The PremiereTrade Market Wrap for 10/22/07

Nationwide, gasoline prices rose about 5 cents over the past two week. According to the Lundberg Survey, the average price of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.80 on Friday. The national average for mid-grade was $2.92 a gallon and premium gasoline was $3.03.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) agreed to observe key parts of a 2004 antitrust ruling upheld by an appeals court last month, cutting royalties for rivals and handing information over to open source developers.

Investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. (BSC) and Chinese bank Citic Securities Co. said they will form a strategic partnership that includes $1 billion in cross-investments and the creation of a new Asian joint venture.

Toyota (TM) said it sold 2.34 million vehicles globally in the July-September quarter, fewer than General Motors' (GM) tally, as its U.S. rival regained the lead in the race to be the world's top automaker.

In Forex News Today

The U.S. dollar fell to a six-week low on Monday vs. the Japanese yen as investors continued to shun equities and as a meeting of leading industrialized nations failed to rally support for the dollar.

Over the weekend, the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations called for China to accelerate the pace of the yuan's appreciation, but didn't make mention of recent dollar weakness. The G7 statement does not mention the weak dollar or the strong euro, dashing the hopes held by some in Europe that the group would say something to stop the slide in the dollar against the euro. Risk aversion was also a theme after Friday's loss on U.S. stock markets carried over to Asia and Europe on Monday, with declines in stock markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong, London and Frankfurt.

Interest rate expectations added to the dollar's problems. Lower rates bite into the returns on dollar-denominated assets and are therefore usually negative for a currency. Fed funds futures were pricing in a chance of about 90% for a quarter-point cut at the Fed's next policy meeting Oct. 30-31. Today, the implied chance is about 35%.

Scheduled Economic Reports (Tuesday)

Retail Chain Index (week of October 20th)

In Earnings News

Merck & Co. (MRK) posted a 62 percent increase in its third-quarter profit Monday, as the drugmaker's revenues increased by double digits, while lower administration and overhead costs offset more spending on research and development.

Hasbro Inc. (HAS), the nation's second biggest toymaker, said its third-quarter profit climbed 62 percent on higher sales led by its Transformers and Marvel brands and a favorable tax adjustment.

And Halliburton Co. (HAL) continues to benefit from placing greater emphasis on its operations in the Eastern Hemisphere, where expanding business helped the company post a 19 percent rise in third-quarter earnings.

Scheduled Earnings Reports (Tuesday)

Lockheed Martin, BP Plc, Amazon.com, Juniper Networks, New York Tines, 1-800-Flowers, BankUnited, JetBlue Airways, Level 3 Communications, Raymond James Financial, UAL Corp

Stocks in the News

Vonage Holdings (VG) disclosed that it is being sued by AT&T for alleged patent infringement.

Wal-Mart (WMT) said it was pulling animal toy sets from its shelves after discovering that they contained excessive levels of lead.

MoneyGram International (MGI) traded lower after Fitch Ratings downgraded its long-term issuer default rating and senior unsecured revolving-credit line.