The company was named as “Inbound Logistics Green Supply Chain Partner" by Inbound Logistics, a leading trade magazine targeted toward business logistics and supply chain managers. It will feature as one of 25 companies selected by the Inbound Logistics magazine that are leaders in supply chain sustainable businesses.

Ryder’s recognition was due to the adoption of efficient and cost-effective supply chain solutions that add value for customers. The company offers various vehicle technologies and supply chain solutions that improve overall transportation efficiencies and reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions to a large extent.

Ryder is also an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWay Carrier and Logistics Partner. This program is a joint collaboration between EPA and the freight sector as a whole and is designed to improve energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions and energy security.

The company believes that its recent inclusion in the premiere issue of Inbound Logistics magazine would further supplement its leading position in the industry and establish it as the pioneer of sustainable transportation solutions and services.

Chicago, IL – August 13, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Cisco Systems (CSCO) as the Bull of the Day and Sunoco (SUN) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Nissan (NSANY), Ford Motor (F) and Daimler AG (DAI).

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:

Cisco Systems’ (CSCO) fourth quarter results were a significant improvement over prior quarters, with both revenue and earnings growing sequentially.

Of particular note is the growth in orders, which indicates a bottom for CSCO. Improving operating performance, solid financials, a sound restructuring policy and new growth initiatives are the drivers behind our Outperform rating.

However, we caution investors about the increasing competition, market share losses, complicated decision making process and integration risks.

Bear of the Day:

Our Underperform recommendation on Sunoco (SUN) shares takes into account the bearish refining margin outlook. A growing supply overhang in the face of a recession-induced fall in global oil product demand has led to a squeeze in refiners profits.

Sunoco's lack of geographic diversification and refining flexibility has also become a major liability, in our view. Weighed down by these factors, the company posted a second-quarter 2009 loss.

Overall, we see a fairly unfavorable macro backdrop for independent refiners like Sunoco. We believe this will cause its shares to underperform relative to the market as well as the sector in the coming quarters.

Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:

Chevy Volt: Power Mileage

he Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not yet confirmed the GM’s claim regarding fuel efficiency. The EPA, which is under-equipped to measure the fuel efficiency of such advanced vehicles, is working with the Society of Automotive Engineers and state and federal officials to develop appropriate testing procedures.

Competition in the electric car market has grown stiff, with the automakers struggling hard to offer eyebrow-raising vehicles such as Volt. Tesla has a 224 mpg rated car Roadster with an expensive $100,000-plus price tag.

Recently, Nissan (NSANY) flaunted its 367 mpg rated but much affordable car Leaf, to be introduced late next year. Other automakers such as Ford Motor (F), Daimler AG (DAI) and Chrysler Group are also releasing plug-ins and electric cars that could be close competitors of Leaf, Roadster or Volt.

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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"With the passage of Cap and Trade there is a good chance that unemployment will be worse than 1933 by the end of 2010."

So writes an Econbrowser reader. Well, anything can happen, but that is not the outcome I predict. Nor the CBO, EPA, and other informed analysts.

From the CBO:

The incidence of the gains and losses associated with the cap-and-trade program in H.R. 2454 would vary from year to year because the distribution of the allowance value would change over the life of the program. In the initial years of the program, the bulk of allowances would be distributed at no cost to various entities that would be affected by the constraint on emissions. Most of those free allocations would be phased out over time, and by 2035, roughly 70 percent of the allowances would be sold by the federal government, with a large share of revenues returned to households on a per capita basis. This analysis focuses on the effect of the legislation in the year 2020, a point at which the cap would have been in effect for eight years (giving the economy time to adjust) and at which the allocation of allowances would be representative of the situation prior to the phase-down of free allowances. The incidence of gains and losses would be considerably different once the free allocation of allowances had mostly ended. Although the analysis examines the effects of the bill as it would apply in 2020, those effects are described in the context of the current economy --that is, the costs that would result if the policies set for 2020 were in effect in 2010.

On that basis, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the net annual economywide cost of the cap-and-trade program in 2020 would be $22 billion -- or about $175 per household. That figure includes the cost of restructuring the production and use of energy and of payments made to foreign entities under the program, but it does not include the economic benefits and other benefits of the reduction in GHG emissions and the associated slowing of climate change. CBO could not determine the incidence of certain pieces (including both costs and benefits) that represent, on net, about 8 percent of the total. For the remaining portion of the net cost, households in the lowest income quintile would see an average net benefit of about $40 in 2020, while households in the highest income quintile would see a net cost of $245. Added costs for households in the second lowest quintile would be about $40 that year; in the middle quintile, about $235; and in the fourth quintile, about $340. Overall net costs would average 0.2 percent of households' after-tax income.

From the EPA Analysis of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 H.R. 2454 in the 111th Congress (6/23/09):

The cap & trade policy has a relatively modest impact on U.S. consumers assuming the bulk of revenues from the program are returned to households.

• Average household consumption is reduced by 0.03-0.08% in 2015 and 0.10-0.11% in 2020 and 0.31-0.30% in 2030, relative to the no policy case.
• Average household consumption will increase by 8-10% between 2010 and 2015 and 15-19% between 2010 and 2020 in the H.R. 2454 scenario.
• In comparison to the baseline, the 5 and 10 year average household consumption growth under the policy is only 0.1 percentage points lower for 2015 and 2020.
• Average annual household consumption is estimated to decline by $80 to $111 dollars per year* relative to the no policy case. This represents 0.1 to 0.2 percent of household consumption.
• These costs include the effects of higher energy prices, price changes for other goods and services, impacts on wages and returns to capital. Cost estimates also reflect the value of some of the emissions allowances returned to households, which offsets much of the cap and trade program’s effect on household consumption. The cost estimates do not account for the benefits of avoiding the effects of climate change.
• A policy that failed to return revenues from the program to consumers would lead to substantially larger losses in consumption.

While this analysis contains a set of scenarios that cover some of the important uncertainties when modeling the economic impacts of a comprehensive climate policy, there are still remaining uncertainties that could significantly affect the results.

*Annual net present value cost per household (discount rate = 5%) averaged over 2010-2050 under the core scenario

Here's a set of graphs and figures detailing these results.

Of course, this tabulation only includes the costs. In order to do a benefit-cost analysis, one would need to know the benefits of avoiding global climate change associated with green house gas emissions. CBO has its recent analysis Potential Impacts of Climate Change in the United States (May 2009).

Despite the wide range of projected impacts of climate change over the course of the 21st century, published esti­mates of the economic costs of direct impacts in the United States tend to be modest.110 Most of the economy involves activities that are not likely to be directly affected by changes in climate. Moreover, researchers generally expect the U.S. economy to grow dramatically over the coming century, mainly in sectors (such as information technology and medical care) that are relatively insulated from climate effects. Damages are therefore likely to be a smaller share of the future economy than they would be if they occurred today. As a consequence, a relatively pessi­mistic estimate for the loss in projected real (inflation-adjusted) U.S. gross domestic product is about 3 percent for warming of about 7 degrees F by 2100. 111

However, such estimates tend to mask larger losses in subsectors of the economy. Some sectors in certain regions are likely to bear sizable costs requiring significant adjustments and adaptations, and a few sectors in a few regions may be eliminated altogether. Even at the low end of the projected range of warming, for example, changing winter conditions would cut the Western ski season by up to four months and would virtually eliminate the Eastern snowmobiling season.112

...

The most comprehensive published study includes estimates of nonmarket damages as well as costs arising from the risk of catastrophic outcomes associated with about 11 degrees F of warming by 2100. That study projects a loss equivalent to about 5 percent of U.S. output and, with substantially larger losses in a number of other countries, a loss of about 10 percent of global output.116

CBO has a lot of its analyses compiled here; EPA here. EIA has lots of analyses of previous climate change and other legislation here.

The state of Texas recently filed a lawsuit against Cemex (CX) for $558 million in royalty payments the Mexican cement maker owed in the United States. Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson alleged that the company had been mining a quarry near El Paso without paying royalties to the state's Permanent School Fund that owns the site. CX defended itself by saying that raw materials like aggregates, limestone and other rocks were not subject to royalties.

Although the suit is not legally correct and lacks merit, it is a matter of concern for the debt-ridden company. Cemex had drawn big short-term loans to buy Australia's Rinker in 2007 just before the U.S. housing crisis and the subsequent global financial disaster. It needs to repay $4.1 billion of debt by the end of the year and the remaining amount in 2010 and 2011. It is refinancing $14.5 billion in debt to stay afloat.

Currently, the whole industry faces a bleak future. Cemex, which competes with France's Lafarge and Switzerland's Holcim, is in a particularly vulnerable position after losing its profitable Venezuelan operations when socialist President Hugo Chavez ordered the nationalization of its assets in 2008.

The cement industry in U.S. on the whole is in a perilous state. Advocates of the cement industry in the country and environmentalists are facing off in hearings this week as federal regulators call for comment on new rules to limit mercury emissions from energy-intensive kilns that form core of the cement business. If approved, the restrictions would be effective from 2013.

The Portland Cement Association contends that the regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would weaken the industry as operating costs would rise by $340 million and lead to a 10% reduction in domestic production.

The U.S. cement industry as well as many overseas firms such as Holcim, Lafarge, Germany's Heidelberg Cement, Italcementi, Cemex and Japan's Taiheiyo Cement, which own 80% of U.S. cement plants, will have to face the consequences.

Chicago, IL - June 16, 2009 - Zacks Equity Research highlights Maxim Integrated Products (MXIM) as the Bull of the Day and Sonic Innovations (SNCI) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Valero (VLO), Tesoro (TSO) and ConocoPhillips (COP).

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:

Maxim Integrated Products (MXIM) is an OEM of semiconductor analog and mixed signal ICs. March quarter results were short of consensus estimates, although they were in-line with management's own expectations.

Forward guidance is for a revenue increase of 3-12% in the June quarter. Order rates started picking up in three of the four end markets, and the fourth market is expected to see increase in Q4.

We are reiterating our Buy rating on MXIM shares, given recent market share gains, healthy product pipeline, diversity in the company's markets, strong cash generating capabilities and cheap valuation.

Bear of the Day:

Sonic Innovations (SNCI) announced that its shareholders at the annual shareholder meeting approved a name change of the company to Otix Global, Inc, where Otix Global is to become the parent company of Sonic Innovations. SNCI filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission its Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2009.

Revenue from SNCI's German subsidiary is at risk of declining from unsuccessful attempts at renegotiating insurance contracts that is required as a result of new legislation passed by the Federal Council of Germany in Nov. 2008 that became effective April 1, 2009.

Our price target of $0.80 per share is based on a price-to-sales multiple of roughly 0.3x our FY09 sales estimate.

Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:

Refiners Lose Out in Cap & Trade

While there are many important changes that this 946-page tome is aiming to bring about, we are focusing here on one central part of the proposed legislation -- the Cap & Trade regime. The bill creates winners and losers among different energy producing and consuming sectors through its initial free awards of emission permits.

Approximately 85% of the permits are doled out for free, with the rest auctioned off. According to a preliminary estimate by the EPA, a permit to emit one ton of carbon dioxide or equivalent will be worth $11-$15 in 2012, with the value of all permits at around $60 billion in 2012. By the 2025, the value would be higher, according to EPA estimates, rising to $22-$28, with the total value at around $113 billion.

Oil producers and refiners, such as Valero (VLO), Tesoro (TSO) and ConocoPhillips (COP) are clearly on the losing side, having been allocated a very small portion of the permits (2%). This forces them to purchase permits on their own account. Electric utilities and other consuming industries such as steel, cement and paper manufacturers benefiting from the giveaways.

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.

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

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ZacksInvestment

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts

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 Vickery
Web Content Editor
312-265-9380
Visit: www.zacks.com

While there are many important changes that this 946-page tome is aiming to bring about, we are focusing here on one central part of the proposed legislation -- the Cap & Trade regime. The bill creates winners and losers among different energy producing and consuming sectors through its initial free awards of emission permits.

Approximately 85% of the permits are doled out for free, with the rest auctioned off. According to a preliminary estimate by the EPA, a permit to emit one ton of carbon dioxide or equivalent will be worth $11-$15 in 2012, with the value of all permits at around $60 billion in 2012. By the 2025, the value would be higher, according to EPA estimates, rising to $22-$28, with the total value at around $113 billion.

Oil producers and refiners, such as Valero (VLO), Tesoro (TSO) and ConocoPhillips (COP) are clearly on the losing side, having been allocated a very small portion of the permits (2%). This forces them to purchase permits on their own account. Electric utilities and other consuming industries such as steel, cement and paper manufacturers benefiting from the giveaways.

Here are the salient features of the Cap & Trade system as proposed in the bill:

• Starting in 2012, industries would be required to reduce their emissions to specific targets through the middle of the century. The cap-and-trade system comes completely into force by 2016.
• The bill aims to cut emissions by 17% below the 2005 level by 2020 and 42% by 2030. By 2050, emissions are expected to drop by 80% below the 2005 level.
• The bill requires companies to buy permits to be allowed to emit carbon dioxide and other polluting gases. If a company cuts its emissions by more than the statutory limit, then it can sell the extra permits. Conversely, a company needing extra permits can purchase those.
• If a company's emissions exceed its permits, it would be fined two times the value of the permits it should have purchased.

Estimate Picture

Estimate have help steady in the last 2 months as analyst remain mostly upbeat about the company's earnings. The current-year estimates is donw a penny to $2.03 per share. Based upon this projection, this stock is reasonably priced, but trading at a premium to the overall market with a forward P/E multiple of 15X.

Fourth-Quarter Results

Scotts fourth-quarter results, reported in late October, were solid. Revenue was up 7% from last year to $544.2 million. One-time items hurt income, coming in at a loss of $34.7 million, an improvement from last year's loss of $40.3 million. This produced a loss of 54 cents.

Regulatory Issues Resolved

The company said that its results were effected by a $10.3 loss on registration and recall costs and a one-time $13.5 million charge related to a write-down in the value of the company's investment subsidiary Smith & Hawkins.

Scott ran into problems this year when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discovered that some of the company's pesticides hadn't been properly registered. With this calamity now behind the Scotts, the company anticipates moving back into profitability in 2009.

Full-Year Results

Full-year revenue came in at $2.98 billion, a 4% jump from the previous year.

The Chart

This stock has been steadily advancing since mid October, recently mvoing back to a key level of short-term resistance. Take a look below.

Last Week's Momentum Zacks Rank Buy Stocks

HMS Holdings Corp. (HMSY) is projecting another strong year of earnings in 2009, recently providing bullish guidance when the company reported its strong third-quarter results in late October. This Zacks #1 rank stock operates in a Zacks industry rank #10 out of 217, distinguished territory on both accounts. Read full Analysis.

Myriad Genetics, Inc.'s (MYGN) share price continues to advance after the company reported a great quarter in early November. Analysts are bullish on the company, with the next-year estimate projecting 60% earnings growth. Read full Analysis.

Life Partners Holdings, Inc. (LPHI) has been on a roll since late November, with its share price posting impressive short-term gains. Analysts are bullish on the company, with the next-year estimate projecting 21% earnings growth. Read full Analysis.

Huron Consulting, Inc. (HURN) has been on a nice rally since reporting storing third-quarter results in late October. Analysts are bullish on the company, with the next-year estimate projecting 45% earnings growth. Read full Analysis.
"SMG" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
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