Closing Summary

Index	Last	Change	% Change
Dow Jones Industrial Avg.	9872.4	48.80	.50%
S&P 500	1142.24	1.03	0.09%
Nasdaq Comp	1900.5	-2.60	-0.14%
Russell 2000 Index	449.39	-3.43	-0.76%

House, Senate Make Air Security Deal
Better Late than Never: A full two months after the September 11th terrorist attacks, House and Senate negotiators reached an accord today on a bill intended to tighten up airline security by making airport baggage screeners federal employees.

Negotiators from both houses have worked out an arrangement that would turn over airport baggage screening to federal employees, while giving individual airports the option of returning it to the private sector in the future. Both the House and Senate are expected to vote on the proposal on Friday.

The plan would immediately give the federal government oversight of the private companies currently in charge of checking carry-on baggage and passengers for dangerous objects, while phasing in full federal control of the screening process within roughly one year. After three years, local airports could then opt out of the federal program and return to using private workers, who would be trained and monitored by the federal government.

Critics of the current system have pointed to continuing violations of airport security standards since Sept. 11 as a reason to change the system. One security company in particular, Argenbright Holdings, has come under fire for alleged regulations violations at 13 different airports. On Nov. 3, a man was arrested after carrying knives, a stun gun and tear gas through a security checkpoint in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

London crude sees bounce; Disappointment over conditional reduction
Crude futures prices staged a small rebound on Friday with Brent rising 52 cents to $17.85 a barrel, recovering from a low of $16.80 Thursday. In NY, crude futures closed under $18 a barrel Thursday for the first time in two-and-a-half years in reaction to OPEC's agreement to cut output only with cooperation from non-cartel oil producers.

On Wednesday, OPEC members confirmed that they have agreed to cut their production quota by 1.5 million barrels per day, to 21.7 million, effective Jan. 1. But the cut was conditioned upon non-OPEC oil producers cutting 500,000 barrels from their own output, the Vienna-based cartel said.

OPEC's conditional agreement was a "clear disappointment to the market," UBS Warburg's John Reade said. The downward trend in oil prices has also resumed, and "we believe that this is bearish in the short term for the sector."

- DELL reported sharply lower profits in the third quarter, but said it's gaining market share from rival PC makers 'faster than ever.' Q3 income fell 36% on weak demand for personal computers and lower pricing, and it offered a mixed outlook for the current quarter.

Dell may start to ease off its price war in Q4. The PC maker will hold the line on prices, as it continues to pass on the results of falling component costs to its customers in the fourth quarter. Q4 earnings will be flat at 16 centswith revenue and shipments rising slightly.

- CD Cendant rose 89 cents to $15.73 after the real estate & travel services raised its earnings projections to 20 cents a share, and 2002 EPS of $1.15 to $1.25. Analysts had been forecasting EPS of 17 cents and $1.18.

- INTU Financial software-maker Intuit reported a Q1 loss of $27.6 million, or 13 cents a share, beating expectations by 2 cents. (expectations were for a 15-cent loss). Shares traded down 40 cents at $41.42 after hours.

Coffee & Donuts?
- SBUX reported in line Q4 income of 14 cents a share. Thats a gain vs the same period a year ago, when the coffee retailer posted earnings of 11 cents a share. Revenue was $690 million, slightly below analyst expectations of $692.4 million but up from $584 million a year earlier.

- KDD reported Q3 earnings of 11 cents per share, up 67 percent from a year before and hotter than analysts were expecting. Analysts were expecting earnings of 10 cents. New store openings for the full year are now pegged at 43 vs. earlier targets of 40 new stores. KSS Kohl's reported Q3 earnings 29 cents per share, beating by a penny. Kohl's opened 28 new stores in the Q3. In 2002, Kohl's has plans to open approximately 70 new stores.

- AOL, AT&T signed a confidentiality agreement with AT&T, following the lead of Comcast and Cox, its rivals in the race for AT&T's cable assets.

Look Out Below ?
Watch the Semis and PC cos after Dell's announcement last nite. In early European trading, INTC and DELL were both soft.

Technical Market Commentary
The market continued to either consolidate or form a topping pattern on Thursday. The key question is which one is it? For three days now we've been locked in a 50-point range on the Nasdaq 100 swinging back and forth to test resistance and then support.

Late this afternoon the market once again was successful in holding its three-day slightly rising trendline on the NDX and the SPX has been successful so far in holding its lateral support line around 1135. Right now the question is still in doubt. The technicals are very very neutral, and we'll have to wait and see how this develops.

Other than the Dow being up another 49, it was pretty much another Mexican standoff today. The technicals were mixed with 1483 up and 1653 down on the NYSE and the up/down volume was almost dead-even flat with 700 million up and down. Advance-declines were 14-16 negative on Nasdsaq with 10-9 positive on up/down volume.

Put it all together it was a wash today. Many stocks I follow had very narrowly mixed days, even though they were all over the place during the day. At the end of the session only one stock on my board, Gemstar was up as much as 1.73, and even that was 2 points off its high. It was the only gainer of more than a point of the stocks I follow.

Late in the day we had a test not only of the three-day trendline but we also tested the rising 40 day moving average successfully. However, we have an ominous pattern potentially developing. If it breaks to the downside it could result in a sharp setback and rather quickly. Conversely if we break to the upside you'll see a very quick move - enough to take out the highs and blow the shorts out as well. (Source: Harry Boxer [www.thetechtrader.com] )

Market Stats

Market	NYSE	Nasdaq
Total Volume	1467.82m	2007.05m
Up Volume	722.33m	1,029.59m
Down Volume	711.75m	936.70m
Advancers	1492	1721
Decliners	1644	1917
New Highs	92	77
New Lows	36	45

Short Stuff
--Countrywide Credit (CCR) is still recommended as a short; The trade is now $2 in the money as the market churns sideways and the rally starts to lose some steam. The stock continues to show weakness. You can add to the position on an uptick between 44 - 46; STOP LOSS: cover on a breakout over 47.50

Longs
- NOK's chart is appealing as it also looks to fill its gap -- not from the September sell off, but a company specific warning back in June. Upside targets are 28 - 30 over the next Q. Buy half here, add to the position on pullbacks (sound familiar?). Midday add 7/14

- XOM Contrarian pick: Consider scaling into a partial position right here ($38.75) as oil prices fall. The fundie story is pretty obvious -- oil is bottoming in the middle of the recession. As the economy improves, so will energy demand, driving oil prices higher. XOM is at the bottom of its multi-year up channel, so as long as it doesn't rollover, this is a desirable entry point. Add to the position as the stock declines to $35, or if it rallies above $40. Work with a tight $34 stop.

--Celera Genetics (CRA)
Technical Viewpoint: From a low of $19.30 on Sep 21, 2001 prices rallied, reaching a high of $27.41 on Oct 17, 2001. A decline saw prices pull back, reaching a low of $23.00 on Oct 31, 2001. Another rally saw prices penetrate resistance, closing 11/15/01 at $28.40. RSI Index buy alert was given on Nov 6, 2001 when the line crossed to the upside. Support remains at $26.00; Resistance is at $29.00. Point & Figure reversed to the upside on Nov 14, 2001; A P&F downside reversal takes place at $26.50.

Technical indicators have turned bullish. Buy CRA @ $28.50; Use a protective stop of $26.50. Price Objective is $41.00. Risk/Reward: $2.00 VS. $12.50. Risk Reward Ratio: 6:1 (SOURCE: Harry Aloof, www.wstraders.com)

Things That Warrant Attention On The Charts

"Disparity Indices."
Disparity Indices measure how far the price is above or below a moving average. In this case we have used the 50-day moving average (50-dma).

The COMP is now up at a rare level in terms of its percentage above the 50-dma (now 14% above). The red vertical lines show some strong associations between these high readings and significant market tops. There are occasions when the index continues up from a high Disparity Index level, but those are almost exclusively on breakouts to all-time highs in bull markets.

If we are in a new and very strong bull market right now, then it is possible that there will be strong continuation from these levels. However, we do not believe the current or near-term fundamentals will support that kind of market. Consequently we would expect that near-term this index is close to exhaustion, and that upside is limited.

We expect that resistance will be found in the 1934 area (1916-1934). Should the COMP be able to break that band to the upside, we would be shocked if it could get through 2000 without hard numbers to support it as there are strong levels of volume congestion over 2000.

The SPX chart shows a similarly extreme reading on its 50-dma Disparity Index, though perhaps a "teeny" bit less so.

On a shorter-term basis the indices have moved up strongly and are now bumping their heads and wrestling with their summer lows. One would think there would be supply of stock at these congestion levels.
(SOURCE: Technical Strategist www.BullMarket.com)

"You can call the direction, or you can nail the timing ... but you will rarely catch both."

-- Todd Harrison, head trader, Cramer Berkowitz Hedge Fund.

ORDER TYPES?
There have been a few order errors in Trading as there is some misunderstanding as to various order types. Here is a brief refresher:

A BUY STOP -- is an order that becomes a MARKET order when the price is hit. It will be filled at whatever the market is at that time and must be placed ABOVE the current market price. So an order to buy Microsoft at $70 STOP GTC will be executed ONLY IF the $70 price is reached. At what price will it be executed? Whatever the market is at that moment. We're not trying to be flippant here. But if the stock closes at $69 and opens the next day at $73, up 4, your buy stop order will be executed at the market: $73.

GTC means Good 'Til Canceled.

Buy stops are used when you want to buy a stock that you think may be heading higher but you're not sure. And you don't want to miss it. So you place a buy stop and if the stock goes up, you'll be sure to buy it.

We often use these orders to cover short positions.

A BUY LIMIT -- is an order that is executed at your price if it can be. You set the limit and if the stock reaches that level it will be executed at your price. So an order to buy MSFT at $60 Limit, will be executed at the best possible price - $60 or better (lower). An order at $58 Limit will be executed if it drops down to that level. The word "Limit" is understood when you place an order. So if you place an order to buy at $58, it is understood that it will be at $58 "or better."

A BUY STOP LIMIT -- is an order that becomes an order to buy at your price, when the stock reaches your stop price. It may not be filled if the market moves too fast.

A BUY STOP LIMIT at $70 will be executed at $70 after the stock trades there but only if it can be bought there. If the stock goes to $70.10 or higher too fast, you may not get your stock. That is why you should usually place simple Stop orders. These become market orders and are executed immediately. Buy stops are always placed ABOVE the market; Sell stops are always placed below the market.

A SELL STOP -- is an order that becomes a MARKET order when the price is hit. It will be filled at whatever the market is at that time and must be placed BELOW the current market price. So an order to sell Dell at $25 STOP GTC will be executed ONLY IF the $25 price is reached. At what price will it be executed? Whatever the market is at that moment. We're not trying to be flippant here. But if the stock closes at $26 and opens the next day at $23, down 3, your sell stop order will be executed at the market: $23.

GTC means Good 'Til Canceled.

Sell stops are used when you want to sell a stock that you think may be heading lower but you're not sure. And you don't want it go down any further than the price you set. So you place a sell stop and if the stock goes down to that level, you'll be sure to sell it.

A SELL LIMIT -- is an order that is executed if it can be. You set the limit and if the stock reaches that level it will be executed at your price. So an order to sell DELL at $25 Limit, will be executed at the best possible price - $25 or better (higher). An order at $25 Limit will be executed if it drops down to that level.

The word "Limit" is understood when you place an order. So if you place an order to sell at $30, it is understood that it will be at $30 "or better."

A SELL STOP LIMIT -- is an order that becomes an order to sell at your price, when the stock reaches your stop price. It may not be filled if the market moves too fast.

A SELL STOP LIMIT at $25 will be executed at $25 after the stock trades there but only if it can be bought there. If the stock goes to $24.90 or lower too fast, you may not get filled. That is why you should usually place simple Stop orders. These become market orders and are executed immediately.

Sell stops are always placed BELOW the market; Buy stops are always placed above the market.

You've Got Ads!
Why You Can't Avoid Those AOL Ads
by George Mannes

EXCERPT: In a bad market for advertising, AOL Time Warner is becoming its own best customer.

The media and entertainment conglomerate, which has made no secret of its strategy to advertise on its own properties absent demand from other customers, disclosed figures Wednesday indicating that its in-house advertising continues to grow, both on an absolute dollar basis and relative to third-party ad sales.

Although in-house sales are excluded from AOL Time Warner's total reported revenue, the intersegment numbers -- included in the quarterly financials filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday -- suggest the quarterly sales figures for certain AOL Time Warner businesses may be slightly softer than they appear at first glance.

Additionally, the sequential increase in "intercompany" advertising, to use AOL Time Warner's terminology, makes it plausible that people who feel they've seen plenty of America Online service advertisements on TV should prepare themselves for additional repetitions.

--Barry Ritholtz
November 16, 2001

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