~EDWARD $TEVEN$ON EXPRE$$~

[ericwright]

GM E EXPRE$$! Before the bell: Stocks to move higher as government bails B of A
Posted Jan 16th 2009 7:46AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Before the bell, International markets, Earnings reports, Intel (INTC), Market matters, Citigroup Inc. (C), Bank of America (BAC), Economic data, Oil, Financial Crisis

U.S. stock futures were higher this morning, pointing to a second session of gains Friday after the U.S. government gave Bank of America another $20 billion of bailout money. Investors seemed to approve the move despite big losses posted by Bank of America and Citigroup, perhaps because the government also guaranteed losses on over $400 billion in assets of both banks.

Overseas, Asian shares closed the session with gains as tech stocks got some relief following Intel's earnings. European markets rallied Friday as news of the bailout for Bank of America gave investors some relief. Oil producers, mineral extractors and banks posted sharp gains. Meanwhile, oil prices recovered somewhat from an overnight low of $33.20 and traded around $35.50 a barrel.

Investors are also awaiting several economic indicators today:

At 8:30 am EST, December consumer price index is due for release. Economists expect CPI to show inflation dropped 1% in December, or remained flat excluding food and oil.
At 9:15 am, December capacity utilization and industrial production are due out.
Near 10:00 am, Michigan sentiment index for January will be reported.