GDT Guidant Corp

MORNING UPDATE: Man Securities Issues Alerts for ERTS, GDT, UNH, CAH, and ANF CHICAGO, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Man Securities issues the following Morning Update at 8:30 AM EST with new PriceWatch Alerts for key stocks. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020214/MANSECLOGO ) Before the open... PriceWatch Alerts for ERTS, GDT, UNH, CAH, and ANF, Market Overview, Today's Economic Calendar, and the Quote Of The Day. QUOTE OF THE DAY "A lot of people compared us to Don Quixote tilting at windmills, but finally we now have PeopleSoft." -- Larry Ellison, CEO, Oracle New PriceWatch Alerts for ERTS, GDT, UNH, CAH, and ANF... PRICEWATCH ALERTS - HIGH RETURN COVERED CALL OPTIONS -- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) Last Price 57.57 - JAN 57.50 CALL OPTION@ $2.90 -> 5.2 % Return assigned* -- Guidant Corp. (NYSE:GDT) Last Price 70.90 - APR 70.00 CALL OPTION@ $3.90 -> 4.5 % Return assigned* -- UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE:UNH) Last Price 85.73 - MAR 85.00 CALL OPTION@ $4.70 -> 4.9 % Return assigned* -- Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Last Price 55.76 - MAR 55.00 CALL OPTION@ $3.50 -> 5.2 % Return assigned* -- Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Last Price 43.85 - FEB 42.50 CALL OPTION@ $3.70 -> 5.9 % Return assigned* * To learn more about how to use these alerts and for our FREE report, "The 18 Warning Signs That Tell You When To Dump A Stock", go to: http://www.investorsobserver.com/mu18 (Note: You may need to copy the link above into your browser then press the [ENTER] key) ** For the FREE report, "Is Your Investment Portfolio Disaster Proof? - Insights, Stocks, And Strategies." go to: http://www.investorsobserver.com/FREEDP NOTE: All stocks and options shown are examples only. These are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. NEWS LEADERS AND LAGGARDS So far today Pier 1 Imports, Inc. and Tuesday Morning Corp. lead the list of companies with the most news stories while Perot Systems Corp. and Technical Olympic USA Inc. are showing a spike in news. Electronic Arts Inc., Vodafone Group, and Sprint Corp. have the highest srtIndex scores to top the list of companies with positive news while Tuesday Morning Corp and Adtran Inc. lead the list of companies with negative news reports. Nextel Communications Inc. has popped up with a high positive news sraIndex score. To learn more about how our patent pending SmartReadMX technology continuously reads business news and identifies the best potential investment opportunities to keep you ahead of the pack go to: http://gowssp.com/go/mu MARKET OVERVIEW Overseas markets continue to post a bullish sentiment. The lone dissenter this morning is the FTSE that is currently down 0.37%. The FTSE was unable to hold onto gains made earlier in the morning as telecom giant Vodafone dropped by more than 4%. All of the Asian Markets that we track are in the green with the Nikkei posting a 1.17% gain and the Hang Seng up by 1.13%. The big news is going to be the Fed's decision on what to do about interest rates. The consensus is for a quarter point hike, and as usual, the decision is expected to come at 2:15 p.m. It's a very busy day on the economic front, as at 8:30 a.m. we have the October International Trade gap expected to come in at minus 53.0 billion. Then at 9:15 a.m., November's industrial production should come in at plus 0.2-percent followed by November's capacity utilization expected to come in at 77.8-percent. Be prepared for the investing week ahead with Bernie Schaeffer's FREE Monday Morning Outlook. For more details and to sign up, go to: http://www.investorsobserver.com/freemo DYNAMIC MARKET OPPORTUNITIES On the face of it, a paltry 0.1% retail sales gain in November doesn't look too impressive. But take a poor auto sales performance out of the equation (sales slumped 1.3%) and the total comes in with a not-too-shabby 0.5% gain. That follows a revised 0.8% advance in October -- well above economists' estimates for a more tepid 0.2% increase. Thanks to broad gains across the board, it was the third straight monthly rise, fueling optimism that holiday sales will give retailers something to cheer about. Leading the charge was a 1.1% rise for building material stores and a 0.9% climb for furniture stores. Over the past 12 months, retail sales have forged ahead 7.2%. And even with November's disappointing auto sales, that sub-sector is still up 8.6% over the same period. The uptrend coincides with a rebound in job creation and an easing of oil prices from October highs near US$56 per barrel. Consumer spending during the third quarter jumped by 5.1% -- the fastest in three years. Monday's Commerce Department report also comes just a day ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting -- one at which the bankers may decide to raise interest rates for a fifth time. Receive incisive economic/market commentary, profitable advice and access to a network of leading investment exports. Simply follow this link: http://www.investorsobserver.com/agora2 TODAY'S ECONOMIC CALENDAR 7:45 a.m.: ICSC-UBS Store Sales Index for the week ended December 11 (last minus 1.7 percent) 8:30 a.m.: October Intl Trade Balance (last minus $51.56 billion) 8:55 a.m.: Redbook Retail Sales Index for the week ended December 11 (last plus 0.8 percent) 9:15 a.m.: November Industrial Production (last plus 0.7 percent) 9:15 a.m.: November Capacity Utilization (last 77.7 percent) 10:00 a.m.: Commerce Dept Services Sector Survey for third-quarter (last plus 4.4 percent) 10:00 a.m.: November Richmond Fed Mfg Index (last 14) 2:15 p.m.: FOMC meeting; decision on interest rates expected 6:30 p.m.: ABC/Money Consumer Confidence for the week ended December 11 (last minus 8) Motley Fool Investing Alert for 2005 -- "The Case Against Mutual Funds" -- New FREE report details a more successful way for you to invest your money. http://www.investorsobserver.com/phillips Man Securities is one of the world's leading option order execution firms. Man's in-house broker team offers a level of personal service and experience unavailable from no-frills discount brokers. To improve your understanding of option pricing get Man's FREE Margin/Option Wizard software at: http://www.investorsobserver.com/mancd . Member CBOE/NASD/SPIC. This Morning Update was prepared with data and information provided by: InvestorsObserver.com -- Better Strategies for Making Money -> For Investors With a Sense of Humor. Only $1 for your first month plus seven free bonuses worth over $420, see: http://www.investorsobserver.com/must 247profits.com: You'll get exclusive financial commentary, access to a global network of experts and undiscovered stock alerts. Register NOW for the FREE 247profits e-Dispatch. Go to: http://www.investorsobserver.com/agora Schaeffer's Investment Research -- Sign up for your FREE e-weekly, Monday Morning Outlook, Bernie Schaeffer's look ahead at the markets. Sign Up Now http://www.investorsobserver.com/freemo PowerOptionsPlus -- The Best Way To Find, Compare, Analyze, and Make Money On Options Investments. For a 14-Day FREE trial and 5 FREE bonuses go to: http://www.poweroptionsplus.com/ Motley Fool Stock Advisor -- Free Investing Alert for 2005 Learn why funds virtually force you to own BAD investments. Plus, why fund investors are virtually assured of MISSING OUT on Wall Street's big winners. http://www.investorsobserver.com/phillips All stocks and options shown are examples only. These are not recommendations to buy or sell any security and they do not represent in any way a positive or negative outlook for any security. Potential returns do not take into account your trade size, brokerage commissions or taxes which will affect actual investment returns. Stocks and options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors and investing in options carries substantial risk. Prior to buying or selling options, a person must receive a copy of Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options available from Sharon at 800-837-6212 or at http://www.cboe.com/Resources/Intro.asp . Privacy policy available upon request. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020214/MANSECLOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Man Securities CONTACT: John Gannon of Man Securities, +1-800-837-6212 Web site: http://www.mansecurities.com/mu.html

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