A better-than-expected jobs report helped U.S. stocks rally ahead of the long weekend but the unemployment scenario continued to remain grim, signaling the much-expected economic recovery is not going to be smooth.  Worries that the rally has gone ahead of any economic recovery continued to keep a check on sentiments and stocks declined during the first three sessions of last week.  All major indexes started off on a dull note but posted strong gains in the afternoon.          

Following advances in the overseas markets, US stocks are expected to gain at the opening.  The DJIA futures added 79 points for a gain to 9496; the S&P500 increased 9.9 points heading toward a 1023.80 open.  Markets were closed yesterday for the Labor Day holiday.

On Friday, the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average rose 96.66 points, or 1.03%, to 9,441.27.  The S&P 500 index rose 13.16 points, or 1.31%, to 1,016.40.  The

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 26, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the latest Industry Outlook. Today's outlook from Zacks Equity Research analyst Neena Mishra discusses the Insurance sector. Highlighted stocks include: PartnerRe Ltd. (PRE), Amerisafe, Inc. (AMSF), Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG), Primus Guaranty (PRS) and PMI Group (PMI).

Here is the latest on the Insurance sector:

We remain positive on reinsurer PartnerRe Ltd. (PRE) due to its excellent underwriting abilities, strong capitalization, solid ratings and reputation in the market, which will enable it to take advantage of the stronger demand and better pricing being witnessed currently. We also have a Buy rating on Amerisafe, Inc. (AMSF) in view of its strong capital position and sustained improvement in the results.

Currently we do not have any Sell recommendations on insurance stocks under

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The turmoil in the financial markets resulted in a highly challenging environment for the U.S. insurance industry, a trend that is expected to continue through the end of the current year, though some signs of improvement can be seen now. We also expect further consolidation in the industry.

Life Insurers

Continued losses in the investment portfolio and lower income from the variable annuity business will continue to hurt earnings. Most life insurers have substantial exposure to commercial-real-estate-backed loans and securities, which will result in further losses in the coming quarters.

The Industry's statutory capital levels have fallen sharply and some companies are trying to raise capital through the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). The Treasury has already approved six life insurers for capital infusion under TARP.

Property & Casualty Insurers

Insurers' losses from natural disasters surged in 2008, with maximum losses resulting from Hurricane Ike (insured losses of approximately $15 billion). Six named storms --

...

The turmoil in the financial markets resulted in a highly challenging environment for the U.S. insurance industry, a trend that is expected to continue through the end of the current year, though some signs of improvement can be seen now. We also expect further consolidation in the industry.

Life Insurers

Continued losses in the investment portfolio and lower income from the variable annuity business will continue to hurt earnings. Most life insurers have substantial exposure to commercial-real-estate-backed loans and securities, which will result in further losses in the coming quarters.

The Industry's statutory capital levels have fallen sharply and some companies are trying to raise capital through the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). The Treasury has already approved six life insurers for capital infusion under TARP.

Property & Casualty Insurers

Insurers' losses from natural disasters surged in 2008, with maximum losses resulting from Hurricane Ike (insured losses of approximately $15 billion). Six named storms --

...

The turmoil in the financial markets resulted in a highly challenging environment for the U.S. insurance industry, a trend that is expected to continue through the end of the current year, though some signs of improvement can be seen now. We also expect further consolidation in the industry.Life InsurersContinued losses in the investment portfolio and lower income from the variable annuity business will continue to hurt earnings. Most life insurers have substantial exposure to commercial-real-estate-backed loans and securities, which will result in further losses in the coming quarters.The Industry's statutory capital levels have fallen sharply and some companies are trying to raise capital through the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). The Treasury has already approved six life insurers for capital infusion under TARP.Property & Casualty InsurersInsurers' losses from natural disasters surged in 2008, with maximum ...

The insatiable hunger for stories motivates financial media.  At the first hint of a new development the process begins -- hard news, analysis, critics, and long-term effects.  The cycle is so fast that we sometimes get the criticism before most have digested the original news. This is the nature of a highly competitive news environment where everyone wants to get a scoop.  It is completely understandable both for mainstream media and for bloggers who all want to weigh in on the story of the day. Is this a useful time frame for market participants? For traders, the answer might be "yes."  There will be opinions and reactions.  Anyone who can "game" the market reaction may make a point or two in trading profits. For investors, we believe the answer is "no."  The initial, knee-jerk reaction may have nothing to do with the actual investment potential.  ...

No surprise from the Federal Reserve.  Well, not really. Bernanke & Co. did as everyone expected them to do and slashed U.S. interest rates. But it was the size of the cut - from 1% to a record low of 0.25% that caught some folks off guard.

You shouldn’t be one of them - at least not if you took our advice to buy gold stocks, as we’ve suggested for some time now.

If so, you’ve likely enjoyed double- and triple-digit returns since September. And there’s more to come for gold. But be careful. The price of gold and gold shares will not move up in a straight line. Here’s why…

Massive Stimulus = Three Huge Rallies In The Next 12 Months

Over the next few months, the talk will be of deflation, not inflation. Actually, what people should be talking about is “disinflation.” That means the slower growth in prices,

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You’ve seen hundreds of subprime lenders bite the dust, with New Century Financial and Countrywide leading the way … You’ve seen giant banks like Washington Mutual and Wachovia suffer a similar fate. You’ve watched in horror as major investment banks like Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and even the giant Merrill Lynch were bailed out, bought out or simply wiped out. Perhaps most shocking of all, you’ve seen the abject failure of the two biggest, supposedly “safest and soundest” mortgage companies on Earth — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Each time news broke on these shocking failures, stock markets crashed — not just here in the U.S., but around the world. Investors lost trillions of dollars. Entire countries took another step closer to the edge of the abyss. Strangely, however, the crisis ...

Insurance stocks continued to take a beating on Thursday as Hurricane Ike remained on a collision-course with Texas’ Gulf Coast. The potential for damage caused by the storm, which is expected to reach Category-3 strength before landfall, is only one factor playing into sector troubles. While the credit markets are suffering, the impact felt in the insurance market will be unmistakably negative.

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