PREOPEN CALLS

Some morning highlights via briefing.com:

GS adds CE to their conviction buy list and drops APD.

AAPL- ThinkEquity raises their tgt on AAPL to $110 from $100, saying their proprietary "Black Friday" survey of Apple Retail stores across the nation indicates likely upside to their Retail Store rev est of $1.45 bln for 1Q07. Firm believes that AAPL's Retail Store is a clear differentiator and a significant catalyst for further CPU share gains and profit margin expansion.

CC announces it guarantees the lowest holiday TV prices; on any TV, co says it will beat the competitor's price by 25% of the difference (24.25 ).


SNE - PS3 problems abound as second batch to hit shelves in December - Digitimes (39.63 )
Digitimes reports while Sony is preparing to deliver its second batch of PS3 game consoles in December, consumers who are currently enjoying the new gaming device reportedly have encountered problems with the console, including overheating, inability to start up the console, and a lower display resolution from its Blu-ray Disc player, according to market sources. Problems related to overheating and inability to start the machine were reported since the PS3 launched in mid-November. Reports have circulated recently in the US retail market saying that when used with older high-definition (HD) TVs that support only a 1080i resolution, the PS3 displays 720p resolution games at only 480p. Sources at Sony said this problem could be caused by a firmware problem and that the company will resolve the problem as soon as possible.


MGM Mirage profiled in New America section of IBD (54.22 ) on Wednesday, MGM majority owner Kirk Kerkorian said he would add to his MGM stake. He agreed to pay $825 mln for 15 mln more MGM shares at a 12% premium, sending the stock up 10%. Shares had already been moving up since mid-September. With MGM Grand's joint venture in the gaming mecca of Macau off the China coast looking to be on track to open in the fourth quarter of 2007, investors have more reason to look favorably at MGM, analysts say. Concern about CityCenter, which is expected to open in 2009, has also been quelled. Oversupply isn't such an issue because several big projects planned for Las Vegas were postponed or canceled.


MMC could get good price for Putnam: WSJ (31.86 )-Reuters reports Marsh & McLennan could be in a good position to get an impressive price for its Putnam Investments money management arm, despite some recent troubles at the unit, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Monday. Bids were expected last week from at least three firms, including fund manager Amvescap Plc., Italian bank Unicredit and Power Corp of Canada, the paper said.