• Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) reported better-than-expected first quarter adjusted earnings of 36 cents a share, versus 37 cents a year ago, beating Zacks estimates of 26 cents a share.  Revenues of $9 billion, though off last year's $10.3 billion, exceeded Zacks projections of $8.75 billion. Current quarter revenue guidance was lifted to 1%-4% growth from a year ago to $9.9 billion-$10.2 billion.  CEO John Chambers said the numbers "continued to reflect strong sequential growth trends," as he noted an improving economic outlook

• Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) reported a surprise quarterly profit and halved its annual loss estimate as both its revenue and cost-cutting expectations beat estimates after vehicle demand grew in the US and Asia. The company said it now sees a $2.2 billion loss for its fiscal year ending March

• Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) reported same-store-sales rose 5% in October, ahead of estimates of a 4.7% gain, as a weak dollar

...

Toyota Motor (TM) has revealed that it will add a second production shift at its San Antonio Tundra pick-up truck assembly plant in Texas by February next year as inventories with the dealers have dried up. The addition of the shift will require 850 more workers at the plant.   The Japanese auto major has commented that it will hire new workers at the plant in addition to 75 ex-workers, who are being recalled as part of the ramp-up in employment.   In August, Toyota Motor announced its plan to shift production of the smaller Tacoma truck from California to San Antonio in 2010. The automaker plans to run its first online production trial for the Tacoma at the San Antonio plant in the next year spring. Altogether, the company has received more than 14,000 job applications in San Antonio for Tundra and Tacoma production.   Toyota has ...

Toyota Motor (TM) has teamed up with its subsidiary Daihatsu to develop a compact car for emerging markets. The car, which would be priced under ¥1 million ($11,000) will be offered for sale in India, Brazil, China and other markets in the first half of the next decade. The compact would be marketed under the Toyota brand. However, Daihatsu in Indonesia would manufacture it. The development of the compact is in line with the business model incorporated by Toyota President Akio Toyoda to build products for individual geographical segments instead of offering the same lineup across the world. The Japanese auto major also plans to manufacture a compact entry-level family car at its own facilities. The compact, powered by a roughly 1-liter engine, is scheduled to be manufactured in India during 2011. Toyota has been battered financially by the economic crisis. The company posted its ...

Toyota Motor (TM) seems to be regaining consumer confidence in the U.S. at a fast pace. The company has rolled out a plan to spend $1 billion on a marketing campaign to boost its U.S. sales in the fourth quarter. The marketing outlay is 30% to 40% higher than the company typically spends in any quarter. Besides the huge marketing campaign, Toyota will also expand its line of gas-electric hybrid models under the widely popular compact Prius. The company is also looking forward to offer hybrid models both larger and smaller than Prius. Toyota has been battered financially by the economic crisis. The company posted its first annual loss (¥437 billion or $4.4 billion) since 1950 for the fiscal year ended March 2009. Further, management has recently projected net loss to worsen to ¥550 billion ($5.5 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2010. However, ...

• Xerox (NYSE:XRX) is buying Affiliated Computer Services (NYSE:ACS) for $6.4 billion or $63.11 per share, equaling $18.60 in cash plus 4.935 Xerox shares for each ACS share owned.

• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) said they have purchased 18.1% of Crucell (NASDAQ:CRXL) for $440 million, a 30% premium to Friday's close.

• Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT) is likely to launch a hostile bid for Cadbury (NYSE:CBY), in a deal worth $17.6 billion, as the London Observer noted.

• Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) increased its global sales projection for 2009 by 3% to 6.7 million cars.

Zacks Investment Research

Toyota Motor (TM) plans to sell its entire stake in Toyota Financial Services Securities Corp. to Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings in January next year. This will enable the company to focus solely on its automobile operations. Ahead of the stock sale, the brokerage unit will acquire a stake of about 5% in Tokai Tokyo Financial in October this year.

Toyota has been battered financially by the economic crisis. The company posted its first annual loss (¥437 billion or $4.4 billion) since 1950 for the fiscal year ended March 2009. Further, management has recently projected net loss to worsen to ¥550 billion ($5.5 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2010.

However, the recently ended Cash for Clunkers program strengthened demand for Toyota’s fuel-efficient vehicles in the U.S. The federal government program launched in late July allowed consumers to trade in their old gas-guzzling cars and trucks with a

...

Toyota Motor (TM) has released its plan to raise production in the U.S. for its pickup trucks as well as fuel-efficient cars by the end of 2009. A recovery in the housing sector and an immense demand generated by the Cash for Clunkers program are the key factors behind the increase in production. Toyota ’s full-sized pickup truck Tundra and mid-sized pickup truck Tacoma saw excellent sales in August. Tundra had its best monthly sales of the year at 7,872 units. Meanwhile, Tacoma sales were up 5% year-over-year to 12,547 units. The increase suggested an improvement in housing demand, as pickups are essentials in the construction industry. Toyota will raise manufacturing capacity of the Tacoma at a California plant. In the meantime, Tacoma production will be shifted to San Antonio, Texas (where Tundra pickups are produced) to ease the transition. Over the coming months, production of ...

The U.S. auto industry showed a 1% sales gain to produce 1.3 million vehicles in August. It was the first annual sales gain since October 2007. Sales of cars and light trucks surged 30% compared to July. The spike in sales was solely attributed to the Cash for Clunkers program launched by the U.S. government in late July. The program allowed consumers to trade in their old gas-guzzling cars and trucks with a mileage of 18 miles per gallon or less for a value of up to $3,500–$4,500.  As many as 690,114 new cars were sold under the program. Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC) and Ford (F) were the largest beneficiaries of the program with their fuel-efficient lineup of vehicles. Toyota Motor sales advanced 6.4% to 225,088 units, largely due to its best-selling model on the Cash for Clunkers buy list – Corolla. Honda ...

Kawasaki-based NEC Electronics Corp. and Renesas Technology Corp. (a joint venture between Hitachi Ltd. (HIT) and Mitsubishi Electric Corp.) pushed back the proposed merger of their business operations until the end of September for the second time this year.

Due to a delay in completing due-diligence on the companies' assets, including the manufacturing and sales sites worldwide, the companies had decided to postpone the contract to the end of July. Again in July, the companies decided to postpone the agreement to integrate business operations at NEC Electronics and Renesas until the end of August.

In April 2009, both NEC Electronics and Renesas had been negotiating to integrate business operations. The consolidation took place to weather the difficult economic conditions, weak demand and pricing pressure that weighed heavily on chipmakers. This merger would make the combined company Japan's largest chip maker with more than 30% market share, and the third-largest chip

...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 25, 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: AutoNation (AN), Ford (F), Honda Motor (HMC), Toyota Motor (TM) and Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. (PVH).

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 Monday’s Analyst Blog:

“Cash for Clunkers" Ends Run

The surge of applications under the program saw dealers run out of stock for popular models, such as Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Nissan Altima. As of Friday, August 21, about half a million cars – worth about $2 billion – had

...