The company swung to a GAAP net income of $86.9 million or $1.18 per share from a net income of $75 million or $1.04 in the year-ago period. Results came in 3 cents ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.15.

The quarterly results benefited from position limitations on speculators, sweeping regulatory reforms, lower expenses and record futures trading. The upside was also attributable to growth in the company’s core businesses, significant progress from new initiatives and stronger margins.

The company could benefit as more over-the-counter contracts are exchange-traded and cleared, but could suffer if U.S. regulators impose new commodity-market position limits.

Net revenues increased 27.2% year over year to $256.3 million. The growth was primarily attributable to 34% increase in consolidated transaction and clearing fee revenues in the quarter driven primarily by new products, strong trading volumes in ICE's futures and OTC energy segments, continued growth since the launch of ICE Clear Europe in November 2008 and the addition of OTC credit derivatives execution, processing and clearing services.

Average daily futures volume increased 24% whereas, average daily commissions in ICE's OTC energy business jumped 12% in the quarter boosting total transaction and clearing fees by 34%.

Total operating expenses increased 41.3% year over year to $116.3 million mainly due to a $27 million rise in expenses relating to ICE's credit derivatives execution, processing and clearing initiatives, including compensation expenses and amortization of intangibles. Expenses included amortization expense for Russell license agreement totaling $6.5 million, compared to $0.7 million in the prior-year quarter.

At the end of Sept 30, 2009, ICE had 821 employees and expects to increase its headcount by 1% to 2%.

The transatlantic exchange, which operates across over 50 countries, is headquartered in Atlanta, with offices in New York, London, Chicago, Winnipeg, Calgary, Houston and Singapore. The company operates leading regulated exchanges, trading platforms and clearing houses serving the global markets for agricultural, credit, currency, emissions, energy and equity index markets.

ICE’s rival CME Group Inc. (CME) reported third-quarter earnings of $3.35 per share earlier last week, beating the consensus forecast by 5 cents.

In what has been a volatile year, equity REITs gained approximately 29% (total return FTSE NAREIT Index) in the second quarter after falling 32% in the first quarter. So far in October, equity REITs are down about 1%; the worst performing sectors in October have been Self Storage (- 3.4%), Retail (-1.6%), Industrial/Office (-1.6%), and Residential (-0.8%).

OPPORTUNITIES

Many REITs are still trading at discounts to NAV (net asset value), traditionally a good "buy" signal. Over the past seven or so years, REITs have traded near or in excess of NAV.

With dividend cuts and share price gains, the average yield for equity REITs during the third quarter was about 4%. Although yields have exceeded that of the 10-year Treasury, the spread has narrowed considerably over the past quarter. Most companies have been raising cash through asset sales and equity financing, with the proceeds being used to pay down debt.

The credit freeze will have a positive effect on commercial real estate down the road; new office, apartment and retail construction has slowed considerably, which will benefit owners in a couple of years. Many companies that we cover have stopped all-new construction.

In this environment, we like well-capitalized companies that have adequate liquidity and manageable near-term debt maturities. Currently, we are bullish on American Capital Agency Corp. (AGNC), a mortgage REIT that invests exclusively in agency securities for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by U.S. government agencies like Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE). During the second quarter of 2009, American Capital reported net spread of 3.66% with 39.8% return on equity (ROE), and is one of the few companies to have increased the dividend.

Another stock worth mentioning is Vornado Realty Trust (VNO), the largest publicly traded office REIT in the New York region concentrating on Class A office properties. The core properties of Vornado are still performing at a high level, maintaining strong occupancies and increasing rents in most property formats. We believe this puts the company well ahead of many competitors, and warrants upside potential.

We would also like to mention Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG), the largest publicly traded retail real estate company in North America, with assets in almost all retail distribution channels. The geographic and product diversity of the company insulates it from market volatility to a great extent and provides a steady source of income. Furthermore, Simon Property's international presence gives it a more sustainable long-term growth story than its domestically focused peers.

WEAKNESSES

REITs still depend on access to capital to fund growth, and with the credit markets still not fully back to normal, it is difficult to raise money for new developments/acquisitions. In this scenario, most REITs are raising capital through property level debt, dividend reductions and equity offerings. Although both debt and equity financings provide the much-needed cash infusion, they could potentially burden an already leveraged balance sheet and/or dilute earnings. Property level debt is also harder to obtain and more expensive as commercial real estate prices continue to remain under pressure.

Fundamentals are declining in many suburban office markets as corporate expansion continues to slow. More and more corporations are putting off leasing decisions until the economy recovers. Recent employment trends are also not encouraging as the U.S. economy continues to shed jobs at a rapid pace. To date, the U.S. has lost about 7.2 million jobs since the start of recession in December 2007. The national unemployment rate has surged to 9.8%. As the U.S. economy struggles with the economic downturn, REITs will have trouble holding tenants and leasing new space.

Given the market uncertainties, we are bearish on Developers Diversified Realty Corporation (DDR), which is primarily engaged in owning and leasing shopping centers across the U.S., Puerto Rico, Brazil, Russia and Canada. The current recession has led to increased tenant bankruptcies, which in turn have led to a decline in occupancy and an increase in vacancy rates. The possibility of store closings at many Developers Diversified centers further adds uncertainty to the earnings, and it might have to re-let large "big-box" spaces at significantly lower rents in a very tough leasing environment.

We would also avoid Post Properties, Inc. (PPC), an apartment REIT relying heavily on low-barrier markets such as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Orlando and Tampa. We think the company will have a difficult time continuing to raise rents in a faltering economy, and expect flat rental rates and negative same-store revenue growth in 2009. Zacks Investment Research

In what has been a volatile year, equity REITs gained approximately 29% (total return FTSE NAREIT Index) in the second quarter after falling 32% in the first quarter. So far in October, equity REITs are down about 1%; the worst performing sectors in October have been Self Storage (- 3.4%), Retail (-1.6%), Industrial/Office (-1.6%), and Residential (-0.8%).

OPPORTUNITIES

Many REITs are still trading at discounts to NAV (net asset value), traditionally a good "buy" signal. Over the past seven or so years, REITs have traded near or in excess of NAV.

With dividend cuts and share price gains, the average yield for equity REITs during the third quarter was about 4%. Although yields have exceeded that of the 10-year Treasury, the spread has narrowed considerably over the past quarter. Most companies have been raising cash through asset sales and equity financing, with the proceeds being used to pay down debt.

The credit freeze will have a positive effect on commercial real estate down the road; new office, apartment and retail construction has slowed considerably, which will benefit owners in a couple of years. Many companies that we cover have stopped all-new construction.

In this environment, we like well-capitalized companies that have adequate liquidity and manageable near-term debt maturities. Currently, we are bullish on American Capital Agency Corp. (AGNC), a mortgage REIT that invests exclusively in agency securities for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by U.S. government agencies like Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE). During the second quarter of 2009, American Capital reported net spread of 3.66% with 39.8% return on equity (ROE), and is one of the few companies to have increased the dividend.

Another stock worth mentioning is Vornado Realty Trust (VNO), the largest publicly traded office REIT in the New York region concentrating on Class A office properties. The core properties of Vornado are still performing at a high level, maintaining strong occupancies and increasing rents in most property formats. We believe this puts the company well ahead of many competitors, and warrants upside potential.

We would also like to mention Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG), the largest publicly traded retail real estate company in North America, with assets in almost all retail distribution channels. The geographic and product diversity of the company insulates it from market volatility to a great extent and provides a steady source of income. Furthermore, Simon Property's international presence gives it a more sustainable long-term growth story than its domestically focused peers.

WEAKNESSES

REITs still depend on access to capital to fund growth, and with the credit markets still not fully back to normal, it is difficult to raise money for new developments/acquisitions. In this scenario, most REITs are raising capital through property level debt, dividend reductions and equity offerings. Although both debt and equity financings provide the much-needed cash infusion, they could potentially burden an already leveraged balance sheet and/or dilute earnings. Property level debt is also harder to obtain and more expensive as commercial real estate prices continue to remain under pressure.

Fundamentals are declining in many suburban office markets as corporate expansion continues to slow. More and more corporations are putting off leasing decisions until the economy recovers. Recent employment trends are also not encouraging as the U.S. economy continues to shed jobs at a rapid pace. To date, the U.S. has lost about 7.2 million jobs since the start of recession in December 2007. The national unemployment rate has surged to 9.8%. As the U.S. economy struggles with the economic downturn, REITs will have trouble holding tenants and leasing new space.

Given the market uncertainties, we are bearish on Developers Diversified Realty Corporation (DDR), which is primarily engaged in owning and leasing shopping centers across the U.S., Puerto Rico, Brazil, Russia and Canada. The current recession has led to increased tenant bankruptcies, which in turn have led to a decline in occupancy and an increase in vacancy rates. The possibility of store closings at many Developers Diversified centers further adds uncertainty to the earnings, and it might have to re-let large "big-box" spaces at significantly lower rents in a very tough leasing environment.

We would also avoid Post Properties, Inc. (PPC), an apartment REIT relying heavily on low-barrier markets such as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Orlando and Tampa. We think the company will have a difficult time continuing to raise rents in a faltering economy, and expect flat rental rates and negative same-store revenue growth in 2009. Zacks Investment Research

The company said the impairment charge would not impact its ownership interest in the project and it would continue to be the property manager and leasing agent of the asset.

In a separate development, Cousins announced a public offering of 32 million common shares and an underwriter option to purchase an additional 4.8 million shares. The company plans to use the proceeds to repay its debt under the revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes. J. P. Morgan of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) are the joint book-running managers for the offering.

Cousins acquires, finances, develops, manages and leases office, retail and industrial properties throughout the U.S., including Atlanta, Charlotte, Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington DC. The company also provides leasing and management services to third-party investors.

Market fundamentals are deteriorating for office and retail landlords throughout the country due to the continued economic downturn. With high market vacancies and no job growth, rental rate growth on new leases will also be non-existent for some time. Consequently, with no short-term growth indicators, we expect continued volatility in the sector.

The company’s Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Director of Financial Planning Albert Campbell will replace Simon Wadsworth. Campbell joined Mid-America Apartment in 1998 as Vice President of Financial Planning and was later promoted to Senior Vice President and Treasurer of the company in 2003.

Mid-America Apartment owns and manages apartments in the Sunbelt region of the U.S. The company defines its portfolio in two tiers– primary markets and secondary markets. Having a diversified presence in diverse markets helps mitigate risk and decreases volatility in the event of a slowdown in any one product type.

Primary markets are relatively larger in size compared to secondary markets. On the other hand, secondary markets often have stable fundamentals due to limited new supply. Primary markets include Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Nashville, Raleigh, Austin, Jacksonville and Tampa. Secondary markets include Memphis, Lexington, Columbus, Greenville, Jackson, Little Rock and Savannah.

Due to conservative use of leverage over the past couple of years, Mid-America Apartment has a healthy balance sheet with low near-term debt maturities and adequate coverage ratios. The company also has moderate unfunded future development costs. We think Mid-America Apartment is well positioned to withstand the current problems in the capital markets and has an able leadership to steer it to future profitability.

The company had previously reduced its annual dividend payout to $0.70 per share from $1.00 declared earlier, significantly down from $2.07 in 2008. The move is aimed at conserving liquidity in the current credit-constrained market.

In response to the continued economic downturn and rapidly deteriorating industrial real-estate fundamentals, ProLogis had already stopped all new initiatives and early-stage developments. The company is currently concentrating on increasing its liquidity and deleveraging its balance sheet through asset sale.

ProLogis owns and manages interests in over 2,500 distribution facilities, service offices, and properties spanning 475 million square feet (including properties under development) of space. During the first quarter of 2009, the company sold its operations in China and Japan to affiliates of GIC Real Estate, the real-estate investment arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.

During the second quarter, ProLogis sold about 136 properties with an average age of 20 years. Spanning across 14.2 million square feet, the properties were located in markets like Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Memphis, Northern and Southern California, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Washington DC and Northern New Jersey.

ProLogis is the best-positioned industrial REIT in the current scenario. However, we maintain our Neutral recommendation on the stock in view of the overall decline of the industrial real estate sector.

Chicago, IL – July 24, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. (LLL), Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT), Raytheon Company (RTN), FLIR Systems (FLIR) and Sprint Nextel (S).

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Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

L-3 Communications Displays Resilience

Before the opening bell, L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. (LLL) opened its second quarter reporting sales growth of 5.6% year-over-year to $3.93 billion barely beating our estimate of $3.88 billion and consensus estimate of $3.84 billion.

Showing resilience the company despite a higher pension liability partially offset the fall in EPS as widely expected. Higher pension liability during the quarter was due to fall in value of pension plan assets. During the quarter EPS fell to $1.90 from $2.21 in the year-ago quarter. However on the way it beat our EPS expectation of $1.83 and street apprehension of $1.77. The pension “poison" in the second quarter has affected defense goliath Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) too, only Raytheon Company (RTN) has passed the quarter unscathed.

The bell ringer for L-3 Communications topline during the quarter was the Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C3ISR) segment. Capitalizing on the current Pentagon focus on airborne ISR and networked communication systems for manned and unmanned platforms, topline grew 23.6%. While Specialized Products (SP) and Aircraft Modernization and Maintenance (AM&M) segments chipped. However limited downside came from the Government Services (GS) segment where topline shrunk 3% primarily due to the company’s change of status in the linguist services contract.

L-3 Communications improved its whole year EPS outlook by a dime to $7.25 – $7.35 from $7.17 – $7.32. The upsurge in guidance is fuelled by higher expected margins in the C3ISR segment, which is expected to absorb the expected lower margins in the Government Services and the AM&M segments. The company finished the quarter with funded orders worth $3.3 billion and funded backlog of $11.2 billion. However, the market wasn’t kind to all of its peers; FLIR Systems (FLIR) this morning lowered its revenue outlook and upper end of its expected EPS for the whole fiscal. We maintain our speculative BUY rating on LLL.

Sprint Expanding 4G Footprint

Sprint Nextel (S) recently announced the expansion of its fourth-generation (4G) wireless broadband service as the company plans to officially launch services in three more US cities of Atlanta, Portland and Las Vegas in August 2009. The third-largest US wireless carrier also plans to roll out 4G services in additional markets including Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Seattle and Honolulu through 2009. Sprint is deploying its 4G network under the "Sprint 4G" brand based on the WiMax mobile broadband technology.

In early October 2008, Sprint became the first wireless operator to launch 4G mobile broadband services in the U.S with the official commercial service roll outs in Baltimore. The efforts to strengthen its 4G wireless leadership was further demonstrated by the launch of the nation’s first dual-mode mobile broadband service in December 2008, which operates on both 3G and 4G networks.

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Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

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Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5518.

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The reduction in the quarterly dividend payout was based on the current estimate of taxable income. In order to maintain the REIT standard, companies are required to pay annually at least 90% of the taxable income as shareholder dividends.

Cousins Properties will pay the third quarter dividend in a combination of cash and stock. The cash component would not exceed one-third of the total dividend. Shareholders would have the right to decide on the composition of the dividends.

With the reduction in dividend, the company expects to retain a significant portion of its resources to capitalize on potential investment opportunities surfacing during the current recession. Furthermore, in order to increase liquidity, Cousins Properties have also scaled back its retail and office development pipeline.

As of March 31, 2009, the owned portfolio (including development/redevelopment properties) of the company consisted of interest in 7.5 million square feet of office space, 4.7 million square feet of retail space, 2.0 million square feet of industrial space, and 9,529 acres of land for future sale or commercial development.

In addition, Cousins Properties (including JVs) had four retail and office projects in various stages of development, totaling 1.8 million square feet. The properties are spread throughout the US, including Atlanta, Charlotte, Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington DC.

Market fundamentals are deteriorating for office and retail landlords throughout the country due to the continued economic downturn. With high market vacancies and no job growth, rental rate growth on new leases will also be non-existent for some time.

Consequently, with no short-term growth indicators, the company represents a bleak outlook. We reiterate our Sell rating of the company.

Most real estate companies were forced to lower rents to attract and keep tenants. In addition, tenants are demanding more concessions in the form of free rent and capital improvements.

During the quarter, asking rent in the office segment decreased 1.4% to $28.43 per square foot. Taking into account the rent-free months and improvement costs to landlords, effective rents or net cash received as rent decreased 2.7% in the quarter to $23.42 per square foot. Consequently, with decreasing cash flows the risk of loan defaults has increased considerably in the office segment.

According to Reis, the US office market has declined at a steady pace since the third quarter of 2007 when vacancy was 12.5%. The weakening office market does not bode well for most real estate investment trusts (REITs) like Liberty Property Trust (LRY), Mack-Cali Realty Corp. (CLI), and Cousins Properties Inc. (CUZ).

Based in Pennsylvania, Liberty Property focuses primarily on prime suburban properties in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest regions of the United States. Fundamentals are declining in most of the company’s office markets as corporate expansion continues to slow. We are projecting negative rental growth rate on new/renewal leases in markets that are characterized by high vacancies and negative job growth. We reiterate our Sell rating of Liberty Property.

Mack-Cali Realty owns, leases, manages, and develops Class A office and industrial/flex properties, primarily in suburban markets in the northeastern US. We think the company will have a difficult time raising rents as leases roll over the next couple of quarters. We don’t think the company can continue to outpace occupancy market averages over the long term. We maintain our Sell rating of Mack-Cali Realty.

Atlanta, Georgia-based Cousins Properties controls properties throughout the U.S., in the office markets of Atlanta, Charlotte, Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington DC. Many of the company’s office markets – Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Dallas, and Charlotte – are seeing large jumps in office vacancies. With high market vacancies and no job growth in most of its markets, growth of rental rate on new leases will be non-existent for some time. We reiterate our Sell rating of Cousins Properties.

Chicago, IL - July 7, 2009 - Zacks Equity Research highlights Sohu.com, Inc. (SOHU) as the Bull of the Day and Cousins Properties (CUZ) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) and Zions Bancorporation Pharmaceuticals (ZION).

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:

Sohu.com, Inc. (SOHU) is the second-largest Internet portal and one of the most well-known online brands in China. Sohu's pipeline for its new online games remains strong and is expected to drive meaningful growth in late 2009 and 2010.

The company spun-off part of its gaming division Changyou.com via an ADS offering, which is expected to increase user base and help gain shares in the MMORPG market. We are also encouraged by the company's growing cash balance as well as its debt free balance sheet.

We believe that the current stock price does not fully reflect the company's intrinsic value. Concerns are related to online ad spending, as consumers remain cautious in their spending. We maintain our Buy rating on the shares of SOHU with a six-month target price of $75.00.

Bear of the Day:

Cousins Properties (CUZ) reported 1Q FFO of $0.15 per share, $0.10 lower than our estimates due to higher expenses and lower top line revenue. CUZ has a concentration of assets in Atlanta and Dallas, two markets with increasing downtown and suburban office vacancies.

In addition, the company s retail portfolio continues to struggle. While the company's office portfolio performed relatively well in the 1st quarter, we think operations will deteriorate.

The dividend was cut 32% in an effort to conserve cash. Another cut could be coming in 2009 if conditions do not improve.

Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:

Yet More Banks Recession Victims

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) was appointed receiver of the following 7 failed banks: The John Warner Bank of Clinton, First State Bank of Winchester, Rock River Bank of Oregon, Elizabeth State Bank, Founders Bank, First National Bank of Danville and Millennium State Bank of Texas. FDIC arranged for other institutions to assume all the deposits and branches of the failed banks.

The FDIC estimates total cost to the deposit insurance fund from the failure of these banks to be approximately $314 million. The deposit insurance fund now stands at its lowest level since 1993 - $13 billion as of the end of March 31, 2009.

The largest acquirers of U.S. bank failures during 2008 and 2009 include JPMorgan Chase (JPM) (acquired Washington Mutual), Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) (acquired Wachovia Bank) and Zions Bancorporation Pharmaceuticals (ZION) (acquired Alliance Bank).

Get the full analysis of all these stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5507.

About the Bull and Bear of the Day

Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.

About the Analyst Blog

Updated throughout every trading day, the Analyst Blog provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous analyst coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=5508.

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5509.

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ProLogis Inc. (PLD), a publicly traded real investment trust (REIT), has recently sold most of its industrial buildings in North America for $561 million. The company had been marketing most of these assets for sale since late 2008 and expects to realize $200 million in net proceeds from the disposal. ProLogis further expects to sell an additional $96 million worth of properties in North America in the second half of 2009.

In response to the economic realities of constrained credit and rapidly deteriorating industrial real estate fundamentals, ProLogis had earlier stalled all new ventures and early-stage developments. The company is currently concentrating on increasing its liquidity and de-leveraging its balance sheet through sale of assets.

ProLogis is currently selling about 136 properties with an average age of 20 years. Spanning across 14.2 million square feet of space, the properties are located in various markets such as Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Memphis, Northern and Southern California, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Washington DC and Northern New Jersey. The blended stabilized cap rate is expected to be 8.89%.

With the recent transaction, ProLogis has generated $840 million from asset sales in 2Q09. The company had earlier received $151 million from contributions of stabilized properties to the ProLogis European Properties Fund II (PEPF II) and $128 million from the sale of a property in Japan. The company sold its Japanese property to GIC Real Estate (GIC), the real estate investment arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. In 1Q09, GIC had acquired all ProLogis properties in China and a part of its Japanese property fund interests for $1.3 billion.

In addition to proceeds from sale of assets, ProLogis had received $345 million of secured debt financing during 2Q09. With the new capital, the company addressed all its debt maturities in 2009 and reduced its corporate debt by over 25% ($2.7 billion) from September 30, 2008 levels.

ProLogis is the best positioned industrial REIT in the current scenario. Its recent efforts to de-leverage further make us confident of maintaining our Buy rating and a favorable outlook for the company.

Global Payments Inc. (GPN) bought out the remaining 49% stake in its one-year old merchant services joint venture from HSBC Bank Plc. (HBC) for $307.7 million.

The acquisition of the online card processing unit that serves British business clients is expected to hit the Atlanta, Georgia-based company's earnings by fiscal 2010. Global Payments had acquired majority rights in the joint venture for $439 million last June to expand its payment processing services in the UK.

"Our performance in the United Kingdom this year has provided a strong foundation for long-term growth, as we continue to provide a wide range of high-value payment solutions and world-class service to merchants," Chief Executive Paul R. Garcia said.

Under terms of the deal, HSBC will extend its exclusive marketing alliance agreement with Global Payments until June 2019.

Shares of Global Payments were up nearly 3% to $38.55 at noon on the New York Stock Exchange after touching an intraday high of $38.71 earlier in the session.

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Here are highlights from Wednesday's Analyst Blog:

99 Cents Only's Strong Results

Today, 99 Cents Only Stores (NDN) reported strong results for its fiscal fourth quarter. NDN's revenue rose 13%, to $329.2 million from $290.5 million, while same-store sales increased 6.2%. The company earned $7 million, or $0.10/share, up from a loss of $4.4 million, or $0.06/share in the year-ago quarter. The Zacks consensus called for sales of $317 million and EPS of $0.05.

The earnings upside was due to product margin improvements and cost-cutting efforts. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, NDN's gross margin rose 210 bps to 39.9%; selling, general and administrative expenses (excluding depreciation) as a percentage of sales fell 360 bps; and its operating margin increased 630 bps to 3.0%. These results include the company's operations in Texas, which the company is in the process of exiting. The company's operations outside of Texas were even better.

Looking ahead, the company believes it can increase its gross margin to 40.5% and its operating margin to at least 5% by fiscal year 2012. Based on annual sales of $1.45 billion, the company would have earnings power of $0.70 per share. That is an over 200% increase in earnings per share from fiscal year 2009.

We think that EPS forecast could turn out to be conservative if the company decides to increase its store openings more than expected in the next few years. The retailer currently operates 271 stores in California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas, where it is still has 34 stores.

While we wouldn't chase the stock here (it is up about 16% after its fourth quarter earnings release), we would become more positive on the stock after a decent pullback.

In our view, 99 Cents Only Stores should be able to deliver higher earnings growth than most of the stocks in retail industry. That growth will come from a growing trend of consumers looking to become more frugal and trading down to lower-cost alternatives of the things they need to buy. Other stores that will benefit from this trend toward frugality include Big Lots (BIG) and Family Dollar (FDO).

Beige Book Blues

"Labor market conditions continued to be weak across the country, with wages generally remaining flat or falling. Two Districts also mentioned employers' plans to scale back employee benefit programs. The Atlanta, Chicago and St. Louis Districts reported that some state and local governments faced hiring freezes or outright job cuts.

"While manufacturing employment levels remained low, some Districts saw signs that job losses may be moderating. With few exceptions, Districts reported that prices at all stages of production were generally flat or falling. The notable exception to the downward pressure on prices was the widely-reported increase in oil prices."

Expect labor market conditions to stay weak for some time now. Flat or falling wages will keep retail sales soft and consumer focused on less expensive necessities. The good news is that for now, core inflation is not going to be a problem.

Rising oil prices will make headline inflation a bit more problematic. Dollars going to Exxon (XOM) at the pump cannot be spent at J.C. Penney (JCP) for more discretionary goods.

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Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2677

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros at http://at.zacks.com/?id=4580.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.

Contact:
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Chicago, IL - June 8, 2009 - Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week's list includes National Semiconductor (NSM) and The Talbots Inc. (TLB). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Every day, Zacks.com makes 4 stock picks available, free of charge. To see them, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=3567.

The Week's Events

S&P 500 members Brown Forman (BF.B), National Semiconductor (NSM) and Pall Corporation (PLL) headline what will be a very light earnings calendar. Only 37 companies are confirmed to report.

On the economic front, the Fed will release its periodic Beige Book on Wednesday afternoon. The next morning we will get May retail sales numbers from the Commerce Department.

• Tuesday: April wholesale inventories
• Wednesday: Fed Beige Book, April trade deficit, May treasury budget, weekly crude inventories
• Thursday: May retail sales, weekly initial jobless claims
• Friday: Initial June University of Michigan consumer confidence, May import and export prices

Three Fed officials are scheduled to speak. Governor Daniel Tarullo will talk about financial regulation at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Governor Elizabeth Duke will deliver a lunchtime speech about consumer protection in Cleveland. Finally, Atlanta Fed Reserve President Dennis Lockhart will talk about the economy at a conference in Atlanta on Thursday.

The smartphone market will be in focus.

Palm's (PALM) next generation phone, the Pre, goes on sale tomorrow (Jun 6). Expect to hear some discussion about sales and initial reaction by customers.

Competitor Apple (AAPL) is expected to release details about a new iPhone. A software developers conference starts on Monday and there is speculation that Steve Jobs will be the one introducing the new mobile device.

The markets are stuck in a trading range. Given the light amount of data, there doesn't seem be a reason to think that things will change this week.

This said, keep an eye on Wednesday and Thursday, however. The combination of the Beige Book, speeches from Fed officials, oil inventories and a 10-year treasury auction (Wednesday at 1 p.m.) could get some traders to be more active.

Companies That Could Issue Positive Earnings Surprises

Fiscal-fourth quarter estimates for National Semiconductor (NSM) have been gradually improving. The current consensus estimate, which calls for a loss of 44 cents per share, is 3 cents better than the average forecast of a month ago. The most accurate estimate is slightly more bullish and calls for a loss of 42 cents per share. Though NSM has topped expectations twice in the past 4 quarters, it has also missed twice, so this is a risky call. National Semiconductor is scheduled to report on Thursday, Jun 11, after the close of trading.

Companies That Could Issue Negative Earnings Surprises

The Talbots Inc. (TLB) has not only disappointed investors for 2 consecutive quarters, but it missed estimates by wide margins. Brokerage analysts are bracing for a first-quarter loss of 49 cents per share, but the most accurate estimate suggests the retailer could post a wider loss of 52 cents per share. Talbots is scheduled to report on Tuesday, Jun 9, before the start of trading.

Charles Rotblut, CFA is the senior market analyst for Zacks.com. He can be reached at crotblut@zacks.com.

Want to turn earnings surprises into quick profits? Learn how by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=3206.

About the Zacks Rank

Since 1988, the Zacks Rank has proven that "Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." Since inception in 1988, #1 Rank Stocks have generated an average annual return of +28%. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%, while the S&P 500 tumbled -37.6%. Also note that the Zacks Rank system has just as many Strong Sell recommendations (Rank #5) as Strong Buy recommendations (Rank #1). Since 1988, Zacks Rank #5 stocks have underperformed the S&P 500 by 82% annually (+2% versus +10%). Thus, the Zacks Rank system allows investors to truly manage portfolio trading effectively.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter offers continuous coverage of the industries and the stocks poised to outperform the market. Subscribe to this free newsletter today by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=4988.

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=3568.

Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.

Contact: Charles Rotblut, CFA
Company: Zacks.com
Phone: 312-265-9352
Email: pr@zacks.com
Visit: www.Zacks.com

On the economic front, the Fed will release its periodic Beige Book on Wednesday afternoon. The next morning we will get May retail sales numbers from the Commerce Department.

• Tuesday: April wholesale inventories
• Wednesday: Fed Beige Book, April trade deficit, May treasury budget, weekly crude inventories
• Thursday: May retail sales, weekly initial jobless claims
• Friday: Initial June University of Michigan consumer confidence, May import and export prices

Three Fed officials are scheduled to speak. Governor Daniel Tarullo will talk about financial regulation at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Governor Elizabeth Duke will deliver a lunchtime speech about consumer protection in Cleveland. Finally, Atlanta Fed Reserve President Dennis Lockhart will talk about the economy at a conference in Atlanta on Thursday.

The smartphone market will be in focus.

Palm's (PALM) next generation phone, the Pre, goes on sale tomorrow (Jun 6). Expect to hear some discussion about sales and initial reaction by customers.

Competitor Apple (AAPL) is expected to release details about a new iPhone. A software developers conference starts on Monday and there is speculation that Steve Jobs will be the one introducing the new mobile device.

The markets are stuck in a trading range. Given the light amount of data, there doesn't seem be a reason to think that things will change this week.

This said, keep an eye on Wednesday and Thursday, however. The combination of the Beige Book, speeches from Fed officials, oil inventories and a 10-year treasury auction (Wednesday at 1 p.m.) could get some traders to be more active.

Companies That Could Issue Positive Earnings Surprises

Fiscal-fourth quarter estimates for National Semiconductor (NSM) have been gradually improving. The current consensus estimate, which calls for a loss of 44 cents per share, is 3 cents better than the average forecast of a month ago. The most accurate estimate is slightly more bullish and calls for a loss of 42 cents per share. Though NSM has topped expectations twice in the past 4 quarters, it has also missed twice, so this is a risky call. National Semiconductor is scheduled to report on Thursday, Jun 11, after the close of trading.

Companies That Could Issue Negative Earnings Surprises

The Talbots Inc. (TLB) has not only disappointed investors for 2 consecutive quarters, but it missed estimates by wide margins. Brokerage analysts are bracing for a first-quarter loss of 49 cents per share, but the most accurate estimate suggests the retailer could post a wider loss of 52 cents per share. Talbots is scheduled to report on Tuesday, Jun 9, before the start of trading.

Charles Rotblut, CFA is the senior market analyst for Zacks.com. He can be reached at crotblut@zacks.com.

Earnings Calendar

Here is a list of companies that we have confirmed will report during the week of June 8 - 12¹. Prices are as of Thursday's, June 4, market close.

Company	Stock	Zacks Estimate	Year Ago EPS	Last Qtr Surprise	Date	Time	Price
Ferrellgas -Lp	FGP	$0.65	$0.55	(7.6%)	6/8	N/A	$16.80
Fuelcell Energy	FCEL	($0.30)	($0.38)	(9.4%)	6/8	AMC	$3.74
Pall Corp	PLL	$0.42	$0.54	(13.6%)	6/8	AMC	$26.67
Quiksilver Inc	ZQK	$0.04	$0.30	22.2%	6/8	AMC	$3.28
99 Cents Only	NDN	$0.04	($0.06)	(5.3%)	6/9	AMC	$10.04
Cra Intl Inc	CRAI	$0.30	$0.48	(48.7%)	6/9	BTO	$28.63
Gigamedia Ltd	GIGM	$0.11	$0.20	(6.7%)	6/9	BTO	$6.31
Korn/Ferry Intl	KFY	($0.06)	$0.36	(20.0%)	6/9	BTO	$11.82
Movado Grp Inc	MOV	($0.48)	$0.05	(975.0%)	6/9	BTO	$8.15
Nci Bldg System	NCS	($0.14)	$0.85	8.9%	6/9	AMC	$3.99
Oxford Inds Inc	OXM	$0.25	$0.59	100.0%	6/9	AMC	$10.85
Pep Boys M M &J	PBY	$0.06	$0.00	11.5%	6/9	BTO	$7.81
Piedmont Nat Ga	PNY	$0.66	$0.66	(1.8%)	6/9	BTO	$23.11
Rentrak Corp	RENT	$0.05	$0.10	0.0%	6/9	AMC	$10.50
Shuffle Master	SHFL	$0.04	$0.09	(75.0%)	6/9	AMC	$4.25
Streamline Hlth	STRM	($0.02)	($0.09)	N/A	6/9	AMC	$3.48
Talbots Inc	TLB	($0.49)	$0.21	(258.2%)	6/9	BTO	$4.88
Titan Machinery	TITN	$0.13	$0.24	-14.29%	6/9	BTO	$16.06
Brown Forman B	BF.B	$0.49	$0.65	5.2%	6/10	BTO	$45.99
Hooker Furnitur	HOFT	$0.16	$0.23	5.0%	6/10	BTO	$12.00
Linktone Ltd	LTON	($0.02)	($0.18)	220.0%	6/10	AMC	$2.50
Measuremnt Spcl	MEAS	$0.00	$0.31	200.0%	6/10	AMC	$6.39
Mens Wearhouse	MW	$0.00	$0.20	62.5%	6/10	AMC	$18.43
North Amer Egy	NOA	$0.16	$0.66	44.1%	6/10	AMC	$7.75
Stewart Entrp A	STEI	$0.08	$0.15	(12.5%)	6/10	BTO	$4.90
Access Integr-A	CIDM	($0.21)	($0.43)	0.0%	6/11	N/A	$1.11
Arcsight Inc	ARST	$0.07	($0.03)	300.0%	6/11	AMC	$17.75
China Med Tech	CMED	$0.45	$0.53	268.8%	6/11	BTO	$25.01
Chindex Intl	CHDX	$0.10	($0.20)	(21.4%)	6/11	BTO	$8.69
Del Monte Foods	DLM	$0.26	$0.29	36.4%	6/11	BTO	$8.40
Herley Inds Inc	HRLY	$0.16	$0.15	220.0%	6/11	AMC	$11.02
Hoku Scientific	HOKU	($0.08)	($0.12)	(300.0%)	6/11	BTO	$3.12
Lululemon Athlt	LULU	$0.08	$0.12	33.3%	6/11	BTO	$14.08
Mds Inc	MDZ	$0.06	$0.06	(14.3%)	6/11	BTO	$5.44
Natl Semicon	NSM	($0.44)	$0.35	180.0%	6/11	AMC	$13.99
Repligen	RGEN	($0.06)	($0.10)	100.0%	6/11	N/A	$4.55
School Specialt	SCHS	($0.66)	($0.66)	(13.9%)	6/11	BTO	$19.69

BTO = Before The Market Open, AMC = After The Market Close

¹Some of the companies listed in the earnings calendar may not be in the Zacks Rank universe.

Zacks Investment Research

The company is required to raise $2.2 billion of equity capital to withstand headwinds in case the economy worsens.

SunTrust has sold about $260 million of its $1.25 billion "at-the-market" offering that was announced last month. However, that offering is now suspended and likely to be terminated after the $1.4 billion sale is completed.

SunTrust plans to use the proceeds from the $1.4 billion public offering to buy back up to $1 billion in preferred and hybrid shares. SunTrust also aims to raise $300 million of common equity from the sale of investments.

With this move, the Atlanta-based lender stepped closer to its plans of repaying the $4.9 billion it had received under the Troubled Asset Relief Plan (TARP).

Shares of this Zacks #3 Rank ("Hold") company are down more than 2% today, and moving on lower-than-normal volume of 9.5 million, compared with the daily average of 18 million.

The first comes from a conference on financial markets held at the start of this month at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Last fall, V.V. Chari, Larry Christiano, and Pat Kehoe received a lot of attention (e.g., Tabarrok, Avent, Economist, Kwak, Bonddad, and Thoma [1], [2], [3],) for noting that aggregate lending by banks was in fact increasing during the period in which many analysts were describing it as sharply curtailed. At the Chicago conference, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston economists Ethan Cohen-Cole, Burcu Duygan-Bump, Jose Fillat, and Judit Montoriol-Garriga argued that those aggregate numbers conceal some very significant compositional trends, namely, previously existing lines of credit were being drawn on by borrowers and a sharply increased fraction of lending was consumed by securities originally intended for securitization but which banks were forced to hold on their own books.

Another interesting conference was held two weeks later at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, from which I found the paper by Gary Gorton quite interesting. (You can also find it discussed by Falkenblog, Cowen, Kling, and Klein). Gorton views the recent problems as an ongoing banking panic. Here are some excerpts:

A banking panic means that the banking system is insolvent. The banking system cannot honor contractual demands; there are no private agents who can buy the amount of assets necessary to recapitalize the banking system, even if they knew the value of the assets, because of the sheer size of the banking system. When the banking system is insolvent, many markets stop functioning and this leads to very significant effects on the real economy....

The current crisis has its roots in the transformation of the banking system, which involved two important changes. First, derivative securities have grown exponentially in the last twenty-five years, and this has created an enormous demand for collateral, i.e., informationally-insensitive debt. Second, there has been the movement of massive amounts of loans originated by banks into the capital markets in the form of securitization and loan sales. Securitization involves the issuance of bonds ("tranches") that came to be used extensively as collateral in sale and repurchase transactions ("repo"), freeing other categories of assets, mostly treasuries, for use as collateral for derivatives transactions and for use in settlement systems.... [R]epo is a form of banking in that it involves the "deposit" of money on call (as repo is short-term, e.g., mostly over night) backed by collateral. The current panic centered on the repo market, which suffered a run when "depositors" required increasing haircuts, due to concerns about the value and liquidity of the collateral should the counterparty "bank" fail....

Securitized asset classes, e.g., mortgages, credit card receivables, auto loans, may be examples of relatively informationally-insensitive debt, created by the private sector without government insurance....

A "systemic shock" to the financial system is an event that causes such debt to become informationally-sensitive, that is, subject to adverse selection because the shock creates sufficient uncertainty as to make speculation profitable. The details of how that happens are discussed below, but in summary, fear of the resulting lemons market can cause the (inefficient) collapse of trading in debt and a stoppage of new credit being issued.

A classic bank run, you say? Hmm, where have I heard that before? But I think there's more that needs to be said about the regulatory environment that is supposed to prevent this kind of thing.

Gorton's paper might offer some support for those who think that we just got stuck on the bad side of a structure with multiple possible equilibria. An alternative and more pessimistic perspective is developed in a recent note by Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco economists Reuven Glick and Kevin Lansing. Glick and Lansing view the problem as more structural and fundamental, resulting from an unsustainable run-up of household debt. Their analysis was also highlighted by Thoma and Bloomberg.

Technorati Tags: macroeconomics, economics, Federal Reserve, bank panic, credit crunch

Home Depot Inc.'s (HD) first-quarter adjusted earnings came ahead of Wall Street expectations despite lackluster sales.

The home-improvement retailer reported adjusted EPS of 35 cents, which topped the consensus estimate by 6 cents. The company posted adjusted earnings of 41 cents per share in the same period of fiscal 2008.

Home Depot's revenue fell 9.7% to $16.2 billion. Same-store sales were down 10.2%, while US-based same-store sales declined 8.6%.

"Our markets, and the consumer in general, remain under pressure," said CEO Frank Blake.

The Atlanta-based chain also stated that it continues to expect full-year sales to fall 9% and comparable store sales to decline in the high single digit area.

The consensus estimate on Home Depot's full-year earnings has increased by 3 cents over the past 30 days to $1.33 per share.

Yesterday, rival Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) also reported better-than-expected first-quarter results and boosted full-year earnings guidance.

Meanwhile, the US Commerce Department said today that new housing starts fell 12.8% to an annual rate of 458,000, a record low since 1959. This coupled with tight credit markets is likely to affect the performance of home-improvement retailers over the next several weeks.

Shares of Home Depot, a Zacks #3 Rank ("Hold") company, have slipped more than 5% to $24.70 in morning trade on volume of approximately 18.1 million, compared to average daily volume of about 18.7 million.

Well, Matt—if your research holds any water, today must have been a BOOM day for the (RAFI) fundamentalists out there.

And this huge rally for XLF? I don't believe it for a second. In fact, the same dangerous impulses that led me to buy XLF at $15.07 (and see it promptly drop to below $6) are urging me to sell now that we're almost touching $12. After all, in that October binge of ETF buying (heavy on XLF and FXI—that would be the SPDRs Financials and the FTSE/Xinhua iShares for the less-ETF-focused among you), I'm actually AHEAD right now ... after a disastrous start.

In this environment, I'm looking forward to talking to Rob Arnott this Thursday at 1:00 p.m., where he'll be doing a webinar discussing bonds' recent 40-year outperformance of equities (register for free here) as well as current market conditions. Rob is working hard as always and has done some great recent research. He's one of the people in the mix in our world who I always listen to when he has something to say.

OK, so let's get to it. For what it's worth (and I've already shown I can be as humbled as anyone by market swings), here are five reasons I don't believe this rally will last:

1. We are up (SPY is up) 35% since the bottom. Thirty-Five Percent. The markets are supposed to lead the economy by six months. I just don't believe our prospects have magically come up 35% off the bottom of this economic cycle.
2. There is still no concrete evidence that the administration really knows what they're doing. The TED spread has really come in—to less than 100 basis points. But we're still well higher than where we'd been a couple years ago and stretching into the past. We all want to believe in the stimulus plan. But I suspect it gets tougher before it gets easier. Be prepared for that.
3. I mentioned SPY being up 35% from the bottom. For XLF, that number is 100%. XLF has flat DOUBLED from the bottom. Indeed, the Deutsche Bank team today recommended that investors buy its short STOXX 600 Financials db x-trackers as its "idea of the day."
4. Everybody and their mom are buying right now on the retail side, but there's not much institutional conviction (see the MarketWatch article I mention below). Consensus there says bear market rally. My money is with the big boys.
5. Don Friedman says, "looking for an opportunity to short as we near 9,000" ... and I ALWAYS use Don as my contrarian indicator. So maybe we should stay long after all. In the same breath, though, Don adds: "Hoping that USO has started a bull move as it busted through $30 today." Sounds like Don might be running some very sophisticated market neutral-strategies down there in Atlanta.

Basically, nearly everyone is saying "bear market rally" and that the "Smart money starts to bail on stocks' rally."

In short, this market is again telling us why it's so irresistible to watch, and while we're tempted into the same dumb mistakes again and again.

A MONTH ago the same MarketWatch ran this "Holy Hindenburg" story on the market's imminent plunge. So don't hold your breath on calling the top or the bottom.

But DO get your ducks in a row. Because if you can't take the market losing back 30% or 40% ... or even 50% ... from here (which it absolutely could), then you should not be in it. Go buy some of grandma's CDs.

Better, yet, as I've been saying for months ... get a plan and stick to it. The odds are, you're in the vicinity of what is very likely going to be a historic buying opportunity for equities.

I'll take my chances with a well-considered asset allocation plan.

Chicago, IL - April 20, 2009 - Zacks Equity Research picks Biogen Idec (BIIB) as Bull of the Day and Liberty Property Trust (LRY) as Bear of the Day. In addition, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research discuss the latest on BB&T Corp. (BBT), Goldman Sachs (GS) and JP Morgan Chase (JPM).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678

Bull of the Day

Biogen Idec (BIIB) posted solid results in the first quarter of 2009, despite the slowdown in Tysabri sales due to fears of PML. We think the Biogen core business will remain strong over the next several quarters. Tysabri prescriptions are showing an improvement and we believe will resume their previous pace shortly.

In the meantime, the name is significant under-valued and would be a very attractive takeout candidate for a large-cap pharmaceutical company looking for a great phase III pipeline. We expect 2009 to be an eventful year on the pipeline front.

As investors become more comfortable with both Tysabri trends and emerging pipeline, we believe shares will recover back into the low $60 s. At today s price, the name is too attractive to ignore.

Bear of the Day

Office and industrial markets continue to weaken throughout the US, which is bad news for Liberty Property Trust (LRY). In the current environment, we do not favor suburban industrial/office companies as rental rates and occupancies continue their downward trend.

The company recently cut its quarterly payout to $0.475 per share, 24% lower than the previous payout. Negative job growth trends will keep shares under pressure. Despite the economic downturn in the US, operations held up relatively well in 4Q08. In addition, the company has used to debt and equity to raise capital in a tight credit environment.

LRY now has plenty of liquidity to address near-term debt maturities. We maintain our near-term Sell rating based primarily on macroeconomic factors.

Recent Analysis from the Analyst Blog

BB&T Better Than Expected 

BB&T Corp. (BBT) reported its 1Q09 financial results before market open, with a conference call held later this morning. Operating earnings for the quarter came in at $187 million or $0.33 per diluted share, two pennies ahead of consensus. Though the company had a decent growth in loans and deposits and increased production in mortgage banking operations, credit quality worsened sharply, mainly due to deterioration in its housing loan portfolio in Florida, Atlanta and Metro D.C. areas.

BBT joined the group of banks, including Goldman Sachs (GS) and JP Morgan Chase (JPM) waiting to be de-TARP-ed, as soon as possible. During the conference call, the CEO said that the bank would pay back TARP funds as soon they get government approval to do so, (presumably after the stress tests are completed), as he considers it to be "destructive."

Net interest income for the quarter was $1.2 billion, up 1.6% sequentially and average loans and leases for the quarter increased to $97.3 billion, with growth spread in all categories except the retail loans and mortgage loans. Average deposits increased 8.5% year-over-year to $93.9 billion.

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649.

About the Bull and Bear of the Day

Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.

About the Analyst Blog

Updated throughout every trading day, the Analyst Blog provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=2677.

About Zacks 

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks InvestmentResearch is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros at http://at.zacks.com/?id=4582.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.

Contact:Mark VickeryWeb Content Editor312-265-9380Visit: www.zacks.com

The owner of Sharpie and Paper Mate brands has now cut dividends twice this year.

NWL also plans to offer $250 million in convertible senior notes in an effort to reduce debt due later this year.

Atlanta-based NWL reaffirmed first-quarter 2009 earnings guidance of between 7 and 12 cents per share. Analysts have lowered estimates by 7 cents over the past 60 days and now expect 9 cents for the quarter.

The company now expects first-quarter sales to decline in the “mid to high teens” on a percentage basis, compared to the earlier guidance of a decline in the “low to mid teens.”

NWL is a Zacks #3 Rank ("Hold") stock.

For the full-year, the company's adjusted net income was reduced to $517 million or $2.60 per share from the prior year's $805 million or $2.91 per share.

The Atlanta-based company revised its adjusted EBITDA forecast from $981 million to $897 million for the current year. It also released an initial adjusted EBITDA forecast of $667 million for 2010.

Shares of this Zacks #3 Rank ("hold") company are down more than 7% today.

We maintain our Sell rating due to macroeconomic factors. Job growth and consumer spending continue to plummet along with the US economy. CUZ has a heavy concentration of office assets in Atlanta, a market with increasing downtown and suburban office vacancies. The company also has a large development pipeline with lease-up risk from new retail projects.

To conserve cash, the company cuts its 4Q dividend by 32%. On a P/FFO [price-to-funds from operations] basis, the company is valued at an unwarranted premium to office and retail peers. On a positive note, the company has low 2009 debt maturities and plenty of cash and availability on its line to be active in acquisitions if the opportunity arises.

Read the full analyst report on CUZ