SPX Hits 5-year High

Morning News of Note:

• PHG: Philips device could force TV viewers to watch ads An invention from Royal Philips Electronics prevents TV viewers from switching the channel during commercials or fast-forwarding past commercials when watching DVR content. Viewers would be released from the freeze only after paying a fee to the broadcaster. The freeze would be implemented on a program-by-program basis, giving viewers a choice at the start of each one. (Full Story) CNET
• AAPL: APPLE'S NO. 1 HIT: RECORD BIZ MAY SING JOBS' ITUNE AFTER ALL The record industry may be on the verge of waving the white flag in front of Apple boss Steve Jobs, and abandoning its demand for iTunes to charge different prices for different songs, The Post has learned. Negotiations between Apple and the four major music companies - with which iTunes deals all expire in the next two months - have reached a crucial point as several record executives now say they are unlikely to convince Jobs to allow variable pricing, sources said. (Full Story) NY Post
• HD: HOME DEPOT'S BIG FIX Major suppliers, including Duracell and General Electric, raised concerns about the way Home Depot collects payments to cover the cost of damaged or defective merchandise, according to court testimony given here yesterday. Michael Davis, a former Home Depot employee who says he was dismissed for reporting the practices, said that a manufacturer's representative for Duracell questioned how a Home Depot store in Aspen Hill, Md., had collected $9 million worth of credits for defective batteries in 2002, when Duracell had only sold the store $10 million worth of batteries that year. (Full Story) NY Post
• BNI: Rising Demand, Prices Help Rail Company Engineer A Turnaround When you're sitting in your car waiting for a line of boxcars to rumble past, you don't typically think you're watching a growth industry in action. Well, you are. More business is being pushed to the rails, thanks to rising imports from China, a resurgence in coal usage and problems in the trucking industry. (Full Story) IBD
• Mad Money Summary: Cramer opened his show by recommending Halliburton (HAL) "wholeheartedly." He says the company is now two companies, an energy services group and an engineering and construction business, Kellogg Brown & Root. Last Friday, KBR filed for an IPO, which will make Halliburton a pure play in oil, which will propel it higher. Then Cramer suggested buying Sports medicine company DJ Orthopedics (DJO) after reading an article in this weekend's New York Times about baby boomers continuing to exercise past the age of 50. Mitch Caplan, the CEO of E*Trade (ET), then joined Cramer by phone. Caplan talked about his company's strong quarter. He added that E*Trade has seen over $1B in investments from international customers. He also said industry consolidation has helped the company. In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on Iflow (IFLO), Express Scripts (ESRX), Texas Instruments (TXN), Goldcorp (GG), Google (GOOG), JDS Uniphase (JDSU), Conexant (CNXT), Finisar (FNSR), Sirf (SIRF), Apple (AAPL), Petroquest (PQ), Hewitt (HEW), Grey Wolf (GW), Southwest Energy (SWN) and Newell (NWL), and was bearish on Pacific Ethanol (PEIX), Kinross Gold (KGC), Fronteer Development (FRG), Bookham (BKHM) and Nortel (NT).

Market Comments: So the resilient market continues to impress, with the S&P 500 hitting a new 5-year high this morning. I am suprised at how each time the SPX has dipped below its 50-day support this year, and looked like a correction was at hand, it soon after reversed higher and went on to make new highs.

This reminds me of 2003, where the market never really staged a deep correction, but continued to stair-step higher. Now, that was the first year out of a bear market, so it was very different. But one sign of a strong market is one that never really "let's you in", in terms of giving you a good buying opportunity.

Earnings reports have come in better than expected, for the most part, at least so far. Tonight is another busy night with BRCM, GOOG, SNDK, FFIV, VRSN, and CERN reporting, just to name a few.

long GOOG