Schacknow - TODAY'S PRIMER

January 10, 2012

Peter Schacknow, Senior Producer, CNBC Breaking News Desk

Wall Street enters the new day with some positive momentum, with the Nasdaq riding a three-day winning streak and the S&P 500 up for four of the past five sessions.

At this early stage, the Dow’s gains for January have already matched its advance for all of December.

On today’s economic calendar, the government releases November wholesale trade at 10am ET, with inventories expected to show a 0.6 percent increase following a 1.6 percent advance in October.

At the same time, the Labor Department is out with the monthly Job Opportunities and Labor Turnover Survey, popularly known as “JOLTS”.

And the Treasury is set to sell $32 billion dollars in 3-year notes, with the results of that auction available shortly after 1pm ET.

Though earnings season is officially underway with the release of Dow component Alcoa’s (AA) quarterly numbers, that milepost is not reflected in today's earnings calendar, which is virtually blank.

Nonetheless, Alcoa will get a good deal of attention, as its per-share loss was in with expectations and its revenues exceeded Street estimates.

Juniper Networks (JNPR) also makes our stocks to watch list, as it lowers guidance for its fourth quarter, citing weaker-than-expected network router demand from service providers.

Liz Claiborne (LIZ) took a 9 percent hit after-hours, as it cut its 2012 outlook and announced that chief financial officer Andrew Warren is leaving to join Discovery Communications as CFO.

Cirrus Logic (CRUS) saw a 7percent jump in after-hours trading, as it provided better than expected revenue guidance for its fiscal third and fourth quarters.

Shoe retailer Genesco (GCO) should see a boost in today’s trading, as it raises its fourth quarter earnings forecast on same-store sales that are exceeding its prior guidance.

Ford (F) chief financial officer Lewis Booth is reportedly planning to retire in the first half of this year. He had been seen as a possible eventual successor to chief executive officer Alan Mulally.

United Continental (UAL) has struck a tentative contract deal with its flight attendants union, the result of a mediation process that began in September.

And Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook has been awarded $378 million in compensation for 2011, largely in the form of restricted stock that vests over a period of 10 years.