Ahead of the Bell
14-July-08 08:30 ET

The news wires are quiet this morning as we head towards the opening bell and the futures are pointing to a somewhat flat open, but have taken a slight dip following the NY Empire Manufacturing Index which declined 5 points to (8.7) versus expectations of (2.4). Meanwhile, LEH reported earnings in which they met expectations by posting EPS of ($5.14) on revenues of ($668M).

Ahead of the Bell
14-July-08 07:55 ET

Volatility is on tap once again this morning as news of a government plan to shore up FNM and FRE give an early boost to the index futures. The plan to increase the line of credit the GSEs have with the Treasury and allow the Treasury to buy stock in either company to make sure there is enough capital for them to operate. Also, the Fed announced that they would open their discount window to FNM and FRE. Despite these emergency measures, a Treasury official is saying this morning that neither company has a liquidity problem.

Meanwhile, BUD over the weekend agreed to be acquired by InBev for $70 per share. Oil is a bit off of Friday’s highs while the dollar is slightly stronger.

Dow futures +124.46 to fair value.
Nasdaq futures +26.12 to fair value.
S&P 500 futures +15.61 to fair value.