Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

Advisory Board Co (ABCO) Amerigon Inc (ARGN) Amicas Inc (AMCS) Avago Technologies Ltd (AVGO) Bancorp Inc (TBBK) Bare Escentuals Inc (BARE) Benchmark Electronics Inc (BHE) BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP) BHP Billiton Plc (BBL) Cabela's Inc (CAB) Cadbury Plc (CBY) Cantel Medical Corp (CMN) Commerce Bancshares Inc (CBSH) Connecticut Water Service Inc (CTWS) Crane Co (CR) Domtar Corp (UFS) DryShips Inc (DRYS) EnerNOC Inc (...

In my previous post on the Allied-Ares merger arbitrage opportunity, I introduced a topic which I realized I’ve never quite talked about here on The Curious Investor. As I intend this blog for both beginning investors and seasoned investors alike, here’s a run down on the concept of merger arbitrage.

What is arbitrage? Rigorously speaking, arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of a price differential between two markets which allows the arbitrageur, or person taking advantage of the arbitrage, to obtain a risk-less profit.

Technically speaking, an arbitrage refers to a situation where the same asset sells for a different price in two markets. For example, a textbook in the UK selling for $20 and a textbook in the USA selling for $100. The arbitrageur would buy the UK textbook and simultaneously sell the USA textbook and pocket the $80 difference.

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 4, 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: Stanley Works (SWK), Black & Decker Corporation (BDK), Joy Global (JOYG), Paccar (PCAR) and Illinois Tool Works (ITW).

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 AnalystBlog:

Stanley Works Acquires B&D

Stanley Works (SWK) and Black & Decker Corporation (BDK) have entered into a definitive merger agreement to create Stanley Black & Decker, an $8.4 billion global tool maker. The Board of Directors of both companies approved an all-stock transaction valued

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A post from a href="http://www.thestockadvisors.com/content/view/4067/33/"TheStockAdvisors/a last Friday suggested seven stocks which have paying dividends for over 100 years, raised their dividend on an annual basis for the last 25 years and can be directly purchased. Given their potential for accumulative returns how have the stocks performed from a price perspective? Quotes directly from the articlebr /br /[1] a href="http://www.zignals.com/main/quicknav/MenuCharts.aspx?param=VlcxODYz?end"Coca-Cola (KO)/abr /br /blockquote...its strong overseas business should get a lift from the weak dollar and presence in emerging markets. The yield of well over 3% enhances total-return appeal. /blockquotebr /a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WWGUfU1tOjI/SqfPONQ7pmI/AAAAAAAAA_w/OxebMXGEOuc/s1600-h/Stock+Chart+a15.png"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 176px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WWGUfU1tOjI/SqfPONQ7pmI/AAAAAAAAA_w/OxebMXGEOuc/s320/Stock+Chart+a15.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379496122903144034" //abr /span class="fullpost"[2] a href="http://www.zignals.com/main/quicknav/MenuCharts.aspx?param=VlcxODY0?end"Colgate-Palmolive (CL)/abr /br /blockquote...takes a back seat to no company when it comes to consistency and growth of its dividend. The firm has been paying a dividend since 1895, with the dividend increased annually for the last 46 years. /blockquotebr /a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WWGUfU1tOjI/SqfRFeg7NpI/AAAAAAAAA_4/SNAEzK4B4Xc/s1600-h/Stock+Chart+CL.png"img style="display:block; margin:0px ...

Smart Money Betting on Heavy Machinery Stocks Gaining in 2009

Joe Kunkle, The Investment U Research Team

One of the greatest assets you can have as a trader or investor is having the ability to spot trends, and use that information to draw conclusions about what will occur in the future.

I have long used the options market as a way of watching where the “smart money” is making bets. It has allowed me to foresee the collapse of financial stocks and the re-emergence of oil and commodity related stocks.

And from the signals I’m seeing, we may be on the verge of another big move.

Over the past few weeks, large volume bullish option trades have been indicating the expectation for a major recovery in heavy machinery stocks for the third quarter of 2009.

But we can’t really understand the significance of these

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In theory, equity income investing creates a reasonably steady and growing income stream from stock investments — a good chance of maintaining real purchasing power of the stream.  That contrasts with bonds which create a more reliable, but constant income stream that has no chance of maintaining real purchasing power (inflation protected Treasuries and perhaps some variable rate bonds excepted).

In practice lately, however, the equity income theory isn’t working so well. Dividends are being cut at an historic rate, particularly among banks, but to some degree in other industries as well.

Dividend investing isn’t for everybody, but it is attractive and important to some, particularly those who rely on their portfolios to generate cash flow to support their lifestyle.

S&P Dividend Aristocrats:

Standard and Poor’s may even have to reduce the performance requirements for its Dividend Aristocrats (proxy SDY) to keep the index going.  Because the index rules require at least 40 issues,

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The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rocketed to a 26-year high last week, surpassing already gloomy forecasts, as the U.S. economy sinks deeper into recession.

Initial applications for jobless benefits climbed by 58,000 to 573,000 in the week ended Dec. 6, upwardly revised from 515,000 the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department reported yesterday (Thursday).  The figure was the highest since 1982, and far exceeded the median projection of 525,000 put forth by 39 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The increase was due, in part, to a bounce from the week before, which was shorter because it included the Thanksgiving holiday. Government offices were open only four days that week.

Nevertheless, the four-week average, which smooths out fluctuations, stood at 540,500.  That’s the biggest number of jobless claims filed since December 1982, when the economy was also mired in a deep recession. By

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Track Insider buys by chairmen and directors at: http://trackthepros.com/stocks/category/659 Equity One’s chairman has spent $30 million in the past few weeks.

Recent Insider Activity

BUYERS:

COMPANY NAME INSIDERS NAME TITLE $ VALUE NO. OF SHARES IN TRANS. RANGE OF VALUES TRANSACTIONS DATES Equity One C. Katzman CB $9,214,996 559,400 16.28-16.67 Oct. 21-22, 2008 Landry’s Restaurants T. Fertitta CEO 8,433,990 728,595 11.41-11.72 Oct. 20-22, 2008 Blackrock J. Grosfeld D 2,486,760 20,000 122.95-125.73 Oct. 22, 2008 International Speedway B. France DO 1,101,610 40,000 27.33-27.75 Oct. 20-21, ...

VeriChip (CHIP) is a maker of radio frequency identification systems (RFID) used to identify, locate and track people across the United States and abroad. The company markets its products through direct sales force and distributors. Its customers include hospitals and long-term care facilities; healthcare professionals, such as physicians and individual patients. VeriChip’s main competitors are Axcess International Inc. and closely held Precision Dynamics Corporation. The company is a former unit of Applied Digital Solutions Inc. and was founded in 2002.

Last month, VeriChip, based in Florida, sold its Canadian operations known as Xmark Corporation to engineering giant Stanley Works for $48 million. The sale led to a special dividend payout of $1.35 for VeriChip shareholders. The special dividend was paid earlier this month. Recent news reports have said VeriChip is also exploring options, including a possible sale of its VeriMed Health Link business, which carries the implantable chips used in the

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