This week begins with Iran's report of a long-range missile firing this morning in front of Geneva talks over the newly-revealed uranium enrichment facility near Qom.  This week combines quarter end portfolio adjustments with several key economic posts, including the Employment Situation for September to be released on Friday, where the nonfarm payrolls number is likely to show the 21st consecutive month of job losses, but with a slowing pace of declines.

Chicago, IL – July 14, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Energizer Holdings, Inc. (ENR) as the Bull of the Day and Liberty Property (LRY) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on PetroChina (PTR), Sinopec Corporation (SNP) and CNOOC Ltd. (CEO).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Energizer Holdings, Inc. (ENR) has generated top-line growth both through organic growth in the razor blade and battery businesses and through the acquisition of Playtex and Hawaiian Tropic.

In addition, integration savings, originally estimated to be $57 million, increased to $70 million. Management is incentivized with annual and two-year bonus plans and a stock incentive option plan.

Historically, management has been successful in qualifying for performance-based awards. The stock is rated a Buy.

Bear of the Day:

Office and industrial markets continue to weaken throughout the US. In the current environment, we do not favor suburban industrial/office companies as rental rates and occupancies will continue their downward spiral. Negative job growth trends will keep shares under pressure.

Liberty Property (LRY) reported 1Q09 FFO of $0.72 per share vs. $0.80 in 1Q08. Overall leasing activity slowed during the quarter. To increase liquidity LRY has been raising capital through asset sales, equity issuance, and property level debt. The company now has plenty of liquidity to address near-term debt maturities.

LRY has revised its 2009 FFO guidance from $3.00 - $3.20 per share to $2.70 - $2.90 due to dilution from new shares. We maintain our Sell rating based primarily on macroeconomic factors.

Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:

China Investing in Iran Refineries

Early today, Iran has reportedly sought investment from Chinese oil majors to make up the country’s shortfall in refineries. The most notable ones invited are PetroChina (PTR), Sinopec Corporation (SNP) and CNOOC Ltd. (CEO). The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said that these initiatives are part of Iran’s 20-year oil sector revival plan with a total investment of approximately $130 billion.

Despite being the world’s fifth largest crude oil exporter, Iran lacks refining pace and has been importing a significant amount of gasoline to run the country. Iran wants to build these refineries to keep its gasoline import level to a minimum.

The Chinese companies will get an 8-year tax holiday for investments made in Iran’s free trade zones as well as a 5% off for raw materials purchased in Iran. Though these companies already have investments in Iran’s exploration and production businesses, they have yet to enter into the refinery sector.

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.

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All ten industry groups in the S&P 500 suffered losses Thursday after the U.S. Labor Department reported an accelerated pace of job declines and unemployment rate jumped to 9.5%, highest in 25 years; nevertheless, it was below expectations of 9.6%.  The report said US employers cut 467,000 jobs from their payrolls in June.  According to one estimate, almost 6.5 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December 2007.

American Express (NYSE:AEP) fell 6.3% to $22.27 and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) plunged 8.2% to $31.74.  Alcoa (NYSE:AA), which reports its earnings this week, lost 8.4% to $9.86.  Crude oil's decline to less than $67 per barrel hurt energy stocks. Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) eased almost 3% to $68.49, National Oilwell Varco (NYSE:NOV) declined 6.8% to $30.84 and Hess (NYSE:HES) plunged 8.5% to $49.65.  Losses were broad based with energy, industrials, financials, technology and consumer-oriented shares bearing the brunt of the sell off. Among technology stocks, IBM (NYSE:IBM) was the leading decliner among Dow components, declining 3% to $101.73; Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) eased 2% to $140.02.  Elan Corp. (NYSE:ELN) jumped 8.6% to close at $7.60, after Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) said it agreed to pay $1 billion for an 18.4% stake in the company.

The earnings season begins this week with Alcoa (NYSE:AA) reporting its results on Wednesday.  Analysts expect a 34% earnings decline this quarter with all ten industry groups expected to post lower results.  The attention, nevertheless, will also be on any talks of sanctions on Iran, North Korean aggression and Afghanistan elections.