Watchlist for December 20, 2007

This little newsflash brought a smile to my face:

Indian markets regulator says to allow short selling - Forbes Forbes reports markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India said it has decided to allow short selling of shares by all classes of investors. SEBI has also decided to stop institutions from day trading or square off their transactions intra-day, the regulator said in a release. SEBI also decided to put in place a full-fledged securities lending and borrowing (SLB) scheme for all mkt participants in the Indian securities mkt under the over-all regulatory framework. For the short selling and SLB, all the Indian stock exchanges will put in place systems and issue guidelines, said the mkt regulator.

Allowing short selling... what a concept!

Guard your wallets today, we've got the Philly Fed report at noon and you'll probably see the expiration pins starting to ramp up...

On Today's Calendar:

10:00 -- Leading Indicators
10:00 -- Philadelphia Fed

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

See one of the recent 'Chart Reading' posts for some potential swing candidates.

Potential day trades:

(From Briefing.com)

Gapping Down

In reaction to weak earnings/guidance: RAD -14.6%, RUTH -13.8%, XING -12.5%, LDK -12.3% (also downgraded to Sell at Piper Jaffray), LEG -5.4%, PAYX -5.2%, HWAY -4.1%... Other news: MBI -18.6% (bond risk soars as co discloses CDO-squared exposure; credit-default swaps climb 110 bps to 590 bps- Bloomberg), ARRY -18.3% (announces phase 2 study shows no apparent difference in efficacy between AZD6244 and temozolomide for the primary endpoint), ALTU -17.0% (reacquires ALTU-238 global development and commercialization rights, also downgraded to Market Perform at Wachovia), PRST -15.5% (provides update regarding delayed quarterly filing of Form 10-Q for Q3 2007; also announced the SEC is conducting an informal inquiry), INGN -13.7% (plans to expand biomarker database in Phase 3 trials and file BLA and MAA for Advexin), FOLD -9.5% (announces positive results from phase 2 clinical trials of Amigal for Fabry Disease), NFI -8.2% (announces management changes), IDEV -7.8% (receives non-approvable letter from FDA for Valstar), GFI -3.3% (says overall attributable production for Q2 F2008 is expected to be down approximately 3.5% YoY), MICC -2.9% (still checking), TRID -1.5% (announces resignation of CFO), STI -1.2% (its 8-K discloses additional write-downs in Q4)... Analyst downgrades: PCLN -2.9% (downgraded to Hold at Stifel), ATLS -1.5% (downgraded to Outperform at Friedman Billings), FBCM -1.0% (downgraded to Hold at Jefferies), HES -1.0% (downgraded to Hold at Citigroup).

Gapping Up

In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: VOL +20.6%, PIR +11.4%, MLHR +9.1% (also announces $200 mln share repurchase program), ORCL +6.5%, SCS +5.6% (also announces $250 mln share repurchase program), CAG +4.9%, ATVI +4.9%, ACN +4.7%, SMOD +3.7%, NKE +2.7%... M&A news: ECHO +108.1% (INTU to acquire ECHO for $17/share)... Other news: CNIC +20.4% (entered into a non-binding letter of interest with a third party), CGEN +18.6% (announces it has signed a collaborative discovery and license agreement with Roche), CNLG +17.6% (estimates 3-year backlog at over $4.5 mln, highest backlog of orders since the introduction of its new products), LOCM +8.0% (announces a strategic partnership with Citysearch), TSS +5.5% (will replace Synovus Financial (SNV) in the S&P 500 on 12/31), CRGN +4.9% (names Sean Cassidy as CFO), NVAX +4.7% (announces favorable interim results from Phase I/IIa Trial), CT +4.3% (announces $1.90/share special cash dividend), SLM +3.5% (says it and Citibank have amended the terms of the contracts so that there will be no trigger prices), LMC +2.9% (still checking), FDRY +2.8% (will replace Andrew (ANDW) in the S&P MidCap 400), RIMM +2.6% (still checking), ANPI +2.3% (authorized to begin Phase I trial of Multistem), NLY +2.2% (announces Q4 dividend 30% increase), RIO +1.8% (in talks with Tata Steel for plant in Brazil - Business Standard), ETN +1.8% (agrees to acquire The Moeller Group and launches tender offer to acquire Phoenixtec Power), WPO +1.7% (will replace Temple-Inland (TIN) in the S&P 500 on 12/28), GM +1.7% (Navistar to buy GM truck unit - WSJ), SNCR +1.2% (announces organizational changes), PZZA +1.1% (Cramer makes positive comments on MadMoney), PDX +1.1% (announces $100 mln share repurchase program), BIG +1.1% (WSJ mentions as appealing to corporate buyers due to their valuations), QRCP +1.1% (provides guidance and New Ventures update)... Analyst upgrades: PBR +2.6% (upgraded to Buy at Citigroup), MA +2.2% (upgraded to Outperform at Bear Sterns), CLWR +2.1% (initiated with Buy at Stanford Financial), WYNN +1.9% (upgraded to Neutral at UBS), LULU +1.9% (initiated with Buy at ThinkEquity), SNCR +1.3% (hearing upgraded to Buy at tier-1 firm), DRI +1.0% (upgraded to Outperform at Morgan Keegan).