Stocks continue to move toward a lower (S&P futures vs fair value:
-21.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -23.30.) open despite encouraging
comments from revered investor Warren Buffett. He stated in a
New York Times article he is buying U.S. stocks for his personal
portfolio. His rule for buying is to be fearful when others are
greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. In the latest batch of economic data, housing starts for September totaled 817,000. The consensus called for 872,000 starts, which is also the amount from the prior month. Building permits totaled 786,000 in September, which is down from the 857,000 in the prior month and below the 840,000 that was anticipated.
Companies: Honeywell (HON), the maker of civil and military
avionics and aerospace products, beat expectations when it reported
quarterly earnings before the open. Earnings jumped about 20% to 97
cents per share from 81 cents a year earlier. A consensus of analyst
opinion from Thomson FirstCall had expected 95 cents per share.
The online retailer overstock.com (OSTK) was also scheduled to
release results before the open. Analysts expected a loss of 26 cents
per share, according to a consensus of projections from Thomson
FirstCall, compared with a loss of 20 cents a year earlier.
European markets were higher in midday trading, and the Nikkei closed
about 2.8% higher. The dollar edged up against the euro and the British
pound, but slipped against the yen. Oil prices rallied from their lows, climbing $1.06 a barrel to $70.91
