Schaeffer's Today's Market Features: Citigroup, Tyco International, Broadcom, Toll Brothers, and Home Depot.

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the December 11 edition of Schaeffer's Today's Market are Citigroup (NYSE:C), Tyco International (NYSE:TYC), Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM), Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL), and Home Depot (NYSE:HD). Schaeffer's Today's Market is just one of the many free market commentaries written every day at www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. Today's Market is written throughout every trading day by Schaeffer's financial analysts and traders. The entries are quick updates on the day's most notable market activity and news.

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8:36 AM Merrill Lynch Cuts Oil Outlook

Futures are edging higher this morning, indicative of a positive open, as traders look to start the week on the right foot. A brief round of merger and acquisition news is cheering traders onward this morning. Meanwhile, in the energy pits, the situation is a bit more volatile. On Thursday, OPEC is expected to decide to cut crude production once again. However, against this backdrop, the front-month crude contract was last seen lower by 49 cents at $61.54 per barrel.

Furthermore, Merrill Lynch lowered its 2007 West Texas Intermediate crude oil price forecast to $60 per barrel from $65 per barrel. The brokerage cited expanding non-OPEC supply and decelerating global oil demand for the lowered forecast.

In the land of wheeling and dealing, Citigroup (NYSE:C) has placed a bid for Prudential plc's (PUK) Egg Internet banking arm. PUK, who confirmed that it had received a bid from an unnamed company, said that it is not interested in selling the division.

In other merger news, Home Depot (NYSE:HD) said that it will pay $100 million for a majority stake in China's HomeWay, the Financial Times reported. Elsewhere, Smith & Nephew (SNN) is expected to bid for U.S. rival Biomet (BMET), according to U.S. newspaper reports. Per the same reports, SNN said it may offer $12 billion.

The economic calendar starts off slowly this week, with the release of only the October wholesale inventory figures arriving today. Tomorrow bulks up with the October trade balance, the November Treasury budget, and an announcement from the Fed following its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy meeting. Wednesday brings the release of November sales futures, October business inventories, and weekly crude supplies. Trader receive a bit of a break on Thursday, with only November export and import prices and initial jobless claims. To close the week, the Street will be graced with the November Consumer Price Index (CPI), the December New York Empire State Index, November capacity utilization and industrial production.

11:54 AM Home Builders Feel Slowing Market

Monday morning has brought a welcome rise to the major indices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA - 12,337.13) is higher by almost 30 points, while the Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,449.91) has been slightly more modest in its gains, up 12.59 points so far today. The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,416.62) is up 3.76 points.

In economic news this morning, wholesaler inventories increased by 0.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted $392.92 billion in October as demand fell amid the economy's slowdown. Analysts on Wall Street had expected a 0.5-percent increase.

The National Association of Realtors says the pace of existing home sales is expected to rise steadily in 2007 and reach 6.40 million, 1.0 percent lower than this year. On the flip-side, new home sales are projected to remain fairly depressed into next year.

In related news, Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) reported that profit for next fiscal year may fall 62 percent, but the luxury home-building company also said it may be seeing a floor in some markets where deposits and traffic seem to be "dancing on the bottom" or slightly above.

Elsewhere, AMREP (AXR) reported fiscal second-quarter net income that tripled on a 61 percent increase in revenue. For the quarter ended Oct. 31, profit reached $2.42 per share, up from 76 cents per share in the year-earlier period.

2:13 PM Commission Upholds QUALCOMM Infringement Ruling

Trading is modestly higher as we enter the final two hours of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA - 12,328) has added roughly 20 points while the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,413.56) has increased nearly four points. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 2,448.1) has edged almost 11 points higher.

Meanwhile, gold prices continued to inch higher today. The February gold futures contract finished the session with a gain of $3.80, as the yellow metal closed at $634.80 an ounce. The March silver contract added 13 cents to settle at $14.025 an ounce and March copper increased 2.15 cents to $3.1335 per pound.

In news around the Street, Tyco International (NYSE:TYC) outlined the senior management teams that will lead Tyco Electronics and Tyco Healthcare as independent companies. At the healthcare company, Richard Meelia will continue as chief executive and Charles Dockendorff will remain chief financial officer. At Tyco Electronics, the senior management team will be led by CEO Thomas Lynch, who was named to the position when the company announced it would become an independent, separately traded entity. Traders appear to be less than enthusiastic about the news as the stock is currently down 0.47 percent.

Elsewhere, Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM) announced that the U.S. International Trade Commission has upheld an initial determination that QUALCOMM (QCOM) infringes upon five claims of a patent held by BRCM. The next step is for the commission to consider the "appropriate remedy" for QCOM's infringement, which could include a permanent exclusion order barring importation of infringing QCOM chips into the U.S., a cease-and-desist order barring QCOM from further use or sale of infringing products in the U.S., and/or an exclusion order barring importation of cellular phones containing the infringing patents into the U.S.

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