For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 20, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Principal Financial (PFG) as the Bull of the Day and Sohu.com (SOHU) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Bank of America (BAC), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Sears Holding Corp.(SHLD).

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:

We are upgrading our recommendation on the shares of Principal Financial (PFG) to Outperform. The company's third quarter operating earnings were much ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, driven primarily by the sequential improvement in domestic as well as global equity markets.

We believe that Principal's strong franchise within the pension sector, which is aided by its diversification both in terms of products and geography, positions it well to benefit

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This week, initial claims for unemployment insurance (or jobless claims) were 505,000, the same as last week’s revised figure. However, the initial read was 502,000, so it is just as valid to see this as a 3,000 increase. That, however, is not much in the overall scale of things. The four-week average fell by 6,500 to 514,000, and is now almost 145,000 below its mid-April peak. The graph below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) shows the very significant progress that has been made in brining initial claims down, but also the long way we still have to go. The four-week average is still above the peaks of the two previous recessions. It is also still at a level that would indicate continuing net job losses. We probably have to see initial claims fall below the 400,000 level to indicate that, on balance, the economy is adding jobs. On the positive ...

Initial claims for unemployment insurance (or jobless claims) fell to 502,000 last week -- a drop of 12,000 from last week's revised level (and 10,000 from last week’s unrevised level). That brought the four-week moving average down to 519,750 -- a decline of 4,500 from last week, and of 139,000 from its mid-April peak. That was the lowest level of initial claims since the first week of January (when the numbers were distorted due to the New Years Holiday). As the chart below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) shows, that was probably the high point for this cycle. The decline has been quite smooth and steady -- unlike the experience of the last two economic downturns, where after an initial decline, claims leveled off and remained high for an extended period of time. The fact that we are back to around the same levels we were in January points ...

Initial claims for unemployment insurance (or jobless claims) fell to 502,000 last week -- a drop of 12,000 from last week's revised level (and 10,000 from last week’s unrevised level). That brought the four-week moving average down to 519,750 -- a decline of 4,500 from last week, and of 139,000 from its mid-April peak. That was the lowest level of initial claims since the first week of January (when the numbers were distorted due to the New Years Holiday). As the chart below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) shows, that was probably the high point for this cycle. The decline has been quite smooth and steady -- unlike the experience of the last two economic downturns, where after an initial decline, claims leveled off and remained high for an extended period of time. The fact that we are back to around the same levels we were in January points ...

By just about any measure, this has been the worst recession since the Great Depression. While I think we are coming out of it, the employment market is the last thing to turn, particularly if we follow the pattern of the last two recessions and their aftermath. We have seen a steady pattern of lower job losses since January, when we hemorrhaged over 700,000 jobs in that single month. August’s loss of 216,000 is sure an improvement over that, and is even a big improvement over the 276,000 lost in July, which in turn was a huge improvement over the 463,000 lost in June. It is, however, not good enough -- the economy needs to add jobs, not just avoid losing them. Every year, the workforce grows by a little over a million, so just to stay even we should be adding about 100,000 a month. To recoup the 6.9 million ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 28, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Acergy (ACGY) as the Bull of the Day and Loews Corporation (L) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Bank of America (BAC), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Macy's (M).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Acergy (ACGY) posted better-than-expected second quarter 2009 results, though revenue and backlog slipped, reflecting the tentative operating environment stemming from commodity price and credit market overhang.

With a still healthy backlog, significant cash balances and no near-term refinancing requirements, Acergy remains comfortable to weather the challenging business environment.

Our continued Outperform recommendation on Acergy ADRs also reflects the company's strong leverage to the still very favorable outlook for deepwater oilfield activities

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Initial claims for unemployment came in at 570,000, a drop of 10,000 from last week's revised figure. However, last week was revised up by 4,000, so the net improvement was only 6,000 from where we thought we were. The four-week moving average dipped by 4,750 to 566,250. New claims peaked at 92,500, higher than back in April, but recently the rate of decline has slowed. As the chart below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) shows, recessions prior to the 1990 downturn tended to to come down fast and in a straight line. The last two recessionary episodes had a quick initial decline, but then remained high for an extended period of time. I think we are transitioning into that phase. Being stuck at this level means that the economy is still losing jobs, but just not at the rate it was at the beginning of the year. At the same time, other economic indicators -- ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 26, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) as the Bull of the Day and Cost Plus Inc. (CPWM) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Ford (F), Honda (HMC) and The Gap (GPS).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Intuitive Surgical’s (ISRG) story is improving. A new product was developed as an upgrade to the existing daVinci Surgical System. Furthermore, the company enjoys a virtual monopoly in robotic surgery without direct competition.

The company's razor/razor blade business model ensures recurring revenues even during difficult times. In the second quarter, earnings of $1.62 per share were higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.27.

Growth in revenues was witnessed across

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The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence index soared to 54.1 in August, up from 47.4 (upwardly revised from 46.6) and blowing away expectations of just a slight increase to 47.5. However, while improving, it still remains very low; 90 is about normal. On the other hand, it sure beats the record low 25.3 set back in February. Since the Consumer represents over 70% of the economy, this is very good news indeed -- especially coupled with the better news on housing prices we got today. The total index has two major components: the present situation and expectations for the future.  The big imporvement came on the expectations side, where that sub-index rose to 73.5 from 63.5. The increase in the present situation was more muted, and remains well below the expectations index at 24.9 up from 23.3 in July. The difference between the present situation and the expectations components ...

New claims for unemployment insurance rose last week to 584,000 -- an increase of 25,000. However, the 4-week moving average of this volatile series fell to 559,000, a decline of 8,250. As the chart below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) shows, the 4-week average looks to be well past its peak both in terms of time (16 weeks) and level (almost 100,000 below peak levels). This is significant in that it makes it increasingly unlikely that April was a false peak. Also, note the relationship of past peaks to the blue recession bars. Historically, peaks in the 4-week average of new claims have come close to or at the end of recessions. As the experience of the last two recessions shows, though, it is not always a smooth decline, and the 4-week average can rise again, but as long as it doesn’t hit a new high for the cycle, ...