MORNING BUSINESS MINUTE, WEDS., MAY 17, 2006

The Producer Price Index showed we haven`t seen the price of energy yet hit core prices -- however, we did see the overall number, without food and energy added in -- go up higher than expected, and that spooked investors worried about both inflation and interest rates. The Dow lost -8.88 (-0.08%) to close at 11,419.89. The NASDAQ lost -9.39 (-0.42%) to close at 2,229.13. The S&P 500 lost -2.42 (-0.19%) to close at 1,292.08. Local stocks posted mostly negative results. Wal-Mart (WMT) added +1.35% to close at $48.07. AllTel (AT) lost -1.47% to close at $62.91. Tyson Foods (TSN) lost -1.57% to finish at $15.63. JB Hunt (JBHT) lost -2.61% to close at $24.65. Acxiom (ACXM) lost -0.16% to close at $24.36. Today, we`ll see consumer prices for April, along with crude oil inventories for last week. Earnings today include numbers from Acxiom, Napster and Petsmart just to name a few of the dozens of earnings due out. Overseas in Asia last night, the Nikkei rose +30.24 (+0.2%) to reach 16,188.66 at the mid-day break in Tokyo. The broader topix stayed flat at 1,643.94. Back in the U.S, in extended hours trading, the NASDAQ 100 Afterhours Indicator fell -0.56 (-0.03%) to close the night at 1,623.13.