Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Microcap & Penny Stocks : TGL WHAAAAAAAT! Alerts, thoughts, discussion. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: cavan who wrote (107966)	8/5/2002 8:25:21 AM
From: cavan	Respond to of 150070

Monday, Aug. 5, 2002 WHAT TO WATCH An Eye in the Storm? Historically, the dog days of summer signal a sharp slowdown in the amount of business news worth watching. But that has not been the case this year, as Wall Street has been kept on edge by severe stock market volatility, high-profile corporate scandals, major legislative moves in Washington and a weak economic picture. At least on the face of it, this week could see a bit of a breather from the crunch of news, with far fewer companies reporting their financial results as the earnings season begins to wind down. Meanwhile, Congress will be in recess, and few major economic reports are scheduled over the next five days. Still, with companies facing an Aug. 14 deadline for top executives to certify the accuracy of their financial data with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street will be watching to see if there are any new accounting surprises. Last week, a report on the nation's gross domestic product showed the economy nearing virtual stagnation in the second quarter, growing just 1.1 percent. That was followed by weaker-than-expected results in a survey of manufacturing activity, when the Institute for Supply Management said its index of business activity slipped to 50.5 percent in July from a 56.2 percent in June. Analysts had been expecting a reading of 55.0. Then on Friday, the Labor Department added more bad news when it reported that U.S. businesses increased their payrolls by only 6,000 positions in July, considerably less than the 50,000 to 80,000 jobs Wall Street analysts had been projecting. Today, the Institute for Supply Management will add more data to the mix when it issues its non-manufacturing index. "It will probably not deteriorate as sharply as the manufacturing survey did, which will ease some fears with the market and the Fed about the risks of a double dip" into recession, said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson Associates in New York. Apart from that, he said, "there isn't much on the calendar until the following week, when the key items are retail sales and industrial production." Despite the quiet, a couple earnings reports are worth watching including Procter & Gamble, the consumer products giant, which is one of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average. It will post its financial results today. Other earnings worth watching include Cisco Systems, due out on Tuesday, and Qwest Communications, on Thursday. -- Dan Bigman, Business Editor, NYTimes.com