NWAC Northwest Airlines (MM)

MORNING UPDATE: Man Securities Inc. Issues Alerts for AMAT, LSI, NWAC, MEDI, and FCS CHICAGO, Jan 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Man Securities issues the following Morning Update at 8:30 AM EST with new PriceWatch Alerts for key stocks. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020214/MANSECLOGO ) Before the open... PriceWatch Alerts for AMAT, LSI, NWAC, MEDI, and FCS, Market Overview, Today's Economic Calendar, and the Quote Of The Day. QUOTE OF THE DAY "Job cuts are likely to continue their decline in 2005 with the economy showing signs of improvement." -- John A. Challenger, chief executive officer, Challenger, Gray & Christmas. New PriceWatch Alerts for AMAT, LSI, NWAC, MEDI, and FCS... PRICEWATCH ALERTS - HIGH RETURN COVERED CALL OPTIONS -- Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Last Price 16.22 - FEB 16.00 CALL OPTION@ $0.85 -> 4.1 % Return assigned* -- LSI Logic Corp. (NYSE:LSI) Last Price 5.73 - APR 5.00 CALL OPTION@ $0.95 -> 4.6 % Return assigned* -- Northwest Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ:NWAC) Last Price 8.60 - FEB 7.50 CALL OPTION@ $1.50 -> 5.6 % Return assigned* -- MedImmune Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDI) Last Price 25.25 - FEB 25.00 CALL OPTION@ $1.20 -> 4.0 % Return assigned* -- Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. (NYSE:FCS) Last Price 14.55 - FEB 15.00 CALL OPTION@ $0.70 -> 8.3 % 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. MARKET OVERVIEW Wednesday started off with remotely higher gains across the board but by the end of the day we saw yet another higher volume sell-off, which only accelerated the final hour of trading with all three major indexes closing at the lows of the day. The S&P 500 has now opened higher all three days this year, only to trade lower into the close. The Dow has now dropped for six straight days. Not exactly the rally the first five days of January are supposed to bring. The only major economic news is the weekly initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. Currently economists are looking for a jump to 340,000, as more people should file now that the holidays are over. Expect most markets to be rather subdued in trading today, as they wait for Friday's December employment report before making any serious moves. 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 According to the latest results from recruiters Challenger, Gray and Christmas, American employers announced 109,045 job cuts in December. That was the second-highest total of 2004 and extended the number of consecutive months with over 100,000 layoffs to four -- the first time that's happened since early 2002. It also sent full-year layoffs to just over one million. Disappointing, for sure. But this was down from 1.5 million in 2002 and 1.2 million in 2003. Such news would seem to indicate that Friday's December job report will be downbeat. But current estimates call for around 180,000 new positions. And a Wall Street Journal panel of economists believes the jobless rate will sink from 5.4% to 5.1% this year. This is because a large chunk of America's workforce is expected to seek alternative employment this year. According to recruitment company Spherion, over half the current US workforce would like to change jobs this year. This would represent a major shift, since employee turnover is usually only 10% per year. A survey by Workforce Management shows that an increasing number of employees are unhappy with a fourth straight year of wage growth under 4%. In fact, in the year to November 2004, salary growth increased a paltry 2%. However, a separate survey by the National Federation of Independent Business shows that it could be a robust time for small businesses. The proportion of firms saying they would use the first quarter of 2005 to grow their business more rapidly soared to 29% -- the highest since 2000. Almost one fifth said they would do so through new hiring. In addition, Challenger, Gray and Christmas say an improving economy is gradually tempting businesses to boost spending and hiring. Receive incisive economic/market commentary, profitable advice and access to a network of leading investment exports. Simply follow this link: http://www.investorsobserver.com/agora2 TODAY'S ECONOMIC CALENDAR 8:30 a.m.: Initial Jobless Claims (last minus 5K) 10:00 a.m.: DJ-BTM Business Barometer for last week (last unchanged) 3:00 p.m. December Treasury STRIPS 3:30 p.m.: Money Supply Motley Fool Investing Alert for 2005 - "The Case Against Mutual Funds" - New FREE report details a more successful way for you to invest your money. http://www.investorsobserver.com/phillips Man Securities Inc. is one of the world's leading option order execution firms. Man's in-house broker team offers a level of personal service and experience unavailable from no-frills discount brokers. To improve your understanding of option pricing get Man's FREE "Margin/Option Wizard software at: http://www.investorsobserver.com/mancd. Member CBOE/NASD/SPIC. 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 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.poweroptionsplus.com/ Motley Fool Stock Advisor - Free Investing Alert for 2005 Learn why funds virtually force you to own BAD investments. Plus, why fund investors are virtually assured of MISSING OUT on Wall Street's big winners. http://www.investorsobserver.com/phillips 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 Sharon at 800-837-6212 or at http://www.cboe.com/Resources/Intro.asp. Privacy policy available upon request. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020214/MANSECLOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Man Securities CONTACT: John Gannon of Man Securities Inc., +1-800-837-6212 Web site: http://www.mansecurities.com/mu.html

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