To shore up its balance sheet, China Eastern (CEA) announced the sale of up to RMB1.35 billion new A shares and 490 million new Hong Kong dollar-denominated H shares to parent, China Eastern Air Holding Co.

We continue to believe the fundamental outlook for airline carriers remains weak and a CEA/SAL tie-up will not change this. Both CEA and SAL shares are subject to special treatment, meaning that daily share price movements are limited to 5% on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Moreover, the shares could be delisted should CEA and SAL continue to sustain losses in 2009. We reiterate our Underperform recommendation on China Eastern shares.Zacks Investment Research

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 1, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights CNOOC, Ltd. (CEO) as the Bull of the Day and China Eastern Airlines (CEA) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and American Express Company (AXP).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

With favorable prospects for the resumption of China's economic growth and commodity prices off of their lows, CNOOC, Ltd. (CEO) ADSs are expected to maintain their recent impressive performance momentum.

This, coupled with the company's positive production-growth profile, exclusivity in the offshore China region and lucrative LNG investments, account for continued favorable view.

The company's low cost operating model is also a competitive advantage. With

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Trading in shares of China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (CEA) and Shanghai Airlines Co., Ltd. (or SAL) have been suspended beginning on June 8, reportedly concerning a merger between the two.Details are slim. Speculation includes three possible alternatives: (1) SAL will become a wholly owned subsidiary of CEA that is operated independently; (2) SAL's operations will be completely merged with CEA with the SAL brand ended; or (3) CEA will take a controlling interest in SAL.The first two would be accomplished via a share exchange in which the shares of SAL would be delisted, while under the third option SAL would continue as a listed stock. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2009 to assure China Eastern's service to the Shanghai World Expo to be held in 2010. Any hook-up between the two would be positive for ...

U.S. President Barack Obama has opened the door to a broader relationship with Cuba by loosening travel and communication restrictions. But will pressure from numerous Latin American states and a promise to usher in a new era of cooperation and dialogue in the Western Hemisphere ultimately result in the revocation of the 47 year-old trade embargo? And what would it mean if the Cuban trade embargo were actually abolished? President Obama has already loosened several restrictions enacted by his predecessor George W. Bush. Prior to his arrival at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago last weekend, Obama relaxed restrictions on travel to Cuba, making it easier for Cuban Americans to visit and transfer money to relatives on the island. “There are no better ambassadors for freedom than Cuban Americans,” Obama said in a campaign speech last year. “It’s time to ...

While few airline carriers can really admit to “loving to fly and it shows”, Delta Airlines has given some cheer back by lowering their fares from New York to Tel Aviv to $617, the lowest set fare ever on this route. The fares, which will be available only through the end of this week, apply to flights through the end of March. The new price reflects a $132 drop in fuel surcharges.

According to the Globes article:

Delta Airlines commercial director for Israel Esty Herskowicz said that the fare referred to a whole class, not to an allocation of seats. She added that seats were available at this price on most flights during the period of the campaign.

I guess Israel really sees some benefits when the price of oil plummets.

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In the battle for supremacy in the aircraft business, there are only two real players - Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) and Airbus (EPA:EAD).  These two companies compete for market share in commercial and military planes, with demand far exceeding each company’s manufacturing ability, and both have a long order backlog.  Some of Boeing’s customers, for example, will wait as long as five years before the planes they ordered are delivered.  And while they fill these orders, both companies must keep innovating.  As oil prices continue to soar, and airline companies like Delta and American Airlines struggle with tight margins, planes that fly faster, fit more passengers, and consume less fuel are at a premium.

And so each company has designed its own new super-plane - for Airbus, the A380, and for Boeing the 787 Dreamliner.  The Airbus plane has already debuted (its first flight was in October 2007),

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