Wednesday's Headlines: Thursday Preview

Updated from 7:27 a.m. EDT

(At 4:55 p.m. EDT)

Thursday Preview

With all of Wednesday's news out of the way (I hope), it's time to turn our attention to Thursday. For those looking for a breather, I'm sorry to say that Thursday looks to be the busiest day for earnings report in an already busy week.

Not only will traders still be digesting earnings reports that came after Wednesday's close, including Starbucks (SBUX) and Visa (V), they will have to sift through reports from Motorola (MOT) and Comcast (CMCSA).

Oh wait, there's more. Borg Warner (BWA), Dominion (D), Kellogg (K), Marathon Oil (MRO) and Procter & Gamble (PG), among many others, will report before Thursday's open.

The economic docket is stuffed, too. At 8:30 a.m. EDT, separate reports on weekly jobless claims, personal income and spending for March, and the first-quarter read on the employment cost index will be released. At 9:45 a.m. EDT, the April read of the Chicago Purchasing Manager's index will be posted.

(At 6:39 a.m. EDT)

Busy Wednesday

Today marks President Barack Obama's 100th day in office. Later, the Federal Reserve will release its latest statement on interest rates. Additionally, there are several key earnings and economic reports due to be released today. And perhaps most importantly, Wednesday saw the first confirmed death in the U.S. from the swine flu outbreak (a 24-month old child in Texas, according to CNBC).

All in all, it looks as though it's going to be a very busy news day, so let's get to it.

Earnings Roundup

Time Warner (TWX) was the highlight of companies reporting before Wednesday's open. Shares were trading about 2% higher in the premarket session after Time Warner posted an adjusted first-quarter profit 45 cents a share on revenue of $6.95 billion. While both numbers were down from a year ago, they beat the Thomson Reuters average estimate.