For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 22, 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: Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY), Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of America Corporation (BAC), Citigroup, Inc. (C) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM).

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Here are highlights from Wednesday’s AnalystBlog:

Eli Lilly Beats, Raises Guidance

This morning, Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) reported strong third quarter financials. The company’s earnings per share of $1.20 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.02 and 98 cents reported in the year-ago period. Revenues recorded a

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BA does almost nothing right. So why is the stock up 52%? We have all heard the old saw as to how “the market climbs a wall of worry.” There is, of course, an inherent truth in this. Investors always take on a bit of risk in exchange for their gains. One might imagine that this is a well-reasoned and well-researched risk. Yeah, well, you’d probably be wrong about that. For most of the past eight months, most investors haven’t even shown the common rules of life we try to teach grade school kids, like “look both ways before you cross the street,” or “don’t trust that weird guy in the rusty old Buick ...

Before the market opened this morning, Wells Fargo (WFC) reported third quarter 2009 diluted earnings of 56 cents per common share, compared with 57 cents in the second quarter 2009 and 49 cents in the third quarter 2008. Net income applicable to common shareholders came in at $2.6 billion, almost flat compared with the prior quarter and up 61.1% year-over-year. The results were substantially ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 35 cents per share. Results were aided by strong top-line growth across all key business segments, strong deposits and a robust loan growth rate. Unlike its major peers, Wells Fargo witnessed strong growth in its traditional banking operations, especially in its mortgage business acquired from Wachovia. Net interest income of $11.7 billion climbed 83.1% year-over-year. However, credit quality deteriorated further and losses rose sharply during the quarter. The bank expects credit losses and non-performing ...

Meryn King, the British counterpart to U.S. Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, had this to say in a speech yesterday: “The United Kingdom faces two fundamental long-run challenges. First, to rebalance the economy, with more resources allocated to business investment and net exports and fewer to consumption. "That is consistent with the need – now widely accepted – to eliminate the large structural fiscal deficit and to raise the national saving rate. It is part of a need for a wider rebalancing of domestic demand in the world economy away from those countries that borrowed and ran current account deficits towards those that lent and ran surpluses." Everything he has to say about the UK is true in spades for the US. The US. is more dependent on consumption than is the UK and perpetually runs trade (current account) deficits. We need for the US to ...

Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) rendered a $75 million 3-year committed funding facility to Marlin Receivables Corp., an affiliate of Marlin Business Services Corp. (MRLN). Marlin Receivables intends to use the facility fund its growth, with an aim to extend increased flexible equipment financing options to numerous small and medium-sized businesses nationwide.  Marlin Business and Wells Fargo have had similar commitments in the past as well. The continued relation will benefit Marlin as it will bolster its financing base, thereby readily meeting the needs of many small businesses. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest financial services company in the U.S. (in terms of assets) with $1.3 trillion in assets and over $800 million in deposits.  The company provides retail and wholesale banking, mortgage banking, consumer finance, equipment leasing, insurance brokerage, agricultural finance, securities brokerage, trust, investment banking and other financial services through banking stores, the Internet ...

Kenneth D. Lewis There are many ways to view Kenneth Lewis’ eight-year reign as Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) chief executive, but two seem to hold the most landscape.

On one hand, the $130 billion he spent on acquisitions – FleetBoston Financial Corp., MBNA Corp., LaSalle Bank Corp., Countrywide Financial Corp., Charles Schwab Corp.’s (Nasdaq: SCHW) U.S. Trust private banking unit and Merrill Lynch – that more than tripled the size of Bank of America, making it the largest U.S. lender both by assets and deposits.

On the other, his open-wallet policy and the example it set forth almost perfectly encapsulates the boom, bust and nascent rebound of the U.S. housing and banking crisis – which later became the financial plague that devastated markets all over the world.

In the second half of 2007, the extent of the U.S. housing crisis began to crystallize when Countrywide’s freewheeling

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On Wednesday, Wells Fargo (WFC) became the latest large financial institution to announce a reshuffle in its policy towards overdraft fees. The bank will eliminate overdraft fees for Wells and Wachovia customers when they overdraw their accounts by $5 or less. Wells will not charge customers more than four overdraft fees per day. In addition, customers will be able to opt out of overdraft coverage. Henceforth, customers can specify that they don't want their transactions authorized into overdraft if funds aren't available to cover the transaction. Wells Fargo is following the footsteps of other large banks, Bank of America Corporation (BAC) and JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM). While JP Morgan has decided to automatically remove all its customers from the overdraft service, and allow customers who want that protection to opt in; BofA and Wells Fargo will leave it to customers to opt ...

Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) announced the expansion of its money transfer program to the Internet, making it easier for customers to send money to family members living in Mexico, India and other South Asian countries.  The ExpressSend remittance service was introduced in 2007 at the bank's branches and over the phone.  The transferred money can be collected from the branches of specified overseas banks and at their automated teller machines. Customers using the service online will continue to receive detailed information on how and where the money is being sent including the associated fee, the foreign exchange rate and the foreign exchange margin. The margin is the estimated revenue the bank earns on the conversion.  Wells Fargo said transaction fees will be discounted or even waived for customers sending money from eligible Wells Fargo checking and savings accounts. Money through the new service will ...

Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) and Bank of America Corporation (BAC) showed impressive improvements in their loan-modification rates in August 2009 after experiencing poor rates in July 2009.  However, both Wells Fargo and Bank of America still remain way behind their competitors such as JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM), but both have ramped up refinancing efforts significantly.  Wells loan-modification rates increased 64%, completing 33,172 modifications under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) by the end of August. On the other hand, Bank of America more than doubled its loan-modification rates, completing 59,891 modifications. HAMP is a Government-sponsored program that aims at helping people who can no longer afford to make their monthly mortgage payments.  Wells Fargo expects to exceed its goal under the program, which is about 60,000 modifications. The company has modified 251,244 home loans using its own programs, bringing the ...

Before the market opened this morning, Wells Fargo (WFC) reported that second-quarter 2009 diluted earnings were 57 cents per common share, compared with 56 cents in the first-quarter 2009. Net income came in at $3.17 billion, compared with $3.05 billion in the prior quarter. The results were ahead of the consensus estimate of 34 cents per share.

Large banks, including WFC, Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C) and JP Morgan (JPM), have benefitted from the surge in mortgage refinancing during the last two quarters. However, this revenue source is expected to taper off as the rates are creeping up now. WFC reported mortgage banking income of $3.0 billion.

Credit quality deteriorated further and losses rose sharply during the quarter. The bank expects credit losses and nonperforming assets to increase further, though some moderation was visible. Net charge-offs rose to $4.4 billion (2.1% of average loans) from $3.3

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