MORNING UPDATE: Mankus-Lavelle Group Issues Alerts for MWD, AMLN, HLTH

CHICAGO, May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Mankus-Lavelle Group issues the following Morning Update at 8:30 AM EDT with new PriceWatch Alerts for key stocks.

Before the open... PriceWatch Alerts for MWD, AMLN, HLTH, HIG, and CAH, Market Overview, Today's Economic Calendar, and the Quote Of The Day.

QUOTE OF THE DAY " I think it's well recognized that oil is one of the risk factors in the economic picture, and this drop is helping the market." -- Richard Rippe, chief economist, Prudential Equity Group. New PriceWatch Alerts for MWD, AMLN, HLTH, HIG, and CAH... PRICEWATCH ALERTS - HIGH RETURN COVERED CALL OPTIONS ----------- -- Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. Last Price 52.62 - JUN 50.00 CALL OPTION@ $4.60 -> 4.1 % Return assigned* -- Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Last Price 17.00 - JUL 15.00 CALL OPTION@ $2.70 -> 4.9 % Return assigned* -- WEB MD Corp. Last Price 9.47 - OCT 7.50 CALL OPTION@ $2.30 -> 4.6 % Return assigned* -- Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.(The) Last Price 72.37 - SEP 70.00 CALL OPTION@ $5.30 -> 4.4 % Return assigned* -- Cardinal Health Inc. Last Price 55.57 - SEP 50.00 CALL OPTION@ $7.50 -> 4.0 % 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

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NEWS LEADERS AND LAGGARDS

So far today, Sysco Corp., Avon Products Inc., and Humana Inc. lead the list of companies with the most news stories while WCI Communities Inc. and Holly Corp. are showing a spike in news. Google Inc., MCI Inc., and Abbott Laboratories have the highest srtIndex scores to top the list of companies with positive news while Infosys Technologies Ltd. and Williams Companies Inc. lead the list of companies with negative news reports. Dominion Resources Inc. has popped up with a high positive news sraIndex score.

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MARKET OVERVIEW

Overseas markets are doing well this morning, as only one of the 15 foreign exchanges that we track is currently in negative territory. In European news, trading is higher despite a slowing in the manufacturing sector. Eurozone April manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 in April from 50.3 in March, with German April manufacturing PMI missing forecasts. Furthermore, French manufacturing PMI slowed to a 19-month low, also below expectations. Italian manufacturing PMI followed suite, dropping to 48.0 in April from 49.1 in March. Readings below 50 indicate contraction.

Futures are moving higher again this morning, emboldened in front of tomorrow's FOMC meeting as the front-month crude contract tagged a two-month low in pre-market trading. The June contract on crude oil was last seen lower by 49 cents at $49.23 per barrel, after tagging an overnight low of $49.05. Adnan Shihab-Eldin, acting secretary general of the OPEC, told the Dow Jones Newswires on Monday that OPEC's current output of 29.7 million bpd was expected to approach 30 million bpd, covering increasing demand in the third and fourth quarters of 2005.

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DYNAMIC MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

With a 0.5% rise in income growth during March, American consumers were tempted to subsequently boost their spending by 0.6%. Both figures were 0.1% higher than economists had expected. Considering consumer price inflation climbed an unappetizing 0.5% in March -- the biggest jump in 15 years -- that's pretty positive news. On the negative side, however, the personal savings rate fell to 0.4% -- the smallest since October 2001. Elsewhere, the annual Real Estate Outlook Report from PNC Real Estate Finance claims that fresh from a year in which the REIT sector drew US$6.9 billion worth of investment in 2004 (versus US$4.5 billion in 2003), the trend will continue throughout 2005, as the market sustains its attractiveness to investors and buyers alike. Put bluntly, PNC's Nicholas Buss told Reuters that he sees no slowdown in the "gobs and gobs of money being thrown at real estate." That trend is likely to boost house prices further. But the downside, according to PNC: rising interest rates, which could decrease housing market activity -- particularly with the market "overpriced, or at least fully-priced." The question is: will this result in a gentle deflation of the bubble, or a more serious bursting that leaves the sector -- and the economy - in trouble? Far from making a sweeping statement that the entire sector is in bubble mode, however, National City Corp states that one-fifth of the country is experiencing a "bubblette" -- an above-average market, but not a full-blown bubble. Others also say that changing US demographics such as the vast number of baby-boomers, immigrants, and young adults buying homes will prevent a precipitous decline for the housing market.

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TODAY'S ECONOMIC CALENDAR 10:00 A.M. April ISM Manufacturing Index 10:00 A.M. March Construction Spending

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