Morning Morsel

swine flu 300x203 Morning MorselU.S. stocks ended fairly unchanged Tuesday, as the decision by Warren Buffett to splash out $44 billion on railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe was offset by weakness in the chip sector on a Morgan Stanley downgrade and news that Johnson & Johnson was cutting 7% of its workforce. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 17 points, while the S&P 500 rose 2 points and the Nasdaq Composite added 8 points.

Some bond investors are expecting mortgage rates to rise as the Federal Reserve finishes its planned purchases of nearly $1.5 trillion in mortgage-related bonds, yet another risk to the fragile U.S. recovery.

Bernanke speaks today and will keep rates unchanged. His language however will be taken apart with an electron microscope. Don’t forget, the unemployment figures are reported on Friday, so any possible rally may be muted, as Friday’s number will loom large.

Have a great day.

Economic
7:30am Oct Challenger Job Cuts y/y (last -30.2%)
8:15am Oct ADP Employment Change (last -254K)
10:00am Oct ISM Non-Manufacturing (last 50.9)
10:30am DoE Crude Oil/Gasoline/Distillate Inventories
2:15pm FOMC rate decision
Events
BoJ minutes. 8:00am FDA Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Devices Panel Meeting. World Energy Engineering Conference. Same-Store Sales after the close. MBA Mortgage Applications (7:00, last -12.3%). Trades Ex-dividend: INTC $0.14, BA $0.42, HST $0.25.
Earnings
Before the Open: AGU, ALVR, ABK, ASCA, WTR, ARJ, ATRC, ADP, FLY, BHI, BDX, BPI, LSE, CEDC, CKP, CBB, CWEI, CLH, CMCSA, CGX, CRTX, DVN, DTPI, RRD, EP, EPB, ENB, FWLT, GRMN, WOLF, HEES, HW, HSIC, HUN, IAG, IRC, IART, IFF, JMP, LINE, LIZ, LL, MMC, MSO, MXGL, MINI, TAP, TNDM, NEWS, ORCT, POL, PHM, RDN, SBGI, TRK, SUSS, TTES, NGLS, TKLC, TGH, TWX, TOT, RIG, TRW, TEL, WPI, WCG, WNS, XTO, ZBRA. After the Close: NDN, ALL, ALJ, DOX, AEL, AMMD, ARII, ANDE, AUTH, CELL, BRS, CECO, CSCO, COGO, CXW, CUZ, TRAK, DXCM, DCP, EGLE, EQY, ESLR, FRT, FGXI, FR, FCN, GHDX, ROCK, GIVN, GCA, GLBL, GCOM, GG, GDP, HVT, HCN, HT, HIL, NSIT, TEG, VTIV, IO, JCOM, KPPC, KNDL, LLNW, LMNX, MKL, MMLP, MEAS, MELI, MCHP, MFLX, MUR, N, NWSA, OIIM, ONNN, OSUR, ORA, VITA, PARL, PVA, PAA, PPO, PL, PRSC, PRU, QCOM, RJET, SGMO, SVNT, SCI, SMSI, SRX, SHO, THOR, THQI, TRMA, TTMI, UNTD, VTAL, WFMI.

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