Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

3Com Corp (COMS) 51job Inc (JOBS) Actions Semiconductor Co Ltd (ACTS) Aeropostale Inc (ARO) Companhia de Bebidas das Americas (ABV) American Italian Pasta Co (AIPC) American States Water Co (AWR) Amkor Technology Inc (AMKR) Anworth Mortgage Asset Corp (ANH) Asbury Automotive Group Inc (ABG) Ashland Inc (ASH) Associated British Foods Plc (ASBFY) AudioCodes Ltd (AUDC) Baidu Inc (BIDU) Banco Santander SA (STD) Bank of Montreal (BMO) Barnes & ...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

Amkor Technology Inc (AMKR) AutoNation Inc (AN) Avery Dennison Corp (AVY) Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBV) Banco Santander SA (STD) Brush Engineered Material (BW) Cabela's Inc (CAB) Capella Education Co (CPLA) Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG) Churchill Downs Inc (CHDN) CNOOC Ltd (CEO) CPFL Energia SA (CPL) Drew Industries Inc (DW) Dynamics Research Corp (DRCO) Encore Capital Group Inc (ECPG) Expedia Inc (EXPE) F5 Networks Inc (...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

Aaron's Inc (AAN) Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY) ATS Medical Inc (ATSI) Banco Santander SA (STD) Bankinter SA (BKNIY) Boise Inc (BZ) The Cheesecake Factory Inc (CAKE) Coinstar Inc (CSTR) Danvers Bancorp Inc (DNBK) Domino's Pizza Inc (DPZ) Dresser-Rand Group Inc (DRC) First Community Bancshares Inc (FCBC) Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (FDP) Health Management Associates Inc (HMA) Healthsouth Corp (HLS) Ikanos Communications Inc (IKAN) Inventure Group Inc (SNAK) Kubota Corp (KUB) Middleburg Financial Corp (MBRG) NetEase.com Inc (NTES) Netflix Inc (NFLX) Neutral Tandem Inc (TNDM) Northrim BanCorp Inc (NRIM) P F Chang's China Bistro (PFCB) Pozen Inc (POZN) Ruby Tuesday Inc (RT) Steven Madden Ltd (SHOO) The TJX ...

Existing Home Sales Down 3.1%; Chile’s 3Q GDP Beat Forecast; SunPower Finishes 18-Megawatt Plant; Cnooc Pushing to Develop More Oil Sites; Alpharma Gets Kinged; Xerox On Track; Oil Jumps 9%;

Sales of existing homes fell 3.1% in October, the lowest drop in four years, Reuters reported. Over the past year, medium home prices also declined 11.3% to $183,300, the biggest percentage drop since the National Association of Realtors began keeping records in 1968. Chile’s gross domestic product beat forecasts and grew 4.8% in the third quarter. Domestic demand was strong, as was energy output. “These figures surprised the market and showed that the Chilean economy is surprisingly resistant to a rapid deceleration,” Juan Pablo Castro, an economist at Banco Santander SA in ...

Riddle me this: When is it good news when an analyst slashes his price target for a stock by 55%? Answer: When that “reduced” target price still represents a 59% gain. That’s precisely the scenario facing Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (ADR: RIO), the world’s biggest iron-ore producer.

Felipe Reis, an analyst for Banco Santander SA (ADR: STD), yesterday (Monday) slashed his target price for the U.S.-listed shares by more than half, stating that the worldwide outlook has become “more challenging.”

Reis, who previously had placed a year-end 2009 price target of $40 a share Vale’s U.S.-listed American Depository Receipts (ADRs), now says the shares of the Rio De Janeiro-based mining-and-metals heavyweight will trade at $18 at next year’s close. If you’re keeping score, that’s a reduction of 55% from his prior target. But it still represents a 59% gain from yesterday’s closing price of

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The Treasury’s plan to inject $250 billion in capital directly into US banks is underway. But William Patalon III says some of these taxpayer funds will be used by big banks to acquire junior competitors. This means the increase in lending that the plan is supposed to spark will be modest at best. And less competition in the banking sector could mean a rise in fees going forward.

This from Money Morning:

While the U.S. government’s plan to invest $250 billion into U.S. financial institutions has been billed as a strategy that will bolster the health of the banking system and also jump-start lending, the recapitalization plan is likely to have a secondary effect – one that whipsawed U.S. taxpayers likely won’t be very happy to learn about.

Those billions are a virtual lock to set off a merger tsunami in which the biggest banks use taxpayer money to get bigger

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While the U.S. government’s plan to invest $250 billion into U.S. financial institutions has been billed as a strategy that will bolster the health of the banking system and also jump-start lending, the recapitalization plan is likely to have a secondary effect – one that whipsawed U.S. taxpayers likely won’t be very happy to learn about. Those billions are a virtual lock to set off a merger tsunami in which the biggest banks use taxpayer money to get bigger – admittedly removing the smaller, weaker banks from the market, but ultimately also reducing the competition that benefited consumers and kept the explosion in banking fees from being far worse than it already is. One last point: Experts say that takeovers financed by the government infusions are likely to have less of a beneficial impact on the economy than an actual increase in ...

Horacio Marquez says the credit crisis is giving investors another chance to profit from Brazil’s long-term success story. The country is rich in natural resources, has a solid banking system, and a strong economic outlook. He recommends buying the iShares MSCI Brazil Index (NYSE: EWZ) in increasing increments over the coming 8 weeks.

This from Money Morning:

Brazil’s economy has been given a second chance. And so have prospective investors.

Brazil will use that second chance well – shouldn’t we?

Although there are a number of ways to play this promising “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India and China) market, including some excellent companies, the best way to capitalize on Brazil’s terrific prospects is through the iShares MSCI Brazil Index (NYSE: EWZ).

Brazil’s Shrewd Game Plan for the Current Financial Crisis

Vale (ADR NYSE: RIO), formerly known as Companhia Vale Rio Doce, is the largest exporter of iron

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Morgan Stanley (MS) announced yesterday (Monday) that it closed its long-awaited deal with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (ADR: MTU), giving Japan’s largest financial group a 21% stake in the beleaguered U.S. investment bank. Meanwhile, Sovereign Bancorp Inc. (SOV) confirmed last night that it has agreed to be bought out by Spain’s Banco Santander SA (ADR: STD) with regards to a possible buyout. Mitsubishi UFJ first announced its intention to acquire a stake in Morgan Stanley on Sept. 22, but shares of the investment bank fell 60% last week as credit market turmoil and investor panic gripped the markets, putting the deal in jeopardy. The deal was renegotiated yesterday after the U.S. government signaled over the weekend that it was prepared to protect Mitsubishi’s investment, the The Wall Street Journal reported. In September, MUFG agreed to buy $6 billion in ...

by Edward Hugh: BarcelonaThe euro fell against the dollar yesterday - by the largest amount registered in any single day since the introduction of the single currency in 1999. The drop was effectively a response to the growing signs of strain in Europe's banking sector. Activity in support of banks was widespread throught the day, and across the whole system. The euro fell 2.5 percent to $1.4077 by mid morning in New York, down from $1.4434 on Monday. Early this morning in Europe it was trading in the $1.41 range.This current pressure on the euro is more the result of signs of liquidity problems in the banking sector than it is a response to the growing weaknesses in the eurozone real economies, which, as we saw at the end of last week, are really pretty substantial in their own right. What follows is simply ...