves thoroughly; there is no rush to buy. Although property inventories have stabilized, there has been no drastic drop in homes listed for sale. There is a very large overhang of inventory from which to choose, currently in Phoenix over 50,000 properties. Within that inventory, there are always special situations and distressed properties. At this time, lender owned properties account for 20-30% of the overall inventory and they are aggressively priced.

The overall price drop in Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area), one of the largest new home markets in the nation and one that experienced some of the largest gains, from April 2007 to April 2008, is 18%. The outlying areas have experienced an even greater loss, while more established areas a little less.

Financing is also adding to the price decline. The requirements for lender financing is returning to traditional underwriting standards. Buyers need to be able to qualify for their loan and actually PROVE IT. Although there are still low down mortgages available, particularly with FHA or VA, the underwriting criteria has been more conservative, which has the effect of compressing buyers into lower price ranges.

Also, appraisers are concerned with value and future value resulting in "declining value" appraisals which have a 5% discount deducted. In addition, there are lending caps on these government loans; in traditionally higher priced areas, they offer little relief. Underwriters for the private mortgage insurance companies that insure the portion of conventional loans over 80% are also tightening their requirements. More stringent lender qualifications are removing more buyers from the buy side of the Supply/Demand Equation. In the long run, this is very healthy and contributes to market stability. In the short-run, it adds to lower prices. Construction costs are also lower.

As the new home market contracts, the cost of materials and labor is also dropping. Competitive bidding and softening demand have driven a decline in construction costs of up to 30%. As the price of oil rises and makes the evening news, the price of concrete, lumber, and labor has dropped significantly, and largely goes unnoticed. New prices paid for land have been greatly reduced from prices paid just 2 years ago. The cost of land, development costs, material and labor costs are all combining to reduce new construction costs, thus lowering prices.

Those who rushed to buy during the frenzy and mania of 2004-2006 may be trapped in there homes for the next 24-36 months. The new reality of the real estate market does not care what price the owner paid or how much the loan amount may be. The market does not care, if in the rush to buy, the owner was involved in a bidding war and paid too much... sometimes much too much.

Even though they may want to sell or NEED to sell, the loan amount on many recently purchased properties exceeds the value of the property. In many instances, the reality is that the current owner CANNOT sell. If they remain current, within 36 months, the cycle will have restarted and a recovery in prices should be underway. Until then, the professional asset managers will run off an orderly liquidation of acquired properties... sold at the new price: discounted 20-40% from the bubble top.

The market is stabilizing, but at a much lower price. There will be losses as loans in many cases exceed the value of the properties. However, the demographics of the U.S. market are extremely powerful, and I am confident that within 12-18 months normalcy will return and a new cycle will begin. I expect that those who purchase selectively during this real estate sale will be richly rewarded in 5 years.

Article interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, AMEX: QLD, NYSE: TOL, NYSE: DHI, NYSE: PHM, NYSE: NVR, NYSE: LEN, NYSE: GFA, NYSE: MDC, NYSE: CTX, NYSE: KBH, NYSE: RYL, NYSE: MTH, NYSE: HOV, NYSE: XIN, NYSE: BHS, NYSE: SPF, NYSE: MHO, NYSE: BZH, Nasdaq: AVTR, NYSE: OHB and NYSE: WCI. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) News - No He Didn't!?!

I was all ready to prepare a pre-market report this morning, when some news I saw on Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) got me so riled up I had to throw my TV out the window.

By "The Greek"

Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) Downgraded Today

The most interesting report to mull over today occurred last night. That of course was the bubonic plague diagnosis provided for Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM). Hey, you gotta love that analyst that downgraded WM this morning! Thanks brother, you're really adding value... I think I would downgrade him to the mail room. I mean seriously, his timing was absolutely horrible? He went from neutral to sell today, after what appears to be a four and a half year neutral position if this Yahoo Rating Change Calendar is correct. Yes, neutral through the strongest housing/mortgage market in history and then into the most disastrous period in history, thereby missing huge profits in both directions. And, now you go to sell? Why follow this company at all? I invite commentary to clarify if this data, seen at Yahoo, is correct. I want to give these guys every chance here.

Trying to Find Logic in the Midst of Chaos

I'll tell you what I thought he was thinking before looking deeper into this and without having read his note. It seemed like he was basically looking for an overly penalized (in italics because it's my presumption of his view) WM to find buyers on the news, after selling on the rumor AND NEWS for that matter! Well, that wouldn't be such a stretch after what we witnessed in Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and Citigroup (NYSE: C) and the Financial Sector (AMEX: XLF) on the whole last week.

Before knowing how long he held his neutral view, I thought his cut implied he probably now believes WM is going to zero. I don't think this anymore though! The analyst's previous neutral rating turned out to be correct, but probably not correct over the time span his firm held it - if I'm seeing the data right... it looks like the firm has held a neutral ranking on WM since December of 2003! Zzzzzzzzzzzz

"He's not alone though in today's rush of brilliant gold miners to Fort Knox."

He's not alone though in today's rush of brilliant gold miners to Fort Knox. Another analyst cut his price target to $4 from $8, which better fits the "underperform" opinion that I believe he has on the stock (currently priced at $6 and change), according to Yahoo's Upgrade/Downgrade calendar. That said, the new information offered investors in the EPS report offers potentially good reason for any change. We make changes on insight gathered after exposure to new information, and it's possible to look bad when doing so.

Still, here's a little Wall Street insight you won't get anywhere else. Sometimes, actually often in what my poor innocent eyes have witnessed, analysts fit their target to match their opinion, rather than guiding their opinion by their supposedly scientifically devised price target... Ah Professor, the real world is quite different than Valuation 101 taught me, and it makes me sick. That's what my long-term goals are all about, offering a viable solution for investors, or at least a voice for the common man.

WM is up 4.8% this morning... so this analyst should be hiding under his desk or walking around the office with his shoulders lifted and a shocked expression painted on to cover up his dismay. Heck, even if the company goes bankrupt, there would be no excuse for a four-year hold rating on WM, a dynamic stock in a volatile market during that span.

There's Another Possibility

If the Yahoo Upgrade/Downgrade Calendar is incorrect (and this is important), here's another possibility of what might have happened. Post the morbid news, either this guy was so worried about his job that he panicked, or was directly told, "downgrade that dog," that he did. This happens.... I heard it more than once from a few clueless fear-mongers who use to attempt to hold kingdom over me. And not everyone is as stubborn (perhaps stupid) as me in upholding moral and ethical values regarding fiduciary responsibility over the orders of their bosses. So, I conclude by noting, since we're not wearing another man's shoes, let's offer the benefit of the doubt because there are many possibilities. Even so, I can say with certainty that these kind of things really happen.

Wednesday's EPS Schedule (abbreviated):

Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL), Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE: AEM), Airgas (NYSE: ARG), Alcon (NYSE: ACL), Allegheny Tech (NYSE: ATI), Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN), Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), Ameriprise Fin'l (NYSE: AMP), Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD), Ariba (Nasdaq: ARBA), AT&T (NYSE: T), ATMI (Nasdaq: ATMI), Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), C.R. Bard (NYSE: BCR), Cabot (NYSE: CBT), Cadence Design Systems (Nasdaq: CDNS), CEMEX (NYSE: CX), CEVA (Nasdaq: CEVA), Charlotte Russe (Nasdaq: CHIC), Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG), Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq: CRUS), Citrix Systems (Nasdaq: CTXS), Cobra Electronics (Nasdaq: COBR), Compuware (Nasdaq: CPWR), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Convergys (NYSE: CVG), Digi Int'l (Nasdaq: DIGI), DPL, Inc. (NYSE: DPL), EMC (NYSE: EMC), Energen (NYSE: EGN), Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH), Fair Isaac (NYSE: FIC), FBR Capital Markets (Nasdaq: FBCM), General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), Genzyme (Nasdaq: GENZ), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), Grammercy Capital (NYSE: GCC), GSI Commerce (Nasdaq: GSIC), Ikanos (Nasdaq: IKAN), JAKKS Pacific (Nasdaq: JAKK), LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI), Mattson Tech (Nasdaq: MTSN), McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), McKesson (NYSE: MCK), MEMC Electronics (NYSE: WFR), Nutrisystem (Nasdaq: NTRI), Nuvelo (Nasdaq: NUVO), OSI Pharma (Nasdaq: OSIP), P.F. Chang's China Bistro (Nasdaq: PFCB), Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU), PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Philip Morris (NYSE: PM), Praxair (NYSE: PX), Precision Drilling (NYSE: PDS), Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM), Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), Robert Half (NYSE: RHI), Ryland (NYSE: RYL), Sanmina-SCI (Nasdaq: SANM), SEI Investments (Nasdaq: SEIC), Sketchers (NYSE: SKX), Susquehanna Bancshares (Nasdaq: SUSQ), Teradyne (NYSE: TER), Terex (NYSE: TEX), Allstate (NYSE: ALL), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Hershey (NYSE: HSY), New York Times (NYSE: NYT), Travelers (NYSE: TRV), Torchmark (NYSE: TMK), Tractor Supply (Nasdaq: TSCO), Tupperware (NYSE: TUP), Varian Medical (NYSE: VAR), W.R. Grace (NYSE: GRA), WellPoint (NYSE: WLP), Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) and Wyeth (NYSE: WYE).

Article interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: QLD, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: DOG, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

Indian Markets Show Confidence

By Guneet Singh Sahni
Emerging Markets Asia:

India Equity Market Briefing

The Indian market bounced back with a vengeance in the last two days of last week, with the Sensex gaining more than 1,000 points during that period. The move was supported by frenzied buying of battered financial stocks and short covering after four straight days of catastrophic fall.

Banking stocks that had been hammered over the last few weeks, found support in the last two days. Lower than expected inflation data, a 10% decline in the price of oil and market confidence in the ruling UPA government's ability to withstand this week's trust vote, provided the much needed impetus to decouple the Sensex from its Asian peers. Short covering was also evident in the last two days of rally, which saw a sudden reversal in the Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) trend.

WPI remains at 13-year high

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for the week ended 5th July, 2008, increased by 11.91% Y/Y, against the market expectation of 12.05%. This pleasant surprise came from slow growth in the Primary Article Price Index, which increased by 9.92%, against 10.84% the previous week. Manufactured Products were up 10.8%, while the Fuel Price Index was up 16.9%. Though the prices of primary articles have gone down, which would seem to be a positive sign, we believe that this is a short-lived respite. We say this because of our view that below-average monsoon activity will show impact on food crops and other non-food items. The Indian Meteorological Department measured rainfall for the week ending 16th July at 19% below normal. Therefore the present lower-than-expected inflation figure cannot be taken as a sign of inflation petering out. Also, steel prices, which have been kept artificially low by government intervention, are expected to increase to offset high input cost. In our article last week, "Asian Growth Engines Face Challenges and Stiff Inflation," we mentioned that the RBI expects inflation to touch 13%.

Foreign Institutional Investors remain net sellers

Short covering was witnessed in the last two days of the week, which was evident from a sudden trend reversal of FII. FIIs have sold shares worth Rs 2,235.70 crore so far in the month of July. They have sold shares worth Rs 27,701 crore for the calendar year 2008. Mutual funds have bought shares worth Rs 522.90 crore in the month of July. Consequently, the severe fall in the market since January has proven once again that the Indian market is FII driven and the domestic funds and household savings have a long way to go to support the market on their own. We believe that the Indian market has slowed down to a more sustainable level than earlier this year, not to say it could not be pulled down further by this trend of decline in capital flows and rising commodity prices.

Markets Ahead

The coming week is going to be very crucial for the Indian market as India’s largest private company, Reliance Industries (NSE: RELIANCE.NS), which constitutes a 16% weight in the Sensex, reports its quarterly results. Also, the government will have to prove its majority on the floor of the Parliament. Earnings season has so far shown Indian corporate balance sheets at strained levels, facing severe pressure from forex losses and high commodity prices. The positive factor remains that year-on-year revenue growth continues to be robust, which indicates that demand for goods and services have not been affected so far. The IT sector was battered last week, on account of a weak demand outlook for fiscal 2008. This is because banks in the U.S. delayed orders to manage computer networks as they grapple with the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.

Market activity for the following week includes:

Monday

Monday starts with the normal trickling of April-June quarterly results from Maruti Suzuki India (Bombay: 532500.BO), Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (NYSE:RDY), Steel Authority of India (NSE: SAIL.NS), Tech Mahindra (NSE: TECHM.NS), Bharat Heavy Electricals, Canara Bank (NSE: CANBK.NS) and Housing Development and Infrastructure (NSE: HDIL.NS).

Tuesday – Where will the magic number come from?

The political frenzy reached its utmost peak with the largest democracy in the world going in for a no trust motion, where the ruling UPA government had to prove its majority. In a 542 effective strength parliament, the ruling UPA needed a majority of 271 members to remain in power. Up until the time of writing this report, a leading India based news channel claimed that the ruling alliances had garnered support of 262 members and the opposition numbers stacked up to 268 members. It would be a last minute thriller, as the vote of 12 undecided members were to determine the fate of the markets, and the government. The market expected the government to survive, and it did. On the flip side, if the government failed to prove its majority, there would likely have been a free fall in the market.

The market has rallied on the UPA government's survival, which in effect is expected to bring reforms in the banking and insurance sector. The day also saw quarterly results from Asian Paints (NSE: ASIANPAIN.NS), IDBI Bank (Bombay: 500116.BO) and Siemens (NYSE: SI).

Wednesday

Wednesday’s earning schedule includes Patni Computer Systems (NYSE:PTI), Shree Renuka Sugars (NSE: RENUKA.NS) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Bombay: 505537.BO). Patni Computer’s results will complete the last leg of earnings for major IT companies. India’s largest IT companies – TCS (NSE: TCS.NS), Infosys (Nasdaq:INFY), Wipro (NYSE:WIT) and Satyam (NYSE:SAY) have already announced their results. Infosys' net income climbed 21% Y/Y to $303 million, and net profit climbed 35% Y/Y, in line with the expectations. Wipro and Satyam outperformed their larger peers on higher profit and revenue growth rates that were aided by higher realizations and a depreciating rupee. However, both these stocks took a beating on their weak forecasts for demand from overseas customers. Wipro Ltd., India's third-largest software-services provider, whose clients include General Motors (NYSE: GM), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), slumped after reporting lower-than-estimated earnings growth of 25% Y/Y, as international customers scaled back orders. In my view, the market did not receive any positive cues from the guidance of IT companies. Watch out for our exclusive post earnings IT sector analysis this coming week.

Thursday

Market heavyweights Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel (Bombay: 532454.BO) will come out with their results on Thursday. Reliance's results will be a key factor to watch, as it is a trend setter in the market. Other reports include ACC, Idea Cellular (NSE: IDEA.NS) and Zee News (NSE: ZEENEWS.NS). WPI Inflation data will be reported at 5:00 PM Indian Standard Time.

Friday

Earnings are due from Hindustan Unilever (NSE: HINDLEV_a.NS), Reliance Power (NSE: RPOWER.NS), Tata Power (NSE: TATAPOWER.NS), ABB Ambuja Cements, Grasim Industries (NSE: GRASIM.NS), and Union Bank of India (NSE: UNIONBANK.NS).

See our "Asian Markets Briefing," in case you missed it.

Full Disclosure: Mr. Sahni holds 10 shares of Infosys, 5 shares of Bharti Airtel and 21 shares of reliance power.

Article interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX, Nasdaq: ASIA, Nasdaq: PRASX, AMEX: PUA, AMEX: NWD, Nasdaq: MEAFX, Nasdaq: EBASX, Nasdaq: EVASX, Nasdaq: MACSX, Nasdaq: MATFX, AMEX: CZJ. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

Asian Markets Briefing

By Guneet Singh Sahni
Emerging Markets Asia:

Asian indices fell last week on growth concerns and a shaky financial sector outlook.

If it's not excessive crude prices, then it's the slowdown fear and shaky financial sector cues from the U.S. that lead Asia... and this past week to another decline in Asian markets. Asian markets extended their losing streak, with most of the indices ending in the red on the back of declines in the stocks of oil refiners and on fear of an economic slowdown thanks to the Chinese GDP data. The markets crashed in the beginning of the week on reports by CLSA that the Bank of China may own about $20 billion of poisonous debt issued by Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), representing two-thirds of the total holdings among the six largest Chinese banks.

The Nikkei dropped 1.8% or 236 points; the Hang Seng declined 1.4% or 310 points; the Strait Times slid by 2.7% or 79 points; the CSI 300 index fell by 4.7% or 138 points and Taiwan was weighed down by 6.3%. The exception was India’s BSE Sensex, which made a gain of 1.2% or 165 points on the back of short covering and frenzied buying in already battered financial stocks.

Asian corporates have so far shown clear signs of weakness in their earnings reports, as they face the heat from higher borrowing costs, slowing exports and a shaky investment spending outlook.

Article interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: DOG, Nasdaq: QQQQ, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: ASIA, Nasdaq: PRASX, AMEX: PUA, AMEX: NWD, Nasdaq: MEAFX, Nasdaq: EBASX, Nasdaq: EVASX, Nasdaq: MACSX, Nasdaq: MATFX, AMEX: CZJ. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

Premarket: Media's New Darling, Paulson

The media has a new darling, a new star the paparazzi cannot ignore. But, the new and the old are not all that different are they... same hair style, same love for music. Yeah baby! The pre-market report is back!

By "The Greek"

Major index futures look lower across the board this morning, but only mildly so.

We're enthused to relaunch our pre-market report, once called "Morning Coffee" and "Wake Up Call." You asked for it, you deserve and need it, and we're ready to provide it. However, we're just going to stick with the less-jazzy title "Pre-Market Report for now folks, if you don't mind.

Corporate News Driving the Day

We had a series of earnings reports this morning. The news flow was about 50/50, with half noting decent news and the other half, balding on the balance sheet.

Wachovia (NYSE: WB) is down heavy in the pre-market, after reporting a huge loss of $8.9 billion on $6.1 billion of write-downs. However, even excluding those one-timers, WB still missed expectations. Furthermore, the firm slashed its dividend 87%, this after cutting it 41% in April. While the action may enthuse bond holders, as it better insures the solvency of the company and its ability to pay its obligations, it's a signal of further tough times ahead for equity holders. WB also fired 6,350 folk, not good for greater America either. Nonetheless, the shares were down 9% in the pre-market. Optimists are arguing that the new CEO is cleaning house to set a low bar for himself, and limit future risk. If this is so, and you are confident in WB's balance sheet and potential (we have not looked), then this might offer a buying opportunity. Certainly, Vikram Pandit at Citigroup (NYSE: C) would have been better served employing this kind of strategy, and "The Greek" himself would employ it if I was in the role of new CEO.

American Express (NYSE: AXP) reported sad news last evening that sent the dollar free falling on renewed recession concerns. AXP is down 11% in the pre-market, after reporting Q2 EPS that were 38% short of the prior year result, and more importantly, well-below the street estimate. AXP is suppose to be the credit card of the rich and famous, so this news combines with reports of prime mortgage loans souring, and offers evidence that the broader economy is flailing. Clearly, while the report is bad for AXP shareholders it portends even worse news for firms like Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF).

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) reported strong results, with earnings rising 31%, 11 cents ahead of consensus; but the shares are down 9% in the pre-market, on concerns about the health of Apple's iconic leader, Steve Jobs. Truly, nobody can argue with the fact that Jobs represents corporate America's most important leader, and if ever there were value in a stock tied to its leader, it's in Apple. This is one of those intangibles folks. It's often missed by many naive analysts too caught up in the numbers to give the common logic consideration; it takes a special analyst to recognize the value of an intangible. This is clear characterization of the art within investing, which is of course comprised of both art and science.

Other Reports

A slew of companies reported weaker year-to-year results that still beat analysts estimates, including UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) and Halliburton (NYSE: HAL). DuPont (NYSE: DD) also exceeded views, and looks to be up in early trading.

Economic Reports

The ICSC-UBS Weekly Same-Store Sales data showed a strong (stellar in fact) growth of 2.5%. But, before you go out and buy a bottle of top shelf champagne, remember folks, the stimulus checks just finished significant distribution. It should take a week or two more before the rest of you burn that cash like "The Greek" did on a month's supply of potatoes. Remember, the entrepreneurial Greek survives on a diet of potatoes, and now bananas as well. So, we expect the ICSC growth figures to begin heading back downward, toward the poor levels we saw in February.

Secretary Paulson for President!

How about this guy?! Compare Paulson's steady, firm leadership, strong conviction of tone and fearlessness against the meanies in Congress, to say, Ben Bernanke's squeaky, trembling testimonies before the dodo-birds on the Congressional panels. This guy is Reaganess. He's a general, a warrior, infallible. We can at least say he's working his tail off, and doing his best to keep the economy afloat and fix the wrongs. It's too early to say if he'll be good at foresight, and weed out tomorrow's failings before they impact us. But, he's good at clean up.

Here's what Paulson said today... Basically, he offered a vote of confidence, sort of a pep talk for the financial markets. It really was reminiscent of Ronald Reagan's uplifting addresses to the nation. He focused on two priorities, market stability and confidence. Paulson said that further difficulties lie ahead, but that he encouraged financial institutions to sure up capital by reducing dividends and raising new funds.

He said that in the future, intensified regulation and market discipline would prove the most important features of his tenure, to insure stable markets. He said that companies must fail in order to realize the penalties of risk-taking, but he also said the actions to aid Bear Stearns were called for. He discussed IndyMac's failure, the third largest bank failure in our nation's history. He noted that even so, NYSE: IMB represented only 0.2% of the nations banking assets. He reassured Americans on the safety of their insured deposits. He reminded us that the FDIC reports 99% of American banks are well-capitalized. He also urged Congress to pass the housing bill before them tomorrow.

You get the picture... it was a pep-talk. However, this is a far cry from last year's cheerleading that went on as Paulson, Bernanke and Bush tried to make us believe everything was okay. They thought they might prevent disaster by pretending it didn't exist. We can't really forgive Hank for that.

Philly Fed President Plosser also spoke this morning, and he's a notorious hawk. However, Paulson muted him with his address. Oil looks steady, but the dollar is weaker on economic concerns.

Remaining Morning's EPS Releases

Tuesday's scheduled morning EPS reports include news from AK Steel (NYSE: AKS), Anixter Int'l (NYSE: AXE), Arbitron (NYSE: ARB), Autoliv (NYSE: ALV), Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY), Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI), Biogen Idec (Nasdaq: BIIB), BJ Services (NYSE: BJS), Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE: CP), CardioNet (Nasdaq: BEAT), Carlisle Cos. (NYSE: CSL), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Celanese (NYSE: CE), Centene (NYSE: CNC), Check Point Software (Nasdaq: CHKP), Chicago Mercantile Exchange (NYSE: CME), Corn Products (NYSE: CPO), Domino's (NYSE: DPZ), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB), First Security Group (Nasdaq: FSGI), Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX), Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), Frontier Financial (Nasdaq: FTBK), Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL), IberiaBank (Nasdaq: IBKC), ICON Plc (Nasdaq: ICLR), Imation (NYSE: IMN), Jacobs Engineering (NYSE: JEC), Journal Communications (NYSE: JRN), Kelly Services (Nasdaq: KELYA), Millicom Int'l (Nasdaq: MICC), Neogen (Nasdaq: NEOG), NVR (NYSE: NVR), Omnicom (NYSE: OMC), Pentair (NYSE: PNR), PepsiAmericas (NYSE: PAS), Precision Castparts (NYSE: PCP), Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), Rayonier (NYSE: RYN), Regions Financial (NYSE: RF), Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK), Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL), Sterling Bancshares (Nasdaq: SBIB), SunTrust (NYSE: STI), Supervalu (NYSE: SVU), LM Ericsson Telephone (Nasdaq: ERIC), Tellabs (Nasdaq: TLAB), The Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK), Trinity Biotech (Nasdaq: TRIB), UAL Corp. (Nasdaq: UAUA), United Parcels Service (NYSE: UPS), UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH), Wachovia (NYSE: WB), Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT), Webster Financial (NYSE: WBS), Western Union (NYSE: WU), Whitney Holding (Nasdaq: WTNY), Wilshire State Bank (Nasdaq: WIBC) and XTO Energy (NYSE: XTO).

Article also interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

This Week - Kung Fu Diplomacy

"The Greek's Week Ahead" has been engineered to provide investors with a market-moving event planner they can refer to throughout the week. In case you missed it over the weekend, you might want to catch our weekly wrap up, "Week in Review - Government Sponsored Destruction." We would also like to remind you about our newest creation, (stock) Market Moving News, where we hope you'll visit daily to see each day's market moving events.

By "The Greek"

In case you thought Hank Paulson had set the market straight last week, and that everything would be silky smooth this week, well wake up sister! While you soaked in the sea and the sun over the sweltering weekend, Iran punched the U.S. in the mouth. Perhaps annoyed by the silent presence of Under Secretary Burns at its meeting with EU representatives, Iran made a clear statement to the world. Modern day Persia will not be halting uranium enrichment any time soon, nor does it ever plan to succumb to the whims of the United States and Israel. Hold on a second while we take a break to reinforce the bunker...

I wonder if it's a bad idea to let the entirety of the blogosphere know we've got a stock of canned goods and bottled water over here on the Upper East... Don't get any ideas should the chaos break out though, as "The Greek" knows karate, and a few more Greek words. You see, karate is derived from the Grenglish, "kara" for cars, and the Greek "te" for what. You see, it means "what cars?" since "The Greek" travels by foot, sort of like David Carradine did in "Kung Fu"... (Karate is actually derived from the Japanese, "kara" for empty and "te" for hand).

"Too many economists, research directors and analysts had a whole weekend to try to earn their bonus, and so you might expect a series of new reports on how the GSE situation will play out..."

It's not just Iran we have to worry about this week though. There's an equally despicable foe equity investors might have to deal with shortly. Too many economists, research directors and analysts had a whole weekend to try to earn their bonus, and so you might expect a series of new reports on how the GSE situation will play out. We here at "The Greek" expect Fannie (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie (NYSE: FRE) to work their way toward zero, despite last week's government chicanery. We expect you'll see a few essays saying something like that this week. Remember that Ackman fellow who all the Ambak (NYSE: ABK) and MBIA (NYSE: MBI) longs loved to hate a few months ago, since he had that long-held short view on the two insurers and a report to back it. I wonder what he's up to...

The Week Ahead

Without question, the week's direction should be dictated by the heavy flow of earnings reports from major companies across all industry sectors. The relatively quiet economic schedule includes a tasty stew of economic metrics, measures of confidence and housing data.

Monday

If not for Iran's blatant statement of defiance over the weekend and our expectation for Wall Street news-making, we would have looked for a slow start to the week. On the economic slate, Leading Indicators for the month of June is expected to show a decline 0.1%. The forecasting metric had been on the rise over the prior three months. In other news, Japanese markets will be closed on Monday.

The busy earnings week starts off with news from American Express (NYSE: AXP), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Merck (NYSE: MRK), Roche (Nasdaq: RHHBY.PK), Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP), Aladdin Knowledge Systems (Nasdaq: ALDN), Albermarle (NYSE: ALB), America Movil (NYSE: AMX), Ametek (NYSE: AME), Amylin Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AMLN), Astec Industries (Nasdaq: ASTE), Badger Meter (NYSE: BMI), Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX), Canadian National Railway (NYSE: CNI), Ceragon Networks (Nasdaq: CRNT), Homex Development (NYSE: HXM), Dr. Reddy's (NYSE: RDY), Eagle Materials (NYSE: EXP), Equifax (NYSE: EFX), Everest Re (NYSE: RE), F.N.B. Corp. (NYSE: FNB), First Defiance Financial (Nasdaq: FDEF), Forward Air (Nasdaq: FWRD), Grupo Radio Centro (NYSE: RC), Hasbro (NYSE: HAS), Hercules (NYSE: HPC), Hifn, Inc. (Nasdaq: HIFN), IDEX (NYSE: IEX), IMS Health (NYSE: RX), Innovex (Nasdaq: INVX), Lacrosse Footwear (Nasdaq: BOOT), Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY), Lincare Holdings (Nasdaq: LNCR), Logitech Int'l (Nasdaq: LOGI), Mindspeed Technologies (Nasdaq: MSPDD), Mohawk Industries (NYSE: MHK), Omnicell (Nasdaq: OMCL), Packaging Corp. of America (NYSE: PKG), PetMed Express (Nasdaq: PETS), Premiere Global Services (NYSE: PGI), QLogic (Nasdaq: QLGC), Radcom (Nasdaq: RDCM), Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE: RGA), RPM Int'l (NYSE: RPM), S&T Bancorp (Nasdaq: STBA), SanDisk (Nasdaq: SNDK), Sierra Bancorp (Nasdaq: BSRR), Southwest Bancorp (Nasdaq: OKSB), StanCorp Financial (NYSE: SFG), Steel Dynamics (Nasdaq: STLD), Sun Bancorp (Nasdaq: SNBC), SunOpta (Nasdaq: STKL), Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), UnionBanCal (NYSE: UB), Volterra Semiconductor (Nasdaq: VLTR), Washington Federal (Nasdaq: WFSL), Washington Trust (Nasdaq: WASH), Weatherford Int'l (NYSE: WFT), Weis Markets (NYSE: WMK), West Coast Bancorp (Nasdaq: WCBO) and Woodward (Nasdaq: WGOV).

Tuesday

Not that there's any chance of a surprise or market impact from the news, but the State Street Investor Confidence Index will be reported anyway on Tuesday at 10:00 AM. In June, the metric actually ticked up a bit, to 81.4. Even so, we see little chance of upside surprise this month considering just how much risk stocks had priced in up until last Wednesday's turn.

The Treasury Secretary is getting more press coverage than Britney Spears these days, so one has to wonder how long until his world implodes. Wait a second, it already has, so I guess the only question left unanswered is if he's wearing panties or not! Reminder, we are a blog and therefore allowed to be funny and smart at the same time. Look for the Treasury Secretary's comments on the economy and markets at 8:00 AM ET. The fact that this is scheduled, and early, certainly implies another initiative might be in store. Considering the workload Paulson's had to carry over the past year, we give the man credit for enduring like a rock. Philadelphia Fed President Plosser, hawk extraordinaire, takes the hand-off for his own economic presentation at 8:30.

As Barack Obama heads westward, toward the Middle East from Afghanistan, back east, India's government has a hurdle to overcome. You read it here at "The Greek" first, when our Emerging Markets Asia columnist, Guneet Sahni, discussed the pending no confidence vote in his report, "Asian Growth Engines Face Challenges and Stiff Inflation." Guneet's Asian market takes can be found here at the start of each week. The most recent copy is on its way...

Look for the regular ICSC-UBS Weekly Same-Store Sales Report to begin to soften as government stimulus dwindles into the nothingness. The weekly retail take still managed 2.2% year-over-year growth last time around.

Morning EPS Reports

Tuesday's scheduled morning EPS reports include news from AK Steel (NYSE: AKS), Anixter Int'l (NYSE: AXE), Arbitron (NYSE: ARB), Autoliv (NYSE: ALV), Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY), Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI), Biogen Idec (Nasdaq: BIIB), BJ Services (NYSE: BJS), Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE: CP), CardioNet (Nasdaq: BEAT), Carlisle Cos. (NYSE: CSL), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Celanese (NYSE: CE), Centene (NYSE: CNC), Check Point Software (Nasdaq: CHKP), Chicago Mercantile Exchange (NYSE: CME), Corn Products (NYSE: CPO), Domino's (NYSE: DPZ), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB), First Security Group (Nasdaq: FSGI), Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX), Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), Frontier Financial (Nasdaq: FTBK), Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL), IberiaBank (Nasdaq: IBKC), ICON Plc (Nasdaq: ICLR), Imation (NYSE: IMN), Jacobs Engineering (NYSE: JEC), Journal Communications (NYSE: JRN), Kelly Services (Nasdaq: KELYA), Millicom Int'l (Nasdaq: MICC), Neogen (Nasdaq: NEOG), NVR (NYSE: NVR), Omnicom (NYSE: OMC), Pentair (NYSE: PNR), PepsiAmericas (NYSE: PAS), Precision Castparts (NYSE: PCP), Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), Rayonier (NYSE: RYN), Regions Financial (NYSE: RF), Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK), Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL), Sterling Bancshares (Nasdaq: SBIB), SunTrust (NYSE: STI), Supervalu (NYSE: SVU), LM Ericsson Telephone (Nasdaq: ERIC), Tellabs (Nasdaq: TLAB), The Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK), Trinity Biotech (Nasdaq: TRIB), UAL Corp. (Nasdaq: UAUA), United Parcels Service (NYSE: UPS), UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH), Wachovia (NYSE: WB), Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT), Webster Financial (NYSE: WBS), Western Union (NYSE: WU), Whitney Holding (Nasdaq: WTNY), Wilshire State Bank (Nasdaq: WIBC) and XTO Energy (NYSE: XTO).

Unknown or Afternoon EPS Reports

Tuesday's unknown and evening scheduled reports include Aaron Rents (NYSE: RNT), AEHR Test Systems (Nasdaq: AEHR), Amsurg (Nasdaq: AMSG), Anadigics (Nasdaq: ANAD), Anika Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ANIK), Arlington Tankers (NYSE: ATB), Axsys Technologies (Nasdaq: AXYS), Bank of Florida (Nasdaq: BOFL), Boston Private Financial (Nasdaq: BPFH), Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP), Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM), BTU Int'l (Nasdaq: BTUI), C.H. Robinson (Nasdaq: CHRW), Cadence Financial (Nasdaq: CADE), California Micro (Nasdaq: CAMD), Cascade Financial (Nasdaq: CASB), Cavalier Homes (NYSE: CAV), CEC Entertainment (NYSE: CEC), Cerner (Nasdaq: CERN), Commercial Vehicle Group (Nasdaq: CVGI), Computer Task Group (Nasdaq: CTGX), CSG Systems (Nasdaq: CSGS), Cybex Int'l (Nasdaq: CYBI), Delphi Financial (NYSE: DFG), Diamondrock Hospitality (NYSE: DRH), DST Systems (NYSE: DST), Dynex Capital (NYSE: DX), E*Trade Financial (Nasdaq: ETFC), Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW), EPIQ Systems (Nasdaq: EPIQ), First Busey Corp. (Nasdaq: BUSE), First Cash (Nasdaq: FCFS), First Place Financial (Nasdaq: FPFC), Frequency Electronics (Nasdaq: FEIM), Fulton Financial (Nasdaq: FULT), Gentex (Nasdaq: GNTX), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), Hancock Holding (Nasdaq: HBHC), Harrington West Financial (Nasdaq: HWFG), HealthStream (Nasdaq: HSTM), Heritage Financial (Nasdaq: HFWA), Horizon Financial (Nasdaq: HRZB), iBasis (Nasdaq: IBAS), Illumina (Nasdaq: ILMN), Independent Bank (Nasdaq: IBCP), Infera Corp. (Nasdaq: INFN), Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq: ISRG), Jefferies Group (NYSE: JEF), JetBlue (Nasdaq: JBLU), KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), KVH Industries (Nasdaq: KVHI), Lexmark (NYSE: LXK), Linear Tech (Nasdaq: LLTC), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), LogicVision (Nasdaq: LGVN), Manhattan Associates (Nasdaq: MANH), Methanex (Nasdaq: MEOH), Midwest Banc (Nasdaq: MBHI), Montpelier Re (NYSE: MRH), Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR), Nanophase Technology (Nasdaq: NANX), Nara Bancorp (Nasdaq: NARA), Ninetowns Internet (Nasdaq: NINE), Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC), O'Reilly Automotive (Nasdaq: ORLY), OptionsXpress (Nasdaq: OXPS), PACCAR (Nasdaq: PCAR), Pactiv (NYSE: PTV), Panera Bread (Nasdaq: PNRA), Parametric Tech (Nasdaq: PMTC), Pervasive Software (Nasdaq: PVSW), Pharmaceutical Product Development (Nasdaq: PPDI), Phoenix Tech (Nasdaq: PTEC), Plantronics (NYSE: PLT), Platinum Underwriters (NYSE: PTP), Preferred Bank (Nasdaq: PFBC), Raymond James (NYSE: RJF), SeaBright Insurance (Nasdaq: SEAB), Seattle Genetics (Nasdaq: SGEN), Sigma-Aldrich (Nasdaq: SIAL), Sterling Financial (Nasdaq: STSA), STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), Supertex (Nasdaq: SUPX), Telefonos de Mexico (NYSE: TMX), Tessco (Nasdaq: TESS), The South Fin'l Group (Nasdaq: TSFG), Trustmark (Nasdaq: TRMK), USANA Health (Nasdaq: USNA), USG (NYSE: USG), VMWare (NYSE: VMW), Vocus (Nasdaq: VOCS), Wabtech (NYSE: WAB), Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM), Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN), Waste Services (Nasdaq: WSII), Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), Zenith National Insurance (NYSE: ZNT) and Zhone Technologies (Nasdaq: ZHNE).

Wednesday

Wednesday's regular economic reports should be interesting this week. The Petroleum Status Report, for one, did an about face last week, as the EIA noted a build in inventory of 3 million barrels. This did not go unnoticed, and when taken with the fact that Chinese GDP growth had cooled more than was expected, it drove oil prices down by 11.2%. Needless to say, commodity traders will be looking for follow through to confirm tangible demand destruction.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's will report its Purchase Applications Report on schedule Wednesday morning. Last week's seasonally adjusted data, adjusting for the holiday in the week before, showed only a modest increase in activity despite a significant drop in long-term rates.

The Federal Reserve will publish its Beige Book of regional economic activity at 2:00 PM ET. It will offer insight into a specific geographic segment of the United States, but the variation in regional economies has diminished as the broader economy slips deeper into decline. Congress is set to vote on a housing market bill that should help to sure up the GSEs a bit by giving them access to cheaper capital.

In New York City, the United Nations is holding an international conference on water, a commodity that might prove more important and scarce than oil soon enough, especially if Al Gore is right. Be sure to see the video of him in our weekly videos.

Due to the number of EPS reports, we will not list all earnings here. Look for each day's full schedule in our "Premarket Report." Some of the day's reports include Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL), Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE: AEM), Airgas (NYSE: ARG), Alcon (NYSE: ACL), Allegheny Tech (NYSE: ATI), Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN), Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), Ameriprise Fin'l (NYSE: AMP), Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD), Ariba (Nasdaq: ARBA), AT&T (NYSE: T), ATMI (Nasdaq: ATMI), Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), C.R. Bard (NYSE: BCR), Cabot (NYSE: CBT), Cadence Design Systems (Nasdaq: CDNS), CEMEX (NYSE: CX), CEVA (Nasdaq: CEVA), Charlotte Russe (Nasdaq: CHIC), Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG), Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq: CRUS), Citrix Systems (Nasdaq: CTXS), Cobra Electronics (Nasdaq: COBR), Compuware (Nasdaq: CPWR), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Convergys (NYSE: CVG), Digi Int'l (Nasdaq: DIGI), DPL, Inc. (NYSE: DPL), EMC (NYSE: EMC), Energen (NYSE: EGN), Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH), Fair Isaac (NYSE: FIC), FBR Capital Markets (Nasdaq: FBCM), General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), Genzyme (Nasdaq: GENZ), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), Grammercy Capital (NYSE: GCC), GSI Commerce (Nasdaq: GSIC), Ikanos (Nasdaq: IKAN), JAKKS Pacific (Nasdaq: JAKK), LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI), Mattson Tech (Nasdaq: MTSN), McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), McKesson (NYSE: MCK), MEMC Electronics (NYSE: WFR), Nutrisystem (Nasdaq: NTRI), Nuvelo (Nasdaq: NUVO), OSI Pharma (Nasdaq: OSIP), P.F. Chang's China Bistro (Nasdaq: PFCB), Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU), PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Philip Morris (NYSE: PM), Praxair (NYSE: PX), Precision Drilling (NYSE: PDS), Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM), Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), Robert Half (NYSE: RHI), Ryland (NYSE: RYL), Sanmina-SCI (Nasdaq: SANM), SEI Investments (Nasdaq: SEIC), Sketchers (NYSE: SKX), Susquehanna Bancshares (Nasdaq: SUSQ), Teradyne (NYSE: TER), Terex (NYSE: TEX), Allstate (NYSE: ALL), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Hershey (NYSE: HSY), New York Times (NYSE: NYT), Travelers (NYSE: TRV), Torchmark (NYSE: TMK), Tractor Supply (Nasdaq: TSCO), Tupperware (NYSE: TUP), Varian Medical (NYSE: VAR), W.R. Grace (NYSE: GRA), WellPoint (NYSE: WLP), Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) and Wyeth (NYSE: WYE).

Thursday

Thursday's economic headliner should be the Existing Home Sales Report for the month of June. The 10:00 AM release is expected to show that the annual rate of home sales fell further, to 4.94 million, from 4.99 million in May. Even so, the pace of sales in the largest portion of the housing market would still be above the 4.89 million low seen in January and April of this year. Stay tuned to "The Greek" for Michael Douville's upcoming piece on the real estate market. Look for it on Tuesday afternoon.

Weekly Initial Jobless Claims are seen measuring 375K, versus 366K last week. Claims have ranged from as low as 348K to 404K in recent weeks, portending a further increase in the unemployment rate, which will be reported next week. New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner and SEC Chairman Christopher Cox are scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday; the topic of discussion... financial regulatory restructuring.

Brazil's oil workers' union is set to vote on a strike planned for August 5th. Even so, that must be less of a disaster than it would be in the States, given the nation's automotive fleet runs on ethanol. At 10:30, the EIA will report on natural gas inventories, which have been increasing. Natural gas futures trade at about $10.50 per MMBtu, not cheap, relatively speaking. Of course, the price of natural gas is impacted by the price of oil and a growing degree of substitution between the two.

Thursday's abbreviated earnings schedule includes reports from 3M (NYSE: MMM), Abaxis (Nasdaq: ABAX), affymetrix (Nasdaq: AFFX), Alaska Airlines (NYSE: ALK), AmeriSourceBergen (NYSE: ABC), Arctic Cat (Nasdaq: ACAT), Ashland (NYSE: ASH), AutoNation (NYSE: AN), Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL), Becton, Dickinson (NYSE: BDX), BMC Software (NYSE: BMC), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), Brunswick (NYSE: BC), Burlington Northern Sante Fe (NYSE: BNI), Cabot Oil and Gas (NYSE: COG), Cache (Nasdaq: CACH), Cash America Int'l (NYSE: CSH), Celgene (Nasdaq: CELG), Chubb (NYSE: CB), Cohu (Nasdaq: COHU), Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS), Daimler (NYSE: DAI), Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO), Dover Motorsports (NYSE: DVD), DSP Group (Nasdaq: DSPG), East West Bancorp (Nasdaq: EWBC), Eastman Chemical (NYSE: EMN), Ecolab (NYSE: ECL), Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), Encana (NYSE: ECA), Federal-Mogul (Nasdaq: FDML), Federated Investors (NYSE: FII), Ford Motor (NYSE: F), Foundry Networks (Nasdaq: FDRY), Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN), Friedman Billings Ramsey (NYSE: FBR), Global Payments (NYSE: GPN), Goodrich (NYSE: GR), ImClone (Nasdaq: IMCL), J&J Snack Foods (Nasdaq: JJSF), Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS), Juniper Networks (Nasdaq: JNPR), Kennametal (NYSE: KMT), Kimberly Clark (NYSE: KMB), Lab Corp. (NYSE: LH), Level 3 Communications (Nasdaq: LVLT), Mathews Int'l (Nasdaq: MATW), Medco Health (NYSE: MHS), National City (NYSE: NCC), Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM), Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), Penn National Gaming (Nasdaq: PENN), Pool Corp. (Nasdaq: POOL), Potash Corp. (NYSE: POT), RadioShack (NYSE: RSH), Raytheon (NYSE: RTN), Smith Int'l (NYSE: SII), Taser Int'l (Nasdaq: TASR), The Cheesecake Factory (Nasdaq: CAKE), Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW), Travelzoo (Nasdaq: TZOO), UST (NYSE: UST), VCA Antech (Nasdaq: WOOF), Xerox (NYSE: XRX) and Zebra Technologies (Nasdaq: ZBRA).

Friday

Durable Goods Orders (June) are expected to have decreased 0.4%, according to Bloomberg's consensus of economists. While we discount the relevance of inventory data here at "The Greek," we take order activity soberly. June's results will compare against no change posted in May and a 0.5% decline in April. Signs continue to point toward second half recession.

The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment take is expected to read 56.4, the same as the prior month level. New Home Sales, that smaller portion of the housing market, is seen running at an annual pace of 505K in June, versus 512K in May. If the consensus forecast proves true, new home sales will have reached a new bottom.

Friday's earnings news includes reports from Active Power (Nasdaq: ACPW), Advantest (NYSE: ATE), Alexander & Baldwin (Nasdaq: ALEX), American Axel & Manufacturing (NYSE: AXL), Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI), Barnes Group (NYSE: B), Beckman Coulter (NYSE: BEC), Belo (NYSE: BLC), Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK), Ceradyne (Nasdaq: CRDN), CNA Surety (NYSE: SUR), Coventry Health (NYSE: CVH), Federal Signal (NYSE: FSS), Fortune Brands (NYSE: FO), Frischs Restaurants (NYSE: FRS), Gorman-Rupp (NYSE: GRC), Honda Motor (NYSE: HMC), Horizon Lines (NYSE: HRZ), Idexx Labs (Nasdaq: IDXX), Infineon Tech (NYSE: IFX), ITT Corp. (NYSE: ITT), KT Corp. (NYSE: KTC), Lance (Nasdaq: LNCE), Legg Mason (NYSE: LM), MB Financial (Nasdaq: MBFI), Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), NuStar Energy (NYSE: NS), NW Natural (NYSE: NWN), Philadelphia Consolidated (Nasdaq: PHLY), Republic Services (NYSE: RSG), Saia (Nasdaq: SAIA), Sierra Pacific (NYSE: SRP), Standard Register (NYSE: SR), T. Rowe Price (Nasdaq: TROW) and Viad Corp. (NYSE: VVI).

Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website. Article also interests AMEX: SPY, AMEX: DIA, AMEX: QLD, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SDS, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX.

Weekly Videos of Interest - July 14 - 21

Welcome back for another great copy of Week in Video Review. We expect you'll have a great time viewing the more than 50 videos we've compiled for you. They include, as usual, business news, political happenings, world events, feel good stories and comedy baby, yeah! If you do not see the video here, then you have to visit the Wall Street Greek website baby. I promise it will hurt less than pulling teeth.



As always, the opinions expressed within the videos may not agree with the view of Wall Street Greek. Article interests the greater world and AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

Week in Review: Government Sponsored Destruction

This week's issue of "Week in Review" focuses on the dramatic unwinding of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and how, ironically, positive financial sector news acted as catalyst for market turn by mid-week.

By "The Greek"

The week that was... was a tale of two tapes. The five-day drama began in a state of complete chaos inherited from the prior week's close, as investors and economic controllers contemplated the potential demise of the mortgage market as we know it. A mass exodus from the shares of Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) illustrated in living color the reason why the GSEs should never have been private entities in the first place. The shares enjoyed an unnatural premium over the years, as the term "government sponsored" was misinterpreted as "indestructible" by equity investors.

"Fannie and Freddie shares enjoyed an unnatural premium over the years, as the term "government sponsored" was misinterpreted as "indestructible" by equity investors."

Fannie's shares ranged wildly this week from $6.82 to $13.99, and have depreciated in value by 31% in July alone. The same goes for Freddie, whose investors have born a 44% value decimation this month. However, even as the free world held its collective breath through the Congressional testimonies of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, a caped crusader swiftly answered the market's call for help.

It wasn't Batman who saved the day though, but Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC). Wells single-handedly pulled the market up and out of its doldrums on Wednesday thanks to its surprisingly strong earnings report. Make no mistake about it; the event was as powerful a catalyst for upside as any GSE catastrophe might have been (and may yet be) for the downside.

The market ran with the good news! Financial sector stocks like Citigroup (NYSE: C), which also did less worse than expected this quarter, regained some investor confidence after their values had overcompensated for risk. The market retained its new found favor, despite a blunt blow taken from Tech Sector stalwarts Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), and we take this opportunity to remind you about our pre-earnings season article "Technology Stocks, Underweight Tech Now!." Heck, the haunting black cloud of the Hindenburg Omen would not even deter the market!

We told you earnings data would drive stocks last week, but it is our duty to remind you that the week also offered ominous inflation metrics. Both the Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in hot for June, by our interpretation. However, inflation concerns were quelled by oil and its backtracking to $128.50 per barrel (NYM August Contract). Energy conscious Americans benefited this week from a soft Chinese GDP report, an increase in our oil inventory and Iran's NOT launching any new missiles. Can you bear another I told you so? See our piece, "Oil Prices and Refiner Stocks;" it's very prescient if I do say so myself.

The Week Ahead (in brief... "The Greek's Week Ahead" is on tap)

The coming week's news flow should be dominated by corporate earnings reports, as the season gets into full swing. Please see our site, Market Moving News to keep up with each day's individual schedule. We'll note a handful of reports of interest here: Monday – American Express (NYSE: AXP), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Merck (NYSE: MRK); Tuesday – Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM), Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO); Wednesday – Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), McDonald's (NYSE: MCD); Thursday – Cash America Int'l (NYSE: CSH), Daimler (NYSE: DAI), Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), Encana (NYSE: ECA), Ford (NYSE: F), VCA Antech (Nasdaq: WOOF); Friday – Coventry Health (NYSE: CVH), Fortune Brands (NYSE: FO) and Honda Motor (NYSE: HMC).

The relatively quiet economic schedule includes the Leading Indicators Report for June on Monday; measures of confidence, the State Street Investor Confidence Index on Tuesday and University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment reading on Friday; Existing and New Home Sales for June on Thursday and Friday, respectively; and Durable Goods Orders on Friday.

Article also interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

Hindenburg Omen

By "The Greek,"

The mysterious and infamous Hindenburg Omen is signaling that the stock market might be due for one of those nasty crashes it experiences from time to time.

The Omen is a dark technical indicator of stock market strife to come. The crystal ball signaled trouble twice this past June… you remember June, the worst June in 78 years… In the last 25 years in fact, no market crash has occurred without a signal from the Omen. But, it has flashed more often than just before market nastiness, so it’s not the end-all tell-all forecaster either.

In any event, the alarm is triggered when a significant number of NYSE stocks are marking new highs and lows at the same time. I have a theory of my own for why this is relevant, and how it may interrelate with the eventual catalyst that brings about sudden market death.

"Capital, you see, is a pig, and even in tough times, it finds something to eat."

Capital, you see, is a pig, and even in tough times, it finds something to eat. When the broader market is marking new lows, why else would a significant number of stocks also reach new highs? The answer is because of capital flows.

Capital finds profit, and drives pockets of valuation bubbles, even in broad market decline. In fact, during a period of broader decline, there are fewer places to hide, so to speak, and so capital amasses atop the times’ handful of success stories. This creates an unnatural bubble in a small segment of stocks. So, I expect that when that middle class of stocks disappears, as is the case today, and capital is amassed in a few names, perhaps the market demands reversion.

Capitulation

Capitulation occurs when the broader market gives up on stocks altogether. In a scenario like that defined by the Omen, a catalyst-event could (and often does) leave money believing no equity investment were safe, leading capital out of the few inflated names that were hitting new highs. These questionably valued winners could deflate in a hurry in that case.

The newly dislocated capital flowing out of those stocks is not likely to reallocate to the already bloodied names of the street either. In fact, stubborn long-term holders of losing shares typically give in as well, and so capitulation is related with market bottoms. These exacerbated sell-offs leave stocks bone dry of capital, and almost always as cheap as they get.

We hope we have demystified the Hindenburg Omen a bit for you, and perhaps presented a reasonable case for why the dark predictor is so effective.

Article interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: DOG, NYSE: NYX, Nasdaq: QQQQ, AMEX: QLD, NYSE: FNM, NYSE: FRE, NYSE: WFC, NYSE: BAC, Nasdaq: ETRUX, Nasdaq: IIRLX, Nasdaq: IIRMX, Nasdaq: IIRSX, AMEX: BJW, AMEX: REK, AMEX: MSU. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

Russia, Iran and Intelligence Sharing

By Yal - Reporter, Middle Eastern Affairs

There are reports that Russian advisers have analyzed the significant Israeli air force drill that was performed over the Eastern Mediterranean more than two weeks ago.

Israel leaked news of the drill, in which Israeli Air Force jets flew all the way to Greece and covered a similar distance to that which would be necessary to reach Iran from Israel. However, a leak was not really needed, as every air force and intelligence operation in the area was following the drill. Egyptian President Mubarak even joked about it to an Israeli TV crew during an interview. He said, "It looked as if you had concurred half of the Mediterranean."

It is believed that Russian analysis indicates the drill was in fact a major operation of disinformation by Israel. The Russians combined uses of radar and listening posts to study signal intelligence of every word and radar signature that was emitted from all Israeli planes, and their conclusion was reportedly given to Iran.

I believe it read like this: Israel is bluffing to make it appear as if the attack would be coming from Turkey. There are rumors that the recent Israeli attack on the Syrian reactor (Sep 2007) also involved deception. For example, we note the recent discovery of extra fuel tanks marked in Hebrew from IAF planes; these were found on Turkish soil as if they had been jettisoned from the Israeli planes during a detour over Turkey into Syria. The Russians have concluded that this means an Israeli attack would be coming from over Iraq and not from Turkey. I expect the Russians transmitted this information to the Iranians.

Additional reports are asserting that the Russians are helping Iran shore up it's AA systems. Yet, one has to wonder if Russia and Iran are really on the same side here. After all, Iran is believed to be behind much of the Islamic revolt in many of Russia's controlled areas of the Caucuses. Also, if Iran is taken out of the world oil supply picture, Russia would be the biggest benefactor with access to all of Asia including China.

When oil prices drop, like over the last two days in a row, Wall Street needs to remember that the looming Israeli-Iran war is still a very real likelihood. Iran wants to have nukes and Israel is determined not to allow the inaction of others to again place the Jewish people into grave danger…..

Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website. Article interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, Nasdaq: AMDEX, Nasdaq: AMDAX, Nasdaq: XISLX, Nasdaq: AMDCX, Nasdaq: TRMAX, Nasdaq: TRIAX, AMEX: GAF.

Middle Eastern Affairs, by Yal

Special Reporter - Middle Eastern Affairs

"Yal" reports to Wall Street Greek readers from an undisclosed location in the Middle East. Due to the sensitivity of the information Yal will share with our readers, and their often discreet source of origination, our reporter will remain anonymous.

Yal admits that much of the information he shares with our readers will be of rumor source, and should not always be taken as solid fact, but sometimes as possibility. Yal is on the ground in the hot bed of today's geopolitical focus and therefore has unique access to information our readers might not necessarily otherwise see.

Wall Street Greek has developed a relationship with Yal over the past few years, and we view his special insight important to today's geo-sensitive marketplace.

Yal's Intelligence Reports:

• Dispelling Kuwaiti Alert Rumor
  
• Russia, Iran and Intelligence Sharing

Full Disclosure: "Yal", whose identity is known to Wall Street Greek, has agreed to Wall Street Greek policy to not author articles about securities he personally owns. In the event of a special case, he will make full disclosure of ownership interest. The work of contributors to Wall Street Greek is their own, and may not necessarily agree with the opinion of the site or its founder, and does not constitute financial advice. Please see our full disclosure at the site (Wall Street Greek).

Asian Growth Engines Face Challenges and Stiff Inflation

By Guneet Singh Sahni

Starting now and on a weekly basis, we will provide you with our expert analysis on the Asian markets and economy. Look for these reports each Sunday or Monday.


Asian Markets

The past week, ended July 11, saw mixed closings among top Asian indices. Inflation continued to be a major challenge for most of the Asian countries including India, Japan and China.

The world's two fastest growing economies - China and India, the growth engine for the global economy, seem to have hit an impediment in their growth momentum, with both the economies facing tough macro economic challenges. India and China, which were among the world's best performing stock markets throughout 2007, have suddenly become two of the worst performing.

The market now fears of a slowdown for the two. Soaring crude oil and commodity prices, which have more than doubled, continue to put pressure on all major oil consuming economies. Japan's wholesale inflation rate has risen to a 27-year high of 5.6% in June, while India's WPI inflation has touched a 13-year high of 11.89%. The government has been trying to keep a balance between inflation and growth rates. Just the same, the markets will keep a close watch on how central banks for the Asian powerhouses manage the trade-off between rising inflation and slowing growth.

Commenting on the last trading week, Asian markets snapped a four-week loss on the last day. This came on reports that the U.S. government will prevent the collapse of Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE). China's CSI 300 Index gained 7.7% last week, snapping a seven-week losing streak, while India’s benchmark BSE Sensex closed flat, ending its seventh straight weekly loss.

India Equity Market Briefing

Slow industrial growth and persistent high Inflation make the outlook for the Indian market weak, in my opinion. The Indian market barometer, the BSE Sensex Index, recorded a slight increase of 15 points, or 0.1%, to end at 13,469 for the week ended Friday, July 11, 2008. The last trading day of the week offered a fall of 456 points, or 3.3%, on the back of slowing industrial growth output of 3.8% Y/Y, and against 10.6% growth from a year ago.

The fall was supported by inflation touching a 13-year high of 11.89%, against an expectation of 11.75%. Crude oil has also breached its all-time high of $146 per barrel, which we expect will prove a dampener for the Asian markets. BSE Sensex had earlier in the week made a recovery of 614 points or 4.6%, which was supported by strong global cues. However, it gave away all its gains by the end of the week. With inflation rising, we believe any possibility of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) softening monetary policy to boost sagging industrial output can be ruled out. The RBI is now facing a policy dilemma, which questions by how much should it worry about the slowdown in industrial growth, and how much the strength of inflation?

Industrial Output Grows Slowest in Six Years

India's industrial output for the month of May slowed down sharply to a rate of 3.8%, as compared to 10.6% a year ago, and against the consensus estimate of 6.7%. This is the slowest pace in more than six years.

Manufacturing output, which accounts for nearly four-fifths of the total weight of the Index of Industrial Production, grew 3.9% in May, as against 6.7% in April and 11.3% a year ago. Within manufacturing, output of capital goods grew 2.5% and consumer durables 4.4%. In May, electricity generation and mining output grew 2.0% and 5.2%, respectively.

India's industrial output during Apr-May, the first two months of the new financial year, grew 5.0% compared with 10.9% in the year ago period. Standard & Poor's said it may cut the nation's credit rating to junk if the economy deteriorates further. The risk of a credit downgrade comes just 18 months after India was lifted to the "investment" category by S&P for the first time since 2002.

Inflation at a 13-year high

We agree with the Reserve Bank of India estimate for WPI (Wholesale Price Index) inflation, which tracks changes in the cost of living on a weekly basis. RBI expects a further increase in WPI to a range of 12-13% in coming weeks, owing to high agricultural commodity prices and recent domestic oil price hike. The weakening rupee is also making imports costlier, another contributing factor to high inflation. With Government's foremost priority to tame inflation growth, the Indian economy is expected to make a relative trade off between inflation and growth. India's central bank, which meets on July 29 to review monetary policy, last month raised its benchmark interest rate twice to a six-year high of 8.5% and lifted its cash reserve ratio to 8.75%. The cash reserve action is meant to prevent money supply in the banking system from stoking inflation.

Growing political difficulty for the UPA Government over India-US nuclear deal

Hot inflation figures have been a major setback for the ruling UPA Government, which faces elections in six states this year and general elections next year. The UPA is already contending with slowing economic growth and waning popularity.

Adding to its woes, the government’s decision to go ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal has led to a loss of support from Left Part, one of its key allies. Consequently, the government will find difficulty in keeping its majority in the Indian Parliament, and it is expected to face a no confidence motion in the coming week. Higher prices have caused the ruling Congress party to lose elections in nine of eleven state polls since January 2007. The Government has set the fiscal deficit target at 2.5% of GDP. It has also spent $23 billion in Jan-March on food, fertilizer and oil subsidies in order to mitigate the impact of surging global costs of crude oil and other commodities.

The government, in a populist measure, has given a farm loan waiver of $17 billion over the last four months, and plans to raise salaries of 4 million civil servants in the sixth pay commission. These populist measures aimed to gain a foothold for the next election will make it difficult to meet fiscal deficit targets.

Japan equity market briefing

High Oil Prices Hurting Japan’s Economy

The world's second largest economy, which was in a state of deflation for years, is also not isolated from the Asian problem of burgeoning inflation on back of high crude oil and commodity prices. Japan's wholesale inflation rate rose to a 27-year high of 5.6% in June. However, Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and his six colleagues kept the overnight lending rate at 0.5% this week. Policy makers also reviewed their semi-annual outlook report, first published in April.

Consumer sentiment is at a six-year low, and corporate profits are expected to fall for the first time in seven years. The central bank lowered its assessment of consumer spending in all of Japan's nine regions in its quarterly regional economic report last week. As per the bank's Tankan survey, large cap companies expect profits to decline 7% in fiscal 2008, the first drop since the 2001 recession. A drop in corporate profits, the source for the economy's positive cycle, will definitely discourage companies from making new investment, raising wages or hiring more workers.

Price increases are spreading beyond energy and food to industries such as automakers, which have so far avoided charging more through cost cutting and improving productivity. Hino Motors Ltd. (OTC: HINOY.PK), Japan's largest maker of heavy trucks, and Nissan Diesel Motor Co. (OTC: NSNDF.PK) this month raised prices of vehicles for the first time in almost 17 years to absorb costs.

Japan's current-account surplus narrowed for a third month in May, as oil prices pushed up the import bill. The trade surplus shrank 5.9% to $18.7 billion. A stronger yen is also eroding the value of interest payments that Japanese investors earn abroad. This caused the income surplus to shrink for a second month.

Exports rose 4.2% in May from a year earlier, compared with 4.9% in April. Imports climbed 4%, compared with 13.4% in April. Japan imports virtually all of its oil. Japan's currency has gained about 14% in the past year against the dollar. A stronger local currency cuts the value of exports and interest on securities when repatriated.

China Equity Market Briefing

China's economy has slowed each quarter since expanding 11.9%, the fastest pace in 12 years, between April and June last year. Second-quarter gross domestic product is due to be announced July 17 after a 10.6% expansion in the first three months. Inflation accelerated to 8.1% in the first five months of the year, from 4.8% for all of 2007, posing a threat to economic stability as the nation prepares to host the Olympics next month. The CSI 300 Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares listed on China's two exchanges is already down 45% this year, making it one of the world's worst performing markets.

The Central Bank of China has instructed banks to set aside a record amount in reserve after raising interest rates six times last year. The yuan strengthened 0.36% last week to 6.8340 per dollar, as the Government has reaffirmed that the battle against inflation remains its top priority.

The strengthening of the yuan has helped lower import costs as oil prices reached record levels. It has also helped narrow a record trade surplus that has flooded the economy with cash. The June trade surplus narrowed 21% to $21.4 billion from a year earlier. In its efforts to tighten controls on speculative capital, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on July 2 that it will require exporters to deposit foreign-currency income, including prepayments, into designated bank accounts from July 14 before the currency regulator confirms authenticity of the revenue and allows it to be converted.

Consequently exporters are hurrying to repatriate earnings from overseas and convert the money to yuan before the start of the new rules. This boosted the demand for the local currency. China's export growth has slowed more than economists estimated in June, putting the government under pressure to cool yuan gains to protect manufacturers.

China's trade surplus narrowed as growth slowed in shipments to the U.S. and the European Union. Imports climbed 31% in June, after a 40% increase in May. The Bank of China said in a report that the yuan's gains will slow in the fourth quarter as policy makers rely more on interest rates and less on currency appreciation to cool prices.

Look for your next Asian market report early next week.

Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website. Article interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, Nasdaq: ASIA, Nasdaq: PRASX, AMEX: PUA, AMEX: NWD, Nasdaq: MEAFX, Nasdaq: EBASX, Nasdaq: EVASX, Nasdaq: MACSX, Nasdaq: MATFX, AMEX: CZJ.

Emerging Markets Asia, by Guneet Singh Sahni

Senior Analyst - Emerging Asian Markets, Specializing in India

Guneet Singh Sahni is a post graduate Management Degree holder from ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad, ranked as one of the top 10 business schools of India.

He started his career in KPMG and has been following the Indian equity market for the last five years. He is currently working for Adventity Research, tracking the Indian Defense & Infrastructure Sector. Adventity is the leading provider of fully integrated strategic services to a diverse global business community, including some of the world's top financial institutions and Global 1000 companies.

"Wall Street Greek is thrilled to fill what was a void in our global markets coverage with Mr. Sahni. "The Greek" is an enthusiast of individuals like Guneet, because they share his passion for the markets, strong work ethic, vision and they dare to dream big."

Sahni's Research Portfolio:

• China - Signs of a Collapsed Export Driven Growth Model
  
• Terror Strikes Mumbai - Economic Impact
• India Down but Not Out
• Asian Banks Weigh Lehman Exposure
  
• What Asia Should Learn from Wall Street's Crisis
• India's Economic Growth Falls Below 8%
• India Q2 Review - Reason for Rise
  
• Stagflation Grips Asian Economies
  
• Japan Market Strategy - Slipping Into Recession
  
• China Market Strategy - Chinese Stocks Collapse
  
• Indian Market Strategy - India Outperforms
  
• Asia - Weekly Strategy
  
• India Equity Market Briefing
  
• Asian Stocks Outperform
  
• Is China Ready for a Post Olympic Downturn?
  
• Indian Markets Show Confidence
  
• Asian Markets Briefing
  
• Asian Growth Engines Face Challenges and Stiff Inflation

Full Disclosure: Mr. Sahni has agreed to Wall Street Greek policy to not author articles about securities he personally owns or holds beneficial interest in. In the event of a special case, Guneet will make full disclosure of ownership interest. The work of contributors to Wall Street Greek is their own, and may not necessarily agree with the opinion of the site or its founder, and does not constitute financial advice. Please see our full disclosure at the site (Wall Street Greek).

This Week: Feds Slap Market's Fannie

We're halfway through July, the year and the baseball season. So, with the All-Star Game taking place this week, we thought it was ironic how the Feds slapped the market's fat Fannie (NYSE: FNM) concerns.

Despite Alcoa's EPS news last week, the current period welcomes the true start to earnings season, with a slew of regional banks reporting in a flurry of activity that peaks on Thursday. We have major reports to look forward to, including those from giants of American industry: Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and Google. Thus, earnings related data is more likely to drive the overall market through the period, but we are also anticipating critical inflation info so hold onto your caps, or your rear if you prefer...

Monday

Other than the market-settling press releases from the Federal Reserve, Treasury and SEC, there was no scheduled economic data on the slate for Monday. French markets were closed for Bastille Day, and workers at Brazil's Petrobras (NYSE: PZE) were set to strike.

While earnings season has officially begun, the reports will still be just trickling in for much of the week. Monday's schedule includes AMREP (NYSE: AXR), Associated Banc-Corp (Nasdaq: ASBC), Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE: ELS), Flagstar Bancorp (NYSE: FBC), Genentech (NYSE: DNA), M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB), Macatawa Bank (Nasdaq: MCBC), Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), Northern Financial (Nasdaq: NSFC), Novellus Systems (Nasdaq: NVLS), Ocean Power Technologies (Nasdaq: OPTT), PacWest Bancorp (Nasdaq: PACW), Peregrine Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PPHM), Qiao Xing Universal Telephone (Nasdaq: XING), Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG) and Stanley Furniture (Nasdaq: STLY).

Tuesday

Tuesday starts with a major announcement from the Far East. The Bank of Japan is seen holding its key interest rate steady, though Barron's reports it could adjust its economic forecast lower. The Bank of Canada is also scheduled to announce its key rate decision on Tuesday morning.

Not to be outdone by our friendly foreigners, and just one week after testifying before a House panel, Ben Bernanke is scheduled to testify before the Senate Banking panel on Tuesday. Be sure to see the testimony live via our stock market news website. Simply use the CSPAN link found on our site. In any event, it should be interesting to see how Bernanke tries to quell concerns about the GSEs, because the testy Congressmen are likely to ask. CSPAN might soon afford a second camera, considering all the interesting events they'll follow this week. Also on Tuesday, a House committee will mull over a recommendation that the Air Force hold new bidding on the $35 billion air tanker contract.

Besides the usual ICSC and Redbook consumer measures, Retail Sales will be reported for the month of June at 8:30 AM ET. Bloomberg's consensus of economists anticipates a 0.5% rise, and 1.0% increase when excluding ailing autos. Remember, we've seen clear benefit from stimulus distribution, so greater growth is possible on the ex-auto number. We doubt it would lift the market though, since the stimulus benefit is widely known and well-discounted.

The first of the week's two big inflation reports comes on Tuesday at 8:30 when the Producer Price Index is offered up for the month of June. Powered by energy price momentum, the economists' consensus sees a 1.4% monthly rise. Excluding food and energy, the consensus expects a still important 0.3% increase (index increased 0.2% in May and 0.4% in April). We've seen enough anecdotal evidence of price hiking to begin to anticipate hotter measurements from the PPI and CPI core figures.

We'll be curious to see if manufacturing deteriorated further in July, after worse than expected Northeastern measurements last month. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey is due, and economists are looking for a reading of -7.0 in the New York area General Business Conditions Index. That's not far off from last month's take at negative 8.7.

At 10:00 AM, Business Inventories are expected to show a 0.4% increase in May, versus an April rise of 0.5%. Finally, OPEC will make its regular monthly report on the state of the oil market; this comes a week after it posted its 2008 Outlook, which was a monster of a report by the way.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) will address investors on Tuesday. The day's earnings schedule includes Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), State Street (NYSE: STT), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB), VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC), ADTRAN (Nasdaq: ADTN), Altera (Nasdaq: ALTR), AmeriServ Financial (Nasdaq: ASRV), BOK Financial (Nasdaq: BOKF), Cintas (Nasdaq: CTAS), Consumer Portfolio Services (Nasdaq: CPSS), CoStar Group (Nasdaq: CSGP), Christalerias de Chile S.A. (AMEX: CGW), CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX), Dearborn Bancorp (Nasdaq: DEAR), Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN), First Mariner (Nasdaq: FMAR), JB Hunt (Nasdaq: JBHT), Joe's Jeans (Nasdaq: JOEZ), Palm Harbor Homes (Nasdaq: PHHM), Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII), Renaissance Learning (Nasdaq: RLRN), Renasant Corp. (Nasdaq: RNST), RLI Corp. (NYSE: RLI), Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX), Spansion (Nasdaq: SPSN), Suffolk Bancorp (Nasdaq: SUBK), Tanzanian Royalty Exploration (AMEX: TRE), W.W. Grainger (NYSE: GWW), Trustco Bank (Nasdaq: TRST) and Westamerica Bancorporation (Nasdaq: WABC).

Wednesday

The week's hump day also marks the month's this time around. At 8:30, the world and then some will be attentively awaiting the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for June. We expect price increases are trickling through while they can, but if and when the stimulus runs dry, the restaurant/retail sector could turn into a barren wasteland. Many economists are looking for that demand deterioration to help ease inflation. However, inflation would dissipate at the cost of American industry, especially in the consumer sector.

Yours truly ate at P.F. Chang's (Nasdaq: PFCB) this past weekend, a stock I initiated into coverage shortly after its IPO. We noted the usual lines outside the door. In a couple months though, we expect restaurant lines could be replaced by queues waiters outside local unemployment offices. In any event, consumer prices are expected to jump 0.8% due to the rise in energy. Excluding that so-called phantom factor (energy), and food as well, prices are expected to increase just 0.2%, which compares to the 0.2% rise in May. And oh by the way, we're not in the camp that expects the economic cooling to stop inflation, at least not as far as food and energy are concerned, though it should have that effect under normal conditions. This is too big a topic for brief mention alone here. We'll try to do something with this in the near future.

The Housing Market Index touched a new low of 18 when last checked, and we're not expecting much better this month. The Mortgage Bankers Association issues its regular Purchase Applications Report in the early AM, and at 9:00, look for the Treasury International Capital Report to be released. The TIC data tracks the flow of foreign investments in long-term U.S. securities. Last month, the report showed an increase of $115.1 billion.

Industrial Production follows at 9:15, with expectations set to see no change in production, and capacity utilization deteriorate a tenth of a percentage point to 79.3%. Last month's measurement of utilization fell short of expectations, and it has continued to deteriorate throughout the year... as would be expected.

Ben Bernanke will spend his Wednesday testifying to the House in what has already been an exhaustive week for the poor fellow. The Fed will issue its June meeting minutes later in the day. Rounding out an especially busy schedule for the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, Kansas City Fed President Hoenig is scheduled to address general economic topics before an audience.

In a topic currently relevant to yours truly, an FDA panel is reviewing a pneumonia drug that has been in the works at Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). Overseas, the Bank of Thailand is expected to raise its key rate. Finally, the EIA issues its regular Petroleum Status Report...oh by the way, the report has been posting drastic draws from inventory of late. However, the market is much more concerned about Iran, or it seems it would otherwise take some profits in oil.

Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) will report on its quarterly output and Fluor (NYSE: FLR) is scheduled to split 2-for-1. Wednesday's earnings schedule includes Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), Delta Airlines (NYSE: DAL), eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), Alliance Data (NYSE: ADS), AMB Properties (NYSE: AMB), AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), ASML Holdings (Nasdaq: ASML), Astoria Financial (NYSE: AF), Cavium Networks (Nasdaq: CAVM), Crown Holdings (NYSE: CCK), Datalink (Nasdaq: DTLK), Exponent (Nasdaq: EXPO), First Midwest Bancorp (Nasdaq: FMBI), Gannett (NYSE: GCI), Hoku Scientific (Nasdaq: HOKU), Host Hotels and Resorts (NYSE: HST), Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP), Kinder Morgan Management (NYSE: KMR), Landstar System (Nasdaq: LSTR), Lufkin Industries (Nasdaq: LUFK), Marshall & Ilsley (NYSE: MI), MEDTOX Scientific (Nasdaq: MTOX), Mercantile Bank (Nasdaq: MBWM), National Penn Bancshares (Nasdaq: NPBC), Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS), Piper Jafray (NYSE: PJC), Polycom (Nasdaq: PLCM), Resources Global Professionals (Nasdaq: RECN), Rurban Financial (Nasdaq: RBNF), S.Y. Bancorp (Nasdaq: SYBT), Saba Software (Nasdaq: SABA), St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ), Texas Capital Bancshares (Nasdaq: TCBI), TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI), United Community Financial (Nasdaq: UCFC), United Security Bancshares (Nasdaq: UBFO), Universal Forest Products (Nasdaq: UFPI), Valley National Bancorp (NYSE: VLY) and Xilinx (Nasdaq: XLNX).

Thursday

Two important economic reports are scheduled for the pre-market on Thursday. Look for the regular Weekly Initial Jobless Claims data from the Labor Department. Economists are generally looking for an up-tick to a level in between last week's 346K and the prior week's 404K, with consensus at 378K this time around.

Also at 8:30, June Housing Starts are expected to fall to an annual rate of 960K, from 975K in May. Barron's cover story this past weekend was entitled "Home Prices are about to Bottom." We'll let you know what we think about the story after we read it on the train Tuesday.

At 10:00, look for the Philadelphia Federal Reserve to issue its survey, with economists expecting the General Business Conditions Index to show a negative 17.0, compared to -17.1 last time out.

We'll be back to CSPAN to catch a Senate investigative panel, as it examines the very interesting topic of offshore tax havens on Thursday. We have more than a few friends who will be attuned to that particular meeting. Speaking of offshore issues, China is scheduled to issue several economic statistics for the month of June, not to mention its Q2 GDP data. The world's central bankers and oil traders will be a spot interested in that news. Regarding energy, the EIA posts its regular Natural Gas Report at 10:30. Last week, the group noted a build in inventory.

Thursday's earnings schedule includes Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO), A.O. Smith (NYSE: AOS), Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), AMCORE Financial (Nasdaq: AMFI), American River Bankshares (Nasdaq: AMRB), Amphenol (NYSE: APH), AptarGroup (NYSE: ATR), Avocent (Nasdaq: AVCT), BancFirst (Nasdaq: BANF), BancorpSouth (NYSE: BXS), Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK), Baxter Int'l (NYSE: BAX), BB&T (NYSE: BBT), Berkshire Hills (Nasdaq: BHLB), BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), Brookline Bancorp (Nasdaq: BRKL), Brown & Brown (NYSE: BRO), Calamos Asset Management (Nasdaq: CLMS), Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF), Champion Enterprises (NYSE: CHB), CIT Group (NYSE: CIT), Citizens Banking (Nasdaq: CRBC), Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE), Comerica (NYSE: CMA), Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL), Courier Corp (Nasdaq: CRRC), Cubist Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CBST), Cypress Semiconductor (NYSE: CY), Cytec Industries (NYSE: CYT), Danaher (NYSE: DHR), Enterprise Financial Services (Nasdaq: EFSC), Evergreen Solar (Nasdaq: ESLR), Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS), Fidelity Sourthern (Nasdaq: LION), First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE: FCF), First Financial Bankshares (Nasdaq: FFIN), First Financial Holdings (Nasdaq: FFCH), First Horizon National (NYSE: FHN), Flagstar Bancorp (NYSE: FBC), Genuine Parts (NYSE: GPC), Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD), Great Southern Bancorp (Nasdaq: GSBC), Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG), HNI Corp. (NYSE: HNI), Home Bancshares (Nasdaq: HOMB), Huntington Bancshares (Nasdaq: HBAN), ICU Medical (Nasdaq: ICUI), Illinois Toolworks (NYSE: ITW), Independent Bank (Nasdaq: INDB), Informatica (Nasdaq: INFA), Insteel Industries (Nasdaq: IIIN), International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM)...

...International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT), Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), Knoll Inc. (NYSE: KNL), Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG), MBT Financial (Nasdaq: MBTF), McMoRan Exploration (NYSE: MMR), Media General (NYSE: MEG), Meridian Biosciences (Nasdaq: VIVO), Methode Electronics (NYSE: MEI), MGIC Investment (NYSE: MTG), Mission West Properties (NYSE: MSW), Nash Finch (Nasdaq: NAFC), National Beverage (Nasdaq: FIZZ), New Oriental Education & Technology (NYSE: EDU), Nexen (NYSE: NXY), Nokia (NYSE: NOK), NovaGold Resources (AMEX: NG), Novartis (NYSE: NVS), Nucor (NYSE: NUE), Orbital Sciences (NYSE: ORB), Pacific Continental (Nasdaq: PCBK), People's United Financial (Nasdaq: PBCT), PMC-Sierra (Nasdaq: PMCS), PNC Financial (NYSE: PNC), PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG), Provident Bankshares (Nasdaq: PBKS), Reliance Steel (NYSE: RS), Safeway (NYSE: SWY), Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW), Simmons First National (Nasdaq: SFNC), Skyworks (Nasdaq: SWKS), Soapstone Networks (Nasdaq: SOAP), Sonoco Products (NYSE: SON), Stryker (NYSE: SYK), SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWR), TD Ameritrade (Nasdaq: AMTD), Tempur Pedic (NYSE: TPX), Textron (NYSE: TXT), Umpqua Holdings (Nasdaq: UMPQ), United Technologies (NYSE: UTX), USA Truck (Nasdaq: USAK), Valmont (NYSE: VMI), Virginia Commerce (Nasdaq: VCBI), Votorantim Celulose (NYSE: VCP), Winmark Corp. (Nasdaq: WINA) and Zions Bancorp (Nasdaq: ZION).

Friday

Economic data empty, Friday still offers investors little chance to catch their breath. Besides the very important earnings reports you see listed below, the world's media will be following Barack Obama as he sets forth on his foreign policy fine-tuning tour of Europe and the Middle East.

Friday's earnings close out with big-leaguers Citigroup (NYSE: C), Honeywell (NYSE: HON), Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB), Acme Unlimited (AMEX: ACU), Amcol Int'l (NYSE: ACO), Bridge Capital Holdings (Nasdaq: BBNK), Donegal Group (Nasdaq: DGICA), Gateway Financial (Nasdaq: GBTS), Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea (NYSE: GAP), Green Bankshares (Nasdaq: GRNB), iGate Corp. (Nasdaq: IGTE), LaBranche & Co. (NYSE: LAB), Manpower (NYSE: MAN), Mattel (NYSE: MAT), Old Second Bancorp (Nasdaq: OSBC), Overstock.com Inc. (Nasdaq: OSTK), Popular (Nasdaq: BPOP), Sensient Technologies (NYSE: SXT), Student Loan Corp. (NYSE: STU), Wilmington Trust (NYSE: WL) and Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT).

Baseball fans should take note that the first round of bidding for the Chicago Cubs is due on Friday. The team is currently owned by the Tribune.

Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website. Article also interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX.

Premarket: Feds Seek to Stabilize GSEs and Market

There's no rest for the weary, as the Federal government spent the weekend scrambling to stabilize the financial system and stock market.

With Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the financial system hanging in the balance, we were greeted this morning by a trio of press releases from the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and the SEC. It became immediately clear the Federal government has been scrambling to save the financial system, and avert perhaps a stock market crash.

Fed Action

The Federal Reserve Board quickly authorized Ben Bernanke to "bail out" the GSEs if necessary, so the financial backstop provided Bear Stearns is certainly there, no matter the consequence to the Fed's balance sheet nor the value of the dollar. As for Fannie (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie (NYSE: FRE) shareholders, well, the Treasury seems to have your interests in mind as well (see the next section).

Even so, Wall Street Greek believes this debacle is clear and unequivocal evidence that the GSEs should never have be private sector entities in the first place. The failure to recognize that in the past falls squarely on the shoulders of our government.

Treasury Department Hope and Prayer

The Treasure Department issued a release this morning as well. It offers a three part plan that includes the option for the Treasury to buy into the GSE shares. Paulson indicated that the entities should remain shareholder owned. We're guessing the government recognizes the heavy burden of taking these companies completely under government control; this is not Bear Stearns. At the same time, the government probably thinks it could turn a profit on its stock as the economy stabilizes. Let's face it, what this amounts to is government bailout of the shareholders of the GSEs, while saving the financial system. In any event, it's a necessity to avoid dire consequence.

SEC Blame Game

The Securities and Exchange Commission is coming down hard on traders who basically facilitate the spread of information for the better good of the market. However, we cannot argue that rumors helped to do in Bear Stearns (JP Morgan Chase NYSE: JPM), and have played a big role in some equity market activity.

Clearly, spreading false rumors for the sake of personal gain, while sending the financial markets into turmoil and potentially creating a catastrophic economic consequences cannot be tolerated. So, kudos for the government here... There's no excuse for this kind of selfish activity, but we warn, be careful not to step on the feet of American constitutional rights in the process.

What this Means for Trading Today

Well, if it works, it means the market will bounce sharply on the comfort that the government has got our backs. But, if investors and traders don't buy into the government's plea, based on concern that it is incapable of follow-through or that the consequences of the effort would be nearly as bad as the failure itself, then we're in for another tough one.

But, based on past successes and the naivete' of the community mindset, we expect the market will take comfort in these actions and look cautiously higher this morning. In the meanwhile, smart money is looking into just how bad things might get if the government has to follow through on its promises. Sovereign money is also paying attention, and we will for you as well.

Stock index futures indicate the market is comfortable with the actions and so expect a reversal of last week's panic, for now...

Article interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

Weekly Video Fun - 70 Plus Clips!

Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy! Relax, it's just a phase we're going through, not obsessive-compulsive disorder or anything crazy like that! Anyway, we've done it again, and way overdone it perhaps. There are some 70 plus videos to peruse through here, and due to some changes at youtube, and resulting glitches, some of these may be in there twice. We'll delete them as soon as youtube gets its act together (read when we figure out the new fangled technology), so for now, we have to ask you to simply fast forward your way through any repetition. Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Actually, we've already fixed the problem, but decided to keep the funny in the prelude...

For those of you who cannot see the video, you'll have to visit our website through the link found right here ---> Wall Street Greek.



As always, opinions expressed within videos may not agree with those of "The Greek." Article interests everyone and NYSE: NYX, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, Nasdaq: YHOO, Nasdaq: MSFT, Nasdaq: UAUA, NYSE: CAL, NYSE: LMT.

Wall Street Week in Review

By "The Greek"

With little economic catalyst last week, the market wandered until two disturbing potential catastrophic catalysts came to the fore.

The first was Iran. The former Persia tested more than a few missiles, and of all sorts. The tests included disturbing land-to-sea rocket launches over the Persian Gulf and missile firings with range enough to reach Israel. The United States then warned Iran that it should not underestimate the resolve nor capability of the Red, White and Blue to defend its ally. Finally, the Jerusalem Post reported that Israel had been staging practice flights over Iraqi territory, in preparation for an attack on Iran.

Needless to say, oil, which had given up sharp ground to start the week, recovered more than enough ground to actually enter into record territory on Friday before settling back. Last week, we discussed oil, the dollar and the central banks in an interesting article entitled ECB and Fed Manipulate the Dollar and Oil.

Finally, we would be remiss if we failed to mention the panic that occurred in the financial sector, specifically in Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) shares on Thursday and Friday. Concerns arose that the two might not be adequately capitalized, and might require government bailout. That sounds like salvation right? So why did the shares tank on Thursday and Friday then? That question shamefully befuddled more than a few talking heads.

Well, let’s simply look back to Bear Stearns (now under JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and how shareholders made out when that financial stalwart was “bailed out.” Bail out, you see, preserves the interrelated financial system, not the shareholders of the distressed firm. Needless to say, with all the disturbing news flow, the Dow Jones Industrials, which entered bear market territory (marked by 20% decline from peak) the prior week, shed another 1.7% last week.

Week Ahead in Brief (The Greek's Week Ahead is pending)

The coming week offers June Retail Sales, important inflation data in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), FOMC Meeting Minutes that might offer insight into the Fed’s mindset and finally regional manufacturing reports. Also, earnings season gets a little heavier, with news originating from many companies, including: Tuesday – Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB); Wednesday – Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM); Thursday – Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER); Friday – Citigroup (NYSE: C) and Honeywell (NYSE: HON).

Article interests AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: QLD, NYSE: NYX, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SDS, Nasdaq: QQQQ. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

Australian Real Estate Follows American

By Michael Douville

Real Estate in many global neighborhoods is adjusting to the imbalances of supply and demand as well as the end of loose money. The correction in the property market that America is currently experiencing is and will be felt elsewhere as well. Maintaining current prices will be difficult in the face of higher interest rates, more stringent loan requirements, and a slowing in the business cycle. Appreciation is sure to slow dramatically. In fact, prices may fall like in the States.

In Australia, the process of topping is underway. First there was the mania and rush to accumulate property, knowing of course that today's price is much lower than tomorrow's. Easy money and rapid appreciation were at hand!

Then came the rise in rates (9.6% today) and slowing of demand. This brought the realization that prices are not continuing their ascent, and that negative cash flows can far exceed expected capital gains. As a result, discretionary cash is at first diverted to pay negative cash flows; then savings are used; then loans are renegotiated; and then finally losses are taken to end the bleeding either by the owner or the lender.

This phase is typified by the accumulation of homes for sale and an increasing length of time they spend on the market... the threshold of demand destruction. Real Estate Brokers are complaining that inquiry calls are down over 50% and buyers are not committing. Currently homes are beginning to accumulate with some neighborhoods having multiple signs on every block. Some communities are experiencing slight deterioration of price, down 3% to 5%, another confirmation of topping.

Affordability is a huge problem. While visiting Australia, I have observed California pricing without California wages. Values can be sustained only if a buyer can qualify for a loan and make the payments, as often times, it is not "how much" that matters, but how much a month...

Loan rates and values will need to be adjusted; today's market buyer cannot sustain current prices. Australia, like the U.S., has enjoyed an unprecedented period of growth and many business people have never experienced a downturn. The economy is very good and the resource sector is booming.

When the global downturn reaches Australia, the commodity bubble should implode. The Australian dollar which is almost at par with the US Dollar would likely then experience a sharp decline. The Australian Real Estate market should follow.

I believe the strategy to employ now is to sell Australian property holdings and purchase properties in the US that have already experienced the correction. The U.S. target properties should be discounted and probably lender owned. I would purchase with strong Australian dollars, leverage with fixed rates, and plan to sell in 5 years depending on circumstances at that time. This strategy is geared to capture good gains in Australia; use strong AUS dollars to buy discounted U.S. properties; wait for the recovery in the US and the resulting strength in US dollars; sell and start the cycle over again in Australia.

The Australian consumer is stretched: food prices are up 20%; fuel is $6-7 a gallon; mortgage rates are 9-9.6%; and home prices are near historical highs. It is difficult to imagine further price appreciation in the Australian property market. Thus, downside risk to this investment paring, involving going long U.S. distressed property and selling the still rich Australian real estate market, should be limited.

Article interests AMEX: IAF, Nasdaq: XIAFX, Nasdaq: CNZLX, PCX: EWA, PCX: FXA, AMEX: SRS, Nasdaq: JRECX, Nasdaq: TAREX, NYSE: IGR, Nasdaq: ACRBX, Nasdaq: REPIX, Nasdaq: PURCX, AMEX: NRO, AMEX: DIA, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: QLD, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: NYX. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

Real Estate Market, by Michael Douville

Real Estate Market

Senior Analyst

Mr. Douville has been in the Real Estate Business since 1974, over 34 years. He started his career during the 1974 recession in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago, where he experienced an inflationary period followed by the crash.

In 1981, having experienced enough cold and snow, he and his wife of now almost 30 years moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, where for the last 25 years Mr. Douville has been associated with Realty Executives.

From 1982 through the early 1990's, the Douville's executed upon their well-thought-out business plan to accumulate income producing properties. Michael now represents and consults with investors while overseeing a portfolio of investment properties.

Michael has travelled extensively within Australia and New Zealand, and has journeyed on numerous occasions to the South Pacific, Europe, Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean, and of course throughout the US.

Wall Street Greek is enthused to have this strong real estate expert, with important front-line experience on board to cover the Real Estate Market for us. In this period of uncertainty, our readers deserve the steady hand Michael offers to guide them. We only have one complaint, that he's been all over Europe but NOT to Greece yet. However, I agree with Michael's view about money, that there are more important things in life. What we seek to do here at "The Greek" is to help people achieve and maintain financial security, or at least offer an interesting read. We thank Michael, and welcome his valuable contributions.

The Greek

Michael's Email: mdouville@wallstreetgreek. com
The Greek's Email: greek@wallstreetgreek. com

Douville's Article Portfolio:

• The Coming Inflation Trade
  
• Inflationary Expectations
  
• Foreclosure Overhang
  
• Housing Challenges for 2009
  
• 2009 Real Estate Forecast
  
• Historical Fair Value - Phoenix Properties Attractive
• Money is Available
  
• Fewer New Homes - Looming Buying Storm
• Risk Spread
• Recovery and Reflation
• Forgiveness and Redemption - A Housing Policy Proposal
• Zero Coupon Rentals
  
• 1.5 Million New Tenants
• Rental Properties Pay for Retirement
  
• Beyond 2010 - Strong Demographics for Housing
• The Real Estate Cycle
  
• Blood in the Streets
• The Real Estate Bottom is in Place
  
• Australian Real Estate Follows American

Full Disclosure: Michael has agreed to Wall Street Greek policy to not author articles about securities he personally owns or holds beneficial interest in. In the event of a special case, Michael will make full disclosure of ownership or beneficial interest. The work of contributors to Wall Street Greek is their own, and may not necessarily agree with the opinion of the site or its founder, and does not constitute financial advice. Please see our full disclosure at the site (Wall Street Greek).

ECB and Fed Manipulate Dollar and Oil

Last week's ECB announcement and press conference, as well as recent Fed discussion has been chock full of jawboning intended to sustain the dollar. To be honest with you, we have been quite surprised at how successful the ECB and Fed have been at market manipulation.

Last week's very important shift in rate policy at the ECB, and its action to raise its key interest rate a quarter point, when taken in tandem with the fact that the Fed has reduced U.S. rates to a 2% low-point, should have further weakened the U.S. dollar. However, a clearly spoken non-bias by ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, and Fed Chairman Bernanke's heavy on the hawkish commentary have successfully supported the dollar so far.

ECB Intentions Clear

It's very clear that the inflation-troubled ECB, which had telegraphed its impending move, also hoped it might keep further dollar softness in check. European producers are losing market share to competitively priced American goods, impacting the euro zone economy. Europe could bear this to some extent, since it allows for some lower cost goods to reach European consumers. However, it has been clear that the impact of cheaper American goods has been outweighed by an overall increase in the cost of living. The June jump in European inflation, as defined by the 4% HICP measure, presented impetus for the ECB to act. There was no longer time to wait for American economic stabilization if medium to long-term inflation was to be kept in check.

Fed's End of the Deal

At the same time, just a week earlier, the Fed stopped its expansionary campaign as it decided to hold interest rates steady. Our Fed, while keeping rates and capital cheap, also continued on its propaganda campaign to support the dollar with words. A steady stream of hawkish words have been born of Fed mouths, and more so as the ECB signaled what was to come last week. In its most recent policy statement, our beloved Fed stated that even though it still expected inflation to moderate this year and next, that uncertainty remained high as a result of commodity price momentum. The ECB said just about the same thing last week.

So, it would seem that the Fed and ECB are quite considerate of each other. The world's most developed and significant markets have much in common, and thus much to gain by working together to insure global stability. As each market flirts with recession, they both also face the same threat of inflation due to global demand stresses.

Unexpected Consequence

In the meantime, the key support for oil collapsed temporarily, which was certainly hoped for and perhaps even schemed by the central banks. Of course we are talking about the presumed demise of the dollar that nobody witnessed. When the dollar bought into central bank lobbying and held its ground, oil moved markedly lower. Still, its slippage only lasted until renewed geopolitical concern (read Iranian missile tests) jacked up oil again. The central banks can manipulate the markets all they want, but there's not much logic anyone can infuse into the Iranian mindset.

What Next...

Even so, the price of oil did not stage a remarkable comeback Wednesday on the Iranian news. It only snuck its head back up before collapsing again toward the end of the day. This leads us to make one of those predictions of ours. As we stated some weeks ago, oil should trade lower; we previously looked to a range from $125 to $135, if memory serves me right.

Momentum took crude higher, and, excuse the lack of technical description here, it just looked uncomfortable there above $141. We were even getting prepared to publish a "Sell Before $150 Trashes You" article. Demand destruction became apparent, and regulation is on the way to making oil trades less liquid. Today, the Petroleum Status Report painted another heavy weekly draw from inventory, and oil could not even hold its ground. Heck, Iran fired off missiles and oil could not look up! The momentum is looking the other way now, but here's where we make no sense... the same goes for the dollar. For this reason, oil should again find support before it reaches $125... and Iran is not going away. We see the dollar softening, and at some point, that should offer support to the cascading price of oil.

Central bank shenanigans can only fool the market for a short time. Despite all the hot air blowing, eventually the smart money will realize the ECB is raising rates, just as the Fed stopped cutting. The Fed remains tied to data, and basically handcuffed in the short-term. In other words, the dollar has to weaken, as long as it has not already overcompensated.

Ahead of the Fed meeting in August, the economy will be on its own as economic stimulus evaporates. We would bet against the dollar and avoid oil all together for now, because a congruence of momentum unwind for oil is countering the factor of dollar demise. If you need something to do with yourselves, we have another suggestion to use against the dollar, gold.

Article interests AMEX: DIA, PCX: GLD, AMEX: SPY, AMEX: DOG, AMEX: SDS, AMEX: QLD, NYSE: NYX, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: GG, NYSE: ABX, NYSE: AUY, Nasdaq: GOLD, NYSE: GFI, AMEX: USO, AMEX: DUG. Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.

EPS Earnings Season Kicks Off

Wall Street Greek covers earnings season each quarter. Advance to our home page to see current news.

Ah the fond memories... It's earnings season again, despite the still sparse load of repor