MORNING UPDATE: Mankus-Lavelle Group Issues Alerts for MWD, NSM, A, CC

CHICAGO, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Mankus-Lavelle Group issues the following Morning Update at 8:30 AM EST with new PriceWatch Alerts for key stocks.

Before the open... PriceWatch Alerts for MWD, NSM, A, CCU, and ACE, Market Overview, Today's Economic Calendar, and the Quote Of The Day.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"It's hard to say where that line in the sand is, that level for oil prices where the market will seriously sell off."

-- Scott Wren, equity strategist, A.G. Edwards & Sons. New PriceWatch Alerts for MWD, NSM, A, CCU, and ACE... PRICEWATCH ALERTS - HIGH RETURN COVERED CALL OPTIONS -- Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. Last Price 58.30 - JUL 55.00 CALL OPTION@ $5.40 -> 4.0 % Return assigned* -- National Semiconductor Corp. Last Price 20.06 - MAY 20.00 CALL OPTION@ $1.05 -> 5.2 % Return assigned* -- Agilent Technologies Inc. Last Price 21.41 - AUG 20.00 CALL OPTION@ $2.65 -> 6.6 % Return assigned* -- Clear Channel Communications Inc. Last Price 34.54 - MAY 35.00 CALL OPTION@ $1.00 -> 4.4 % Return assigned* -- Ace Ltd. Last Price 41.25 - MAY 40.00 CALL OPTION@ $2.80 -> 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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** 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, American Greetings Corp., Safeway Inc., and Napster Inc. lead the list of companies with the most news stories while Corn Products International Inc. and Imax Corp. are showing a spike in news. Google Inc., Advanced Micro Devices Inc., and Panera Bread Co. have the highest srtIndex scores to top the list of companies with positive news while ValueClick Inc. and RSA Security Inc. lead the list of companies with negative news reports. Microsoft Corp. 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

Trading overseas has improved greatly from this time yesterday, as 11 of the 15 markets that we follow are in positive territory. The cumulative average return on the group currently stands at a positive 0.384 percent as of 8:05 a.m. Eastern Time.

The May contract on sweet crude oil slipped 26 cents lower during Monday's regular trading session. Supply concerns eased slightly as OPEC is reportedly considering a 500,000-barrel-per-day increase in production. A decision from the crude cartel is expected in two weeks. Also easing concerns in the oil pits is the expected rise in crude supplies for this week's Department of Energy and American Petroleum releases.

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DYNAMIC MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Two different quarters with two very different endings. The US economy experienced the proverbial "mixed bag" of fortunes from the end of the fourth quarter 2004 and end of the first quarter 2005. First, the Commerce Department released its third and final report on fourth quarter GDP -- a report that showed the US economy turning in a stout performance during the last three months of 2004. Expansion hit a 3.8% annual pace, unchanged from the Department's previous estimate one month ago. And despite the fact that Wall Street's analysts called for a 4% rate, it doesn't disguise the fact that the economy still finished the year strongly. For 2004 overall, the economy expanded 4.4% -- the best since the 4.5% growth posted in 1999. In few areas was that more evident that in the corporate world, where profits climbed 12.5% during the quarter. That followed a dismal, hurricane-affected third quarter when profits dropped 4.2%, and was the best performance since the remarkable 18.9% surge posted in Q4 2001 (even more impressive, given that it was during the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks). The Blue Chip Economic Indicators survey offers guidance on 2005, with the group projecting a 3.7% GDP growth rate this year, with 3.4% expansion to follow in 2006. Alternatively, the March job report paints a murkier picture. American employers added just 110,000 new jobs during the month -- the slowest since July 2004. It was also half what economists had expected and, with February's figure being revised down 19,000 to 243,000, led to renewed concerns about the sustainability of the current spell of economic growth. Job growth of around 200,000 positions per month is needed to keep pace with population growth and maintain job market stability. However, the number of Americans without a job dwindled to 7.7 million, sending the jobless rate down to 5.2%.

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TODAY'S ECONOMIC CALENDAR 7:45 a.m. April 2 ICSC Store Sales Index (previous: -1.0%) 8:55 a.m. April 2 Redbook Retail Sales Index (previous: -0.7%) 10:00 a.m. March Challenger Layoffs Survey (previous: +17%) 12:00 p.m. Feb. Chicago Fed Midwest Mfg Index (previous: unchanged) 1:50 p.m. Fed. Chairman Greenspan speaks on energy via satellite to the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association Conference in San Antonio, Texas 5:00 p.m. April 2 ABC/Washington Post Consumer Confidence Index (previous: -13)

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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.