OUTLOOK The Alternative Energy industry is going through a recovery after absorbing the global recession and the cascading fall in global crude oil prices. Earlier this year, quite a few alternative energy companies were in the trough. Though these companies have recovered from their lows, their valuations are still significantly lower than their 52-week highs. The growth of alternative energy companies is closely tied to the fortunes of the economy. In its latest release, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted that total U.S. electricity consumption will decline by 3.3% in 2009 before growing by 1.3% in 2010 as the improving economy coaxes a gradual recovery in electricity sales. In fiscal 2008, annual U.S. photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity grew by 63% year-over-year, bringing the cumulative installed capacity to 792MW. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) -- the U.S. trade association representing close to 500 companies ...

The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Tuesday that two more large investment companies have fulfilled the necessary requirements and are ready to join the federal government’s toxic assets purchase program.  The federal government initiated buying toxic assets from banks with the intention of helping them resume normal lending, which will fuel economic recovery.  The two investment companies, which together raised more than the $500 million needed to close investment funds, were New York-based Angelo, Gordon & Co. LP and Norwalk, Conn.-based GE Capital Real Estate. These companies will jointly invest in the Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP), under which the Treasury provides financial support for private firms that buy distressed assets, including mortgage-related loans.  These two companies take the total number of firms to have joined the government in buying toxic assets to six. The private sector capital raised by these six firms totaled $3.58 billion. With ...

American International Group Inc. (AIG) said on Friday that it is paying $12.1 million in retention awards to some of its top executives. The company took this decision after it got approval from U.S. pay czar Kenneth Feinberg, who is scrutinizing the pay practices of the seven companies including AIG that received the biggest federal aid.   Chief Financial Officer David Herzog received $1 million and Kristian Moor, Chief Executive of AIG's property-casualty division, received $1.6 million. Jay Wintrob, CEO of AIG's domestic life and retirement services also received a payment. The payments were promised in 2008 to retain key employees.   Previously, U.S. Treasury Department pressed AIG to reduce $198 million in scheduled retention payments after the government missed the opportunity to defend against controversial bonuses paid to AIG employees last year.  However, AIG is currently trying to repay $85 billion it had borrowed from the ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 21, 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: Texas Instruments (TXN), State Street Corporation (STT), Zions Bancorporation (ZION), Comerica Inc. (CMA) and Regions Financial (RF).

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:

TI Beats; Guidance Conservative

Texas Instruments (TXN) reported third quarter results that beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents. Revenue beat the consensus by 2.1%.

Revenue of $2.88 billion was up 17.2% sequentially, the second straight quarter of 17%+ growth. However, revenue declined 15.0% on a

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The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform panel said on Wednesday that Congress will soon investigate executive compensation at companies that received significant amount of taxpayer funds. The U.S. Treasury's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg is in charge of deciding compensation packages for the highest-paid employees at all the firms that received bailout money. For seven firms, the situation is critical as these firms received substantial support from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The seven firms whose compensation plans will be scrutinized are American International Group (AIG), Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), Chrysler Financial, Chrysler Group LLC, General Motors and GMAC Inc (GJM). The U.S. Treasury Department is pressing bailed out insurer AIG to reduce $198 million in scheduled retention payments after the government missed the opportunity to defend against controversial bonuses to AIG employees last year. However, AIG ...

According to an overseer's report released on Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department is pressing the bailed out insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG) to reduce $198 million in scheduled retention payments after the government missed the opportunity to defend against controversial bonuses to AIG employees last year. The special inspector general of the government’s $700 billion bailout program, Neil Barofsky, said that Treasury official Kenneth Feinberg has not specified the amount by which retention payments should be reduced. Feinberg is supervising pay practices at seven companies, including AIG, which received extraordinary government assistance. Though all the firms that received bailout money are subject to limits on their compensation practices, for these seven firms the situation is critical due to the special assistance they received from the Treasury. The seven firms whose compensation plans are under scrutiny are American International Group, Citigroup (C), Bank of ...

Investment banks have gotten fat off the land since 1982, when the great U.S. bull market got its start. Their business has multiplied many-fold, and their earnings have soared into the stratosphere, to a level far higher than any other sector.

Now, JPMorgan Chase & Co.  (NYSE: JPM) has issued a report suggesting that investment-banking returns on capital will be sharply down over the next few years. Perhaps this will be only a moderate downturn.

However, there’s also a good chance that labor-cost pressures – combined with tightening margins – will take the likes of JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) down a path similar to that of General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GRM) and Chrysler Group LLP, both of which earlier this year declared bankruptcy.

Challenging Headwinds

JPMorgan anticipates that the regulatory changes that are likely to take place over the next year or so

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The U.S. unemployment rate slipped to 9.4% in July from 9.5% in June, the most encouraging sign yet that the U.S. recession is easing.

But the news – released in a government report Friday – isn’t all good: Unemployment is likely to remain high in the months to come as some of these encouraging indicators of new economic growth evolve into a painful jobless recovery.

Friday’s jobs report and other recent data “reinforce our view that the U.S. recession ended in June, and we have raised our third-quarter 2009 growth forecast to 3.5%,” Christian Broda, a Barclays Capital (NYSE ADR: BCS) economist in New York, wrote in a research report yesterday.

Alan Krueger, the U.S. Treasury Department’s top economist, said he thought forecasts that growth would resume this year were “plausible” but expressed concern about long-term unemployment, which remains as a nagging problem.

“The administration is constantly looking

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The U.S. unemployment rate slipped to 9.4% in July from 9.5% in June, the most encouraging sign yet that the U.S. recession is easing.

But the news – released in a government report Friday – isn’t all good: Unemployment is likely to remain high in the months to come as some of these encouraging indicators of new economic growth evolve into a painful jobless recovery.

Friday’s jobs report and other recent data “reinforce our view that the U.S. recession ended in June, and we have raised our third-quarter 2009 growth forecast to 3.5%,” Christian Broda, a Barclays Capital (NYSE ADR: BCS) economist in New York, wrote in a research report yesterday.

Alan Krueger, the U.S. Treasury Department’s top economist, said he thought forecasts that growth would resume this year were “plausible” but expressed concern about long-term unemployment, which remains as a nagging problem.

“The administration is constantly looking

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MainStreet Bank continues to sail through the recession and financial crisis, reporting $72,000 or $0.03, in net income for the quarter ending June 30, 2009. This brings its net income for the first six months of 2009 to $138,000 or $0.05 per share.

The bank grew total assets to $205 million, a 17% increase over last year’s second quarter. Total deposits increased 22% in the same time frame and are now at $160 million. MainStreet Bank reported other metrics that indicated strong asset quality. Its total non-performing loans were 0.64% of gross loans, and its total risk-based capital ratio was 14.81%.

Jeff W. Dick, the CEO of MainStreet Bank said, “In this economy, our primary objective is to remain profitable, while maintaining a well-managed balance sheet. In the meantime, we continue our efforts to position the bank to respond favorably when interest rates start to rise.

The strength of the

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