MORNING UPDATE: Mankus-Lavelle Group issues alerts for MLNM, LSI, XMSR, DOW, and GRMN

CHICAGO, July 28 /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 MLNM, LSI, XMSR, DOW, and GRMN, Market Overview, Today's Economic Calendar, and the Quote Of The Day.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The economic slowdown that was supposed to be happening at this time of year isn't happening."

-- Jack Caffrey, equities strategist, J.P. Morgan Private Bank. New PriceWatch Alerts for MLNM, LSI, XMSR, DOW, and GRMN... PRICEWATCH ALERTS - HIGH RETURN COVERED CALL OPTIONS ----------- -- Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. Last Price 11.09 - SEP 10.00 CALL OPTION@ $1.50 -> 4.3 % Return assigned* -- LSI Logic Corp. Last Price 9.92 - SEP 10.00 CALL OPTION@ $0.70 -> 8.5 % Return assigned* -- XM Satellite Radio Last Price 36.85 - OCT 35.00 CALL OPTION@ $3.50 -> 4.9 % Return assigned* -- Dow Chemical Co. Last Price 47.61 - JAN 45.00 CALL OPTION@ $4.40 -> 4.1 % Return assigned* -- Garmin Ltd. Last Price 54.89 - SEP 55.00 CALL OPTION@ $2.70 -> 5.4 % 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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** FREE Access to the Market Intelligence Center where you will find the news, insight and intelligence that can make a difference in the way you invest, go to: http://www.investorsobserver.com/FreeMIC

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, Aetna Inc, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Marathon Oil lead the list of companies with the most news stories while SpectraSite and Nabors Industries are showing a spike in news. Pulte Homes, Alcatel, and Ford have the highest srtIndex scores to top the list of companies with positive news while American Tower and Bowater lead the list of companies with negative news reports. General Motors has popped up with a high positive news sraIndex score.

For the FREE article titled, "Earnings Season Decoded - An Essential 15 Point Checklist For Finding Winning Stocks." go to: http://www.wallstreetsecretsplus.com/go/freemu/

MARKET OVERVIEW

Overseas trading is higher once again this morning, with all but one of the 15 markets that we track in positive territory. The cumulative average return on the group stands at 0.363-percent jump. The Nikkei added 0.20 percent this morning while the Hong Kong Hang Seng finished with a gain of 11 points. In Europe, the French CAC 40 has climbed to the top of the heap with a 0.61-percent gain while the German Dax is up 0.45 percent and the London FTSE 100 has tacked on 0.16 percent.

The August futures contract on Gold added 0.31 percent in trading on Wednesday, inching closer to the 425 mark. The yellow metal found strength yesterday on the pullback in the dollar. The contract's rally was cut short by its declining 20-day moving average, which it has not closed a session above since the end of June.

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DYNAMIC MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Following a significant upward revision in US durable goods orders in May from 5.5% to 6.4% - the strongest jump since July 2002 - the June figures announced Wednesday morning provided further evidence that demand remains strong in a steadily growing US economy. The 1.4% increase trumped economists' forecasts that called for a 0.9% drop. Orders for communication equipment surged 18.3%, including an 8.6% spike for computer orders - the biggest climb since September 2004. The manufacturing sector also fared well, with capital goods orders bouncing back from a 0.6% fall in May with a 3.8% rise last month. Overall durable goods orders would have been more impressive, were it not for a 1.4% drop in transportation orders. Although this didn't come as a surprise, considering the massive 21.5% jump in May, total orders climbed 2.6% - the largest rise since December 2004. Elsewhere, with a 42% jump over the past year, it's no surprise to see oil prices propelling profits of energy companies ever higher. Take Oil and Natural Gas Corp, for example. Last year, it was India's most profitable company and first quarter results show an even stronger performance is likely. On a 6% sales increase of 108 billion rupees (US$2.5 billion), the company recorded quarterly earnings of 33.2 billion rupees (US$765 million) - a 44% surge from the 23 billion rupees (US$530 million) posted a year earlier. Canadian oil sands heavyweight Suncor Energy also reported earnings Wednesday, but thanks to a serious fire on January 4 at one of its plants in Alberta, it has unfortunately been unable to capitalize as much as it would like on the rapid runup of oil prices. With production at the plant not set to resume until September, the company said second quarter production tumbled by 39% from a year earlier. Despite the fact that overall sales still rose over 8% to C$2.4 billion (US$1.95 billion), net income sank to C$112 million (24 cents per share) from C$202 million (43 cents per share) in Q2 2004. Look at Suncor's six-month chart, and its impressive run is evident, culminating in a 52-week high of US$53.19 as recently as July 12. Investors aren't panicking and the stock remained flat Wednesday. Once production resumes at that plant in September, there should be some upside.

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TODAY'S ECONOMIC CALENDAR 8:30 a.m. July 23 Jobless Claims 10:00 a.m. July 16 DJ-BTM Business Barometer 10:00 a.m. June Conference Board Help-Wanted Index 4: 30 p.m. July 23 Money Supply

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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 Michael at 800-230-5570 or at http://www.cboe.com/Resources/Intro.asp. Privacy policy available upon request.