Positivo e Negativo a NY - Giorgia

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Wednesday February 12th 7:54--Network Appliance was upgraded to neutral at Bank of America. 7:47--Dana Corp. Q4 EPS was 22c/sh vs. 23c/sh consensus. Revenues were $2.41B vs. $2.48B consensus. 7:38--Clorox was upgraded to buy from neutral at Bank of America. 7:36--XL Capital Q4 EPS was $1.82/sh vs. $1.79/sh consensus. 7:29--France said it is not changing its position to not protect Turkey. 7:22--ConocoPhillips was upgraded to overweight from equal-weight at Lehman. 7:21--Oakley matched Q4 EPS of 3c/sh and affirmed guidance of 55c-60c/sh. 7:19--Capitol One received negative comments from Goldman Sachs. 7:17--Yankee Candle matched Q4 EPS expectations of 72c/sh, but guided lower FY03 EPS to $1.34-$1.37 vs. $1.40/sh consensus. 7:15--Stocks are: S&P -2.00, Nasdaq -3.00. -Dollar unchanged this morning. Support coming from reports that the UK had a terror event and is not reporting it. Pressure coming from bin Laden tape yesterday and continued US press for war. Condoleeza Rice expected to meet with Blix. -Jordan is requesting the US to give Saddam exile. -North Korea is indicating that it wishes the UK to -French mfg output fell 1.8% in December to the lowest level in a year. -BOE revised lower its forecast for economic growth and revised up its inflation forecast. Positive: -Network Appliance Q3 EPS was 6c/sh which was as expected. Revenues were $228.5M vs. $223M expected. Guided Q4 EPS to 6c-7c/sh vs. 6c/sh consensus. -Viacom Q4 EPS was 37c/sh vs. 34c/sh consensus. Company affirmed full-year EPS. -Garmin Q4 EPS was 42c/sh vs. 35c/sh consensus. Company affirmed Q1 EPS of 29c-32c/sh vs. 30c/sh consensus. Guided full-year EPS up to $1.45-$1.54/sh vs. $1.37/sh consensus. -Sycamore Q2 loss was -5c/sh vs. -6c/sh consensus. Upgrades: -Mellon Financial was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. -Alltell was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. -Viacom was upgraded to equal-weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley. Negative: -Applied Materials Q1 EPS was break-even vs. +2c/sh expected. Revenues were $1.05B vs. $1.15B expected. Guided Q2 EPS to 1c-2c/sh vs. 3c/sh consensus. -La-Z-Boy Q3 EPS was 41c/sh vs. 40c/sh consensus. However, company lowered Q4 EPS to 43c-48c/sh vs. 51c/sh consensus. -DTE Energy Q4 EPS was $1.21/sh vs. $1.26/sh consensus. Company reaffirmed full-year guidance of $3.90-$4.10 vs. $4.00 consensus. -GlaxoSmithKline Q4 EPS was 65c/sh vs. 66c/sh consensus. -Timkin filed to sell a 11 mln shares in a follow-on offering. -Qwest restated revenue for 2000 & 2001. The restatement was the result of sales errors that were incorrectly accounted for. Originally reported at $357M goes to $2.2B. -AOL TimeWarner filed for the sale of $1.5B in stock by shareholders. -Power suppliers mentioned in WSJ article which suggests there is oversupply of electricity. Downgrades: -GM was downgraded to sell from neutral at Bank of America. Neutral: -Prudential Q4 EPS was 43c/sh vs. 45c/sh consensus. Guided full year EPS to $2.50-$2.65 vs. $2.51/sh consensus. -KLA Tencor affirmed its Q3 EPS guidance of 12c/sh and revenue guidance of $300M. -Coca-Cola Q4 EPS was 40c/sh which was as expected.

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Tuesday February 11th 8:01--Interstate Bakeries said Q3 would show a loss, vs. consensus of +16c/sh. Lowered 2003 EPS to 90c-95c/sh vs. $1.30/sh consensus. 7:58--Deere & Co. Q1 EPS was 28c/sh vs. 15c/sh consensus. 7:56--Ameren Q4 EPS was 18c/sh vs. 20c/sh consensus. 7:53--Clorox Q2 EPS was 39c/sh vs. 35c/sh consensus. 7:31--Gilead Sciences announced positive Phase III study results. 7:23--Blockbuster Q4 EPS was 17c/sh vs. 19c/sh consensus. Company guided full year EPS to $1.25/sh from $1.20/sh. 7:21--Veeco Instruments Q4 loss was -11c/sh vs. -13c/sh consensus. Guided Q1 EPS up to break-even to +2c/sh vs. break-even. 7:05--Stocks are: S&P +4.00, Nasdaq +9.00. -Euro down on follow-through from yesterday and from bearish economic news from Germany. -German wholesale prices were higher-than-expected. Germany’s trade surplus also narrowed. -NATO cancelled the emergency meeting regarding Turkey and moved it into an intensive informal stage. Positive: -Yum Brands Q4 EPS was 56c/sh vs. 55c/sh consensus. Company said Q1 EPS would be at least 38c/sh which is currently as expected. -Wellpoint Q4 EPS was $1.18/sh vs. $1.15/sh consensus. -Metlife Q4 EPS was 65c/sh vs. 64c/sh consensus. Company guided full-year EPS to $2.80-$2.90 vs. $2.81/sh consensus. -Aetna Q4 EPS was 63c/sh vs. 59c/sh consensus. -Bob Evans Q3 EPS was 47c/sh vs. 44c/sh consensus. Company raised Q4 guidance to 47c-49c/sh vs. 46c/sh consensus. -Caremark Q4 EPS was 35c/sh vs. 33c/sh consensus. -Del Monte’s Q4 EPS 55c/sh vs. 34c/sh consensus. -Perot Systems Q4 EPS was 17c/sh which was as expected. Guided Q1 EPS to 15c-17c/sh vs. 15c/sh consensus. Upgrades: -Digene was upgraded to buy from reduce at UBS. -Dominion was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. -Nokia was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Soundview. -Documentum was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JP Morgan. -US Steel was upgraded to outperform from underperform at Salomon. Negative: -Instinet Q4 loss was -3c/sh vs. +1c/sh. Revenues were $267M vs. $288M consensus. -1-800 Flowers is selling 1.2mln shares through JP Morgan. -Sears received negative comments on its credit business in WSJ. -Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs said they were cautious on IT spending. Downgrades: -Micron estimates were lowered at CSFB. -Concord EFS was downgraded to neutral from outperform at CSFB. Neutral: -

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Monday February 10th 7:55--Johnson & Johnson confirmed that it will buy Scios for $2.4B. 7:45--Bank of America raised its equity allocation to 75% from 70%. Said the potential for a war rally is not over-anticipated. Bond weight fell to 15% from 20%. 7:42--Mellon Financial was upgraded to inline at Salomon. 7:40--John Hancock was upgraded to sector outperform at CIBC. 7:20--NVidia was downgraded to under-perform from sector perform at RBC. 7:19--Wyeth won a fen-phen case in New Mexico. Company has $14.1B set aside for lawsuits regarding its redux drug. 7:16--Amazon.com CEO sold 200,000 shares of his company, but still owns 108.5mln shares. 7:15--Entercom Q4 EPS was 38c/sh vs. 33c/sh consensus. 7:13--Constellation Energy was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank. 7:10--Stocks are: S&P +2.00, Nasdaq +4.00. -Dollar and stocks higher and bonds lower based on market’s interpretation of positive developments in Iraq. -Iraq turned over more documents regarding past weapons programs. Hans Blix said there was no new information, but it was a positive step. El Baradei said there has been a change of heart on the part of Iraq. Next update to UN by Blix is scheduled for Friday. Washington Post is reporting that this weekend’s meetings yielded little. -A report was released that Iran holds uranium reserves. -France, Germany, and Belgium veto of military aid and missile defense planning for Turkey and is seen as damaging NATO. NATO wanted to boost Turkey’s defenses against an Iraqi attack. -German industrial output was -2.6%. -US Machine Tool orders were +45.5% to $198M. Positive: -Centene Q4 EPS was 57c/sh vs. 54c/sh consensus. Company guided 2003 EPS up to $2.55-$2.60/sh vs. $2.56/sh consensus. -OSI Pharmaceutical Q1 loss was -83c/sh vs. -92c/sh. Upgrades: -Cablevision was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch. -Tibco Software was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. -Deutsche Bank was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley. Negative: -SBC is in talks to acquire DirecTV from Hughes Electronics for around $10B. -Marriott Q4 EPS was 55c/sh vs. 54c/sh consensus. Company guided Q1 EPS down to 36c-40c/sh vs. 42c/sh consensus. -Wal-Mart said its sales were soft at both the beginning and end of last week. -AK Steel said it is in litigation against GM, but said it has no intention to suspend shipments. Downgrades: - Neutral: -

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Friday February 7th 7:47--Biovail said it would miss Q1 & Q2 EPS estimates, but meet full-year guidance. Guided Q1 EPS to 35c-40c/sh vs. 44c/sh consensus. Guided Q2 EPS to 43c-50c/sh vs. 52c/sh consensus. Said full-year EPS would be $2.25-$2.35/sh vs. $2.26/sh consensus. 7:35--Some caution on today’s numbers--Retail jobs were +101K in Jan; indicating that there may have been difficulty accounting for retail jobs. Benchmark revisions to the household survey can account for the decline in the unemployment rate. BLS said there were difficulties tabulating this number due to seasonal factors. 7:31--The numbers are obviously strong and negative for bonds and positive for stocks. Averaging the revision with the Jan number would produce a +88K number comparable with the +69K expected. BLS said that part of the gain was due to seasonal factors. 7:30--Jan payrolls were +143K vs. +69K expected. Dec was revised to -156K vs. -101K previously. Manufacturing payrolls were -16K vs. -36K expected. Average hourly earnings were unch vs. +0.3% expected. Unemployment rate was 5.7% vs. 6.0% expected. 7:22--Genesco warned Q4 EPS would be 60c-63c/sh vs. 70c/sh consensus. 7:20--Overture Services was upgraded to neutral from under perform at Soundview. Said after yesterday’s downward guidance an overnight’s 16% selloff, the stock is in a valuation area. 7:15--Temple-Inland Q4 EPS was 36c/sh vs. 33c/sh consensus. Company said increased costs and poor market conditions would negatively affect earnings. 7:14--Carnival Cruise estimates were lowered at Bank of America. 7:10--The International Energy Agency (IEA) and Kuwait assured that there would be ample supplies of crude oil even in the even of war. 7:05--Stocks are: S&P +2.00, Nasdaq +2.00. -Dollar slightly higher today on rumors that the employment report will be stronger-than-expected. -UK mfg output fell -0.2% in December. -Crude oil and gold higher after Pres. Bush said late-yesterday that the “game is over” for Saddam. -Fed’s Broaddus said the US economy will accelerate in 2003. Positive: -Mohawk Q4 EPS was $1.25/sh vs. $1.21/sh consensus. -Callaway Golf Q4 loss was -8c/sh vs. -19c/sh consensus. -Nautilus Q4 EPS was 69c/sh vs. 67c/sh consensus. Company reaffirmed 2003 guidance. -John Hancock Q4 EPS was 78c/sh vs. 73c/sh consensus. Revenues were $2.28B vs. $2.49B consensus. -Coinstar Q4 EPS was 30c/sh vs. 28c/sh consensus. -Cigna Q4 EPS was $1.27/sh vs. $1.20/sh consensus. Revenues were $4.70B vs. $4.98B consensus. Guided full year to $6.25-$6.50 vs. $5.83/sh consensus. Upgrades: -Applied Biosciences was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. -Sanmina-SCI was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. -Goodyear Tire was upgraded to equal weight from under weight at Morgan Stanley. -Adolf Coors was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. -Interwoven was upgraded to neutral at UBS. -Providian was upgraded to sector perform at CIBC. Negative: -EDS Q4 EPS was 51c/sh vs. 48c/sh consensus. Guided Q1 EPS down to 30-35c/sh vs. 43c/sh consensus. Guided 2003 EPS to $1.80-$2.00/sh vs. $2.02/sh consensus. -Overture Services Q4 EPS was 24c/sh vs. 23c/sh consensus. Company lowered Q1 EPS guidance to 13c-14c/sh vs. 23c/sh consensus. Company said full-year EPS would be 90c-$1.05/sh vs. 99c/sh consensus. -Pixar reported Q4 EPS of 31c/sh vs. 21c/sh consensus. Revenues were $39.4M vs. $27.1M consensus. Company warned, however, that Q1 EPS would be 7c-10c/sh vs. 18c/sh consensus and said that the future of its ongoing deal with Disney is uncertain. -Goodrich Q4 EPS was 66c/sh vs. 64c/sh consensus. Company guided full-year EPS down to $1.70-$1.85/sh vs. $1.96/sh consensus. -Johnson & Johnson is in talks to buy Scios for $2B. -Healthsouth received a subpoena from the US atty’s office. Downgrades: -Tech Data estimates were lowered at First Albany. -Royal Dutch Shell was downgraded to inline from outperform at Goldman. Neutral: -

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Thursday February 6th 8:05--Ten Eastern European nations wrote a joint statement saying there is evidence of Iraqi deceit. 7:55--Cephalon was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JP Morgan. 7:52--Adolf Coors Q4 EPS was 63c/sh vs. 75c/sh consensus. Revenues were $981B vs. $949B consensus. 7:46--United Online Q2 EPS was 20c/sh vs. 17c/sh consensus. Company guided Q3 EPS to 20c-21c/sh vs. 21c/sh consensus. 7:43--Brown Shoe raised full year guidance to $2.41-$2.43/sh vs. $2.37/sh consensus. 7:39--BJ’s Wholesale said FY04 EPS would be below expectations. 7:37--Ultimate Electronics guided Q4 EPS to 15c-20c/sh vs. 20c/sh consensus. 7:30--The slight net decline in initial claims will be offset by the fall in productivity. 7:30--Initial claims were -11K to 391K vs. 390K expected. Last week was revised +5K to 402K from 397K. 7:30--Productivity was -0.2% vs. +0.7% expected. Unit labor costs were +4.8% vs. +3.0%. 7:20--Devon Energy Q4 EPS was $1.42/sh vs. $1.11/sh consensus. 7:18--Parker-Hannifin was upgraded to buy from hold at Legg Mason. 7:18--Expedia was raised to buy from hold at Legg Mason. 7:18--Flir Systems was upgraded to buy from neutral at Bank of America. 7:17--TXU was downgraded to equal weight from overweight at Morgan Stanley. 7:15--The CEO of Wet Seal was fired. 7:14--Abercrombie guided Q4 EPS above previous guidance of 86c-88c/sh. Consensus is 87c/sh. 7:12--Ryder Systems Q4 EPS was 58c/sh vs. 52c/sh consensus. 7:05--Stocks are: S&P -1.00, Nasdaq -2.00. -Dollar slightly lower this morning after world reaction to Powell’s testimony yesterday was generally of skepticism. -IAEA Chief El Baradei said Iraq “is not cooperating with inspectors” and said Iraq’s cooperation needs to show a “drastic change.” -North Korea is threatening a pre-emptive strike against US troops if more troops are sent to South Korea. -Bank of England cut the overnight repo rate 25 bps to 3.75%. -The ECB left overnight rates unchanged at 2.75%. -German manufacturing orders were -4.1% in December. The EU commission left its Q1 GDP forecast of -0.1% to +0.3% in place. Positive: -Expedia reported Q4 EPS of 48c/sh vs. 41c/sh consensus. Expedia declared a 2-for-1 stock split and a $200M buyback. -Cendant Q4 EPS was 29c/sh which was as expected. Revenues were $3.85B vs. $3.59B consensus. -ThermoElectron Q4 EPS was 31c/sh vs. 29c/sh consensus. Revenues were $568.8M vs. $532M consensus. Company affirmed Q1 and full year EPS. -Ericsson is higher after they named a new CEO. -Timberland Q4 EPS was 73c/sh vs. 62c/sh consensus. Revenues were $357M vs. $341M consensus. -Wal-Mart raised 2003 EPS guidance to $1.80 vs. $1.78 consensus. -Sharper Image raised its Q4 outlook to $1.18-$1.20/sh vs. previous guidance of $1.15-$1.18/sh. -Talbots said Q4 EPS would be at the upper end of its 42c-47c/sh guidance range, vs. 44c/sh consensus. -Ann Taylor raised Q4 EPS guidance to 34c-35c/sh vs. 32c/sh consensus. -JC Penny guided Q1 EPS up to 65c/sh vs. 62c/sh consensus. -Delphi said it won $2.7B in new contracts. -Dassault and IBM won a software contract from Ford. EDS was said to be the loser of the contract. -General Dynamics announced a 6 mln share buyback. Upgrades: -Sprint PCS was upgraded to inline from under-perform at Salomon. -Nextel was upgraded to neutral from sell at Merrill Lynch. Negative: -Agilent lowered its Q1 guidance to a loss of 22c-28c/sh vs. previous guidance of a loss of 5c-15c/sh. Company lowered revenue guidance to $1.35B-$1.45B from $1.5B-$1.6B previously. -Brinker lowered Q3 guidance to 46c-47c/sh vs. 47c/sh consensus. -Dun & Bradstreet Q4 EPS was 84c/sh vs. 85c/sh consensus. Company affirmed full-year EPS guidance. Downgrades: -Circuit City estimates were lowered at Lehman. Neutral: -

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Wednesday February 5th 8:00--The US Treasury will offer $18.0B in 10 yr notes. Will offer $24.0B in 5yrs and will offer a 3yr note at the May refunding. Treasury will offer 8 5yr auctions per year. 7:58--Treasury refunding announcement due in two minutes. 7:50--MGM Mirage approved a 10 mln share repurchase program. 7:46--Illinois Tool Works was upgraded to outperform from underperform at Salomon. 7:41--Monsanto Q4 was 31c/sh vs. 29c/sh consensus. 7:31--Linens ‘n Things Q4 EPS was 90c/sh vs. 87c/sh consensus. Revenues were $723.3B vs. $695B consensus. Company affirmed 2003 EPS guidance. 7:21--Chubb was upgraded to outperform at Salomon. 7:19--CMS Energy was upgraded to equal weight at Lehman. 7:15--Stocks are: S&P -1.00, Nasdaq +2.00. -Dollar lower this morning over worries of Colin Powell’s speech to the UN today. Gold is about $4.60/oz higher on the worries and crude oil is +29c/bbl. -Japanese officials again mentioning intervention to weaken the yen. -German unemployment rate was 11.2%. Positive: -Cisco Q2 EPS was 15c/sh vs. 13c/sh consensus. GAAP earnings were 14c/sh. Revenue was $4.71B vs. $4.73B consensus. Guided Q3 revenue down by expecting a flat-to-down 2% sequential change. Consensus is for a slight increase to $4.75B. CEO Chambers said it remains the most challenging environment for IT spending. Said we are still in a ‘show me’ economy. Cisco said its book-to-bill is still below 1.0 in Q2. -Computer Sciences Q3 EPS was 61c/sh vs. 60c/sh consensus. Revenues were $2.79B vs. $2.87B consensus. -Pegasus Solutions Q4 EPS was 13c/sh vs. 12c/sh consensus. Company raised full year guidance to 59c-66c/sh vs. 58c/sh consensus. -Getty Images Q4 EPS was 13c/sh vs. 11c/sh consensus. Company raised Q1 guidance to 15c-19c/sh vs. 15c/sh consensus. -Benchmark Electronics Q4 EPS was 50c/sh vs. 42c/sh consensus. Company raised Q1 EPS guidance to 42c-46c/sh vs. 39c/sh consensus. -Flir Systems Q4 EPS was 71c/sh vs. 68c/sh consensus. Company affirmed 2003 EPS guidance. -Sprint PCS Q4 loss was -18c/sh vs. -21c/sh consensus. -Hovnanian guided Q1 EPS up to the upper end of market consensus. -Boston Scientific Q4 EPS was 31c/sh which was as expected. Revenues were $814M vs. $800M consensus. -WebEx Q4 EPS was 11c/sh vs. 10c/sh consensus. Company affirmed Q1 EPS expectations. -American Power Q4 EPS was 23c/sh vs. 21c/sh consensus. Upgrades: -Photon Dynamics was upgraded to sector perform from under-perform at CIBC. -United Online was upgraded to strong buy from buy at First Albany. -Washington Mutual was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley. -Emmis Broadcasting was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. -Belo was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. Negative: -Sprint (FON) Q4 EPS was 37c/sh vs. 38c/sh consensus. Sprint PCS beat expectations. -Hotels.com Q4 EPS was 37c/sh vs. 38c/sh consensus. Revenues were $272.6M vs. $269.5M consensus. -Harrah’s Q4 EPS was 54c/sh vs. 57c/sh consensus. -El Paso cut its dividend by 81%. Company also guided 2003 EPS down to $1.00 vs. $1.32/sh consensus. -Kinder Morgan filed for a $2B mixed securities shelf. Downgrades: -Myriad Genetics was downgraded to equal-weight from overweight at Morgan Stanley. -99 cents was downgraded at Merrill Lynch and at Wachovia. Neutral: -

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Tuesday February 4th 7:49--Paccar Q4 EPS was $1.05/sh vs. 64c/sh consensus. 7:47--Mattel was downgraded to neutral from outperform at CSFB. 7:33--Emerson Q1 EPS was 52c/sh vs. 54c/sh consensus. 7:29--Borg Warner Q4 EPS was $1.52/sh vs. $1.48/sh consensus. Company affirmed full year guidance. 7:23--Flowserve Q4 EPS was 43c/sh which was as expected. Company lowered Q1 guidance to 20c-28c/sh vs. 31c/sh consensus. 7:20--Entergy Q4 EPS was 34c/sh vs. 28c/sh consensus. Company affirmed full-year estimates. 7:18--Solectron was upgraded to neutral from reduce at UBS. 7:17--Watson Pharma Q4 EPS was 45c/sh vs. 44c/sh consensus. Company raised Q1 EPS guidance to 41c-43c/sh vs. 41c/sh consensus. 7:15--Stocks are: S&P -6.00, Nasdaq -10.00. -Euro and yen both up slightly due partially to worries over Colin Powell’s speech to the UN tomorrow. Gold is up $3.80 on that speculation. Yesterday, the US advised its citizens to leave the middle east and put its forces on alert regarding Korea. -Eurozone CPI was +2.1% y/y which is just over the 2.0% ECB target range. -French consumer confidence fell to a 5-yr low at -22 from -17. French deficit was 3.47% of GDP, which overshot the 3.3% target. -European stocks are lower: FTSE -1.3%, DAX -2.7%. Positive: -Nationwide Q4 EPS was 81c/sh vs. 74c/sh consensus. Revenues were $992M vs. $817M consensus. -aaiPharma raised its 2003 EPS guidance to $1.58-$1.65/sh vs. $1.53-$1.58/sh previously guided. Company also declared a 3-for-2 stock split. -Oxford Health Q4 EPS was 97c/sh vs. 94c/sh consensus. -Level 3 Q4 loss was -54c/sh vs. -67c/sh consensus. Company guided Q1 loss to -65c/sh vs. -67c/sh consensus. -Colgate-Palmolive Q4 EPS was 59c/sh vs. 58c/sh consensus. -CVS Q4 EPS was 49c/sh vs. 47c/sh consensus. -HCA Healthcare Q4 EPS was 63c/sh vs. 60c/sh consensus. -Jefferson Pilot Q4 EPS was 86c/sh vs. 83c/sh consensus. -Avon Products Q4 EPS was 80c/sh vs. 79c/sh consensus. -Solectron announced a manufacturing and supply contract with HP that would add $1.4B in sales over five years. Upgrades: - Negative: -Alcatel projected a Q1 sales decline of 25%-30%. -AIG will take a $1.8B after-tax charge to increase loss reserves. -Myriad Genetics Q2 loss was -27c/sh vs. -23c/sh consensus. -US Steel announced a $200M convertible offering. -RiteAid announced $200M senior secured offering. Downgrades: -TECO Energy was downgraded to underweight from equal-weight at Morgan Stanley. -Nationwide’s estimates were cut at Merrill Lynch after company beat earnings estimates. Neutral: -

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Monday February 3rd 7:20--Province Healthcare was downgraded to underperform from market perform at Wachovia. 7:15--Stocks are: S&P +6.00, Nasdaq +10.00. -Dollar slightly higher against both the euro and the yen. -Germany’s Schroeder and his party were defeated in weekend elections. -UK Jan PMI fell to 48.6 vs. 49.5, pressuring the sterling against the dollar. -UK regulators have waived insurance requirements suggesting that UK life insurers will not have to sell stock. FTSE +2.5%. Positive: -Mattel Q4 EPS was 42c/sh vs. 39c/sh consensus. Revenues were $1.67B vs. $1.55B consensus. -Humana Q4 EPS was 34c/sh vs. 33c/sh consensus. Company affirmed full-year ’03 EPS. -Lending Tree Q4 EPS was 19c/sh vs. 17c/sh consensus. Company guided full-year EPS up to 46c/sh vs. 43c/sh consensus. Upgrades: -Entergy was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. -Greenpoint Financial was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. -Diageo was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch. -Abercrombie was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch. -EDS was upgraded to market perform from under-perform at Piper Jaffray. -Microchip was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Soundview. -RF Microdevices was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Lehman. -Eli Lilly was upgraded to buy from hold at Prudential. Negative: -LM Ericsson reported a 2.2B Kroner loss vs. a 1.1B Kroner loss expected. -Electronic Arts received negative comments in the NYT, which suggested that sales momentum is slowing. -AMD said they would delay the release of the Hammer chip until Sept. -AOL received negative comments in WSJ. -The SEC is investigating the way oil companies account for reserves according to the Financial Times. Downgrades: -Applied Materials was downgraded to hold from buy at Prudential. -RPM was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS. Neutral: -Accredo Health Q4 EPS was 18c/sh vs. 17c/sh consensus. Revenue was $364.4M vs. $383.6M consensus. Company reiterated its full-year EPS outlook, but lowered its revenue outlook.

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Thursday January 30th 8:24--Kerr-McGee was upgraded to neutral at CSFB. Occidental was also upgraded. 8:14--Target was upgraded to outperform at Goldman. 8:08--Kellogg Q4 EPS was 47c/sh which was as expected. Guided Q1 up to 38c-40c/sh vs. 38c/sh consensus. 8:03--Manpower was upgraded to buy from neutral at Bank of America. 7:55--Boeing cut its 2003 EPS forecast to $1.90-$2.10 vs. $2.20/sh consensus. Cut 2004 EPS to $1.90-$2.10 vs. $2.74/sh consensus. Cut 2003 revenue to $49B vs. $50B previously. Consensus is $49.86B. 7:49--Boeing Q4 EPS was 71c/sh which was as expected. 7:45--RGR Technical is liquidating its long bond position at current 11028. Position was entered on 1/20/03 at 11022. 7:42--RGR Technical is liquidating its short USD/JPY position at current 11940. Position was entered on 1/17/02 at 11800. 7:39--Retek was upgraded to outperform at Soundview. 7:37--Verizon was upgraded to outperform at Soundview. 7:36--The y/y gain in ECI was the smallest since 1999. 7:32--The numbers appear weak for the stock markets. While they should be good for the bond market, bond market strength will be countered by the higher price deflator. 7:30--Q4 advance GDP was +0.7% vs. +1.0% expected. Implicit price deflator was +1.8% vs. +1.3% expected. 7:30--Initial Claims were +14K to 397K vs. 385K expected. Last week was revised to 383K vs. 381K previously. 7:30--ECI was +0.7% vs. +0.9% expected. ECI was +3.4% y/y. 7:27--Merck was upgraded to buy at Bank of America. 7:16--Most of our newswires have become internet based in the last few years and we are having problems with them today. 7:15--Stocks are: S&P +1.00, Nasdaq +4.00. -ECB’s Solbes said the euro’s strength will hurt the eurozone’s economic outlook. -French PPI were +0.5%. French manufacturing sentiment fell. -Reports in yesterday’s nightly news were highlighting the fact that 8 of 15 countries on the UN security council support the US against Iraq. Syria will be against the US and France and Germany will likely be against the US. Powell highlighted that if Saddam wished to leave Iraq, it would forego war and the US could facilitate that. Positive: -Nabor’s Q4 EPS was 15c/sh vs. 12c/sh consensus. -MedImmune Q4 EPS was 33c/sh which was as expected. Revenues were $382M vs. $342.8M consensus. Said it received a letter from the FDA requesting more info. -Newall Rubbermaid Q4 EPS was 49c/sh vs. 48c/sh consensus. Revenues were $2.00B vs. $1.98B consensus. -JetBlue Q4 EPS was 22c/sh vs. 20c/sh consensus. -Bausch & Lomb Q4 EPS was 60c/sh vs. 55c/sh consensus. -Black & Decker Q4 EPS was $1.05/sh vs. $1.02/sh consensus. -Mylan Labs Q3 EPS was 37c/sh vs. 34c/sh consensus. Company guided 2004 EPS up to $1.59-$1.69/sh vs. $1.56/sh consensus. -ASML won a court ruling against Nikon. Upgrades: -Intuit was upgraded to outperform from inline at Salomon. -Autozone was upgraded to overweight at Lehman. -Target was upgraded to outperform from inline at Goldman. -Oil Service sector was upgraded to positive from neutral at Lehman. Upgraded FMC Tech and Nabors. -Siemens was upgraded to outperform from peer perform at Bear Stearns. Negative: -Gillette Q4 EPS was 32c/sh vs. 34c/sh consensus. Revenues were $2.53B vs. $2.46B consensus. -Dow Chemical Q4 loss was -18c/sh vs. break-even expected. Said Q1 will be challenging due to rising costs. Downgrades: -AOL Time Warner was downgraded to buy from strong buy at First Albany. -Anheuser-Busch was downgraded to peer perform from outperform at Bear Stearns. Neutral: -

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Tuesday January 28th 8:08--Sybase Q4 EPS was 30c/sh vs. 29c/sh consensus. 7:57--Northrop Grumman Q4 EPS was $1.83/sh vs. $1.82/sh consensus. Company guided full year revenue to $25B-$26B vs. $25.1B consensus. 7:49--MGM Mirage Q4 EPS was 28c/sh vs. 25c/sh consensus. Revenues were $1.09B vs. $970M consensus. 7:35--EPS estimates and price targets at broker names Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley were lowered at Prudential. 7:34--New York Times guided full year EPS down toward $2.07-$2.17 vs. $2.21 consensus. 7:30--Dec Durable Goods were +0.2% vs. +0.5% expected. Nov was revised to -1.3% from -1.5% previously. Orders ex-transportation were +1.1% vs. +0.7% expected. Orders ex-defense were -0.2%. The number is not much of a surprise and shouldn’t effect markets very much. 7:26--New York Times Q4 EPS was 69c/sh vs. 67c/sh consensus. 7:21--UPS Q4 EPS was 59c/sh vs. 57c/sh consensus. Company guided Q1 down to 48c-53c/sh vs. 53c/sh consensus. Guided full-year to $2.35-$2.46/sh vs. $2.38/sh consensus. 7:19--Freddie Mac was downgraded to hold from buy at Prudential. 7:18--RJ Reynolds Q4 EPS was 41c/sh vs. 39c/sh consensus. Company lowered Q1 guidance to 70c-95c/sh vs. $1.27/sh consensus. 7:16--St Jude Medical Q4 EPS was 40c/sh vs. 39c/sh consensus. 7:15--Stocks are: S&P -1.00, Nasdaq +2.00. -Dollar correcting to the upside today more so against the euro than the yen. European officials made comments overnight that they are worried that the strong euro is hurting European exports. -There are reports in the market today that Pres. Bush will unveil new evidence regarding Iraqi WMD in tonight’s State of the Union address. This goes against Ari Fleischer’s press conference yesterday and comments by other senior White House officials. Both Fleischer and Powell yesterday said Bush may talk about al-Qaida links. Other reports suggest he will unveil new evidence to Tony Blair and the world on Friday, while other reports suggest he cannot unveil it because it would compromise safety of the sources of the info. -US and coalition forces battled 80 Afghan rebels and killed 18 in the largest fight since Operation Anaconda 9 months ago. -Crude oil +39c/bbl, gold -1.50/oz. -BTM weekly chain store sales were +0.6%. Sales were mixed relative to plan. Positive: -L3 Communications Q4 EPS was 79c/sh vs. 77c/sh consensus. Company affirmed 2003 EPS of $2.67-$2.72 vs. $2.69/sh consensus. -Wyeth Q4 EPS was 65c/sh vs. 64c/sh consensus. Company affirmed 2003 EPS. -Pulte Homes Q4 EPS was $2.78/sh vs. $2.67/sh expected. Company guided 2003 up to $7.85-$8.25 vs. $7.88 consensus. -DuPont Q4 EPS was 34c/sh vs. 31c/sh consensus. -Procter & Gamble Q2 EPS was $1.13/sh vs. $1.12/sh consensus. Raised Q3 guidance to$1.14-$1.16 vs. 93c/sh consensus. -Merck Q4 EPS was 83c/sh which was as expected. Company guided full-year up to $3.40-$3.47 vs. $3.39/sh consensus. -Pepsi-Bottling Q4 EPS was 20c/sh vs. 17c/sh consensus. Company affirmed full-year EPS. -Kronos Q1 EPS was 35c/sh vs. 32c/sh consensus. -Biosite Q4 EPS was 31c/sh which was as expected. Guided full year to $1.38-$1.46 vs. $1.30/sh consensus. -Stryker Q4 EPS was 52c/sh vs. 50c/sh consensus. -Mentor Graphics Q4 EPS was 29c/sh vs. 27c/sh consensus. Company guided Q1 revenue up to $160M vs. $152M consensus. -Steel Dynamics Q4 EPS was 64c/sh vs. 62c/sh expected. Upgrades: -Dominion was upgraded to outperform from neutral at CSFB. -Providian was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. -Ciena was upgraded to neutral from reduce at UBS. -i2 was upgraded to peer perform from under-perform at Bear Stearns. -Talbots was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. -Schering-Plough was upgraded to neutral at JP Morgan. Negative: -Hartford Financial Q4 EPS was $1.17 vs. $1.10/sh consensus. However, company guided full-year operating income down to $4.50-$4.75 vs. $4.50-$5.00 previously. Downgrades: - Neutral: -Vitesse Semiconductor Q1 loss was -6c/sh which was as expected.

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Monday January 27th 8:10--Hilton Hotels Q4 EPS was 11c/sh vs. 10c/sh consensus. Company Q1 EPS down to 5c/sh vs. 10c/sh consensus. 8:00--Schering-Plough was downgraded to neutral from buy at SG Cowen. 7:50--Rohm & Haas was downgraded to equal-weight from overweight at Morgan Stanley. 7:49--Correct: Hans Blix’s report on Iraq is due at 9:30 CST and not 8:30 as we reported earlier. 7:48--Quest Diagnostics was downgraded to outperform from strong buy at Morgan Stanley. 7:46--Veeco Instruments was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch. 7:43--Tyson Q1 EPS was 15c/sh vs. 16c/sh consensus. Company warned that Q2 EPS would be 10c-14c/sh vs. 21c/sh consensus. 7:35--i2 Tech Q4 EPS was 2c/sh vs -5c/sh consensus. 7:33--Freddie Mac Q4 EPS was $1.35/sh vs. $1.28/sh consensus. Company took a 21c/sh charge for a philanthropic donation. 7:26--Odyssey Healthcare declared a 3-for-2 stock split. 7:23--CIT was downgraded to inline from outperform at Salomon. 7:17--Kimberly-Clark Q4 EPS was 76c/sh vs. 74c/sh consensus. 7:16--Lockheed Martin was upgraded to equal-weight from under-weight at Lehman. 7:15--Stocks are: S&P -11.00, Nasdaq -14.00. -FTSE -2.9%, DAX -2.9%, Nikkei -1.4%. -Dollar down due to continued worries over the US-Iraq war outlook. -UN’s Hans Blix report due today around 8:30 am CST. Expectations are that he will ask for more time for inspections to continue. -Colin Powell at Davos said he lost confidence in UN inspections in Iraq but said that he would not rush to judgment on today’s UN report from Hans Blix. Said US will act even if others are not prepared to join us. -CNN is reporting that the State Dept. is drafting a second UN resolution authorizing force against Iraq. -Opposition to Pres. Bush’s dividend tax cut plan is growing in congress according to WSJ. Positive: -United Defense Q4 EPS was 83c/sh vs. 50c/sh consensus. -Trimble Navigation raised its Q4 EPS guidance to 26c-27c/sh from 18c-20c/sh previously. -Energizer Q1 EPS was 91c/sh vs. 90c/sh consensus. -Peet’s Coffee guided earnings to the upper end of its 15c-17c/sh guidance range. Upgrades: -Corning was upgraded to neutral from reduce at UBS. -Ryland was upgraded to outperform from neutral at CSFB. -Trucking stocks ABFS, ROAD, and YELL were upgraded to peer perform from under-perform at Bear Stearns. -BLS, SBC, and VZ were upgraded at UBS to neutral from reduce. -Americredit was upgraded to market perform from under-perform at Wachovia. -FedEx was upgraded to equal-weight at Morgan Stanley. -Lehman and Bear Stearns were upgraded at Salomon. Negative: -Safeco Q4 EPS was 42c/sh vs. 56c/sh consensus. Company said they will offer $500M in notes. -St Paul Q4 EPS was 81c/sh vs. 82c/sh consensus. -Scansoft guided full-year ’02 EPS down to 25c/sh vs. 26c/sh expected. Guided ’03 down to 33c-35c/sh vs. 36c/sh expected. -Action Performance Q1 EPS was 44c/sh vs. 45c/sh consensus. Guided Q2 EPS down to 44c-56c/sh vs. 79c/sh consensus. Downgrades: -Beazer Homes was downgraded to neutral from outperform at CSFB. Neutral: -

Aggiorniamo il commeno finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Friday January 24th 7:56--Shurgard Storage was downgraded to neutral at Merrill Lynch. 7:54--Four Seasons Hotels was downgraded to sell at Merrill Lynch. 7:44--MBNA was upgraded to outperform from inline at Salomon. 7:43--JDS Uniphase was downgraded to equal-weight at Morgan Stanley. 7:42--Pinnacle West was downgraded to inline from outperform at Goldman Sachs. 7:41--Verizon was upgraded to hold from sell at AG Edwards. 7:39--Bank of New York will offer 40 mln common shares. 7:38--Starbucks was upgraded to sector outperform from sector perform at CIBC. 7:37--Choice Hotels was upgraded to buy at UBS. 7:35--America West was downgraded to sell from hold at Deutsche Bank. 7:32--Lockheed Martin Q4 EPS was 85c/sh vs. 81c/sh consensus. However, company guided full-year ’03 EPS down to $2.15-$2.20 vs. $2.58/sh consensus. 7:31--Charlotte Russe was downgraded to market perform from outperform at SG Cowen. 7:31--Cabot Micro was upgraded to buy from hold at Wells Fargo. 7:29--CMS Energy guided FY02 to $1.50-$1.55/sh vs. $1.51/sh consensus. Guided FY03 down to 80c-90c/sh vs. $1.38/sh consensus. Company also said it will suspend the stock’s dividend. 7:27--Telecom equipment sector was upgraded to neutral from cautious at Goldman Sachs. Nortel was a specific name mentioned for upgrade. 7:26--Raytheon Q4 EPS was 64c/sh vs. 65c/sh expected. Company guided FY03 EPS up to $1.70-$1.80 vs. $1.65/sh consensus. 7:25--Broadcom was downgraded to sell at Merrill Lynch. 7:24--Amazon.com was upgraded to out-perform from inline at Salomon. 7:22--Ten property & casualty insurance stocks were downgraded at Morgan Stanley due to the stocks’ sensitivity to a slower economy and the capital markets. Names include AIG, XL, Travelers, Allstate, MBI, and Marsh & McLennan. 7:20--AmerisourceBergen Q1 EPS was 83c/sh vs. 82c/sh expected. 7:15--Stocks are: S&P -1.00, Nasdaq +2.00. -Dollar down due to continued worries over the US-Iraq war outlook. -Iraq’s neighbors (Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Jordan) are urging its cooperation with the UN in order to avoid a war. -UN teams are still unable to meet with scientists alone. Positive: -Starbucks Q1 EPS was 20c/sh vs. 18c/sh consensus. Company guided FY03 up to 67c-68c/sh vs. 66c/sh consensus. -Western Digital Q2 EPS was 36c/sh vs. 14c/sh consensus. Revenues were $749.5M vs. $631M consensus. -Beazer Homes Q1 EPS was $2.75/sh vs. $2.67/sh consensus. Company reiterated FY03 guidance. -Adaptec Q3 EPS was 3c/sh vs. 2c/sh consensus. -Nortel Q4 loss was -1c/sh vs. -5c/sh consensus. -International Rectifier Q2 EPS was 16c/sh vs. 13c/sh consensus. -Emulex Q2 EPS was 20c/sh vs. 19c/sh consensus. -Amazon.com Q4 EPS was 19c/sh vs. 14c/sh consensus. Company guided Q1 EPS to 1c-5c/sh vs. -3c/sh consensus. Also guided revenues higher. Guided 2003 EPS up to 27c/sh from 25c/sh consensus. Also said it will offer free shipping year-round. -Genesis Microchip Q3 EPS was 9c/sh vs. 7c/sh consensus. Guided Q4 revenues to $51.6M vs. $50.7M consensus. -KLA-Tencor Q2 EPS was 15c/sh vs. 14c/sh consensus. Revenues were $335M vs. $330M consensus. Said it expects a 10% increase in Capex spending in ’03 by the industry. Guided Q3 revenues down to $300M vs. $310M consensus, but guided Q3 EPS up to 12c/sh vs. 11c/sh consensus. -PMC-Sierra Q4 loss was -6c/sh vs. -7c/sh consensus. Revenues were $52.6M vs. $51.7M consensus. -RSA Security Q4 EPS was 2c/sh vs. break-even expected. -Vignette Q4 loss was -3c/sh vs. -4c/sh consensus. -Varian Medical Q1 EPS was 30c/sh vs. 24c/sh consensus. -Sharper Image received positive comments in Business Week. Upgrades: -Verisign was upgraded to buy at First Albany. -McDonald’s was upgraded to inline from under-perform at Goldman Sachs. -Lexmark was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch. Negative: -Integrated Device Q3 loss was -20c/sh vs. -19c/sh consensus. Integrated Device guided Q4 revenues toward $79M vs. $81.5M consensus. Also said that it is lowering its FY04 revenue expectations. -McData Q4 EPS was 9c/sh vs. 7c/sh consensus. Company guided Q1 EPS down to 2c-4c/sh vs. 4c/sh consensus. -JDS Uniphase Q2 loss was -13c/sh vs. -5c/sh consensus. - Millipore Q4 EPS of 41c/sh vs. 45c/sh consensus. Downgrades: -KLA-Tencor was downgraded to hold from buy at Prudential. Neutral: -Microsemi Q1 EPS was 1c/sh which was as expected. -Pfizer reaffirmed its full year ’03 EPS guidance of $1.80/sh.

Aggiorniamo il commeno finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Thursday January 23rd 7:58--McDonald’s Q4 EPS was 25c/sh which was as expected. Company targets 10%-15% earnings growth. 7:55--Caterpillar Q4 EPS was 88c/sh vs. 68c/sh consensus. Sees full year profit down 5%. 7:54--AT&T said they will stop providing quarterly and yearly forecast. 7:49--Schlumberger was downgraded to inline from outperform at Salomon. 7:47--NY Times was upgraded to outperform from inline at Salomon. 7:43--BMC Software Q3 EPS was 15c/sh vs. 8c/sh consensus. Company raised Q4 guidance to 15c-18c/sh vs. 12c/sh consensus. Raised FY03 guidance to 46c-49c/sh vs. 36c/sh consensus. 7:42--Saudi Arabia said war with Iraq isn’t needed and urged a peaceful solution. Bush administration said that the UN inspections are failing. 7:39--Network Associates was downgraded to neutral from buy at Bank of America. 7:37--Ingersoll-Rand Q4 EPS was $1.19/sh vs. 94c/sh consensus. 7:35--CEA’s Glen Hubbard reportedly will leave the administration. He was scheduled to give an economic outlook about 35 minutes ago, but we haven’t seen any comments yet. 7:35--PeopleSoft was upgraded to neutral at UBS. 7:34--Merrill Lynch was downgraded to inline at Goldman Sachs. 7:34--Morgan Stanley was upgraded to outperform at Goldman Sachs. 7:32--The initial claims number would normally be bullish for bonds and bearish for stocks, but the markets will likely have a lack of confidence in these numbers due to recent volatility. 7:30--Initial claims were +18K to 381K vs. 385K consensus. Last week was revised to 363K vs. 360K previously. 7:27--Brinker was downgraded to market perform from outperform at Wachovia. 7:22--Ryland Group Q4 EPS was $2.50/sh vs. $1.93/sh consensus. Guided FY03 EPS to $7.25/sh vs. $6.78/sh consensus. 7:21--Cardinal Health Q2 EPS was 77c/sh which was as expected. 7:20--CIT Group Q4 EPS was 67c/sh which was as expected. 7:19--LSI Logic was downgraded to underweight at Morgan Stanley. 7:19--Macromedia was upgraded to neutral at Merrill Lynch. 7:19--Enterasys was upgraded to market perform from under-perform at SG Cowen. 7:18--Ashland Oil Q1 EPS was 4c/sh vs. 7c/sh consensus. 7:18--Bellsouth Q4 EPS was 50c/sh vs. 51c/sh consensus. 7:17--Southwest Airlines was upgraded to outperform from neutral at CSFB. 7:16--Burlington Resources Q4 EPS was 78c/sh vs. 65c/sh consensus. Revenues were $817M vs. $739M consensus. 7:15--Stocks are: S&P +6.00, Nasdaq +18.00. -Euro higher after downward revision to strong German Industrial Production data (+2.4% vs. +2.5% previously). ECB monthly report also said that timing of an economic recovery is difficult to predict. Both events suggest that the ECB has room to lower rates. -Japanese foreign minister said the Japanese should not intervene to weaken the yen. -Dollar weaker in general due to lack of European support for Iraqi war. Anti-US feelings in Europe and elsewhere are being seen producing an anti-dollar sentiment. Positive: -Texas Instruments EPS was +6c/sh ex-items vs. +3c/sh consensus. Revenues were $2.15B vs. $2.10B consensus. -Qualcomm 42c/sh vs. 38c/sh consensus. -Nokia Q4 pro forma EPS was 26c/sh vs. 23c-25c/sh previously guided by the company and vs. 23c/sh consensus. Company affirmed Q1 EPS of 16c-20c/sh (consensus is 18c/sh). Said mobile phone volumes will grow by 10% or more. -Activision Q3 EPS was 63c/sh vs. 59c/sh consensus. Revenues were $378.7M vs. $362.0M consensus. -Mercury Interactive Q4 EPS was 27c/sh vs. 26c/sh consensus. Revenues were as expected at $117.8M. -Checkpoint Software Q4 EPS was 26c/sh vs. 24c/sh consensus. Revenues were $110.3M vs. $103.6M consensus. -Amdocs Q1 EPS was 20c/sh vs. 18c/sh consensus. Revenues were $339.4M vs. $333.5M consensus. -F5 Networks Q1 EPS was 2c/sh vs. break-even expected. Company guided Q2 EPS to 2c-4c/sh vs. 1c/sh consensus. -Macromedia Q3 EPS was 14c/sh vs. 7c/sh consensus. Revenues were $82.6M vs. $79.5M consensus. -Lam Research Q2 EPS was 1c/sh vs. break-even expected. Company guided Q3 EPS to break-even vs. -1c/sh consensus. Guided revenues to $180M vs. $172M consensus. Company guided Q2 EPS to break even vs. -1c/sh consensus. -Citrix Systems Q4 EPS was 23c/sh vs. 14c/sh consensus. Affirmed Q1 EPS of 11c-13c/sh vs. 12c/sh consensus. -Tellabs Q4 loss was -2c/sh vs. -3c/sh consensus. Revenues were $312.8M vs. $283.3M consensus. -Storage Tech Q4 EPS was 47c/sh vs. 46c/sh consensus. Revenues were $590.1M vs. $573.7M consensus. -Altera Q4 EPS was 7c/sh vs. 6c/sh consensus. Revenues were $180.6M vs. $180.3M consensus. -Siebel Systems Q4 EPS was 5c/sh vs. 4c/sh consensus. Revenues were $394.7M vs. $369.7M consensus. -United Health Group Q4 EPS was $1.20/sh vs. $1.16/sh consensus. Company guided 2003 EPS up toward $5.19/sh vs. $5.04/sh consensus. Upgrades: -JetBlue was upgraded to overweight from equal-weight at Morgan Stanley. -F5 Networks was upgraded to outperform from inline at Salomon. -Lucent was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch. Negative: -LSI Logic Q4 EPS was 1c/sh which was as expected. Revenues were $479.7 vs. $485.5M consensus. Company warned Q1 loss would be 18c-20c/sh vs. +2c/sh consensus. Revenues were guided to $370M-$390M vs. $485.1M consensus. -CDW Q4 EPS was 52c/sh vs. 51c/sh consensus. Revenues were $1.05B which was as expected. Guided Q1 EPS down to 48c-50c/sh vs. 51c/sh consensus. Guided Q1 revenues to $1.04B-$1.07B vs. $1.06B consensus. -PeopleSoft Q4 EPS was 18c/sh vs. 14c/sh consensus. Revenues were $512.3M vs. $482.3M consensus. Peoplesoft CEO said he doesn’t see IT spending budgets growing. -Cirrus Logic Q3 loss was -8c/sh which was as expected. Revenues were $60.5M vs. $60.1M consensus. Company guided Q4 revenues down to $52M-$56M vs. $61M consensus. -Network Associates Q4 EPS was 29c/sh vs. 24c/sh consensus. Company guided Q1 down to 9c-11c/sh vs. 15c/sh consensus. -Computer Associates Q3 EPS was 5c/sh vs. 4c/sh consensus. Revenues were $778.0M vs. $782.8M consensus. Said that federal investigators have subpoenaed customer records. Downgrades: -Activision was downgraded to underperform from market perform at Piper Jaffray. Neutral: -Roxio Q3 loss was -17c/sh vs. -12c/sh consensus. Guided Q4 EPS up to 19c/sh vs. 15c/sh consensus. -Compuware Q4 EPS was 7c/sh which was as expected. Revenues were $333.1M vs. $322.4M consensus. -EMC matched expectations.

Aggiorniamo il commeno finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Wednesday January 22nd 7:53--JDA Software was upgraded at Wachovia. 7:51--Openwave was downgraded to under-perform from sector perform at RBC. 7:51--Cadence Design was downgraded to sector perform from outperform at RBC. 7:49--AMR Q4 loss was -$3.39/sh vs. -$3.73/sh consensus. 7:48--Checkfree was upgraded to buy from hold at Needham. 7:47--JDA Software was upgraded at Piper Jaffray. 7:46--Northern Trust Q4 EPS was 43c/sh vs. 47c/sh consensus. 7:44--December Semiconductor book-to-bill was 0.98 vs. 0.80 in November. 7:40--Merrill Lynch Q4 EPS was 64c/sh vs. 63c/sh consensus. Warned that maintaining 2002’s revenue levels will be difficult. 7:39--Roadway Q4 EPS was $1.37/sh vs. $1.45/sh consensus. 7:34--International Game Technology Q1 EPS was $1.00/sh vs. 92c/sh consensus. Revenues were $531.7M vs. $516M consensus. 7:33--Kulicke & Soffa Q1 loss was -36c/sh vs. -44c/sh consensus. Guided Q2 revenue up to $120M-$130M vs. $103M consensus. 7:32--Avid Tech was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JP Morgan. 7:31--General Dynamics Q4 EPS was $1.23/sh vs. $1.44/sh consensus. 7:30--Lucent Q1 loss was -15c/sh vs. -21c/sh consensus. Company affirmed its expectations of a return to profitability in 2003. 7:27--Southwest Airlines Q4 EPS was 5c/sh vs. 3c/sh consensus. 7:26--Sanmina-SCI was upgraded to neutral from reduce at UBS. Company guided down 2003 EPS in its earnings release yesterday afternoon. 7:24--UK’s Blair said that the UK may support war vs. Iraq without UN’s backing. 7:22--Eastman Kodak Q4 EPS was 65c/sh vs. 67c/sh consensus. Guided Q1 down to 13c/sh vs. 28c/sh consensus. Affirmed 2003, but the Q1 guidance likely will have larger effect. 7:21--Schlumberger Q4 EPS was 25c/sh vs. 30c/sh consensus. 7:20--BTM weekly chain store sales were +0.3%. Sales were said to be mixed relative to plan. 7:15--Stocks are: S&P -6.00, Nasdaq -6.00. -EU CPI was +0.2% and +2.3% y/y, which is cutting expectations of a rate cut in eurozone. ECB officials suggested that there is no need for a rate cut now. -Japanese officials said the BOJ is ready to take action against rapid foreign exchange moves. -There were rumors overnight that the Swiss national bank was checking for rates for intervention. -There is a sense that US-European relations continue to degrade. German and French officials are not supporting a war against Iraq. Russian military expects an Iraq war to take place in the second half of Feb. US news reports indicate the same. Positive: -Checkfree Q2 EPS was 20c/sh vs. 17c/sh consensus. Guided full-year EPS up to 74c-77c/sh vs. 65c/sh consensus. -Maxtor Q4 EPS was 15c/sh vs. 12c/sh consensus. Revenues were $1.04B vs. $1.00B consensus. -Pinnacle Systems Q2 EPS was 12c/sh vs. 11c/sh consensus. Revenues were $84.5M vs. $76.3M consensus. -JDA Software Q4 EPS was 11c/sh vs. 7c/sh consensus. Revenues were $53.3M vs. $48.6M consensus. -Oak Technology Q2 loss was -18c/sh vs. -23c/sh consensus. Revenues were $28.4M vs. $26.2M consensus. Company guided Q3 EPS up to a loss of 15c-17c/sh vs. -18c/sh consensus. -Webmethods Q3 EPS was +3c/sh vs. -2c/sh consensus. Revenues were $53.8M vs. $49.3M consensus. -Echelon Q4 EPS was 9c/sh vs. 8c/sh consensus. -Integrated Circuit Q2 EPS was 23c/sh vs. 22c/sh consensus. Revenues were $62.0M vs. $61.0M consensus. -Legg Mason Q3 EPS was 70c/sh vs. 69c/sh consensus. Revenues were $379.8M vs. $376.0M consensus. -Pfizer Q4 EPS was 48c/sh vs. 47c/sh consensus. -Fannie Mae is raising its dividend to 39c/sh from 33c/sh previously. Upgrades: - Negative: -Motorola Q4 EPS was 13c/sh vs. 10c/sh consensus. Revenues were $7.55B vs. $7.05B consensus. For Q1, company affirmed revenues, but lowered EPS guidance to 0c-2c/sh vs. 5c/sh consensus. -Xilinx Q3 EPS matched expectations, but the company guided Q4 revenues to $285M-$295M vs. $293.5M consensus. -RF MicroDevices Q3 EPS was 8c/sh vs. 5c/sh consensus. However, company guided Q4 EPS down to -1c/sh to break-even vs. +3c/sh consensus. -Sanmina-SCI Q1 EPS was 1c/sh which was as expected. Revenues were $2.54B vs. $2.42B consensus. Company guided down 2003 EPS to -1c/sh to +1c/sh vs. +1c/sh consensus. -Cadence Design guided Q1 EPS down to 3c-4c/sh vs. 6c/sh consensus. -Baxter Q4 EPS was 59c/sh vs. 60c/sh consensus. Guided Q1 down to 42c-45c/sh vs. 45c/sh consensus. -Tyco matched Q1 EPS expectations of 32c/sh, but guided 2003 to the low end of expectations. -Intel COO sold 900,000 Intel shares, or two-thirds of his holdings. Downgrades: - Neutral: -Hutchinson Q1 EPS was 65c/sh vs. 63c/sh consensus. Revenues were $132.9M vs. $133.7M consensus. Slightly lowered Q2 EPS guidance to 55c-65c/sh vs. 62c/sh consensus. Q2 revenue guidance is $125M-$135M vs. $132.5M consensus. -Unisys Q4 EPS was 27c/sh which was as expected. Company affirmed 2003 guidance of 77c-82c/sh vs. 80c/sh consensus. -Cadence Design Q4 EPS was 3c/sh which was as expected. -McKesson Q3 EPS was 46c/sh which was as expected. Revenues were $10.9B vs. $10.75B consensus. -Avaya Q1 loss was -9c/sh which was as expected. Revenues were $1.07B vs. $1.06B consensus.

Aggiorniamo il commeno finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Tuesday January 21st 7:54--Charles Schwab Q4 EPS was 7c/sh vs. 8c/sh consensus. Revenues also missed at $996M vs. $1.036B consensus. 7:53--Barr Labs Q2 EPS was 94c/sh vs. 93c/sh consensus. Revenues were $209.0M vs. $205.8M consensus. 7:39--Semtech was upgraded to outperform from market weight at CSFB. 7:30--Dec housing starts were +5.0% to 1.835M vs. 1.680M consensus. Housing permits were +8.2% to 1.880M. Starts were the highest since Jun ’86. Single family starts were the highest since Nov ’78. Nov starts were revised up to 1.747M vs. 1.697M previously. 7:27--Wells Fargo Q4 EPS was 86c/sh which was as expected. 7:24--Johnson & Johnson Q4 EPS was 48c/sh vs. 47c/sh consensus. Q4 sales were $9.403B vs. $9.17B consensus. 7:22--Electronic Arts received positive comments from both Lehman and Piper Jaffray. 7:15--Stocks are: S&P -1.00, Nasdaq -2.00. -Dollar higher today against both euro and yen. EU finance ministers warned that German debt could exceed 3% of GDP. -Conversely, German ZEW rose for the first time in seven months to 14 from 6, which should’ve supported the euro. -Yen down against dollar despite Nikkei +1.8%. Euro gaining against the yen based on positive ZEW survey. -UK inflation data was slightly lower than expected. -Hans Blix said that Iraq is not answering all questions. -UK’s Blair said Saddam’s regime is weakening under military pressure. Said the UK is gaining massive amounts of intelligence. -Bonds higher after Barron’s front page warning of ‘debt bomb.’ -Oil 30c/bbl higher after OPEC said it has done all it can to keep prices stable. Positive: -3M Q4 EPS was $1.29 vs. $1.28 consensus. Guided Q1 to $1.38-$1.43 vs. $1.37 current consensus. -Harley-Davidson Q4 EPS was 49c/sh vs. 46c/s consensus. -Citigroup Q4 EPS was 47c/sh vs. 46c/sh consensus. -Ford Q4 EPS was 8c/sh vs. 7c/sh consensus. Company also raised its Q1 production plans. -Ameritrade Q4 EPS was 5c/sh vs. 4c/sh consensus. -Micromuse Q1 loss was -3c/sh vs. -7c/sh consensus. -Premcor Q4 EPS was 60c/sh vs. 41c/sh consensus. -Adtran Q4 EPS was 32c/sh vs. 31c/sh consensus. -Mother’s Work Q1 EPS was 63c/sh vs. 56c/sh consensus. Company boosted 2003 guidance to $2.60-$2.70 vs. $2.56-$2.61 previously. -Burlington Northern Q4 EPS was 54c/sh vs. 53c/sh consensus. Upgrades: -Semiconductor equipment sector was upgraded to overweight from market weight at Salomon. -GM was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. -Juniper Networks was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. -Vodafone was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch. -PBM’s received positive comments in Barron’s. -Pfizer received positive comments relative to Merck in Barron’s. Negative: -Alcan Aluminum missed earnings expectations. Downgrades: -Dell was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS. -Novartis AG was downgraded to hold from buy at SG Cowen. -Adtran was downgraded to hold from buy at Deutsche Bank. -Verizon received negative comments in the NYT. Neutral: -Echostar reportedly is in talks with both News Corp and Liberty Media regarding a merger. -Cable & Wireless Chairman Wallace will step down. -Toys R Us President Staley will step down. -Energizer will buy Pfizer’s Schick business for $930M.