Companies featured in this edition of the newsletter: ACTC, CHIP, CVM, DKAM, ENZ, IWEB, MBCI, MFGD, PHC

Markets rebounded last week, on the strength of upbeat productivity and manufacturing reports that led to solid gains in all of the major indices. Despite news that the unemployment rate had hit its highest levels in 25 years, the Dow managed to end the week up 310 points, gaining 3.2% on the week to close at 10,023, up 14.2% on the year. The Nasdaq posted a gain of 3.3%, closing at 2112 and extending its yearly gains to 34%, while the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 advanced 3.2% and 3.1% respectively on the week to bring their YTD performance to 18.4% and 16.2%.

Several better than expected economic reports provided buying incentive throughout much of the week, as investors managed to shake off the previous week’s negative bias to send indices into positive territory

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Sometimes in investing there is a tendency to over think things, to get bogged down in the details, to lose the forest through a close study of the trees. It is not that such matters are irrelevant, but that if you get the big major questions right you will be most of the way there. Unfortunately, most investors tend to avoid even asking the big really important questions, or at least don't act on them. The big questions really tend to boil down to what sectors you should be investing in. Yet, many investors simply rely on indexing instead. Even worse, those that do not explicitly index often invest in mutual funds that "closet index". Investment managers will do that because there is a big premium put on not being too far away from the "bogey", usually the S&P 500. Sure, it's great if they are ...

Dreams, Inc. (DRJ) reported a net loss of $1.1 million, or ($0.03) per share, for its second quarter ending 6/30/2009. The company reported a similar loss in the same quarter of 2008. Revenues in the quarter were $12.2 million, down 10% year over year.

Ross Tannenbaum, the CEO of Dreams, Inc. said, “We navigated our way through the turbulent first and second quarters with our business models and confidence intact, and no erosion of our margin. The additional challenge that the Company faced earlier this year was the forced liquidation of inventories by numerous retailers which mitigated our sales opportunities as we chose not to participate with that strategy.”

Dreams, Inc. is transitioning more of its sales from physical to online, and in the quarter had $6.7 million, or 55%, of its sales through the Internet.

Dreams, Inc. recently announced an alliance with JC Penney that allows the company to distribute

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U.S. stocks paused for a breather Monday, after a month-long rally saw indexes scaling multi-month highs.  After last week’s big gains, investors appeared cautious and refrained from making new bets.  In the absence of any major economic and corporate developments, stocks drifted lower even as investors turned their attention towards Fed for indications on how the economic picture is shaping up.  Concerns over the oncoming auction of government treasuries also played in the minds of investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average retreated 32 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 index fell 3 points, or 0.3%. The Nasdaq dipped 8 points, or 0.4%. On the New York Stock Exchange, 1.09 billion shares exchanged hands and losers were ahead of winners by a narrow margin.

The two-day Fed meet that begins today is expected to keep interest rates near close to zero.  However, Bernanke and Co’s assessment of how the economy

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Companies featured in this edition of the newsletter: CBAI, ICLK, ITUI, IWEB, MBCI, OMCM, SIHI, SRCO

Markets continued their torrid pace this week on the strength of encouraging reports from two of the most beleaguered economic sectors, which led to gains in all of the major indices following the week’s activities. All told, the Dow ended the week up 2.2%, gaining 198 to close at 9370, bringing its YTD gains to 6.8%. The Nasdaq gained 1.1% on the week, bringing its yearly gains to 26.8% while the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 posted gains of 2.3% and 2.28 % respectively, bringing their yearly gains to 11.9% and 14.6%.

Economic news stole the spotlight this week as earnings season wound down, leaving investors with a more definitive picture of the overall state of recovery than in many weeks prior. The good news started early in the week, as the ISM

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U.S. stocks rose Friday to their highest level in nine months as a better-than-expected July jobs report added to recovery hopes and indicated the recession is nearing an end.  Nervous investors who had locked in profits in earlier sessions fearing the employment report would disappoint found a new reason to rejoice and sent stocks sharply higher. 

The broad-based S&P 500 index rose 13 points, or 1.3%, to its highest point since October 6 as the Labor Department noted nonfarm payrolls tapered off in July.  Results from a separate survey showed an unexpected decline in unemployment rate, indicating an improving employment picture.  The Dow Jones industrial average rose 114 points to 9,370.07 and the technology-laden NASDAQ rose 27 points, or 1.4%, to 2,000.25.  Volume remained moderate as 1.5 billion shares exchanged hands on the New York Stock Exchange where winners topped losers three to one.

The S&P 500 is now

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US stocks started the holiday-shortened trading week on a positive note as energy, technology and industrial shares pulled equity markets higher.  Although stocks seesawed in early trading, a gain in oil prices buoyed sentiments on the Street and investors raced to put money in the stock market. 

The Down Jones industrial average advanced 91 points or 1.1% and the S&P 500 increased 0.9%.  NASDAQ edged up 0.3%.  Volume on the NYSE was light with only 1.07 billion shares exchanging hands and advancing issues outpacing declining stocks by a three-to-two margin.  The measure of market volatility, the CBOE Vix, retreated 2.2% to 25.35%, its lowest level since mid-September.  Treasury prices jumped, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note declining to 3.48%.  Crude prices jumped to more than $71 per barrel on higher demand expectations and reports that Nigerian militants partly shut down an offshore oil facility.    

Trading

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U.S. stocks advanced the most in three weeks, helped by optimism about the retail sector and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's defense of the central bank's role in Bank of America/Merrill (NYSE:BAC) deal.  Stocks got a boost from Bed Bath and Beyond's (NASDAQ:BBBY) improved quarterly earnings and a JC Penney (NYSE:JCP) upgrade.  The S&P 500 index jumped 2.1% and went into positive territory for the year.  Tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 37 points, or 2.1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average matched S&P and Nasdaq's advance.  Treasury prices went sharply higher after a successful $27 billion 7-year notes auction.  Volume on the NYSE remained light with only 1.2 billion shares exchanging hands and advancing shares outpaced declining issues by a five-to-one margin.  The Vix volatility index dropped to its lowest since September 11, easing 9.3% to 26.36.     

Today's premarket futures suggest a mixed opening on news that Australian airliner Quantas Airways

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OK, maybe I am flogging a dead horse here, but I think that the increasing length of unemployment is one of the most significant features of this recession versus previous ones.The blue graph below shows the year-over-year change, in absolute numbers, of the unemployed by the four groups the government tracks. Granted, the population is much bigger now than it was in the earlier downturns, but that should affect all four groups the same.The drop in short-term unemployment this month is pretty stunning. That might be good news indicating that the pace of layoffs has slowed significantly. But the pig is moving through the python, as people laid off earlier are not finding new jobs.The year-over-year change in long-term unemployed is like nothing this country has ever experienced before, and the year-over-year changes in the next two groups, the 15 to 26 week ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 21, 2009 - Zacks Equity Research highlights IBM Corporation (IBM) as the Bull of the Day and Align Technology (ALGN) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Zions Bancorporation (ZION), J.C. Penney (JCP) and Nordstrom (JWN).

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:

As a result of its large non-US revenue base, IBM Corporation (IBM) has been better insulated from the recent weakness in the U.S. economy than many of its peers. IBM's Q109 results indicate its strong position in emerging markets, which should continue to help drive growth.

Moreover, the company has focused on driving its bottom line through cost cutting efforts. It

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