Construction was particularly hard hit again, with a loss of 53,000 jobs. Construction employment peaked earlier than did total employment, in January 2007, at 7.737 million jobs; now construction employment is down to 5.907, a decline of 1.83 million, or 23.7% from the peak. The last time that construction employment was this low was in November of 1997.

Manufacturing, the other big part of the goods producing sector, lost 27,000 more jobs in December. Manufacturing employment never really increased during the last economic expansion, so it is hard to get a good starting point for its decline. Since the overall peak in employment in December 2007, though, we have lost a total of 2.147 million factory jobs, or 15.6% off the 12/07 level. The last time we had anything that looked like a peak in manufacturing employment was back in August of 1998, when there were 17.563 million factory jobs, but even that was a pretty feeble peak. The true historic peak in factory employment came all the way back in June of 1979, more than 30 years ago, at 19.509 million jobs.

The first graph (blue) shows the history of construction and manufacturing employment since 1950, along with total private sector employment (right scale, green line). Clearly manufacturing has been hurting, at least in terms of employment, for a long time now. Total manufacturing output, though, has continued to increase over the years as it has been generally easier to automate factories than other parts of the economy.

Ford (F) and General Motors may have lost market share to Toyota (TM). They are, however, making almost the same number of cars and trucks as they were back in 1982. The UAW, on the other hand, is only a small fraction of the size it was back then. Automation has probably resulted in more jobs lost in manufacturing than has outsourcing to China and the rest of the developing world, although clearly both forces have been at work behind the long-term secular decline in U.S. factory jobs.

The service side of the economy has fared much better over the years, and that was true this month as well, with only 4,000 jobs lost. Private service sector employment actually increased as the number of government jobs declined by 21,000. Most of those job losses came at the state and local level, which cannot run deficits and are experiencing severe budget constraints, even after the ARRA (Stimulus Act) has provided massive amounts of aid to the states (about one-third of the whole stimulus program).

The one area that has shown growth throughout this recession is education and health services. While the data lumps them together, most of that growth has come from the health care side. As the second (peach) graph shows, total service sector employment (right scale, blue line) has been growing steadily since 1950. Declining government employment is highly unusual.

Despite the loss of 85,000 more jobs overall, the unemployment rate remained at 10.0%. The reason for that steadiness is not good news, though, as the third (pink graph) shows. The green line (right hand scale) shows the unemployment rate since 1950. This is the employment measure that people are most familiar with, but it really does not tell the whole story:

Back in the 1950’s and 1960’s it was much easier to have a low unemployment rate, since a far larger part of the population was not in the workforce. Part of that was due to the timing of the Baby Boom. In this country, we no longer expect 8-year-olds to go to work each day. Back then, if you read an article and it mentioned women and labor in the same paragraph, the odds were that it was about childbirth, not employment.

That changed in the 1970’s and 1980’s, just as the Baby Boomers were entering the workforce. The percentage of people in the workforce, both employed and unemployed, was on a secular increase from the early 1960’s through just before the end of the century, peaking out at 67.3% in April of 2000.

As the blue line on the graph shows, the participation rate did tend to flatten out or fall a little bit during recessions, but would resume its rise thereafter. This is the "discouraged worker" effect. The participation rate never really recovered after the 2001 recession.  This allowed the unemployment rate to fall despite a very anemic performance in terms of job creation in the last expansion (see previous post). In December, the participation rate fell to 64.6%, down from 64.9% in November and 65.8% a year ago.

The unemployment rate is best understood as the ratio of people in the workforce to the percentage of them who are employed. But it is the employment rate, or the employed-to-population ratio, that has really taken a big hit.

Like the participation rate, the employment rate was in a secular uptrend from the mid-1960’s through the end of the century. It was, of course, much more choppy than the participation rate, falling during recessions but then rebounding to new highs with each economic expansion.

The big exception was in the last expansion. The all-time peak of the employment rate was in April of 2000 when it hit 64.7%. However, its peak in the last expansion was just 63.4% in March of 2007. Since then, it has fallen off a cliff, and now stands at 58.2%, down from 58.5% in November and 60.9% a year ago.

I think that the employment rate is a better overall gauge than is the unemployment rate, and this number is just plain downright depressing. The last time the percentage of the population that was working was this low was back in August of 1982. We also hit these levels in March of 1974 and are just a tick above where we were back in August 1969. We are still below the post-war unemployment rate record, which was set in December of 1982 at 10.8%. The participation rate is still higher than back then, but not by much -- 64.6% versus 64.1% -- while the employment rate is a full point higher at 58.2% rather than 57.2%.

Recessions are generally the cruelest to those at the bottom of the economic ladder. This can be seen in the breakdown of unemployment by level of education. The unemployment rate for high school dropouts was 15.3% in December, up from 15.0% in November and from 11.2% a year ago. The rate drops to 10.5% for those who graduated from high school but did not go on to college. That is up from 10.4% in November and from 7.8% a year ago.

People who got an associates degree, or didn’t complete four years of college had an unemployment rate of 9.0% in December, unchanged from last month but up from 5.9% a year ago. The unemployment rate for college graduates ticked up to 5.0% from 4.9% in November, and is up from 3.7% a year ago, but is still only half the nationwide total.

Men have been hit particularly hard in this recession (which goes counter to the trend of the people at the bottom of the ladder getting hurt the most, but the goods-producing sector has a higher percentage of male employees than does the service sector). The male unemployment rate, though, did tick down to 10.2% in December from 10.4% in November and 10.6% in October, but it is up from 7.4% a year ago. The unemployment rate for women is “only" 8.2%, up from 8.0% in November and 6.0% a year ago.

Those are the numbers for adults. The group that has been hit the hardest is teens, regardless of gender.  The teen unemployment rate rose to 27.1% in December from 26.8% in November and 20.8% a year ago.

Blacks tend to have higher unemployment rates than whites regardless of the overall economic climate, but they get hit the hardest in recessions. The overall black adult unemployment rate was 16.2% in December, up from 15.6% in November -- a huge one-month increase. A year ago, the unemployment rate among blacks was 12.1%. Hispanic unemployment rose to 12.9% in December from 12.7% in November and 9.4% a year ago. Whites have fared better, with an unemployment rate of 9.0% in December, down from 9.3% in November but up from 6.7% a year ago.

If we break it down further by race gender and age, adult white women are faring the best as far as employment is concerned, with a rate of 7.4%, unchanged from November but up from 5.7% a year ago. White men saw the most improvement this month, with their unemployment rate falling to 9.3% from 9.8% in November, though up from 6.6% a year ago. White teens had an unemployment rate of 23.6% in December, up from 23.0% November and 18.9% a year ago.

The unemployment rate for black men improved a bit in December, to a still very high 16.6% from 16.8% in November, but up from 13.8% a year ago. Black women suffered a massive increase to 13.1% in December from 11.7% in November and 8.9% a year ago. I am not sure why Black women fared so poorly in the last month in particular.

If you really want to find a group that is hurting for jobs, it is black teens, although there was a little bit of improvement this month. The rate for black teens fell to 48.4% from 49.8% in November and is up from 33.3% a year ago. When you consider that almost one in two unemployment rate, also keep in mind that the participation rate among black teens in the workforce is also extremely low. The participation rate for black teens is just 27.5%, and only 14.2% of all black teens are employed. Those are rates one associates with Africa, not with African Americans.

The participation rate for white teens is 38.4%, and 29.4% of all white teens have jobs. Teen employment is important, not because it is keeping the family going (although it sometimes plays a role there) but because it provides the basic job skills that are going to be needed later in life.

Dirk van Dijk, CFA is the Chief Equity Strategist for Zacks.com. With more than 25 years investment experience he has become a popular commentator appearing in the Wall Street Journal and on CNBC. Dirk is also the Editor in charge of the market-beating Zacks Strategic Investor service.

If granted, this Government aid will constitute as a third taxpayer bailout in the past year, after having received $5 billion and $7.5 billion during Dec. 2008 and May 2009, respectively, under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The company has been in talks with the Treasury for months over an additional funds infusion.  

The aid of $3.5 billion, if approved – which seems very likely – will be made by the government in the form of preference shares. The U.S. which currently holds 35.4% of the controlling stake in the company due to its earlier cash infusion, will have its share substantially increased if the existing preferred shares are converted into equity. This will lead to greater governmental control over the firm, including a right to appoint directors on the company’s board and executive pay restrictions.  

In May 2009, the government stress test revealed that the company needed a further $11.5 billion to survive, which it has to raise within six months. Though it was helped with $7.5 billion by the government at that time, more than half of that was allotted to provide financing Chrysler dealers and customers as part of the auto industry bailout.

As a result, the company again fell short of $5.6 billion capital requirement which it was supposed to raise by Nov. 2009. However, the bank was unable to secure financing from private sources or public aid.

Traditionally, GMAC has served as the financing arm for General Motors’ vast network of dealers and thousands of car buyers. But the company’s Residential Capital unit branched out into subprime mortgage lending. The company has been facing operating losses due to souring subprime mortgages and other real estate loans it made at the height of housing bubble. This, along with the drop in auto sales demand, pushed the company further into the red. In the most recent quarter, the company reported $671 million of loss from continuing operations, compared with $2.5 billion in the year earlier period.
 
This move is in sync with management's efforts to restructure the company’s mortgage business operations to improve its financial performance. It is very likely that the company will get the third aid as the Obama Administration regards the lender as crucial to the survival of the U.S. auto industry.

Though GMAC has asked for yet another government bailout, a number of banks such as Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC) have recently repaid their bailout money. Many others have been able to secure external financing. The 90-year-old institution seems to have trouble surviving without government support.
 

Chicago, IL – December 30, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the latest Industry Outlook. Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses the Auto Industry, including Toyota Motors (TM), Nissan (NSANY), Honda Motor (HMC), Ford (F) and Daimler (DAI).

Auto Industry Outlook for 2010

The auto industry is a highly concentrated one. About 10 global automakers account for over 77% of the production worldwide. Among them, Toyota Motors (TM) leads with a 13.3% market share, while its domestic rivals including Nissan (NSANY) and its alliance with Renault account for 8.4% of the auto market, Honda Motor (HMC) 5.6% and Suzuki 3.8%. Among the Detroit automakers, General Motors (GM) holds 11.9% of the auto market, Ford (F) 7.8% and Chrysler-Fiat 6.4% of the auto industry.

The recent economic crisis has provided an impetus to a massive structural change in the auto industry, setting the stage for growth over the next decade. Given the high barriers to entry and need for scale economies (in operations, supply chain and marketing), the global auto industry landscape is expected to be ruled by global automakers and suppliers based in the six major auto markets of China, India, Japan, Korea, Western Europe and the U.S.

Higher fuel prices and concerns over global warming have pooled attention on the auto industry that either rely less on traditional fossil fuels or use renewable sources of less expensive energy. Thus, “green" alternatives such as fuel-efficient electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids will attract consumers in the wealthier countries while flex-fuels such as ethanol and natural gas will be highly sought-after in the emerging auto markets where the local climate or resource base favors their usage by automakers over petroleum.

Consequently, there will be a variety of powertrain technologies in the auto industry by the next decade. It is likely that “green" cars will represent up to a third of total global sales in developed auto markets and up to 20% in urban areas of emerging auto markets by 2020. Some of the “green" cars have already generated a huge response in the auto industry. These include the Ford Focus, GM Volt, Daimler (DAI) Smart, Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius.

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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=5511.

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The recent economic crisis has provided an impetus to a massive structural change in the auto industry, setting the stage for growth over the next decade. Given the high barriers to entry and need for scale economies (in operations, supply chain and marketing), the global auto industry landscape is expected to be ruled by global automakers and suppliers based in the six major auto markets of China, India, Japan, Korea, Western Europe and the U.S.

OPPORTUNITIES

To remain competitive, automakers will need to design vehicles that will meet the requirements of consumers in both mature and emerging markets. Automakers will focus on more user-friendly and low-cost vehicles that are also the most advanced technologically.

The automakers will continue to shift their production facilities from high-cost regions such as North America and the European Union to lower-cost regions such as China, India and South America. For example, Greater China and South America is projected to represent more than 50% of growth in global light vehicle production in the auto industry from 2008 to 2015.

There are two underlying factors behind this location shift in the auto industry. The first is the cost factor. The cost of labor in emerging auto markets continues to be a fraction of that in the developed world. The second is the demand factor. Many low cost regions, including the emerging auto markets, have high potential for growth. Thus, the shift in auto industry production facilities will lead to a localization of the manufacturing base that will bring down transportation costs. The emergence of trading blocs is also giving this process a push in the auto market. It is likely that over time there will be fewer car imports from outside a trade zone.

Further, automakers have started to reduce the number of technological platforms with a greater diversity of models produced from each platform in order to remain cost competitive in the auto industry. For example, Honda, with its flexible common platform, has developed three dimensionally distinct versions of the Accord, allowing for designs where 60% of the components are common. Ford aims to build 680,000 vehicles per core global platform within five years, up from current levels of 345,000 units. After emerging from its bankruptcy, General Motors has started focusing solely on four core brands – Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.

Higher fuel prices and concerns over global warming have pooled attention on the auto industry that either rely less on traditional fossil fuels or use renewable sources of less expensive energy. Thus, “green" alternatives such as fuel-efficient electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids will attract consumers in the wealthier countries while flex-fuels such as ethanol and natural gas will be highly sought-after in the emerging auto markets where the local climate or resource base favors their usage by automakers over petroleum.

Consequently, there will be a variety of powertrain technologies in the auto industry by the next decade. It is likely that “green" cars will represent up to a third of total global sales in developed auto markets and up to 20% in urban areas of emerging auto markets by 2020. Some of the “green" cars have already generated a huge response in the auto industry. These include the Ford Focus, GM Volt, Daimler (DAI) Smart, Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius.

The role of governments must not be overlooked. Governments in all major countries have become active auto industry players. Their investments through emergency loans and incentive packages, such as “Cash for Clunkers" in the U.S., are a good example of this. Moreover, governments' energy and environmental policies will be highly responsible in molding the auto industry in the coming years.

WEAKNESSES

Although automakers continue to focus on shifting their production facilities to new regions driven by cost and demand factors, developing the supplier networks remains one of the greatest challenges they face in the auto industry. Existing suppliers to automakers often lack the financial background to expand capacity in new markets. On the other hand, auto market suppliers are sensitive to technology transfers to local third parties, which may result in new and lower-cost competitors.

The financial condition of the majority of auto market suppliers continues to deteriorate, resulting from historically weak demand and higher dependence on automakers. According to the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA), 13 major U.S. direct auto market suppliers and 2 indirect auto industry suppliers have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy or have had their assets foreclosed on, while many others in the auto industry have simply liquidated in the first half of 2009. They include prominent components auto market suppliers such as Visteon and Lear , who cater to General Motors and Ford.

According to OESA, 12% of the auto industry suppliers do not have sufficient working capital to support a 10%–25% expansion in production. Thus, despite the government’s sizable investment in the automakers, it is likely that there will be auto market suppliers who are unable to restart operations as automaker production resumes due to working capital shortfalls.

Higher dependence on automakers makes the auto market suppliers vulnerable to several maladies, primarily pricing pressure and production cuts. Pricing pressure from automakers is constricting auto market suppliers’ margins. On the other hand, production cuts by automakers driven by frequent market adjustments are negatively affecting their operations. Some of the auto industry suppliers who have a high reliance on a few automakers such as General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and Volkswagen include American Axle and Manufacturing (AXL), ArvinMeritor (ARM), Goodyear Tire and Rubber (GT), Magna International (MGA), Superior Industries (SUP), Tenneco (TEN) and TRW Automotive (TRW).

The shift in auto market consumer preferences towards hi-tech, fuel-efficient, environment-friendly vehicles, such as small cars/hybrids/EVs, is another issue. Auto market suppliers are expected to quickly adapt to the new technologies by investing in research and development, putting heavy capital burdens on them.

The automakers also face significant challenges in transforming the existing powertrain technologies into the new versions as far as marketability is concerned. As the number of technology applications increases, automakers and suppliers will need to be selective. Their criteria for choosing what to include and what not to will depend entirely on what the customers are willing to pay for.

Chicago, IL – December 28, 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 Motor (F), Toyota (TM), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Ford Shares Hit 4-Year High

Shares of Ford Motor (F) exceeded $10 for the first time in more than four years on Dec 23 as the automaker continues to benefit from market share gains and other successes. The shares rose 18 cents to $10.08 on Dec 23 compared to Dec 22.

This is a recovery from a historic low of $1.50 in March this year, helped by the company’s aggressive restructuring plan, which also helped it bypass bankruptcy unlike its cross town rivals General Motors and Chrysler Group.

According to Autodata, Ford’s market share has climbed 1 percentage point to nearly 20% during the first 11 months of the year. In November, the automaker succeeded in sustaining a strong position in the U.S. market by posting flat sales at 122,846 vehicles. The automaker’s sales of crossovers grew 26% while its car sales rose 14%, driven by a fuel-efficient product line.

Ford’s sales in Europe’s 19 core markets have leapt 19.8% to 113,100 vehicles in November. This resulted in a year-to-date market share of 9.1% for the company, the highest since 1999.

The European sales included a registration of 99,800 Ford cars, the highest since November 1999. The automaker’s market share in the month went up in 14 out of 19 European markets.

Recently, a report suggested that the projected resale value of 2010 Ford vehicles (Ford, Lincoln and Mercury) after 36 months in service has gone up by an average of $1,310 per vehicle compared to the 2009 model year. This is the largest increase compared to other automakers based in the U.S.

With this, some of Ford’s vehicles have also succeeded in defeating Asian automakers including Toyota (TM), based on residual value after 36 months in service. For example, the 2010 Ford Fusion midsized sedan has been expected to be worth more than the 2010 Toyota Camry by $687. The residual value of the 2010 Ford Flex full-sized crossover also commands a $1,800 premium over Toyota Highlander.

Microsoft Loses to i4i

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), one of the world’s largest software companies, has lost another battle. The company has been slapped with a $290 million penalty for infringement of Canada-based i4i’s patent number 5787449.

The description of the i4i patent is very broad—“A system and method for the separate manipulation of the architecture and content of a document, particularly for data representation and transformations". What it basically means is, the software enables editing of data presented in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format.

XML is an open standard programming language defined, recommended and maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium. It enables the organization and presentation of data through the allotment of tags and descriptions, resulting in structured computer documents.

The i4i technology is integral to Microsoft Word versions 2003 and 2007, a part of the respective Microsoft office packages.

Accordingly, the federal appeals court has upheld the Aug 2009 decision of the Texas Court, requiring Microsoft to pay hefty damages to i4i and stop selling any more products incorporating the offending technology. Moreover, while the company is not debarred from supporting current Word users, it is no longer allowed to help purchasers of the new version Word after Jan 11, 2009.

Rating Action on Prudential

Earlier during the week, Fitch Rating affirmed the "BBB+" long-term issuer default and the "BBB" senior debt ratings on Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU) and improved its outlook to “stable" from “negative". The rating action follows the announcement made earlier during the month by Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) to purchase the 38% stake of Prudential in its retail brokerage joint venture (JV), Wells Fargo Advisors, for a cash payment of $4.5 billion. The deal is likely to close by Dec 31, 2009. These funds will add to the company’s capital.

The retail brokerage JV was initially launched by Wachovia Corp. (owning 62%) with Prudential in July 2003. However, post Wachovia acquisition in Dec 2008, the JV also became the property of Wells Fargo. The company at the time of the Wachovia acquisition had reportedly assumed that it would acquire Prudential’s stake in the near future. The acquisition will now give complete control to Wells Fargo. Prudential, however, moves ahead with the sale of its stake to boost its finances.

Prudential with its right business mix is favorably positioned to drive double-digit earnings growth and is poised to grow its earnings and expand its return on equity faster than its peers over the next several years. Prudential has among the strongest balance sheets in the life industry following its recent capital raises. It has a strong international presence that provides it with organic growth opportunities, which is not available to many of its peers As a result, the company should be able to maintain its ratings and invest in its business despite the prospect of high investment losses.

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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 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: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

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=5518.

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Chicago, IL – December 21, 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: Nike Inc. (NKE), Autoliv (ALV), Daimler (DAI), Ford (F) and Navistar (NAV).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Nike Q2 Earnings Down

Nike Inc. (NKE) reported fiscal second quarter net income of $375.4 million or 77 cents per share, compared to $391 million or 81 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter. Although earnings per share decreased 5% year over year, it exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6 cents.

Total revenues decreased 4% during the quarter to $4.4 billion, compared to $4.6 billion in the year-ago period, primarily due to the continued economic downturn that led to a cut in consumer discretionary spending. Revenues fell across all the geographic regions, except the Emerging Markets, where revenue increased 8% year-over-year.

Autoliv Bags Smartcar Contract

Autoliv (ALV) has been awarded the safety products contracts for the smart fortwo from Daimler (DAI). The smart fortwo is a micro-car that achieves 33 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway according to 2008 EPA testing requirements. It is manufactured in the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler.

Currently, the safety products for the smart fortwo are supplied by the Michigan-based auto parts manufacturer, Delphi Corporation, formerly a subsidiary of General Motors. But following the acquisition of certain assets of Delphi’s European airbag and steering wheel operations by Autoliv, the products will be supplied by the latter.

Earlier this year, Delphi had announced its plan to exit from its Occupant Protection Safety (OPS) business in North America, Europe and Asia by the end of the year. The transaction is expected to close by Dec 31.

Autoliv will assume control of Delphi’s airbag and seatbelt assets in North America, which will be consolidated into the former’s existing facilities. Autoliv will also gain control of Delphi’s steering wheel operations in Matamoros, Mexico.

The OPS business has customers such as General Motors, Hyundai, Ford (F), Daimler and Navistar (NAV), with expected combined sales of $125 million in 2010.

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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 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: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

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=5518.

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General Motors has decided to discontinue its Swedish brand, Saab Automobile, after talks failed with a Dutch automaker, Spyker Cars, to sell the unit. The Detroit automaker was struggling hard to conclude the sale by the end of this month.

A few days back, Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Group (BAIC) – China's fifth largest automaker – had agreed to buy powertrain, engine and gear-box technology for Saab's 9-5 and 9-3 sedans technology at an undisclosed price. At that time, GM was planning to liquidate other assets associated with Saab, including its headquarters, which involves more than 3,000 jobs in Sweden.

However, GM was eyeing other bidders for Saab, who might be interested in buying out the complete operation, including its production hub in Trollhattan, Sweden. Earlier this year, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) intended to acquire a stake in the unit, teaming up with Swedish luxury sports car maker Koenigsegg.

However, that deal did not work out. Later, BAIC agreed to provide financing to Koenigsegg, who pulled out of a tentative deal to buy the unit last month.

The Saab closure would cost 3,400 jobs worldwide. The brand has 1,100 dealers, whom GM has promised to honor warranties after the closure.

In 1989, GM acquired a 50% stake and management control of Saab for $600 million after the brand’s split from Swedish truck maker Scania. In 2000, GM bought the remaining ownership of the brand for $125 million. However, the automaker had never been successful with the brand.

GM has put the Saab unit up for sale after it pulled through a bankruptcy funded by the U.S. government in July. The automaker is currently focusing on its remaining four core brands – Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.

Chicago, IL – December 15, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights China Mobile (CHL) as the Bull of the Day and Synopsys, Inc. (SNPS) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Citigroup Inc. (C), American International Group Inc. (AIG) and GMAC Inc.(GJM).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5506

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

China Mobile (CHL), the largest wireless carrier in the world, continues to deliver healthy operating results as demonstrated by strong subscriber retention in 2008.

As we approach the end of 4th quarter 2009, our opinion remains firm that new competitive entities face unanticipated challenges deploying and advancing services to levels and coverage delivered by China Mobile. Accordingly, we assess that successful expansion into low-penetration rural regions of China, coupled with aggressive 3G TD-SCDMA service deployments in 2009, establish China Mobile as the dominant mobile provider, far ahead of its nearest competitors.

Additionally, a strong balance sheet, strong free cash flow and sustainable dividends facilitate the company's efforts to weather economic volatility. We maintain our Outperform rating even as we factor in potential resulting from competitive factors and a comparatively weaker Chinese economy though the end of 2009.

Bear of the Day:

Synopsys, Inc. (SNPS) delivered mediocre third quarter results, with below-par operating performance. The 2010 guidance does not reflect any major growth. Although Synopsys is gaining traction from new products, acquisitions, and new EDA partnerships, we believe these are unlikely to show results in the near term.

We believe Synopsys' time-based license model has good visibility and it has a strong balance sheet. On the other hand, the semiconductor industry has yet to stabilize and generate demand.

Synopsys is facing customer concentration risk. The industry-wide weakness is impacting its core business. We therefore downgrade the stock from Neutral to Underperform.

Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:

Pay Czar Imposes New Restrictions

The new rule by the pay czar puts the cash compensation cap of $500,000 for the 26th to 100th highest-paid employees at the four firms for which he still oversees employee compensation. Also, according to the new rule, total cash may not exceed 45% of total compensation, with the remainder being paid in company stock.

The compensation plans of Citigroup Inc. (C), American International Group Inc. (AIG), General Motors and GMAC Inc.(GJM) continue to be under the jurisdiction of the pay czar. However, Chrysler and Chrysler Financial were not subject to the new rule as total pay for their second-tier executives does not exceed $500,000.

The guidelines cover 2009 salaries but will also set the framework for compensation next year. Previously, in October, the pay czar slashed 50% pay of the top 25 earners at seven firms that have received substantial support from the Government. The pay restrictions have caused significant negative vibes within AIG, where key employees, including CEO Robert Benmosche, have considered leaving several times.

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/zacksresearch

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

Chicago, IL – December 14, 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: Citigroup Inc. (C), American International Group Inc. (AIG), GMAC Inc (GJM), Bank of America (BAC) and Goldman Sachs (GS).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Pay Czar to Impose New Rules

After slashing 50% pay of the top 25 earners in October at seven firms that have received substantial support from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the U.S. Treasury's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, plans to announce a new set of pay restrictions on top executives of the companies today. The primary intention of the Pay Czar is to enable the bailed out firms to repay government money by controlling excessive pay.

The pay czar expects to put a $500,000 cap on the cash compensation for the 26th to 100th highest-paid employees at the six firms for which he still oversees employees’ compensation. The six firms whose compensation plans are still under the jurisdiction of the pay czar are Citigroup Inc. (C), American International Group Inc. (AIG), Chrysler Financial, Chrysler Group LLC, General Motors and GMAC Inc (GJM).

The pay restrictions have caused significant negative vibes within AIG, where key employees, including CEO Robert Benmosche, have considered leaving several times. Though Citigroup is planning to exit TARP, we don’t think it will be free from the pay czar’s scrutiny anytime soon. However, Bank of America (BAC) will be absolutely free from the pay restrictions as it has only recently repaid the $45 billion bailout money in full it had received from the TARP.

The new rules will be applicable only to the rest of Dec 2009, but will be the baseline for 2010. The rules could also scale down 2009 bonuses. However, the British government has taken far tougher steps this week, announcing a 50% tax on banker bonuses above $40,000. Goldman Sachs (GS) said on Thursday that its top executives will not receive cash bonuses for 2009.

With BofA's payment, the total amount of TARP money repaid so far totaled $116 billion. The Treasury expects a total of $175 billion of TARP repayment by the end of 2010. The repayment of TARP money can be viewed as a sign of recovery of the institutions as well as the economy.

Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5515.

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 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: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

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=5518.

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

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

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

The Background Story

Grandmother Rosalia is now 89 years old. Yet she only started investing in 1972 when her father died and left her and her siblings about a dozen shares each in a well-known oil company you may have heard of… Exxon.

Beyond a few words of wisdom from her father, a small-town banker in downstate Illinois, she had no real investment background. At the age 52, her need to become a sound investor was thrust upon her. Over time she proved to be a natural.

Here are Grandma Rosalia's 3 secrets to successful buy and hold investing.

Secret #1: Dividends Really Do Add Up

Investors have turned their backs on dividends and dividend-paying stocks since the dot-com boom when growth became fashionable. But even a small dividend, when reinvested and held for years, can turn into big money.

Dividends matter to overall returns. In fact, they accounted for a third of the return of the S&P 500 Index since 1926. That's not chump change over the long haul. It’s certainly not chump change during bear markets to help weather the storm.

Secret #2: Diversify, Diversify, Diversify

You could say it was just luck that my great-grandfather was an Exxon investor instead of General Motors, or other companies that have not survived. If he had gifted GM shares to my grandmother and she held on for 37 years, she would be left with virtually nothing now.

But she planned for that scenario.

Over the years, my grandmother sold some of her Exxon shares in order to diversify her portfolio. Her plan was to have no more than 5% invested in any one stock. She has stuck with that faithfully over the years and has rebalanced when necessary.

When the downturn in the markets struck in 2008 and 2009, her portfolio declined along with everyone else's. But good planning kept her losses to a minimum.

Secret #3: Don't Panic

Sometimes the best thing to do…is nothing at all.

That's what Rosalia did when the markets were coming unhinged in October/November 2008 and again in March 2009. Buy and hold means what it says. You buy and, well, you hold.

That doesn't mean she wasn't nervous. Oh no. There was plenty of handwringing going on. But panic didn't overtake her investment decision process.

At the same time, that also doesn't mean you should hold on at all costs. You must know the companies you own, including their strengths and their weaknesses in their market segments. Knowing each company's intrinsic value helps you to ride out the wild market gyrations.

Buy and Hold in 2010

My grandmother owned her stocks for many years, but that is by no means the only path to buy and hold profits. We here at Zacks have successfully implemented an annual buy and hold strategy. We call it the "Top 10 Stocks" portfolio.

We started this in 2007 and generated a phenomenal +39.4% return. We took our lumps in 2008 just like everyone else. But in 2009 came back with a strong +29.6% gain for investors.

I am part of the team that is selecting the Top 10 Stocks for 2010. I look forward to proving once again that buy and hold investing isn't dead. You just have to know the secrets.

Learn about Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2010

Regards,

Tracey

As the Value Stock Strategist for Zacks.com, Tracey Ryniec will provide keen insight into the selection of companies in Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2010, which has previously posted gains of 29.6% in 2009 and 39.4% in 2007.

Chicago, IL – December 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: Bank of America (BAC), Capital One (COF), Wal-Mart (WMT), Kroger (KR) and Ford (F).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Initial Jobless Claims Back Up

So far there is no sign of the initial jobless claims series finding a high plateau the way it did in (and immediately after) the last two downturns. This holds out the promise that perhaps -- just perhaps -- this recovery will not be quite as jobless as is now feared. Both the current week and the four-week average are now comfortably below their year-ago levels of 552,000 and 530,500, respectively.

Still, the current level of jobless claims is not yet low enough to suggest that the economy is on balance creating jobs rather than losing them. We probably need to see the four-week jobless claims moving average drop below the 400,000 level for that to occur. But if the pace of decline in jobless claims over the last few months can be maintained (in mid-September, the four week average was at 554,250), it is possible for us to get to that level by the middle of February.

That would be very welcome news on the jobless claims front indeed, not only for the almost six million people who have now been out of work for more than six months, but for the economy as a whole. It means that they would actually start to have some disposable income and could spend on things that are not absolute necessities again. They would also have the personal cash flow needed to do things like pay their mortgages and their credit card bills. This would greatly improve the asset quality of the banks like Bank of America (BAC) and Capital One (COF).

The news on the continuing jobless claims front was mixed. Regular continuing jobless claims -- the ones that are paid by the states and which run out after six months -- dropped by 303,000 to 5.157 million. That is still well above the year-ago level of 4.354 million, but is down sharply versus the peak that was set back at the end of June at 6.904 million -- a 36.9% decline.

Regular jobless claims, however, do not tell the whole story, especially in this downturn where the duration of unemployment has been a particularly severe problem. After the regular state benefits are exhausted, people move over to extended jobless claims that are paid by the federal government, in large part as part of the stimulus program. Combining the two largest of these jobless claims programs, they are now helping a total of 4.586 million people, up 137,500 from last week.

Still, the reduction in regular claims this week was far larger than the increase in regular jobless claims, which suggests we are making progress overall (unless, of course, there are a large number of people who are exhausting their extended benefits, but since the benefits were recently extended again, that seems unlikely). The extended jobless claims numbers are not in any danger of falling below year-ago levels any time soon. Last year there were less than 753,000 people getting extended jobless claims benefits (remember there was a small stimulus package passed in the spring of 2008).

The extended jobless claims have been of tremendous humanitarian benefit to those who are without jobs and have been so for a very long time. What would these 4.5 million people have done after their regular benefits had expired when there are still more than six people looking for work for each job opening? How much real poverty are we willing to stand for in this country? Already, one out of every four children in this country is on food stamps.

Aside from just the humanitarian and social stability benefits of the extended benefit program, it is also a very effective program for preventing further deterioration of the economy. The money people get allows them to actually go to Wal-Mart (WMT) to buy groceries rather than having to rely on our very overstretched network of food banks (please give generously). This keeps the employees at Wal-Mart and Kroger’s (KR) employed, not to mention the drivers employed who deliver the goods to Wal-Mart, and occasionally even U.S. workers who make the products they buy.

Good News on Trade Deficit

To the extent that we can continue to increase or level of energy efficiency, we can start to make a dent in the chronic budget deficits we face. If we are not able to, it will be extremely hard to bring them under control. However, there are a bunch of very encouraging long-term signs in this regard.

For starters, sales of pick up trucks and SUV’s have fallen far more this year than have sales of cars. Sales of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars have fallen much less than sales of larger less fuel efficient cars. While that hurts the profit margins of Ford (F) and General Motors, it provides long-term hope on the trade deficit. The slowdown in overall vehicle sales though means that the pace of fleet turnover has slowed down.

We will be reaping long-term benefits from the fleet turnover that has occurred. This is an aspect of the "Cash for Clunkers" program that is very much under-appreciated. The administration should consider resuming the program as part of its "Son of Stim" jobs program, but I didn’t see any reference to it in Obama’s speech earlier this week (which was, in any case, very short on details).

Keep in mind that it is the trade deficit, not the budget deficit, that drives our level of external indebtedness. If we really want to control how much of our paper that places like China and the Persian Gulf control, we need to bring the trade deficit down.

Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5515.

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 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: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

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=5518.

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

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

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

Chicago, IL – December 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: Bank of America (BAC), Capital One (COF), Wal-Mart (WMT), Kroger (KR) and Ford (F).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Initial Jobless Claims Back Up

So far there is no sign of the initial jobless claims series finding a high plateau the way it did in (and immediately after) the last two downturns. This holds out the promise that perhaps -- just perhaps -- this recovery will not be quite as jobless as is now feared. Both the current week and the four-week average are now comfortably below their year-ago levels of 552,000 and 530,500, respectively.

Still, the current level of jobless claims is not yet low enough to suggest that the economy is on balance creating jobs rather than losing them. We probably need to see the four-week jobless claims moving average drop below the 400,000 level for that to occur. But if the pace of decline in jobless claims over the last few months can be maintained (in mid-September, the four week average was at 554,250), it is possible for us to get to that level by the middle of February.

That would be very welcome news on the jobless claims front indeed, not only for the almost six million people who have now been out of work for more than six months, but for the economy as a whole. It means that they would actually start to have some disposable income and could spend on things that are not absolute necessities again. They would also have the personal cash flow needed to do things like pay their mortgages and their credit card bills. This would greatly improve the asset quality of the banks like Bank of America (BAC) and Capital One (COF).

The news on the continuing jobless claims front was mixed. Regular continuing jobless claims -- the ones that are paid by the states and which run out after six months -- dropped by 303,000 to 5.157 million. That is still well above the year-ago level of 4.354 million, but is down sharply versus the peak that was set back at the end of June at 6.904 million -- a 36.9% decline.

Regular jobless claims, however, do not tell the whole story, especially in this downturn where the duration of unemployment has been a particularly severe problem. After the regular state benefits are exhausted, people move over to extended jobless claims that are paid by the federal government, in large part as part of the stimulus program. Combining the two largest of these jobless claims programs, they are now helping a total of 4.586 million people, up 137,500 from last week.

Still, the reduction in regular claims this week was far larger than the increase in regular jobless claims, which suggests we are making progress overall (unless, of course, there are a large number of people who are exhausting their extended benefits, but since the benefits were recently extended again, that seems unlikely). The extended jobless claims numbers are not in any danger of falling below year-ago levels any time soon. Last year there were less than 753,000 people getting extended jobless claims benefits (remember there was a small stimulus package passed in the spring of 2008).

The extended jobless claims have been of tremendous humanitarian benefit to those who are without jobs and have been so for a very long time. What would these 4.5 million people have done after their regular benefits had expired when there are still more than six people looking for work for each job opening? How much real poverty are we willing to stand for in this country? Already, one out of every four children in this country is on food stamps.

Aside from just the humanitarian and social stability benefits of the extended benefit program, it is also a very effective program for preventing further deterioration of the economy. The money people get allows them to actually go to Wal-Mart (WMT) to buy groceries rather than having to rely on our very overstretched network of food banks (please give generously). This keeps the employees at Wal-Mart and Kroger’s (KR) employed, not to mention the drivers employed who deliver the goods to Wal-Mart, and occasionally even U.S. workers who make the products they buy.

Good News on Trade Deficit

To the extent that we can continue to increase or level of energy efficiency, we can start to make a dent in the chronic budget deficits we face. If we are not able to, it will be extremely hard to bring them under control. However, there are a bunch of very encouraging long-term signs in this regard.

For starters, sales of pick up trucks and SUV’s have fallen far more this year than have sales of cars. Sales of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars have fallen much less than sales of larger less fuel efficient cars. While that hurts the profit margins of Ford (F) and General Motors, it provides long-term hope on the trade deficit. The slowdown in overall vehicle sales though means that the pace of fleet turnover has slowed down.

We will be reaping long-term benefits from the fleet turnover that has occurred. This is an aspect of the "Cash for Clunkers" program that is very much under-appreciated. The administration should consider resuming the program as part of its "Son of Stim" jobs program, but I didn’t see any reference to it in Obama’s speech earlier this week (which was, in any case, very short on details).

Keep in mind that it is the trade deficit, not the budget deficit, that drives our level of external indebtedness. If we really want to control how much of our paper that places like China and the Persian Gulf control, we need to bring the trade deficit down.

Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5515.

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 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: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

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=5518.

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

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

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

Chicago, IL – December 3, 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), Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC), Nissan (NSANY) and Automatic Data Processing (ADP).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

U.S. Auto Sales Reach Bottom?

The U.S. auto industry posted a flat November sales at 742,925 vehicles compared to the year-ago level, suggesting the market has bottomed. The seasonally adjusted rate was 10.9 million vehicles compared 10.4 million vehicles in November last year. Sales of cars and light trucks dipped 3% to 566,365 vehicles.

Automakers tried to regain sales through discounts and higher sales incentives. According to the auto information website Edmunds.com, sales incentives increased 2% to $2,713 per vehicle during the month. However, this has not proved very helpful in melting the ice. The high unemployment rate was cited as the primary factor behind the lagging sales.

Among the U.S. automakers, Ford (F) succeeded in sustaining a strong position in the market by posting flat sales at 122,846 vehicles during November. The automaker’s sales of crossovers, which imitates SUVs but with a higher fuel-efficiency, grew 26%. Its car sales rose 14%, driven by a fuel-efficient product line. However, sales of trucks and SUVs posted double-digit declines on account of a deteriorated construction industry conditions and fuel-inefficiency, respectively.

Sales at General Motors fell 2% to 151,427 vehicles. However, four of its core brands -- Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC -- performed well. Chrysler sales were lagged with a 25% decline to 63,560 vehicles, despite an array of sales incentives, including zero percent financing and cash rebates offered by the automaker.

Toyota (TM) showed a 2.6% rise in sales to 133,700 vehicles in the U.S. helped by popular models including Camry (up 18% 27,385 vehicles), RAV4 crossover (up 35.1% 11,512 vehicles) and Prius (up 11% to 9,617 vehicles). Hyundai sales shot up 46% on the back of its top-selling fuel-efficient and low-cost sedan, Sonata.

Honda (HMC) recorded a 2.9% decline in sales to 74,003 vehicles driven by poor sales of Civic (23% decline) and the Fit (27% decline). Sales at Nissan (NSANY) were up 21% to 56,288 vehicles after declining for the past three months. Some of its vehicles, which showed significant sales increases, included Maxima (83.8%), Altima (43.1%), Frontier (71.4%) and Xterra (50.9%).

We believe the U.S. automotive market will gain its momentum next year as many automakers are projecting positive views by announcing production increases. However, we need to wait for a drop in the unemployment rate to support the revamped inventories.

ADP Sees 169,000 Jobs Lost

The National Employment Report by Automatic Data Processing (ADP), the largest processor of private sector payrolls, indicates that the economy lost 169,000 jobs in November. While that is an improvement over both the 190,000 jobs lost in October as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the 195,000 that ADP now says the economy lost in October (revised from a loss of 203,000), it is far more than consensus expectations of a loss of only 100,000 jobs for the month.

Job losses were widespread and roughly equally split between the service sector, which shed 81,000 jobs, and the goods-producing sector, which lost 88,000 jobs, according to ADP. The jobs lost in goods producing were equally split with construction and manufacturing both dropping 44,000.

Given that the service sector is far larger, with a total of 89.959 million people working in it, while the goods producing sector employs just 18.197 million, the goods producing sector continues to be hit much harder on a percentage basis. On the other hand, a decline of 44,000 jobs in manufacturing is actually the smallest drop in that area since May of 2008. However, this data seems at odds with the ISM data that came out yesterday, which pointed to a small increase in manufacturing employment in both October and November, with November's decline being smaller than October's.

Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5515.

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 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: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

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=5518.

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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

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).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

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% 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 higher prices for cars and trucks, both new and used. For the month, the prices of new cars were up 1.6% while the prices for used cars jumped by 3.4%. That is very good news for Ford (F) as well as indirectly for the U.S. taxpayer, since we are now major stockholders at both General Motors and Chrysler.

The increase for used cars is also beneficial for the car dealers like CarMax (KMX) and AutoNation (AN). The Cash for Clunkers program continues to reverberate through the economy, even though it ended over two months ago. Every car that was turned in under the program was destroyed (at least the engine was, other parts could be stripped and reused). This reduction in supply helped support prices of the remaining used cars. This is the third month in a row of sharply higher prices for used cars, coming on top of a 1.6% increase in September and a 1.9% increase in August. I suspect that this effect is likely to wear off in the near future.

On a year-over-year basis, the overall consumer price index is down 0.2%, while the core consumer price index is up 1.7%, both of which are historically very low. The huge decline in energy prices happened a year ago and is in the process of rolling off. Thus look for the headline consumer price index to start to outpace the core consumer price index in the months to come on a year-over-year basis.

The divergence could become very large. The reason is that a very large part of the index is for Shelter, and the biggest part of that is rent -- both the normal rent that is paid by people who do not own their own houses, and "owners equivalent rent" (OER) or what it would cost you to rent an identical house next door to where you are living now. OER is how the government measures housing prices for inflation; what happens to the actual price of houses is totally irrelevant when it comes to measuring inflation. Thus, measured inflation was very much under control, even as the price of houses were soaring during the housing bubble, and the CPI did not decline as the bubble was bursting.

Together, regular rent paid to landlords and OER make up over 30% of the total consumer price index, and almost 40% of the core consumer price index. The overall price of shelter was unchanged in October, the second month in a row it was unchanged. Regular rent fell by 0.1%, over the last three months it is down at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.7%, and it is unchanged over the last six months.

Since most people own rather than rent where they live, OER has a much higher weight in the index (24.4% of the total index vs. 6.0%). It was unchanged on the month, is off by 0.3% over the last three months and up by just 0.2% over the last six months. However, if the reports from the big housing-oriented REIT’s like Apartment Investors (AIV) and Equity Residential (EQR) are to be believed, then the decline in regular rents is significantly understated.

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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 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: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

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=5518.

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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

• Citigroup (NYSE:C) plans to sell Bellsystem 24, a Japanese telemarketing company, to Bain Capital for $1 billion, bringing to $10.8 billion the dollar amount Citi has raised from sales of Japanese assets

• Hedge fund Paulson & Co. reported in a September 30 filing Citigroup (NYSE:C) holdings of 300 million shares, valued at $1.45 billion

• Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) raised its bid for Tandberg ASA to $3.4 billion, or about an 11% increase, and extended its offer to December 1

• According to a Bloomberg report, Mitsubishi UFJ has hired JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to manage an $11 billion secondary offering, Japan's largest ever. The company plans to sell about 2.5 billion common shares

• Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) said it plans to spin off its 83% stake in Mead Johnson Nutrition Company

• JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) said it is offering to purchase the remaining 50% of stockbroker Cazenove, placing a valuation on the firm of $3.32 billion

• General Motors (NYSE:GM) plans to start repaying its Treasury loan early, beginning by yearend with $1 billion quarterly installments to the US and $200 million quarterly to Canada

• General Motors' (NYSE:GM) third quarter revenues bettered estimates at $28 billion versus $22.9 billion expected, rising $4.9 billion from the second quarter. Inventories dropped 158,000 to 424,000

• Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) reported inline third quarter earnings of 24 cents on revenues of $11.38 billion, versus Zacks estimates of $11.27 billion.  The company said, "We are beginning to see signs of improved performance in some of the hardest-hit housing markets including California, Florida and areas of the desert Southwest."

Chicago, IL – November 16, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Infosys (INFY) as the Bull of the Day and Myriad Genetics Inc. (MYGN) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on American International Group (AIG), Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5506

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

We are upgrading Infosys (INFY) to an Outperform rating with a target price of $57. Through the ongoing economic downturn, the company has invested in Research & Development as well as intellectual property-based solutions. It continues to focus on large deals targeted at organizational transformation where there is a dearth of vendor talent.

The company continues to win new customers and manages to keep its order book healthy. It is increasing its presence in the emerging markets of Mexico, Brazil, China and India from where an increasing proportion of revenue can be sourced in the coming years.

Finally, its solid balance sheet and cash flow generation provides support to our estimates.

Bear of the Day:

Myriad Genetics Inc. (MYGN) reported first quarter fiscal 2010 earnings of 31 cents per share, which was below the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. The company had earned 25 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Myriad Genetics spun off its therapeutics business in July 2009 to focus on molecular diagnostics going forward. Although the molecular diagnostics business is performing well, we remain concerned about the slowdown in revenue growth in recent quarters.

The competition confronting Myriad Genetics products in the biotechnology and genetics testing field is also a concern. We have an Underperform rating on the stock.

Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:

Pay Czar to Allow Competitive Pay

The U.S. Treasury's pay czar, who oversees compensation for the highest-paid employees at the firms that received U.S. taxpayer assistance, said on Thursday that he is concerned that pay cuts could obstruct the ability of these firms to retain and attract top talent. However, the pay czar would be open to requests to hire new executives at competitive industry rates.

The pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, decides compensation packages for the highest-paid employees at the seven firms that have received substantial support from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The pay restrictions were imposed on these firms to enable them to repay government money by controlling excessive pay.

The seven firms, whose top 25 earners received an average 50% lower pay last month by the order of the pay czar, are American International Group (AIG), Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), Chrysler Financial, Chrysler Group LLC, General Motors and GMAC Inc.

Though all seven firms that are subject to such scrutiny have expressed concerns about the impact of pay limits, none of them has appealed to the pay czar.

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/zacksresearch

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

On Tuesday, the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average closed down 17.53 points, or 0.18%, to 9,771.91.  The broad Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 2.53 points, or 0.24%, to 1,045.41 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 8.12 points, or 0.40%, to 2,057.32.  On the NYSE, volume slowed to 1.38 billion shares.  

The news of a sale of 200 tons of gold to India sent gold futures surging $32.10 to $1086.  Treasury prices declined with the 10-year off 16/32 to 101-08/32 and the corresponding yield surging to 3.47% from 3.41% Monday.      

Burlington Northern (NYSE:BNI) surged 28% to $97 after the $26 billion offer from Berkshire.  Technology stocks were under pressure following a Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) analyst downgrade of semiconductor companies. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), the world’s biggest computer-chip maker, fell 2.7% to $18.50 and Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:NVLS) declined 5.2% to $19.71.  Shares in basic materials, oil and gas and industrials rose 1.8%, 1.5%, and 1.3%, respectively in yesterday's trade.  Meanwhile, automakers reported October sales numbers mostly higher from a year ago.  General Motors (NYSE:GM) posted its first y/y sales gain, in nearly two years, as its sales rose 5%; Ford (NYSE:F) said its sales rose 3%; Toyota (NYSE:TM) sales, although flat, were ahead of estimates of a 6% decline.  Chrysler sales fell 30%.

Nevertheless, corporate earnings so far have continued to beat Wall Street estimates, with 84% of the S&P500's 358 firms reported so far currently beating Street estimates.  Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is currently trading 55% above its 12-year low hit on March 9. 

Today’s earnings calendar includes quarterly reports from the following: Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), News Corp. (NYSE:NWS), Prudential (NYSE:PRU), Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN), and Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX).

Chicago, IL – November 3, 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: CIT Group Inc. (CIT), Dean Foods (DF), Frontier Communications (FTR), Verizon Communications (VZ) and Time Warner Cable (TWC).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Monday’s AnalystBlog:

CIT Group Files Chapter 11

CIT Group Inc. (CIT) has filed for Chapter 11 protection on Sunday. The company struggled for months to avoid collapse since the recession elicited billions of dollars in loan losses, and the financial crisis made it incapable of funding itself from its main financing source.

This widely expected Chapter 11 filing is one of the largest in U.S. history, following Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, WorldCom and General Motors. The U.S. government will probably lose most of its $2.3 billion aid given to CIT last December through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). We think the problems at CIT will further weigh on the U.S. economy.

CIT's bankruptcy filing shows $71 billion in finance and leasing assets against total debt of $64.9 billion. The company cited that its bondholders selected a prepackaged reorganization plan which will reduce total debt by $10 billion while allowing the company to run its business.

According to management, the decision to proceed with the company’s plan of reorganization will allow it to continue to provide funding to two sectors -- small business and middle market customers -- which remain vital to the U.S. economy.

Dean Foods Beats, Ups Guidance

Dean Foods (DF) reported relatively strong third-quarter results with earnings of 34 cents per share. Quarterly earnings were up 21% year-over-year.

Quarterly net sales declined 13.2% year over year to $2.7 billion due to the pass-through of lower overall dairy commodity costs, despite positive contributions from acquisitions and lower net sales volumes in the WhiteWave-Morningstar operations, which were partially offset by acquisition-related volume growth in Fresh Dairy Direct and WhiteWave-Morningstar.

Net sales in the Fresh Dairy Direct segment declined 18.3% as the company passed some of the lower dairy costs to customers but were partially offset by continued volume growth. Raw milk prices were 45% lower compared to the prior-year.

Frontier Deal Wins Key Approvals

Frontier Communications (FTR), a leading telecom operator in rural and suburban areas in the US, has reportedly received approvals from the Public Utilities Commissions of the states of California and Neveda and Public Service Commission of South Carolina for its impending acquisition of the rural fixed-line business of Verizon Communications (VZ).

Moreover, the acquisition was recently approved by the shareholders of Frontier. The transaction is now subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other closing conditions and is expected to close during the second quarter of 2010.

Verizon is divesting its rural fixed-line business (involving approximately 4.8 million access lines) in 14 states to Frontier under an agreement valued at approximately $8.6 billion. Under the deal terms, Verizon’s shareholders will receive approximately $5.25 billion in common stock of Frontier, equating to around 68% stake in the company.

Moreover, Verizon will also receive $3.3 billion in cash and debt securities from Frontier. The transaction, if successful, will provide Verizon’s shareholders a controlling interest in Frontier.

This deal represents a major opportunity for Frontier as the company remains significantly challenged by the beleaguered economic conditions in its service territories and contends with loss of legacy landline telephony business to wireless and other competitive offerings by cable TV operators such as Time Warner Cable (TWC). Frontier continues to experience decline in revenues which is, to a great extent, attributable to consistent sequential decline in fixed access lines.

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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 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: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

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=5518.

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

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

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

Chicago, IL – October 28, 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: DryShips, Inc. (DRYS), Capmark Financial Group Inc. (CPFNG), Citigroup Inc. (C), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s AnalystBlog:

DryShips Beats, Results Hurt

DryShips, Inc.’s (DRYS) third-quarter earnings of 27 cents per share were 6 cents ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. This excludes a loss of $39.3 million or 15 cents per share associated with the valuation of the company’s interest rate swaps. However, earnings were down substantially from $3.53 per share in the prior-year quarter.

GAAP net income for the quarter came in at $35.6 million or 12 cents per share, compared to $180.0 million, or $4.13 per share in the prior-year quarter.

The better-than-expected earnings were aided primarily by the performance of drilling and drybulk units at high utilization rates.

Capmark Seeks Bankruptcy Protection

Capmark Financial Group Inc. (CPFNG), one of the key commercial real-estate lenders in the U.S., along with some of its subsidiaries has filed Chapter 11 protection. The filing adds to the lingering concern that the commercial real-estate market is still struggling.

The company seeks to be allowed to continue to pay its vendors and salaries, and protect the businesses with its customers and partners.

Capmark was created in March 2006 through a leveraged buyout of the commercial real estate assets of General Motors' finance arm GMAC. Earlier this year also, the company had indicated that it might file for bankruptcy due to deteriorating conditions in the financial and commercial real estate markets and capital inadequacy.

Capmark is currently negotiating the terms of the bankruptcy with its creditors, which include Citigroup Inc. (C) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) among others.

Capmark reported a hefty loss of $1.62 billion in the second quarter of 2009 and has ever since been trying to raise cash through targeted sales and plans to sell its mortgage and loan servicing business. Capmark listed $20.1 billion in assets and $21 billion in liabilities as of Jun 30, 2009 in the bankruptcy filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

Several funds, including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Five Mile Capital owned about 75.0% of shares in Capmark, while GMAC LLC owned 21.3%, and Capmark employees and directors owned the remainder.

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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 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: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

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=5518.

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

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

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

Chicago, IL – October 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: Google Inc. (GOOG), Bank of America Corporation (BAC), American International Group (AIG), Citigroup (C) and GMAC Inc. (GJM).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Friday’s AnalystBlog:

Google Stuns the Market

Google Inc. (GOOG) reported third quarter results that blew away all estimates. Earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a dollar and 20 cents. Revenue beat the consensus by around 40%.

Revenue

Gross revenue of $5.94 billion was up 7.6% sequentially and 7.3% year over year. Management stated that strength was broad-based, with all served markets showing signs of exiting the recession.

Traffic continues to improve, with traffic acquisition cost (the portion of revenue shared with Google’s partners) increasing 7.7% sequentially. However, traffic acquisition cost as a percentage of total advertising revenue was down 15 basis points. Net revenue, excluding traffic acquisition cost was flattish sequentially (down 0.6%).

Bank of America Disappoints

Bank of America Corporation’s (BAC) third quarter 2009 loss came in at 26 cents per share, substantially worse than the Zacks Consensus Estimated loss of 10 cents. This compares unfavorably with earnings of 15 cents in the prior-year quarter.

The worse-than-expected results came in due primarily to continued weakness in the U.S. and global economies as well as stress on the consumer, which continues to result in high credit costs. The results for the quarter were negatively impacted by $2.6 billion in pretax mark-to-market and credit valuation adjustments on certain liabilities, including the Merrill Lynch structured notes, and a $402 million pretax charge to pay the U.S. government for termination of its asset guarantee term sheet. However, strengthening reserves, capital position and liquidity were key positives during the quarter.

The results for the quarter exclude total preferred dividends of $1.2 billion. The preferred dividend paid to the U.S. government was $893 million. Net loss available to common shareholders was $2.2 billion, compared to earnings of $704 million in the prior-year quarter.

Fully taxable-equivalent revenue net of interest expense was $26.4 billion, up 32% from $19.9 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Net interest income on a fully taxable-equivalent basis was $11.8 billion, down from $10.9 billion in the year-ago quarter. The year-over-year decline was a result of securities sales and lower loan levels. The decrease was partially offset by a favorable rate environment, the addition of Merrill Lynch and higher deposit levels.

Net interest yield decreased 32 basis points (bps) year-over-year to 2.61%. The decrease was a result of the addition of lower yielding assets from Merrill Lynch.

Non-interest income almost doubled to $14.6 billion from $8.0 billion in the prior-year quarter. This increase is attributable to higher trading account profits, investment and brokerage services fees and investment banking income following the addition of Merrill Lynch. These increases were partially offset by $1.8 billion in losses related to mark-to-market adjustments related to the Merrill Lynch acquisition and $714 million in credit valuation adjustments on derivative liabilities.

Non-interest expense increased to $16.3 billion from $11.7 billion in the prior-year quarter. The increase in non-interest income reflects higher personnel and general operating expenses, driven partially by the recent acquisition of Merrill Lynch. The increase also due to a $402 million pretax charge related to the termination of its asset guarantee term sheet.

The efficiency ratio on a fully taxable-equivalent basis was 61.84% compared to 58.60% in the prior-year quarter. Book value per share of common stock was $22.99, compared with $30.01 at Sept. 30, 2008.

Credit quality significantly deteriorated during the quarter. Though the provision for credit losses decreased 12.5% sequentially to $11.7 billion, on a year-over-year basis it increased 81.5%. Nonperforming assets increased to $33.8 billion from $31.0 billion at June 30, 2009, reflecting a slower rate of increase than in recent quarters as a result of some early signs of economic recovery. Net charge-offs increased 10.6% sequentially to $9.6 billion. Net charge-off ratio deteriorated 49 bps sequentially to 4.13% and nonperforming assets ratio deteriorated 41 bps sequentially to 3.72%.

During the reported quarter, the company’s Tier 1 capital ratio improved to 12.46% from 11.93% in the prior quarter and 7.55% in the prior-year quarter. Tier 1 common ratio improved to 7.25% from 6.90% in the prior quarter and 4.23% in the prior-year quarter.

The U.S. pay czar Kenneth Feinberg revealed yesterday that Ken Lewis, who intends to retire as chief executive of BofA at the end of this year, will receive no pay or bonus for 2009. However, Lewis will still have $53 million in pension benefits along with other stock awards and deferred compensation of $69 million as Feinberg does not have the authority to modify compensation awarded before 2009.

Feinberg is in charge of deciding compensation packages for the highest- paid employees at all the firms that received bailout money. For seven firms the situation is critical, as these firms received substantial support from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

The seven firms whose compensation plans are under scrutiny are American International Group (AIG), Citigroup (C), Bank of America, Chrysler Financial, Chrysler Group LLC, General Motors and GMAC Inc. (GJM).

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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 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: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

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=5518.

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September was the worst month for U.S. auto sales since February, down 23% from September 2008 and down 41% from the August 2009 outlier.

Data source: Wardsauto.com

Many of us had wondered whether the cash-for-clunkers program would simply cause people who would have bought cars in September or October to buy instead in July and August. Now we seem to have an answer, though General Motors Sales Chief Mark LaNeve believes that low inventories also lost the industry 300,000 potential sales for September. If you average the three months of July, August, and September together, the impression is one of improvement since the terrible first quarter that's still left us below 2008:Q3. Inventory rebuilding should give a cyclical boost at some point, but at the moment this is not looking at all like the sharp recovery some had been hoping for.

Data source: Wardsauto.com

But the biggest worry remains employment. Initial claims for unemployment insurance and number of hours worked are often viewed as leading economic indicators. Initial claims peaked in March, but have improved little since August.

Seasonally adjusted new claims for unemployment insurance (red) and 4-week average (blue), in thousands.

Average hours per week in manufacturing fell back a bit last month, undoing some of the earlier rebound.

Source: FRED

Hours worked for the broader economy remain at the low point for this cycle.

Source: FRED

And total employment, generally regarded as a coincident economic indicator, continues to plummet, with a quarter million fewer Americans on payrolls in September compared with August (seasonally adjusted). That this is not as rapid a decline as we saw at the start of the year can no longer provide much comfort to anyone.

Source: Calculated Risk

The Aruoba-Diebold-Scotti Business Conditions Index also doesn't care much for the latest numbers, having moved back into significant negative readings.

Aruoba-Diebold-Scotti Business Conditions Index.

Although I expect the GDP numbers later this month to show positive growth for the quarter, further deterioration on jobs is bad news for critical factors like loan defaults and total spending.

Carpe Diem has his usual optimistic take on this. Wish I felt the same way.

On Wednesday, the Dow ended down 29.92, or 0.3%, at 9,712.28 after falling nearly 134 points at one stage.  The S&P 500 index fell 3.53, or 0.3%, to 1,057.08.  The Nasdaq fell 1.62, or 0.1%, to 2,122.42.  US stocks by and large closed lower as profit taking affected major indexes on the final trading day of what had been a strong third quarter for the market.  Sentiment was essentially dampened by major economic news expected on Thursday.  On the New York Stock Exchange, 18 stocks were lower in price for every 13 that advanced. 

The Dow Jones industrials and S&P 500 index both ended the quarter with gains of more than 15%.  In fact, the market posted its strongest quarter in 11 years.  However, market observers found many investors to still have an ambivalent view of the market as they shuffled between bouts of buying and selling.  The market dipped each time bad news hit the market but subsequently recovered as each dip was generally seen as a buying opportunity.  In addition, a large amount of funds from the sidelines typically entered the market on dips.     

Sector trends remained relatively constant during the month. The strongest sectors during the quarter were basic materials (up 29.9%), financials (up 29.2%), industrials (up 23.7%), consumer services (up 21.1%) and tech (up 18.9%). During September, the list of top-performers included basic materials (up 8.6%), industrials (up 6.2%), and tech (up 5.0%).  However, financials were at the low end of sector gainers (up 2.0%), followed by oil and gas up by 5.5%.

After the close, General Motors said it is shutting down its Saturn division after a deal to sell it to Penske Automotive Group (NYSE: PAG) fell apart.  Commercial lender CIT Group (NYSE: CIT) was making a last ditch effort to reconcile with its creditors to avoid its demise.

Headwinds to growth continue as unemployment lingers, and President Obama's $787 billion stimulus efforts wind down. Fed Chairman Bernanke joins the long list of central bankers in the limelight this week, which may further point to timing plans for the eventual phase-out of accommodative policy measures.

On Wednesday, the Dow ended down 29.92, or 0.3%, at 9,712.28 after falling nearly 134 points at one stage.  The S&P 500 index fell 3.53, or 0.3%, to 1,057.08.  The Nasdaq fell 1.62, or 0.1%, to 2,122.42.  US stocks by and large closed lower as profit taking affected major indexes on the final trading day of what had been a strong third quarter for the market.  Sentiment was essentially dampened by major economic news expected on Thursday.  On the New York Stock Exchange, 18 stocks were lower in price for every 13 that advanced. 

The Dow Jones industrials and S&P 500 index both ended the quarter with gains of more than 15%.  In fact, the market posted its strongest quarter in 11 years.  However, market observers found many investors to still have an ambivalent view of the market as they shuffled between bouts of buying and selling.  The market dipped each time bad news hit the market but subsequently recovered as each dip was generally seen as a buying opportunity.  In addition, a large amount of funds from the sidelines typically entered the market on dips.     

Sector trends remained relatively constant during the month. The strongest sectors during the quarter were basic materials (up 29.9%), financials (up 29.2%), industrials (up 23.7%), consumer services (up 21.1%) and tech (up 18.9%). During September, the list of top-performers included basic materials (up 8.6%), industrials (up 6.2%), and tech (up 5.0%).  However, financials were at the low end of sector gainers (up 2.0%), followed by oil and gas up by 5.5%.

After the close, General Motors said it is shutting down its Saturn division after a deal to sell it to Penske Automotive Group (NYSE: PAG) fell apart.  Commercial lender CIT Group (NYSE: CIT) was making a last ditch effort to reconcile with its creditors to avoid its demise.

Headwinds to growth continue as unemployment lingers, and President Obama's $787 billion stimulus efforts wind down. Fed Chairman Bernanke joins the long list of central bankers in the limelight this week, which may further point to timing plans for the eventual phase-out of accommodative policy measures.

Geely Automotive is the Hong Kong-listed arm of Chinese automaker Geely Holding. Goldman Sachs Capital Partners will buy convertible bonds and warrants issued by Geely's Hong Kong-listed subsidiary. The deal is almost complete, but some technical details of the investment are still pending. Confirmation of the deal could be announced as early as this week.

Geely plans to use the proceeds from the Goldman investment to boost its production capacity, which could free up capital for its parent to bid for Volvo. Geely's parent company has made global headlines in recent weeks after contemplating a bid for Volvo, the Swedish car brand owned by Ford Motor Co. (F). A successful deal would boost Geely's profile and give it access to Volvo technologies, which it needs to upgrade its cars.

Geely's parent had also approached Canadian auto parts maker Magna International, Inc. (MGA) about a potential production partnership on Opel.

Earlier this month, General Motors agreed to sell a 55% stake in carmaker Opel to a group led by Magna. However, it is understood that the $250 million investment will be earmarked to treble annual production at Geely's flagship car plant in Hunan province to 150,000 units.

The investment in Geely will result in the private equity fund owning a minority stake of about 15% of the Hong Kong-listed company, with the precise level determined when the warrants are exercised. Trading in shares of Geely was suspended last week in Hong Kong's Hang Seng exchange as investors awaited an official statement about the investment.

Chinese automakers are rapidly growing in size and ambition, and the investment underscores rising international belief that, given the right financial support and expertise, they could emerge as global champions. Chinese demand for cars has been robust and on the rise boosted by Beijing's policy initiatives, including sales tax cuts on small cars and subsidies for rural buyers.

Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd., Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (HMC) and Volkswagen have all witnessed strong growth from their joint ventures in China. In fact, China's Association of Automobile Manufacturers estimated that domestic auto sales could exceed 10 million units in the first 10 months of this year.

• J Crew (NYSE:JCG) also beat expectations, with second quarter earnings of 29 cents a share, higher than last year's 28 cents, and well ahead of Zacks expectations of 15 cents a share.  The firm said it sees third-quarter earnings of 30 cents to 33 cents a share

• Tiffany (NYSE:TIF) reported second quarter earnings of 46 cents a share, 23 cents above Zacks estimates, on revenues of $612 million versus $602 million.  The company expects full-year earnings of $1.65 to $1.75 per share

• Toyota (NYSE:TM) announced plans to halt production at it California plant shared with General Motors

• China's Unicom announced plans to sell Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone in China this year, with sales projected to start in the fourth quarter

Chicago, IL – August 28, 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: Honda (HMC), Toyota (TM), Ford (F), Nissan (NSANY) and Guess Inc. (GES).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Cash for Clunkers: Review

The average fuel-economy of the vehicle purchased was 24.9 mpg in combined city and highway driving, compared to 15.8 mpg for vehicles being traded in. This reflects an average fuel-economy improvement of 58%.

As expected, the biggest sellers under the program were industry leaders in fuel-efficient vehicles – Honda (HMC) and Toyota (TM). Honda and Toyota were the only two automakers to feature three models each among the top 10 buys under the program. Toyota Corolla (31 mpg) topped the list followed by Honda Civic (31 mpg, 42 mpg-hybrid) and Toyota Camry (25 mpg, 34mpg-hybrid), while Toyota Prius (47 mpg) ranked seventh followed by Honda Accord (25 mpg) and Honda Fit (30 mpg).

Ford (F) had two models in the top 10 buys. The company’s Ford Focus (30 mpg) ranked fourth and Ford Escape SUV (24 mpg) ranked tenth. The remaining models in the top 10 were Hyundai Elantra (fifth; 29 mpg) and Nissan (NSANY) Versa (sixth; 28 mpg). The most traded-in vehicles under the program included the Ford Explorer SUV, Ford F-150 pick-up and the Dodge Grand Caravan minivan.

In terms of market share, Toyota led the program with 19.4% of all clunker sales followed by General Motors with 17.6%, Ford with 14.4% and Honda with 13%. Chrysler ended in seventh place behind Nissan and Hyundai.

Guess Beats, Raises Dividend

Guess Inc. (GES) reported robust second quarter results with earnings of 64 cents per share, which was 20 cents above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents. Quarterly earnings were up 14.3% year-over-year.

Net sales for the quarter increased 1.4% year-over-year to $522 million, primarily driven by the European segment. Comparable store sales decreased 12.5% in US dollars for the quarter, compared to the same period a year ago.

Revenues in the Retail segment declined 6.1% year-over-year due to a 12.5% decrease in comparable same-store sales. During the quarter, the company opened five new stores and closed three others. Average square footage increased 6.6% year-over-year.

Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5515.

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 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: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

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=5518.

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

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

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

Chicago, IL – August 25, 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: AutoNation (AN), Ford (F), Honda Motor (HMC), Toyota Motor (TM) and Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. (PVH).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

“Cash for Clunkers" Ends Run

The surge of applications under the program saw dealers run out of stock for popular models, such as Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Nissan Altima. As of Friday, August 21, about half a million cars – worth about $2 billion – had been sold through the program.

However, the sales under the program left many dealers worried about not getting reimbursed by the Government. As of August 21, dealers had been reimbursed for just a small fraction of the billions in sales. About 40% of the claims submitted have been reviewed, but only 7% of the claims have actually been paid.

These had led many dealers to stop Cash for Clunkers sales prematurely, either to make sure the Government reimbursed them for the rebate