For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 19, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Eastman Chemical (EMN), E.I. DuPont (DD), T. Rowe Price (TROW), Western Digital (WDC) and SuperValu (SVU). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Every day, Zacks.com makes 4 stock picks available, free of charge. To see them, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5612.

This Week's Events

Third-quarter earnings season hits full stride this week with 439 companies confirmed to report. More than of a quarter of these are from the S&P 500 (135 companies).

Housing data will be the highlight on the economic calendar. The existing home sales data will be influenced by the first-time home buyers' credit. The starts and permits data could be more interesting, especially if they show fear on the part of builders about the subsidy

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Consumers are showing a willingness to spend, even as they watch their budgets.

This morning, the Commerce Department said that retailers saw sales rose 0.5% last month, excluding motor vehicles and parts. Furniture & home furnishing stores, health & personal care stores, general merchandise stores and gasoline stations all saw increases of 0.8% or better.

(The hangover from the Cash for Clunkers program resulted in an 11.8% drop in sales at auto dealers. This skewed the overall change in retail sales down to -1.5%.)

The increase may seem surprising given the economic backdrop. After all, unemployment is rising towards 10% and another wave of foreclosures could be forthcoming as adjustable rate mortgages reset. On the other hand, the majority of Americans are employed and the improving economic data is probably giving consumers some confidence, even if the sentiment surveys are less clear.

Plus, the Commerce Department's data is backed up

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 12, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Intel (INTC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Google (GOOG), Fairchild Semiconductor International (FCS) and Safeway (SWY). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Every day, Zacks.com makes 4 stock picks available, free of charge. To see them, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5612.

This Week's Events

Large-cap companies will dominate the earnings headlines this week.

Six Dow components, including Intel (INTC), are scheduled to release third-quarter results. Joining them will be Goldman Sachs (GS) and Google (GOOG). In total, we have confirmed reports from 72 companies, 29 of which are in the S&P 500.

There will be quite a bit of economic data published, including CPI and industrial production and capacity utilization. We will also get the minutes from

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Hostile takeover attempts have kept fertilizer companies in the news. The acquisition talk has helped to overshadow a negative trend that should have investors concerned - ongoing cuts to full-year profit forecasts.

During the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimates have been revised downwards on several fertilizer companies, including Agrium (AGU), Intrepid Potash (IPI), Mosaic (MOS) and Potash of Saskatchewan (POT).

The most recent cuts were related to a warning from POT. The company predicted that its full-year profits would be in the range of $3.25 to $3.75 per share, instead of the prior guidance of $4 to $5 per share. The company blamed "continued slow demand and limited restocking by fertilizer distributors" as the reasons for the revised forecast.

All Is Not Well on the Farm

The big reason why profit projections for fertilizer companies have been falling is not weaker demand for fertilizer,

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 28, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Walgreen (WAG) and Xyratex (XRTX). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Every day, Zacks.com makes 4 stock picks available, free of charge. To see them, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5612.

This Week's Events

Five S&P 500 companies are confirmed to report: Constellation Brands (STZ), Darden Restaurants (DRI), Jabil Circuit (JBL), Nike (NKE) and Walgreen (WAG). A total of 27 companies are on the calendar.

We are still a week away from the "official" start of third-quarter earnings season. Alcoa (AA) will release its results on Oct 7. The majority of companies will not start reporting until the latter half of October, however.

The economic calendar is most active towards the second half of the week with

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Several local news outlets are reporting that car dealers are experiencing a post-Cash for Clunkers Slump in sales. There is concern that the government's incentive program took sales away from the fall (and even 2010) by giving consumers reason to purchase new vehicles over the summer instead.

It is definitely taking sales away from September. Edmunds.com calculates that September sales are running at an 8.8 million unit pace. To put this number in perspective, Edmunds Senior Statistician Zhenwei Zhou said sales last September were 12.5 million. He also added "it had been over 16 million for years".

Whether this month's slump continues throughout the remainder of this year and into 2010 remains to be seen. Many carmakers are expected to introduce new incentive programs in addition to rolling out new models. Plus, two of the best-selling cars over the past several years - the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 21, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes AutoZone (AZO), Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBBY), General Mills (GIS), KB Home (KBH), Lennar (LEN), Paychex (PAYX), CarMax (KMX), Research in Motion (RIMM) and Texas Industries (TXI). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Every day, Zacks.com makes 4 stock picks available, free of charge. To see them, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5612.

This Week's Events

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

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 31, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Adobe Systems (ADBE), Best Buy (BBY), and FedEx (FDX). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Every day, Zacks.com makes 4 stock picks available, free of charge. To see them, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5612.

This Week's Events

This week brings the initial batch of third-quarter results. Seven early reporters from the S&P 500 - all of whom have quarters ending in August - will report: Adobe Systems (ADBE), Best Buy (BBY), Discover Financial Services (DFS), FedEx (FDX), Kroger (KR), Oracle (ORCL) and Pall (PLL). In total, we will see results from 20 companies.

So how will the third-quarter look? The Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for S&P 500 earnings of $13.50 per share, a 15.4%

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The U.S. dollar steadied on Thursday after sliding to its lowest in almost a year against major currencies this week, but is seen vulnerable to further selling.

The dollar initially fell versus the euro after a better-than-expected reading on U.S. weekly jobless claims but recovered a little groun das U.S. and European stocks failed to extend earlier gains.

The U.S. currency has suffered recently as investors bet on an economic recovery through commodity-linked and higher-yielding currencies, which rallied earlier this week.

“Some caution has returned to the foreign exchange markets today, and the dollar is mixed,” said Nick Bennenbroek, head of currency strategy at Wells Fargo Bank in New York. Still, Bennenbroek warned that Thursday’s rebound in the U.S. currency may be short-lived.

“Dollar sentiment is still fragile, and the path of least resistance for the dollar is still clearly to the downside in the near term,” he said.

In midday trading in New York,

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Two seemingly unlikely candidates are sitting near the top of the Zacks Industry Rank List: Furniture and Retail-Home Furnishings.

Given the macroeconomic environment, it would be reasonable to assume that people are not spending on furniture. The numbers support this assessment. La-Z-Boy (LZB) recently reported an 18.3% drop in quarterly net sales. Ethan Allen (ETH) experienced a 41% drop.

Yet, several analysts have recently raised their fiscal 2010 profit forecasts on both companies.

The Worst May Be Over

Though the furniture industry is certainly not healthy right now, there are signs that the worst of the storm may have passed.

Bottom-line results for both companies surpassed expectations. ETH's positive surprise was its first in 4 quarters. The company lost 23 cents per share, 2 cents less than analysts had feared. LZB earned 5 cents per share, its second consecutive positive surprise.

The housing industry is moving

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