Equities Update

Apple Computer (AAPL) continues to clogg news wires following their announcement of the company entering the mobile phone business. Today, Apple was sued by Cisco Systems over its new iPhone a day after Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs introduced the device to major fanfare in San Francisco. Cisco says us of the name violates its trademark. The lawsuit was filed after talks to share the iPhone name ended, San Jose, California-based Cisco said in a statement. In other words, Apple asked first if they could use the name then, after being told "no", they went ahead anyway. Apple stock is a bit lower in pre-market trading, Cisco a bit higher. We'll stick with our call on Apple in the short-term: it should reach for $100/105 on pure momentum alone.

Looking at the broader market, the late-session rally in the US prompts us to believe that markets will continue higher today: S&P 500 trades in a narrow consolidation range 1402-1431 and break in either direction would mean acceleration. Chances are, that 1431 will hold before tomorrow's US retail sales data is released.