For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 19, 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: Ford (F), CarMax (KMX), AutoNation (AN), Apartment Investors (AIV) and Equity Residential (EQR).

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Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

CPI Up on Cars, Energy

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October rose by 0.3%, a little bit hotter than the 0.2% that was expected. If one strips out volatile food and energy prices to get the core consumer price index, prices were up 0.2%, also one tick higher than the 0.1%

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The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October rose by 0.3%, a little bit hotter than the 0.2% that was expected. If one strips out volatile food and energy prices to get the core consumer price index, prices were up 0.2%, also one tick higher than the 0.1% expected. A rise in energy prices was not unexpected. Heck, one only has to see what the price of crude oil and natural gas have done over the last month or so. For the month, the price of energy rose 1.5% overall. The rise was sharpest among energy commodities, like gasoline and heating oil, which rose by 1.9%. Energy services, like electricity rose a more moderate -- but still steep -- 0.9%. The rise in core consumer prices was a bit more of a surprise. However, the rising prices were very narrow, with almost all of the increases due to ...

Sempra Energy (SRE) posted strong third quarter results of $1.27 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.19 by 8 cents. The company also beat the year-ago earnings per share (EPS) of $1.24 by 3 cents. This is commendable since Sempra Energy had witnessed a steep fall in its topline year-over-year. The upside in earnings came mainly from its commodities-trading joint venture with Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. -- RBS Sempra Commodities. Sempra Energy is an energy services holding company involved in the sale, distribution, storage and transportation of natural gas. The company operates through two segments -- Sempra Utilities and Sempra Global. Sempra Utilities consists of two California regulated public utility companies, Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). Sempra Global consists of businesses engaged in providing energy products and services -- Sempra Commodities, Sempra Generation, Sempra Pipelines & ...

A subsidiary of Sempra Energy (SRE) recently became an equal partner of a BP Plc. (BP) unit for developing a 200MW Fowler Ridge II Wind Farm in Benton County, Indiana. 

The Fowler Ridge joint venture is currently under construction on a 17,000-acre site, about 90 miles northwest of Indianapolis and is expected to be operational in the first quarter of fiscal 2010. The 200MW facility will produce enough electricity for nearly 60,000 homes.

The project's entire power output has already been sold under four, long-term 50-MW contracts. Three of these deals were signed with units of American Electric Power (AEP) and one with Vectren Energy Delivery (VVC) of Indiana for 20-year terms each. The project will use 133 wind turbines, each with the ability to generate 1.5 MW.

The Fowler Ridge II development is an expansion of Fowler Ridge I, a 400-MW wind farm that commenced operations

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Pennsylvania-based CONSOL Energy (CNX) is a multi-fuel energy producer as well as energy services provider, primarily catering to the U.S. power producers. Its deep and diversified portfolio, largely comprising of coal and natural gas, provides the company with significant long-term growth potential. Its low-volatile metallurgical coal and high-Btu steam coal command premium prices even in a constrained commodity environment and the low-risk, low-cost gas operations diversify the energy portfolio and provides steady cash flow. CONSOL Energy is the largest and one of the low-cost coal producers in the northern Appalachia basin. This gives the company a much less-risky operating profile relative to other eastern producers heavily levered to the central Appalachia region, which faces stiffer regulations and operational hazards. CONSOL Energy has a strong balance sheet, with low debt and sufficient liquidity. The company ended the second quarter of 2009 with 100.7 million of cash and $360.8 ...

Sempra Energy (SRE) posted strong second-quarter results with earnings of $1.06 per share that topped the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate by 11.6% or 11 cents. This is commendable since GAAP EPS fell to eighty cents lower than the year-ago EPS of ninety-eight cents due to an asset write-off charge of twenty-six cents per share.   Sempra Energy is an energy services holding company involved in the sale, distribution, storage and transportation of natural gas. The company operates through two segments – Sempra Utilities and Sempra Global.   Quarterly Results

The Southern California-based company’s revenue, however, declined by a third year-over-year to $1.7 billion due to lower demand in the quarter. The downside came from both Sempra Utilities and Sempra Global.

This, coupled with the asset write-off from the Liberty gas storage project, brought net earnings down by 19%. However, year-ago earnings had included a $37 million gain from the Sempra Commodities

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Water, water everywhere… and not a drop to drink.  Though the earth is 70.8% water, only 2.5% is potable freshwater, the majority of which can be found only in glacial ice.

This leaves less than 1% of the world’s water supply for its 6.87 billion human inhabitants, crops, and livestock.

Even worse, our tiny portion of the world’s water is becoming increasingly polluted and is consumed at unsustainable rates.

Fortunately, Paris based Veolia Environnement (NYSE: VE) has everything it takes to help us avoid the looming global water shortage and pad our portfolio.

With operations in 66 countries, Veolia provides water and wastewater management, transportation, and energy services to countries in desperate need of fresh water.

In fact, Veolia operates in all five countries considered to have the most potential for growth in the water and wastewater industry. And with roughly 20% of the world’s population, China is at the top of this list.

Currently water pollution

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Veolia Environnement SA (NYSE: VE): Stock of the Day

Judith Martin, The Investment U Research Team

Water, water everywhere… and not a drop to drink.

Though the earth is 70.8% water, only 2.5% is potable freshwater, the majority of which can be found only in glacial ice.

This leaves less than 1% of the world’s water supply for its 6.87 billion human inhabitants, crops, and livestock.

Even worse, our tiny portion of the world’s water is becoming increasingly polluted and is consumed at unsustainable rates.

Fortunately, Paris based Veolia Environnement (NYSE: VE) has everything it takes to help us avoid the looming global water shortage and pad our portfolio.

With operations in 66 countries, Veolia provides water and wastewater management, transportation, and energy services to countries in desperate need of fresh water.

In fact, Veolia operates in all five countries considered to

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Being in the right place at the right time is the name of the game when it comes to investing. Understanding where the market is and where it will be is the key. When it comes to infrastructure the game tends to move along at a rather slow pace and then explode all at once. If an investor can see where the infrastructure play will happen, they can be well positioned when it does happen. In the infrastructure world, patience is the real need. If infrastructure is an area that seems appealing, buy in and wait.

Energy Services of America Corp., an energy services company, works to test electrical systems for utilities and industry while also offering construction and site services from initial site work to reconstruction and installation of water/sewer systems and electric power utility raceways. The company has recently exited winter related slowdowns and effects of the current

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EClips Energy Technologies, Inc. is an energy services company and electronics manufacturer. The company’s main business focus is the development of technology to reduce electric, gas, and water usage for commercial, government, and residential facilities. They transform inventions and research projects into marketable products that conserve energy and promote environmental sustainability. EClips Energy Technologies, Inc. has their headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida.

EClips manufactures Transient Voltage Surge Suppressors for electrical surge protection, low voltage surge protection, video surge protection, and registered jack surge protection. The Company also has their H HYBRID Hydrogen-Oxygen diesel fuel reduction technology. It increases the efficiency of an internal combustion engine (ICE). By injecting the separated hydrogen and oxygen molecules directly into the intake of an ICE, the engine’s gas mileage can be significantly increased.

EClips also has their Pure Air Technology. This technology eliminates organic pollutants and microorganisms from indoor areas, transforming the particles into

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