Pre market

The Chinese market remains closed. The rest of Asia is fairly bullish with big gains in Japan. The European indices are mixed.

EARNINGS CALENDAR

NILE, CIB, BBD, MCK, FLR, HANS, WYNN, JCOM, KGC, OSIS and SONS are some of the earnings I will be keeping an eye out for.

Buffett is looking for a $40 to $60 billion acquisition though he would first need to find something attractive to buy. I suppose we will today see a speculative jump in the stock price of all companies trading in the $40-60 billion market capitalization range.

Insider trading concerns are begining to surface with the surge in option activity prior to the announcement of mergers and buyouts. I think it would be hard to find any deal where there is absolutely no insider trading. Look at the case of Armor Holdings that rose sharply on Friday ostensibly due to an analyst upgrade. AH started the week at $70 and closed over $82.This morning the news is that Armor has gotten a buyout offer for $88 a share. No insider trading ?