For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 18, 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: Home Depot (HD), Ford (F), TRW Automotive (TRW), Revlon (REV) and Estee Lauder (EL).

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Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Home Depot Sales Dip

Home Depot (HD), the largest home improvement retailer in the world, reported net income of $689 million or 41 cents per share in the third quarter of fiscal 2009, compared to net income of $756 million or 45 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter.

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In October, overall Industrial Production rose by 0.1%, far below the 0.6% increase registered in September and the 1.3 increase registered in August. It was also well below the 0.4% consensus expectations. To my mind, this is one of the most important economic reports, and one that does not get anywhere near the attention it deserves in the press. The September numbers were revised down from 0.7% growth, while the August numbers were revised up from 1.2%, so call it a wash on the revisions -- although they do make the slowdown more dramatic. Of far more concern than just the raw slowdown in the numbers was the source of the meager increase. Industrial production has three major categories: manufacturing, mining and utilities. Of these, manufacturing is by far the most important. Mining is a relatively small sector in the U.S., and while utility output is important, ...

The Estée Lauder Companies (EL) reported results for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 with earnings of 85 cents per share. Earnings were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 85 cents, but were up a robust 223% year-over-year compared to 26 cents reported in the prior-year quarter. The company’s business in each of its product categories and geographic regions continued to be affected by challenging and volatile economic conditions. Nevertheless, the company was able to outperform because of the better-than-expected sales and lower spending levels in each of the product categories and geographic regions. The better-than-expected sales were driven by strong sell-in of higher-margin product launches, greater passenger traffic in the company’s travel retail business and improved foreign currency translation. Furthermore, the lower spending reflects caution in many of the company’s businesses given the extent of the global economic downturn and the potential risks ...

There’s a fine line between personal care (your health and well being) and what could be considered personal pampering. That $100 luxury massage could be viewed as a much needed muscle relaxing exercise to help your back. And, if looks are important to your career, you might be able to write off that anti-aging skin cream as a business expense, even though there are some that cost $400 per ounce. The fact is that people will go to remarkable lengths to take care of themselves, even if what they are trying does more for their mind than for the rest of their body.

Beauty and youth are concepts that have always been closely tied to the personal care industry. With a market in the hundreds of billions of dollars, nobody doubts the demand; although the question of whether the market has

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The business world loves a good economic indicator. Chief executives, budget planners, small-business owners, and others who must make assumptions about the health and direction of the economy take a keen interest in popular indicators such as consumer confidence, gross domestic product, housing starts, stock prices, employment data, and even the price of gold.

Economic indicators may take on extra significance when the nation is in a recession and anxious for signs of a recovery because the national psyche plays a key role in business cycles. People who are not experiencing any personal financial problems may nonetheless rein in their spending or alter the timing of major purchases when the news is telling them that the national economy is in difficult straits.

Right on the Kisser

When investors and economists anticipate that the economy is approaching a turning point, they may look in some unusual places for early indications of a shift in

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Retailers will start to release second-quarter results this week, accounting for nearly 10% of the 246 scheduled reports. Dow component Wal-Mart (WMT) will be joined by 15 other members of the S&P 500, including J.C. Penney (JCP), Kohl's (KSS) and Macy's (M).

The Fed will hold a 2-day meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. No change in interest rates will be made, though the statement should acknowledge that the economy is nearing stabilization.

The bond markets could be volatile, not only because of the Fed meeting, but also because of quarterly refunding. The Treasury Department will auction 3-year, 10-year and 30-year bonds. The offerings should total $75 billion.

Most of the week's economic data will be released after the Fed's meeting, with the exception of the preliminary estimate of Q2 productivity. We'll see the latest industrial production and consumer sentiment numbers on Friday.

Tuesday: Q2 productivity Wednesday: June

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On account of mounting competition from alternative channels and evolving consumer needs towards a healthier life, the natural and organic sector is gaining importance. The natural products sector (which includes organic foods, nutritional and herbal supplements, cosmetics and medicines, among other categories) generated sales of over $68 billion in 2008. Over the last five years, the natural products industry grew 8% versus 2% for the overall grocery industry. Most recently in 2008, the natural products industry grew 7.4% versus a 2% decline for the grocery industry.

Food companies like Dean Foods (DF), Hain Celestial (HAIN), United Natural Foods (UNFI) and Del Monte (DLM) are market leaders in the natural products sector, and the competition is primarily based on brand recognition, price, taste preference and quality. Acquisitions have been a key part of these companies strategy to build their market share. Acquisitions have not only expanded their geographical

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Hello Friends!  Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting my blog, Stock Picks Bob’s Advice!  As always, please remember that I am an amateur investor so please remember to consult with your professional investment advisers prior to making any investment decisions based on information on this website.

As I wrote in the prior entry, I am still trying to catch up with my trading activity from last week.  This entry should bring the blog up to date with all of my recent trades accounted for.  I apologize once again for letting my blogging lag behind my trading.  It is all a part of being an amateur I guess .

As I reported previously, I sold my 161 shares of Genoptix (GXDX) on the same day I purchased them–August 14, 2008.  On that same day as well, I …