Schacknow - TODAY'S PRIMER, June 6 and 7, 2012

                           
                                  Peter Schacknow, Senior Producer, CNBC Breaking News Desk
There are plenty of positives for U.S. investors to latch onto ahead of the Thursday session:  the Dow and the S&P 500 are coming off their best one-day gains of 2012, and the Dow now has its first two-day win streak since April 26-27.

It should also be pointed out, however, that Wednesday’s outsized gains were just roughly enough to negate last Friday’s losses.

A successful debt auction in Spain may help market sentiment this morning, with strong demand at a widely watched sale of medium and long term bonds. Spain was able to sell 2.1 billion euros in bonds, with lower yields than at recent sales.

Wall Street will be hanging on Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s every word this morning as he testifies before the Joint Economic Committee on the economic outlook at 10am ET. Investors will be looking for any hint of further easing moves by the Fed in the wake of last week’s disappointing May employment data.

Ahead of Bernanke’s testimony, we’ll get fresh labor market data, with the weekly report on initial jobless claims out at 8:30am ET. Economists are looking for 380,000 new claims for the week ending June 2, down from the prior week’s 383,000.

At 10:30am, the Energy Department will issue its weekly look at natural gas inventories, and at 3pm ET, April consumer credit figures are expected to show an increase of $10.2 billion, compared to March’s $21.4 billion rise.
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June 6, 2012 - TODAYS PRIMER                            
Peter Schacknow, Senior Producer, CNBC Breaking News Desk

Wall Street is showing some signs of life, even as European debt crisis concerns deepen. The Nasdaq is coming off its first two-day winning streak since May 1-2, and the Dow has a chance today to rise for two consecutive days for the first time since April 26-27.

U.S. stock index futures are sharply higher at this hour, indicating at least a chance of achieving that modest goal.

Investors will be watching today’s European Central Bank meeting carefully for any signal about rate moves or other policy changes to deal with Europe’s ongoing fiscal problems.  The ECB is expected, however, to keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 1.0 percent when it issues its latest rate decision at 7:45am ET.

Here in the U.S., the Labor Department will issue its second estimate of first quarter productivity at 8:30am ET. Economists think the latest reading will show productivity falling by a 0.8 percent annual rate compared to the prior estimate of a 0.5 percent slide.

At 2pm ET, the Federal Reserve will be out with its Beige Book, the region-by-region assessment of nation’s economy.

We’ll also get two weekly reports today: the Mortgage Bankers Association is out with its look at mortgage applications at 7am ET, while the Energy Department has its assessment of oil and gasoline inventories at 10:30am ET.

The earnings calendar remains light this morning, though we will see the latest numbers from spirits maker Brown-Forman (BFB) and home builder Hovnanian (HOV), while Pall Corp.(PLL) is among those scheduled to release earnings after today’s closing bell.

Newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises (LEE) is a stock to watch this morning, following news that Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) has taken a 3.2 percent stake. That continues a series of investments by Warren Buffett’s company in U.S. newspaper publishers.

Deere (DE) finds itself in near-record territory in one category: Reuters reports that its new debt offering carries one of the lowest yields of all time, with a 30-year bond on track to yield 3.942 percent and a 10-year note set to yield 2.629 percent. The offer has not yet officially priced.

Lockheed Martin (LMT) has won a missile defense contract that could be valued at up to $2 billion. The contract calls for at least 42 interceptor missiles for the U.S. military.

Dollar General (DG) has priced a secondary offering of 30 million shares at $46.75 per share. That size of the offering is larger than the 25 million shares the retailer had previously indicated it would sell.

Abbott Labs (ABT) makes the watch list, as competitor Roche says a trial has shown its arthritis drug performed better than Abbott’s best-selling Humira in reducing symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Nokia (NOK) has unveiled budget-priced touchscreen handsets, in hopes of carving out a niche in that market and catching up with its rivals.

Novartis (NVS) says a final stage study shows its Ilaris drug helps reduce symptoms in childhood arthritis patients.

Ancestry.com (ACOM) is considering putting itself up for sale, according to published reports, and is already working to find potential buyers.

Chesapeake Energy (CHK) is reportedly in advanced talks to sell most of its pipeline assets for more than $4 billion to Global Infrastructure Partners, according to Bloomberg News
J.M. Smucker (SJM), Navistar (NAV), Comverse Technology (CMVT), and Lululemon (LULU) are among the companies set to report quarterly earnings this morning.

Clothing retailer Men’s Wearhouse (MW) is a stock to watch this morning, after missing estimates by two cents with first quarter profit of $0.53 per share, excluding certain items. It also issued a disappointing outlook for the second quarter, saying its corporate apparel business is being hurt by cutbacks in company spending.

Ruby Tuesday (RT) says Chairman/CEO Sandy Beall, who founded the restaurant chain, is planning to step down after 40 years. The company has begun a search process for a replacement, and Beall plans to stay on until a successor is named.

General Dynamics (GD) Chairman/CEO Jay Johnson will retire at year’s end.  President and Chief Operating Officer Phebe Novakovic will succeed Johnson in both roles when he steps down on December 31.

Tuesday Morning (TUES) says CEO Kathleen Mason has been “relieved of her duties” as President and CEO of the retailer. The company did not give a reason for the move, but says it’s begun a search for a new CEO and expects to complete the process within a few months. Executive Vice President Michael Marchetti has been promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer and will also serve as interim CEO.

A federal judge says Chesapeake Energy (CHK) does not need to delay its annual meeting scheduled for Friday. Some shareholders had sought a delay to allow more time for investigation of the company’s financial dealings with CEO Aubrey McLendon.

Molina Healthcare (MOH) has withdrawn its full year earnings guidance because of uncertainties about rising medical costs in Texas. The health insurer’s stock dropped about 11 percent in after-hours trading on that news.

Walt Disney (DIS) says it will not sell its DVDs to rental outlets like Netflix (NFLX), Coinstar’s (CSTR) Redbox, and Blockbuster until 28 days after they go on sale.  Disney had previously allowed Redbox to buy DVDs the same day they went on sale at both stores and online. Redbox is responding by saying it will buy those videos through “alternative means”.