Baltimore — (TFN): Some good friends of mine recently took their TV out to their front yard, put two high-brass shells in their 12 gauge and pulled the trigger.  They rendered the hunk of glass and plastic useless. Called it Alaskan waste disposal.

After last night, I’m ready to get out the 00 buckshot, myself.

I’ve got my eye out for good intentions, gone bad after spending the last three editions of Notes discussing the idea of financial regulatory reform.

During 52-mile commute home yesterday, they were all over the place, anything from idiotic signs to a couple of state cops setting a trap and writing tickets for not moving to the left lane when passing a stopped emergency vehicle.

The gung-ho troopers had rush-hour traffic slowed for over a mile.

But my mind really started spinning when I passed an out-of-state big rig. I could not help but notice the federal and state ID

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Overvalued Stocks: Don’t Touch These Bloated Investments With a 10-Foot Pole

by Marc Lichtenfeld, Healthcare Expert Wednesday, November 18, 2009: Issue #1140

To celebrate my parents’ anniversary, I took the family to see Grease last weekend. As musical theater buffs, I figured that they’d love the seeing the show, especially with my kids who had never seen a Broadway quality production.

Unfortunately, they still haven’t. The show stunk. The “actor” who played Danny Zuko couldn’t act. And American Idol winner Taylor Hicks was so bad as Teen Angel, it was laughable. It was one of the worst productions I’ve ever seen – and I should know, as I’ve been in some pretty awful shows (if you saw Last Exit to Brooklyn in San Francisco in 1995, I apologize).

But the purpose of this column is not a theater review, but

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Wolverine World Wide Inc. (WWW) recently posted third-quarter earnings of 62 cents per share, eclipsing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11%. The company hiked its full-year earnings guidance, and analysts followed suit, lifting the Zacks Consensus Estimate to $1.74 per share from last month's $1.68. Shares spiked on the strong quarter, currently trading near a 52-week high.

Company Description

Wolverine World Wide markets branded casual, active lifestyle, work, outdoor sport and uniform footwear and apparel. The company offers well-known brands like Bates®, Chaco®, Cushe(TM), Hush Puppies®, HYTEST®, Merrell®, Sebago® Soft Style® and Wolverine®. Wolverine is also the exclusive footwear licensee of popular brands, including CAT®, Harley-Davidson® and Patagonia®. The company's products are sold retailers in the U.S. and globally in 180 countries and territories.

Stellar Quarterly Results and Bullish Forecasts

Wolverine World Wide recently posted third-quarter earnings of 62 cents per share, eclipsing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11%.

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 16, 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: Harley-Davidson (HOG), US Airways (LCC), United Airlines (UAUA), Southwest Airlines (LUV) and American Airlines (AMR).

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:

Harley Fails to Meet Estimates

Harley-Davidson (HOG) disappointed in its third quarter results, posting a net income of $26.5 million or 11 cents per share compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 22 cents per share. Compared to the year-ago quarter, net income tumbled 84% from $166.5 million

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Harley-Davidson (HOG) disappointed in its third quarter results, posting a net income of $26.5 million or 11 cents per share compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 22 cents per share. Compared to the year-ago quarter, net income tumbled 84% from $166.5 million and earnings per share collapsed 84.5% from 71 cents. The company addressed lower motorcycle shipments and the effects of the economy on retail and wholesale loan performance at Harley-Davidson Financial Services for the decline in earnings. Revenue and Gross Margin Total revenue during the quarter fell 21% to $1.12 billion. Revenue from Harley-Davidson motorcycles (which includes brands such as Harley-Davidson, Buell and MV Agusta) decreased 22% to $803.3 million. The company shipped 54,236 motorcycles to dealers and distributors worldwide, down 27% from the year-ago quarter. However, the shipment was in line with the guidance of 52,000 to 57,000 units. Revenue from Parts ...

The Dow Jones industrial average touched a key psychological milestone yesterday, entering the five-figure territory, as some upbeat earnings reports spurred hopes that the economy is ambling towards normalcy.  Investors looking for signs of an economic rebound cheered Intel and JP Morgan’s better-than-expected quarterly results even as strong retail sales numbers signaled consumer spending was beginning to rebound.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 144.80 points, or 1.5%, to 10,015.86, its biggest one-day gain since August 21 and highest close since October 3 last year.  The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 18.83 points, or 1.8%, to 1,092.02, it new 2009 high.  The Nasdaq composite index surged 32.34 points, or 1.5%, to 2,172.23.  Since hitting their 12-year lows in March of this year, the S&P 500 has jumped more than 61% as of Wednesday's close, and the Dow is up 53%.

Amid an improving global economic sentiment,

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It is hard to find a “true” growth story these days, especially in the United States. In China, however, things are not quite as bleak. The action from SmartHeat (NASDAQ:HEAT) is a perfect example.

Call it an earnings season hangover. Call it profit taking. Or call it a technical reverse. Just don’t call it a good day on Wall Street.

With the equities market down by over 1% at the moment, investors who got in at the recent highs are wondering what in the world they may have gotten themselves into. A slew of the markets most-popular investments of late are taking it square on the chin.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) is down by over 3%. Harley Davidson (NYSE:HOG) is down by nearly 3.5%. And Chevron (NYSE:CVX), a TFN Strategic Trader short position, is down by another 1.2% today after dropping by an

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div style="text-align: justify;"Somewhat surprisingly we have several firms out positive on span style="font-weight: bold;"Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG)/span following Analyst meeting:br /br /span style="font-weight: bold;"- Baird is raising their target to $28 (prev. $21) and reiterating Outperform rating after the firm talked with management/dealers in meetings in Denver. /spanThey believe the turnaround story is building momentum led by a credible CEO with impressive credentials. Beyond the standard Harley noise – they advise investors to focus on the strength of the brand, opportunities to lower structural cost, and ideas to finance HDFS in better ways. Details were limited, but Baird believes the turnaround story will attract investment.br /br /span style="font-weight: bold;"Summary. /spanThe presentation lacked tangible goals or meaningful metrics, leaving investors to overweight intangible clues – which were bullish. Firm notes they like that management is addressing structural cost, cutting dealer inventory, boosting residual values, refining the dealer network, exploring options for HDFS, and ...

Reuters points out some members of the CIS are having some disagreements with the Kremlin.

This year's Presidential Cup horse race, a traditional cue for an informal gathering of the 11-member Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), drew only five top guests: the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Tajikistan.

The presidents of Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan all failed to show up, citing personal reasons. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko went instead to ride a Harley-Davidson at a local bikers' rally.

"The CIS leaders used the chance ... to show they are unhappy with the state of relations with Russia," said Alexei Mukhin, head

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Monday

Earnings Announcements: Novellus (NVLS)

Tuesday Economic Reports: Core PPI, PPI, Retail Sales

Will this be the month that we finally see inflation take hold? If expectations come true, it very well could be. PPI is anticipated to show an increase of nearly 1%. Core PPI (which excludes food and energy costs) is expected to show an increase of 0.10%. Retail Sales are expected to post a surprising increase. Most reports I have seen show that retailers are still struggling. I don’t expect this report to beat expectations.

Earnings Announcements: Goldman Sachs (GS), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Yum Brands (YUM)

Wednesday Economic Reports: Core CPI, CPI

The CPI is expected to show an increase of 0.60%, and Core CPI an increase of 0.10%. If both CPI and PPI meet expectations, we could be in for the start of a long bout of inflation.

Earnings Announcement: Abbott Labs (ABT)

Thursday Economic Report: Philadelphia Fed

If we meet expectations this month with the

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