For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 24, 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: Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), Barclays PLC (BCS) and UBS AG (UBS).

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Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Sands China Raises $2.5B in IPO

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Macau unit, Sand China raised $2.5 billion through its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO). The company has priced the IPO for 1.87 billion shares at HK$10.38 per share, the low end of the expected HK$10.38-HK$13.88

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Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Macau unit, Sand China raised $2.5 billion through its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO). The company has priced the IPO for 1.87 billion shares at HK$10.38 per share, the low end of the expected HK$10.38-HK$13.88 range. The proceeds from this offering, combined with $1.75 billion in bank financing, would aid Sands China to restart its Macau's Cotai Strip construction projects. Last year, the company was forced to halt its casino expansion projects in Macau due to financial constraints, at which time it laid off 11,000 workers. The IPO is being handled by five investment banks. Citigroup (C) and Goldman Sachs (GS) are the joint global coordinators for the offer while Barclays PLC (BCS), BNP Paribas SA and UBS AG (UBS) are the underwriters. Earlier, in October, rival company Wynn Resorts (WYNN) had held its IPO ...

On Monday, Fitch Ratings raised its outlook for Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) to positive from stable subsequent to the completion of the company’s Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) for its Macau unit. The ratings also include an improved operating outlook following the relaxation of travel restrictions.  Through the Hong Kong IPO, Wynn sold 1.25 billion shares or a 25% stake in its Macau business, which represented Hong Kong's second-biggest haul of the year.  Macau, a former Portuguese colony, is one of the world’s biggest gambling markets. Though the economic slowdown has negatively impacted the revenues of casino operators in the last few quarters, we note that Macau has been posting record revenues. Recently, visa restrictions had been lessened by Beijing to allow mainland tourists to visit Macau once a month rather than twice a year.  In 2008, Macau generated HK$105.6 billion ($13.5 billion) of ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 14, 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: Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN), MGM Mirage (MGM), Advance Auto Parts (AAP) and O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY).

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 Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Macau Casino Growth Threatened?

The explosive growth of the casino industry in Macau may be threatened as the government of Macau − the Chinese gambling Mecca − is considering ways to impose restrictions on age, number of tables and locations of casinos.

Yesterday, government officials of

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The explosive growth of the casino industry in Macau may be threatened as the government of Macau − the Chinese gambling Mecca − is considering ways to impose restrictions on age, number of tables and locations of casinos. Yesterday, government officials of Macau met with six major casino operators including Las Vegas Sands (LVS) and Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) and a casino jointly operated by MGM Mirage (MGM) and local businesswoman/tycoon Pansy Ho, concluding that limitless expansion of the Macau gambling sector may be harmful to the society. Significant expansion of the gambling business in Macau has encouraged corruption, addiction and prostitution in that area. The government is considering regulations like raising the entry age limit for casinos to 21 years from 18 years, limiting the number of tables per casino and modifying zoning laws to compel slot machine halls away from residential areas ...

What Corporate Insiders Are Telling Us

by Alexander Green, Chief Investment Strategist

Last week, Vickers Weekly Insider Report noted that corporate insiders are dumping shares like there’s no tomorrow.

Insiders sold 6.31 shares for every share they bought. Contrast that with the seemingly brilliant move insiders made at the market low in March, buying three shares for every share they sold.

Some analysts are saying there is only one interpretation to this recent turn in insider activity: The market is due for a spill.

But not so fast…

Do Corporate Insiders Really Have All the Answers?

Let’s start with an obvious fact: To a great extent, the future is always cloudy. Corporate insiders don’t know what the market is going to do any more than you or me.

For example, Vickers was already ringing the alarm back in July,

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Casinos Returning to Blue Chip Status

It’s been no secret that we’ve been bullish on the casino sector for some time. From Doubling down on Casinos and Bank Pullback Exposes Casino Opportunities in April, there has been a lot of potential.

Last week we asked if the casino sector had gotten too hot. And for many, the increase would suggest that. But as we discussed in “Are Casino Stocks a Gamble Right Now?,” just by looking at the prices from last year, we still have a ways to go.

So far this month we’ve seen the big-three casino operators charge ahead. Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN) added 29%; Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) added 30% and MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) charged ahead with a 53% gain.

But there’s been another piece of

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Wynn Resorts (WYNN) is planning to raise up to $1.6 billion in its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) for its Macau unit, which represents an increase from $1.0 billion as previously intended. Wynn intends to offer 1.25 billion shares, representing 25% of the equity in the company's Macau operations. The price range of the offer is HK$8.52–$10.08 per share or US $1.10–$1.30. JP Morgan (JPM), UBS AG (UBS) and Morgan Stanley have been chosen to handle this Hong Kong listing. Wynn Encore Macau, the company’s second resort in Macau, is scheduled to open in the first half of 2010. The company has budgeted around $650 million for the construction of this resort and so far has incurred about half of that construction cost. Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Wynn’s rival, is also planning an IPO of its Macau assets in late November ...

Las Vegas Sands Corporation (LVS) has announced its intention to infuse up to $600 million of capital through the sale of exchangeable bonds to strengthen up its balance sheet prior to the scheduled Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) of its subsidiary. The bonds will be compulsorily exchanged into common stock of its Macau unit after the unit's pending IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The bonds will mature on September 4, 2014, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, for which Goldman Sachs (GS) is the banker. This pre-IPO financing is a part of Las Vegas Sands' current efforts to strengthen its financial position. Recently, the company has amended its $3.3 billion Macau credit facility. The amended agreement would enable it to sell a minority interest in its Macau operations for bolstering cash. Senior secured or unsecured notes can also ...

Just a little digression tonight, the Megamillions jackpot is up to $252 million tonight and I thought it’d be fun to do a little quick analysis of your chances of winning. For those that don’t know, the game is played by choosing five numbers from a set of 1 to 56 (without reptition) and then a “megaball” number between 1 and 46.

So, for those that know a little about probability, there are (56C5)*46=175,711,536 different permutations of numbers that you can choose. Rather than go through all the probabilities of winning, the lottery actually publishes its own listing of probabilities to help you out. Check it out below:

So, knowing these probabilities, let’s calculate expected values. Expected values are calculated simply by multiplying the expected result by the probability of it happening. Here’s how we would

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