For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 12, 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), Honda (HMC), Caterpillar (CAT), Boeing (BA) and Chevron Corp. (CVX).

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:

Trade Deficit Improves

While the year-over-year improvement in the trade deficit is very good news, the reason for it is not so good. It was a reflection of the overall collapse in world trade, something that makes everyone poorer. As far as the GDP calculations are concerned, it does not make any difference

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In August, the monthly trade deficit fell to $30.7 billion from $31.9 billion in July. We got improvement from both sides as exports rose by $0.2 billion to $128.2 billion and imports fell to $158.9 billion from $159.8 billion in July, a decrease of $0.9 billion. This reverses two months where the trade deficit rose slightly. On the other hand, over the last year the trade deficit is down dramatically. A year ago our imports were $63.6 billion higher than now, at $222.6 billion, and our exports were $33.4 billion higher at $161.7 billion, resulting in a deficit of $60.9 billion. While the year-over-year improvement in the trade deficit is very good news, the reason for it is not so good. It was a refection of the overall collapse in world trade, something that makes everyone poorer. As far as the GDP calculations are concerned, it does ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 7, 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), American International Group (AIG) 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 Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

“Cash for Clunkers" Continues

Not a complete answer to our dependency on imported oil, but not exactly a drop in the bucket, either. If the second installment works just as well, we up to a cumulative savings of 675 million gallons fewer of gasoline burned.

This is in addition to the

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It now looks like the wildly successful "Cash for Clunkers" program will get another $2 billion of funding after the initial $1 billion was used up in about a week. While to get the $4,500 or $3,500 subsidy the improvement in gas mileage only had to be 4 mile per gallon, the actual improvement for the new cars being sold vs. the clunkers being traded in has been 9 miles per gallon. If we assume that the clunkers could have been on the road for three more years, and that they and the replacements would have been driven 12,000 miles a year, that adds up to a savings of 300 gallons of gas saved per car per year, or 900 gallons per car. With 250,000 cars sold under the first installment of the program, that works out to a cumulative savings of 225 million gallons of gas saved. Not ...

It is high time for our political leaders to make some key decisions.  And that translates into large uncertainties for investors that have held the market in a range and with low volume. We do not know whether “Cap and Trade” legislation will pass the Senate and we do not know whether and any healthcare bill will pass through Congress, or what that bill might entail.  And these two issues are paramount for the future of America.  

As we discussed earlier, cap and trade could cause incremental costs in energy for all of the United States, particularly in all carbon-based generation of electricity.  Increasing these costs will make carbon-based energy less competitive with alternative sources, like solar and nuclear.  The benefits of this legislation will be less carbon emissions, cleaner air, less dependence on imported oil and the creation of new jobs in the alternative

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The sharp improvement we have seen over the last year in the trade deficit looks like it is coming to an end. As the chart below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) shows, a year ago we were consistently running trade deficits in excess of $60 billion a month. But since the start of the year, deficits below $30 billion have been the norm. In April, the deficit was $29.2 billion, up from $28.5 billion in March. A year ago the deficit was $62.2 billion.However, a very large portion of the improvement that we have seen over the last year has been due to the falling price of oil.  In April, the price of imported oil averaged $46.60 -- today oil is trading over $70 a barrel (there is not an exact one-for-one correspondence between the price of imported oil and the quoted price of WTI or Brent, but it ...

Dallas - May 12, 2009 - Energy expert T. Boone Pickens today released the following statement in reaction to news that the U.S. trade deficit on oil imports widened for the first time in eight months during March, as the price of imported oil continued to climb:

The stocks of oil tanker companies are cheap…very, very cheap. But before moving into the heart of this investment observation, let’s gain a sliver of insight about the value of shipping itself.

The dividends of the old spice trade, for example, financed much of the architectural splendor of Venice, Italy. If you stroll the Piazza San Marco, a complex pattern of Istrian stone plays out beneath your feet. Nearby, grand palazzos and public squares show off a dazzling array of tall columns, carved marble, impressive domes and spires.

As William Bernstein tells us in his fascinating book, A Splendid Exchange, Venice’s dazzling look was built up “largely on profits from pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace and clove.” Spices then were what oil is today. At its peak, cinnamon oil traded for its weight in gold. Venetian traders made fortunes. “Profits well in excess of 100% were routine,” Bernstein notes. “A typical

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Steve McDonald of Investors Daily Edge doesn’t want to see you get ripped off at the gas pump again. He recommends two Oil ETFs that will play out as part of the “the best buying opportunity since the market collapse of the late 70’s.”

This from Steve:

It’s time to stop worrying about the bottom of this market and start taking advantage of the carnage the gross mismanagement of this country’s affairs has left us. Oil is a good place to start.

$40 Oil? Are you kidding me? This is what I call a slap in the face investment. It’s so obvious it’s hitting you in the nose.

This temporary worldwide slow down, and it is temporary, has pushed oil down to a point most people never thought they’d see again. After all the speculation driven price increases of the past few years, it is a nice break, but it won’t

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Highlights include Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Chevron Corp. (CVX), Valero Energy Corp. (WLO) and Tesoro Corp. (TSO).    A Convoluted New Tax on the Oil and Gas IndustryThe $3.6 trillion budget proposal unveiled yesterday includes a slew of proposals aimed at encouraging green and renewable energy at the expense of conventional hydrocarbon-sourced energy. The budget raises taxes on existing energy sources and uses part of that money to fund renewable energy technologies.On the whole, the proposed changes negatively affect companies like Exxon (XOM), Chevron (CVX) and refiners like Valero (WLO) and Tesoro (TSO).The budget's capstone initiative in the energy space involves the creation of a cap-and-trade system that forces companies to buy permits to be allowed to emit carbon dioxide and other polluting gases. The plan is expected to bring in approximately $80 billion ...