The following is a list of the S&P 500 firms where the analysts have been cutting their expectations for the current fiscal year the most over the last month. Most likely these firms reported disappointing earnings or gave negative guidance on their conference calls.

Historically, you have not wanted to be invested in companies where the analysts who follow them most closely see the earnings prospects diminishing. Also, estimates in motion tend to remain in motion. The first bit of bad news is rarely the last (the cockroach theory). This means that the current expectations, even though down from last month, are probably still to high for these firms.

To weed out anomalies, only those firms that are currently expected to earn more than $0.50 in 2009 are included and only those firms where there are a minimum of three estimates in the system.

If you have these stocks in your portfolio,

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A government report that suggested the economy shrank at a slower pace than feared failed to push stocks higher on a lackluster Friday but indexes managed to end the month on a solid footing, spurred by hopes that the recession is losing its force.  The big July saw the Dow Jones industrial average surging 725 points or 8.6% - its best July since 1989, and the broader S&P 500 index gaining 7.4% for its best July run since 1988.  The S&P500 has now recorded its most remarkable five-month performance since 1938, holding 46% above its 12-year low set in early March.

This morning’s US stock futures indicate a sharply higher opening, helped by positive signs emanating from overseas markets.  Today, Chinese stocks hit a 14-month high after data showed manufacturing activity is expanding in the country.  The Shanghai Composite Index rose 50.53 points, or 1.5%, to close at 3,462.59

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U.S. stocks slumped for the first time in five sessions after a report showed U.S. employers cut more jobs than expected.  A government report showing factory orders grew less than expected also dragged shares lower.  Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke cautioned that the government cannot borrow indefinitely to finance the shortfall and urged lawmakers to work towards reducing the fiscal deficit. The DJIA declined more than 65 points to 8675, and the S&P, while holding above a key technical level of 928, closed the day 1.4% down.  Technology focused NASDAQ was off 0.6%.  Trading continued to remain light with only 1.3 billion shares exchanging hands.  Market breadth was negative as declining stocks outpaced advancing issues by a seven-to-three margin. The US dollar gained versus other major currencies, closing up 1.1% against a basket of currencies.

Stock futures point to a higher opening on the Wall Street, amid ECB and

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There are all sorts of catalysts that could send oil prices even higher. We are getting just a small dose of the action today and energy-related stocks are surging.

It must feel good to be part of OPEC these days. Now that the threat of $30 per oil is clearly in the past, the oil cartel is regaining some of the power it so quickly lost last fall.

The group of oil producers continues to claim $75 per barrel is its target price for crude, calling it “fair” for everybody involved. Who is to debate what is arguably the most powerful group of countries on the planet?

What OPEC wants, it gets. What are the alternatives? Wind, solar, tides? Doubt it.

As an oil-burning American with a propensity to drop a few Franklins into the gas tank on a weekend adventure, the thought of oil climbing to the cartel’s target range is frightening.

But

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There are all sorts of catalysts that could send oil prices even higher. We are getting just a small dose of the action today and energy-related stocks are surging.

It must feel good to be part of OPEC these days. Now that the threat of $30 per oil is clearly in the past, the oil cartel is regaining some of the power it so quickly lost last fall.

The group of oil producers continues to claim $75 per barrel is its target price for crude, calling it “fair” for everybody involved. Who is to debate what is arguably the most powerful group of countries on the planet?

What OPEC wants, it gets. What are the alternatives? Wind, solar, tides? Doubt it.

As an oil-burning American with a propensity to drop a few Franklins into the gas tank on a weekend adventure, the thought of oil climbing to the cartel’s target range is frightening.

But

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 1, 2009 - Zacks Equity Research picks Cree Inc. (CREE) as Bull of the Day and Post Properties (PPS) as Bear of the Day. In addition, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research discuss the latest on Marathon Oil (MRO), ConocoPhillips (COP) and BP (BP).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678

Bull of the Day

Cree Inc. (CREE) is one of the leading producers of SiC and GaN-based LEDs. March quarter revenue was in-line with the consensus, while the EPS exceeded. Forward guidance is for a 5-9% revenue increase in the June quarter.

The global movement to energy-efficient lighting is prompting lighting companies and consumers to look at other options. Therefore, lighting will be the strongest end-market for Cree, likely followed by video displays and notebooks. Yield improvements, higher capacity utilization, larger wafers and offshore production will increasingly

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OriginOil, Inc. (OOIL.OB) is pleased to announce that the company’s CEO, Riggs Eckelberry, will participate in a panel alongside other industry leaders at the Algae Biofuels Summit on March 24, 2009. As much of the world’s oil and gas sources are made up of ancient algae deposits, scientists worldwide are focused on finding methods of producing “new oil” from algae. OriginOil has developed technology that transforms algae into an alternative fuel source that is comparable to petroleum.

The Algae Biofuels World Summit will gather top scientists from around the globe in the first major event focused on algae biofuels. Representatives from the US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Entergy, the National Algae Association, and others will be present at the Marines’ Memorial Club & Hotel in San Francisco. The goal of the summit will be to provide an open forum for discussion and to build links between those

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Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) reported better-than-expected 4th-quarter 2008 results, announced a lower capex budget 2009, and abandoned plans to split the company along upstream/downstream lines.The earnings outperformance reflected strong growth in upstream volumes and improved year-over-year downstream margins. Though we have lowered our 2009 EPS estimate ($2.95 vs. $4.78) to reflect the challenging commodity-price environment, our Buy rating remains unchanged.We continue to like Marathon's attractive inventory of development projects, strong financial health, and the successful execution of the non-core asset sales.Read the full analyst report on MRO "MRO" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

Contango: The Most Profitable “Buy-and-Hold” for 2009

by Matt Weinschenk, Senior Analyst, White Cap Report

A different buy-and-hold strategy has become the #1 profit-maker for 2009. And I’m not talking about stocks.

Direct investments in oil, right now, are paying off in spades. And it’s because oil markets are… well, totally screwed up.

Right now, you can buy oil for $36 a barrel. And you can lock in a contract to trade oil in June for $51.30. When futures prices are higher than current prices, it’s a situation called “contango.” Oil markets expect a little bit of contango, but the spreads we’re seeing today are off the charts.

Of course, any time there is a market anomaly this severe, there’s got to be a way to profit. 

The Forbidden Contango

The reason such a large contango is rare is because it’s too easy to profit from it. If you were so

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As the economy deteriorates, one of the first casualties will be corporate profits.  Earnings estimates have been falling very fast for 2009.  Recently estimate cuts for 2009 have been running at about 8x the number of estimate increases.  P/E-based valuations become tricky in such an environment -- you are shooting at a moving target.  One way around this is to focus on the low (or most pessimistic) estimate, rather than on the mean estimate.  Assume that everyone else will move to where the biggest pessimist is now. This is not to say that the most pessimistic analyst today can't be too optimistic, but at least he will be closer than most. On this basis, there are some very compelling values out there. 

Below we present a list of the cheapest S&P 500 companies based on 2009 low estimates.  Since I simply do not trust the numbers, I have excluded from

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