The PremiereTrade Market Wrap for 10/23/07

The International Council of Shopping Centers-UBS Retail Chain Store Sales Index fell by 1.5% in the week ended Oct. 20th from its level the week before, on a seasonally adjusted, comparable-store basis. On the year, chain store sales were up 2.2 percent.

The Federal Reserve indicated it supports the plan brokered by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to increase liquidity in the market for asset-backed commercial paper. The agreement reached by Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. is well-enough designed that it may help credit markets.

Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC), the nation's largest mortgage lender, said it will begin calling borrowers to offer refinancing or modifications on $16 billion in loans whose interest rate is set to adjust by the end of 2008.

In Forex News Today

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson reiterated that China should let its currency strengthen on Tuesday, following weekend meetings during which the world's seven richest nations stepped up their pressure on Beijing over the yuan. That pressure, however, was met by a shrug from Chinese authorities, and the yuan was even allowed to sink a little in Monday trading.

The U.S. Dollar once again set record lows against the euro amidst a torrent of truly awful economic data. The worst of the lot included housing starts which dropped more than 10% and jobless claims which increased to 337K ?.much more than expected. The news pushed the Fed Funds futures to a 75% chance of a rate cut in October dragging the dollar to new lows.

The yen fell the most in a month against the euro as a rebound in global stocks encouraged investors to resume buying higher-yielding assets financed by loans in Japan. Japan's yen declined against the 16 most-actively traded currencies after better-than-expected earnings and forecasts from companies including Apple Inc. eased concern that profit growth is slowing. And the dollar dropped against the euro as increased risk appetite reduced demand for the safety of U.S. government debt.

Scheduled Economic Reports (Wednesday)

Existing Home Sales (Sep)

In Earnings News

Apple (AAPL) reported fiscal fourth-quarter profits that jumped 67 percent to cap a year of unprecedented momentum in the company's Macintosh computer business, as well as continued demand for iPods and the successful launch of the iPhone.

BP Plc (BP) posted net profit of $4.4 billion (3.09 billion euros) for the three months ending Sept. 30, down from $6.2 billion over the same period of 2006. Revenue rose 2.7 percent to $72.6 billion (50.9 billion euros).

AT&T Inc. (T), the nation's largest telecommunications company, reported net income of $3.1 billion in the third quarter, a 42 percent jump from the previous year before its acquisition of BellSouth Corp. was completed.

DuPont (DD) reported a net profit of $526 million, or 56 cents per share, compared with $485 million, or 52 cents per share for the third quarter of last year. Sales rose to $6.68 billion from $6.31 billion a year earlier. Analysts expected earnings per share of 52 cents on sales of $6.73 billion.

And UAL Corp (UAUA), the parent of the nation's second largest air carrier, said it earned $334 million, or $2.21 per share, for the July-through-September quarter. That's up from $190 million, or $1.30 per share, during the same period last year.

Scheduled Earnings Reports (Wednesday)

Boeing, Coca Cola, Glaxo Smith Kline, Monster Worldwide, Anheuser Busch, Merrill Lynch, General Dynamics, Choice Hotels, Occidental Pete, Taser International

Stocks in the News

W.R. Berkley (BER) third-quarter profit rose to $180.5 million, or 93 cents a share, from $174.3 million, or 87 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Equifax (EFX) third-quarter net income declined to $67.9 million or 48 cents a share, from $78.9 million, or 61 cents a share, a year earlier.

Lexmark International (LXK) said it will transfer roughly 1,650 jobs to low-cost countries by the end of 2008 in a move that should save about $40 million in 2008 and $60 million later.