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MARKET CURRENTS

  • 9:07 AM At the bottom of J.C. Penney's (JCP) Q1 blowup could be something as simple as the concept that U.S. consumers like their deals, according to Stacey Widlitz. The Ron Johnson-led strategy of reclaiming pricing by cutting out promotions backfired as traffic at stores fell off dramatically. While new brands and a transformation "ahead of schedule" could still click, the burning question is do investors have the patience to wait for it? JCP -15.2% premarket. Comment! [Consumer]
  • 9:05 AM Premarket gainers: OSUR +30%. COGO +15%. SINA +12%. ABMD +9%. VELT +8%. FTR +6%.
    Losers: CLNT -29%. JCP -15%. TAXI -9%. NBG -8%. ANF -7%. ARNA -6%. WHX -5%. KERX -5%. Comment! [On the Move]
  • 9:05 AM JPMorgan upgrades Weatherford (WFT +2.8%) to "overweight" from "neutral," citing the oilfield services company strong presence in artificial lift services, for which there is high demand. However, JPM cuts Baker Hughes (BHI -0.7%) to "neutral" from "overweight" and its price target to $50 from $53 on execution fears about the firm's revamp. Comment! [Energy]
  • 9:01 AM "A major break in the growth model" means supposedly cheap Chinese stocks are to be avoided, says Deutsche's John-Paul Smith. Beijing, he argues, realizes it has lost control over regional governments that have built up huge debts by pursuing projects of dubious value. Policy is now focused on restoring discipline - as highlighted by the sacking of Bo Xilai. Comment! [Global & FX]
  • 9:00 AM On the hour: S&P +0.43%. 10-yr -0.21%. Euro +0.09% vs. dollar. Crude -1.49% to $92.58. Gold -1.12% to $1539.65. Comment!
  • 8:59 AM Petroleum Development (PETD) -1.8% premarket after pricing its public offering of 6.5M shares at a 2.8% discount to its Tuesday closing price. The offering, intended in part to finance the purchase of assets in Colorado's Wattenberg oil and gas field, priced at $26.50/share. Comment! [Energy, On the Move]
  • 8:55 AM A Hispanic population in the U.S. that has passed the 50M mark has caught the attention of advertisers at the annual industry conference to line up TV ads for next season's shows. One of the biggest players is Disney (DIS) with its ESPN Deportes Spanish-language sports network already drawing solid ratings, while execs at CBS, NWSA, CMCSA, DEO, and DISCA are also pitching shows aimed at drawing in Hispanic viewers. 1 Comment [Consumer]
  • 8:53 AM S&P 500 futures +0.4%, off just a bit since the housing starts print which showed a strong headline number, but a decline in permits. At 717K, the number of housing starts remains well below levels associated with recessions over the past half century. 1 Comment [U.S. Economy]
  • 8:52 AM EU competition officials extend by the three weeks, until August 31, their deadline for deciding on whether to approve United Tech's (UTX) $16.5B acquisition of aircraft components maker Goodrich (GR). Comment! [M&A]
  • 8:49 AM Liberty Media (LMCA) upped its holding in Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) to 48.7M shares, or more than 25% of the concert promotion giant's outstanding shares, from ~20%, according to an SEC filing. Liberty has received regulatory clearance to own as much as 35% of LYV, whose shares are +4% premarket. Comment! [Consumer, On the Move]
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ANALYSIS FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 9:05AM ET

DIA -0.45%
SPY -0.52%
QQQ -0.30%
GLD -1.07%

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