NWAC Northwest Airlines (MM)

MORNING UPDATE: brokersXpress, LLC issues alerts for EBAY, NOK, STJ, NWAC, and CIT CHICAGO, April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- brokersXpress, LLC issues the following Morning Update at 8:30 AM EDT with new PriceWatch Alerts for key stocks. Before the open... PriceWatch Alerts for EBAY, NOK, STJ, NWAC, and CIT, Market Overview, Today's Economic Calendar, and the Quote Of The Day. QUOTE OF THE DAY "Wages aren't keeping up with the higher prices for gasoline, health care and even clothing." -- Jack Reed, U.S. Senator New PriceWatch Alerts for EBAY, NOK, STJ, NWAC, and CIT... PRICEWATCH ALERTS - HIGH RETURN COVERED CALL OPTIONS ----------- -- eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Last Price 33.11 - JUN 30.00 CALL OPTION@ $4.50 -> 4.9 % Return assigned* -- Nokia Corp. ADR (NYSE:NOK) Last Price 15.34 - JUL 15.00 CALL OPTION@ $1.00 -> 4.6 % Return assigned* -- St Jude Medical Inc. (NYSE:STJ) Last Price 39.67 - JUN 40.00 CALL OPTION@ $1.30 -> 4.2 % Return assigned* -- Northwest Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ:NWAC) Last Price 5.40 - MAY 5.00 CALL OPTION@ $0.70 -> 6.4 % Return assigned* -- CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT) Last Price 39.63 - JUN 40.00 CALL OPTION@ $1.30 -> 4.4 % Return assigned* * To learn more about how to use these alerts and for our FREE report, "The 18 Warning Signs That Tell You When To Dump A Stock ", go to: http://www.investorsobserver.com/mu18 (Note: You may need to copy the link above into your browser then press the [ENTER] key) ** For the FREE report, "Is Your Investment Portfolio Disaster Proof? - Insights, Stocks, And Strategies." go to: http://www.investorsobserver.com/FREEDP NOTE: All stocks and options shown are examples only. These are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. NEWS LEADERS AND LAGGARDS So far today, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Merck & Co Inc., and AT&T Corp. lead the list of companies with the most news stories while Headwaters Inc. and OfficeMax Inc. are showing a spike in news. Medimmune Inc., Office Depot Inc., and Textron Inc. have the highest srtIndex scores to top the list of companies with positive news while Allegheny Technologies Inc. and York International Corp. lead the list of companies with negative news reports. eBay Inc. has popped up with a high positive news sraIndex score. For the FREE article titled, "Earnings Season Decoded - An Essential 15 Point Checklist For Finding Winning Stocks." go to: http://www.wallstreetsecretsplus.com/go/freemu/ MARKET OVERVIEW Overseas trading is looking surprisingly well this morning, despite yesterday's heavy sell-off in the U.S. equity market. At 7:40 a.m. Eastern time, 11 of the 15 foreign markets that we track were currently trading higher. The cumulative average return on the group stood at a gain of 0.241 percent. While inflation fears took their toll on the Japanese Nikkei and held other Asian markets to meager gains, European markets sounded the rally horns after solid earnings reports from SAP, LVMH Moet Hennessy, and Volkswagen. Furthermore, the $14-billion buyout of Allied Domecq by Pernod Ricard had European investors cheering, sending both stocks soaring in early trading. While the futures contract on the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a 52- week low of 10,015 earlier this morning, a string of positive earnings from the European tech sector has all U.S. futures moving higher once again. SAP, a key rival of Oracle, posted better-than-expected licensing sales for the quarter, while telecommunications concern Nokia logged an 18-percent surge in quarterly profits and lifted its outlook for the mobile market for 2005. Be prepared for the investing week ahead with Bernie Schaeffer's FREE Monday Morning Outlook. For more details and to sign up, go to: http://www.investorsobserver.com/freemo DYNAMIC MARKET OPPORTUNITIES A new survey of just over 3,000 US employers from Mercer Human Resource Consulting shows that the average cost of healthcare per employee rose 7.5% in 2004. The total cost for medical and dental plans per employee is now a shade under US$6,700. While this isn't exactly very positive news, it was nevertheless lower than the 10.1% jump in 2003. Major reasons for the slowdown in cost inflation include increased competition among insurance providers last year and the success of smaller companies in keeping their costs down. The survey shows that companies with 10 to 499 employees saw their costs rise 5.5% in 2004. By contrast, larger companies (500+ employees) grappled a jump of 9%. Overall, just 10% of those companies surveyed project an increase in healthcare costs this year. Elsewhere, while it's true that Europe continues to struggle to gain economic momentum, the region did at least contribute to a rise in PC sales during the first quarter. New figures from market research firms IDC and Gartner show that strong demand from Europe propelled first- quarter computer shipments up 11%. There's little doubt that the weaker dollar helped push up the market in those areas. Once again, Dell led the way with year-over-year global sales growth of 13% for the quarter. It increased its share of the worldwide market from 18.5% to 18.9%, according to IDC. That's significantly ahead of its closest rival, Hewlett-Packard, which grabbed a 13.9% market share, to say nothing of IBM, which owns just 5% of the market. Apple placed itself firmly in fifth position as its global shipments soared 45% during the first three months of 2005. Read more analysis from the 247Profits Group every trading day with the FREE 247Profits e-Dispatch, featuring insightful economic commentary, profitable investment recommendations, and full access to a leading team of financial experts. Register for free here: http://www.investorsobserver.com/TP TODAY'S ECONOMIC CALENDAR 8:30 A.M. Apr 16 Initial Jobless Claims 10:00 A.M. March Conference Board Leading Economic Indicators 12:00 P.M. April Philadelphia Fed Business Index The Mankus Lavelle Group is an independent brokerage branch of brokersXpress, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of optionsXpress Holdings, Inc. The Mankus Lavelle Group has some of the most experienced, respected options professionals in the industry. Both novice option investors and experienced traders are attracted to MLG. Less experienced investors appreciate Mankus Lavelle Group's friendly expert guidance while more seasoned investors value Mankus Lavelle Group's highly trained staff of option experts. To improve your understanding of options get a free option kit at: http://www.mlgos.com/. If you are familiar with stock investing but not sure what options can do for you, call 1-800-230-5570 for a FREE 3-point portfolio check up. Securities offered through brokersXpress, LLC Member NASD/SPIC. Corporate Office: 39 South LaSalle Street o Suite 220 o Chicago, Illinois 60603-1608 brokersXpressSM is the online broker-dealer for independent reps and advisors. Powered by the award-winning technology of optionsXpress(R), its parent company, brokersXpress provides a leading-edge trading platform particularly powerful for reps and advisors who employ option strategies. For more information on how partnering with brokersXpress can empower your business to new levels, contact us confidentially by e-mail at . Member NASD/SPIC. CRD# 127081 This Morning Update was prepared with data and information provided by: InvestorsObserver.com - Better Strategies for Making Money -> For Investors With a Sense of Humor. Only $1 for your first month plus seven free bonuses worth over $420, see: http://www.investorsobserver.com/must Quote.com QCharts- Real time quotes and streaming technical charts to keep you up with the market. Analyze, predict, and stay ahead. for a Free 30 day trial go to: http://www.investorsobserver.com/MUQuote2 247profits.com: You'll get exclusive financial commentary, access to a global network of experts and undiscovered stock alerts. Register NOW for the FREE 247profits e-Dispatch. Go to: http://www.investorsobserver.com/agora Schaeffer's Investment Research - Sign up for your FREE e-weekly, Monday Morning Outlook, Bernie Schaeffer's look ahead at the markets. Sign Up Now http://www.investorsobserver.com/freemo PowerOptionsPlus - The Best Way To Find, Compare, Analyze, and Make Money On Options Investments. For a 14-Day FREE trial and 5 FREE bonuses go to: http://www.investorsobserver.com/poweropt All stocks and options shown are examples only. These are not recommendations to buy or sell any security and they do not represent in any way a positive or negative outlook for any security. Potential returns do not take into account your trade size, brokerage commissions or taxes which will affect actual investment returns. Stocks and options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors and investing in options carries substantial risk. Prior to buying or selling options, a person must receive a copy of Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options available from Michael at 800-230-5570 or at http://www.cboe.com/Resources/Intro.asp. Privacy policy available upon request. DATASOURCE: brokersXpress, LLC CONTACT: Mike Lavelle of Mankus-Lavelle Group, +1-800-230-5570

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