EB Watch List Update Report

Dear Members: MARKET NOTE: We've seen for a long time now how hard it is for the market to hold any gains with all of the major indexes struggling this morning though they are all off their respective session lows. The weakness comes today courtesy of Apple who came up short on revenues and expectations for the future. It certainly can't be blamed on oil as oil is higher today in spite of a continuing build in inventories. The VIX is lower, now back below its 20 day moving average, as traders relax some. And of course everyone can now turn their attention to the Fed rate announcement coming up today at 2:00 pm eastern. Right now no one believes they will announce a raise so all of the attention is on forward guidance; will they back off some given the turmoil in the market? On a positive note both the Dow and S&P have turned green with the S&P clearing some key near term resistance. But what really matters is this; can any gains hold into the close? And can the market put together a few days of positive action to help convince traders the worst of the near term selling is over? And, even if we do get some gains, will it be seen as an opportunity to lock in profits or is there any staying power to any rallies? Again, everything will be re-evaluated once the Fed speaks later today. So the bulls should take any moves higher into the Fed meeting with a grain of salt. KEY EARNINGS REPORTS Companies reporting earnings today (January 27) include: AMP, BIIB, BA, BAH, BRCM, CRUS, CTXS, DFS, EBAY, EMC, FB, GD, GWB, JNPR, KNX, LRCX, LVS, MCK, NSC, PYPL, QCOM, SNDK, STJ, STT, TER, TXN, TXT, TSCO, TUP, UTX and VRTX. Companies reporting earnings tomorrow (January 28) include: FLWS, ABT, MO, AMZN, AMGN, AN, BHI, BLL, BX, BMY, CAT, CELG, EA, LLY, FICO, FLEX, F, GNTX, HOG, HAR, HSY, JBLU, JCI, KLAC, LLL, LEA, MKC, MSFT, NDAQ, NOC, NUE, POT.TO, PHM, QLGC, RTN, SHW, SWKS, SWK, TROW, TCB, TWC, UA, UIS, VLO and V. ADDITIONS TO WATCH LISTS: At this point it makes sense to wait for the Fed announcement before considering additional trading candidates. We will be adding a lot of stocks to the Candidate Tracker soon as more companies report their earnings and will be searching for both long and short trading candidates as appropriate. BRIEF COMMENTS ON SELECT WATCH LIST STOCKS: We are going to remain cautious and start taking profits that come along quickly. Also going to get more defensive on stops as reflected below and until there are signs that the market is improving. Large Cap Watch List BSX - Stock is up slightly. As reported yesterday we are cancelling our second entry level and raising our stop to a close below $17.25. It really needs to close back above $17.62 or possibly face further selling. Mid Cap Watch List There are no Mid Cap stocks on the Watch List at this time. Small Cap Watch List STMP - Stock is flat today and a close back above $98.62 would be bullish. As a reminder we raised our stop to a close below $91 in case the market resumes its move lower. DELETIONS FROM OUR WATCH LISTS: There are no deletions from the Watch List today unless a Watch List stock closes below the stop loss provided. At your service, John Hopkins, EarningsBeats