Both the ISM Index and ISM Services reports come out this week, and it looks like the slide continues. The Index report coming out this morning is likely to show a drop to 42.0 from last month’s 43.5 reading.

The US dollar index has jumped 10% since early July.

This has had a negative effect on commodity prices. It has also brought considerable relief to consumers in the form of lower gas prices.

However, US exporters have watched their products become 10% more expensive in just two months.

Andrew Gordon says shorting US stocks with a heavy reliance on overseas sales is a great way to profit from US dollar strength. He lists the ten companies most vulnerable to further gains in the buck.

After losing more than $1.9 billion since the beginning of last year with lost market share in it’s handset division, largely do to it’s star product, the RAZR falling out of popularity as consumers swarm to competing products such as the iPhone, the outlook for Motorola’s stock is finally becoming more promising.

Southwest Feels the Love; Minimum Wage Bump; Qualcomm and Nokia Accord; Fertilizer Firm Reaps Rewards; Unemployment Claims Mount; Ford’s Worst Quarter in History; Dow Unable to Recoup Losses; Gaming Taking Off in Macau.

J.C. Penney CEO Declines Annual Forecast; Wells Fargo 1Q Beats Estimates; Chinese Economy Undaunted in 1Q; GE Ups Asian Investment; Auto Industry Heats Up in India; Qualcomm’s India Investment; Sparrows Point Deal Approved; Welch Shows Wrath

The market for mobile TV services in India will reach $360 million this year, as an estimated 12 million consumers sign up for this new entertainment offering in its first year of existence, market researcher Springboard Research announced in a new study released this week.