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Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., Energy Transfer Partners, Ford, Whirlpool and Wal-Mart – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:31:53 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 25, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (WFR) as the Bull of the Day and Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Ford (F), Whirlpool (WHR) and Wal-Mart (WMT).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5506

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (WFR) produces the raw material wafers used by semiconductor manufacturers in the production of integrated circuits (ICs).

The decision to supply wafers to the solar industry paid huge rewards in 2007 and 2008, as demand for polysilicon raced ahead of supply. The Solar business and the 300mm business are both high-margin products. The spot price of polysilicon has been slashed from a peak of $400 per/kg to the $60-$70 per/kg range.

The stock is significantly undervalued. We are reiterating our Buy rating on the shares of WFR.

Bear of the Day:

Our Underperform recommendation on Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) units takes into account the bearish outlook for pipeline operators. While the partnership's liquidity position is sound, we continue to believe that the near- to medium-term outlook for its natural gas gathering and processing business remains weak.

Weighed down by these factors, Energy Transfer posted a third-quarter 2009 loss. The partnership's low growth and seasonal propane business also remain a major liability, in our view.

Given these headwinds, we expect Energy Transfer units to be under pressure in the medium- to long-term. The partnership's discounted valuation relative to the pipeline MLP group reflects its heightened risk profile.

Consumer Confidence Increasing – Analyst Blog

Dirk Van Dijk — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:27:18 +0000

The Conference Board’s index of Consumer Confidence increased to 49.5% from a significantly upwardly revised level of 48.7 in October. Originally, the October level was at 47.5%. Consensus expectations were for the consumer confidence level to actually fall to 47.5%. The index saw a big improvement from dismal levels during the spring, but since May consumer confidence has roughly hovered within a few points of 50.

All of the improvement came from the expectations component of the consumer confidence index, which rose to 68.5 from 67.0 last month. However, that was because fewer consumers thought things would get worse and would stay unchanged (at a very bad level), rather than due to an increase in those who thought things would actually get better over the next six months. The percentage expecting an improvement in business conditions over the next six months actually declined to 20.0% from 20.8%. However, the decline in those expecting further deterioration in the economy fell to 15.1% from 18.2% last month.

The 5,000 households' (that the Conference Board surveyed) assessment of the present situation fell ever-so-slightly to 21.0 from 21.1. That is a very bad reading, not too far from the record low set in February 1983 of 17.5%. Overall, 45.7% of consumers saw the current business conditions as bad, down from 46.7% in October, while 8.1% saw business conditions as good, up from 7.8% last month. Their view of the labor market continued to deteriorate, with 49.8 seeing jobs as hard to get, up from 49.4% last month. The percentage (of deluded people) who saw jobs as plentiful dropped to 3.2% from 3.5% in October.

While the better-than-expected consumer confidence reading for this month -- and the upward consumer confidence revision to last month -- are encouraging, the details of the report are not all that robust. In theory, higher consumer confidence should lead consumers to open up their wallets, something that is very important as the holidays approach. If consumers have confidence about the economy, they are more likely to buy big ticket items like cars from Ford (F) or major appliances from Whirlpool (WHR). Perhaps they might buy more impulse items at the checkout counter at Wal-Mart (WMT).

Historically though, the consumer confidence numbers, like the University of Michigan sentiment numbers, do not have a great track record of predicting how consumers will behave. So count this consumer confidence report as a minor positive. Changes in consumer spending generally have much more to do with changes in personal income than with this sort of survey data, and that data is due out tomorrow.

Dirk van Dijk, CFA is the Chief Equity Strategist for Zacks.com. With more than 25 years investment experience, he has become a popular commentator appearing in the Wall Street Journal and on CNBC. Dirk is also the Editor in charge of the market-beating Zacks Strategic Investor service.
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November 23rd CEOcast Weekly Newsletter

QualityStocks — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:51:54 +0000

Companies featured in this edition of the newsletter: ACTC, CUR, CVM, DKAM, ENZ, IMUC, MFGD, NXOI, OMCM, ONEZ, PSID, XSNX Markets continued to carry momentum during the early stages of last week, as the absence of significant economic news led to a continuation of the upward trend characterizing the past few weeks, until an earnings miss [...]

Becton Acquires HandyLab – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) recently completed the acquisition of HandyLab, Inc, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company that develops and manufactures automation platforms and molecular diagnostic assays. The transaction costs Becton $275 million.

The acquisition enables Becton to develop and commercialize its BD GeneOhm molecular assays on the HandyLab Jaguar platform, the first fully integrated molecular diagnostic system. The HandyLab instrumentation technology is considered to be an industry leading molecular diagnostic automation platform.

With the acquisition, Becton plans to market its BD GeneOhm molecular assays as the new BD Max system. Becton is a global leader in the treatment of healthcare associated infections (HAI). With growing concerns over HAI, hospitals are expanding their screening and testing programs and require automation systems to support their evolving needs.

Becton addresses HAI issues by supporting hospitals with its BD GeneOhm molecular testing product line and the HandyLab acquisition enables the company to expand the product line. The acquisition will boost demand for Becton’s molecular diagnostic products that will eventually drive the company’s top-line.

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures and markets medical devices, supplies, laboratory equipment and diagnostic products globally. The company is a world leader in safety needle products. Becton competes with players like Baxter International (BAX), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT).

We believe that Becton’s sound business model and product line should weather the current economic turbulence, and is capable of withstanding competitive pressure.
Read the full analyst report on "BDX"
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Zacks Investment Research

MWW Automotive Group (MWWC.OB) Subsidiary Signs Major Distribution Agreement

QualityStocks — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:31:36 +0000

MWW Automotive Group is a young corporation that has gained notoriety across the globe for producing and delivering their products, design and Class A painting services to automobile manufacturers and assembly lines across the world. Today, MWW announced that Modelworxx, its wholly owned subsidiary located in Germany, signed an executive agreement with Isomotive BV, [...]

Factors in local house price declines

James Hamilton — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:46:32 +0000

UCSD Ph.D. candidate Sam Dastrup has completed a very interesting study with his advisor Professor Richard Carson of what accounts for differences across U.S. communities in the magnitude of the decline in real estate prices that we've seen over the last several years.

Although many commentators write as if there were a national housing market, there have been huge differences in the experience across communities. Dastrup and Carson examine the OFHEO matched-sale data for house prices as calculated separately for 358 U.S. standard metropolitan statistical areas. As seen in the map below, the magnitude of the price decline has differed greatly across U.S. communities, with the biggest drops in the southwest, Florida, and Michigan.

Magnitude of house price declines for 358 SMSAs. Source: Carson and Dastrup (2009).

Dastrup and Carson look at how the magnitudes of the price declines correlate with a number of other community characteristics such as overbuilding (as measured by growth in building permits relative to the local labor force), extent of subprime lending, owner-occupied units, and fundamentals such as median income. Dastrup and Carson find that all of these measures were statistically significantly related to the magnitude of the housing price decline. But by far the most important variable was the magnitude of the previous price run-up, which all by itself can account for more than half of the observed variance in the size of the price decline across different communities.

Magnitude of house price increase prior to peak (horizontal axis) versus magnitude of house price decline (vertical axis). Source: Carson and Dastrup (2009).

I see this as consistent with earlier research by Marco Del Negro and Christopher Otrok which documented a common national factor driving much of the U.S. housing price boom, which in the Del Negro-Ostrok specification was allowed to affect different communities with different coefficients. My understanding of what happened is that low interest rates and in particular a deterioration of underwriting standards fueled an increase in housing demand everywhere in the earlier part of this decade. The magnitude of the price increase that this produced differed across communities as a function of local conditions. When these aggregate factors reversed, so did the prices.

The more prices were artificially bid up, the more spectacularly they declined.

Postscript to potential employers: Sam's a great teacher, and looking for a job.

This Small Oil Producer is Ripe for a Takeover… Here’s How to Profit

Investment U — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:18:58 +0000

This Small Oil Producer is Ripe for a Takeover… Here’s How to Profit by Sheena Martin, Contributing Editor Friday, November 20, 2009 Takeovers are big news in the market at the moment. In fact, did you know that takeovers have the biggest one-day gain in stocks for any asset? As my colleague – and takeover expert [...]

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 11/20/09, BDX, PWRM, PTSC, IRF, BBOX, PRCP

Dr. Stock Pick — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:15:17 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _______________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _______________________________________ Friday Nov 20, 2009 DrStockPick.com Stock Report! ************************************************************** Power3 Medical Products, Inc. (OTCBB: PWRM), a leader in neurodegenerative disease and cancer biomarkers and diagnostic tests, announced further international recognition of validity as the company’s President and CSO, Dr. Ira Goldknopf, will deliver an invited [...]

Doug Casey on real estate

Prieur du Plessis — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:18:07 +0000

In this post, Doug Casey is interviewd on global real estate markets, making for an interesting read.

Stock Market News for November 16, 2009 – Market News

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:07:21 +0000

U.S. stocks rose Friday, for their second consecutive weekly advance, as upbeat earnings reports from a number of companies, including Walt Disney and JC Penny, spurred optimism that the economic recovery is gaining momentum. A dip in the value of dollar, on concerns consumer spending is likely to remain bleak, sent shares of commodity-related companies up.

On Friday, the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average rose 73 points, or 0.72%, to 10,270.47. The broad Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was up 6.24 points, or 0.57%, at 1,093.48. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index advanced 18.86 points, or 0.88%, to 2,167.88. For the week the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index jumped 2.3% to 1,093.48. The Dow average rose 247.05 points, or 2.5%, to 10,270.47, following its 3.2% advance the prior week.

The spike in commodities came after the greenback fell Friday on news that the trade deficit widened more than expected in September. Commodities, which are priced in US dollar, benefit from a decline in the currency.

Nevertheless, the greenback's weakened status remains a foreign policy issue of contention, and is likely to weigh on President Obama’s tone in China. Meanwhile, brushing aside concerns of potential asset bubbles in China, the Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, instead, cautioned the weak dollar "is boosting speculative investment in stock and property markets and will pose new, real and insurmountable risks to the global recovery and particularly to the recovery in emerging markets."

Treasury Secretary Geithner last week repeated the Administration's commitment towards a strong dollar; nevertheless, the impact of a weak dollar on improving American products' competitive positioning overseas markets is widely expected to help the sustainability of a fragile recovery in the US.

On Friday, the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) said quarterly profit rose 18%, helped by higher revenue at its cable, broadcast and movie studio divisions. Abercrombie (NYSE:ANF) reported better-than-estimated results, while J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) raised its earnings and revenue outlook, offsetting a lower-than-expected consumer sentiment post from the University of Michigan.

Among retailers reporting during the week are: Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) and Pacific Sunwear of California (NASDAQ:PSUN) today; Home Depot (NYSE:HD), Target (NYSE:TGT) and TJ Maxx (NYSE:TJX) on Tuesday; BJ's Wholesale (NYSE:BJ) and the Limited (NYSE:LTD) on Wednesday; Sears Holding (NYSE:SHLD), Gap (NYSE:GPS) on Thursday.

A busy Fed calendar includes today's comments from Bernanke; on Tuesday from Lacker, and Pianalto; on Thursday from Plosser, Fisher, Ghosn and Rattner; and on Friday from Plosser. Treasury Secretary Geithner speaks on Tuesday and Thursday.

Zacks Investment Research

11-12-09 Audio Interview with Green Energy Live Inc. (OTCBB: GELV)

Stuart T. Smith — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:07:01 +0000

Karen Clark, CEO of Green Energy, (OTCBB: GELV) visited with SmallCapVoice.com to discuss how her Company, Green Energy Live, is a fully reporting, publicly-listed engineering and technology company headquartered in Wyoming, Michigan (adjacent to Grand Rapids). The company is focused on developing and commercializing renewable energy gasification systems that convert biomass wastes, currently being dumped [...]

Initial Jobless Claims Continue Decline, 502K Figure Beats Expectations

QualityStocks — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:36:57 +0000

Labor Department statistics released today showed a marked decline in initial jobless claims, extending a run of such declines. Initial claims are an important barometer for layoffs and hiring. A 12K decline to 502,000 from the previous week, and a drop in the 4-week average to 519,750, is a strong indicator of improvement. The [...]

Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: TRW Automotive, Dish Network Corp., TiVo Inc., DirecTV and AT&T – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:44:17 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 11, 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: TRW Automotive (TRW), Dish Network Corp. (DISH), TiVo Inc. (TIVO), DirecTV (DTV) and AT&T (T).

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:

TRW Posts Robust Profit

The profit was also significantly higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 14 cents per share. The Michigan-based manufacturer of advanced technology products and services for the automotive markets commended its restructuring and cost containment actions for its impressive rise in profit.

Operating income for the quarter went up to $165 million from $44 million in the prior-year period. Apart from restructuring and cost containment actions, this was driven by lower raw material prices and favorable non-recurring supplier and customer settlements.

During the quarter, TRW continued to reduce its salaried workforce by an additional 200 employees, which brings the total salaried reductions to about 3,000 since the commencement of programs last year.

Dish Network’s Q3 Disappoints

Satellite TV major Dish Network Corp.’s (DISH) third-quarter earnings slipped 12.3% on higher subscriber-related costs and litigation expenses associated with TiVo Inc. (TIVO). The company reported earnings of $80.6 million, or 18 cents per share, compared to $91.9 million, or 20 cents in the year-ago quarter and well behind the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 43 cents.

The Englewood, Colorado-based company said total revenue declined 1.5% to $2.89 billion, from $2.94 billion in the year-ago period. The decrease was caused by a 0.8% contraction in subscriber related revenue to $2.86 billion as average monthly revenue per subscriber (ARPU) reduced by $0.31 to $69.51.

The lower ARPU was the result of discounts on programming to new subscribers, retention efforts and reduced premium movie revenue, partially offset by price increases on popular programming packages, changes in the sales mix towards high-definition (HD) packages and advanced hardware offerings. Equipment sales and other revenue plunged 44.2% year over year to $23.4 million, due to lower sales of non-subsidized direct broadcast satellite (DBS) accessories and digital converter boxes.

Dish added 241,000 new subscribers during the quarter, while average monthly subscriber churn rate (turnover rate) decreased 45 basis points (bps) to 1.57%. The growth in subscribers was driven by sales and marketing promotions as well as improved churn. The company’s churn rate reduced due to the recent completion of the security access device replacement program and increased new subscriber commitment period.

However, growth in subscribers continued to be adversely affected by sluggish economic conditions, intense competition from rivals, such as DirecTV (DTV), fiber- and Internet-based pay TV operators and signal theft. Dish Network, which focuses on the lower-end of the market, was also affected by the termination of distribution relationship with AT&T (T) in January of this year.

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TRW Posts Robust Profit – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:37:48 +0000

TRW Automotive (TRW) has revealed a staggering rise in profits to $76 million or 68 cents per share in the third quarter ended Oct. 2, 2009, from a net loss of $22 million or 22 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.

The profit was also significantly higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 14 cents per share. The Michigan-based manufacturer of advanced technology products and services for the automotive markets commended its restructuring and cost containment actions for its impressive rise in profit.

Operating income for the quarter went up to $165 million from $44 million in the prior-year period. Apart from restructuring and cost containment actions, this was driven by lower raw material prices and favorable non-recurring supplier and customer settlements.

During the quarter, TRW continued to reduce its salaried workforce by an additional 200 employees, which brings the total salaried reductions to about 3,000 since the commencement of programs last year.

However, sales of $3.1 billion, a decline of 13.5%, were adversely affected by lower sales in most geographic regions resulting from reduced vehicle production volumes. This apart, currency movements also had a negative impact on sales.

Financial Position

TRW had cash and cash equivalents of $474 million as of Oct. 2, 2009, a decline from $756 million a year ago. Long-term debt amounted to $2.5 billion as on that date. This reflected a long-term debt to capitalization ratio of 60%.

In the nine months ended Oct. 2, 2009, TRW had a net cash outflow of $57 million from operating activities compared to an inflow of $4 million in the year-ago period. The decline in cash position was attributed to lower operating income, partially offset by lower working capital requirements. Capital expenditures reduced to $121 million from $338 million in 2008. The company had free cash outflow of $178 million in the above period compared to $334 million in the prior-year period.

Road Ahead

TRW anticipates full-year production to gross 8.6 million units in North America and 16.3 million units in Europe. Based on these revisions and the expectations for foreign currency exchange rates, full-year sales are expected to be $11.4 billion, a bit higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.1 billion.

We believe TRW’s innovative product portfolio is capable of generating top- and bottom-line growth. It has been successful in its restructuring and cost-containment actions to mitigate the impact of the industry-wide downturn as reflected in the better-than-expected third-quarter results. However, the company still needs to go through the long and gradual process of recovery in the industry. Due to these factors, we recommend the shares of the company as Neutral.
Read the full analyst report on "TRW"
Zacks Investment Research

Bank Failure Tally Reaches 120 – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:26 +0000

Regulators shut down 5 more banks in Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and California; tally hits 120 so far this year

U.S. regulators on Friday shuttered five more institutions in Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and California , as the recession continues to take its toll on banks. This takes the total number to 120, compared to 25 in 2008 and 3 in 2007.

As the industry has to tolerate bad loans that were made during the credit explosion, the trouble in the banking system goes even deeper, increasing the possibility of more failures. However, the regulators are trying to avoid panic by seizing banks slowly. Also, the slow pace of seizing could be a strategy as it is hard to get buyers for so many failed banks.

The failed banks were -- Georgia-based United Security Bank of Sparta with total assets of $157 million and total deposits of approximately $150 million, Michigan-based Home Federal Savings Bank of Detroit with total assets of $14.9 million and total deposits of approximately $12.8 million, Minnesota-based Prosperan Bank of Oakdale with total assets of $199.5 million and total deposits of approximately $175.6 million, Missouri-based Gateway Bank of St. Louis with total assets of $27.7 million and total deposits of approximately $27.9 million and California-based United Commercial Bank of San Francisco with total assets of $11.2 billion and total deposits of approximately $7.5 billion.

Failure of these institutions represents another sizable impact on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) fund for protecting customer accounts, as it has been appointed receiver for these banks. The failure of United Commercial Bank alone is expected to cost the federal deposit insurance fund approximately $1.4 billion. The other failures are expected to cost the deposit insurance fund a combined $132.7 million.  

The FDIC insures deposits at 8,195 institutions with roughly $13.5 trillion in assets. When a bank fails, it reimburses customers for deposits of up to $250,000 per account. The outbreak of financial institutions failing has significantly stretched the regulator’s deposit insurance fund.

At Jun 30, 2009, the fund corpus fell to $10.4 billion, the lowest since 1993, from $13.0 billion in the prior quarter. However, the FDIC has billions of loss reserves apart from the insurance fund and it can access a Treasury credit line of up to $500 billion.

The FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Ameris Bank, Moultrie, Georgia, to assume all of the deposits of United Security Bank; Liberty Bank and Trust Company, New Orleans, Louisiana, to assume all of the deposits of Home Federal Savings Bank; Alerus Financial, National Association, Grand Forks, North Dakota, to assume all of the deposits of Prosperan Bank; Central Bank of Kansas City to assume all of the deposits of Gateway Bank of St. Louis; and East West Bank, Pasadena, California, to assume all of the deposits of United Commercial Bank.

In order to replenish the declining fund, the FDIC board recently proposed that approximately 8,100 insured U.S. banks and savings institutions should pay fees for three years in advance. Also, the regulators are considering requesting the healthy banks to bail out the government as soon as it is necessary to replenish the deposit insurance fund, which has slipped to 0.22% of insured deposits, below the mandated minimum of 1.15%.  

In the second quarter of 2009, the number of banks on the FDIC's list of problem institutions grew to 416 from 305 in the first quarter. This is the highest since the savings and loan crisis in 1994. Increasing loan losses on commercial real estate are expected to cause hundreds more bank failures in the next few years. The FDIC anticipates the bank failures to cost about $100 billion over the next four years.  

The failure of Washington Mutual last year was the largest in U.S. history. It was acquired by JP Morgan Chase (JPM). The other major acquirers of failed institutions since 2008 include Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), U.S. Bancorp (USB), Zions Bancorp (ZION), SunTrust Banks (STI), PNC Financial (PNC), BB&T Corporation (BBT) and Regions Financial (RF).  

The failed banks are victims of recession and rising loan losses. As a result of the ongoing market turmoil, these institutions experienced massive capital erosion stemming from losses due to a significant exposure to collateralized mortgage obligations, commercial real estate loans and other commercial and industrial loans. All these factors were responsible for a drag on profitability and write-downs.

According to the FDIC, the U.S. banks overall lost $3.7 billion in the second quarter of 2009, compared to a profit of $7.6 billion in the prior quarter. Though there are some signs of economic recovery, we expect loan losses on commercial real estate portfolio to remain high for banks that hold large amounts of high-risk loans.
Read the full analyst report on "JPM"
Read the full analyst report on "FITB"
Read the full analyst report on "USB"
Read the full analyst report on "ZION"
Read the full analyst report on "STI"
Read the full analyst report on "PNC"
Read the full analyst report on "BBT"
Read the full analyst report on "RF"
Zacks Investment Research

American Axle Better than Expected – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:31:43 +0000

American Axle (AXL) posted a net loss of 18 cents before special items in the third quarter of the year. This is better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 37 cents per share.

Net sales dipped 22% to $409.6 million. However, in absolute terms, it is the highest quarterly sales of the year. The lower sales were on the back of a 18% decline in customer production volumes for the North American light truck and sport utility vehicle (SUV) programs that American Axle currently supports for GM and Chrysler.

American Axle’s content-per-vehicle (measured by the dollar value of its product sales supporting GM's North American light truck and SUV programs and Chrysler's Heavy Duty Dodge Ram pickup trucks) fell to $1,396 from $1,453 in the third quarter of 2008. Non-GM sales constituted 18.3% of total sales in the reported quarter. The company’s non-GM sales stood at 21.6% of total sales on a year-to-date basis.

American Axle had cash and cash equivalents of $173 million as of Sept. 30, 2009, compared to $198.8 million as of Dec. 31, 2008. Long-term debt amounted to $1.18 billion as of Sept. 30, 2009.

In the first nine months of 2009, American Axle had a net cash outflow from operating activities of $19.7 million, an improvement of $77.6 million from the prior-year period. Meanwhile, capital expenditures increased to $115.5 million from $102.8 million in the year-ago period.

American Axle is a Detroit, Michigan-based company and a leader in the supply of driveline systems, modules and components for the light vehicle market. The company manufactures axles, driveshafts and chassis components for light trucks, SUVs and passenger cars. It was hit badly by the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler due its high reliance on these companies. We continue to recommend the shares of the company as Neutral.
Read the full analyst report on "AXL"
Zacks Investment Research

Pulte Loses $361 Million – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:15:15 +0000

Pulte Homes (PHM) reported a net loss of $361.4 million or $1.15 per share, inclusive of approximately $86.7 million of charges and transaction costs associated with its merger with Centex Corporation and $163.8 million in inventory impairments and other land-related charges. This compares to a net loss of $280.4 million, or $1.11 per share, including impairments and land-related charges of $266.6 million in the third quarter of 2008.

The company continues to suffer from economic weakness, foreclosures, rising unemployment and recent uncertainty over the expiration of the federal tax credit -- all of which negatively impact buyer behavior.

Segment Performance

Revenue from Homebuilding settlements shrank 27% to $1.1 billion. The decline in revenue reflected a 23% decrease in closings to 4,166 homes, coupled with a 10% decrease in average selling price to $253,000. However, revenue and closings for the period benefited from the inclusion of Centex’s operations in the final six weeks of the quarter.

Pulte’s quarter-end backlog was 8,383 homes, valued at $2.2 billion, compared to 5,885 homes, valued at $1.7 billion, in the prior-year quarter. The backlog reflects the inclusion of 4,585 homes that were in Centex’s backlog at merger close and that were recorded directly to Pulte’s backlog without impacting sign-ups for the period.

Pulte’s Financial Services operations depicted a pre-tax loss of $8.6 million compared to a pre-tax income of $10.1 million in the prior-year quarter. The results included Centex’s mortgage and title operations for the period from Aug. 19, 2009 through Sept. 30, 2009. The change in pre-tax income was attributed to a 24% decline in mortgage loans originated during the quarter compared with the prior year, besides increased loan-loss reserves and merger-related costs. The mortgage capture rate for the quarter stood at 86%, down from 93% in the same period last year.

Merger with Centex

On Aug. 18, 2009, Pulte completed its previously announced merger with Centex Corporation. Synergies from the merger are expected to generate annualized cost savings of $260 million, realized through the fourth quarter of 2009. Through the merger, the company expects to reach its initial synergy target of $350 million annually early in 2010, and $440 million of savings on an annualized basis by the end of 2010. The company has also estimated the potential to realize purchasing synergies on the combined business in the range of $150 million to $200 million.

Financial Position

Pulte had cash and cash equivalents of $1.52 billion as on Sept. 30, 2009. The company retired $1.7 billion of outstanding debt during the quarter and $1.9 billion of debt in the first nine months of the year. This has improved its net-debt-to-total-capital ratio to 45%.

The Bloomfield Hills, MI-based Pulte Homes, through its subsidiaries, engages in the Homebuilding and Financial Services businesses primarily in the U.S. The company’s homebuilding operations offer homes for sale in 459 communities. We recommend the shares of the company as Neutral.
Read the full analyst report on "PHM"
Zacks Investment Research

Penske Outdoes Expectations – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:07:19 +0000

Penske Automotive (PAG) posted a net income of $30.9 million or 34 cents per share from continuing operations in the third quarter. With this, the Michigan-based second leading automotive retailer in the U.S. exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 27 cents per share. When compared to the year ago level, net income reflects a rise of 16% from $26.6 million or 21% from 28 cents per share in the third quarter of last year.

Total revenue dipped 13% to $2.59 billion. New Vehicle witnessed a steeper 14% decline in revenue to $1.34 billion compared to Used Vehicle (5% to $673 million). Total retail revenues slipped 10.4%, driven by weakness in the U.S. market. Same-store retail revenues fell 12.4% to $2.34 million. Excluding exchange rate fluctuations, total same-store retail revenues declined 8%, including 3.5% for service and parts revenues.

Penske wholesaled 3,401 units of smart USA vehicles, a decline from 6,683 units in the prior-year quarter. To fight the difficult new vehicle sales environment in the U.S., smart USA introduced new finance and marketing campaigns in October. For the year, smart USA anticipates to wholesale as many as 15,700 units.

Penske had cash and cash equivalents of $29.5 million as on Sept. 30, 2009. Long-term debt amounted to $971 million as on that date. The long-term debt-to-capitalization ratio stood at 51%.

Penske Automotive Group operates 310 retail automotive franchises, representing 40 different brands and 25 collision repair centers. It has 160 franchises in 17 states and Puerto Rico and 150 franchises located outside the U.S., primarily in the U.K.

Despite enjoying a prominent position in the automotive retail market, Penske is still burdened with its highly leveraged balance sheet. This has led us to maintain our Neutral recommendation of the stock.
Read the full analyst report on "PAG"
Zacks Investment Research

Keep Those Belts Tightened: The Job Market isn’t Getting Better

Dee Power — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:05:52 +0000

While there have been some signs of recovery in real estate and the stock market it seems that the job market is still declining. Online advertised vacancies declined by 83,200 to 3,280,000 in October, ...

Stericycle Tops Zacks Estimate – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:45:02 +0000

Waste management service provider Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) earned 55 cents in the third quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2 cents. Earnings were up about 24% year-over-year, while it improved 9% sequentially on higher revenues and margins.

Revenues showed an increase of 7.5% year over year to $46.5 million helped by recent acquisitions, which added $19.3 million in the quarter. Stericycle completed six acquisitions during the first nine months of this year, which included the recently acquired Healthcare Waste Solutions’ operations in Minnesota and Wisconsin, besides Omni Medical Waste in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Operating costs decreased to 52.7% of total sales in the quarter from 55.6% in the same period of the previous year following which gross profit expanded to $140.9 million from $123.0 million in the same quarter last year. As a percent of revenue, gross profit improved to 47.3% from 44.4% in the year-ago quarter. However, selling and administrative expenses increased to 18.9% of total sales in the quarter from 18.1% last year.

At quarter end, Stericycle’s cash and cash equivalent was $14.3 billion. With total debt of $768,041, Stericycle‘s debt to capital ratio improved to 40% in the quarter from 49% in the previous quarter. The company’s net cash position (long-term debt including current portion less cash) is a surplus of $812 million or $9.35 per share, which is a huge positive associated with the stock.

Stericycle is currently the largest waste management company in Canada, Mexico , Ireland and the UK , and is gaining scale in Argentina. The company entered the Canadian, Irish and UK markets through the purchase of large local competitors and developed an initial footprint in Mexico and Argentina through joint ventures.

The competitive dynamics in these markets are similar to the U.S. as the company is typically competing against many small regional entities as opposed to a handful of large companies. American Ecology Corp. (ECOL) and Waste Management Inc. (WMI) are Stericycle’s major competitors.
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DTE Energy – Value – Zacks Rank Buy

Tracey Ryniec — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0000

DTE Energy (DTE) has surprised on estimates 3 out of the last 4 quarters by an average of 77.06%. The company recently raised 2009 earnings guidance. DTE Energy is trading with a forward P/E of 11.5.

Company Description

DTE Energy is an energy company that serves customers in Michigan. It operates Detroit Edison, which serves 2.2 million customers in Southeastern Michigan and MichCon, a natural gas utility providing energy to 1.2 million customers in Michigan.

It also operates other non-utility energy businesses that focus on gas pipelines and storage, coal transportation, power and industrial projects.

DTE Energy Raised 2009 Earnings Guidance

On Oct 19, DTE Energy raised its 2009 earnings guidance to the range of $3.20 to $3.40 from $2.75 to $3.05. The company attributed the increase to continued cost cutting and strong results from its non-utility operations.

Still, the company is cautious about the future.

"Despite our strong year-to-date performance, we are not out of the woods," commented Anthony F. Earley Jr., DTE Energy chairman and CEO.

"Our utilities, in particular, face many challenges as we enter 2010 as a result of the weak Michigan economy. At the same time, the company is faced with significant federally-mandated environmental investments," he said.

Zacks Consensus Estimates Rise

Given the company's increased full-year guidance, covering analysts have been adjusted estimates for both the third quarter and the full year.

The third quarter Zacks Consensus Estimate has risen 6 cents to 99 cents in the last 7 days with 2 out of 5 covering analysts raising during that time.

The full-year Zacks Consensus Estimate has dropped 2 cents to $3.30 in the last 7 days which would move the estimate to the exact middle of the company's guidance range. 3 out of 4 analysts raised in the last month.

DTE Energy is scheduled to report third quarter results on Oct 30.

DTE Energy Surprised by 240% in the Second Quarter

On July 2, DTE Energy reported second quarter results which blew by the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 36 cents. Earnings per share was 51 cents which far outstripped last year's results of 17 cents a share. The big beat could be attributed to cost cutting in the quarter.

Value Fundamentals

DTE Energy is a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock. It is trading with a price-to-book of 11.49. Additionally, the stock pays a large dividend with a current yield of 5.60%.

Zacks Investment Research

Ford Faces Labor Troubles – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:38:45 +0000

Labor unrest at Ford’s (F) auto supplier plant in India has prompted the company to shut down its Oakville, Ontario, plant for the week, which employs 3,000 workers in two shifts. The closure would cost Ford 5,000 vehicles. The idled employees would get 65% of regular pay from a combination of funding from the company and employment insurance.

The strike at Rico Auto Industries in the state of Haryana in India turned violent after an employee died recently during a protest. It has triggered a shortage of transmission parts to the Canadian plant. The plant produces Edge SUV, the Flex and Lincoln MKT seven-passenger vehicle and the Lincoln MKX.

Last week, labor trouble had erupted at some of Ford’s plants when some members of United Auto Workers (UAW) declined to ratify the modifications to its 2007 labor contract. The modifications include banning strikes over wages or benefits, freezing entry-level wages and changing work rules to require some skilled-trade employees to multi-task. Under the deal, the union is also required to enter arbitration with Ford rather than strike in the next round of contract talks in 2011.

Gary Walkowicz – a member of the bargaining committee at the Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan – and six other plant leaders had signed a letter to employees urging them to vote against the agreement as it would require too many concessions and would limit the workers' right to strike.

The ratification agreement, which would run till 2011, would have helped Ford end its cost disadvantage. The company was upset with its higher labor costs compared to its Detroit rivals, General Motors and Chrysler. Both of its rivals were given concessions by UAW as they headed into bankruptcy protection earlier this year. Thus, Ford intends to lower its labor costs to match its rivals.

However, the workers opposing the deal have a different standpoint. They have argued that Ford is presently a healthier company compared to General Motors and Chrysler, which accepted federal bailout funds and went into bankruptcy earlier this year. Ford showed a net income of $2.3 billion or 69 cents per share in the second quarter of the year, its first profit since the first quarter last year. This was against a net loss of $8.7 billion or $3.89 per share in the second quarter of 2008.

Ford will also resume discussion on contract negotiations with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW). Both the parties opened negotiations last month for a contract agreement that could preserve jobs in Canada by allowing for future investment, besides addressing a wage gap compared with workers at the U.S. plants.

We continue to recommend the shares of Ford as Neutral.
Read the full analyst report on "F"
Zacks Investment Research

Masco Corp. Exceeds Estimates – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:26:19 +0000

Masco Corporation (MAS) reported earnings from continuing operations of 14 cents per common share in the third quarter of 2009, compared to income from continuing operations of 9 cents per common share in the third quarter of 2008. This was higher than the Zacks consensus Estimate of 8 cents per share.

Net sales from continuing operations for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2009 declined 17% to $2.1 billion, compared with $2.5 billion for the third quarter of 2008. North American sales declined 17% and International sales declined 13%. In local currencies, International sales declined 7% compared with the third quarter of 2008.

The third quarter of 2009 results were adversely affected by significantly lower sales volume of new home construction products and services, as well as a decline in consumer spending for home improvement products in both North American and International markets. The negative market conditions were partially offset by increased sales volume of paints and stains, the improved relationship between selling prices and commodity costs and benefits associated with business rationalizations and other cost savings initiatives.

The company continues to estimate that 2009 housing starts will decline 40% to approximately 550,000 units. It also anticipates that consumer spending for home improvement products in North American and International markets will continue at reduced levels in the near-term.

Masco currently estimates that its 2009 sales will decline approximately 18% to 20% compared to 2008. The company's previous guidance estimated that its full-year 2009 sales decline would be 18 to 22% compared to 2008.

The company currently estimates that its 2009 full-year income from continuing operations will range between 5 cents to negative 5 cents per common share. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate stands at 7 cents per share.

Masco Corporation manufactures, distributes and installs home improvement and building products in North America and Europe. Headquartered in Taylor, MI, Masco is one of the world's leading manufacturers of these products, as well as a leading provider of services that include the installation of insulation.
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Becton Set for Acquisition – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:00:47 +0000

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) is set to acquire HandyLab Inc., an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company that develops and manufactures automation platforms and molecular diagnostic assays. The acquisition is expected to close by the year end. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Becton had already entered into a development and distribution agreement with HandyLab in May 2009. The acquisition thus enables Becton to support its molecular diagnostics strategy by accessing the HandyLab instrumentation technology, which is considered to be an industry leading molecular diagnostic automation platform. Becton plans to utilize its BD GeneOhm molecular assays onto the HandyLab platform and market it as the new BD Max system.

The acquisition will boost demand for Becton’s molecular diagnostic products that will eventually drive the company’s top-line. Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures and markets medical devices, supplies, laboratory equipment and diagnostic products globally. The company is a world leader in safety needle products.

Becton competes with players like Baxter International (BAX), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT), all of which have large resources.

We believe that the company’s sound business model and product line should weather the current economic turbulence, and is capable of withstanding competitive pressure. Based on the company’s performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2009, we have a ‘Neutral’ recommendation on Becton stock.
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Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR) Opens Berlin-Based Headquarters to Strengthen European Presence

QualityStocks — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:25:21 +0000

Evergreen Solar Inc. has emerged as a recognizable figure in the solar power industry. The company develops, manufactures and markets String Ribbon™ solar power products for residential and commercial applications around the world. The solar manufacturer today announced the recent opening of its Europe-based headquarters in Berlin, Germany, which is expected to extend the reach [...]

Initiating Oxygen Bio at Outperform – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:48:34 +0000

We are initiating coverage of Oxygen Biotherapeutics, Inc. (OXBO) with an ‘Outperform’ rating. Despite what has been a tumultuous past for the company and a abysmal fate for competitors attempting to develop similar products, the potential upside that Oxycyte offers is too significant to ignore.

Does Oxycyte do what management says it does? (Key Efficacy Question)

In theory, Oxycyte has the potential to be a wonder drug -- a sort of WD-40 of medicine. Preclinical data suggests that Oxycyte has astounding potential for the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI), decompression sickness, carbon monoxide poisoning, sickle cell crisis, organ preservation and as a neuroprotectant in patients with myocardial infarction or stroke.

The effects in TBI were clearly evident in the phase I program conducted by Oxygen Bio in 2006. Initial phase II data from STOP-TBI will become available in 2010. However, data from small animal studies show that intravenous injection of Oxycyte following lateral fluid percussion injury acts as a neuroprotectant in preserving neuronal cell counts and improving brain tissue oxygen consumption. Other small animal studies suggest that Oxycyte can improve circulating oxygen levels and cerebral blood flow following an induced ischemic stroke.

These results suggest that Oxycyte treatment can greatly improved the cognitive recovery and prevent cell damage in patients with brain injury, spinal cord injury or ischemia due to MI or stroke. The high gas solubility characteristics of Oxycyte suggest significant potential in treating decompression sickness, carbon monoxide poisoning and surgical iatrogenic air embolism.

For the topical Oxycyte applications, Dermacyte should begin recording sales later this year. The product will be marketed over-the-counter (OTC) as an oxygen-rich cosmetic gel that promotes healthy looking skin.

Is it safe? (Key Safety Question)

Oxycyte is biochemically and metabolically inert. It is thermal stable, and produces no immune response or antibody formation. There were no signs of thrombocytopenia in the preclinical or phase I program. Plus, perfluorocarbons are clearly safer than hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers when it comes to risk of vasoconstriction.

For the phase II STOP-TBI program, management has established a "platelet and thrombocytopenia" task force to assess the coming data along with an independent data safety monitoring board (DSMB). If management can alleviate the FDA’s concerns on thrombocytopenia, U.S. registration trials shouldn’t be too far off after STOP-TBI from Switzerland and Israel.

Does Oxygen Bio have the cash to see this through? (Key Financial Question)

Oxygen Bio exited the fiscal first quarter 2010 (July 31, 2009) with $2.5 million in cash and investments. Burn for the first quarter was $1.5 million. In June 2009, management entered into a securities purchase transaction with Vatea Fund for a potential total of $20 million. The first tranche was purchased in July 2009 at $5 million. Management used $2.8 million to re-purchase existing warrants outstanding.

The first milestone under the Vatea Fund transaction was achieved in September 2009 with the initiation of the phase IIb STOP-TBI program. This is worth $6 million, and is exercisable in early December 2009.

Cash balance at the end of the fiscal Q2 2010 (October 31, 2009) will be less than $1 million. However, the accounts receivable will be roughly $6 million. Therefore, we estimate that Oxygen Bio will exit the calendar year 2009 with north of $5 million cash on hand. This should be enough to fund operations into the fall of 2010.

Assuming management meets the milestones agreed upon with Vatea, the company has access to an additional $9 million in cash.

Conclusion

Risks are still high and the company is still a few years away from sustained profitability. Normally we would not recommend investors acquire shares in a company based on preclinical data alone, but Oxycyte (and perfluorocarbons in general) is a molecule well-studied over the past decade. Our answers to the above three questions give us enough confidence that we can recommend investors take a look at the stock.

Does it work and is it safe? So far, the data looks very intriguing. Is the company financially sound? We outlined above the current financial situation -- cash enough to make it into the calendar third quarter 2010. This is enough cash to fund STOP-TBI to interim data. Plus, Vatea can still contribute an additional $9 million in milestones, and sales of Dermacyte will help reduce cash burn in calendar 2010 and 2011.

With positive interim efficacy data from STOP-TBI in 2010, we have no doubt that the Army (for TBI) and the Navy (for DCS) will begin purchase of Oxycyte for deployment in the field. With positive safety data, we have no doubt that management will be able to secure additional developmental partnerships for the next wave of indications including carbon monoxide poisoning, sickle cell crisis, organ preservation and even cardiovascular indications. The financial position improves as the clinical data on Oxycyte begins to roll in.

The stock sitting at only 46 cents per share creates a very intriguing risk/reward profile. The planned 1-for-15 reverse stock split and move to a major stock exchange in the next two months creates an opportunity.

Oxygen Bio is making an impressive move from OTC back to a major exchange. We have preformed a detailed NPV analysis for each potential indication for both injectable and topical Oxycyte using an aggressive 30% discount rate in our calculations, and arrived at a fair market value of $301 million. Based on the current weighted-average shares outstanding, we arrive at a price target of $1.02 per share.

Additional information can be found in our full initiation report on our website.
Read the full analyst report on "OXBO"
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Margins Improve at Compuware – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:42:47 +0000

Compuware Corp. (CPWR) yesterday reported revenues of $217.9 million in its fiscal second quarter, down 19.2% year over year but up 1.6% sequentially.

Software license fees grew 18.7% year over year to $50.1 million. Maintenance fees declined 12.0% year over year to $109.7 million. Revenues from professional services came in at $58.1 million compared to $102.9 million in the same quarter last year. Compuware plans to have a smaller but more profitable Professional Services Business going forward.

Operating margin improved to 19% from 10% in the year-ago quarter due to a 27% decrease in operating expenses. The company has divested a few of its peripheral products and services (Quality family of products and DevPartner software) thereby reducing unprofitable revenue streams and increasing margins. The company plans to concentrate on its software business and deliver superior end-to-end application performance, which the company calls Business Service Delivery.

These divestitures have reduced the top-line by $60 million when compared to the second quarter of last year. Net income came in at $28.0 million, up 29.7% year over year. Earnings per share came in at 12 cents, which was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

During the quarter, the company repurchased approximately 7.3 million shares for about $53.5 million. The company expects to draw between $25 million and $35 million from its credit facility to fund its Gomez acquisition. Earlier this month, Compuware announced that it would acquire the privately-held Gomez Inc. for $295 million in cash.

Gomez is a leader in web application experience management and its clients include Google (GOOG) and Facebook. Gomez employs 272 people around the world. Compuware plans to retain all of them after the close of the transaction. The acquisition is expected to be completed by November 2009 and dilute fiscal 2010 EPS due to an amortization charge of $5 million per quarter.

Management expects to generate cash flow of $200 million from its operating activities in fiscal 2010 and targets an operating margin in the range of 25% – 30%. Management reiterated its EPS guidance between $0.60 and $0.70 (which includes the gain from the sale of quality solutions).
The company expects overall cost cutting activities along with operational momentum to drive significant margin expansion and EPS growth in the coming quarters. However, the economic climate remains tough and IT spending is not expected to gain impetus before 2010.

Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, Compuware provides software products and professional services to many of the largest users of information systems in the world.

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Dolan Media Company – Value – Zacks Rank Buy

Tracey Ryniec — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Dolan Media Company (DM) is making big profits from its counter cyclical mortgage default processing services. The company has surprised on estimates the last 3 quarters by an average of 36.30%. Dolan Media trades with a PEG ratio of 0.87.

Company Description

Dolan Media provides professional services and business information to the legal, financial and real estate industries. It has two segments: Professional Services and Business Information Division.

Professional Services consists of two subsidiaries, NDeX and Counsel Press. NDex provides mortgage default processing services in states with large numbers of distressed home owners such as California and Michigan. Counsel Press provides appellate services to the legal community.

The Business Information Division publishes journals and operates media web sites targeted to the business and legal communities in 21 geographic markets.

Dolan Media Expands Into Florida Market

On Oct 5, the company announced its subsidiary NDeX had entered into a long-term agreement to provide mortgage default processing services to James E. Albertelli, P.A., a Florida law firm with a staff of 91. The agreement began as of Oct 1.

The acquisition gives NDeX an entry into the Florida mortgage default market. Florida the number two state in the number of foreclosures.

Zacks Consensus Estimates Rise

In its second quarter results, Dolan Media raised its full year guidance forecast to a range of 83 to 91 cents from its May prior guidance of 70 to 80 cents.

Analysts have been raising third quarter and full year estimates slowly over the course of the last 3 months. The third quarter Zacks Consensus Estimate rose 2 cents to 16 cents.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimate jumped 41% to 89 cents from 63 cents. 2 out of 3 covering analysts have raised in just the last month. The estimate is now at the higher end of the company's guidance range.

Dolan Media is scheduled to report third quarter results on Nov 6.

Revenues Soared 61.3% in the Second Quarter

On Aug 4, Dolan Media reported second quarter results that surprised on the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 117.65%. Earnings per share were 37 cents compared to the estimate of 17 cents.

Revenues surged based on the strength of the Professional Services segment which saw a gain of 144.3% year over year. This included a gain due to the acquisition of the Barrett-NDex operations the company acquired in September 2008 which operates in Texas, California and Georgia.

The Business Information Division saw revenues fall 2.9% year over year due to difficult advertising conditions.

Value Fundamentals

Dolan Media is a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock. It is trading with a forward P/E of 13.6 and a price-to-book of 1.56. The company also has a solid 1-year return on equity (ROE) of 11.8%.

Zacks Investment Research

Fifth Third’s Loss Increases – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:34:17 +0000

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) has reported a third quarter loss of 20 cents per share. Results are worse than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 18 cents. The company incurred a loss of 14 cents a year earlier.

Results reflected higher credit costs driven by the continued stress in the commercial, commercial real estate, residential real estate and consumer loan portfolios.

Quarterly results included a pre-tax net benefit of $288 million from the sale of its Visa Inc. (V) Class B common shares and the release of additional Visa litigation reserves due to Visa's supplemental funding of its litigation escrow account. This reduced non-interest expense by $29 million. Earnings were benefited by $317 million or 26 cents by these items.

Credit metrics continued to deteriorate in the quarter. Net charge-offs were 375 basis points (bps) of average loans outstanding, up 67 bps sequentially and 158 bps year-over-year. Loss experience overall continues to be driven by commercial and residential real estate loans in Michigan and Florida.

Non-performing assets as a percentage of related assets were 4.09%, up 61 bps sequentially and 123 bps year-over-year. Provisions for loan losses were $952 million, compared to $1.0 billion in the prior quarter and $941 million in the year-ago period.

Capital ratios also benefited from the Visa stake sale. Fifth Third Bancorp’s Tier 1 capital ratio was 13.23% compared to 12.90% in the prior quarter and 8.57% in the year-ago period. The Tier 1 common equity ratio was 7.03% at Sept. 30, 2009, compared with 6.94% at June 30, 2009, and 5.18% at Sept. 30, 2008.

Net interest margin improved by 17 basis points from the prior quarter to 3.43%, driven by improved liability pricing and wider loan spreads, which drove a 5% sequential increase in net interest income to $874 million. Net interest income was, however, down 18% year-over-year from $1.1 billion.

Average portfolio loan and lease balances decreased 2% sequentially and declined 5% from the third quarter of 2008. The decline was due to lower demand for consumer and commercial loans and leases as well as higher net charge-offs. However, average core deposits increased 2% sequentially and 11% year-over-year.

Non-interest expense decreased 14% sequentially and 9% year-over-year. Results reflected the benefits of cost curtailment initiatives.

Competitive market conditions, continuing deterioration in credit quality and collateral values within the company’s geographical footprint and management’s decision to increase the loan and lease loss provisions will pull down results for several quarters to come, in our view. However, the cost containment measures will provide some relief.
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DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 10/21/09, PSFT, SNAK, MNLU, FLEX, CHSI, BOLT

Dr. Stock Pick — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:42:40 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _______________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _______________________________________ Wednesday October 21, 2009 DrStockPick.com Stock Report! ************************************************************** Powersafe Technology Corp.’s (Other OTC: PSFT.PK) Subsidiary Amplification Technologies has patented a revolutionary new solid-state semiconductor technology solution for low-level signal detection: multichannel Discrete Amplification (DA). The patented DA platform technology, invented by company scientists, [...]

Gen’l Dynamics Gets Stryker Deal – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:39:06 +0000

General Dynamics Corporation (GD) recently received a $647 million contract from the U.S. Army TACOM Lifecycle Management Command for production of 352 Stryker vehicles. The contract was awarded to General Dynamics’ subsidiary General Dynamics Land Systems. The company expects to begin vehicle deliveries in July 2010. Work on the contract will be performed in Anniston, AL; Sterling Heights, MI; Lima, OH; and Ontario, Canada.

The Stryker contract was originally awarded to General Dynamics in 2000. To date, the company has delivered 2,988 vehicles and trained 18,438 soldiers in their operations. The U.S. Army has seven Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, three of which are deployed in combat zones - two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

Earlier, General Dynamics had maintained its brisk pace in order booking, taking the total backlog at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2009 to $67.6 billion. This was a 22.2% rise compared to the $55.3 billion figure in the year-ago quarter.

General Dynamics engages in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat vehicles, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation. The company operates through four segments - Information Systems & Technology (IS&T), Combat Systems, Marine Systems and Aerospace.

We view General Dynamics as a well-run company that is likely to continue to deliver on expectations driven by strong revenue growth, margin expansion and cash-flow generation. Strong defense outlays should further improve the company’s outlook for shareholders while an increasing funded backlog and an improving balance sheet signal additional positive factors for the company. We maintain our Neutral recommendation on the shares.
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International Speedway Misses – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:42:16 +0000

International Speedway Corp. (ISCA) reported fiscal third-quarter results yesterday. The company said GAAP net income plunged to $4.4 million, or 9 cents per share, compared to a GAAP net income of $38.8 million, or 79 cents in the prior year quarter. Excluding certain non-recurring items, earnings per share came in at 33 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5 cents.

International Speedway is a leading promoter of motorsports activities and currently promotes more than 100 racing events annually as well as numerous other motorsports-related activities. The company operates 13 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities, including Daytona International Speedway in Florida, Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama and Michigan International Speedway in Michigan among others.

The company stated that revenues slipped 18.9% year over year to $172.9 million primarily due the adverse impact of economic conditions on sponsorship, suite and hospitality revenues, timing of fall events at Auto Club Speedway and lower average ticket prices. In terms of segments, Motorsports related revenue reduced 18.2% to $106 million, Admissions dipped 16.5% to $52.4 million and Food, beverage and merchandise revenue declined 31.4% to $12.6 million.

Operating income plunged 74.5% year over year to $15.6 million, while operating margin declined by 19.6% to 9.0%. The reduction in margin was mainly caused by higher direct expenses, as a percentage of sales, which jumped to 57.4% from 50.0% last year due to higher television rights fees, consolidation of Montreal Nationwide weekend and timing of Chicago IRL weekend. Moreover, the company also recorded an impairment charge of $13.7 million during the quarter related to the adjustment in the value of its Staten Island property in New York.

The company ended the quarter with cash and equivalents of $217.4 million and total debt of $373 million, which included a $150 million in senior notes due in 2014 and $100 million in borrowings on the revolving credit facility. International Speedway said that it repurchased about 112,000 shares during the quarter for $2.8 million and now has $39 million left in its $250 million share repurchase authorization. The company also stated that capital expenditure during the first nine months of the fiscal was $65.5 million, which included construction of new headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Moving forward, the company now expects full-fiscal 2009 revenues to range between $700 million and $710 million, compared to the prior prediction of $700 million to $720 million. Moreover, earnings per share is now expected between $1.80 and $1.90 per share, compared to between $1.80 and $2.00 per share earlier. The updated guidance remains in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.83 per share, which has edged up a penny over the past week.

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Compuware Acquires Gomez – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:56:17 +0000

Compuware Corp. (CPWR) yesterday announced that it will acquire privately-held Gomez Inc. for $295 million in cash. The acquisition is expected to be completed by November and dilute fiscal 2010 EPS due to an amortization charge of $5 million per quarter. Management expects to see a positive impact on 2011 results.

Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, Compuware provides software products and professional services to many of the largest users of information systems in the world. Headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, Gomez is a leader in web application experience management and its clients include Google and Facebook. Gomez employs 272 people around the world. Compuware plans to retain all of them after the close of the transaction.

Compuware as well as Gomex provides unified application performance management solution. Management added that while other players have fragmented solutions, only Compuware and Gomez can optimize application performance across the enterprise and the Internet.

Gomez delivers its offering through a Software as a Service (SaaS) model and the addition of this to Compuware’s SaaS revenues will further strengthen the latter’s model. SaaS continues to gain traction due to lower cost of ownership and faster, easier adoption and maintenance.

We think the deal will expand Compuware’s product portfolio and increase its competitiveness. The services are very competitive and fragmented partly due to low barriers to entry.

Compuware competes with more than 40 firms in one or more of its offerings. Its rivals include BMC Software, Borland Software, Computer Associates, IBM (IBM) and Mercury Interactive. Some of these firms have significantly greater financial and marketing resources. The acquisition will also make good use of Compuware’s cash balance of $390.7 million in the June quarter.
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Zacks Investment Research

Viper Networks (VPER) Announces Expansion of U.S. Headquarters

Stuart T. Smith — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:46:13 +0000

TROY, MI — (Marketwire) — 10/07/09 — Viper Networks, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: VPER), a telecommunication network operations and technical management company, announces that it has moved its North American headquarters to a larger facility in Troy, Michigan, within the Greater Detroit Metro area. This strategic relocation will not only facilitate the recent and forthcoming increase in [...]

Johnson Controls Bags Contract – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:45:00 +0000

Johnson Controls (JCI) has won a record-breaking $87 million project at Princess Noura bin Abdulraham University, the world's biggest women-only university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Under the contract, Al Salem Johnson Controls, the company's joint venture in Saudi Arabia, will supply 26 York brand chillers to Princess Noura University.

The Wisconsin-based supplier of automotive interiors, batteries and other control equipment will supply chillers that use HFC-134A refrigerant, which does not contribute to ozone depletion. They are manufactured in San Antonio, Texas.

The York brand is a proven market leader in energy efficiency. Al Salem Johnson Controls will also supply radiators for the chillers, making this one of the company's largest single orders in its history. The company achieved the first and largest-ever chiller order in the world for the Pearl Qatar project. It has also succeeded in winning the Bahrain Bay project.

Johnson Controls has won notable contracts over the years. The State of Michigan had awarded $148.5 million in state tax breaks to the Johnson Controls–Saft joint venture to build the first U.S. production facility for lithium-ion batteries in Holland , Michigan .

Johnson also bagged lithium-ion battery contracts from the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium and Ford Motor (F). Johnson Controls was also selected by the U.S. Department of Energy as one of 16 companies to participate in an $80 billion contract to improve energy efficiency projects in Federal buildings.

The company expanded its sales force to take advantage of the significant growth opportunities for efficiency retrofits in the government market. We recommend the shares of Johnson Controls as Neutral with a target price of $27.
Read the full analyst report on "JCI"
Read the full analyst report on "F"
Zacks Investment Research

Fifth Third Eyeing Higher Charge-offs – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:48:03 +0000

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) expects its loan charge-offs to increase in the third quarter, primarily due to the increase in charge-offs associated with the Shared National Credit (SNC) examination that has been recently conducted by regulators.

"The company, which intends to release its third-quarter earnings results on Oct 22, also expects its non-performing assets to accelerate, though interest income and margins are expected to improve in the second half of 2009.

Fifth Third expects net charge-offs in the third quarter to be approximately $775 million, up from $626 million in the second quarter. This would include approximately $110 million in net charge-offs related to SNC credits, compared with $17 million in the second quarter. However, management expects SNC charge-offs to fall in the fourth quarter. Non-performing assets are also expected to increase 20%.

The weakness in the overall economy and in the real estate market, including specific weakness within Fifth Third's geographic footprint, has adversely affected the company. A significant portion of its residential mortgage and commercial real estate loan portfolios comprise borrowers in Michigan, Northern Ohio and Florida.

These markets have been particularly hurt by job losses, declines in real estate values, declines in home sale volumes and declines in new home building. As a result, delinquencies and charge-offs are increasing, and the company's earnings are adversely impacted. According to management, while the Michigan market has begun to stabilize, the Florida market remains stressed.

Fifth Third's second-quarter core loss of 27 cents per share was better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate for a loss of 30 cents per share. Competitive market conditions, continuing deterioration in credit quality and collateral values within the company's geographical footprint will weigh upon results for several quarters to come, in our view.

However, despite the dilutive impact, the recent capital bolstering initiatives are viewed positively, given the stressed economic environment. Also, the cost containment measures provide some relief. Hence, we have a Neutral recommendation on the shares.

Read the full analyst report on "FITB"
Zacks Investment Research

Caraco reaches agreement with FDA panel (AMEX: CPD)

Mike Brown — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:00:36 +0000

Caraco Pharmaceuticals, an US-based subsidiary of Sun Pharma has agreed to go through a series of actions as per the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration of the United States of ...

Penske Walks Away from Saturn – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:01:29 +0000

Penske Automotive Group (PAG) has declined to buy the Saturn brand from General Motors (GM), despite nearing the end of the deal. The spokesperson of the Michigan-based second leading automotive retailer in the U.S. has explained that Penske was unable to find a manufacturer to make the Saturn models when GM stops producing them after 2011.

In June, Penske had reached a tentative agreement with GM to purchase the brand. Under the deal, GM had agreed to manufacture three Saturn models beyond 2011, but afterwards Penske was supposed to manufacture the products made by a third-party manufacturer.

Speculation was rife that Penske was discussing the production of Saturn with French automaker Renault or a Chinese automaker to produce Saturn but the company spokesperson has not confirmed either. As Penske failed to reach an agreement with third party manufacturers for Saturn, it had no option but to call off the deal.

It takes several years to design new vehicles or engineer foreign vehicles to meet U.S. standards. Thus Penske would risk having run out of stock once GM stops making the vehicles. Penske spokesperson has revealed that there is a little chance that the talks could be reopened. This has triggered fear among the 350 remaining Saturn dealers around the U.S. that they may go bust.

GM now plans to stop manufacturing Saturn as soon as possible. However, this would involve no layoffs as the company manufactures the brand at facilities that produce other brands as well. Saturns are made at plants in Kansas City, KS, Delta Township, MI and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. GM has assured that the Saturn owners can go to their dealers for service.

Saturn was officially launched in 1990. After a good year in 2007, the brand’s sales dropped last year as the auto market dried up. Through August, Saturn sales were down 60% compared to first eight months of last year.

We recommend the shares of Penske Automotive as Neutral.
Read the full analyst report on "PAG"
Zacks Investment Research

Long-Term Stock-Market Uptrend to Continue

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:15:04 +0000

pStocks moved lower for the third consecutive day on Friday, something that hasn’t happened in more than three weeks, as the bulls just couldn’t capitalize on a short-term overbought condition. Measures of selling pressure eased as the bears rested their knuckles after a two-day pummeling./p pInvestors are worried. The big question – as always – is whether the primary uptrend remains intact./p pAnd the answer is yes./p pTo understand just what that target should be, let’s take a look at where we are right now./p pJust before Wednesday’s sell-off, measures of the supply of stocks moved to new lows, while demand moved to new highs. This means bull-market-trading rules remain in effect. But as the cyclical bull market matures a little, we need to#8230;/p

Consumer Sentiment Improving – Analyst Blog

Dirk Van Dijk — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:43:38 +0000

Today we took two steps back, one step forward in terms of the economic data. The step forward is a very solid increase in the U of Michigan consumer sentiment survey. The steps back were the reports on new goods for Durable Goods and New Home Sales.

The consumer sentiment index rose to 73.5 in September from 65.7 in August and was well above expectations of 70.3. This is the highest reading in two years.

The index has two sub-components -- current conditions and expectations about the next year. The current conditions index rose to 73.4 from 66.6 in August and the six-month forward expectations jumped to 73.5 in September from 65.0 in August.

Clearly consumers are getting more optimistic. They are thus more likely to open up their wallets, although they may be constrained in doing so due to the high rate of unemployment and slow increases in incomes.

Consumers seem to agree with the Fed that inflation is not an immediate problem -- expectations for inflation over the next year fell to 2.2% from 2.8% in August. I expect that most of the inflation we will see over the next year will be in the headline numbers, not in the core.

With last year’s plunge in oil prices about to anniversary, year-over-year inflation in energy is set to surge. However, with unemployment as high as it is, nobody is going to be walking into their boss' office and demanding a raise. Thus there will be no pressure on wages, and the wage side of a wage price spiral will have no traction at all. All that inflation will do is lower the real standards of living for the vast majority of people.

Money is, of course, the fuel for inflation, and while narrow measures of money rose at unprecedented rates earlier in the year in response to the financial meltdown, broader measures of money have actually been starting to fall. If anything, consumers may be too pessimistic about the inflation outlook, especially with regards to anything with the exception of energy prices.

The bond market is certainly not expecting any near-term inflation, with two year T-notes now yielding just 0.96%. If anything, it is expecting overall prices to fall -- not rise -- over the next two years.

Still, more than 9 in 10 Americans who want jobs have them (although many of those are working far fewer hours than they would like). If those with jobs are more willing to spend, that should mean that retail sales and overall aggregate demand will pick up, and we might just start to turn the corner on job losses.

In other words, the vicious cycle we have been in could turn into a virtuous cycle. It certainly is good news for the retailers. However, I suspect that when consumers do go out to shop they will continue to be very price-conscious and favor discounters like T.J. Maxx (TJX) and Family Dollar (FDO) over traditional department stores like Macy’s (M) or the non-anchor mall stores like Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF).
Read the full analyst report on "TJX"
Read the full analyst report on "FDO"
Read the full analyst report on "M"
Read the full analyst report on "ANF"
Zacks Investment Research

Huntington Offers $400 Mln Stock – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:30:32 +0000

Last Friday Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (HBAN) has commenced a public offering of $400 million worth of common shares to strengthen its common equity position.

The company has priced 95.2 million shares of its common stock at $4.20 per share. Additionally the underwriters will have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 14.3 million shares of common stock from the company.

The book-running manager for the offering is Goldman Sachs & Co. (GS) while Sandler O'Neill & Partners L.P. is acting as co-manager.

The company has also completed its discretionary equity issuance program launched Sep 9, 2009 in which it issued 35.7 million shares worth $150 million at an average price of $4.20 each.

Huntington has implemented several capital bolstering initiatives in the recent past. The company has successfully raised $675 million in regulatory common equity, which was required following the stress test. In addition to that, the recent capital raise should significantly strengthen the company’s capital levels and add to its flexibility to repurchase debt. Huntington also intends to repay its $1.4 billion of bailout fund.

However, we note that Huntington ’s loan composite remains heavily weighed to the mid-Ohio to eastern-Michigan markets, which are under severe stress currently. Problem loan status has also migrated to commercial and industrial loan lines. Delinquencies are expected to remain high.

Hence, given the stressed economic environment along Huntington ’s footprint, we expect earnings to remain depressed due to continued pressure on interest margin and the deterioration of credit quality. Charge-offs and provisioning are expected to remain at elevated levels. Though the capital bolstering initiatives add to its capital base, they also lead to share dilution.
Read the full analyst report on "HBAN"
Read the full analyst report on "GS"
Zacks Investment Research

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 9/23/09, SALN, ABMD, NENE, ARST, SOPW, HEB

Dr. Stock Pick — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:48:14 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _______________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _______________________________________ Wednesday September 23, 2009 DrStockPick.com Stock Report! ************************************************************** Salon City, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: SALN) announced today that it has signed another advertising contract with Salon Iris Software, which is produced by CMJ Designs Inc. out of Brighton, MI. The fall campaign will appear in BE! Magazine [...]

Investing Without Trailing Stops: Here’s Why 75% of Stocks Are a Sucker’s Bet

Investment U — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:19:32 +0000

Investing Without Trailing Stops: Here’s Why 75% of Stocks Are a Sucker’s Bet by Alexander Green, Advisory Panelist A couple weeks ago, I explained why it is imperative to run trailing stops behind your individual stocks. Sell stops ensure that your capital is protected and your profits don’t slip through your fingers. However, one subscriber [...]

Green Car News – US Energy Secretary Chu Announces Finalized $5.9 Billion Loan for Ford Motor Company

Dawn Van Zant — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Washington, DC - September 18, 2009 - Today, Secretary Steven Chu announced that the Department of Energy has closed on its loan offer of $5.9 billion to Ford Motor Company to transform factories across Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio to produce more fuel efficient models.

Earnings Preview for Sep 21 – 25 – Earnings Preview

Charles Rotblut — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:00:00 +0000

We will get another look at initial third-quarter results with 11 S&P 500 companies reporting. Included in this group are AutoZone (AZO), Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBBY), General Mills (GIS), KB Home (KBH), Lennar (LEN) and Paychex (PAYX). A total of 33 companies are on the calendar.

The Fed will hold a 2-day meeting starting on Tuesday. No change in rates is expected at either this or the November meeting. Traders will be looking for insight about the pace of recovery and updates on the various bailout programs.

In addition to the Fed meeting, the economic calendar features August Leading Indicators and home sales data.

Monday: August Leading Indicators
Tuesday: Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index
Wednesday: FOMC rate decision (about 2:10 pm), weekly crude inventories, weekly mortgage applications
Thursday: August existing home sales, weekly initial jobless claims, weekly natural gas inventories
Friday: August new home sales, August durable good orders, revised August University of Michigan consumer confidence

The Chicago Fed will host an international banking conference in Chicago. Speaking at the event will be White House economics advisor Christina Romer (Thursday) and Fed Reserve Board Governor Kevin Warsh (Friday).

Another big round of treasury auctions is slated. During a 3-day span, starting on Tuesday, the Treasury Department will offer $43 billion in 2-year notes, $40 billion in 5-year notes and $29 billion in 7-year bonds. Recent auctions have been heavily oversubscribed.

Though old adage of "buy Rosh Hashanah, Sell Yom Kippur" has not really worked in investors' favor, the bulls continue to remain in control. Therefore, it seems likely that we will hit Dow 10,000 this week. Investors should be aware, however, that this is a fear and greed market run by fast money.

To our Jewish readers, L'Shana Tova.

Companies That Could Issue Positive Earnings Surprises

As I write this, shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) are trading higher in response to raised fiscal second-quarter estimates from one brokerage analyst. The change has yet to be factored into the Zacks Consensus Estimate, which currently stands at 47 cents per share. The most accurate estimate is slightly higher at 48 cents per share. The home goods retailer has topped expectations for 2 consecutive quarters and could be a beneficiary of the rebound in housing. Bed, Bath & Beyond is scheduled to report on Wednesday, Sep 23, after the close of trading.

Though used cars did not qualify for the Cash for Clunkers rebates, optimism about CarMax's (KMX) second-quarter results has been growing. During the past few weeks, 4 brokerage analysts have raised their profit projections. The revisions have pushed the Zacks Consensus Estimate 2 cents higher to 18 cents per share. The most accurate estimate is slightly more bullish at 19 cents per share. KMX beat expectations over the past 2 quarters after previously missing twice. CarMax is scheduled to report on Tuesday, Sep 22, before the start of trading.

Though KB Home (KBH) is projected to have lost 68 cents per share, the actual fiscal third-quarter loss could be less than most analysts forecast. The most accurate estimate is far more bullish, calling for a loss of 61 cents per share, and the homebuilder has topped expectations for 2 consecutive quarters. KB Home is scheduled to report on Friday, Sep 25, before the start of trading.

Research in Motion (RIMM) has topped expectations for 3 consecutive quarters. Ahead of the company's fiscal second-quarter report, 3 analysts have raised their projections. The changes were not significant enough to move the Zacks Consensus Estimate from its current level of $1 per share, though the most accurate estimate is a penny higher, at $1.01 per share. Research in Motion is scheduled to report on Thursday, Sep 24, after the close of trading.

Companies That Could Issue Negative Earnings Surprises

Texas Industries (TXI) has missed expectations during 3 out of the last 4 quarters. Shareholders should brace themselves for another disappointment with 3 of the 8 covering analysts cutting their fiscal first-quarter estimates within the past few weeks. The revisions have caused the Zacks Consensus Estimate to drop 7 cents to a projected loss of 5 cents per share. Texas Industries is scheduled to report on Thursday, Sep 24, before the start of trading.

Charles Rotblut, CFA is the senior market analyst for Zacks.com.

Earnings Calendar

Here is a list of companies that we have confirmed will report during the week of Sep 21 - Sep 25. Prices are as of Thursday's, Sep 17, market close.

Company	Stock	Zacks Estimate	Year Ago EPS	Last Qtr Surprise	Date	Time	Price
Lennar Corp -A	LEN	($0.48)	($0.56)	80.7%	9/21	BTO	$16.60
Synnex Corp	SNX	$0.61	$0.66	18.8%	9/21	AMC	$31.81
Aar Corp	AIR	$0.25	$0.45	10.9%	9/22	AMC	$18.39
Carmax Gp (Cc)	KMX	$0.18	$0.06	175.0%	9/22	BTO	$18.79
Carnival Corp	CCL	$1.18	$1.65	13.8%	9/22	BTO	$32.86
Carnival Plc	CUK	$1.20	$1.65	60.0%	9/22	BTO	$34.08
Conagra Foods	CAG	$0.33	$0.27	0.0%	9/22	BTO	$22.15
Factset Resh	FDS	$0.73	$0.68	0.0%	9/22	BTO	$62.35
Finl Fed Corp	FIF	$0.37	$0.49	2.4%	9/22	AMC	$24.08
Fuller(Hb) Co	FUL	$0.36	$0.35	44.0%	9/22	AMC	$20.83
Progress Softwa	PRGS	$0.32	$0.30	0.0%	9/22	BTO	$23.05
Autozone Inc	AZO	$4.44	$3.88	9.7%	9/23	BTO	$147.37
Bed Bath&Beyond	BBBY	$0.47	$0.46	41.7%	9/23	AMC	$38.81
Cintas Corp	CTAS	$0.39	$0.51	5.6%	9/23	AMC	$29.46
Comtech Telecom	CMTL	$0.18	$0.61	31.8%	9/23	AMC	$34.50
Genl Mills	GIS	$1.03	$0.96	6.2%	9/23	BTO	$60.06
Paychex Inc	PAYX	$0.34	$0.41	(5.9%)	9/23	AMC	$29.74
Red Hat Inc	RHT	$0.11	$0.10	20.0%	9/23	AMC	$25.46
3Com Corp	COMS	$0.02	$0.09	150.0%	9/24	BTO	$4.71
Amer Greetings	AM	$0.06	$0.05	(65.0%)	9/24	BTO	$14.62
Analogic Corp	ALOG	$0.23	$0.55	(41.7%)	9/24	AMC	$37.76
Christopher&Bnk	CBK	($0.14)	$0.04	200.0%	9/24	AMC	$7.68
Finish Line-Cla	FINL	$0.21	$0.24	(999.0%)	9/24	AMC	$9.50
Mccormick & Co	MKC	$0.54	$0.50	2.4%	9/24	BTO	$33.87
Neogen Corp	NEOG	$0.26	$0.25	4.6%	9/24	BTO	$29.98
Research In Mot	RIMM	$1.00	$0.86	4.3%	9/24	AMC	$82.70
Rite Aid Corp	RAD	($0.15)	($0.27)	15.4%	9/24	BTO	$2.24
Saba Software	SABA	$0.01	($0.04)	66.7%	9/24	AMC	$4.12
Spectrum Contrl	SPEC	$0.18	$0.18	5.9%	9/24	AMC	$9.53
Steelcase Inc	SCS	$0.00	$0.28	114.3%	9/24	BTO	$7.11
Texas Inds	TXI	($0.05)	$0.28	(140.0%)	9/24	BTO	$44.95
Tibco Software	TIBX	$0.08	$0.09	28.6%	9/24	AMC	$9.13
Vail Resorts	MTN	($1.10)	($0.29)	8.39%	9/24	BTO	$34.19
KB Home	KBH	($0.68)	($1.87)	11.8%	9/25	BTO	$19.69

BTO = Before The Market Open, AMC = After The Market Close

Zacks Investment Research

Dow Dropping Basic Chemicals – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:40:49 +0000

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) recently agreed to sell its hollow sphere plastic pigment product line to Fairlawn, Ohio-based specialty chemicals maker Omnova Solutions Inc. Hollow plastic pigments are used by the paper and paperboard industry. Dow also plans to close two production units at a Texas as part of its restructuring initiatives. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Volatile crude oil prices have significantly affected the basic chemicals market, forcing the second-largest chemical manufacturer in the world to divest its styrene monomer and ethylbenzene production at Freeport, Texas. This sale will reduce Dow’s exposure to a capital-intensive Basic portfolio. About 60 employees will be affected.

Midland, Michigan-based Dow Chemical aims to shift focus to specialty chemicals that are used in cosmetics and food additives, and work with partners to meet basic chemical needs. After the Rohm & Haas acquisition in the second quarter, Dow announced a restructuring plan, including complete integration of ethylene production with internal demand, reducing its ethylene requirement from the US Gulf Coast by about 30%.

Dow expects to improve its cost position by eliminating ethylene purchases from the merchant market. The company purchases about three billion pounds of ethylene from external sources annually.

Separately, Dow partnered with Alstom Power to develop a pilot plant to tap about 1,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually from flue gas of a coal-fired boiler at its South Charleston, West Virginia facility. Alstom is a global leader in power generation and rail infrastructure. The pilot plant is expected to be operational by the third quarter.

In 2008, Dow and Alstom had agreed to develop an advanced amine technology for CO2 capture. Currently, they are focusing on building an advanced amine-based scrubbing technology for industries that produce exhaust or flue gases containing CO2 and high levels of oxygen.

The new process will significantly reduce the amount of energy required for CO2 separation and capture. The West Virginia pilot plant will validate this new technology. Dow aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are responsible for global warming by exporting the technology to its power plants, where CO2 will be stored. We maintain our Neutral recommendation on Dow Chemical.

Read the full analyst report on "DOW"
Zacks Investment Research

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 9/10/09, CEOA, SPEX, PSEC, SNWL, PCYG, EWRC

Dr. Stock Pick — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:52:44 +0000

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! Thursday September 10, 2009 ************************************************************** CEO America, Inc. (Pink Sheets: CEOA), using CREDITZ(R) Digital Currency (www.creditz.com), is a 21st century solution provider of Loyalty Network, Payment and Target Marketing. CEO America is now introducing the CREDITZ system to customers in the US and Canada to help merchants increase sales, enhance [...]

PennyOmega.com Stock Report! 9/09/09, CNAM, WFC, HGG, QASP, NICK, MPS

PennyOmega.com — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:35:45 +0000

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DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 9/08/09, EP, MHBC, JNPR, PSUD, TEVE, WBSN

Dr. Stock Pick — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:23:42 +0000

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! Tuesday September 8, 2009 ************************************************************** Doug Foshee, president and chief executive officer of El Paso Corporation (NYSE: EP), will present tomorrow, September 9, at the Barclays Capital CEO Energy/Power Conference in New York. The presentation will begin at 9:05 a.m. EDT, 8:05 a.m. CDT with an audio webcast available in [...]

Earnings Preview for Sep 8 – 11 – Earnings Preview

Tracey Ryniec — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:00:00 +0000

It's a relatively quiet week on the earnings front with only 50 companies scheduled to report, including a smattering of retailers and food companies. Only 2 S&P 500 members are on tap to report including Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) and National Semiconductor (NSM).

The economic calendar is also quiet to start the first "real" trading week in September, as Wall Street comes back from August vacations. It's a shortened trading week due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday.

Monday: Markets closed for Labor Day
Tuesday: ICSC-Goldman Store Sales, Redbook
Wednesday: Beige Book
Thursday: International trade, weekly jobless claims, weekly natural gas inventories, weekly crude inventories
Friday: Import and export prices, University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey for September, Treasury budget

Volume is likely to return to more "normal" levels to start the week. Despite recent weakness in the markets, the bulls remain in charge. Wall Street will also be watching trading in the commodities complex, especially gold and silver, as gold attempts to bust through the $1000 an ounce level for the third time in the last 2 years and silver trades at 13-month highs.

Companies That Could Issue Negative Earnings Surprises

Smithfield Foods (SFD), the largest hog and pork producer in the U.S., is struggling as pork demand falls due to the recession and worries about pork products somehow being connected to the swine flu. According to a Reuters report, the company has cut its hog breeding herd by 13% this year. Higher feed costs are also pressuring the food manufacturer.

While Smithfield has surprised on estimates 3 out of the last 4 quarters, covering analysts have been lowering the estimates going into the fiscal 2010 first quarter earnings release. In the last month, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has fallen 4 cents to a loss of 55 cents. It is scheduled to report before the market opens on Sep 8.

Keep an eye on the Aerovironment Inc. (AVAV), the maker of unmanned aircraft systems, as it reports its fiscal 2010 first quarter earnings. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has fallen by nearly 50% to 13 cents in the past 90 days. The most accurate estimate is even more bearish at 6 cents per share. The company is scheduled to report on Sep 8 after the market close.

Earnings Calendar

Here is a list of companies that we have confirmed will report during the week of Sep 8 - 11*. Prices are as of Thursday's, Sep 3, market close.

Company	Stock	Zacks Estimate	Year Ago EPS	Last Qtr Surprise	Date	Time	Price
Aceto Corp	ACET	0.11	0.32	-33.33%	9/11/2009	BTO	$6.56
Aerovironment	AVAV	0.13	0.22	3.85%	9/8/2009	AMC	$28.99
Brady Corp Cl A	BRC	0.41	0.64	12.12%	9/11/2009	BTO	$29.79
Caseys Gen Strs	CASY	0.6	0.6	-13.89%	9/8/2009	AMC	$28.26
C&D Tech Inc	CHP	-0.13	0.05	-146.67%	9/8/2009	BTO	$2.08
Campbell Soup	CPB	0.26	0.26	14.29%	9/11/2009	BTO	$30.88
Descartes Sys	DSGX	0.08	0.03	28.57%	9/10/2009	BTO	$4.27
Fuelcell Energy	FCEL	-0.25	-0.39	3.33%	9/8/2009	AMC	$3.43
Finisar Corp	FNSR	0	0.04	0.00%	9/10/2009	N/A	$0.86
Hooker Furnitur	HOFT	0.07	0.18	-100.00%	9/10/2009	N/A	$13.25
Harry Winston	HWD	-0.05	0.81	50.00%	9/10/2009	AMC	$6.82
Investors Rl Es	IRET	0.21	0.2	0.00%	9/9/2009	AMC	$9.07
Wiley (John) A	JW.A	0.38	0.5	-4.55%	9/9/2009	BTO	$31.51
Korn/Ferry Intl	KFY	-0.06	0.36	-83.33%	9/9/2009	BTO	$12.84
K12 Inc	LRN	-0.02	-0.01	9.09%	9/9/2009	BTO	$18.88
Lululemon Athlt	LULU	0.1	0.18	12.50%	9/10/2009	BTO	$19.79
Mds Inc	MDZ	0.01	0.06	-33.33%	9/10/2009	BTO	$7.51
Mitcham Inds	MIND	-0.09	0.16	-116.67%	9/8/2009	AMC	$5.39
Mens Wearhouse	MW	0.59	0.72	0.00%	9/9/2009	AMC	$25.25
Nci Bldg System	NCS	0.02	1.63	-164.29%	9/9/2009	AMC	$2.58
Natl Semicon	NSM	0.07	0.33	40.91%	9/10/2009	AMC	$15.39
Omega Navigat-A	ONAV	0.2	0.38	-5.88%	9/8/2009	AMC	$4.02
Ocean Power Tec	OPTT	-0.44	-0.38	33.96%	9/9/2009	N/A	$3.84
Pep Boys M M &J	PBY	0.15	0.11	50.00%	9/8/2009	AMC	$8.70
Piedmont Nat Ga	PNY	-0.11	-0.1	10.61%	9/9/2009	BTO	$24.24
Safe Bulkers	SB	0.61	0.82	75.38%	9/8/2009	AMC	$6.83
Smithfield Food	SFD	-0.55	-0.02	3.51%	9/8/2009	BTO	$12.73
Shuffle Master	SHFL	0.07	0.11	50.00%	9/9/2009	AMC	$7.25
Signet Grp Plc	SIG	0.21	0.24	34.78%	9/9/2009	N/A	$23.51
Stewart Entrp A	STEI	0.08	0.1	37.50%	9/10/2009	N/A	$5.12
Smith & Wesson	SWHC	0.09	0.05	190.00%	9/9/2009	AMC	$5.19
Titan Machinery	TITN	0.18	0.19	-23.08%	9/9/2009	BTO	$11.89
Talbots Inc	TLB	-0.52	-0.34	53.06%	9/9/2009	BTO	$6.42
Utd Natural Fds	UNFI	0.36	0.3	14.71%	9/9/2009	BTO	$27.43
Xinyuan Real Es	XIN	0.05	0.1	140.00%	9/8/2009	BTO	$4.76
Zale Corp New	ZLC	-0.77	-0.48	-57.41%	9/9/2009	BTO	$5.55
Ciena Corp	CIEN	($0.21)	$0.29	(137.5%)	9/3	BTO	$13.62
Cooper Cos	COO	$0.62	$0.67	27.1%	9/3	AMC	$27.87
Del Monte Foods	DLM	$0.03	($0.04)	34.6%	9/3	BTO	$10.50
Esterline	ESL	$0.90	$0.68	(9.6%)	9/3	AMC	$31.43
G-Iii Apparel	GIII	($0.26)	($0.23)	19.6%	9/3	AMC	$15.21
Jackson Hewitt	JTX	($0.69)	($0.69)	(0.6%)	9/3	BTO	$5.90
Krispy Kreme	KKD	N/A	($0.03)	(1000.0%)	9/3	N/A	$3.11
Layne Christens	LAYN	$0.12	$0.78	(135.3%)	9/3	BTO	$26.86
Methode Elect-A	MEI	($0.24)	$0.27	37.5%	9/3	BTO	$8.76
Movado Grp Inc	MOV	($0.23)	$0.39	22.9%	9/3	BTO	$13.27
Quiksilver Inc	ZQK	$0.04	$0.22	25.0%	9/3	AMC	$2.94
Shanda Interact	SNDA	$0.82	$0.56	8.3%	9/3	AMC	$51.16
Uti Worldwide	UTIW	$0.18	$0.28	(28.6%)	9/3	BTO	$13.15
Ata Inc-Adr	ATAI	$0.08	$0.08	57.1%	9/4	N/A	$7.31
Barry R G Corp	GCFB	$0.00	($0.01)	0.0%	9/4	BTO	$8.50

BTO = Before The Market Open, AMC = After The Market Close

*Some of the companies listed in the earnings calendar may not be in the Zacks Rank universe.

Zacks Investment Research

An Empire of Consumption

Byron King — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:01:13 +0000

pJust reading the newspapers gives me a daily diet of economic gloom. For example, my pessimism for today (Aug. 26) started with the headline of my local newspaper this morning. emThe Pittsburgh Tribune Review/em delivered a banner message, “Record Red Forecast at $1.58 Trillion.” (I think they printed the newspaper before the word came out that Sen. Ted Kennedy died.)/p pThen for a national perspective, I looked at emThe Wall Street Journal/em, which published a slightly different alliteration, strong“Decade of Debt: $9 Trillion.”/strong And finally, for an international view, emThe Financial Times/em summed it all up in characteristic British understatement, with, “US Says Debt Outlook Worsening.” Oh, you don’t say./p pThe big problem – obviously, the headline issue – with the US economy is too#8230;/p

Dow Sells Refinery – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:25:27 +0000

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) completed the sale of its Netherlands-based crude oil refinery to Paris-based Total SA (TOT), one of the six major global oil companies, for about $800 million. The refinery is a key supplier of refined products, including diesel, to the European market. The move is in line with Dow’s strategy of divesting non-core assets. The deal received regulatory approval last month.

The Midlands, Michigan-based chemical company stated that the divestiture will increase its financial flexibility, improve cash flow and will help pay down debt. The company plans to use the proceeds from the deal to pay down debt, which was raised for the Rohm and Haas acquisition.

The Rohm and Haas acquisition increased Dow’s net debt from $8 billion to $22 billion in the first half of 2009. This resulted in a significant net cash deficit of $19 billion during the period. However, Dow Chemical has become the world’s leading specialty chemicals and advanced materials company after acquiring Rohm and Haas for a total investment of $16.3 billion.

Dow Chemical also noted that it expects to close its sale of the salt producing company, Morton Salt under Rohm and Haas to the Germany-based K+S AG for $1.68 billion in second half of 2009. K+G AG is an agricultural chemical and salt company and the largest supplier of Potash in Europe. The company is also divesting its stake in Optimal Group of Companies to Malaysia's state-controlled oil company for $660 million by the end of the year.

This apart, media reported that Dow Chemical and Saudi Aramco are expecting cost synergies of about $4 billion on their joint petrochemical complex as the slowing economy reduces project cost. The estimated cost of the plant was at least $20 billion before reduction. Saudi Aramco is the state-owned national oil company and the biggest oil corporation in the world with the largest proven crude oil reserves and production.

We maintain our Neutral recommendation on the stock.

Read the full analyst report on "DOW"
Read the full analyst report on "TOT"
Zacks Investment Research

MGM Delays Debt Repayment – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:40:41 +0000

MGM Mirage (MGM) has offered to exchange a part of its $782 million 8.5% senior notes due next year for up to $500 million of 10.00% Senior Notes due 2016. This swapping would harness liquidity and also allow the company to extend the time to repay its debt at the cost of a somewhat increased debt level and interest expenses.

The exchange offer will expire September 24, 2009, unless extended by MGM. For each $1,000 in principal amount of existing notes tendered and accepted, the holder will receive $1,175 principal amount of new notes, of which $50 in principal amount of New Notes represents early participation payment only to those who tender notes before the close of business on September 10, 2009.

Casino operator MGM Mirage has been severely impacted by the recession. The company reported a loss of $212 million in the second quarter as it incurred significant impairment charges.

However, the company has a strong pipeline of projects and has implemented several cost-control initiatives, which are expected to lead to its earning growth going forward. The company is now trying to expand in Asia and Middle East without investing in land and development, but as a franchisor.

MGM Mirage owns and operates 16 casinos in Nevada, Mississippi and Michigan and has a 50.0% interest in four other casino resorts. The company also operates luxury hotels in the Middle East and Asia.

MGM which is partly controlled by billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, has a diversified model which allows it to withstand weaker economic times relatively well. The company has international exposure coupled with its diversification within the U.S., which bodes well going forward. Also this swapping of senior notes provides the much needed short-term liquidity to the company though the debt level increases a bit.
Read the full analyst report on "MGM"
Zacks Investment Research

PennyOmega.com Stock Report! 9/01/09, AOLG, NKE, BECN, MJNA, SQNM, SNWL

PennyOmega.com — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:55:51 +0000

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Consumer Woes to Continue as Confidence Slumps and Incomes Stagnate

Jason Simpkins — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:45:00 +0000

The $300 Trillion “Money Bang” Keith Fitz-Gerald and his team have just produced a groundbreaking report that shows how this historic “Money Bang” is gaining steam. You’ll find out why China is investing $200 billion in one company – and why it’s expected to gain 356%… Why the Dept. of Energy is “backing” one [...]

CMS Tops Michigan Green Race – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:10:00 +0000

Consumers Energy, the major subsidiary of CMS Energy (CMS), requested approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission for six new renewable energy projects to be owned and operated by third parties. Consumers Energy’s move is in line with the recent rush of utilities to join the green wagon. The rush has been precipitated by the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The act stipulates stringent caps against carbon dioxide emissions.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act mandates that by fiscal 2015, all utilities will have to source 10% of their power supply from service state based renewable energy sources.

Consumers Energy through the six new projects added a total of 65,000MWh of renewable energy annually for a period of 20 years. As of now almost 4% of Consumers Energy’s sources are Michigan-based renewable sources, including wind, biomass, hydro, landfill gas and anaerobic digestion. This makes Consumers Energy the largest renewable energy supplier in the Michigan.

CMS Energy is a diversified energy company operating in the United States and around the world. The company's two principal subsidiaries are Consumers Energy and CMS Enterprises. Consumers Energy is a public utility that provides natural gas or electricity to residents in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. CMS Enterprises, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in several domestic and international diversified energy businesses.

We maintain our market Neutral recommendation on the shares.

Read the full analyst report on "CMS"
Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Dell Inc., TiVo Inc., AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications and Ford Motor Company – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:20:11 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 31, 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: Dell Inc. (DELL), TiVo Inc. (TIVO), AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Communications (VZ) and Ford Motor Company (F).

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 Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Dell Reports Stabilized Demand

Dell Inc.’s (DELL) revenue for the second quarter of 2010 was $12.76 billion, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $12.61 billion. The company reported second quarter EPS of 24 cents, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 22 cents.

Revenue for the quarter was $12.76 billion, down 22.0% from $16.43 billion reported in the year ago quarter, and up 3.0% from $12.34 billion reported in the previous quarter. The sequential improvement in revenue can be attributed to the stabilization in the demand, while the year-over-year decline in revenue may be attributed to the decrease in unit shipments (down 14%).

TiVo Exceeds Guidance

TiVo Inc. (TIVO), the creator of the digital video recorder, recently reported second quarter fiscal year 2010 results. The company delivered improved results compared to its guidance.

TiVo reported a net loss of $2.9 million, better than its previous range of guidance of net loss between $6 million and $8 million. Management expects a net loss in the range of $8 million to $10 million in the third quarter of 2010.

TiVo reported a net loss of 3 cents a share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of (5 cents) but fell substantially from the prior-year quarter due to lower subscriptions. The company had reported EPS of 3 cents in the second quarter of 2009.

Net revenue for the reported quarter declined 12.0% year over year to $57.4 million compared to $65.2 million reported in the prior-year quarter. Net revenue comprises Service Revenue (down 13.9% to $41.5 million), Technology Revenue (up 36.9% to $7.3 million) and Hardware Revenue (dipped 27.1% to $8.5 million).

Service and Technology revenue together declined 8.8% to $48.8 million. For the third quarter of 2010, TiVo expects Service and Technology revenue together in the range of $46 million to $48 million.

TiVo is not immune to the current challenging economic environment, as consumer electronics sales are declining. The company is facing erosion of its subscriber base. The economic downturn has made operations more difficult.

TiVo reported its eighth consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA of $5.2 million, down by more than 50% from the year-ago quarter due to the fall in Service and Technology revenue and rise in legal expenses. However, it surpassed the guidance of breakeven to $2 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of ($2) million to breakeven for the third quarter of 2010.

TiVo recently filed a case against AT&T Inc. (T) and Verizon Communications (VZ) for infringement of three patents including TiVo's ‘Time Warp’ software.

Ford Raises Production Shifts

The increase in shifts will help gear up the production of F-150 pickup trucks by about 10,000 units. The manufacture of Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner SUVs together will increase by 2,400 units this year.

The actions are perfectly in line with the automaker's plan to enhance production for the third and fourth quarters driven by strong sales due to the Cash for Clunkers program. The program, launched by the U.S. Government in late July, allowed consumers to trade in their old gas-guzzling cars and trucks with a mileage of 18 miles per gallon (mpg) or less for a value of up to $3,500-$4,500.

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About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

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Zacks Investment Research

Ford Raises Production Shifts – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:53:54 +0000

Ford Motor Company (F) has revealed that it will add shifts at its truck plants in Michigan and Missouri on the back of increased demand for its F-150 pickup trucks and Escape SUVs. Both of the company’s manufacturing units -- the Dearborn, Michigan truck plant and the Kansas City, Missouri assembly plant -- will return to a three-shift operation in September and October, respectively, this year.

The increase in shifts will help gear up the production of F-150 pickup trucks by about 10,000 units. The manufacture of Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner SUVs together will increase by 2,400 units this year.

The actions are perfectly in line with the automaker's plan to enhance production for the third and fourth quarters driven by strong sales due to the Cash for Clunkers program. The program, launched by the U.S. Government in late July, allowed consumers to trade in their old gas-guzzling cars and trucks with a mileage of 18 miles per gallon (mpg) or less for a value of up to $3,500-$4,500.

Ford had two models in the top-10 buy list of the Cash-for-Clunkers program. The company’s Ford Focus (30 mpg) ranked fourth and Ford Escape SUV (24 mpg) ranked tenth. In terms of market share, Ford ranked third with 14.4% following Toyota (TM) (19.4%) and General Motors (17.6%).

Ford plans to boost third-quarter production in North America to 495,000 vehicles from the previously announced 485,000 vehicles. Thereafter, it will increase production to 570,000 vehicles for the fourth quarter, a 33% rise from the year-ago period.

For July, Ford has reported an astounding 2% year-over-year sales gain when other major automakers have all reported declines. The sales gain was the company’s first since November 2007.

On August 7, the company announced plans to replace or refresh 70%-90% of its lineups by volume in each of its three largest markets -- North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific & Africa -- by 2012. Thereafter, the lineups will be refreshed 140%-160% by 2014. The company aims to enhance its volume per core global platform from the present 345,000 to 680,000 vehicles within five years.

We continue to recommend the shares of Ford as Neutral with a target price of $8.
Read the full analyst report on "F"
Read the full analyst report on "TM"
Zacks Investment Research

Weak Consumer Data Saps Wall St Gains

Contrarian Profits — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:00:25 +0000

pU.S. stocks gave up most of their gains on Friday after initially spiking to 10-month highs as weak consumer sentiment data offset an upbeat forecast from chipmaker Intel and better-than-expected profit from computer maker Dell./p pA Reuters/University of Michigan survey showed consumer confidence fell to its lowest in four months in August on worries over high unemployment and dismal personal finances, though the mood improved from earlier this month./p pThe Nasdaq was buoyed after Intel Corp raised its outlook for third-quarter revenue and Dell Inc , the world#8217;s No. 2 personal computer maker behind Hewlett-Packard Co , posted a strong quarterly performance and several brokerages raised their price target on the stock./p pThe PHLX semiconductor index #60;.SOXX#62; rose 2.2 percent, while Dell shot up 4 percent#8230;/p

Europe Shares Rise for 6th Week in 7

Contrarian Profits — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:30:10 +0000

pEuropean shares touched a 10-month high on Friday on optimism for a global economic recovery and with Nokia and results from U.S. bellwethers boosting the technology sector./p pThe FTSEurofirst 300 #60;.FTEU3#62; index of top European shares rose 1 percent to 978.34 points. Over the week, the index climbed 1.2 percent, its sixth weekly gain in the last seven weeks./p pThe European benchmark index is up more than 51 percent from its lifetime low of March 9, as investors have become more confident on the prospects of economic recovery./p p#8220;Things look good for the time being, but the higher we go the more we could be setting ourselves up for a disappointment,#8221; said Andy Lynch, a fund manager at Schroders./p p#8220;The world economy is doing well,#8230;/p

The rhyming of history – Bloomberg and the RFC

Prieur du Plessis — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:47:45 +0000

"If the Fed is required to publish the names of financial institutions to which it has extended credit and this publication induces financial institutions to refrain from borrowing from the Fed, one can only speculate if this would be the tinder for another liquidity conflagration in the coming months," said Paul Kasriel in this guest post.

BorgWarner Wins New Business – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:45:37 +0000

BorgWarner (BWA) revealed that it has been selected to supply friction materials and plates for the new ZF 8-speed automatic transmission (8HP), debuting on the 2010 BMW 760i. The Michigan-based company manufactures the multi-segmented friction material in Heidelberg, Germany. It has already supplied friction materials and one-way clutches for ZF's current 6HP transmission models.

BorgWarner friction plates and materials are used at key clutch positions to meet ZF's high requirements for efficiency and shift performance. It helps reduce drag losses, enabling the transmission to achieve improved fuel economy and better performance. The friction plate technology also enables neutral idle control (NIC) to further enhance fuel economy.

Growing demand for the company’s strong technology-based product portfolio, impressive product launches and cost reduction efforts drive our outlook for BorgWarner. Demand for front-wheel drive systems is rising in North America, as is demand for automatic transmission components and systems in Europe.

BorgWarner expects revenues of $2.1 billion from the new powertrain business for 2009 through 2011, an 8% increase over its previous three-year new business. Demand for the company's environmentally-friendly technologies such as turbochargers and DCT technology continue to drive its growth rate, which exceeds that of the auto industry. About 50% of the new business is expected to come from Europe and 20% from North America over the next 3 years. Backed by continuous expansions, the company expects the remaining 30% to come from Asia, especially Korea and China.

About 80% of BorgWarner’s new business is expected to be in engine-related products such as turbochargers, ignition systems, emissions products, engine timing systems, variable cam timing modules and thermal systems. The other 20% would relate to transmission modules and all-wheel drive systems including the company's fuel-efficient DualTronic transmission technology and electronic InterActive Torque Management systems. The company expects a tenfold increase in demand for DualTronic transmission modules by 2013 to about 5 million units, which will be a key component for its growth.

We continue to recommend the shares of BorgWarner as Neutral.

Read the full analyst report on "BWA"
Zacks Investment Research

Juhl Wind, Inc. (JUHL.OB) Secures $1 Million Turbine License and Distributorship

QualityStocks — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:18:50 +0000

Juhl Wind Inc. announced earlier today that its Next Generation Power Systems subsidiary (NextGen) completed a $1 Million License and Distributorship Agreement with SureEnergy, covering Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. As agreed, NextGen provided its first-ever exclusive territory distributorship along with the rights to manufacture its 33 kW on-site, small wind turbine system. According to the [...]

PennyOmega.com Stock Report! 8/26/09, TTEG, KIRK, LMT, WTWG, SPP, FFWC

PennyOmega.com — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:09:46 +0000

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Dollar Edges Up vs Euro ahead of U.S. Consumer Data

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:00:07 +0000

pThe dollar edged up against the euro and yen on Monday in extremely thin trade as Wall Street surrendered earlier gains and traders repositioned themselves ahead of U.S. consumer and housing data due this week./p pSolid U.S. and euro zone data and an upbeat assessment on the economy from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke over the weekend earlier pushed investors to take on riskier investments at the expense of the the low-yielding yen and dollar./p p#8220;Conventional wisdom suggests that major currencies should trade within their recent ranges until liquidity improves after the Labor Day holiday,#8221; said Wells Fargo currency strategist Vassili Serebriakov. #8220;However, there is plenty of data in the U.S. and elsewhere to change that this week, with consumer-related numbers likely#8230;/p

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (KBLB.OB) Continues To Grow Its Intellectual Property Portfolio

QualityStocks — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:48:03 +0000

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc., the Michigan-based company using genetic engineering to allow silkworms to produce spider silk, is making use of some of the most advanced insect-related genetic engineering techniques known. Scientists have already produced the first transgenic silkworms, and other scientists have discovered the sequence of genes used by spiders to produce silk. The [...]

August 24th CEOcast Weekly Newsletter

QualityStocks — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:06:13 +0000

Companies featured in this edition of the newsletter: CUR, CVM, DKAM, ICLK, IMUC, IWEB, OMCM, ONEZ, SVUL, TAGS Markets managed to extend their run this week, hitting fresh highs for ‘09 despite coming under pressure from negative economic reports and a significant two week correction in Chinese equity markets. All told, the Dow ended up [...]

Consumers Upgraded Gas Facilities – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:28:58 +0000

Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (CMS), upgraded its natural gas facilities near Dewitt, Michigan. It has spent around $15 million to install a new 2.1 mile 20-inch natural gas line. The company has also set up a new system station near Dewitt and renovated the Lansing and Dewitt city gate stations, which checks gas line pressure in the region.

This move is a part of the "Growing Forward" initiative, under which Consumers Energy plans to invest in excess of $6 billion over the next five years in its utility operations. This will ensure reliable and cost-efficient gas supply to around 1.7 million customers in Lower Peninsula, Michigan and cope with growing energy needs of the region. Consumers Energy has one of the largest underground natural gas storage facilities in the U.S.

Shares of CMS Energy closed at $13.36 on Thursday, trading at 11.02X trailing 12-month EPS. We presently have Neutral recommendation for the company.
Read the full analyst report on "CMS"
Zacks Investment Research

Prime Mortgages Going Sour – Analyst Blog

Dirk Van Dijk — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:53:20 +0000

At the end of the second quarter, 4.3% of all residential mortgages were in some part of the foreclosure process, up from 3.85% at the end of the first quarter and 2.75% a year ago. In addition, on a seasonally adjusted basis, 9.24% of all mortgages were delinquent (behind by at least one payment), up from 9.12% at the end of March, and just 6.41% at the end of June 2008.

Both were records since the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) started keeping track back in 1972. On a non-seasonally-adjusted basis, the delinquency rate was not quite as bad at 8.86%, but still a record.

That means that 13.16% of all residential mortgages (NSA basis) are in trouble. With about 51 million houses with mortgages in the country, that means 6.71 million bad mortgages out there. With the number of people out of work still rising, the problem is likely to continue to get worse for quite a while.

The chief economist for the MBA expects that foreclosures will not peak until the end of 2010. I suspect he might be a little bit on the optimistic side, but that projection is reasonable. If someone is also in a house where the value of the house is less than the amount of the mortgage, the probability that they will continue to pay the mortgage falls rapidly.

If they are also out of work while they are underwater, then continuing to pay their mortgage is simply not an economically rational thing to do. Far better to simply live rent- and mortgage-free until the sheriff shows up at the door. Given the overwhelming case-load, that can often be well over a year (though it varies greatly by location).

Once upon a time, people liked to think that the mortgage problems were contained to the subprime market. It was just a problem of irresponsible people on the wrong side of the tracks. That is clearly no longer the case.

While as a percentage, subprime mortgages are still much more likely to be delinquent or in foreclosure than are prime mortgages, there are far fewer subprime mortgages than prime mortgages. In absolute numbers, there are far more bad prime mortgages than bad subprime mortgages.

The graph below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) shows just how bad the loans are going sour on the people who had good credit when they took out the mortgages.

The percentage of prime loans in foreclosure jumped to 3.00% at the end of the second quarter vs. 2.49% at the end of March. The percentage delinquent rose to 6.41% from 6.06% at the end of March.

On a percentage basis, subprime loans continue to be an absolute horror show. At the end of the quarter more than one in four (25.35%) subprime loans were delinquent (up from 24.95% at the end of the first quarter) and 15.05% were somewhere in the foreclosure process, up from 14.34% the quarter before.

Thus, the combined troubled mortgage rate is now over 40% on subprime loans. This is of course bad news for the banks with big mortgage operations like Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC) and PNC Financial (PNC).

Regionally, California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada are still being hit the hardest, but other states are starting to catch up. Those four states had 44 percent of all of the nation’s new foreclosures during the second quarter of this year, down from 46 percent in the first quarter.

Foreclosures are less of a problem in the relatively unpopulated states. Very few people (relatively) are falling behind in North Dakota, Wyoming or Alaska as shown in the second graph (also from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/).

Florida still has the worst mortgage performance, closely followed only by Nevada. In Florida, 12 percent of mortgages were somewhere in the process of foreclosure -- the highest in the nation -- and another 5 percent were at least 90 days past due as of the end of June. A total of 22.8 percent were delinquent at least one payment or in the process of foreclosure, which is almost twice the national percentage (excluding Florida).

In contrast, the next highest states are Nevada at 21.3 percent, Arizona at 16.3 percent and Michigan at 15.3 percent. California is still a problem by virtue of its sheer size, but on a percentage basis, and combining both levels of the problem, Mississippi and Indiana are now in marginally worse shape than is California.

Some of the delinquencies will get cured, but far from all of them. The farther the house is underwater, the less likely it is to get cured. Many more houses are going to end up in the hands of the banks, which will then dump them onto the market and further depress prices.

Housing is normally the locomotive that pulls the U.S. economy out of recessions. It is hard to see how that locomotive will work up a good head of steam with so many foreclosures blocking the tracks.

The first-time homebuyer credit has helped to clear out some of the existing bank owned properties, but that program will end just after Thanksgiving. Unless the program is renewed, that source of buying is likely to dry up significantly. This could lead to another sharp down-leg for the housing market.

Shifting my metaphor, the economy’s vital signs have stabilized, but that is due to the powerful drugs that the "doctors" (Bernanke and Obama) have been giving it. Those drugs (printing money, super-low short-term interest rates and massive budget deficits) are known to have very serious long-term side effects -- ones that have been known to be fatal (Weimar style hyperinflation) if given in to big doses and for too long.

The doctors had no choice but to give them to the patent, since doing nothing would have also been fatal (we narrowly avoided a second Great Depression), but it is a huge question if the patient will be able to get up and about after he is taken off the meds.
Read the full analyst report on "BAC"
Read the full analyst report on "WFC"
Read the full analyst report on "PNC"
Zacks Investment Research

Axial Vector Energy Corp. (AXVC.PK) Applies for Grant for Joint Ownership of Engine Production Facility

QualityStocks — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:38:39 +0000

Axial Vector Energy Corp. is a global solutions provider that owns, develops, licenses and invests in revolutionary technologies. These include technologies with potential in military, industrial and commercial applications such as power generation and engine technologies. Axial Vector Energy (AVEC) recently announced that it has applied for federal grants and loan funding to assist the co-ownership [...]

Lear Restructures Debt – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:15:17 +0000

On Aug. 17, Lear Corp. filed a bankruptcy reorganization plan in the US bankruptcy court in Manhattan supported by its lenders to restructure debt of about $3.6 billion and exit bankruptcy by the end of this year.

The world’s second-largest maker of automobile seats plans to swap about $1.6 billion debt for equity in the reorganized company. Lenders would exchange the debt for 26% of common stock, $500 million in preferred stock in the reorganized company and a new $600-million term loan.

Lear has the gained support of 68% of its secured debt holders. General unsecured creditors, including holders of $1.3 billion in Lear notes and a $737 million claim owed to lenders, would get about 46% of the reorganized company’s common stock and warrants to purchase 15% additional share. Lear has gained support of half of these note holders.

The Southfield, Michigan based company will seek court approval for the proposal at a Nov. 2 hearing. If the company is successful in winning confirmation of the plan, it would emerge from bankruptcy soon.

Lear became the latest car-parts supplier after Visteon Corp. and Metaldyne Corp. to seek bankruptcy protection this year, as carmakers cut back orders following a protracted period of slumping auto sales amid the recession. Lear’s position became extremely vulnerable after its major customer General Motors filed for bankruptcy. In 2008, General Motors and Ford Motor Co. (F) accounted for about 37% of Lear’s sales.

Read the full analyst report on "F"
Zacks Investment Research

Chicago Rivet Machine Co. (CVR) Declares Dividend

QualityStocks — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:29:03 +0000

Chicago Rivet & Machine Co. declared a regular dividend of $0.10 per share. The dividend is payable on September 17, 2009 to shareholders of record as of September 4, 2009. This continues the company’s record of paying a dividend for 75 consecutive years to shareholders. The company reported a net loss in the second quarter [...]

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 8/18/09, CMCSA, AOB, WYNN, COMS, IBM, FRE

Dr. Stock Pick — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:45:15 +0000

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! Tuesday August 18, 2009 ************************************************************** Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications, today announced that customers who subscribe to its Triple Play of digital cable, high-speed Internet and digital voice services in Michigan can now view incoming caller information on their TV and [...]

Will This Week’s Earnings Reports Reflect a Recovery or a Relapse for the U.S. Economy?

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:00:21 +0000

pSeveral key second-quarter earnings reports could either validate or undercut assertions that the U.S. economy is poised for recovery./p pAfter the Commerce Department reported last week that retail sales fell 0.1% in July from June, and 8.3% year-over-year, retailers will stay in the limelight this week as several high-profile companies report second-quarter earnings.strong Target Corp. (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=tgt" target="_blank"TGT/a)/strong, strongLimited Brands Inc. (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:LTD" target="_blank"LTD/a)/strong, and strongGap Stores (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3AGPS" target="_blank"GPS/a)/strong are among the big-name retailers set to report./p pMeanwhile, the strongHewlett-Packard Co’s (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=hpq" target="_blank"HPQ/a) /strongreport will provide a further glimpse into the world of technology, and strongThe Home Depot Co.’s (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3AHD" target="_blank"HD/a)/strong results a href="http://www.moneymorning.com/2009/07/30/housing-market-bottom/" target="_blank"will confirm or counter claims that the recent housing rebound is for real/a. On that note, the upcoming economic releases include July housing starts and#8230;/p

Diversified Restaurant Holdings, Inc. (DFRH.OB) Enters into Letter of Intent to Acquire Nine Buffalo Wild Wings Restaurants

QualityStocks — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:23:31 +0000

Diversified Restaurant Holdings, Inc., a restaurant management company, announced that the company has signed a letter of intent to purchase nine Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants, which includes six locations in Michigan and three locations in Florida. The company’s Board of Directors approved this agreement at its July 30, 2009 meeting. Founded in 1982 and headquartered in [...]

First GM Battery Pack Plant – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:45:06 +0000

General Motors unveiled plans to build a plant in Michigan with an investment of $43 million. The facility will manufacture lithium-ion battery packs for General Motors’ upcoming model Chevrolet Volt and other electric vehicles.

The plant in Michigan will be the first US battery pack plant to be operated by General Motors. The plant is scheduled to start production in the fourth quarter of 2009 with a capacity of 70,000 battery packs per annum. The facility will employ about 100 people.

The Volt is on track to become the first mass-market, plug-in hybrid in the US with its launch in November 2010. Unlike Toyota Motor Corp.'s (TM) Prius and other traditional hybrids, Volt is designed to run for 40 miles on a single battery charge, and can be recharged overnight at a standard electric outlet.

The carmaker expects to manufacture 10,000 Volt cars in its first 12 months of production, ultimately ramping up to 60,000 a year. South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. will make battery cells for the Volt and would ship to the General Motors battery plant in Michigan.

General Motors has been trying to restore its product line since it emerged out of bankruptcy in July. Like peers, it is focusing on fuel-efficient vehicles. Recently, the government has provided the company with grants of $105 million under the $2.4 billion package to support the development of next-generation batteries and electric vehicles.

However, our concern is whether buyers will go for plug-in electric vehicles given the expensive lithium ions batteries used in these vehicles and the limited number of charging stations available.

Read the full analyst report on "TM"
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The Catastrophe Conundrum – Healthcare Revisited

Justice Litle — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:39:32 +0000

pGood news, Canadians – the president does not think you are scary. You have become a bit of a #8220;bogeyman,#8221; however, in regard to the growing din over U.S. healthcare reform. And a Canadian style government-run system wouldn#8217;t fly in the United States./p pThat#8217;s the president talking, not ema href="http://www.taipanpublishing.com" class="alinks_links"Taipan/a Daily/em. Mr. Obama#8217;s remarks came in response to a question from a Canadian journalist, at a North American summit held in Guadalajara, Mexico./p pMeanwhile, U.S. Representative John Dingell was shouted down by an angry protester at a town hall meeting in Romulus, Mich., last week. The protester, pushing his wheelchair-bound son to the podium, called Dingell a #8220;fraud#8221; and said that proposed changes would not help his son./p pEmotions are heating up all around the#8230;/p

Affirmative Results Disappointing – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:00:22 +0000

Affirmative Insurance Holdings Inc.’s (AFFM) second quarter results were disappointing. The company reported a loss from continuing operations of $8.0 million or 52 cents per share. This compares with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a profit of 20 cents per share. The income from continuing operations was $2.9 million in the prior-year quarter.

Results were significantly impacted by increased losses from unfavorable reserve development for prior accident years related to Florida, Michigan and Louisiana businesses.

Affirmative has also sold all of its retail stores and its franchise business in Florida. Including the impact of this discontinued operation, the net loss for the quarter was $9.0 million, compared with net income of $2.3 million in the last year's second quarter. However, the company expects its pretax income to benefit by $1.0 to $1.5 million annually from the sale.

Gross premiums written were down 9.8% year-over-year to $82.3 million, driven by soft market conditions and stressed economy. However, Affirmative posted a 0.7% increase in premiums earned as the company has reduced its dependence on reinsurance in 2009.

Commission income and fees were up 2.7% year-over-year, primarily stemming from increases in premium finance revenue and commissions and fees generated from third-party products, partially offset by the decline in policyholder fees.

Net investment income for the current quarter decreased 30.4% from the prior-year period. The decrease was primarily due to a reduction in yields and a 13.0% year-over-year decrease in total average invested assets.

Losses and loss adjustment expenses were up 16.6% year-over-year. Affirmative reported a loss ratio (losses and loss adjustment expenses expressed as a percentage of premiums earned) of 86.9% compared with a loss ratio of 75.1% in the second quarter of 2008, reflecting unfavorable reserve development of $11.0 million for prior accident years.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were up 10.4%, stemming from a reduction in ceding commission income, contingent commission expense related to prior-period development and management severance charges. These were partially offset by the cost reduction initiatives.

The disruptions in the overall economy and financial markets have adversely affected consumers’ ability to purchase automobile insurance policies. As a result, the balance sheets of other auto insurance providers such as Progressive Corp. (PGR), Infinity Property and Casualty Corp. (IPCC) and State Auto Financial Corp. (STFC) have also been hurt.

In the beginning of July, the company announced a number of restructuring initiatives and cost-containment measures. We believe that though the top-line growth may be restricted during the ensuing quarters due to economic stress coupled with intensified competition, the expense management initiatives bode well going forward.
Read the full analyst report on "AFFM"
Zacks Investment Research

ArvinMeritor Targets South America – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:47:24 +0000

ArvinMeritor (ARM) emphasized its target to maintain a strong foothold in South America by focusing on original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and aftermarket for both the on- and off-highway global markets. According to Chip McClure – the Chairman, President and CEO of the Michigan-based global automotive parts manufacturer – the company enhanced its production by 9% year over year in the region amidst industry downturn.

ArvinMeritor currently has wholly owned operations and joint ventures in South America. The company supplies axle parts to both the OEMs and aftermarket. It operates a joint venture, Freios Master and Suspensys, with Randon Corp. in Caxias do Sul, Brazil . The joint venture supplies drum brakes, hubs, trailer and truck suspensions and trailer axles.

McClure commented that ArvinMeritor aims to invest up to $10 million in its commercial vehicle business in Brazil. The investment will help the company to expand into new product segments. It will also support new manufacturing technology such as advanced gear-making and efficient, high-quality equipment to make parts and components.

Recently, ArvinMeritor announced its intention to sell the Wheels business based in Limeira, Brazil and San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The company will sell the business to Iochpe-Maxion, a Sao Paulo, Brazil-based manufacturer of wheels and frames for commercial vehicles, railway freight cars and castings. The sale is expected to close by the end of 2009.
Read the full analyst report on "ARM"
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Joblessness Continues to Plague the Economy

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:30:01 +0000

pThe U.S. unemployment rate slipped to 9.4% in July from 9.5% in June, the most encouraging sign yet that the U.S. recession is easing./p pBut the news – released in a government report Friday – isn’t all good: Unemployment is likely to remain high in the months to come as some of these encouraging indicators of new economic growth evolve into a painful a href="http://www.moneymorning.com/category/jobless-recovery/" target="_blank"jobless recovery/a./p pFriday’s jobs report and other recent data “reinforce our view that the U.S. recession ended in June, and we have raised our third-quarter 2009 growth forecast to 3.5%,” Christian Broda, a Barclays Capital (NYSE ADR: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3ABCS" target="_blank"BCS/a) economist in New York, wrote in a research report yesterday./p pAlan Krueger, the U.S. Treasury Department’s top economist, said he thought forecasts#8230;/p

Joblessness Continues to Plague the Economy

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:30:01 +0000

A Year after War, Little Gained

Robert Amsterdam — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:51:28 +0000

Joshua Tucker, a political science professor from NYU and blogger at the Monkey Cage, has this opinion piece in the New Republic:In short, little related to this war has changed; despite the Russian military victory, neither side can really claim...

Axial Vector Energy Corp. (AXVC.PK) Submits Grant Applications for U.S. Engine Production Facility

QualityStocks — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:44:01 +0000

Axial Vector Energy Corp. announced this morning that it has applied for Federal Grants and Loan funding to assist the co-ownership of an Engine and Generator production facility. The company has entered negotiations with several domestic companies and various state governments. Axial Vector aims to take advantage of the numerous incentives and benefits available to [...]

Recession Recovery: An Uneven Union

Frank Holmes — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:00:00 +0000

When it comes to a recession, not all states are created equal. Some economically strong states have managed to weather the financial storm while other more vulnerable states were hit especially hard by the economic bombshell. States like Michigan, Nevada and Oregon have seen unemployment spikes as the recession crumbled the statesrsquo; cornerstone industries. Thatrsquo;s the bad news. The good news is some states have become pockets of strength and are showing the recession is subsiding. One of these states is Virginia, which edged out last yearrsquo;s winner, Texas, to take top spot in CNBCrsquo;s annual ldquo;Americarsquo;s Top States for Businessrdquo; report. While it didnrsquo;t rank number 1 in any of the individual judging categories, Virginia scored in the top-10 for its workforce, economy and its quality of education, thus taking the top spot overall. Though it finished second, the Lone Star State has had its share of good press lately. The Economist ran a cover story a few weeks ago that contrasted the strength of the Texas economy with the struggles of California. Read the Economist article here* The article points out that more Fortune 500 companies (64) call Texas home compared with New York (56) and California (51). In addition to a pro-business tax structure, Texas has the benefit of having ample natural resources and geography on its sidemdash;major port access, cross-border trade with Mexico and hundreds of square miles of farmland. Texas also has a relatively low foreclosure ratemdash;1 per 785 householdsmdash;while California is near the top with 1 per 132 households. Forbes currently lists two Texas cities in its top-25 cities for business and careers. Austin is ranked number 8 while San Antoniomdash;home of U.S. Global Investorsmdash;ranks number 16. I should point out that Texas is not without its problems. As the Wall Street Journal pointed out a few weeks ago, a two-year drought and heat wave have severely damaged the South Texas farming and cattle industries. As the economy recovers, itrsquo;s important for investors to identify those pockets of strength that will outperform others. Just as the global economy will rely on a handful of countries to right the ship, certain states will need to lead the U.S. down the road to recovery. *This link goes to The Economist Web site. U.S. Global Investors does not endorse any information supplied by this website and is not responsible for any of its content. All opinions expressed and data provided are subject to change without notice. Some of these opinions may not be appropriate to every investor. 09-540

Goldman…Goldman…Goldman…

Bill Bonner — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:31:21 +0000

p Goldman Sachs Would Have Collapsed If Not For Henry Paulson./p pThe Dow slipped a bit yesterday – only 39 points. Everyone is watching. They want to see how far this rally carries on. Many think it is more than a bear market bounce; they think it is for real./p pThe prevailing opinion is that quick action by the feds avoided a more serious meltdown. Ben Bernanke says he was working to prevent a “second great depression.”/p pAnd now that the crisis is past, the economy is slowly climbing out of its hole. The second quarter showed GDP falling at 1% per year in the US#8230; rather than the 6.4% rate recorded earlier in the year. Housing sales have perked up. Oil is trading#8230;/p

Andersons Expands Capacity – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:43:58 +0000

Andersons Inc. (ANDE) recently announced that it has increased its grain-storage capacity in Michigan by nearly 4 million bushels. This expands the company’s total grain storage capacity to more than 101 million bushels.

In addition, Andersons is working on expanding the capacity at its facilities in Delphi, Indiana and White Pigeon, Michigan. The company said that each facility will increase its capacity by 750,000 bushels within the next few months. Andersons seeks to expand its presence in new markets through storage agreements, leases and acquisitions.

Apart from expanding its grain storage capacity, the company is focusing on increasing value-added proprietary products in the Turf & Specialty Group. Management believes that its proprietary product strategy will lead to continued growth for the group in 2009.

Going forward, Andersons expects the Grain business and Turf & Specialty Group to continue performing well. However, the company’s Plant Nutrient unit posted a loss in 2008 as well as the first quarter of 2009 due to sharp decline in fertilizer prices. Slumping global fertilizer prices resulted in a significant fall in the company’s inventory value leading to negative adjustments.

The other concern is impact of the general economic weakness on the company’s Rail and Retail groups. Due to reduced rail traffic, average utilization rate fell to 86.8% in the first quarter, compared to 91.1% in the final quarter of 2008.

Management noted that a significant portion of the total US rail fleet is idle, which suggests a further decline in the Rail Group's utilization rate. In the Retail group, Andersons is witnessing lower average sale per customer.

Finally, the economics of ethanol remains challenging. Andersons said the pricing relationship between corn and ethanol hurt the results of its equity investments in three ethanol limited liability companies.

On the brighter side, Andersons noted that some ethanol companies are shutting down or idling plants. While the industry has started responding to market conditions, we believe that it will take time to bring the market into balance.

We maintain a Hold recommendation on Andersons.

Read the full analyst report on "ANDE"
Zacks Investment Research

The Andersons, Inc. – Value – Zacks Rank Buy

Tracey Ryniec — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 05:00:00 +0000

The Anderson's, Inc. (ANDE) is expected to report second-quarter results next week after beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 28 cents in the first quarter. Can it keep the momentum? Analysts are expecting 19.55% year over year earnings growth in 2009.

Company Description

The Anderson's is a diversified agribusiness company with interests in grain and plant nutrients, railcar leasing and repair, industrial products formulation, turf products, retailing and ethanol operations. The company has operations in 12 states and Puerto Rico as well as rail equipment leasing interests in Canada and Mexico.

Zacks Consensus Estimates Rise Ahead of Earnings

The Andersons is scheduled to report second quarter results next week on Aug 6. Ahead of the earnings report, Zacks Consensus Estimates have been rising.

In the last week, the second-quarter Zacks Consensus Estimate rose 5 cents to 90 cents with 1 out of 4 covering analysts raising.

The full-year Zacks Consensus Estimate jumped 7 cents to $2.14 per share.

The company used to provide earnings guidance but in its first quarter report it decided to not release a forecast for the year.

Increasing Grain Storage Capacity

The Andersons has recently been expanding its grain storage capacity with a strategy of serving more customers within the Eastern Corn Belt.

On July 29, the company announced it had added another 4 million bushels of capacity at two south-central Michigan facilities. It is also currently working on expanding capacity at facilities in Delphi, Indiana and White Pigeon, Michigan which, when completed in the next few months, will increase capacity at each facility by 750,000 bushels.

The additions will bring the Grain Division's total capacity to more than 101 million bushels.

ANDE Surprised in the First Quarter

Despite the tough economic conditions, The Andersons still beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 28 cents reporting earnings per share of 27 cents when the Zacks Consensus Estimate called for a loss of 1 cent.

Revenue, however, did drop to $697 million from $713 million.

The grain business was a positive in the quarter, as its operating income rose to $5.7 million from $2.2 million. Also seeing growth was the Turf & Specialty Group which saw revenue rise to $45 million from $40 million in the year ago period as turf products tonnage increased 13% year over year.

The Andersons Continues Dividend Tradition

On May 8, the company announced it would pay its 51st consecutive quarterly dividend of 8.75 cents which was payable on Jul 22 to shareholders of record as of Jul 1. It currently has a yield of 1.10%.

It has been paying dividends since it listed on the Nasdaq in 1996.

Value Fundamentals

The Anderson's is a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock. It is trading on the upper end of the value category, with a forward P/E of 15.6. But its price-to-book ratio is just 1.55. The company also has a stellar 5-year average return on equity (ROE) of 17.42%.

Zacks Investment Research

Energy Conversion Signs New Deal – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:22:25 +0000

Early yesterday, Michigan-based Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ENER) declared that it has signed a multi-year supply agreement with Johns Manville, a Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) company. Energy Conversion will supply its UNI-SOLAR laminates for commercial roofs to Johns Manville.

The deal is mutually beneficial. For Energy Conversion, this increases its exposure in the rooftop solar technology apart from increasing its order backlog. The company will also be able to tap into Johns Manville’s customer base spread across the industry segments aerospace, automotive and transportation, air handling, appliance, HVAC, pipe and equipment, filtration, waterproofing, building, flooring, interiors and wind energy. For Johns Manville, this will facilitate its entry into the field of solar energy.

Johns Manville is a prominent manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality products for building insulation, mechanical insulation, commercial roofing and roof insulation, apart from fibers and nonwovens for commercial, industrial and residential applications. The company operates 40 manufacturing facilities spanning North America, Europe and China.

Energy Conversion is a technology, product development and manufacturing company. It is engaged in the invention, engineering, development and commercialization of new materials, products and production technology in the fields of alternative energy technology and information technology.

Energy Conversion will report its second quarter numbers on August 27. The consensus estimate expects the company to swallow a loss of four cents per share while we expect the company to barely break-even. We reaffirm our BUY rating on the stock.

Read the full analyst report on "ENER"
Read the full analyst report on "BRK.A"
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A Breather for Entergy – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:34:07 +0000

Entergy Corp. (ETR) recently got a breather as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a pending half-yearly extension on its spin-off effort. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given Entergy an additional six months to get the pending regulatory approvals in New York and Vermont and procure the required financing to spin off five nuclear plants. Earlier in May, Entergy had requested a six-month extension to tide over the hurdles.

Entergy wants to spin off the nuclear plants as a new company – Enexus Energy Corp. The nuclear plants are Pilgrim in Plymouth, Massachusetts; Vermont Yankee in Vernon, Vermont; Indian Point in Westchester County, New York; Fitzpatrick in Oswego County, New York and the Palisades plant in Covert, Michigan.

Entergy plans to finish the spin-off of its non-utility nuclear power business by end of 2009. The spin-off will leave the company with five regulated utilities and other assets in the Gulf States region.

This news could not have come at a better time for Entergy. The company recently lowered its guidance for both the second quarter and the full year. It will release earnings for the quarter on August 4, 2009.

New Orleans-based Entergy is primarily engaged in electric power production and retail distribution operations. The company owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000MW of electricity generating capacity. It delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy Nuclear is the second-largest nuclear generator in the U.S., with interests in six nuclear plants. We maintain our speculative BUY recommendation on ETR.

Read the full analyst report on "ETR"
Zacks Investment Research

TARP Funds Stay In Fifth Third – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:32:19 +0000

Last fall Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) sold $3.4 billion worth of preferred shares to the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Treasury's Capital Purchase Program.

Management is not considering paying back the funds until the economy improves. The weakened economy has led to a 3% decrease in average commercial loans on both a sequential and year-over-year basis. Furthermore, average consumer loans were down 2% sequentially and down 1% on a year-over-year basis.

In the recent quarter, Fifth Third raised $1.4 billion of equity capital. These events have improved capital ratios with Tier 1 capital ratio rising to 12.90%, compared to 10.93% last quarter and 8.51% last year.

The credit environment remains challenging and we expect further deterioration in the performance of the company's loan portfolio in the near term. Continued deterioration in the residential real estate book and the related exposures in commercial real estate, notably homebuilders and developers were experienced in the recent quarter.

Regional market stress, particularly in Michigan and Florida , has elevated the company's loss in non-performing assets, and has, in turn, led to a substantial increase in provision and loan losses. Overall, loan losses continued to be generally associated with commercial residential builder and developer loans, as well as consumer residential real estate loans, and were disproportionately concentrated in Michigan and Florida.

While the company has taken steps to reduce the exposure to bad loans, we expect NPAs and delinquencies to continue trending upwards and anticipate the provision expense to continue exceeding charge-offs. We recommend a Hold for the stock.

Earlier this month U.S.Bancorp (USB) exited TARP's list of beneficiaries. It had to pay $139 million to repurchase stock warrants held by the treasury department.

Read the full analyst report on "FITB"
Read the full analyst report on "USB"
Zacks Investment Research

Dollar Moves Lower

Doug Casey — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:00:11 +0000

pIn the currency market, the dollar moved lower against the euro. Late Friday, the euro was trading at $1.4215 vs. $1.4194 on Thursday. br / emMarketWatch/em reported that the dollar lost ground to the euro after closely watched surveys indicated the 16-nation eurozone partially braked a fall in output in July./p pThe Munich-based Ifo Institute#8217;s July German business climate index rose for the fourth-consecutive month in July, posting a reading of 87.3. Economists had forecast a rise to 86.5 from 85.9 in June./p pAlso, the preliminary Markit euro-zone composite purchasing managers#8217; index for July increased more than forecast./p pThe euro saw a modest jump versus the dollar after the data./p p#8220;All positive, but let#8217;s not get carried away,#8221; wrote strategists at Brown Brothers Harriman. #8220;Germany#8217;s Ifo index#8230;/p

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (KBLB.OB) Part of Hot Venture Industry

QualityStocks — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:59:30 +0000

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc., the Michigan-based research group best known for its innovative research in genetic engineering for the production of spider silk, is representative of what some are saying will be the 21st century’s most important scientific and industrial movement, biotechnology. Reflecting this is the fact that biotechnology, loosely defined as the application of [...]

Sentiment Slips – Analyst Blog

Dirk Van Dijk — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:10:50 +0000

The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index slipped to 66.0 in July from 70.8 in June, but was revised up from its preliminary reading of 64.6. The reading was slightly better than expected.

The index has two major components: the expectations about how the economy will look in the future, and the state of the economy currently. Relative to June, both sides fell fairly sharply, but remain well above the lows seen last winter. Consumers' perceptions about the future dropped to a reading of 63.2 from 69.2 in June, and are almost back to the 63.1 reading in April (but that was a huge improvement over March's reading of 53.5).

The perception of the current state of the economy also slipped, falling to 70.5 from June's 73.2. However, it remains above the readings last spring (even as recent as May's 67.7 reading). While relative to June, the expectations component was the culprit, it was also the reason for the improvement versus the preliminary reading for July, rising by 2.3 points while the current conditions part rose only 0.1 point.

Consumer sentiment is often greatly influenced by two factors: gasoline prices and how well the stock market is doing. So the decline from June is a little bit surprising given that gas prices are down and the market is up (although that could explain the improvement from the preliminary number).

I have never put much stock in these numbers, even though Consumer Confidence (to be released next week by the Conference Board, and usually very similar to the University of Michigan data) is one of the items in the leading economic indicators. The numbers are of very limited utility from a market perspective. Still, the reversal after several months of improvement in the overall index is a little disconcerting, especially in the face of lower gasoline prices and higher stock prices. It means that consumers plan to keep their wallets shut pretty tight (but they do not always act the way they say they will).

This is not good for more discretionary parts of the economy. Mid-range retailers like Macy's (M) and J.C. Penny's (JCP) would seem to me to be particularly vulnerable as the carriage trade caters to those that have money to spare, regardless of the state of the economy. Discounters like Family Dollar (FDO) and Big Lots (BIG) can benefit from former J.C. Penny customers trading down in a tough economy. However, it is not something to put a lot of weight on.

Read the full analyst report on "M"
Read the full analyst report on "JCP"
Read the full analyst report on "FDO"
Read the full analyst report on "BIG"
Zacks Investment Research

Fifth Third Bancorp Betters Expectation – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:56:36 +0000

On July 23, 2009, Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) reported second quarter 2009 net income of $882 million, compared with net income of $50 million in the first quarter of 2009 and a net loss of $202 million in the second quarter of 2008. Common shareholder’s earnings were $1.15 per share compared to a loss of $0.37 last year. Excluding extraordinary items, core earnings were a loss of $0.27 per share better than analysts’ estimates of loss of $0.34.

An eventful quarter for Fifth Third was marked by $1.4 billion equity capital issue and sale of its processing unit resulting in $1.1 billion pretax profit. These events have led to improvement in capital ratios with Tier 1 capital ratio rising to 12.90% from 10.93% last quarter and 8.51% last year.

Net interest margin improved by 20 basis points from the prior quarter to 3.26%, driven by improved liability pricing and wider loan spreads, which drove a 7% sequential and 12% year over year increase in net interest income to $836 million. Last year net interest margin was 3.04%.

Results also included a special FDIC deposit insurance fund assessment, which decreased net income by $55 million pre-tax.

Credit quality deteriorated with net charge-offs almost doubling to 3.08% from 1.66% last year, due to a surge in charge-offs for commercial loans. Loss experience overall continues to be driven by commercial and residential real estate loans in Michigan and Florida. In aggregate, Florida and Michigan represented approximately 45% of total losses during the quarter and 28% of total loans and leases.

Provision for loan losses ballooned to $1.04 billion from $0.77 billion last quarter and $0.72 billion last year. Non-performing assets were 3.48% compared to 2.26% last year.

Book value per share shrank to $12.71 per share from $16.75 last year.

Credit environment remains challenging and we expect further deterioration in the performance of the company’s loan portfolio in the near term. Continued deterioration in the residential real estate book and the related exposures in commercial real estate, notably homebuilders and developers were experienced during the quarter. Regional market stress, particularly Michigan and Florida, has elevated the company’s loss in non-performing asset levels and has in turn led to a substantial increase in provision and loan losses. Overall, loan losses continued to be generally associated with commercial residential builder and developer loans as well as consumer residential real estate loans, and were disproportionately concentrated in Michigan and Florida.

The recent capital bolstering initiatives are a positive, which provide a bit of cushion in this stressed economic environment.

Last month booth Fitch as well as S&P downgraded the company’s ratings to “A-“ and “BBB" from “A" and “A-“ respectively, with negative outlook. Deteriorating credit quality led to the downgrades.

For now we recommend a hold rating on the shares.
Read the full analyst report on "FITB"
Zacks Investment Research

Today’s Pfennig Friday, July 24, 2009

Contrarian Profits — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:30:07 +0000

pHome sales improve#8230; Are we there yet#8230; Intervention talks#8230; Buying on dips#8230; And Now#8230; Today#8217;s Pfennig!br / Good day#8230;and a Fabulous Friday to you. As I was sitting here this morning collecting my thoughts, it just hit me like a ton of bricks that we#8217;re already towards the end of July and next weekend brings us into August#8230;where#8217;s the pause button when you need it. Anyway, yesterday started out like any other quiet morning so far this week but we did see a nice little run in the currencies only to see profit taking as we moved into the late afternoon. As I turned the computer screens on this morning, I see where the overnight markets brought us right back up to the levels we began#8230;/p

Energy Conversion shopping in London – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:16:08 +0000

Earlier today, Michigan-based Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ENER) announced the signing of a definitive acquisition agreement with Solar Integrated Technologies, Inc. Energy Conversion Devices has already received the approval of Solar Integrated’s board, with only the shareholders’ consent pending.

Michigan-based Energy Conversion Devices is one of the premier players in the integrated and commercial rooftop photovoltaics segment. The company manufactures and sells thin-film solar laminates under the UNI-SOLAR brand.

Solar Integrated Technologies designs, manufactures and installs building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roofing systems for commercial rooftops.

The acquisition is a good move for Energy Conversion Devices, as it will automatically lay its hands on Solar Integrated Technologies wide customer base. Also, Solar Integrated’s well-proven field engineering and technical capabilities in rooftop solar will enhance its capabilities.

As per the agreement, Energy Conversion Devices will dish out approximately $0.11 per share of Solar Integrated totaling around $11.2 million. However, Energy Conversion Devices will also have to swallow Solar Integrated's net debt obligations. This will take the sticker price to approximately $16.3 million. Energy Conversion Devices plans to finance the deal out of its own pockets.

Energy Conversion Devices will report the three month period result ending on June 30, 2009, on August 27. The street estimates the company to swallow a loss of 0.04 per share while we expect the company to barely break-even. Energy Conversion Devices trades at an estimated forward price earnings ratio of almost 27 times, while peers such as CSIQ trades just over 28 times. We maintain our long-term BUY rating on ENER.
Read the full analyst report on "ENER"
Zacks Investment Research

Housing Construction Rises as Home Prices Fall

QualityStocks — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 03:05:26 +0000

First time home buyers are in luck, construction of new U.S. homes rose in June to the highest level in seven months as builders rushed to pour foundations for homes that must be completed by the end of November in order to be eligible for a special tax break. Buyers can take advantage of a [...]

The Carbon Cap: The Newest Form of Taxation

Contrarian Profits — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:17:07 +0000

h4 class="red"It’s possible that no concept in history has ever come so far, so fast, and with so little substance behind it, as “global warming.” Or, to be precise, emanthropogenic global warming/em(AGW) – the kind caused by us puny humans rather than by that fireball that keeps the planet habitable. br / /h4 pWe’re extraordinarily lucky. If present thinking is correct, the first single-celled living organisms may have appeared as much as 3½ billion years ago, and it would appear that once life arrived, it never went away. That’s a very long time for conditions to have remained favorable enough to keep the chain from breaking./p pAs the eons unspooled, Earth’s climate varied, sometimes wildly. It has been much hotter than it is today, and much#8230;/p

BorgWarner Goes to E. Europe – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:05:39 +0000

Auburn Hills, Michigan based BorgWarner Inc. (BWA), a leading manufacturer of powertrain products for the world's major automakers, opened a new diesel and gasoline turbocharger facility in Rzeszow , Poland , southeast of Krakow. The facility has a total annual capacity of 500,000 diesel and gasoline turbochargers and will cater to automakers primarily in Europe.

The company’s new plant has commenced production within a year of beginning the facility’s construction in March 2008. This is BorgWarner’s 24th facility in Europe.

Europe is already a key market for BorgWarner’s turbochargers. The company is one of the six major suppliers of turbochargers in North America and Europe, with a 25% market share. Turbochargers are used in 41% of the cars in Europe.

BorgWarner expects strong diesel engine growth from 16 million units in 2007 to 20 million units in 2013. Sustained demand for the company’s diesel turbochargers in Europe is boosting sales in this region. The company would invest about $125 million to increase its global passenger car turbocharger capacity by more than 3 million units over the next few years.

Additionally, BorgWarner looks to capitalize on growth opportunities in Asia , where awareness of emission standards is on the rise. India and China are expected to account for 50% of the growth in the turbocharger business in the next 10 years, and BorgWarner ranks second in both markets. We have a Hold rating on the stock with a six-month target price of $32.00.
Read the full analyst report on "BWA"
Zacks Investment Research

Driven Not by Greed, but by Fear

Robert Amsterdam — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:02:51 +0000

The Financial Times has an interesting one on Magna's gamble (as a Trojan horse for Russia) to snap up GM's interests in Opel to give the weakened Oleg Deripaska "ownership" of what would be the largest car manufacturer in the...

Stock Market News & Stocks to Watch from StraightStocks » Michigan

Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., Energy Transfer Partners, Ford, Whirlpool and Wal-Mart – Press Releases

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Becton Acquires HandyLab – Analyst Blog

MWW Automotive Group (MWWC.OB) Subsidiary Signs Major Distribution Agreement

Factors in local house price declines

Magnitude of house price declines for 358 SMSAs. Source: Carson and Dastrup (2009).

Magnitude of house price increase prior to peak (horizontal axis) versus magnitude of house price decline (vertical axis). Source: Carson and Dastrup (2009).

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Investing Without Trailing Stops: Here’s Why 75% of Stocks Are a Sucker’s Bet

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An Empire of Consumption

Dow Sells Refinery – Analyst Blog

MGM Delays Debt Repayment – Analyst Blog

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Consumer Woes to Continue as Confidence Slumps and Incomes Stagnate

CMS Tops Michigan Green Race – Analyst Blog

Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Dell Inc., TiVo Inc., AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications and Ford Motor Company – Press Releases

Ford Raises Production Shifts – Analyst Blog

Weak Consumer Data Saps Wall St Gains

Europe Shares Rise for 6th Week in 7

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BorgWarner Wins New Business – Analyst Blog

Juhl Wind, Inc. (JUHL.OB) Secures $1 Million Turbine License and Distributorship

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August 24th CEOcast Weekly Newsletter

Consumers Upgraded Gas Facilities – Analyst Blog

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Lear Restructures Debt – Analyst Blog

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Diversified Restaurant Holdings, Inc. (DFRH.OB) Enters into Letter of Intent to Acquire Nine Buffalo Wild Wings Restaurants

First GM Battery Pack Plant – Analyst Blog

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