Morning Update

"Business more than any other occupation is a continual dealing with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight." - Henry R. Luce

Morning News of Note:

• GOOG: At $300 a Share, Google Looks Pricey and Still Irresistible David Edwards, a financial analyst with American Technology Research, wants to believe in Google. But how do you embrace a stock that has more than tripled in 10 months and cracked the $300-a-share barrier so quickly since going public that much of its growth potential seems already built into the price? In early May, when Google was trading for $236, Mr. Edwards sent a note to clients of his firm, a group that includes wealthy individuals and money managers, recommending that they buy Google stock. (Full Story) NY Times
• AMD INTC: Advanced Micro Sues Intel Over Customer `Coercion' Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the second-largest maker of chips for personal computers, sued larger competitor Intel Corp., claiming it used financial threats and cash offers to drive away dozens of customers. Intel coerced 38 companies including Dell Inc., Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. with ``old-fashioned threats, intimidations and `knee-capping''' to exclude Advanced Micro, the Sunnyvale, California-based company said today in a copy of the filing on its Web site. (Full Story) Bloomberg
• Consumer Confidence: U.S. Consumer Confidence Rose to 105.8 in June; Survey Shows An improving labor market and rising incomes lifted consumer confidence in June for a second straight month. The Conference Board's index was expected to rise to 104, the highest since February, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 59 economists. The index was 102.2 in May. (Full Story) Bloomberg
• AAPL: Apple's iTunes phone to launch tomorrow? - CNET (37.10 ) According to CNET, French newspaper giant Le Figaro has a piece saying the iTunes-compatible phone being developed by Apple and Motorola will finally launch tomorrow, with at least one American phone carrier agreeing to support it. The phone, which allows people to download songs to their computer and transfer them to the phone, has run into some opposition from carriers that want people to download music through their networks. According to Reuters, Cingular Wireless has been considering using the iTunes phone.
• EASI: Engineered Support announces $76 mln order from U.S. Army (35.35 +0.03) Co received orders totaling $76.2 mln from the U.S. Army for the production of 5,902 Tactical Quiet Generator sets. The orders are releases under three existing long-term contracts with the Army. The generator sets are slated for delivery through fiscal 2006 and until mid-fiscal 2007.

Market Comments: The market opens up this morning and quickly builds on its early gains. Consumer confidence came in better-than-expected, and the decline in oil back below $60 is helping. Add to that a dose of quarter-end mark-ups and I think the gains will stick.

We have a bit of a debate going on my comments yesterday about whether $60 oil hurts the consumer, so please weigh in below--

long EASI, INTC, GOOG