MORNING UPDATE: Mankus-Lavelle Group Issues Alerts for GE, GDT, STJ, RMBS, and NKE

CHICAGO, June 27 /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 GE, GDT, STJ, RMBS, and NKE, Market Overview, Today's Economic Calendar, and the Quote Of The Day.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"We're seeing mixed economic data, high oil prices, so where do you put your money? Investors chase momentum, and there's none here."

-- John Waterman, chief investment officer, Rittenhouse Asset Management. New PriceWatch Alerts for GE, GDT, STJ, RMBS, and NKE... PRICEWATCH ALERTS - HIGH RETURN COVERED CALL OPTIONS -- General Electric Co. Last Price 34.78 - DEC 35.00 CALL OPTION@ $1.50 -> 5.2 % Return assigned* -- Guidant Corp. Last Price 63.90 - OCT 60.00 CALL OPTION@ $7.60 -> 6.6 % Return assigned* -- St. Jude Medical Inc. Last Price 42.20 - OCT 40.00 CALL OPTION@ $3.90 -> 4.4 % Return assigned* -- Rambus Inc. Last Price 13.82 - AUG 12.50 CALL OPTION@ $1.80 -> 4.0 % Return assigned* -- Nike Inc. Last Price 89.35 - AUG 90.00 CALL OPTION@ $3.10 -> 4.3 % Return assigned*

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NEWS LEADERS AND LAGGARDS

So far today, Cardinal Health, Microsoft, and Bristol-Myers Squibb lead the list of companies with the most news stories while Nike and Pride International are showing a spike in news. Morgan Stanley, Google, and Hot Topic have the highest srtIndex scores to top the list of companies with positive news while Apple Computer Inc and Genentech lead the list of companies with negative news reports. Goldman Sachs has popped up with a high positive news sraIndex score.

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MARKET OVERVIEW

Overseas markets are looking quite grim on this last Monday of June, as none of the 15 foreign indices that we track are currently in positive territory. The average return on the collective stands at a disappointing -1.007. Rising crude prices is once again the usual suspect in overseas weakness, as Asian markets suffered heavy losses in early Monday trading. The Japanese Nikkei plunged 122.8 points as a result. Furthermore, China has selected 46 companies for a pilot sales program for non-tradable state shares. The government's plan to sell these shares, which comprise about two-thirds of the capitalization of China's 1,200 listed companies, has sparked liquidity fears. In Europe, Iran's election of hard-liner Mahmood Ahmadinejad as the country's president is seen causing conflict with the U.S., and is creating more tension in the oil market. As a result, crude for August delivery has bested the $60 level in early trading, adding pressure to European trading.

With futures pointed lower, it looks like we could be in for yet another struggling session to start off this last week of June. Adding to the trepidation on the Street ahead of this week's interest-rate changing FOMC meeting is another record level in the oil pits. Crude for August delivery topped the $60 level in early trading, and was last seen up 48 cents at $60.32 per barrel after trading as high as $60.64.

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DYNAMIC MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Besides oil prices remaining around US$60, news that US durable goods orders jumped 5.5% in May -- trumping projections that called for a 1.9% rise -- did at least try to alleviate some of the fierce downward market pressure last Friday. The majority of the gains came from a huge 165% increase in commercial aircraft orders. Overall transportation equipment orders surged over 21% -- the biggest monthly increase since July 2002. However, excluding the transportation sector, the overall order figure actually dipped 0.2% -- the third decline in four months. Elsewhere, OECD figures show the US was a big buyer of foreign assets last year. Foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows rose from US$141 billion in 2003 to US$252 billion in 2004 -- an impressive 79% jump. FDI inflows to the US climbed from US$67 billion to US$107 billion -- a 60% surge. Unsurprisingly, Asian nations continued to receive foreign capital, thanks to flourishing economic growth and favorable currency rates. China finished highest, attracting a record US$55 billion last year, compared with US$47 billion in 2003. Equally, it's no surprise to see Europe faring poorly. Foreign investors pulled US$39 billion from Germany in 2004, having invested US$27 billion in 2003. France fared little better, with investors sending US$24 billion to the country last year, versus US$43 billion in 2003. Global banking heavyweight HSBC says GDP growth in the 12-nation Eurozone economy is likely to "grind to a halt" over the second half of 2005, thanks to a weakening export market. The bank states that Germany is "perilously close to deflation," with Italy in "dire straits" amid the biggest monthly retail sales drop on record in April (3.9%), contracting economic growth and a dramatic decline in productivity. In fact, HSBC says Eurozone GDP growth this year will hit just 1.1%. It also joined the chorus of national leaders and finance ministers in appealing to the European Central Bank to cut interest rates from 2% to 1.5% immediately before the economic tailspin heightens. Those who have criticized the ECB's "one size fits all" monetary strategy could be forgiven for saying, "I told you so" at this point.

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TODAY'S ECONOMIC CALENDAR 12:00 PM May Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index

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