05/04/2007 盤前速遞

05/04/2007 盤前速遞

期指SP500 盤前上漲5.50點， NDX 盤前上漲9.25點。

借助MSFT tries to buy out YHOO消息，MSFT盤前跌$0.30至$30.67，成交量2.4M，YHOO上漲$5.15至$33.33，成交量42.6M，盤中一度衝高$34，一度下探$32.80。YHOO日均成交量20M。

PFE盤前成交量4M。XOM盤前成交量1.4M，漲$0.32至$81。

日內看漲。

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070504/microsoft_yahoo.html?.v=6

AP
Reports: Microsoft Pursuing Yahoo
Friday May 4, 9:28 am ET 
Reports: Microsoft Seeks Possible Buyout Talks With Yahoo

NEW YORK (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. is resuming its pursuit of search engine operator Yahoo Inc. that could help it better compete with Web search leader Google Inc., published reports said Friday.
Yahoo shares surged more than 17 percent in premarket trading.

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The New York Post reported Friday that Microsoft has asked Yahoo to enter formal negotiations for an acquisition that could be worth $50 billion. Yahoo's market capitalization was about $38 billion on Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal said executives of the two companies are looking at a merger or some other kind of matchup and said the talks appear to be early-stage discussions. It said the companies explored the idea of combining last year but the talks led nowhere.

The newspaper reports each cited unidentified people familiar with the situation.

Microsoft is feeling increasing pressure to compete with Google, which plans to beef up its portfolio with a $3.1 billion purchase of online advertising company DoubleClick Inc.

Microsoft currently trails both Yahoo and Google in the lucrative and growing business of Web search.

Google won a search advertising deal with AOL in 2005 that the Post said Microsoft wanted. In addition, Google is developing Web-based software that directly competes with Microsoft Office.

The Post story said Microsoft and Yahoo have held informal talks over the years and said Microsoft's latest approach to Yahoo signals increased urgency.

Earlier this week, Yahoo said it would buy 80 percent of advertising exchange Right Media for $680 million, increasing its stake in that company to full control.

Yahoo shares surged $5, or 17.7 percent, to $33.18 in premarket trading, while shares of Microsoft fell 28 cents to $30.69.

失業率符合預期，但報道為negative perspective:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070504/economy.html?.v=17

AP
Jobless Rate Rises As Hiring Slows
Friday May 4, 9:22 am ET
By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer 
Unemployment Rate Edges Up to 4.5 Percent in April, As Job Growth Slows

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's unemployment rate edged up to 4.5 percent in April as cautious employers added the fewest new jobs in more than two years, signaling that the labor market is starting to feel some of the strain of the sluggish economy.
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The fresh employment picture provided by the Labor Department on Friday showed that payrolls grew by just 88,000 last month as job losses spread beyond manufacturing and construction and into retailing and financial services. Workers' paycheck also grew more slowly.

The new tally of jobs added to the economy was the fewest since 65,000 jobs were added in November 2004. The rise in the unemployment rate, however, was slight compared with March's 4.4 percent rate -- which had matched a five-year low. Taken together the figures suggest the labor market may be cooling a bit -- but not collapsing -- as the national economy makes its way through a soft patch.

Given the housing slump, rising energy prices and slowing overall economic activity, "companies are being conservative when it comes to their new hiring," said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Bank of America's Investment Strategies Group. "Job seekers will need to have good resumes," she added.

Still, from the overall economic perspective, the slight slowing in hiring isn't worrisome, she said. "The numbers suggest some of the slowing in the economy is spilling over into the labor market but not in a major way," Reaser said.

Economists were predicting the unemployment rate would nudge up to 4.5 percent. However, they expected job growth to be a bit stronger, with employers adding around 100,000 new jobs to their ranks. Even with the fractional rise in the overall rate, joblessness in the 4 percent to 5 percent is relatively low by historical standards.

The new report also showed that job gains in February and March turned out to be a bit weaker than previously reported.

Employers added 90,000 positions in February, versus the 113,000 reported last month. Payrolls grew by 177,000 in March, slightly less than the 180,000 previously reported.

Workers' wages grew more slowly.

Average hourly earnings rose to $17.25 in April, a 0.2 percent increase from March. Economists were expecting a modest 0.3 percent rise. Over the past 12 months, wages grew by 3.7 percent, the slowest annual increase in a year.

Wage growth is important for worker and supports consumer spending, a vital ingredient to the economy's good health. But a rapid pickup -- if not blunted by other economic forces -- can fan fears about inflation. The slower growth in wages could ease Federal Reserve fears that inflation might not recede as they have predicted.

Against that backdrop, the Federal Reserve is expected to leave a key interest rate at 5.25 percent when it meets next Wednesday. The rate hasn't budged since last August. Before that the Fed had boosted rates for two years to ward off inflation.

The report comes as President Bush has coped with lukewarm ratings from the public for his economic stewardship, according to Ap-Ipsos polls. Hoping to tap into that angst, Democrats have championed a boost in the minimum wage and have stiffened their stance against Bush's free-trade policies, which critics contend has contributed over the years to the loss of U.S. factory jobs.

The labor market weakness in April reflected job losses in construction, manufacturing, retailing and financial services. Health care and education, leisure and hospitality, government and various professional and business services were among the sectors adding positions.

The length of workers' job hunt was a bit shorter.

The average time the 6.8 million unemployed people spent in their job searches was 17.1 weeks in April, compared with 17.3 in March.

The economy in the January-to-March quarter grew at a feeble pace of 1.3 percent, the weakest in four years. It's the most up-to-date figure on gross domestic product, the best barometer of the country's economic fitness.

Economists predict the economy did better in the current April-to-June period -- in the 2 percent range -- which would still be considered sluggish. Growth is expected to pick up in the second half of the year. Still, the unemployment rate is expected to climb and reach close to 5 percent by year end.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke believes the economy will avoid falling into a recession this year, although his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, has put the odds at one in three.