** US WRAP **

** COMMODITY HEADLINES **

- Gold Declines from 25-Year High on Investor Concern Gains May Be Overdone
- Crude Oil Futures Trades Near $67 a Barrel on Iran, Nigeria Supply Concern
- Copper Futures Decline in Shanghai as Imports Increase, Boosting Supplies
- Nippon Mining Increases Copper Price as Yen Declines, Metal Bulletin Says
- Rubber Futures Prices on the Tokyo Commodity, Osaka Mercantile Exchanges
- Malaysia Palm Oil Futures Fall 0.1 Percent to 1431.00 Ringgit a Metric Ton

** TRADING HEADLINES **

- Intel Profit Disappoints; Shares Drop as Sales Forecast Is Below Estimates
- Guidant Declares Boston Scientific’s $27 Billion Bid Superior to J&J Offer
- Yahoo Net Income Jumps on Holiday Advertising; Shares Decline on Forecast
- U.S. Stocks Fall on Concern About Earnings, Energy Costs; Bank Shares Drop
- Oil Rises Above $66 to Three-Month High Amid Nigeria, Iran Supply Threats
- IBM’s Profit Rises 13 Percent After Sale of Unprofitable PC Unit to Lenovo
- Man Group Faces Motion by Receiver for Return of Hedge Fund’s $179 Million
- Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp Earnings Growth Slows Amid Rise in Bankruptcies
- BioCryst Says Flu Drug Granted ‘Fast Track’ Status by FDA; Shares Surge
- China May End Ban on Domestic Share Sales in April, Exchange’s Zhou Says
- Cathay Pacific, Asian Airline Stocks May Fall as Capacity Outstrips Growth

** AFTER HOURS **

IBM reported Q4 (Dec.) earnings of $2.11 per share, excluding a $0.10 charge,
and beat the Reuters Estimates consensus by $0.17. Revenues fell 11.7%
year/year to $24.43 bln vs. the $25.51 bln consensus. The co. reported global
service revs of $12 bln; global service bookings of $11.5 bln; a gross margin of
44.1%. Stock unchanged after hours

With Q4 (Dec.) earnings of $0.40 per share, Intel fell $0.03 short of the
Reuters Estimates consensus. Sales increased 6.3% year/year to $10.2 bln vs.
the $10.56 bln consensus. For Q1, Intel foresees revs of $9.1-9.7 bln vs. the
$10.05 bln consensus. For FY06, the co. expects revs of $41.1-42.3 bln vs. the
$42.33 bln consensus. For the period, INTC anticipates a gross margin of 57%
plus or minus a few points. Its Q4 gross margin was 61.8%, slightly below its
updated expectation of 63%, +/- 1, primarily due to lower than expected revenue,
a slight shift in the overall product mix to non-microprocessor products, and
some inventory valuation adjustments to reflect lower unit costs. The Street
Expectation was 61.1%. The effective tax rate of 29.1% was below the expected
rate of 31% primarily due to tax benefits for export sales and estimated R&D tax
credits. Revenue in the Asia Pacific region was essentially flat sequentially,
while revenue in the Americas region was sequentially lower; results primarily
reflect lower than expected demand for desktop products among certain OEM
customers. Stock 9.5% after hours.

Yahoo booked Q4 (Dec.) earnings of $0.16 per share, excluding nonrecurring
items, a penny below the Reuters Estimates consensus. Revenues ex-TAC rose
36.1% year/year to $1.07 bln vs. the $1.07 bln consensus. The co. reports OIBDA
of $459 mln vs. its $452-$482 mln guidance. For Q1, Yahoo estimates Q1 revs
ex-TAC of $1.040-$1.100 bln vs. the $1.09 bln consensus, and anticipates Q1
OIBDA of $410-440 mln. For FY06, Yahoo estimates sales ex-TAC of $4.6-$4.85 bln
vs. the $4.8 bln consensus, and forecasts FY06 OIBDA of $1.915-$2.055 bln. Stock down 13.5% after hours.

** TODAY **

Fourth quarter earnings reports will continue to stream in on Wednesday. Prior to the market’s open, Charles Schwab (SCHW), J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM), and Southwest Airlines (LUV) are amongst those scheduled to report; following the closing bell, Advanced Micro (AMD), Apple (APPL), eBay (EBAY), and QLogic (QLGC) are on the docket. With respect to the economic front, December CPI will take center stage. Economists expect a 0.2% increase in both total and core CPI; the data is slated for 14:30 CET. November business inventories, the EIA’s latest energy inventory stats, and the Fed’s Beige Book will also be released tomorrow.