U.S. stocks rose strongly Thursday, reversing a four-session losing run, after a government report said the economy grew more than expected in the July-September quarter.  Investors shunned Treasuries and jumped back into stocks after the report signaled the economy had emerged from the worst recession since the 1930s. 

The positive surprise was enough to propel benchmark indexes to their biggest advance since July and send safe havens like Treasuries and dollar lower.  Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) and Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) advanced at least 5.1% after the Commerce Department said the economy returned to growth following four straight quarters of decline.  Crude prices jumped $2.44, or 3.1%, to $79.87 and gold was up $16.50 to $1046.40.

The S&P 500 registered its biggest one-day gain since July 23, jumping 2.2% to close at 1,066.11.  The 30-share Dow Jones industrial average shot up by 199.89 points, or 2.05%, at 9,962.58 and the tech-heavy

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On Sep 10, 2009, Metropolitan Life Global Funding I, a unit of MetLife Inc (MET) announced the sale of fixed-rate funding agreement-backed notes in the 144a private placement market worth $1 billion. The size of the deal represents a 100% increase from the originally planned $500 million. Bank of America Corporation (BAC), Credit Suisse Group AG (CS), and Deutsche Bank AG (DB) were the joint book-running managers for the sale. The notes are non-callable and carry a coupon rate of 2.875% and will mature on Sep 17, 2012. The notes will pay coupons semi-annually with the first payment expected on Mar 17, 2010. The company will use the sale proceeds of the debentures for general corporate purposes. Standard &Poor's Ratings Services (S&P) assigned 'AA-' rating while Moody's assigned 'AA2' rating to the notes. MetLife’s ...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #5 Rank ("strong sell") List today:

ABB Ltd (ABB) Actuant Corp (ATU) Allegheny Energy Inc (AYE) Benchmark Electronics Inc (BHE) Blyth Inc (BTH) Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc (BBW) Cincinnati Financial Corp (CINF) Cleco Corp (CNL) CONMED Corp (CNMD) Dassault Systemes SA (DASTY) Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc (BAGL) Electronics For Imaging Inc (EFII) EMS Technologies Inc (ELMG) EnerSys (ENS) Eni SpA (E) Enstar Group Ltd (ESGR) Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD) FNB United Corp (FNBN) Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (FDP) The Hain Celestial Group Inc (HAIN) Harleysville Group Inc (HGIC) Hartford Financial Services (HIG) Haverty Furniture Companies Inc (HVT) Heritage Financial Corp (HFWA) I-Flow Corp (IFLO) Independent Bank Corp (IBCP) Investment Technology Group (ITG) ...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #5 Rank ("strong sell") List today:

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc (ANW) AeroVironment Inc (AVAV) Albany International Corp (AIN) BancTrust Financial Group Inc (BTFG) Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc (BBW) C&D Technologies Inc (CHP) CARBO Ceramics Inc (CRR) Care Investment Trust Inc (CRE) China Security & Surveillance Tech Inc (CSR) CNOOC Ltd (CEO) CoBiz Financial Inc (COBZ) Coleman Cable Inc (CCIX) Collective Brands Inc (PSS) CRH Plc (CRH) Cumulus Media Inc (CMLS) Cybex International Inc (CYBI) Dayton Superior Corp (DSUPQ) DCP Midstream Partners LP (DPM) Employers Holdings Inc (EIG) Entravision Communication (EVC) Exterran Holdings Inc (EXH) Foundation Coal Holdings Inc (FCL) Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (FDP) Frontline Ltd (FRO) G&K Services Inc (GKSR) Gladstone Capital Corp (...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - March 27, 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: Signet Jewelers Limited (SIG), American Public Education, Inc. (AEPI), 3M (MMM), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and MetLife, Inc. (MET).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Thursday's Analyst Blog:

Signet Jewelers Ests Reduced

Signet Jewelers Limited (SIG) is the world's largest specialty retail jeweler and operates leading operations in both the US and UK. The US market accounts for approximately 50% of worldwide jewelry sales and the UK for

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MetLife, Inc. (MET) is a leading provider of insurance and financial services to a broad spectrum of individual and institutional customers. The company's 4Q08 operating earnings came in at $0.19 per share, a penny ahead of our estimate and five pennies ahead of consensus.Results benefited from top-line growth and favorable underwriting results, partly offset by a decline in equity markets and lower investment income. While we think MET should continue to benefit from its diversified business mix as well as its leading brand, higher losses in the investment portfolio and lower income from the variable annuity business will impact the results in the coming quarters. Recent rating downgrades have added to the challenges for the company.Shares of MetLife currently trade at 0.78 times its 4Q08 reported book value of $27.33 per share, a 12% premium to the peer group median (same as our last ...

Highlighted stocks include Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW), Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG), Lincoln National (LNC), MetLife Inc. (MET) and Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU).Life insurers have suffered frequent rating downgrades from all key rating agencies in the past few weeks. Yesterday, S&P again lowered its counterparty credit ratings on 7 U.S. life insurance holding companies, including Genworth Financial (GNW), Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG), Lincoln National Corp. (LNC), MetLife Inc. (MET) and Prudential Financial (PRU). For HIG, it was the 3rd downgrade by S&P in a month.Lower ratings mean higher costs, and in some cases, even loss of business -- further worsening the situation for these companies.The rating downgrades have mainly resulted from lower operating earnings, high investment losses and reduced financial flexibility. The group's earnings are heavily correlated to the equity markets, particularly ...

MetLife Inc. (MET) declared that its fourth-quarter and 2009 operating earnings will miss analysts' projections, blaming the deteriorating market conditions.

MetLife now expects fourth-quarter results between a loss of 5 cents and a profit of 20 cents. Analysts are expecting a profit of 93 cents for the fourth quarter.

For 2009, the insurer projects a profit in the range of $3.60 to $4 per share while analysts forecast earnings of $4.63.

However, the leading U.S. life insurer said that it has adequate amount of capital.

MetLife is a Zacks #4 Rank ("Sell") company. Shares declined almost 2% Monday.

"MET" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

[The first of two parts analyzing the upside and downside of the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac bailout. Part II appears tomorrow.] Many of the largest financial institutions - including banks, insurance companies and mutual funds - own huge blocks of Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) shares. Still, millions of investors who thought they were "safe" from this whole bailout mess because they didn’t own Fannie or Freddie directly might get blindsided anyway. The reason: These investors may have indirect ownership in one or both of the two mortgage miscreants, thanks to shares held in their mutual funds, 401(k) plans, pension funds or annuities. Let me explain. Since last year, both Fannie and Freddie have been the focus of much speculation, with analysts figuring the government would take over and "rescue" the beleaguered mortgage giants. As we’ve reported to you here in ...