For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 11, 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: Microsoft (MSFT), Ford Motor Co. (F), AT&T (T), Kraft Foods (KFT) and Best Buy Co. (BBY).

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Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Microsoft Sells Razorfish

Yesterday, Microsoft (MSFT) announced the sale of Razorfish, the digital advertising firm it received as part of the aQuantive acquisition in 2007. The consideration to be paid by Publicis Group, the acquirer, is around $530 million, partly in the form of cash and

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Yesterday, Microsoft (MSFT) announced the sale of Razorfish, the digital advertising firm it received as part of the aQuantive acquisition in 2007. The consideration to be paid by Publicis Group, the acquirer, is around $530 million, partly in the form of cash and partly in 6.5 million Publicis Groupe treasury shares.   The agreement creates a win-win situation. Publicis Groupe gets to acquire a digital advertising company, which effectively transforms a quarter of its business to the digital model. With Internet usage increasing the world over, digital advertising is assuming increasing importance in today’s world. The price is also reasonable, given that the company generated around $400 million in revenues in 2008, and is expected to generate $360-370 million in 2009. The revenue decline is recession-related and does not indicate loss of position at customers. In fact, Razorfish’s customer base is another positive, as the company serves ...

Best Buy Co. (

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Best Buy Names New CEO; IBM to Post Strong 2008 Earnings; BHP Cuts 6,000 Jobs; GM Loses Sales Crown to Toyota; Investors Retreat From Hedge Funds; Housing Market Index Hits New Low; Satyam Seeks Funding; Crude Futures Climb

Best Buy Co. (BBY) crowned chief operating officer Brian Dunn as the electronics retailer’s new chief executive. Dunn, 48, started his career at Best Buy as a store associate in 1985 and will succeed retiring Bradbury Anderson, MarketWatch reported. IBM Corp. (IBM) will beat analysts’ estimates for its 2008 earnings. The company said yesterday (Wednesday) that its income will rise to at least $9.20 a share in 2009, ahead of the $8.75 average estimated by Bloomberg. “They’re using ...

Alcoa Cuts 13% of Workforce; Best Buy to Sell Used iPhones; Jobs’ Statement Earns Apple Upgrade; India Exports Slowing Dramatically; Europe Inflation at 2-Year Low; U.S. Still Innovation Leader; Belarus to Secure IMF Aid

Alcoa Inc. (AA) said late yesterday (Tuesday) that it will cut 13% of its global workforce. The company will also sell four business units, cut output, freeze salaries and hiring efforts, MarketWatch reported. The measures will result in a fourth-quarter charge of $900 million to $950 million after tax, or $1.13 to $1.19 a share. Electronics retail Best Buy Co. (BBY) said it will sell used Apple Inc’s (AAPL) iPhone 3G -returned 30 days of ...

Best Buy Profit Falls 77%; Goldman Sachs Posts $2.12 Billion Loss; New Permits and Starts at Record Low; Brazil Retail Rises 10.1%; Berkshire Buys NC Real Estate Brokerage; Crude Slides in Spite of OPEC

Profit at electronics retailer Best Buy Co. (BBY) fell 77% during the company’s fiscal third quarter ended Nov. 29. The company said it would offer buyout packages to nearly all corporate employees to save on costs as it trudges through a dismal holiday shopping season, the Associated Press reported. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) reported a $2.12 billion, or $4.97 a share, loss for its fiscal fourth quarter, Bloomberg reported. “Our results for the fourth quarter reflect extraordinarily difficult operating conditions, including a sharp decline in ...

Tech stocks are certainly not immune to the global downturn, but when Apple’s (Nasdaq:AAPL) sales decline the sector could be in for a dragged-out recession. Coupled with a surprisingly aggressive downturn in semiconductor sales for next year, it could be 2010-2011 before we see any significant opportunities for investors in anything digital.

Starting with PCs, U.S. retail sales of Apple of Apple’s desktop Macs slipped 1% last month over the previous year. At the same time, PCs sales increased 2%. The message on the wall here is that American consumers are going down-market for their computers - scooping up the commodity low-margin models that eat away at the corporate bottom line.

Given that Apple’s slowdown comes during the ramp-up for holiday sales, the projections for early 2009, and perhaps the entire year, are expected to look dismal for its Mac family

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The US government is bankrupting our economy by burning through hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars in the form of bailouts to Paulson and Cheney cronies. American Express is getting bailout money? Seriously? American Express could vanish off the face of the Earth and we'd hardly notice. I think it telling though, that American Express' customers can't pay their bills.The government needs to focus on saving businesses that could still be saved and are worth saving. And Robert Reich has some choice words about the bailout ...When a big company that gets into trouble is more valuable living than dead, there used to be a well-established legal process for reorganizing it - called chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. Under it, creditors took some losses, shareholders even bigger ones, some managers' heads rolled. Companies cleaned up their books and got a fresh start. And taxpayers didn't pay a penny.So why, exactly, is the ...

A number of big Wall Street banks are reportedly becoming “increasingly nervous that Russia’s high-risk, high-reward environment is becoming too much about the risk.” US electronics chain Best Buy Co will begin expanding into Russia. Russian aircraft company MiG held its first meeting to discuss its massive liabilities.

ZAGG Inc has signed a distribution agreement with one of the largest specialty retailer in the country. Starting this month Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) will now sell ZAGG’s flagship product, the invisibleSHIELD™, an ultra-thin impenetrable clear film that protects personal electronics from scratches and dings.

ZAGG’s invisibleSHIELD™ is the first scratch protection solution of its kind on the market delivered via a patented protective film which wraps around the entire device without hindering the functionality or obscuring the eye-catching design in any way. The ultra-tough material used to create the invisibleSHIELD™ was originally utilized by the U.S. military to protect helicopter blades from wind, sand, and the wear and tear of high-speed travel. This military-grade scratch protection film is exclusive to ZAGG and is also backed by a lifetime guarantee.

Prior to the invisibleSHIELDâ„¢, there were only cheap, brittle screen protectors or big, bulky cases. Now, Best

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