For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 19, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the latest Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks featured in this week’s analysis include B.P. Prudhoe Bay Trust (BPT), San Juan Basin (SJT), Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Petrobras (PBR).

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis is written by Dirk Van Dijk, CFA, Chief Equity Strategist for Zacks.com.

This week: Some Improvements in Energy

A good example of an industry that is showing both a very good overall rank and substantial improvement is Oil Royalty Trusts, which with a industry rank of 2.00 is tied for 4th place with several other industries. What sets it apart is that it improved 21 spots in its ranking as the average ranking of its components, up from 2.43 last week. Every one of the seven firms in the industry has a Zacks Rank of 2.

These are great vehicles for

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Industry Rank Analysis 11-17-09 Normally, the focus of this article has been on the industries that have the best overall Zacks ranks, with an occasional mention of the industries that rank particularly badly and thus should be avoided. This week, however, I want to look at some of the industries that are showing sharp improvements in rank, even if they are still far from the top of the list. Ideally, you would want to focus on the industries that are both near the top of the list and rising fast, but that rarely happens, especially for industries with a large number of participants. The Zacks Industry Rank is an un-weighted average of the Zacks ranks of the firms in the industry, so it is much easier for a small industry with only tow or three firms in it to rise quickly and have a very good-looking rank ...

Apparently U.N. inspectors have found 'nothing to be worried about' upon their first examination of the formerly clandestine uranium enrichment site in Qom in Iran.  'The [Obama] administration must consider whether it makes sense to grant the regime two more months of grace' says an op-ed in the Washington Post.  'Prospects for a breakthrough with Iran have narrowed dramatically since a high-level meeting in Geneva on Oct. 1', the paper adds, quoting a senior European diplomat.  Good news for Nord Stream - after considerable environmental concerns, it has received approval from both Finland and Sweden.  The construction of the Russia-Germany pipeline could spell the demise of Ukraine as a transit country, suggests the Wall Street Journal.   Lukoil has lost out on initial rights to develop Iraq's much-coveted West Qurna field, with an an Exxon ...

U.S. stocks rose strongly Thursday, reversing a four-session losing run, after a government report said the economy grew more than expected in the July-September quarter.  Investors shunned Treasuries and jumped back into stocks after the report signaled the economy had emerged from the worst recession since the 1930s. 

The positive surprise was enough to propel benchmark indexes to their biggest advance since July and send safe havens like Treasuries and dollar lower.  Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) and Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) advanced at least 5.1% after the Commerce Department said the economy returned to growth following four straight quarters of decline.  Crude prices jumped $2.44, or 3.1%, to $79.87 and gold was up $16.50 to $1046.40.

The S&P 500 registered its biggest one-day gain since July 23, jumping 2.2% to close at 1,066.11.  The 30-share Dow Jones industrial average shot up by 199.89 points, or 2.05%, at 9,962.58 and the tech-heavy

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The Dow Jones industrial average rose 61 points on Thursday as traders reacted to news that retailers last month had their first sales gain in more than a year.  A closely watched gauge of sales at major retailers rose 0.1% in September. Still, most stores posted sales declines -- though smaller than in recent months -- even as their figures are compared with last September when business plummeted as the financial meltdown ballooned.  While still tepid, it was the first monthly rise in the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs tally since July 2008. 

On Thursday, the European Central Bank and Bank of England left interest rates unchanged.  Sentiment also received a boost from domestic corporate borrowing, which rose for the eight straight week. 

The growing optimism surrounding consumer spending, which is crucial for an economic recovery, followed late Wednesday's good results from Alcoa.  The company surprised investors with

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Russia has denied yesterday's report in the Independent that the country discussed changing the dollar as the global currency of oil; France has called it speculation.  Iran's finance minister Shamseddin Hosseini says he has occasionally discussed a move away from the dollar with other nations, but such a shift would require agreement from everyone.  France and Kazakhstan have signed a flurry of deals: Total will acquire 17% and GDF Suez 8% of the Caspian Sea Khvalynskoye natural gas field.  Naftogaz says that it has paid in full its September bill.  Despite a catastrophic financial situation, the company is ready to meet its gas obligations this winter.  Reuters has a feature on the Nenet tribespeople of the Yamal Peninsula for whom Gazprom's plans for Arctic plunder are a threat to their very existence.  According to ...

The risk factors surrounding the nation’s oil industry are through the roof. The action is costing unprepared investors a lot of money. For proof, ask Delta Petroleum (NYSE:DPTR) shareholders.

Even a first grader can look at this market and know anything but fundamentals are driving the action. Fortunately for guys like me, few grade-school can figure out why.

These days, it is all about the macro-economy. More specifically, the only thing anybody cares about is the value of the dollar. When the greenback is up, the market is down (like today). When the dollar is weak, the market rallies – like last week.

There are several reasons for the trend: flight to safety, inflation, political risk… you name it.

What matters for us as traders is the pattern is unwaveringly true for the crude markets. With oil settlement denominated in dollars, the ever-important energy source is tied directly to the greenback.

The correlation

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Stock failed to extend their five-day winning run and ended marginally lower Friday as declining oil prices hurt commodities and investors pulled money out of stocks.  Bellwether FedEx’s improved outlook failed to cheer investors.  Gold prices closed above $1,000 level, indicating investors still want to play it safe. The dollar plunged to its lowest level of the year against a basket of currencies.

After closing Thursday at its highest level since October, the Dow Jones industrial average retreated 22.07 points, or 0.2%, to 9,605.41 on a quiet trading day.  The NASDAQ composite index eased 3.12 points, or 0.2%, to 2,080.90, and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.41 points, or 0.1%, to 1,042.73.  On the New York Stock Exchange, 1.29 billion shares exchanged hands and about four stocks rose for every three that fell.  On the week, the DJIA rose 1.7%, the S&P 500 advanced 2.6% and

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U.S. stocks fell on Monday as concerns about the global economy’s health weighed on Wall Street, following a hefty sell-off in Chinese equities.

Energy shares led the decline after the sharp drop in China’s main stock index increased worries about a potential rebound in global energy demand and oil slipped below $70 a barrel.

Shares of Chevron Corp tumbled 1.2 percent to $69.81 and Exxon Mobil dropped 0.8 percent to $69.56. The S&P Energy index <.GSPE> was down 1.8 percent.

The Shanghai Composite index <.SSEC> fell nearly 7 percent to a three-month low on fears that China’s government is trying to moderate economic growth and choke off some speculation in its stock market by tightening bank lending.

“China’s decline is just scaring people,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management in Bedford Hills, New York.

“The world is partially relying on China’s economic growth to bring us out of this recession, and given the

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Sometimes in investing there is a tendency to over think things, to get bogged down in the details, to lose the forest through a close study of the trees. It is not that such matters are irrelevant, but that if you get the big major questions right you will be most of the way there. Unfortunately, most investors tend to avoid even asking the big really important questions, or at least don't act on them. The big questions really tend to boil down to what sectors you should be investing in. Yet, many investors simply rely on indexing instead. Even worse, those that do not explicitly index often invest in mutual funds that "closet index". Investment managers will do that because there is a big premium put on not being too far away from the "bogey", usually the S&P 500. Sure, it's great if they are ...