Chicago, IL – October 20, 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: Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI), Washington Post Company (WPO), Journal Communications (JRN), McClatchy Company (MNI) and The New York Times Company (NYT).

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Here are highlights from Monday’s AnalystBlog:

Gannett Beats Zacks Consensus

Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI), the largest newspaper publisher in the U.S., recently reported third-quarter 2009 results. Despite a faltering economy and decline in print advertising revenue, the company’s earnings topped expectations, buoyed by effective cost-cutting measures, lower newsprint expense, reduction in headcount and pay cuts. Operating expenses dropped 14.4% to $1,179.6 million.

Gannett’s quarterly earnings of 44 cents a share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 38 cents as well as the company’s expected guidance range of 39 cents to 42 cents a share. However, earnings fell 42.1% year-on-year from 76 cents reported in the prior-year quarter due to an 18.4% decline registered in the total revenue of $1,336.6 million.

On a reported basis, including one-time items, earnings came in at 31 cents a share, down 55.1% from 69 cents posted in the year-ago quarter.

Gannett is facing the same dramatic decline in advertising revenue as the rest of the newspaper industry. Publishing advertising revenue tumbled 28.4% to $699.6 million, after falling 32.0% in the second quarter and 34.1% in the first quarter. Publishing circulation also dipped 4.9% to $284.3 million.

Although the decline in publishing advertising revenue narrowed for the reported period compared to the previous couple of quarters, no real strength was witnessed in the advertising environment. Although murmurs about advertisers returning to the market are gaining ground, the positive effects have yet to be realized in the current financial results.

Broadcasting revenue also slipped 23.1% to $151.5 million due to the absence of Olympic and political advertising, besides sustained softness in the automobile category. The only segment to show a sharp rise was digital. Revenue soared 84.2% to $143 million due to the consolidation of CareerBuilder results.

Like Gannett, other newspaper companies such as Washington Post Company (WPO), Journal Communications (JRN), McClatchy Company (MNI) and The New York Times Company (NYT) have long been grappling with the slump in print advertising demand amid the global meltdown as advertisers are migrating to the Internet driven by increasing readership and lower ad prices online than in print.

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• Accuride Corp (AURD)
• Acuity Brands Inc (AYI)
• Arbor Realty Trust Inc (ABR)
• BancTrust Financial Group Inc (BTFG)
• BRT Realty Trust (BRT)
• Cadence Financial Corp (CADE)
• Capital Trust Inc (CT)
• Community Bancorp (CBON)
• Compass Minerals International Inc (CMP)
• Cutera Inc (CUTR)
• Cybex International Inc (CYBI)
• Cynosure Inc (CYNO)
• Encore Wire Corporation (WIRE)
• Enterprise Financial Services Corp (EFSC)
• Erie Indemnity Co (ERIE)
• Fairpoint Communications Inc (FRP)
• FalconStor Software Inc (FALC)
• FARO Technologies Inc (FARO)
• First Advantage Corp (FADV)
• First M & F Corp (FMFC)
• First Security Group Inc (FSGI)
• Fuel Tech Inc (FTEK)
• Gray Television Inc (GTN)
• Horizon Financial Corp (HRZB)
• InterNAP Network Services (INAP)
• INX Inc (INXI)
• K-Sea Transportation Partners LP (KSP)
• KVH Industries Inc (KVHI)
• Live Nation Inc (LYV)
• LoJack Corp (LOJN)
• Marine Products Corp (MPX)
• Mercer International Inc (MERC)
• Meridian Bioscience Inc (VIVO)
• MetroCorp Bancshares Inc (MCBI)
• Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd (MRH)
• Move Inc (MOVE)
• Olympic Steel Inc (ZEUS)
• Pacific Ethanol Inc (PEIX)
• Palomar Medical Technologies Inc (PMTI)
• PGT Inc (PGTI)
• Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc (PRAA)
• Republic Airways Holdings Inc (RJET)
• Rockwood Holdings Inc (ROC)
• Saia Inc (SAIA)
• SJW Corp (SJW)
• Superior Well Services Inc (SWSI)
• Tele Norte Leste Participacoes SA (TNE)
• Terra Industries Inc (TRA)
• Timberland Bancorp Inc (TSBK)
• TriCo Bancshares (TCBK)
• Trico Marine Services Inc (TRMA)
• Trident Microsystems Inc (TRID)
• Votorantim Celulose e Papel SA (VCP)
• Xyratex Ltd (XRTX)
• ZipRealty Inc (ZIPR)

• ABB Ltd (ABB)
• Accuride Corp (AURD)
• Alaska Air Group Inc (ALK)
• Allegheny Energy Inc (AYE)
• The Allstate Corp (ALL)
• Arbor Realty Trust Inc (ABR)
• Argo Group International Holdings Ltd (AGII)
• Banco Bradesco SA (BBD)
• Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc (BHLB)
• Blyth Inc (BTH)
• Bristow Group Inc (BRS)
• Callaway Golf Co (ELY)
• CBS Corp (CBS)
• Celgene Corp (CELG)
• CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP)
• Cincinnati Financial Corp (CINF)
• Clarcor Inc (CLC)
• Cleco Corp (CNL)
• CNinsure Inc (CISG)
• Community Bancorp (CBON)
• Cynosure Inc (CYNO)
• Dayton Superior Corp (DSUPQ)
• Domtar Corp (UFS)
• El Paso Electric Co (EE)
• EMS Technologies Inc (ELMG)
• Erie Indemnity Co (ERIE)
• Ethan Allen Interiors Inc (ETH)
• Fairpoint Communications Inc (FRP)
• FBL Financial Group (FFG)
• First M & F Corp (FMFC)
• First Merchants Corp (FRME)
• First Security Group Inc (FSGI)
• Fuel Tech Inc (FTEK)
• The Hain Celestial Group Inc (HAIN)
• Innophos Holdings Inc (IPHS)
• Integra Bank Corp (IBNK)
• ITT Corp (ITT)
• Kelly Services Inc (KELYA)
• LDK Solar Co. Ltd (LDK)
• The Macerich Co (MAC)
• Media General Inc (MEG)
• Mercantile Bank Corp (MBWM)
• MetroCorp Bancshares Inc (MCBI)
• Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL)
• Olympic Steel Inc (ZEUS)
• Orion Energy Systems Inc (OESX)
• Pacific Capital Bancorp (PCBC)
• Physicians Formula Holdings Inc (FACE)
• Republic Airways Holdings Inc (RJET)
• RRSat Global Communications Network Ltd (RRST)
• Sanmina-SCI Corp (SANM)
• Signature Bank (SBNY)
• Standard Microsystems Corp (SMSC)
• Stanley Furniture Company Inc (STLY)
• Superior Well Services Inc (SWSI)
• The Talbots Inc (TLB)
• Terra Industries Inc (TRA)
• Timberland Bancorp Inc (TSBK)
• Trico Marine Services Inc (TRMA)
• Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd (TNP)
• Votorantim Celulose e Papel SA (VCP)
• Xyratex Ltd (XRTX)
• Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd (YGE)
• ZipRealty Inc (ZIPR)

• Arena Resources Inc (ARD)
• Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BK)
• W R Berkley Corp (WRB)
• Bristow Group Inc (BRS)
• Callwave Inc (CALL)
• Capital Trust Inc (CT)
• Carlisle Companies Inc (CSL)
• Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc (CRZO)
• Center Financial Corp (CLFC)
• Century Casinos Inc (CNTY)
• Cheniere Energy Inc (LNG)
• Churchill Downs Inc (CHDN)
• CNinsure Inc (CISG)
• Commercial Vehicle Group Inc (CVGI)
• Community Bancorp (CBON)
• CRM Holdings Ltd (CRMH)
• CryptoLogic Ltd (CRYP)
• Cutera Inc (CUTR)
• Cypress Bioscience Inc (CYPB)
• Dynamic Materials Corp (BOOM)
• El Paso Electric Co (EE)
• EnPro Industries Inc (NPO)
• Enterprise Financial Services Corp (EFSC)
• FalconStor Software Inc (FALC)
• FARO Technologies Inc (FARO)
• First M & F Corp (FMFC)
• First Security Group Inc (FSGI)
• Flamel Technologies SA (FLML)
• Flanders Corp (FLDR)
• Flushing Financial Corp (FFIC)
• Franklin Electric Co (FELE)
• Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA (GOL)
• HSBC Holdings Plc (HBC)
• Huntsman Corp (HUN)
• InterOil Corp (IOC)
• Investment Technology Group (ITG)
• INX Inc (INXI)
• LoJack Corp (LOJN)
• McGrath RentCorp (MGRC)
• Media General Inc (MEG)
• Mercer International Inc (MERC)
• MetroCorp Bancshares Inc (MCBI)
• Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd (NAT)
• Olympic Steel Inc (ZEUS)
• Otter Tail Corp (OTTR)
• Paragon Shipping Inc (PRGN)
• Perini Corp (PCR)
• Princeton Review Inc (REVU)
• Prospect Capital Corp (PSEC)
• Quest Capital Corp (QCC)
• Sasol Ltd (SSL)
• Signature Bank (SBNY)
• Standard Microsystems Corp (SMSC)
• Superior Energy Services Inc (SPN)
• TAL International Group Inc (TAL)
• Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo SA (TSP)
• Textron Inc (TXT)
• Timberland Bancorp Inc (TSBK)
• Unica Corp (UNCA)
• United America Indemnity Ltd (INDM)
• Votorantim Celulose e Papel SA (VCP)
• Western Refining Inc (WNR)
• WSP Holdings Ltd (WH)
• Xyratex Ltd (XRTX)

“I woke up this morning and everything was green - not the trees but the gains on my emerging market portfolio.”

Up, up, up, with the exception of the iShares MSCI Turkey Invest Mkt Index (NYSE:TUR), which was down 5.67%.

Some of the highlights include the HANG SENG INDEX (^HSI) up 12.82%. The RTSI INDEX (RTS.RS) jumped 18.2% after Putin approved nearly $10 billion in bailout loans - most of them going to his billionaire pals…

If you read the Wall Street Journal or The Economist dire warnings are now being issued about China’s economic growth.

While China is experiencing “negative growth” you get the feeling that somehow the slowdown is taken out of context - giving investors a somewhat distorted view of the current opportunity.

The bad news started when China’s National Bureau of Statistics announced that economic growth Q3 was 9% year-on-year, down from 10.1% in the previous…

"However, it was also asked to stop one of its production lines the day before the Games' opening ceremony to ensure good air quality."

That same pattern happened to thousands of businesses in Beijing and those temporary shutdowns are why Chinese GDP will be down in Q3,

Many hockey people who have been to Russia in recent years -- whether they're players, GMs, scouts or agents -- describe a certain Wild West element to the country's society, and its hockey business in particular. The KHL, with its deep pockets and sometimes suspect way of doing business, has done little to disabuse observers of that notion. League officials acknowledged that Radulov was under contract to the Predators before he returned to Russia to play in the KHL this season, but they did nothing to stop him. Avangard Omsk offered Stanley Cup-winning coach Bob Hartley a contract to become its bench boss, then turned around and offered the job to former Canadian Olympic assistant Wayne Fleming. Now, with many troubling questions surrounding Cherepanov's death, the KHL must choose what kind of league it is going to be.

The industry received a boost when clean energy tax credits were added to the $700 bailout bill to help its passage from Congress. But fears of falling demand and oversupply have weighed on solar stocks. The Claymore/MAC Global Solar Index ETF (NYSE:TAN) fell 35% in the first eight trading days of October.

William Patalon III, however, says new mapping technology and advances that have made solar power more eco-friendly will boost solar stocks in the long run.

This from Money Morning:

The owners of homes and businesses in 25 US cities will soon be able to use a free website to determine their rooftop’s solar-energy potential – thanks to a new specialized mapping program that has the backing of the US Department of Energy.

Engineering giant CH2M Hill Cos. Ltd., an employee-owned firm with about $5 billion in annual revenue, has received a “small-but-noteworthy” contract of $6 million under the U.S. Solar America Initiative to provide raw data on solar-power potential, MarketWatch reported.

The contract will pay the expansion of the city of San Francisco’s recently posted solar energy map. It will use advanced 3-D modeling and aerial imagery and will be available for public access through a special web portal.

Punching an address into the city’s search engine pulls up data on the estimated amount of solar photovoltaic energy that could be installed on a specific roof. Additional available data includes the potential electricity-cost reduction and the potential reduction in dioxide/greenhouse gases, the company said.

The website also provides information on installing a photovoltaic system, including contact information for local solar installers.

David Herrmann, CH2M Hill’s director of client solutions, said the mapping program could potentially replace the current method of assessing solar energy potential.

“Right now, to get a solar assessment on a roof, you have to call up the solar installer, they bring their ladder, a guy wanders around on your roof, and two or three weeks later you get a report,” Herrmann told MarketWatch. “With this technology, you could do it accurately and quickly without having to roll a truck.”

Herrmann said the company’s solar maps use a format from Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google Maps to display the data, but that CH2M Hill collects the images through its own proprietary process with Esri Inc. – A Redlands, Calif.-based company that’s recognized as a leader in geographic information systems (GIS) also supplying technology for the effort.

The solar map is also compatible with the Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT) Virtual Earth display, he said.

Herrmann said the Internet-mapping business remains healthy, with companies routinely paying for airplane flyovers to provide panoramic shots of streets and buildings all across the United States.

The 25 cities for which this service will be available will include: Denver, Houston, Philadelphia, San Jose, Calif.; Santa Rosa, Calif.; Seattle; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Austin, Tex.; Berkeley, Calif.; Boston, New Orleans, New York City and Tucson, Ariz.

Also, advances in technology have made solar cell production even more eco-friendly.

A recent study by the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., found that for each unit of energy produced by solar cells, the pollution that’s emitted during the cells’ manufacture is only 2% to 11% the amount produced by power plants in the United States and Europe.

In fact, newly developed solar cells can "pay back" the energy required for their production in just one to three years. And improvements in manufacturing efficiency could reduce emissions from solar power by another 50% in five to 10 years, according to a recent report by Money Morning.

There have been tremendous advances in the production and efficiency of solar technologies.

And those advances couldn’t have come at a better time. Political support for the industry is at an all-time high as oil prices and environmental awareness both continue to rise.

The Englewood, Colo.-based CH2M Hill has 23,000 employees and ranked 54 on Fortune magazine’s 11th annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, a ranking that was published in late January. It’s the third time the company has ranked among those top-tier companies. CH2M Hill has also been recognized as a “Most Admired Company” by Fortune for the past five years.

CH2M HILL has been repeatedly recognized for its competitive compensation-and-benefits packages, employee ownership, and reputation for landing challenging projects, some the most recent include:

• Program management for the seven-year, $5 billion expansion of the Panama Canal.

• Overseeing the design and construction of the venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.

• The engineering and construction of the Xcel Energy Inc.’s (XEL) 580-megawatt gas-fired High Bridge Power Plant near St. Paul, Minn.

• Providing program management consulting services for the $2 billion improvement program for India’s Mumbai airport.

• Engineering services for the Southern Seas Desalination Plant in Perth, Australia, which will use “green” energy to supply 20% of that city’s water needs.
• Managing a $10 billion military-base-relocation program for the U.S. and South Korean governments

Alternative Energy Update: Can Your Rooftop Lower Your Electricity Bill?

Platinum busted back over $1,000 by mid-morning, but then followed gold lower and traded sideways through the Globex, ending at $965/oz., up only $3. Overnight, platinum has pushed higher.

Silver was up sharply overseas, but plunged at the start of COMEX trading, rallied from mid-morning through the COMEX, then got slapped down again on the Globex, closing at $11.03/oz., down 13 cents. Overnight, silver is steeply higher. (Click here for charts)

It was an oddly mixed day for the precious metals as gold rose against the massive worldwide selloff in equities, but its sister metals were unable to develop any sustainable traction whatsoever.

Gold aficionados, in fact, were probably a bit disappointed that the object of their affections didn’t do even better, because if there were ever a day to set sail for the safest harbor out there, yesterday was it.

“This is truly a financial panic,” said Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management in Evanston, Illinois. “It's obvious safe-haven buying for gold. One bank after another is going under in Europe. And what's scaring people is that they don't have all the safeguards that we do in this country.”

What’s going on in the gold market right now defies explanation, as the price has moved only modestly on the spot market, at the same time that physical gold is in such demand that suppliers are out.

The bullion page at Kitco, for example, notes that: “The following products have been temporarily removed from our Precious Metal Store until further notice due to production and delivery delays that retailers are currently facing; 1 oz Gold bars, 1 oz Kitco Gold bars, 10 oz Gold bars, 1 oz Silver Eagles, 1 oz Silver Maples, 1 oz Silver Philharmonic coins, 1 oz Olympic Silver Maples, 100 oz Silver bars and 1 oz Palladium Maples.”

Nor are any 1 oz. Eagles or Maples listed for sale.

Will spot begin accurately reflecting demand? That’s anyone’s guess, but it will happen only after the banks and funds that control futures prices become aggressive buyers. And there’s no predicting when that will happen.

Source: Gold shoots higher amid chaos on the Street - But silver, platinum fail to follow.

It’s the "teach a man to fish" theory of steelmaking: Buy iron ore from someone else, and you have it for a day (actually, 365 days, since iron ore is sold in year-long contracts); buy your own mine, and you have iron ore for life.

China’s steelmakers are worried about the price of their biggest ingredient.

China’s growth is tied to the construction of new offices, apartment buildings and Olympic-commemorative sports complexes. And all of those new high-rises and architecturally avant-garde fitness centers pushing their way into the Beijing and Shanghai skylines need a lot of steel (so much that the government limits the amount that can be exported, flooding the domestic market to keep steel prices artificially low). And steel needs a lot of iron ore.

China has three major iron ore suppliers: Australia’s BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) and Rio Tinto (NYSE:RTP) both raised their contract prices on China this year by as much as 97%. And right now the country’s steelmakers are engaged in a staring contest with the third, Brazil’s Vale (NYSE:RIO), waiting to see who’ll blink first

Vale, which only got a 71% increase in this year’s contract price, wants more money and canceled its shipments to the country until China coughs up the dough. But the Chinese steelmakers, many of which are still on the government’s short leash, aren’t budging on their contract prices, even if they are 11% lower than Vale charges its European customers.

In the meantime, China is shopping around for its own iron ore mines to solve the supply problem altogether. Jiangsu Shagang Group, one of China’s largest state-controlled steel companies, just bought a 45% stake in Australia’s Grange Resources (Australia:GRR). (Anybody else notice that China is slowly buying all of Australia? Shouldn’t this alarm someone? Like the prime minister or whoever runs the country’s military?)

Shagang already controls Australian Bulk Minerals, which operates a Tasmania iron ore mine. And it plans to combine the two companies to create a billion-dollar (I’m not being hyperbolic; the new company will be worth about 1 billion Australian dollars) iron ore miner.

If China’s steelmakers continue on their current plans, Vale may find itself not as vital as it once thought. Perhaps 71% is a good enough raise for 2008. After all, with only three months left in this year’s contract, negotiations for next year could make up for all of the lost profits in this year’s contract.

Source: Vale (RIO) cuts off iron ore… and China goes shopping

Sina has released its estimate of the impact of the Beijing Olympics. The company reported that on-line advertising (70% of total revenue) growth was enhanced by about fifteen percentage points from the rate experienced in 2007, for an annual growth of 55% year over year.

Chinese Internet penetration has reached 20%, and it has accelerated over the past six months. We are maintaining our Buy rating for SINA with a target price of $45 a share.

Read the full analyst report on SINA

Shares of steel companies were hit last week when the Federal Reserve refused to change the benchmark federal fund rate. Add to it a strong dollar and slumping demands had led the likes of Arcellor Mittal (MT) to cut production. No wonder it was down around 3% on Tuesday.

But Arcellor Mittal is back with a bang on Thursday with an intraday gain of 7.53% till 1.20. But MT pales behind the 8.03% gain logged by Mechel Steel (MTL). Brazilian steel company Gerdau S.A. (GGB), too, is up 5% on the news of its decision to invest $524 million in a steel plant in Argentina. Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK), Haynes International, Inc. (HAYN) and Olympic Steel (ZEUS) have also made modest gains. The only stock lagging till now is A.K. Steel (AKS), which has shed around 0.94%.

In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy.

"It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."

The $700 billion dollar figure may have been plucked from nowhere but, according the The Wall Street Journal, it may be the "greatest trade ever". Here's why:

It's not without risk, but the Feds, with lots of levers, can and will pump capital into the U.S. economy to get it moving again. Future heads of Treasury and the Federal Reserve will be growth advocates - in effect, "talking their book." While normally this creates a threat of inflation and a run on the dollar, and we may see dollar exchange rates turn south near term, don't expect it to last.

First, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley now operating as low-leverage bank holding companies, a dollar injected into the economy will most likely turn into $10 in capital (instead of $30 when they were investment banks). This is a huge change. Plus, a stronger U.S. economy, with its financial players having clean balance sheets, will become a safe haven for capital.

Europe is threatened by an angry Russian bear. The Far East, especially China, has its own post-Olympic banking house of cards of non-performing loans to deal with. Interest rates will tick up as the economy expands -- a plus for the dollar. Finally, a stronger economy driven by industry instead of financials means more jobs, less foreclosures and higher held-to-maturity payouts on this Fed loan portfolio.

You can slice the numbers a lot of different ways. My calculations, which assume 50% impairment on subprime loans, suggest it is possible, all in, for this portfolio to generate between $1 trillion and $2.2 trillion - the greatest trade ever.

Note that first sentence: "It's not without risk, but the Feds, with lots of levers, can and will pump capital into the U.S. economy to get it moving again." It should send shivers down the spine of investors holding dollar assets.

According to Rude Awakening editor Eric Fry - and we think he's bang on the money with this one - investors should "Sell the dollar, sell the dollar, sell the dollar"...

The U.S. Treasury will absolutely, positively increase the money supply to rescue the financial system…Which means investors must try to protect themselves against an almost certain inflation.

So what’s an investor to do?

Sell American stocks, bonds and currencies; buy foreign stocks, bonds and currencies. And, of course, buy commodities.

The stocks were Accenture Ltd. (ACN), Cimarex Energy Co. (XEC), Stone Energy Corp. (SGY) and Walter Industries, Inc. (WLT). Each company has performed better than all three major averages over the past year.

The screening strategies are the Upgrades and Revisions2, Filtered Zacks Rank2, Value Method1 and Momentum Method1.

The Upgrades and Revisions 2 strategy focuses primarily on stocks with upward Earnings Estimate Revisions and Rating Upgrades. This screen generates approximately 8-10 stocks a month, has an excellent win ratio (74%) and has shown consistently impressive returns year after year.

One company that currently fulfills the requirements of the Upgrades and Revisions 2 screen is Fluor Corporation (FLR), which provides services globally in the fields of engineering, procurement, construction, operations, maintenance and project management.

The Zacks #1 Rank (“strong buy”) company posted a record second quarter. Net earnings jumped 119% to $209 million from last year’s $96 million. The company mentioned that all business segments contributed to this positive result by posting solid growth in profit over last year.

The company also hiked its earnings guidance for the year to a range of $3.65 to $3.80 per share. This compares with FLR’s previous guidance of $3.30 to $3.45 per share after adjusting for a two-for-one stock split. Analysts responded with higher forecasts. Eight out of 11 covering analysts raised full-year 2008 earnings estimates from the two months-ago level of $3.27 per share to $3.58.

Investors looking for a reliable way to trade some of the best of the Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) stocks, should try the Filtering Zacks Rank strategy, which will enable an individual to trade fewer stocks for bigger returns. Since there are typically over 200 stocks on the Zacks #1 Rank list (Strong Buy) at any time, this strategy applies two filters. One filter looks for positive current quarter estimate revisions over the last four weeks. The other filter screens for positive average broker rating changes over the last week.

Almost Family, Inc. (AFAM) provides home health care services in the U.S., operating segments of visiting nurse and personal care.

Also Zacks #1 Rank (“strong buy”) company, AFAM announced record results in the second-quarter. Net services revenue increased 50% from last year to $48.7 million. Net income surged to $3.9 million, up from $2 million in the same period last year. This produced earnings of 50 cents per share, blowing past analyst estimates of 38 cents per share.

The current-year estimate now stands at $1.89 per share, up from $1.51 per share 60 days ago and up from. The most accurate forecast is a more bullish $1.92. The next-year’s projection of $2.26 per share is up from last month’s $2.23 and the two months-ago estimate of $1.73. The most accurate 2009 expectation is higher at $2.34.

Both of these stock screens are explained in greater detail in the Top 10 Stock Screening Strategies That Make Money report. The report contains proven profitable trading strategies and unique ways to screen for winning stocks. The strategies were created with and backtested in the Research Wizard stock screening and backtesting program.

Individuals can use the Research Wizard to run the aforementioned screens or to test any of the other proven, profitable strategies that come with the program. One can also learn how to create and test his or her own winning trading strategies that signal when to buy and when to sell.

Two more winning strategies from the Research Wizard include Value Method1 and Momentum Method1.

The Value Method1 screen consists of parameters that look for outperformers with rising earnings estimates and attractive valuations.

Olympic Steel, Inc. (ZEUS) is another Zacks #1 Rank (“strong buy”) pick. The company distributes processed carbon, coated and stainless flat-rolled sheet, and coil and plate steel products in the United States.

On July 31, Olympic Steel reported record second quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates by $1.00 per share. Net income was $29.6 million, or $2.70 per share, compared to $9.4 million, or 88 cents per share, a year ago.

For the full year, analyst estimates of $6.87 are above last month’s $6.56. The most accurate projection stands even higher at $7.43.

The criteria for Momentum Method1 includes parameters such as a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and solid share price momentum.

Knoll, Inc. (KNL), a furniture maker, rounds out this list of Zacks #1 Rank (“strong buy”) companies. The company has a good record of meeting or beating analysts' earnings expectations, and has averaged a surprise of 11.2% over the past 4 quarters.

The company's second-quarter report from July included adjusted earnings per share of 49 cents on net sales of $292.5 million. The earnings result topped the consensus by 22.5% while easily improving upon the year-earlier result of 37 cents. Net sales moved higher by 7.5%. KNL attributed results to its diversification strategy that focused on high design content businesses and away from dependence on North American systems sales.

Wall Street has full-year 2008 earnings forecasts pegged at $1.69 per share, up from $1.58 over the past 60 trading days.
"ZUES" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
"KNL3" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
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Company Description

Warnaco Group, Inc designs, produces, and sells a wide array of clothing, accessories, and fragrances. The clothing for men, women, and children is sold under several different brands including Calvin Klein, Speedo, and others. The company has come a long way from its origins in 1874, when it was founded, selling corsets to retailers. The multi-brand company now has approximately 4,700 employees, a market cap of $2.3 billion, and is still headquartered in New York.

Second-Quarter Results Top Estimates

On August 7th, Warnaco announced second-quarter results which included net revenue of $503.8 million, up from $412.5 or a 22% year-over-year increase. The boost in revenue lead to earnings per share of 71 cents, 23 cents greater than the consensus estimate of 48 cents.

This was the fourth earnings surprise in as many quarters, averaging 31.6% per surprise.

Year-Over-year Growth Seen in All Segments

While all segments saw strong revenues, the sportswear segment led the way by increasing its revenue 29% to $249.4 million. Intimate apparel also saw double digit growth of 24%, up to $172.7 million.

Despite Speedo revenues decreasing, strong Calvin Klein sales in Europe and reduced costs drove swimwear revenue up a modest 2%.

Full-Year Estimates Rising

While current and next quarter earnings estimates slipping, full-year estimates are increasing. The current-year consensus estimate is now $2.91 per share, up from $2.77 within the last 60 days. The full-year 2009 estimate is up 5.6% to $3.37, up from $3.19 over the same period.

The estimates represent year-over-year earnings growth of 36% for the current year and 16% for next year. Warnaco's PEG ratio is .86, right in line with the industry.

Speedo Bonus Goes to Charity

Michael Phelps received a $1 million bonus from Speedo following his record-breaking Olympic performance. On September 2nd the world-renowned athlete announced the creation of the Michael Phelps Foundation funded partly by the bonus.

Speedo has been a long-time supporter of Phelps and will continue to work with him on an eight-city tour to launch the new program. The Dream, Plan, Reach program is designed to instill valuable principles for children in and out of the water.

The Chart

Shares of WRC set a 52-week high of $53.89 just after the August 7th announcement. They have since come off of the high but continue to pressure that level. Take a look at the chart below.

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

The company has posted a positive earnings surprise in each of its last four fiscal quarters, and today's numbers may provide a further boost to the company's September quarter (Q3).  While analyst revisions have been rather minimal as of late, the Zacks consensus for 3rd quarter earnings is 95 cents per share, and it is $3.52 per share for the entire fiscal year.

Zacks senior restaurant industry analyst Ann Northrop, CFA has had a Buy recommendation on McDonald's shares since July of 2007, when they were trading in the $48 range.  In her latest report, she reiterated her Buy rating and included the following quote: "We think this stock provides relative safety and moderate growth in a turbulent environment and exposure to faster-growing international markets."

ENERGY

Oil falls as global demand concerns re-emerge

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices fell below $106 a barrel Tuesday in Asia -- $10 below its close Friday before the Labor Day weekend -- as investors shifted their focus to slowing global demand after worries about Hurricane Gustav subsided.

Wind, solar energy built on temporary tax breaks
Congress is putting the short-term future of renewable energy companies in jeopardy even as the presidential candidates and most lawmakers hail windmills, solar panels and biofuels as long-term solutions to high gasoline prices and global warming.

Russian gas oil, gasoline exports fall in Aug

Russian exports of gas oil and gasoline fell in August. Russian oil companies exported 86,219 tonnes per day of gas oil in the first 27 days of August, down by 5.7% from 91,390 tonnes per day in the first 30 days of July. Exports of gasoline, which usually amount to just around 10% of total sales of the fuel, fell by 14.7% to 9,167 tonnes per day from 10,740 tonnes per day in July.

MISC Says It's Halting Ships Travel to Gulf of Aden After Vessels Hijacked MISC Bhd., the world's biggest owner of liquefied natural gas tankers, halted its vessels from entering the Gulf of Aden until more security measures are in place after pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia.

AGRICULTURE

Corn, Soybeans Tumble as Oil Declines on Reduced Hurricane Damage Concern Corn plunged by the trading limit and soybeans tumbled as oil fell after Hurricane Gustav passed the U.S. Gulf Coast without causing major damage, driving the dollar up and reducing demand for the crops as an alternative investment.

GOLD

Gold Declines for Third Day as Crude Oil Slips, Dollar Rallies

Gold fell for a third day in London as the dollar strengthened and crude oil slid, reducing demand for the metal as an alternative investment and inflation hedge. Platinum also dropped.

US DOLLAR

Dollar Bears' Mea Culpa Makes Ben Bernanke No Liability in Global Slowdown Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has gone from a dollar liability to an asset, sparking a rally that even bears say shows few signs of ending

CANADA

Canada's Harper Seeks National Election, Opposition Leader Dion Says Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will likely call national elections after failing to find common ground with rival parties for the agenda of the next session of Parliament, opposition Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said.

GLOBAL ECONOMY

China's Spending May Thwart Olympic Curse, Buoy Asia

After four straight quarters of decelerating gross domestic product growth, the government is considering a fiscal stimulus of as much as 400 billion yuan ($58 billion), according to economists and reports in domestic news media.

A plan awaiting approval from the State Council and the National People's Congress includes 220 billion yuan of spending and 150 billion yuan of tax cuts, the Beijing-based Economic Observer newspaper reported last week.

China has tripled railway spending this year to 300 billion yuan. The current five-year plan, which runs through 2010, calls for investing almost 4.8 trillion yuan on power stations, waterways, roads and other infrastructure projects -- more than the combined output of Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Reconstruction after May's Sichuan earthquake could cost another 1 trillion yuan, the government says.

As global economy slows, visions of $80 oil grow

Economist Glen Langan told BloggingStocks a further decline in oil to below $100 is consistent with the recent slowdown in global economic growth, but he'll await further international GDP data before arguing for an oil dip to the $80 range.

"The key here, again, as with the uptrend in the previous four years, is China. If oil consumption growth slows in China, oil will experience a large sell-off, as institutional investors and traders sense that the great bull run in commodities is at least pausing," Langan said. "China is likely to register GDP growth of about 10% in Q3, and if it's below 9% or 8.5%, investors will take that as a sign that a slowdown is ahead, which is bearish for commodity prices." China's economy grew 10.2% in Q2 and 10.4% in 1H 2008.

ENERGY

Oil falls as global demand concerns re-emerge

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices fell below $106 a barrel Tuesday in Asia -- $10 below its close Friday before the Labor Day weekend -- as investors shifted their focus to slowing global demand after worries about Hurricane Gustav subsided.

Wind, solar energy built on temporary tax breaks
Congress is putting the short-term future of renewable energy companies in jeopardy even as the presidential candidates and most lawmakers hail windmills, solar panels and biofuels as long-term solutions to high gasoline prices and global warming.

Russian gas oil, gasoline exports fall in Aug

Russian exports of gas oil and gasoline fell in August. Russian oil companies exported 86,219 tonnes per day of gas oil in the first 27 days of August, down by 5.7% from 91,390 tonnes per day in the first 30 days of July. Exports of gasoline, which usually amount to just around 10% of total sales of the fuel, fell by 14.7% to 9,167 tonnes per day from 10,740 tonnes per day in July.

MISC Says It's Halting Ships Travel to Gulf of Aden After Vessels Hijacked MISC Bhd., the world's biggest owner of liquefied natural gas tankers, halted its vessels from entering the Gulf of Aden until more security measures are in place after pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia.

AGRICULTURE

Corn, Soybeans Tumble as Oil Declines on Reduced Hurricane Damage Concern Corn plunged by the trading limit and soybeans tumbled as oil fell after Hurricane Gustav passed the U.S. Gulf Coast without causing major damage, driving the dollar up and reducing demand for the crops as an alternative investment.

GOLD

Gold Declines for Third Day as Crude Oil Slips, Dollar Rallies

Gold fell for a third day in London as the dollar strengthened and crude oil slid, reducing demand for the metal as an alternative investment and inflation hedge. Platinum also dropped.

US DOLLAR

Dollar Bears' Mea Culpa Makes Ben Bernanke No Liability in Global Slowdown Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has gone from a dollar liability to an asset, sparking a rally that even bears say shows few signs of ending

CANADA

Canada's Harper Seeks National Election, Opposition Leader Dion Says Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will likely call national elections after failing to find common ground with rival parties for the agenda of the next session of Parliament, opposition Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said.

GLOBAL ECONOMY

China's Spending May Thwart Olympic Curse, Buoy Asia

After four straight quarters of decelerating gross domestic product growth, the government is considering a fiscal stimulus of as much as 400 billion yuan ($58 billion), according to economists and reports in domestic news media.

A plan awaiting approval from the State Council and the National People's Congress includes 220 billion yuan of spending and 150 billion yuan of tax cuts, the Beijing-based Economic Observer newspaper reported last week.

China has tripled railway spending this year to 300 billion yuan. The current five-year plan, which runs through 2010, calls for investing almost 4.8 trillion yuan on power stations, waterways, roads and other infrastructure projects -- more than the combined output of Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Reconstruction after May's Sichuan earthquake could cost another 1 trillion yuan, the government says.

As global economy slows, visions of $80 oil grow

Economist Glen Langan told BloggingStocks a further decline in oil to below $100 is consistent with the recent slowdown in global economic growth, but he'll await further international GDP data before arguing for an oil dip to the $80 range.

"The key here, again, as with the uptrend in the previous four years, is China. If oil consumption growth slows in China, oil will experience a large sell-off, as institutional investors and traders sense that the great bull run in commodities is at least pausing," Langan said. "China is likely to register GDP growth of about 10% in Q3, and if it's below 9% or 8.5%, investors will take that as a sign that a slowdown is ahead, which is bearish for commodity prices." China's economy grew 10.2% in Q2 and 10.4% in 1H 2008.

China’s Oil Thirst Hits New High

China's oil demand growth hit a two-year high in July but the pre-Olympic spurt will likely fall off in the autumn, undermined by high prices, global economic woes and the end of official pressure to stockpile for the games.

XX Sean’s note – funny, but I’d think that after the Olympics (or at least, after the Para-lympics), China’s oil demand will ramp up again. We’ll have to see.

China Warns on Winter Energy Supply

China warned on Thursday that its energy supply problems were likely to last into winter as it struggles to ensure stable sources of coal, oil and power, the People's Daily reported, citing a senior official.

Some markets are too illiquid to trade. Here is a cautionary tale about rhodium (with charts).

On the other hand, money is pouring into the SLV (silver ETF).

So much for a surplus of gold. You can’t buy American Gold Eagles now if you want to.

You know how things were going pretty well in Iraq lately because a bunch of Sunnis switched sides and became our friends (because we were paying them)? Well, now, the Shi’ite-led government of Iraq has decided to arrest and/or kill those Sunnis. It makes you wonder whose side the Iraqi government is on, anyway.

Want to know more about Obama’s economic plan? The New York Times breaks it down for you.

And here's some dance music to get your weekend off to a good start.

Happy weekend!

Cimarex Surprised by 5.51% in the Second Quarter

On Aug 5, the company once again beat Wall Street estimates when it reported its second quarter earnings. Net income soared 191% to $229.3 million, or $2.68 per share, from $78.7 million, or 93 cents per share in the year ago period. Analysts expected $2.54 per share in the quarter.

Revenues jumped 81% to $588.7 million from $325.8 million a year ago.

Obviously, the revenue growth could be attributed to the surging crude and natural gas prices as crude rose during the quarter. Natural gas prices increased 45% to an average of $10.57 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) and crude gained 98% to an average of $121.64 per barrel compared to the second quarter of 2007.

However, it's not just pricing which is spurring the growth. The company has also been increasing production. In its second quarter report, XEC forecast full year 2008 production would be 9 - 12% higher than fiscal year 2007.

Cimarex's fundamentals remain in place. 5 out of 6 covering analysts have raised estimates in the last 30 days for the full year to $9.25 from $8.32 per share. One analyst also lowered in the last week.

XEC remains a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy). Read the May 30 analysis.

Update to Previous Value Zacks Rank Buy Stocks

Bunge Limited (BG), a worldwide agribusiness company, continues to beat Wall Street estimates as fertilizers and agribusiness boom. The company has a five year average return on equity (ROE) of 14.37%. Read the Aug 12 analysis.

Metalico, Inc. (MEA), a scrap metal processor, recently reported the best quarter in the company's history as soaring metal prices pushed up revenues by 342%. Metalico has a forward P/E of 9.70. Read the Aug 13 analysis.

Olympic Steel, Inc. (ZEUS) is profiting from strong steel demand. The company recently announced a $1 special dividend. Olympic Steel has a forward P/E of 8.87. Read the Aug 14 analysis.

Gulfport Energy Corporation (GPOR) is riding the energy boom to big profits as it raises production as crude and natural gas prices also pop. It has surprised on estimates the last 2 quarters by an average of 33.5%. Gulfport's forward P/E is 6.24. Read the Aug 15 analysis.

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

Western authorities should also explore the vulnerability of Russian assets abroad. At the least, they can make life difficult for the holders of those assets. Post-Soviet Russia allowed the emergence of businessmen and entrepreneurs who indeed wish to function as normal participants in world commerce. Their number, however, assuredly includes the lucky billionaires under Mr. Putin's protection. All of them want to benefit from the West's rules. That privilege should be restricted so long as Mr. Putin breaks the rules. In the world of global commerce, reputation matters. China has calculated that its own ambivalent reputation can only gain from staging the Olympic extravaganza. The glow of the Games is money in the bank. By contrast, the Putin government has embarked on a strategy that seems to believe its power grows in sync with its reputation as an international pariah, an outsider state. Mr. Bush said Friday that "Russia has damaged its credibility and its relations with the nations of the free world." True, and if the West remains firm, it can make clear to Mr. Putin that the political price of behavior beyond the pale of normal relations is high. Overrunning Georgia was easy. Life after that should not be.

Americans should be appalled at the lack of attention paid to the major international security crisis in Georgia by the media, by our government and by the world community. We should have expected that the broadcast media would interrupt Olympic coverage and that cable news would begin a series of stories on the background and analysis of the Georgian war, not place Olympic biographies and stories about the John Edwards affair as lead news items. We should have expected that any major political party's presidential candidate would return from vacation to Washington in order to jointly denounce the Russians' actions in Georgia, not issue spineless statements on the moral equivalency of the Russian and Georgian positions from a Hawaiian golf course. We should have expected that through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, we would begin a major initiative to deter any further Russian military aggression by working publicly and jointly to add what remains of Georgia and Ukraine fully into the treaty, not continue a now-moot academic debate on whether publicly backing Ukraine and Georgia might "provoke" Russian bullying.

Olympic Steel, Inc. (ZEUS) distributes processed carbon, coated and stainless flat-rolled sheet, and coil and plate steel products in the United States.

ZEUS, a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy), operates as an intermediary between steel producers and manufacturers that require processed steel for their operations. ZEUS operates 16 facilities across North America, predominantly in the Midwest.

Olympic Steel Reports a Record Second Quarter

On July 31, Olympic Steel reported record second quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates by $1.00 per share. Net income was $29.6 million, or $2.70 per share, compared to $9.4 million, or 88 cents per share, a year ago. Analysts expected only $1.70 per share.

Sales jumped 31% to $363.5 million from $277.4 million in the second quarter of 2007. Sales were hot for the entire first half of the year, rising 18.9% compared to the first half of 2007.

Volumes rose, as tons sold increased 5.1% to 353 thousand from 336 thousand in the year ago period.

Outlook Is Cautious

Despite the record second quarter, the company was cautiously optimistic.

ZEUS said its outlook remained favorable. The company stated it was positioned to perform well through the seasonally slow third quarter sales period.

ZEUS to Pay $1 Per Share Special Dividend

On July 31, Olympic Steel announced it will pay a $1 special dividend payable on Sep 15 to shareholders of record as of Sep 1.

The company also raised its regular quarterly dividend by 1 cent to 5 cents per share from 4 cents. It is also payable on Sep 15 to shareholders of record on Sep 1.

"Given the company's strong balance sheet and cash flows, its ongoing increased capital spending initiatives, and the company's commitment to growth, it was deemed appropriate to reward shareholders at this time," said CEO Michael D. Siegal.

Estimates Rise Sharply for the Third Quarter and Full Year

Responding to the record second quarter, covering analysts have been raising estimates for the third quarter and the full year. For the third quarter, estimates jumped 26 cents to $1.68 from $1.42 per share in the last month.

For the full year, estimates climbed 14.7% in the last 30 days to $6.18 from $5.39 per share.

Value Fundamentals

Olympic Steel continues to have strong fundamentals. It currently trades at only 8.8x forward earnings. Its price-to-book (P/B) is 1.70, under the industry average of 1.98. The company has a solid five year average return on equity (ROE) of 16.55%.

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

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