MORNING UPDATE: brokersXpress, LLC Issues Alerts for IBM, NVDA, USB, MMM, and BSX

CHICAGO, July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- brokersXpress, LLC issues the following Morning Update at 8:30 AM EDT with new PriceWatch Alerts for key stocks.

Before the open... PriceWatch Alerts for IBM, NVDA, USB, MMM, and BSX, Market Overview, Today's Economic Calendar, and the Quote Of The Day.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The regulatory system is not designed to influence or control asset bubbles, but rather to ensure that bubbles, should they develop, do not lead to unsafe lending practices."

-- Alan Greenspan, Chairman, Federal Reserve Board New PriceWatch Alerts for IBM, NVDA, USB, MMM, and BSX... PRICEWATCH ALERTS - HIGH RETURN COVERED CALL OPTIONS -- International Business Machines Last Price 81.81 - JAN 80.00 CALL OPTION@ $5.60 -> 5.0 % Return assigned* -- NVIDIA Corp. Last Price 26.22 - SEP 25.00 CALL OPTION@ $2.55 -> 5.6 % Return assigned* -- U.S. Bancorp Last Price 30.13 - JAN 30.00 CALL OPTION@ $1.35 -> 4.2 % Return assigned* -- 3M Co. Last Price 74.53 - OCT 75.00 CALL OPTION@ $2.70 -> 4.4 % Return assigned* -- Boston Scientific Corp. Last Price 27.17 - NOV 25.00 CALL OPTION@ $3.20 -> 4.3 % Return assigned*

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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, International Business Machines, Hewlett-Packard, and Avon Products lead the list of companies with the most news stories while Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold and Check Point Software Technologies are showing a spike in news. Ford Motor Co., Merrill Lynch, and US Bancorp have the highest srtIndex scores to top the list of companies with positive news while Citigroup and Amylin Pharmaceuticals lead the list of companies with negative news reports. Hasbro has popped up with a high positive news sraIndex score.

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MARKET OVERVIEW

Overseas markets are looking moderately strong this morning as 11 out of 15 markets that we track are in the green. In Asia, the Singapore market closed ahead almost two percent, with Nikkei moving towards a two-week high. In Europe, the FTSE is presently down but France and Germany are ahead. Upbeat economic data from Germany has helped the move upwards.

The August contract on sweet crude oil was smacked lower by 94 cents in yesterday's trading. Providing the downward pressure was a duo of events. First, OPEC lowered its 2005 demand-growth outlook for crude oil by 150,000 barrels. According to the release, OPEC stated that there was a "slowdown in economic activity in some regions and preliminary demand figures pointing to significantly lower consumption in the first half of the year in some major consuming countries, including China." The second factor was the diminishing threat of Hurricane Emily to U.S. oil in the Gulf of Mexico. In early trading, crude for August delivery was seen trading lower by 14 cents at $57.18.

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DYNAMIC MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

The OPEC oil cartel got the new week off to a somewhat upbeat start by announcing that it has lowered its estimate of oil demand for 2005 by 150,000 barrels per day. The group pointed to an economic slowdown in some regions and a subsequent decline in consumption in China. This follows a recent article in the New York Times, which read: "A sudden and mysterious drop in China's oil consumption helped to push down the International Energy Agency's (IEA) estimate on Wednesday of global demand for this year." According to the IEA, "After growing 11% in 2003 and 15.4% last year, China's overall oil use declined 1% during the second quarter from a year earlier." The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific followed that by forecasting a slowing regional economy over the next 18 months. In addition, Morgan Stanley's Andy Xie also points to a coming slowdown, based on falling crude demand in China. He says Chinese oil imports have declined 1.3% this year, with similar events occurring in Japan and South Korea. But PVM Oil Associates in Vienna notes a much heftier drop, citing customs figures that show a large 45% slump in oil imports to China this year. Specifically, the group cites a drop in heating oil prices as a sign that supply fears for the coming winter are " ... starting to melt away." Switching back to the IEA, "There are signs that worldwide production capacity is starting to move ahead of demand for the year, but that oil prices are nevertheless staying high." In the words of IEA deputy executive director, William C. Ramsay, "There are not the conditions out there right now that should lead to these kinds of prices." While that, coupled with a decline in Chinese demand is certainly good news for the oil market, it's worth remembering that the current hurricane season is likely to keep investors edgy for a few months yet.

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TODAY'S ECONOMIC CALENDAR 7:45 a.m. ICSC Store Sales Index 8:30 a.m. June Housing Starts 8:55 a.m. Redbook Retail Sales Index 10:00 a.m. Fed Gov Olson testifies on regulatory relief reform proposals before a Senate banking committee 5:00 p.m. ABC/Washington Post Consumer Confidence

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