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Casey’s General Stores – Growth And Income – Zacks Rank Buy

Alex Kolb — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Casey's General Stores Inc. (CASY) is watching analysts boost estimates ahead of reporting fiscal second quarter results in early December. For the year ending April 2010, the Zacks Consensus Estimate jumped from $2.19 to $2.21 per share in 1 month's time.

Company Description

Casey's General Stores, Inc. together with its subsidiaries, operate convenience stores under the Casey's General Stores name in the Midwest states. It has operations in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Indiana. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa.

Earnings Projections are on the Rise

The company is watching analysts boost estimates ahead of reporting fiscal second quarter results in early December. For the year ending April 2010, the Zacks Consensus Estimate jumped from $2.19 to $2.21 per share in 1 month's time.

For the following year, analysts polled by Zacks are calling for earnings of $2.25 per share, up from last month's $2.21.

The second-quarter Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents per share was increased from 57 cents over the past 90 days.

A Solid First Quarter

The company announced fiscal first-quarter results in early September. Earnings of 87 cents per share, exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 45% and topped the year-prior total. During the past 4 consecutive quarters, Casey's delivered an average upside earnings surprise of 17.5%.

The company also declared a dividend of $0.085 per share, which translates into a an industry-leading yield of 1%. The dividend was paid out on November 2.

Beating the Benchmarks

Fundamentally, Casey's is leading the industry. The company's return on equity (ROE) of 14% doubles the industry average of 7%. Its net profit margin of 2% tops the industry average of 0.44%.

Casey's has also outperformed technically lately as shares have doubled the market's return over the past 3 months. Zacks Investment Research

Initial Jobless Claims Continue Decline, 502K Figure Beats Expectations

QualityStocks — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:36:57 +0000

Labor Department statistics released today showed a marked decline in initial jobless claims, extending a run of such declines. Initial claims are an important barometer for layoffs and hiring. A 12K decline to 502,000 from the previous week, and a drop in the 4-week average to 519,750, is a strong indicator of improvement. The [...]

Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights: United Technologies Corporation, Oshkosh Corporation, The Boeing Company and Honeywell International Inc. – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:30:15 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 4, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the latest Industry Outlook. Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses the Aerospace & Defense sector, including United Technologies Corporation (UTX), Oshkosh Corporation (OSK), The Boeing Company (BA) and Honeywell International Inc. (HON).

A synopsis of today’s Industry Outlook is presented below. The full article can be read at http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/26834/Aerospace+%26amp%3B+Defense.

With core defense spending expected to slow, U.S. defense contractors need to identify additional revenue sources for the coming years. 2009 holds potential for interesting merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, mostly smaller deals by larger A&D firms to fill in capability gaps -- particularly in the security, defense electronics and aftermarket services business areas. U.S. defense firms may see opportunities in credit-squeezed markets to pick up U.S. assets at historically low price-to-earnings multiples.

Some large companies are expanding into the adjacent markets of mission support and services, such as performance-based logistics, or PBL, which can provide a more consistent -- albeit riskier though perhaps more profitable -- revenue stream.

Building on the example set by engine manufacturers -- Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corporation (UTX) company, and Rolls-Royce Group -- to get 50% of revenues and 60% of profits from their services business, Aerospace & Defense contractors are learning how to take on, measure and internalize risk and to make support and services offerings profitable. This includes understanding how to service the equipment they manufacture, and assembling the necessary infrastructure, capabilities and people to operate it.

Shifting defense priorities could prove to be a boon for some manufacturers as the Pentagon looks to beef up protection for US ground soldiers. Oshkosh Corporation (OSK) is aiming to induct 300 to 500 workers in Wisconsin and calling back as many as 650 it had let go at a Pennsylvania facility as it looks to fill orders for armored trucks that can deflect roadside bombs. The truck manufacturer also won a $1.1 billion contract to build more than 2,200 Mine Resistant Ambush Protect All Terrain Vehicles for use by US troops in Afghanistan.

Companies are also leveraging strong balance sheets to grow organically and acquire new services business. As product development transitions to production program deliveries, it is anticipated that companies will ramp up their services businesses and profitability should improve.

Overall, in the next two decades, The Boeing Company (BA) forecasts delivery of 29,400 new commercial aircraft worth $3.2 trillion. Honeywell International Inc.’s (HON) 2008 forecast predicts 17,000 new business aircraft valued at $300 billion.

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Zacks Investment Research

Aerospace & Defense – Industry Outlook

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:27:49 +0000

OVERVIEW

Inherently, big defense contractors are expected to eliminate jobs as the Pentagon has lowered spending on traditional weapon systems, while smaller, niche companies may accelerate hiring as the United States garners resources to protect ground troops and strategic computer networks.

Industry pioneer Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) aims to reduce 600 jobs as a result of the US Defense Department's decision to terminate the VH-71 presidential helicopter program. The Boeing Company (BA) hinted that Pentagon cuts would claim 1,000 jobs in its defense business, affecting staffing at various work sites in the United States in missile defense and in the Army's Future Combat Systems modernization program, which is now being opened to more competition.

The large commercial aircraft sector is expected to generate most of its revenue from Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) and the Middle East, relying less on U.S. orders because of the current economic climate. However, airline companies worldwide will continue to struggle with the global economic recession, fuel price fluctuations and the difficulty in raising ticket prices, which might have an impact on airplane and engine purchase orders in 2009.

Despite robust business aviation forecasts, there may be short-term customer financing challenges for the business jets segment. Thus, we would generally expect that 2009 to see a fall-off in business jet orders, production and deliveries.

The appetite for both US and non-US Aerospace & Defense assets has been significantly constrained by the ongoing global recession and the resulting squeeze on corporate profits, lack of liquidity and continuing uncertainty about when a recovery is likely to begin. Year-to-date, there have been just six deals with values at or greater than $50 million.

The total value for deals announced during the first half of 2009 with a disclosed value of at least $50 million was just under $600 million, substantially less than total deal values in the first half of 2008 ($11.7 billion), representing a decline of 95% year-over-year. Notably, the largest transaction in 2008 -- Finmeccanica’s acquisition of DRS Technologies, announced in May 2008 for $5 billion -- occurred in the first half of that year. Excluding this transaction, the total deal value for the first half of 2008 was $6.6 billion, which is still much higher than the value of transactions during the first half of 2009.

Financial investors remain on the sidelines as financing remains challenging compared with the same period a year ago. Strategic investors have also experienced a decrease in deal activity involving acquisitions of $50 million or more. To date, there have been four deals announced involving strategic investors. This compares with the 20 deals in the first half of 2008, an 80% decrease over the same period a year ago. Strategic investors have redirected their focus on internal restructuring initiatives.

On an annualized basis, the actual number of deals in 2009 is in line with 2008 (270 compared with 275, respectively). But as the economic downturn intensified in the first half of 2009, the value of those transactions has decreased drastically. The average transaction value for first-half 2008 was $85 million compared with $7.5 million for first-half 2009, representing an approximate 91% decrease.

OPPORTUNITIES

With core defense spending expected to slow, U.S. defense contractors need to identify additional revenue sources for the coming years. 2009 holds potential for interesting merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, mostly smaller deals by larger A&D firms to fill in capability gaps -- particularly in the security, defense electronics and aftermarket services business areas. U.S. defense firms may see opportunities in credit-squeezed markets to pick up U.S. assets at historically low price-to-earnings multiples.

Some large companies are expanding into the adjacent markets of mission support and services, such as performance-based logistics, or PBL, which can provide a more consistent -- albeit riskier though perhaps more profitable -- revenue stream.

Building on the example set by engine manufacturers -- Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corporation (UTX) company, and Rolls-Royce Group -- to get 50% of revenues and 60% of profits from their services business, Aerospace & Defense contractors are learning how to take on, measure and internalize risk and to make support and services offerings profitable. This includes understanding how to service the equipment they manufacture, and assembling the necessary infrastructure, capabilities and people to operate it.

Shifting defense priorities could prove to be a boon for some manufacturers as the Pentagon looks to beef up protection for US ground soldiers. Oshkosh Corporation (OSK) is aiming to induct 300 to 500 workers in Wisconsin and calling back as many as 650 it had let go at a Pennsylvania facility as it looks to fill orders for armored trucks that can deflect roadside bombs. The truck manufacturer also won a $1.1 billion contract to build more than 2,200 Mine Resistant Ambush Protect All Terrain Vehicles for use by US troops in Afghanistan.

Companies are also leveraging strong balance sheets to grow organically and acquire new services business. As product development transitions to production program deliveries, it is anticipated that companies will ramp up their services businesses and profitability should improve.

Overall, in the next two decades, The Boeing Company (BA) forecasts delivery of 29,400 new commercial aircraft worth $3.2 trillion. Honeywell International Inc’s (HON) 2008 forecast predicts 17,000 new business aircraft valued at $300 billion. While we currently don’t have Outperform recommendation on aircraft and engine manufacturers, we have positive outlooks on UTX, BA and HON.

WEAKNESSES

A major Aerospace & Defense sector challenge for 2009 is improving program management and execution. For the past few years, commercial aircraft programs have run late due to global supply chain or design problems. In addition, government aerospace procurements have overrun their budgets.

The root causes for this problem are as follows:

Technical complexity - Today’s programs rely on the use of leading-edge, still-maturing software-based technologies, which require infinitely higher levels of functionality, interoperability and integration. This technical complexity has resulted in increased development time vs. historical programs.
Talent crisis - Twenty-seven percent of employees in the sector are estimated to retire in the next five years. In addition, the National Science Foundation expects the number of science, technology and engineering retirements to increase threefold annually in the next 10 years. Unfortunately, the industry may not be able to attract sufficient new talent to make up for the deficit.
Supply chain challenges - The Aerospace & Defense supply chain management model is transitioning to a global, super-supplier model for the Tier 1 suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). These organizations are shedding manufacturing and subsystem assembly work, relying on super- or middle-tier suppliers to take on increasingly complex design and manufacturing tasks.
Politics - Aerospace & Defense programs span multiple years but are budgeted annually. In times of economic stress, other government priorities may prompt cuts in multiyear projects for a number of units. This approach typically results in increased fly-away unit costs.
Program management challenges - Many Aerospace & Defense program schedules are based on a "sunny day" scenario, rather than a more realistic "cloudy day" scenario that contemplates program delays, technical difficulties, supply chain problems and changing requirements. These program management challenges and associated cost overruns need to be addressed by improving cost, schedule, and risk management processes and techniques.

With an increase in passenger traffic and competitors, commercial airplanes have become more commoditized, requiring companies to improve differentiation. Airline manufacturers therefore should promote product and process innovation.

The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a good example: It will be the first major aircraft to use composite materials for most of its construction. Featuring an estimated 20% lower direct operating cost, better passenger comfort via higher air pressure and humidity, larger windows and less-frequent maintenance requirements, the 787 has become the most successful aircraft product launch in aviation history, as measured by the number of aircraft ordered prior to first flight.Zacks Investment Research

Keep Those Belts Tightened: The Job Market isn’t Getting Better

Dee Power — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:05:52 +0000

While there have been some signs of recovery in real estate and the stock market it seems that the job market is still declining. Online advertised vacancies declined by 83,200 to 3,280,000 in October, ...

Snap-on’s 3rd Quarter Disappoints – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:50:59 +0000

Snap-on Inc. (SNA) posted lackluster third quarter results before the opening bell Thursday as the company’s European operations and Financial Services segment adversely affected performance.

The Kenosha, WI-based company’s earnings plunged 53.5% year over year to $25.4 million, or 44 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5 cents. Total sales slipped 16.6% year over year to $581.8 million, with adverse foreign currency translations contributing 3% of the decrease.

Commercial & Industrial Group segment sales fell 21.5% year over year to $265.4 million; excluding foreign currency translation, sales fell 17.2%. Operating earnings slipped $29.8 million from the prior year quarter to $10.9 million. The decline was caused by lower sales, particularly in Europe, coupled with the company’s inventory reduction efforts. Moreover, performance was also affected by $4.5 million of restructuring costs associated with operations in Europe.

Snap-on Tools Group segment sales contracted 8.5% year over year to $246.6 million in the quarter; excluding foreign currency translation, sales fell 7.1%. However, operating earnings grew 8.5% to $30.6 million driven by management’s cost reduction and inventory management efforts.

Diagnostics & Information Group segment sales declined 14.9% year over year to $132 million; excluding foreign currency translation, sales fell 12.6% on account of a decrease in sales to Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) dealerships. Despite sluggish sales, operating earnings grew 17.6% to $32 million primarily due to sales of higher-margin diagnostics and software products, as well as the company’s cost management initiatives.

Financial Services revenue plunged 66.7% year over year to $6 million as the company terminated its financial services operating agreement with the CIT Group Inc. (CIT) earlier in the quarter. The company recorded an operating loss of $5.3 million in the segment, compared to an operating profit of $4.8 million in the year-ago period. The company expects to record an operating loss of $3 million to $5 million in this segment during the fourth quarter.

Snap-on ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $709 million, compared to $118.3 million in the prior year quarter. During the first 9 months, the company raised $545.9 million from the issuance of long-term notes, and its total long-term debt outstanding at the end of the quarter was $902.4 million.

Looking ahead, Snap-on continues to move forward with its planned investments in China and Eastern Europe despite macroeconomic headwinds. Capital expenditures for the full-year are expected between $60 million and $70 million.
Read the full analyst report on "SNA"
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Stericycle Tops Zacks Estimate – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:45:02 +0000

Waste management service provider Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) earned 55 cents in the third quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2 cents. Earnings were up about 24% year-over-year, while it improved 9% sequentially on higher revenues and margins.

Revenues showed an increase of 7.5% year over year to $46.5 million helped by recent acquisitions, which added $19.3 million in the quarter. Stericycle completed six acquisitions during the first nine months of this year, which included the recently acquired Healthcare Waste Solutions’ operations in Minnesota and Wisconsin, besides Omni Medical Waste in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Operating costs decreased to 52.7% of total sales in the quarter from 55.6% in the same period of the previous year following which gross profit expanded to $140.9 million from $123.0 million in the same quarter last year. As a percent of revenue, gross profit improved to 47.3% from 44.4% in the year-ago quarter. However, selling and administrative expenses increased to 18.9% of total sales in the quarter from 18.1% last year.

At quarter end, Stericycle’s cash and cash equivalent was $14.3 billion. With total debt of $768,041, Stericycle‘s debt to capital ratio improved to 40% in the quarter from 49% in the previous quarter. The company’s net cash position (long-term debt including current portion less cash) is a surplus of $812 million or $9.35 per share, which is a huge positive associated with the stock.

Stericycle is currently the largest waste management company in Canada, Mexico , Ireland and the UK , and is gaining scale in Argentina. The company entered the Canadian, Irish and UK markets through the purchase of large local competitors and developed an initial footprint in Mexico and Argentina through joint ventures.

The competitive dynamics in these markets are similar to the U.S. as the company is typically competing against many small regional entities as opposed to a handful of large companies. American Ecology Corp. (ECOL) and Waste Management Inc. (WMI) are Stericycle’s major competitors.
Read the full analyst report on "SRCL"
Read the full analyst report on "ECOL"
Read the full analyst report on "WMI"
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Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Johnson Controls, CF Industries Holdings Inc., Agrium Inc., Terra Industries Inc. and Hospira – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:45:55 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 28, 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: Johnson Controls (JCI), CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF), Agrium Inc. (AGU), Terra Industries Inc. (TRA) and Hospira (HSP).

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Here are highlights from Tuesday’s AnalystBlog:

Johnson Controls Maintains Profits

Johnson Controls (JCI) posted a profit of $402 million or 52 cents per share, excluding non-recurring items, for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2009. This was above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 48 cents per share. The company reported positive numbers despite weakened North American automotive and residential heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) markets.

In the last quarter, the Wisconsin-based supplier of automotive interiors, batteries and other control equipment returned to profitability after posting losses since the first quarter of fiscal 2008. However, the profits were down from $511 million or 73 cents per share in the fourth quarter of last fiscal year.

Consolidated net sales tumbled 15% to $7.9 billion. Segment income decreased to $409 million from $605 million in the prior-year quarter.

CF’s Profits Plunge in 3Q

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) is prepared for a reasonably good fall application season (weather permitting) and solid spring demand due to attractive corn farming economics and restocking needed in the downstream fertilizer channels.

The industry has been under strong consolidation pressure with prices declining sharply. CF Industries is involved in a three-way merger battle with Agrium Inc. (AGU) and Terra Industries Inc. (TRA). Since the beginning of 2009, Terra has repeatedly rebuffed CF’s takeover offer, while itself being the takeover target of Agrium. Last month, CF acquired a 7% stake in Terra. We maintain our Neutral recommendation on the stock.

Hospira Surges Ahead

Hospira (HSP) reported third quarter earnings of 90 cents per share, well above both the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents and 63 cents per share in the year-ago period. Revenues increased 8.9% to $1 billion, primarily driven by growth in Specialty Injectable Pharmaceuticals (SIP).

SIP revenues increased 25.6% from the year-ago period (at constant exchange rates, CER) to $575.7 million while revenues from the Other Pharma segment came down 8.4% to $157.4 million. The strong growth in the SIP segment was driven by the launch of the generic oncolytic oxaliplatin in the quarter.

Unlike the previous quarter, revenues from Medication Management Systems (MMS) increased 1.7% year over year at CER to $162.6 million. However, Other Devices continued to fall in the reported quarter and recorded revenues of $111.8 million, down 6.4% from the year ago period.

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Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

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Zacks Investment Research

Casey’s General Stores – Growth And Income – Zacks Rank Buy

Alex Kolb — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Casey's General Stores Inc. (CASY) saw fiscal first-quarter earnings of 87 cents per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 45% and topping the year-prior total. The company also declared a dividend of $0.085 per share, which translates into a an industry-leading yield of 1%.

Company Description

A Solid Quarter

"Strong gas margins and enhanced profitability inside the stores were the primary reasons for the record quarter," said President and CEO Robert J. Myers. "Lower retail fuel prices also brought about significant relief in our operating expenses."

The company also declared a dividend of $0.085 per share, which translates into a an industry-leading yield of 1%.

The dividend is payable Nov 16 to shareholders of record on Nov 2.

Bullish Forecasts and Strong Momentum

The company is seeing higher Zacks Consensus Estimates and a share price surge after reporting. For the year ending April 2010, forecasts of $2.19 per share are up a penny over the past month and are 21 cents higher than the projections of 2 months ago. The most accurate Zacks Consensus Estimate is more bullish at $2.28 per share.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fiscal second quarter stands at 60 cents per share, versus the 2 months-ago level of 57 cents.

Shares of CASY have more than doubled the market's return after reporting first quarter results. Zacks Investment Research

Johnson Controls Hopeful for 2010 – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

In its fiscal 2010 forecast meeting with financial analysts, Johnson Controls (JCI ) has revealed that it anticipates commendable sales and earnings growth in the fourth quarter and in fiscal 2010 as markets recover.

The management has commented that the company expects to earn 40 to 42 cents per share for the fourth quarter ended Sep 30 compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 39 cents per share. It expects sales of $7.9 billion for the quarter.

Consolidated net sales are expected to increase 9% to $31 billion in fiscal 2010. Earnings per share are expected to lie in the range of $1.35 and $1.45, slightly higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.44.

The Wisconsin-based company has stated that it expects sales, earnings and margin improvements during the next fiscal in all of its businesses – automotive, power solutions and building efficiency. In the Automotive Experience business, the company expects revenue to increase 13% as it benefits from production increases in North America (14%) and China (19%), besides a significant number of new seating and interiors program launches in Europe .

Sales for the Power Solutions business are expected to rise 17% (6% excluding the impact of higher lead prices), driven by volume growth across all regions resulting from market share gains and higher auto production levels.

Building Efficiency business is expected to register a revenue growth of 3% due to growth in the emerging markets and an increase in demand.

Johnson Controls has estimated capital expenditure during fiscal 2010 to total $625 million–$675 million to boost capacity in emerging markets, launch new auto businesses and fund improvements in the battery business.

The company has revealed that it has minimal debt due this fiscal and about $1 billion maturing in fiscal 2011. We recommend the shares of Johnson Controls as Neutral with a target price of $27.
Read the full analyst report on "JCI"
Zacks Investment Research

Carlisle Companies – Growth And Income – Zacks Rank Buy

Alex Kolb — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Carlisle Companies Inc. (CSL) is outpacing the market and seeing bullish Zacks Consensus Estimates ahead of reporting. Full-year projections of $1.83 per share jumped from $1.43 over the past 3 months. CSL reports on Oct 20.

Company Description

Carlisle Companies is a diversified global manufacturing company that serves a wide variety of industries, including construction materials, commercial roofing, specialty tire and wheel, foodservice and aerospace to name a few.

Recent Acquisitions

The company recently announced that it acquired from its joint venture partner, The Yokohama Rubber Company, Ltd., the remaining interest in Japan Power Brake, Inc. (JPB) of Atsugi, Japan.

Carlisle stated that with annual sales of approximately $10 million, JPB is a leading provider of high performance braking solutions for off-highway equipment, primarily in the mining and construction industries in Japan.

Carlisle also recently announced the acquisition of privately-held Electronic Cable Specialists, Inc. (ECS), a leading designer and manufacturer of electrical and structural products and services for the aviation, medical and industrial markets.

ECS has annual sales of $50 million and it is headquartered in Franklin, WI with various distribution points in the US, France and the United Kingdom.

A Recent Dividend Hike

Carlisle boosted its quarterly dividend 3.2% to 16 cents per share. The dividend was paid out on Sept 1 and marked the 33rd straight year of dividend increases.

The company's dividend yield of 2% is in line with the industry average.

Solid Momentum and Higher Forecasts

Carlisle is outpacing the market and seeing bullish Zacks Consensus Estimates ahead of reporting. Full-year projections of $1.83 per share jumped from $1.43 over the past 3 months.

For 2010, analyst polled by Zacks are calling for earnings of $2.13 per share, versus the 3 months-ago projections of $1.65.

Third-quarter forecasts of 68 cents per share were increased from 50 cents over the past 3 months.

The company is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Oct 20.

Second Quarter Results

The second quarter saw earnings of 79 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 76%. Earnings per share were ahead of the consensus by an average 18% over the past 4 consecutive quarters.

David A. Roberts, Chairman, President and CEO, said, "Our end market conditions continue to be a challenge. However, despite a 28% decline in our second quarter sales, we were able to increase our operating margins. We were especially pleased with results at our Construction Materials segment, which increased their operating margin to 16.3%, as compared to 12.2% for the same period last year, despite a 29% decline in sales.

Roberts added that in addition to the margin improvement, the company continued its strong cash flow performance in the quarter, generating $205 million in net cash from operations.

"As a result of the positive cash flow, we were able to reduce our outstanding debt by $185 million during the second quarter. Our balance sheet and available credit lines position us to take advantage of potential acquisitions and further invest in our core businesses to grow our revenue and expand our operating margins," said Roberts.

Zacks Investment Research

Johnson Controls Bags Contract – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:45:00 +0000

Johnson Controls (JCI) has won a record-breaking $87 million project at Princess Noura bin Abdulraham University, the world's biggest women-only university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Under the contract, Al Salem Johnson Controls, the company's joint venture in Saudi Arabia, will supply 26 York brand chillers to Princess Noura University.

The Wisconsin-based supplier of automotive interiors, batteries and other control equipment will supply chillers that use HFC-134A refrigerant, which does not contribute to ozone depletion. They are manufactured in San Antonio, Texas.

The York brand is a proven market leader in energy efficiency. Al Salem Johnson Controls will also supply radiators for the chillers, making this one of the company's largest single orders in its history. The company achieved the first and largest-ever chiller order in the world for the Pearl Qatar project. It has also succeeded in winning the Bahrain Bay project.

Johnson Controls has won notable contracts over the years. The State of Michigan had awarded $148.5 million in state tax breaks to the Johnson Controls–Saft joint venture to build the first U.S. production facility for lithium-ion batteries in Holland , Michigan .

Johnson also bagged lithium-ion battery contracts from the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium and Ford Motor (F). Johnson Controls was also selected by the U.S. Department of Energy as one of 16 companies to participate in an $80 billion contract to improve energy efficiency projects in Federal buildings.

The company expanded its sales force to take advantage of the significant growth opportunities for efficiency retrofits in the government market. We recommend the shares of Johnson Controls as Neutral with a target price of $27.
Read the full analyst report on "JCI"
Read the full analyst report on "F"
Zacks Investment Research

Guest Contribution: The Wisconsin Foreclosure and Unemployment Relief Plan (WI-FUR)

Menzie Chinn — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0000

By Morris A. Davis

Today, we're fortunate to have Morris A. Davis, Assistant Professor of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics at University of Wisconsin School of Business, as a guest contributor.

Research by economists inside the Federal Reserve system have shown that two events typically lead homeowners to default on their mortgage (see here). First, the value of the house must be less than the value of the mortgage ("under water"). This is necessary but not sufficient (see here). Second, homeowners must experience a significant disruption and loss of income. The available data suggest there might be a big increase in foreclosures in the immediate future. Zillow estimates that 22 percent of the 50 million homeowners with mortgages are currently under water; unemployment rates are high and are expected to remain high for the next two years.

Why does unemployment lead to a foreclosure when a house is under water? Consider the case of Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, UI benefits are capped at $1,452 per month. According to the 2007 American Community Survey, the average mortgage payment including all mortgages and taxes in Wisconsin is approximately $1,200. If the unemployed make their mortgage payment, they have roughly $63 per week available for food, transportation, and other necessities. After spending down their assets, the unemployed have no choice but default. They cannot sell their house, because they would have to write the bank a check at closing. They cannot make their mortgage payment, because they would have no money left for food.

The Obama Administration's "HAMP" proposal to reduce foreclosures calls for modifying mortgage payments. Mortgage modifications are designed to help borrowers refinance from a "bad" subprime mortgage to a more conventional mortgage. The reason that many legislators and journalists think mortgage modifications are the solution to the foreclosure problem is that the delinquency rate on subprime mortgages is much higher than the delinquency rate on prime mortgages, 12 percent compared to under 3 percent in 2009:Q2.

Although the HAMP plan will help some borrowers, it likely will not help avoid the majority of people facing foreclosure. There are two related reasons for this. First, shown in the table below, in 2009:Q2, 52% of seriously delinquent homeowners have prime mortgages -- so a "bad" mortgage is not the underlying problem. Second, because of the way the HAMP rules are written, the unemployed are essentially ineligible to have their mortgage refinanced. And, the research is quite clear that unemployment is a trigger to foreclosure.

There are two proposals out there that will prevent foreclosures for unemployed homeowners. One plan is from a team of researchers at the Boston Fed (Chris Foote, Jeff Fuhrer, Paul Willen) and Federal Reserve Board (Eileen Mauskopf), the so-called "Boston Fed" plan. The second is from my colleagues Stephen Malpezzi, François Ortalo-Magn&eacute and I here at the Department of Real Estate at the Wisconsin School of Business. We call this the WI-FUR plan. Both plans address the foreclosure problem by providing the temporarily unemployed with temporary assistance. Both plans attempt to mitigate the "moral hazard" problem by specifying that the amount of temporary assistance is independent of the original mortgage amount.

For each unemployed person, the Boston Fed plan (here for details) computes the percentage disruption in income due to unemployment (i.e. the gap between the wage while last employed and the UI benefit), and then pays that percentage of the mortgage directly to the mortgage servicer. This payment could be either a loan or a grant. The loss in income must be demonstrable and significant, at least 25 percent.

The WI-FUR plan (here for details) specifies that all unemployed receiving UI benefits also receive a housing voucher that can be used to pay the mortgage. The housing voucher would be computed such that, on average in each state, homeowners pay 30% of their UI benefits on their mortgage -- the voucher would cover the balance. In Wisconsin, for example, we advocate for an average voucher of about $764. This would make up for the shortfall in a $1,200 mortgage payment if households pay 30% of their UI benefit ($436 = 0.30 × $1,452) towards their mortgage.

You could ask: Why prevent foreclosures? We've known or suspected for some time that foreclosures are costly in terms of time and process (see here); that foreclosures may have "spillover" effects on values of neighboring property (see here); and that foreclosures may affect the well-being of children (see here). But why prevent them now?

People that know me know that I was completely opposed to foreclosure relief in 2007 and 2008. At that time, my view was that homeowners that were being foreclosed on put little down on their property, so they had option value from homeownership with no risk. Further, during the foreclosure process, they lived in the house for free -- no mortgage payment and no taxes. The economic and political environment has changed quite a bit since 2008, and my opinion has changed. Now, I can give two reasons for why, in late 2009, we should implement either the Boston Fed or WI-FUR plan.

First, my opinion is that we experienced two very large (and likely connected) aggregate shocks. I mention this because I want to emphasize that it is possible the foreclosures we’re observing now are not necessarily the result of ex-ante bad or risky decisions by lenders or borrowers, but of decisions that look bad ex-post due to bad luck. The first shock is that house prices have fallen by 30 percent nationwide since the peak in mid-2006. I describe this as a shock because traders appeared to think a big decline in house prices was a possible but low probability event. For example, the "Meltdown" scenario in a Lehman Brothers outlook as of August 2005, assumed to occur with only a 5 percent probability, called for a cumulative decline in house prices of about 15 percent over 3 years: See here. The second shock was the massive recession we just experienced. I describe this as a shock because many economists had become convinced the volatility of major macro aggregates had been cut in half due to the "Great Moderation" -- see here for a recent paper. In a world with a great moderation, the severe recession we just experienced is a very unlikely event. When put together, the large decline in house prices (shock 1) and large increase in unemployment (shock 2) have resulted in an unprecedented surge in foreclosures.

Second, as a society we've committed to spend money to reduce foreclosures. So let’s spend it effectively. The Obama Administration has been authorized to spend $75 billion dollars to try to prevent foreclosures. The Treasury now is spending the money by paying servicers to modify mortgages. This plan might help some people, but it will not address the majority of future foreclosures from unemployed people with prime-rate mortgages. If we want to prevent foreclosures of this group of people, either the Boston Fed plan or the WI-FUR plan will get the job done.

This post written by Morris Davis.

GenVec’s TNFerade Nears NDA Status (NASDAQ:GNVC)

Michael Vlaicu — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:06:14 +0000

GenVec, Inc. (Public, NASDAQ:GNVC) StocksHaven Investments profiles a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing gene-based therapeutic drugs and vaccines. Its lead product candidate, TNFerade biologic (TNFerade), is being developed for use in the treatment of cancer, and is currently undergoing Phase III trials which are expected to be completed by Q1 2010. In addition to its therapeutic product [...]

PennyOmega.com Stocks Upgraded, Downgraded and Short Highlights Before the Bell Thursday September 3, 2009

PennyOmega.com — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:22:55 +0000

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We Energies Plans Biomass Plant – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:55:25 +0000

We Energies plans to build a 50 megawatts (MW) biomass-fueled power plant at Rothschild, Wisconsin paper mill site of Domtar Corp. (UFS). Early next year, the utility will apply to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin for necessary permits. The project will cost around $250 million and is expected to be completed by first half of 2013.

The proposed power plant to be fueled by wood, waste wood and sawdust will expand the renewable energy portfolio of We Energies. Presently, the utility has two other projects in the pipeline – a 145 MW Blue Sky Green Field Wind Energy Center in Fond du Lac County and a 162 MW Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County. Collectively, these projects will generate around 360 MW of clean energy, which is sufficient to power nearly 120 thousand households.

The biomass plant will provide support to Domtar's papermaking operations. Moreover, it will help We Energies to comply with Wisconsin state regulations, which require state utilities to meet 10% of retail electricity needs from renewable sources by 2015.

We Energies is the trade name of Wisconsin Electric Power Co. and Wisconsin Gas LLC, which are principal utility subsidiaries of Wisconsin Energy (WEC). We Energies supply electricity to over 1.1 million consumers in Wisconsin and Upper Peninsula and natural gas to over 1 million consumers in Wisconsin.

Shares of Wisconsin Energy closed at $45.10 on Tuesday, trading at 14.3X trailing 12-month EPS versus 11.8X of the peer group. We maintain our Neutral recommendation for the company.

Read the full analyst report on "UFS"
Read the full analyst report on "WEC"
Zacks Investment Research

Best Buy to Open 22 Stores – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:45:38 +0000

Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) recently announced its plan to open 22 new U.S. stores in its fiscal third quarter. The stores will be opened in Virginia, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, California, Wisconsin, Puerto Rico, Arkansas, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Louisiana.

Currently, Best Buy operates 1,044 U.S. stores in 50 states and Puerto Rico. The company added 21 stores in the first six months of the fiscal year 2010. It opened 9 stores in the first quarter and another 12 stores in the second quarter.

Best Buy’s pace of opening new stores in the current fiscal year is substantially low compared to prior year quarters. Amid the challenging global economy and tough retail environment, we believe that the company has taken prudent steps to move steadily, rather than aggressively.

In fiscal year 2009, Best Buy opened 26 stores in the first quarter, 24 in the second quarter, and 37 stores in the third quarter.

The company will report its fiscal second quarter results on Sept 15.

During the first quarter, the company’s revenues jumped 12% year over year to $10,095 million primarily due to the addition of Best Buy Europe’s revenues and net addition of 185 new stores in the past 12 months, partially offset by a 6.2% decline in comparable store sales. Earnings per share fell 2.3% to 42 cents per share.

Best Buy is a global retailer of technology and entertainment products with operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, China and Mexico.
Read the full analyst report on "BBY"
Zacks Investment Research

Enbridge Gets Pipeline Permit – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:25:56 +0000

Last week, the Department of State issued a permit for Enbridge Inc. (ENB) to build the US portion of a cross-border pipeline. This project, called Alberta Clipper, will transfer crude oil from the tar sands area of Alberta, Canada to Midwestern US refineries.

However, four environmental organizations have vowed to legally challenge the decision as they argue that the pipeline will bring greenhouse-gas intensive oil sands crude from Canada, thereby contributing to global warming.

The company, together with its 12% owned master limited partnership Enbridge Energy Partners LP (EEP), is developing the $3.2 billion Alberta Clipper project. It involves construction of a 1000 mile, 36-inch diameter, heavy crude oil pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin, with an initial capacity of 450,000 barrels per day (Bbl/d), eventually expandable to 800,000 Bbl/d by adding pump and terminal stations.

Following receipt of the permit, Enbridge will immediately begin construction on the US leg of the project (approximately 330 miles of the new pipeline), expected to cost around $1.2 billion. The first part of the project (capacity of 450,000 Bbl/d) is expected to be in service by mid-2010.

Enbridge Inc., a Canadian company, is a leader in energy transportation and distribution in North America. It is also increasingly getting involved in natural gas transmission and midstream businesses. Enbridge owns and operates Canada’s largest natural gas distribution company and provides distribution services in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State. We currently have Neutral recommendation for both Enbridge and Enbridge Energy Partners.

Read the full analyst report on "ENB"
Read the full analyst report on "EEP"
Zacks Investment Research

Curtains for Newell’s Janesville Plant – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:43:05 +0000

Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NWL), a global marketer of consumer and commercial products, recently announced plans to close its office products manufacturing plant in Janesville, Wisconsin, to address key structural issues and improve profitability.

The company would relocate its manufacturing and distribution activities to Mexico, and shift the administrative jobs to other existing facilities in the U.S. Newell plans to utilize the excess capacity in its office products facility in Mexicali, Mexico, for manufacturing functions.

The restructuring would increase the profitability of the company through improved efficiencies. The move was further influenced by the continued economic downturn in the U.S. Newell is expected to cease operations in the plant, formerly a manufacturing hub for the world-famous Parker Pen, by the end of the first quarter of 2010.

The closure would result in a lay-off of 153 employees. Newell would offer transition services to these employees, including assistance for resume preparation and for honing interview skills. The company also plans to work in association with state and federal officials to provide additional transition benefits and separation pay benefits based on seniority and experience.
Read the full analyst report on "NWL"
Zacks Investment Research

Johnson Does Debt-Equity Swap – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:52:00 +0000

Auto-parts maker Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) is exchanging its 6.5% convertible senior notes due 2012 and its equity units in the form of corporate units to reduce the amount of its outstanding debt and related ongoing interest expense.

As of Jun 30, 2009, Johnson Control had approximately $4.8 billion of outstanding debt, including $450 million of equity units.

Johnson Controls will exchange all of its convertible notes for 89.3855 common shares plus $120 in cash and accrued and unpaid interest per $1,000 of principal notes. The company originally issued $402.5 million of convertible notes.

The company will also exchange up to 8.55 million corporate units, or 95% of its outstanding equity units, for 4.8579 common shares, $6.50 in cash and accrued and unpaid interest on the 11.5% notes due 2042 that make up part of the units.

Soon after Johnson Controls' second-quarter results in July, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services took the company off watch for downgrade. Fitch also removed the Wisconsin-based company from Rating Watch Negative and affirmed a Negative rating.

The agencies stated that challenges in Johnson Controls' Automotive Experience business and weak demand in the non-residential construction markets through 2010 corroborates the negative outlook. This is worsened by high leverage and margin pressure related to lower sales volumes across the major business segments. Low production volumes in Europe and North America and industry restructuring are significant concerns for the company.

A weak construction sector also affects Johnson Control's Building Efficiency business. The company's near-term results in the segment are to be pressured by weak non-residential markets in North America and Europe through 2009 and 2010.

However, Johnson Controls has an edge over its competitors, such as Magna International (MGA) and Hastings Manufacturing Company, in being more diverse. Johnson Control's exposure to the three auto giants – General Motors, Ford Motor (F) and Chrysler – is lower.

The Automotive Experience segment forms less than a third of its profits. Three quarters of sales in the battery business are to the aftermarket, which provides some stability. We expect margins in the segment to benefit from a lower cost structure and the eventual completion of a lead smelter in 2010, which should reduce production costs.

We maintain our Neutral recommendation on the stock with a target price of $27.00.

Read the full analyst report on "JCI"
Read the full analyst report on "F"
Read the full analyst report on "MGA"
Zacks Investment Research

Casey’s General Stores Inc. – Growth And Income – Zacks Rank Buy

Alex Kolb — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Casey's General Stores Inc. (CASY) is seeing higher Zacks Consensus Estimates ahead of reporting fiscal first-quarter results in early September. During the past 3 months, forecasts climbed 9% for the year ending April 2010.

Company Description

Bullish Forecasts

The company is seeing higher Zacks Consensus Estimates ahead of reporting fiscal first-quarter results. During the past 3 months, forecasts of $1.97 per share climbed from $1.80 for the year ending April 2010.

For the following year, the Zacks Consensus Estimate was increased from $1.95 per share to $1.97 over the past 3 months.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fiscal first quarter stands at 60 cents per share, versus the 3 months-ago level of 55 cents.

First quarter results are scheduled for release on September 9.

Record Results

The company's fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year report included record earnings for the year of $1.69 per share. Last year, Casey's earned $1.68 per share.

Fourth-quarter earnings of 31 cents per share topped the previous year's 28 cents but missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 36 cents.

In fiscal 2010, the company said it plans to increase same-store sales of gas, groceries and prepared food. The company also increase its number of stress by 4%.

Casey's hiked its dividend to $0.085 per share, which was paid out on August 17. CASY's dividend yield tops the industry average at 1.3%.

Solid Fundamentals

The company offers a return on equity (ROE) of 12.5%, surpassing the industry average of 10%. The company's net profit margin of 2% is ahead of the industry average of 1%. Zacks Investment Research

Exchange Rates: New Papers

Menzie Chinn — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:20:06 +0000

During the summer, I had the good fortune to attend two excellent conferences focused on new findings in exchange rate economics (yes, not all economic research is focused on the financial crisis and recession). The first was a Bank of Canada-European Central Bank conference Exchange rates: The global perspective, and the second was the NBER International Finance and Macroeconomics Summer Institute session "Exchange Rates and Relative Prices".

Figure 1: Log nominal value of US dollar (blue) and real value of US dollar (red), against currencies of major trading partners. NBER defined recession dates shaded gray, assuming the recession has not ended by July 2009. Source: Federal Reserve Board.

The Bank of Canada-ECB conference papers are here. All the papers, as well as powerpoint files of the presenters and discussants, are available from the conference website; I've reproduced some of the abstracts below.

Order flows and the exchange rate disconnect puzzle

M. Evans (Georgetown University)

Discussant: P. Vitale (G. D'Annunzio University)

This paper was also presented at the NBER conference -- see below for the abstract and my discussion of the paper.

What does the yield curve tell us about exchange rate predictability?

Y. Chen (University of Washington), K. P. Tsang (Virginia Tech)

This paper uses information contained in the cross-country yield curves to test the asset pricing approach to exchange rate determination, which models the nominal exchange rate as the discounted present value of its expected future fundamentals. Since the term structure of interest rates embodies information about future economic activity such as GDP growth and inflation, we extract the Nelson-Siegel (1987) factors of relative level, slope, and curvature from cross-country yield differences to proxy expected movements in future exchange rate fundamentals. Using monthly data between 1985-2005 for the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and the US, we show that the yield curve factors predict bilateral exchange rate movements and explain excess currency returns one month to two years ahead. They also outperform the random walk in forecasting short-term exchange rate returns out of sample. Our findings provide an intuitive explanation to the uncovered interest parity puzzle by relating excess currency returns to inflation and business cycle risk.

Discussant: R. Alquist (Bank of Canada)

I found this paper quite interesting as it links up, in an atheoretical/empirical fashion, with the findings Guy Meredith and I obtained -- namely that short term interest rate differentials mispredict exchange rate changes, but long term interest rate differentials do not.

On the unstable relationship between exchange rates and fundamentals

*P. Bacchetta (University of Lausanne), E. van Wincoop (University of Virginia)

It is well known from anecdotal, survey and econometric evidence that the relationship between the exchange rate and macro fundamentals is highly unstable. This could be explained when structural parameters are known and very volatile, neither of which seems plausible. Instead we argue that large and frequent variations in the relationship between the exchange rate and macro fundamentals naturally develop when structural parameters in the economy are unknown and change very slowly. We show that the reduced form relationship between exchange rates and fundamentals is driven not by the structural parameters themselves, but rather by expectations of these parameters. These expectations can be highly unstable as a result of perfectly rational "scapegoat" effects. This happens when parameters can potentially change much more in the long run than the short run. This generates substantial uncertainty about the level of parameters, even though monthly or annual changes are small. This mechanism can also be relevant in other contexts of forward looking variables and could explain the widespread evidence of parameter instability found in macroeconomic and financial data. Finally, we show that parameter instability has remarkably little effect on the volatility of exchange rates, the in-sample explanatory power of macro fundamentals and the ability to forecast out of sample.

Discussant: C. Engel (University of Wisconsin)

This paper is closely related to another paper by Bacchetta, Wincoop, and Beutler, discussed in this post from June.

What is driving exchange rates? New evidence from a panel of US dollar bilateral exchange rates

J. Cayen (Bank of Canada), D. Coletti (Bank of Canada), R. Lalonde (Bank of Canada), *P. Maier (Bank of Canada)

Discussant: H. Bouakez (HEC Montreal)

Common risk factors in currency markets

*H. Lustig (UCLA), N. Roussanov (University of Pennsylvania), A. Verdelhan (Boston University)

We identify a 'slope' factor in exchange rates. High interest rate currencies load more on this slope factor than low interest rate currencies. As a result, this factor can account for most of the cross-sectional variation in average excess returns between high and low interest rate currencies. A standard, no-arbitrage model of interest rates with two factors -- a country- specific factor and a global factor -- can replicate these findings, provided there is sufficient heterogeneity in exposure to the global risk factor. We show that our slope factor is global risk factor. By investing in high interest rate currencies and borrowing in low interest rate currencies, US investors load up on global risk, particularly during bad times.

Discussant: F. Fornari (European Central Bank)

Crash risk in currency markets

*E. Farhi (Harvard University), X. Gabaix (New York University), A. Verdelhan (Boston University)

Discussant: P. Della Corte (University of Warwick)

Dinner address: J. Murray (Bank of Canada)

Demand imbalances, exchange rate misalignment and monetary policy

Corsetti (European University Institute), L. Dedola (European Central Bank) S. Leduc (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco)

In standard open macro models with incomplete markets, monetary policy geared towards price stability may result in (rather than correcting) misalignments in important asset prices like the exchange rate, even when the latter only reflects fundamental-based valuation. We discuss instances in which optimal monetary policy redresses these inefficiencies, achieving significant welfare gains relative to price stability. These gains are obtained by leaning against an over- or under-valued exchange rate, associated with suboptimal cross-country demand and current account imbalances, consistent with flexible inflation targeting.

Discussant: J. Gali (Centre de Recerca en Economia Internacional)

I think this paper by Corsetti et al. is an important one, because it's one of the few papers I know that explicitly defines what real exchange rate misalignment is, in the context of a formal New Keynesian model. I think it, and the discussion by Jordi Gali, are required reading for anybody interested in thinking about equilibrium real exchange rates.

The dynamics of international trade invoicing

*L. Goldberg (Federal Reserve Bank of New York), C. Tille (Geneva Graduate Institute)

International trade transactions can be invoiced in the producer currency, in the destination currency, or in some third vehicle currency. This paper shows how an exporter's invoicing choice is affected by her market share, industry structure, the role of imported inputs, the hedging of macroeconomic shocks, and exchange rate regimes. We address a shortcoming in the existing literature by invoicing choices as the outcome of a bargaining game between exporting producers and their customers abroad. Using a new dataset of 45 million individual Canadian import transactions, we examine the roles of the various invoicing determinants, documenting the importance of each of these factors in the invoicing decisions of specific industry exporters, distinguishing between U.S. exporters and those from other countries.

Discussant: M. Devereux (University of British Columbia)

The predictive information content of external imbalances for exchange rate returns: How much is it worth?

*P. Della Corte (University of Warwick), L. Sarno (Cass Business School), G. Sestieri (European Central Bank)

Discussant: G. M. Milesi-Ferretti (International Monetary Fund)

Keynote speech: On Global Currencies
*J. Frankel (Harvard University)

I approach the state of global currency issues by identifying eight concepts that I see as having recently "peaked" and eight more that I see as currently rising in relevance. Those that I see as having already seen their best days are: the G-7, global savings glut, corners hypothesis, proliferating currency unions, inflation targeting (narrowly defined), exorbitant privilege, Bretton Woods II, and currency manipulation. Those that I see as receiving increased emphasis in the future are: the G-20, the IMF, SDR, credit cycle, reserves, intermediate exchange rate regimes, commodity currencies, and multiple international currency system.

I've discussed some of the points Frankel lays out in a previous post, including the idea that “global savings glut” is an idea that is over.

Policy panel discussion: Exchange rate behaviour and policy: Before, during and after the global economic crisis

Chairman: L. Papademos (European Central Bank)

M. Chinn (University of Wisconsin) [presentation]

C. Engel ( University of Wisconsin )

J. Murray (Bank of Canada)

The second meeting (organized by Fabio Ghironi, Boston College, and Nelson Mark, Notre Dame) devoted the Wednesday session to exchange rates:

Order Flows and the Exchange Rate Disconnect Puzzle

Martin Evans, Georgetown University and NBER

The aim of this paper is to establish the link between the high frequency dynamics of spot exchange rates and developments in the macroeconomy. To do so, I first present a theoretical model of exchange-rate determination that bridges the gap between existing microstructure and traditional models. The model examines how dispersed microeconomic information known to individual agents outside the foreign exchange market is aggregated and transmitted to dealers via transaction flows (i.e., order flow); and how the information is then embedded in the spot exchange rate. I then report empirical evidence that strongly supports the presence of the link between the macroeconomy, order flow, and high frequency exchange rate returns implied by the model. In fact, my empirical results indicate that between 20 and 30 percent of the variance in excess currency returns over one- and two-month horizons can be linked back to developments in the macroeconomy. This level of explanatory power is an order of magnitude higher than that found in traditional models -- even the newly developed monetary models incorporating central banks reaction functions. Moreover, it provides a straightforward solution to the exchange-rate disconnect puzzle. Namely, the high frequency behavior of spot exchange rates reflects the flow of new information reaching dealers concerning the slowly evolving state of the macroeconomy, rather than the effects of shocks that drive rapidly changing macroeconomic conditions.

Discussant: Menzie Chinn, University of Wisconsin-Madison and NBER [presentation]

Taylor Rules and the Euro

Tanya Molodstva, Emory University, Alex Nikolsko-Rzhevskyy, University of Memphis, David Papell, University of Houston

This paper uses real-time data to show that inflation and either the output gap or unemployment, the variables which normally enter central banks' Taylor rules for interest-rate-setting, can provide evidence of out-of-sample predictability and forecasting ability for the United States Dollar/Euro exchange rate from the inception of the Euro in 1999 to the end of 2007. We also present less formal evidence that, with real-time data, the Taylor rule provides a better description of ECB than of Fed policy during this period. The strongest evidence is found for specifications that neither incorporate interest rate smoothing nor include the real exchange rate in the forecasting regression, and the results are robust to whether or not the coefficients on inflation and the real economic activity measure are constrained to be the same for the U.S. and the Euro Area. The evidence is stronger with inflation forecasts than with inflation rates and with real-time data than with revised data. Bad news about inflation and good news about real economic activity both lead to out-of sample predictability and forecasting ability through forecasted exchange rate appreciation.

Discussant: Yu-chin Chen, University of Washington [presentation]

How Do Different Exporters React to Exchange Rate Changes? Theory, Empirics, and Aggregate Implications

Nicolas Berman, European University Institute, Philippe Martin, Science Po, Paris, Thierry Mayer, Paris School of Economics

This paper analyzes the reaction of exporters to exchange rate changes. We show that, in the presence of distribution costs in the export market, high and low productivity firms react differently to a depreciation . Whereas high productivity firms optimally raise their markup rather than the volume they export, low productivity firms choose the opposite strategy. This heterogeneity has important consequences for the aggregate impact of exchange rate movements. The presence of fixed costs to export means that only high productivity firms can export, firms which precisely react to an exchange rate depreciation by increasing their export price rather than their sales. We show that this selection effect can explain the weak impact of exchange rate movements on aggregate export volumes. We then test the main predictions of the model on a very rich French firm level data set with destination specific export values and volumes on the period 1995-2005. Our results confirm that high performance firms react to a depreciation by increasing their export price rather than their export volume. The reverse is true for low productivity exporters. Pricing to market by exporters is also more pervasive in sectors and destination countries with higher distribution costs. Another result consistent with our theoretical framework is that the probability of firms to enter the export market following a depreciation increases. The extensive margin response to exchange rate changes is modest at the aggregate level because firms that enter, following a depreciation, are less productive and smaller relative to existing firms.

Discussant: Linda Goldberg, Federal Reserve Bank of New York and NBER [presentation]

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 8/05/09, SCHS, ARRY, SLE, POR, MMP, AWK

Dr. Stock Pick — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:18:08 +0000

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! Wednesday August 5, 2009 ************************************************************** School Specialty (Nasdaq:SCHS), a leading education company providing supplemental learning products to the preK-12 market, has scheduled its fiscal 2010 first quarter earnings conference call for Thursday, August 20 at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. The company’s fiscal 2010 first quarter earnings news release will also [...]

PennyOmega.com Stock Report! 7/29/09, USU, BKR, TRI, ICE, PWX, CHKP

PennyOmega.com — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:19:03 +0000

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Green Investor News – GE Energy’s Jenbacher Onsite Biogas Power Solution Helps U.S. Dairy Farmers Reduce Site Emissions

Dawn Van Zant — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:00:00 +0000

WATERLOO, Wis - July 24, 2009 - As lawmakers in Washington, D.C., debate new federal climate-change legislation, Wisconsin's dairy industry is leading the way in demonstrating the benefits of using cow manure methane digester biogas.

Casey’s General Stores – Growth And Income – Zacks Rank Buy

Alex Kolb — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY) recently released its fiscal fourth-quarter report, which included record earnings for the year. The company also hiked its dividend to $0.085 per share. CASY's dividend yield tops the industry average at 1.1%.

Company Description

Record Results

The company recently released its fiscal fourth-quarter report, which included record earnings for the year of $1.69 per share. Last year, Casey's earned $1.68 per share.

Fourth-quarter earnings of 31 cents per share topped the previous year's 28 cents but missed the consensus estimate of 36 cents.

In fiscal 2010, the company said it plans to increase same-store sales of gas, groceries and prepared food. The company also increase its number of stress by 4%.

Casey's hiked its dividend to $0.085 per share, noting that it is payable August 17 to shareholders of record on August 3. CASY's dividend yield tops the industry average at 1.1%.

CASY has been trading ahead of market since reporting in mid-June, and stock is beating the market by more than 30% over the past year.

Bullish Forecasts

Analysts' earnings estimates for the year ended April 2010 are at $1.97 per share, above the 2 months-ago level of $1.80.

For the following year, analysts are calling for earnings of $1.97 per share, an increase from the 2 months-ago level of $1.95. Zacks Investment Research

Cogdell Spencer, Inc. (CSA) Subsidiary Signs Two Large Contracts

QualityStocks — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:53:38 +0000

Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN, wholly owned subsidiary of Cogdell Spencer, Inc., signed two contracts totaling $88.8 million to construct two Healthcare facilities in Wisconsin. The deal helps solidify the company’s leading role in the Healthcare Real Estate Industry. The first contract is for $53.9 million and is to construct the St. Mary’s Janesville Hospital, a 160,000 [...]

Badger Meter Sees Potential – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:57:40 +0000

Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Badger Meter (BMI) provides liquid flow measurement products and control technologies to utilities (primarily water and to a much, lesser extent natural gas) and industrial customers.

The company sells manually read meters, automatic meter reading (AMR) systems and fixed network advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) systems to utilities. Badger Meter continues to post higher sales in its utility product line, which accounts for more than 80% of its total revenue.

A major factor behind the company’s growth is the decision for water utility customers to upgrade to advanced metering (AMR/AMI) systems from manually read meters. The company is satisfying this market demand with its popular ORION drive-by AMR and the GALAXY fixed network AMI.

In addition, Badger Meter has an agreement with Itron (ITRI) to resell the ITRON drive-by AMR until early 2011.

There are plenty of customers that are still operating manually read meters. According to the company, less than 30% of water meters installed in the United States have been converted to AMR/AMI, which means approximately 37,000 water utilities are still operating manually read meters.

Also, Badger Meter claims a current market share of 20% in North America for AMR/AMI. We agree with management that there is plenty of room for growth as more customers upgrade their meters to the newer technologies.

Read the full analyst report on "BMI"
Read the full analyst report on "ITRI"
Zacks Investment Research

State Budgets Are Anti-Stimulus – Analyst Blog

Dirk Van Dijk — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:54:00 +0000

Today is the end of the 2009 fiscal year, and many states are still scrambling to get budgets in place for the 2010 fiscal year.

It is not easy since when the economy turns south, so do tax revenues, and states are not allowed to run deficits or borrow for operating needs. Some states have managed to cut costs or raise taxes enough to close their deficits for the upcoming year. The only two states without a budget problem are Montana and North Dakota.

As shown in the table below (from http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=711), the total spending cuts or revenue increase needs to be $166 billion or 24% of the projected budget. To some extent states have used "rainy day funds" and the money from the Federal Stimulus bill to close some of the gap. Still the problem is very severe with 5 states (CA, AZ, NV, IL, NY) facing shortfalls of greater than 30%. California is in the worst shape with a gap of 58.2%.

STATES WITH PROJECTED FY2010 BUDGET GAPS
State	FY2010 pre-budget	FY2010 mid-year gap	FY2010 Total	FY2010 Total % of Budget
Alabama	$1.2 billion	0	$1.2 billion	16.70%
Alaska	$1.3 billion	0	$1.3 billion	30.00%
Arizona	$4.0 billion	0	$4.0 billion	41.10%
Arkansas	$146 million	0	$146 million	3.20%
California*	$34.2 billion	$19.5 billion	$53.7 billion	58.20%
Colorado	$1.0 billion	$384 million	$1.4 billion	18.60%
Connecticut	$4.1 billion	0	$4.1 billion	23.20%
Delaware	$557 million	0	$557 million	17.60%
District of Columbia	$650 million	$150 million	$800 million	12.70%
Florida	$5.9 billion	0	$5.9 billion	22.80%
Georgia	$3.1 billion	$750 million	$3.9 billion	22.30%
Hawaii	$682 million	$297 million	$978 million	19.10%
Idaho	$411 million	0	$411 million	16.40%
Illinois	$9.2 billion	0	$9.2 billion	33.00%
Indiana	$1.1 billion	0	$1.1 billion	7.50%
Iowa	$779 million	0	$779 million	13.20%
Kansas	$1.4 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.4 billion	22.60%
Kentucky	0	$1.1 billion	$1.1 billion	11.30%
Louisiana	$1.8 billion	0	$1.8 billion	21.60%
Maine	$640 million	0	$640 million	21.40%
Maryland	$1.9 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.9 billion	13.60%
Massachusetts	$5.0 billion	0	$5.0 billion	17.90%
Michigan	$2.4 billion	0	$2.4 billion	12.00%
Minnesota	$3.2 billion	0	$3.2 billion	21.00%
Mississippi	$480 million	0	$480 million	9.60%
Missouri	$923 million	0	$923 million	10.30%
Nebraska	$150 million	0	$150 million	4.30%
Nevada	$1.2 billion	0	$1.2 billion	37.80%
New Hampshire	$250 million	0	$250 million	16.20%
New Jersey	$8.8 billion	0	$8.8 billion	29.90%
New Mexico	$345 million	0	$345 million	6.30%
New York	$17.9 billion	0	$17.9 billion	32.30%
North Carolina	$4.6 billion	0	$4.6 billion	21.90%
Ohio	$3.3 billion	0	$3.3 billion	12.30%
Oklahoma	$600 million	0	$600 million	10.50%
Oregon*	0	0	0	0.00%
Pennsylvania	$4.8 billion	0	$4.8 billion	18.00%
Rhode Island	$590 million	0	$590 million	19.20%
South Carolina	$725 million	0	$725 million	12.50%
South Dakota	$32 million	0	$32 million	2.90%
Tennessee	$1.0 billion	0	$1.0 billion	9.70%
Texas	$3.5 billion	0	$3.5 billion	9.50%
Utah	$721 million	$279 million	$1.0 billion	19.80%
Vermont	$278 million	0	$278 million	24.80%
Virginia	$1.8 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.8 billion	10.90%
Washington	$3.4 billion	$195 million	$3.6 billion	23.30%
West Virginia	$200 million	0	$200 million	5.30%
Wisconsin	$3.2 billion	0	$3.2 billion	23.20%
Wyoming	0	$32 million	$32 million	1.70%
Total	$143.2 billion	$22.7 billion	$165.9 billion	24.40%

This will lead to very drastic cuts in state budgets. Access to medical care by the poor will likely be one of the first things to be cut.

Education budgets will also probably be pared. This could be decreased spending on new textbooks, which would not be good news for publishers like McGraw-Hill (MHP) and Scholastic (SCHL).

Another area that is likely to be hit is new equipment at the municipal level. For example, I would not expect Oshkosh (OSK) to have a very good year selling new fire engines and snow removal equipment to municipalities.

Layoffs of state and municipal workers will simply add to the already high and rising unemployment rate. In short, a big part of the federal stimulus spending is being offset by (legally mandated) anti-stimulus actions at the state level.

As the graph shows, state fiscal problems tend to persist well after the recession is officially over. Indeed the problem is usually worse in the second or third year since by then the "rainy day funds" have already been used up.

Following the last recession, states collectively had their worst year in 2004 with a shortfall of $80 billion (or less than half what they face for fiscal 2010), which was well after the recession officially ended. Thus 2011, and possibly even 2012, will be a very lean year at the state level as well.

Read the full analyst report on "MHP"
Read the full analyst report on "SCHL"
Read the full analyst report on "OSK"
Zacks Investment Research

TIE Technologies Launches Next Generation Account Management System (AMS)

Stuart T. Smith — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:59:14 +0000

NEW YORK, June 24, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TIE Technologies, Inc. (Pink Sheets:TTCS) today announced the launching of a Joint initiative with ThoughtFocus Technologies (www.thoughtfocus.com) to develop the next generation of its already successful Account Management System (AMS) suite of software products. AMS is already successfully utilized as the E-Wallet application being used by several on-line [...]

Timing the Trade in “Obama Stocks”

Jeffrey Miller — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:31:52 +0000

The insatiable hunger for stories motivates financial media. At the first hint of a new development the process begins -- hard news, analysis, critics, and long-term effects. The cycle is so fast that we sometimes get the criticism before most...

Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT) Chosen to Deliver Capacity Upgrade to University of Wisconsin System’s Research and Education Network

QualityStocks — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:50:29 +0000

Level 3 Communications Inc. is a leading global provider of fiber-based communications systems. The company offers metro and long-haul services, including transport, data, Internet, content delivery and voice, to a variety of customers. Level 3 today announced that it has been chosen to deliver a 10-fold capacity upgrade to WiscNet, the University of Wisconsin System’s [...]

Snap-on Has Got the Tools – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:33:44 +0000

Snap-on (SNA) announced the official opening of its Innovation Works facility in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The new 15,000 square foot facility has a state-of-the-art service garage, prototyping room, 3D modeling facility, display and application room, customer observation room, innovation library, and training room.

The Innovation Works facility is the centerpiece of and will supplement the many other innovation resources and infrastructure in Snap-on's global businesses. Snap-on, Inc. is a global provider of professional tools, equipment and related solutions for technicians, vehicle service centers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other industrial users.

New products are a key growth driver for Snap-on, and the Innovation Works facility demonstrates management's commitment to the development of new and innovative products, processes and technologies. By enhancing existing products and introducing new products into the marketplace, the company is better able to compete effectively and generate incremental sales and profits.

Recent new product launches included Dual 80 Microgears ratchets, the CT4850 18 volt cordless 600-pound impact power tool, the Solus Pro Scanner on-board automotive diagnostic tool, and the MG725 Pneumatic Impact Wrench, along with enhancements to the company's diagnostics products and Mitchell1 information products.

Following the opening of the facility, the company hosted a Regional Partnership Summit, which featured presentations by experts on key market and technology issues. In attendance were Governor Jim Doyle, the State of Wisconsin Workforce Development Secretary (Roberta Glassman), the president of Gateway Technical College (Bryan Albrecht), and Dr. Glenn Bower of the University of Wisconsin.

Some of the topics discussed were the Wisconsin state initiatives to address energy, training and workforce development; trends in next generation vehicle technology (including hybrids, electric fuel cell and hydrogen vehicles); and the need for training and development to align the workforce with emerging technologies.

We rate Snap-on a Buy. A few weeks ago, we had set a 6-month target price of $48 per share.
Read the full analyst report on "SNA"
Zacks Investment Research

Casey’s General Stores Inc. – Growth And Income – Zacks Rank Buy

Alex Kolb — Thu, 14 May 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Casey's General Stores Inc. (CASY) outperformed the broader market over the past year, receiving an extra boost in early March on a strong third quarter. The company's solid fundamentals include an industry-leading dividend yield of 1.2%.

Company Description

Stellar Earnings

The company saw a solid third quarter. Earnings per share of 28 cents came in 47% ahead of the consensus estimate.

"We are pleased with the execution of our strategy," said President and CEO Robert J. Myers. "We were able to exceed third quarter earnings from a year ago despite a gas margin decline of over 3.5 cents per gallon."

The company has outperformed the market over the past year, receiving an extra boost after delivering the strong third-quarter results.

Wall Street is Bullish on CASY

Current fiscal year earnings projections of $1.74 per share are above the 2 months-ago level of $1.66. For the following year, earnings expectations of $1.80 were increased from last month's $1.74 and $1.70 of 2 months ago.

CASY's fiscal year ends in April, and the fourth-quarter report is scheduled for release on June 10.

Favorable Comparisons

CASY's return on equity (ROE) of 13% is in line with the industry average. The company's dividend yield of 1.2% stands out as most of CASY's industry peers pay no income. Its net profit margin of 2% is also in line with the industry average.

Zacks Investment Research

Central Manufacturing Inc., and Plastics Conversion Technologies in Large Scale Resource Recovery Equipment Deal

Stuart T. Smith — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:17:20 +0000

SPOKANE, Wash., April 28, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — GeoBio Energy, Inc., d/b/a Plastics Conversion Technologies, Inc., (PCT) (Pink Sheets:GBOE) a Washington based plastics cleaning, separation, and recycling company, today announced a strategic agreement with Central Manufacturing, Inc. of Groveland Ill. Under terms of this alliance, Central will provide the design, manufacture, and testing of several [...]

Casey’s General Stores Inc. – Growth And Income – Zacks Rank Buy

Alex Kolb — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Casey's General Stores Inc. (CASY) continues to crush the broader market while watching analysts boost estimates. Current fiscal year earnings projections of $1.73 per share are above last month's $1.66.

Company Description

Wall Street is Bullish on CASY

Current fiscal year earnings projections of $1.73 per share are above last month's $1.66. For the following year, earnings expectations of $1.76 were increased from last week's $1.74 and last month's $1.72. CASY's fiscal year ends in April.

Favorable Comparisons

CASY's return on equity (ROE) of 13% is in line with the industry average. The company's dividend yield of 1.1% stands out as most of CASY's industry peers pay no income. Its net profit margin of 2% is also in line with the industry average.

Solid Quarter

The company recently reported favorable results for the fiscal third quarter. Earnings per share of 28 cents came in 47% ahead of the consensus estimate.

The company has outperformed the market over the past year, receiving an extra boost after delivering the stellar results. Zacks Investment Research

Interpreting Government Data: Is a Conspiracy Afoot?

Jeffrey Miller — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:42:12 +0000

Nearly everyone agrees that there are many economic issues and that government policies are an important part of analysis and forecasting. So much for the non-controversial statement. Investors Need to Know As investors, the key questions we all face involve...

Johnson Controls Downed to Sell – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:21:31 +0000

Wisconsin-based Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) is a supplier of automotive interiors, batteries, and other control equipment. The company functions through three segments: Automotive Experience, Building Efficiency and Power Solutions.

Johnson Controls is suffering from weakening product mix and raw material/ price squeeze. It has recently withdrawn its financial guidance due to lower North American and European vehicle production. Rapid deterioration in automotive production coupled with worsening residential market raise concern.

As foreseen, Johnson reported losses in the 1st quarter of fiscal 2009 and expects to incur similar losses in the 2nd quarter of the year. The company expects profits only after the 3rd quarter of fiscal 2009. These lead us to rate the stock a Sell with a target of $7.00.

Read the full analyst report on "JCI"
Zacks Investment Research

Finding Opportunity in Liberty Media’s Complex Structure

Bullish Bankers — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 11:00:11 +0000

Liberty Media [LMDIA: 17.34, +0.15 (+0.87%)] has been in the news a lot lately, due to CEO John Malone’s recent bailout of Sirius XM Radio [SIRI: 0.2476, +0.0126 (+5.36%)]. This article is not about that deal, however. This article is an attempt to explain the structure of Liberty Media, which is sure to confuse most amateur [...]

Congress Approves $410 Billion Spending Bill

Daniel Shepard — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 03:08:32 +0000

Tuesday March 10, 2009 Navivest The Senate today voted to pass a $410 billion spending bill that earlier today, passed in the House of Representative. The bill provides for funding of the government through the end of this fiscal year, which ends on September 30. The passage of the bill staves off what could have been a shut [...]

Manpower Worth the Investment – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:12:22 +0000

Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Manpower Inc. (MAN) is one of the largest temporary staffing firms in the world with a global network of 4,400 offices in 72 countries. The company assigns more than 2 million temporary workers annually and is an industry leader in employee assessment and training. Manpower provides a range of staffing solutions, as well as engagement and consulting services worldwide.

Though earnings were below expectations for the past two quarters, the stock's P/E valuation is in the extreme low end of its historical range. The Right Management unit appears to have turned the corner, contributing favorably to the company's top line.

Moreover, recent acquisitions better position the company going forward. Despite the difficult global economic environment, the Buy rating is maintained, primarily due to attractive valuation.

Read the full analyst report on MAN

"MAN" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Russ Feingold (D-WI) Introduces Legislation Supporting Energy Efficiency and Biofuels

Small Cap Pulse — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:37:00 +0000

January 14, 2009 ndash; Yesterday Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold introduced S. 222 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the national limitation on qualified energy conservation bonds and to clarify that certain programs constitute a qualified conservation purpose, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance. We expect to see further legislation supporting energy efficiency and alternative energy development. Here is the text from Feingoldrsquo;s comments on the floor:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, over the past few days I have introduced a series of bills that are part of my E4 Initiative, dubbed E4 because of its focus on economy, employment, education, and energy. Today I am introducing two bills that are part of this effort: the Community Revitalization Energy Conservation, CREC, Act of 2009 and the Energy and Technology Advancement, ETA, Act of 2009.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; The newest among my E4 bills is the Community Revitalization Energy Conservation, CREC, Act of 2009. This bill will increase the amount of funding available to State and local governments for the rehabilitation and revitalization of the fledgling green economy, and also expand the types of eligible projects to cover energy efficiency improvements to privately owned buildings. While our country is facing its greatest economic challenge since the Great Depression, we have a tremendous opportunity to create jobs critical to addressing the energy challenges we face. The CREC Act amends the recently authorized Qualified Energy Conservation Bond, QECB, program to increase funding for important public-private partnerships to significantly invest in energy efficiency and conservation, a key national priority. It also offers States and local governments the opportunity to create jobs and stimulate their local economies.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; First, my bill will more than quadruple the amount of bonds that can be issued under the Qualified Energy Conservation Bond program--increasing the program from $800 million to $3.6 billion. This will provide the opportunity for private investors to partner with State and local governments to fund energy investments through State and locally issued tax credit bonds. As we give private investors the opportunity to participate in the green economy through Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds, we signal to the market that the Federal Government will continue to affirm the importance of investment in energy efficiency and conservation, as well as the development of new energy technologies. Helping these new energy technologies thrive is not only a promising way to develop the next generation of energy technology to reduce our energy consumption, it will also help to spur job creation as State and local governments embark on capital improvements.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Increasing the size of the program will support funding for eligible projects including energy efficiency improvements of publicly owned buildings; rural development of electricity from renewable sources; research facilities or grants for renewable technologies such as advanced automobile battery technology and nonfossil fuels; mass commuting facilities that reduce energy consumption; or financing qualified energy production projects such as wind, biomass, geothermal, landfill gas, and solar.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Secondly, my bill expands the types of eligible programs to ones that reduce energy consumption in privately owned buildings. It would allow States and local governments to help homeowners and businesses make improvements such as heating-fuel saving measures; electricity-saving measures; on-site renewable energy generating devices; or water-saving measures that reduce the energy use of the owner, renter or water provider. Gains in efficiency savings between 20-30 percent are easily achievable through improving lighting, insulation, HVAC equipment and controls for these items. These measures are often one-time and low maintenance or maintenance free once they have been installed. In terms of costs, implementing efficiency measures only costs about 3 cents per kWh of energy saved while implementing wind and solar projects can cost at least two to three times more.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Importantly, my bill will increase the success of these energy efficiency and conservation programs by ensuring the Qualified Energy Conservation Bond program can be used to promote novel payment structures in order to reduce the prohibitive upfront costs that homeowners and businesses must pay for energy efficiency and conservation upgrades. By eliminating expensive up-front costs for homeowners and businesses, we can eliminate one of the main obstacles to making significant energy efficiency gains. Furthermore, we can virtually eliminate what homeowners and businesses have to pay for the efficiency and conservation upgrades by not increasing their out-of-pocket expenses. For example, States and local governments can work with electric and water utilities to bill individuals or businesses monthly for the cost of the efficiency improvements based on the savings they receive. The payment for the efficiency improvements each month will be no more than the monthly energy-savings realized by the improvements, thereby keeping their monthly payments the same as before the energy improvements.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; The Center on Wisconsin Strategy states that buildings account for 40 percent of total U.S. energy consumption, 70 percent of U.S. electricity consumption, and 43 percent of U.S. carbon emissions, a larger share than either transportation or industry. It is possible that the U.S. could realize more than $200 billion in annual savings from improved building efficiency alone. However, one of the challenges associated with implementing building efficiency measures is its prohibitive cost. Unfortunately, poor households devote a disproportionate share of income to home energy costs, often upwards of 10 percent, because they have less income and tend to live in less efficient buildings and use less efficient appliances. Through building retrofits we have the potential to generate about 10 person years of employment in direct installation of efficiency measures and another 3-4 person years in the production of relevant materials for every $1 million spent on retrofitsnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Large cities and counties with populations over 100,000 would be eligible for Wisconsin's share, $65.7 million, that my bill would allow for. Eligible local governments in Wisconsin include: Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, and the counties of Milwaukee, Dane, Waukesha, Brown, Racine, Outagamie, Kenosha, Winnebago, Rock, Marathon, Washington, Sheboygan, La Crosse, and Walworth.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; I commend the city of Milwaukee and the Center on Wisconsin Strategy--they have already begun to develop a program to address retrofitting residential buildings with energy efficiency measures through Me2--Milwaukee Energy Efficiency. COWS' initial estimates suggest if you could retrofit nearly all of the existing housing stock in Milwaukee, an initial investment of just under $250 million could result in annual energy savings of over $80 million. Examples of other cities that are tackling the issue of energy efficiency in residential buildings include Berkeley, CA; Babylon, NY; and Brookhaven, NY.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; All of these efforts to conserve energy require investments in time and money. By combining efforts on two of the challenges that we currently face--energy and employment--we can create great opportunities. Energy efficiency and conservation are in our national interest for our long term economic well-being, for the health and safety of our citizens and the world as we mitigate the effects of climate change, and for our independence and security.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; I have urged the Treasury Department to quickly issue regulations for the Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds so the initial program can get up and running. Once regulations are finalized, States and local governments can begin applying to receive an allotment of the bonds to pursue projects that may have been shelved in our struggling economy.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; The second energy bill I am introducing as part of my E4 Initiative is the Energy and Technology Advancement Act. This bill will increase partnerships between the Federal Government and businesses to help spur the commercialization of energy, forestry, and other technologies--in other words, to increase the ETA, or estimated time of arrival, for bringing new technologies to market.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Particularly in the area of energy, we must do more to make new energy solutions, like next generation biofuels, a reality. My bill will help make the Federal Government a better business partner for the many businesses that are researching and developing innovative technology solutions our country needs. We are squandering the Federal investment of billions into research and development by not doing enough to prevent new technologies from sitting on the shelf or being shipped to another country. Helping these new energy technologies get off the ground is not only a promising way to develop the next generation of energy technology that will help break our addition to oil, it will also help to spur job creation and enhance rural development.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; One obstacle identified by the Forest Service's Wisconsin-based Forest Products Lab which conducts forestry and energy technology research with businesses and others, is lack of Federal support for moving technologies from the research and development phase to commercialization. My bill will bridge this gap by authorizing the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, which includes the Forest Service, to work with businesses and provide access to resources to assist with getting technologies to market.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; By encouraging the USDA to act as a ``business incubator,'' we can increase the rate of success and reduce the length of time for bringing technologies to the market. By providing a bridge to move new technologies beyond the research and development phase to commercialization, the Federal Government will accelerate the development of new technologies and create increased opportunities for small businesses, local and State government, and others.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; All energy, forestry, and other technologies will benefit from my ETA Act because it will help new technologies come to the market. It does so by promoting the Federal Government as a better business incubator, encouraging the USDA to provide business support services, and authorizing USDA employees and private-sector employees to work together in Federal or private experimental or product facilities. My bill will also increase cooperation between the Federal Government and innovative businesses by encouraging the USDA to allow rental of Federal equipment and property for the development of new technology.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Lastly, a specific partnership encouraged by my Energy and Technology Advancement Act will spur the commercialization of biofuels. My bill requires the USDA to pursue a biorefinery pilot plant that will allow businesses to partner with the Federal Government to test various biofuels technologies derived from a variety of feedstocks, including woody and agriculture waste.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Certainly one of today's greatest challenges--energy--is also one of tomorrow's greatest opportunities. Today, the transportation sector accounts for 70% of our oil consumption. However, there are promising efforts to significantly lessen our dependence on oil by reducing fuel consumption through increased efficiency and by aggressively pursuing renewable fuels, or biofuels. The commercialization of biofuels will also create job opportunities, support rural development and industries such as forestry, and develop the next generation of fuels that are sustainable and from diverse sources.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Given our current dire fiscal situation, it is more important then ever that we are careful stewards of taxpayer dollars. Not only are both of these new bills fully offset, so as not to worsen our current Federal deficit; they actually provide over a billion dollars in deficit reduction. That's yet another reason to pass them, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to do just that. pa href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/smallcappulse/feed?a=C6UJ8i"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/smallcappulse/feed?i=C6UJ8i" border="0"/img/a/p

mPhase Technologies Inc. (XDSL.OB) is “One to Watch”

QualityStocks — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:48:44 +0000

Trading on the OTCBB, mPhase Technologies, Inc. focuses on developing and commercializing a new battery technology. Headquartered in Little Falls, New Jersey, they do this through their wholly owned subsidiary AlwaysReady, Inc. They base their technology on a well-patented phenomenon known as electrowetting. This phenomenon provides a unique way to store energy and manage [...]

Jan 8: Initial Claims Fall for 2nd Consecutive Week

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:30:27 +0000

Initial Claims for the week ending Jan. 3^rd fell 24,000 to 467,000, from 491,000 last week, and from a 26-year high of 586,000 the week before. This decrease came at a -13.5% surprise from the 540,000 estimate. Initial claims have fallen the last two weeks, which may have been a result of offices closed for holidays allowing less opportunity for initial unemployment claims filings were made. Also, the figures indicate that those filing haven't regained employment as the number of persons continuing to receive unemployment benefits rose to 4,611,000, the highest since November of 1982 (when size of labor force was smaller), and was only 2,690,000 in the prior year. In the past week, ending December 27^th, initial claims decreased as a result of significantly reduced filings in Texas, California, Florida, and Virginia cited from fewer layoffs in construction, trade, services, automobile, and manufacturing industries. In Wisconsin, Michigan, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, initial claim filings increases last week from layoffs in construction, trade, service, transportation, manufacturing, and warehousing industries. The 4-week moving average was 525,250, a decrease of 27,000 from the previous week's average of 552,750.

Upcoming Releases

Unemployment Rate (01/09 at 8:30 AM EST)

Wholesale Inventories (01/09 at 10:00 AM EST)

Zacks Investment Research

New Year Rally, Obama’s Plan, Shorting in 2009, The Second Wave of the Housing Bust, and More!

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:00:03 +0000

pMarkets kick off 2009 with sizable rally… what’s behind the best New Year’s rally since 2003#8230; Obama bounce back in effect… Rob Parenteau on whether his $1 trillion plan will actually work#8230; Dan Amoss on the difference between shorting in 2008 and 2009#8230; Bullish factors for gold (and gold stocks) for 2009#8230; The second wave cometh… more troublesome commercial real estate ripples on the horizon./p p class="BodyCopy" align="left" strongFor the first time in a long time, we can tell you today that the U.S. stock market is up year to date:/strong /p p class="BodyCopy" align="center" div div/div /div /pp class="BodyCopy" align="left"The major indexes rang in the new year with a 3% rally on Friday — the best first day of a new year in the last six. And a sharp contrast to 2008, when#8230;/p

Merge Healthcare Stays a Sell – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:33:36 +0000

Merge Healthcare Incorporated (MRGE), based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is a healthcare software and services company focused on integrating radiology workflow to improve productivity, profitability and patient care by fusing business and clinical workflow, and intelligently managing and distributing diagnostic images and information throughout the healthcare enterprise.

The continued slowdown in the medical imaging sector is negatively impacting the company's sales. The company received a much needed cash injection of $20 million through a private placement in Q208. However, with only two quarters of cash remaining, MRGE will have a very difficult time locating investors in the current economic climate.

In its 2007 annual report, the company received a "going concern" qualification, with which we concur. Since then, the company has replaced its independent auditors. We continue to rate this company a Sell.

Rajarshi Maulik contributed to this report.

Read the full analyst report on MRGE

"MRGE" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Casey’s General Stores – Growth And Income – Zacks Rank Buy

Alex Kolb — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY) recently delivered a solid fiscal second quarter in the face of a difficult environment. Analysts are hinting toward more growth going forward. For the third quarter, analysts upped the earnings per share forecast by a penny over the past week to 24 cents. For the year ending April 2009, earnings projections have held relatively steady lately at about $1.58 per share.

Company Description

CASY Saw Revenue Growth during a Challenging Quarter

The company recently delivered a solid fiscal second quarter in the face of a difficult environment. President and CEO Robert J. Myers said, despite the challenging economic environment, same store sales in all three categories were positive for the quarter and customer traffic remained solid.

On a year-over-year basis, second-quarter revenue increased by about 17%. Earnings per share of 54 cents were even with the year-ago result.

Analysts are hinting toward more growth going forward. For the third quarter, analysts upped the earnings per share forecast by a penny over the past week to 24 cents. For the year ending April 2009, earnings projections have held relatively steady lately at about $1.58 per share.

Competitive Income

Casey's also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, noting that it is payable on February 16 to shareholders of record on February 2. The company's dividend yield of 1.3% is well ahead of the industry average.
"CASY" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Plexus Weathers Better Than Most – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:11:05 +0000

Wisconsin-based Plexus Corp. (PLXS) is a leading provider of electronic manufacturing services (EMS) to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in a wide range of industries, including wireline/networking, wireless infrastructure, industrial/commercial, defense/security/aerospace, and medical.

Plexus Corp. has posted several quarters of strong results, with significantly higher-than-expected revenue and bookings. We believe that PLXS is among the best-positioned in the industry and is poised to grow with a strong pipeline and new customer wins in 2009 and beyond.

However, macro-economic headwinds are expected to result in a reduced top-line in 2009 and the company may not be able to reach its given guidance for the first quarter. As such, we are reducing our estimates for 2009 and 2010. We maintain a Buy rating on the stock but lower our six-month price target to $22.00.

Priyanka Poddar contributed to this report.

Read the full analyst report on PLXS.

"PLXS" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

The Global Economic Crisis

Menzie Chinn — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:50:12 +0000

Here's the video from a panel convened by the University of Wisconsin's Center on World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE) on November 20, 2008. Presenting were Alison Alter, Associate Director of WAGE; Mark J. Ready, Professor of Finance, Investment and Banking; Darian M. Ibrahim, J.D., Assistant Professor of Law; Menzie D. Chinn, Professor of Public Affairs and Economics; and Mark S. Copelovitch, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs, and Edward Friedman, Professor of Political Science.

My powerpoint presentation was posted here if one just wants the slides.

Dec 11: Initial Claims Increse by 58,000

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:20:30 +0000

Initial Claims for the week ending Dec. 6 increased 58,000 to 573,000 from the upwardly revised figure of 515,000 (+6,000) from last week, a 6.9% surprise from the 536,000 estimate. This is the fifth consecutive week unemployment filings surpassed the half million mark. Filings in Wisconsin increased 16,331 in the past week (ending 11/29) from layoffs in construction, trade, service, and manufacturing industries, and Iowa also had a substantial increase in filings, 6,240, cited from layoffs in the manufacturing sector. This increase was more than offset from layoffs in California decreasing 20,304, and significantly fewer layoffs in Florida, Missouri, Michigan, Texas and Georgia which led to a 15,000 decrease in initial claims last week. The 4-week moving average was 540,500, an increase of 14,250 from the previous week's revised average of 526,250524,500, which for the second week continues to be the highest level since December of 1982, the month proceeding the end of the 16 month recession in the early 1980s. The number of persons continuing to receive unemployment benefits was 4,429,000 last week, a 26 year high, up 338,000 from the prior week, and was only 2,642,000 in the prior year.

The Trade Deficit increased to $57.2 billion in October from a $56.6 billion deficit in September. October exports were $151.7 billion, $3.4 billion, less than September exports of $155.1 billion, and imports of $208.9 billion, $2.7 billion less than September imports of $211.6 billion. Net exports helped abate diminished GDP levels, and on the report of the trade deficit decreasing in October, the forecast for 4th quarter GDP will be lowered further. Advance 4th quarter GDP estimates are scheduled for release by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on January 30th, 2009 at 8:30 AM EST.

Upcoming Releases
Retail Sales (12/12 at 8:30 AM EST)
Producer Price Index (12/12 at 8:30 AM EST)
Industrial Production (12/15 at 9:15 AM EST)

Zacks Investment Research

Charles Kirk Interviews Jeff Miller, A Dash of Insight

Jeffrey Miller — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:10:46 +0000

Jeff is traveling, so we are republishing his recent interview from the Kirk Report, one of our featured sources. The Kirk Report is an excellent investor resource, with many specific stock ideas for members. Charles Kirk also reads very widely and provides regular links to articles we might otherwise have missed. [...]

Tennessee Stocks

Fred Fuld — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:29:00 +0000

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/SSzhuXNGTuI/AAAAAAAAAl8/tRtxMxNVyqA/s1600-h/Memphis.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/SSzhuXNGTuI/AAAAAAAAAl8/tRtxMxNVyqA/s320/Memphis.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272837450363195106" //abr /If there is half as much future as there is history for Tennessee, then it is a bright future. And according to several independent organizations, Tennessee is one of the best states in the country to do business. The future is looking bright! Here are some interesting facts about the state:br /br /1. The state offers several incentives for new businesses and businesses relocating to Tennessee. They include, tax credits and tax exemptions.br /2. 80% of the state land is used for agricultural and forestry purposes.br /3. Tennessee most important crops are tobacco, soybeans, and cotton.br /4. The agricultural industry produces more than $2.5 billion in cash receipts.br /5. In a report issued by the American Legislative Exchange Council Tennessee is the 5th best economy in the country.br /6. Tennessee mining industry employs 4,200 workers and it generates income in excess of $800 million.br /7. Currently oil, coal and natural gas mined in the state account for 10% of total mineral mining income in Tennessee.br /8. The tourism industry economic impact is $14.2 billion.br /9. Tennessee’s retail industry employs 315,000 workers and is a $70 billion industry.br /10. The state’s manufacturing industry is dominated by the processed foods sector (grain products, cereals and breads).br /br /The following companies are headquartered in Tennessee:br /br /FedEx Corporation (FDX) provides business services worldwide; its services include freight, ground and express shipping. The stock has a market cap of $19.47 billion, a PE of 21, a PEG of 1.00, and it pays a yield of 0.7%.br /br /International Paper Company (IP) makes papers for writing and printing, market pulp, and other paper products. The stock has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a PE of 6, a PEG of 0.99 and it pays a yield of 9%.br /br /Unum Group (UNM) operates in the United States, and the United Kingdom as a provider of disability products, and other insurance products. The stock has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a PE of 8, a PEG 0.65, and it pays a yield of 1.7%.br /br /AutoZone Inc. (AZO) is a distributor and retailer of parts and accessories for automobiles. The stock has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a PE of 11, and a PEG of 0.79.br /br /Eastman Chemical Company (EMN) makes and markets chemicals, plastics and other products. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a PE of 9, a PEG of 1.22, and it pays a dividend of 4.3%.br /br /First Horizon National Corporation (FHN) is a holding company for First Tennessee Bank. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, and it pays a dividend of 6.9%.br /br /Regal Entertainment Group (RGC) manages movie theaters in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE of 23, a PEG of 2.01, and it pays a yield of 8.6%.br /br /Corrections Corporation of America (CXW) owns and manages prisons. It provides transportation services for inmates, healthcare, and other services. The stock has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a PE of 16, and a PEG of 0.81.br /br /King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (KG) supplies pharmaceutical products in the United States and internationally. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE of 15, and a PEG of 0.71.br /br /Community Health Systems, Inc. (CYH) renders healthcare services in the United States. The company owns and operates hospitals. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE of 56, and a PEG of 0.55.br /br /Don't forget to check out the stocks from the states of a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/wisconsin-stocks.html"Wisconsin/a, a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/louisiana-stocks.html"Louisiana/a, a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/michigan-stocks.html"Michigan/a, and a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/kentucky-stocks.html"Kentucky/a. br /br /iAuthor does not own any of the above./ibr /br /By a href="http://Stockerblog.com"Stockerblog.com/adiv class="blogger-post-footer"div class='adsense' style='text-align:center; padding: 0px 3px 0.5em 3px;' script type="text/javascript"!-- google_ad_client="ca-pub-2427831169011625"; google_ad_width=300; google_ad_height=250; google_ad_format="300x250_as"; google_ad_type="text"; google_ad_channel ="8681602088"; google_color_border="FFF3DB"; google_color_bg="FFF3DB"; google_color_link="1B0431"; google_color_url="1B0431"; google_color_text="29303B"; //--/script script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" /script /div

Ohio Stocks

Fred Fuld — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:56:00 +0000

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/SSpYq8j_wfI/AAAAAAAAAl0/9kY9DN2tjic/s1600-h/ohio.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 125px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/SSpYq8j_wfI/AAAAAAAAAl0/9kY9DN2tjic/s320/ohio.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272123808625443314" //abr /Long gone are the days when the French system of trading furs in Ohio was synonymous of wealth. Today Ohio’s economy is one of the most dynamic in America. These are some interesting facts about Ohio:br /br /1. Ohio is one of the top consumers of energy in the country.br /2. The state has a biomass energy program aimed to increase development and production of alternative biomass fuels in the state.br /3. In 2007 Ohio’s gross domestic product was $466 billion.br /4. The state’s manufacturing industries are the top producers in the U.S. of plastics and rubber, and electrical equipment and appliances.br /5. Walmart is Ohio’s largest employer, employing over 50,000 workers.br /6. The state’s top exports are automobiles and machinery.br /7. Ohio’s exports account for 4% of the total U.S. export with total export receipts in 2007 of $42.4 billion.br /8. The main mined mineral in Ohio is coal. The state has reserves of 23.7 billion short tons and it ranks number 7 nationally.br /9. The manufacturing industry produces 20% of the state’s total output in 2007.br /10. The bioscience industry accounts for 17% of the state’s total output.br /br /The following companies are headquartered in Ohio:br /br /Procter Gamble Company (PG) provides beauty, health products and household care products worldwide. The stock has a market cap of $188 billion, a PE of 17, a PEG of 1.47, and it pays a yield of 2.5%.br /br /The Kroger Co. (KR) is a supermarket retailer in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $17 billion, a PE of 14, a PEG of 1.48, and it pays a yield of 1.4%.br /br /FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) is an electric utilities service company in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $15 billion, a PE of 13, a PEG of 1.29, and it pays a yield of 4.6%.br /br /Cardinal Health (CAH) is a provider of products and services to hospitals and clinics in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $14 billion, a PE of 11, a PEG of 0.80, and it pays a yield of 1.5%.br /br /American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) is a producer and marketer of electric power in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $ 12 billion, a PE of 8, a PEG of 1.64, and it pays a yield of 5.6%.br /br /The Progressive Corporation (PGR) is an automobile insurance company. It also provides other property and casualty insurance products. The stock has a market cap of $9 billion, a PE of 1354, a PEG of 1.22, and it pays a yield of 1.1%.br /br /Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) is a financial services institution. It offers banking services and cash management among others. The stock has a market cap of $7 billion, a PE of 15, a PEG of 2.85, and it pays a dividend of 4.7%.br /br /Eaton Corporation (ETN) is a producer and distributor of electrical components. The stock has a market cap of $7 billion, a PE of 6, a PEG of 0.48, and it pays a yield of 4.6%.br /br /Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. (NFS) offers savings and retirement accounts in the United States. The company has a market cap of $6.7 billion, a forward PE of 20, a PEG of 1.13, and it pays a yield of 2.4%.br /br /National City Corporation (NCC) is a financial institution providing banking services in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $2.2 billion, and it pays a yield of 1.3%.br / br /Don't forget to check out the stocks from the states of a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/wisconsin-stocks.html"Wisconsin/a, a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/louisiana-stocks.html"Louisiana/a, a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/michigan-stocks.html"Michigan/a, and a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/kentucky-stocks.html"Kentucky/a. br /br /iAuthor does not own any of the above./ibr /br /By Stockerblog.comdiv class="blogger-post-footer"div class='adsense' style='text-align:center; padding: 0px 3px 0.5em 3px;' script type="text/javascript"!-- google_ad_client="ca-pub-2427831169011625"; google_ad_width=300; google_ad_height=250; google_ad_format="300x250_as"; google_ad_type="text"; google_ad_channel ="8681602088"; google_color_border="FFF3DB"; google_color_bg="FFF3DB"; google_color_link="1B0431"; google_color_url="1B0431"; google_color_text="29303B"; //--/script script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" /script /div

South Carolina Stocks

Fred Fuld — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:09:00 +0000

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/SSfQXZfpwKI/AAAAAAAAAls/Lj1wys_5L-Y/s1600-h/southcarolina.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/SSfQXZfpwKI/AAAAAAAAAls/Lj1wys_5L-Y/s320/southcarolina.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271410989259669666" //abr /A state of white sand beaches, mountain trails, and historic sites… And it is not Hawaii; we are talking about South Carolina. Some other facts that you may not know about South Carolina follow:br /br /1. South Carolina’s GSP ranks 28th nationally, with a total of $152 billion.br /2. The state offers low corporate income taxes and no state property tax as a way to attract new business to the state.br /3. Tourism industry produces $16.7 billion each year.br /4. The top agricultural commodities are broilers, greenhouse and floriculture products, turkeys and cattle and calves.br /5. South Carolina’s agribusiness provides employment for 200,000 workers.br /6. Forests cover 2/3 of South Carolina’s surface and they provide for one of the state’s most valuable crops: timber, which produces $835 million annually.br /7. Mined minerals within the state have a value of $480 million.br /8. South Carolina is the top of producer of cement, and second in the production of kaolin.br /9. The state exports transportation equipment, chemical manufactures, and machinery manufactures, for a total of $9.8 billion.br /10. The top destination for South Carolina’s export is Germany, Canada, and Mexico.br /br /The following companies are headquartered in South Carolina:br /br /Scana Corporation (SCG) produces transports and sells electricity to customers in South Carolina. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE of 11, a PEG of 2.22, and it pays a yield of 5.8%.br /br /Sonoco Products Company, (SON) produces consumer packaging products, and provides packaging services to the industrial sector in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE of 12, a PEG of 1.15, and it pays a yield of 5.1%.br /br /AVX Corporation (AVX) produces, markets and distributes passive electronic components in the United States and internationally. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE of 10, a PEG of 0.94, and it pays a dividend of 1.8%.br /br /Blackbaud, Inc. (BLKB) designs and offers software to nonprofit organizations. The stock has a market cap of $666.22 million, a PE of 20, a PEG of 1.15, and it pays a yield of 2.8%.br /br /ScanSource, Inc. (SCSC) is a wholesaler of technology products. The stock has a market cap of $542.53 million, a PE of 10, and a PEG of 0.66.br /br /The South Financial Group, Inc. (TSFG) acts as the holding company for Carolina First Bank and Mercantile Bank. The stock has a market cap of $473.38 million, and it pays a yield of 0.5%.br /br /First Citizens Bancorporation, Inc. (FCBN) is the holding company for First Citizen Bank and Trust Company. The stock has a market cap of $361.68 million, a PE of 6, and it pays a yield of 0.3%.br /br /World Acceptance Corporation (WRLD) is a finance company. Its services include small loans and credit insurance products. The stock has a market cap of $438.39 million; it has a PE of 8, and a PEG of 0.53.br /br /SCBT Financial (SCBT) renders retails services and commercial banking services through its subsidiaries. The stock has a market cap of $340.64 million, a PE of 14, a PEG of 1.38, and it pays a dividend of 2.1%.br /br /First Financials Holdings, Inc. (FFCH) is the holding company of First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Charleston. The stock has a market cap of $244.29 million, a PE of 11, a PEG of 1.18, and it pays a yield of 5.1%.br /br /Don't forget to check out the stocks from the states of a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/wisconsin-stocks.html"Wisconsin/a, a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/louisiana-stocks.html"Louisiana/a, a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/michigan-stocks.html"Michigan/a, and a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/kentucky-stocks.html"Kentucky/a. br /br /iAuthor does not own any of the above./ibr /br /By a href="http://Stockerblog.com"Stockerblog.com/adiv class="blogger-post-footer"div class='adsense' style='text-align:center; padding: 0px 3px 0.5em 3px;' script type="text/javascript"!-- google_ad_client="ca-pub-2427831169011625"; google_ad_width=300; google_ad_height=250; google_ad_format="300x250_as"; google_ad_type="text"; google_ad_channel ="8681602088"; google_color_border="FFF3DB"; google_color_bg="FFF3DB"; google_color_link="1B0431"; google_color_url="1B0431"; google_color_text="29303B"; //--/script script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" /script /div

Mississippi Stocks

Fred Fuld — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:26:00 +0000

Until 1990, gambling in Mississippi was not permitted. Now it is a major source of revenue for the state and an attractive tourist attraction. Following are some interesting facts about Mississippi:
1. 25% of total employment is generated by the agriculture industry.
2. Mississippi most important agricultural products are poultry and eggs, forestry, soybeans and corn.
3. The state offers different business incentives to new businesses and businesses relocating to Mississippi. They include tax credits, and tax exemptions.
4. The top manufactured products are processed foods, beverages, dairy and grain products.
5. Between 2004 and 2005 Mississippi’s export increased by 26% to achieve a record $4 billion.
6. Mississippi’s top export are chemical products.
7. Manufacturing firms employ 172,000 workers in the state.
8. Mississippi’s oil reserves rank it number 13 out of 50 states, with 167 million barrels of oil.
9. Mississippi has the lowest cost of living of all states.
10. In 2006 the total state product was $84 billion.

The following companies are headquartered in Mississippi:

BacorpSouth, Inc. (BX) is a financial institution, providing services to individuals and businesses in several states. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a PE of 15, a PEG of 1.93, and it pays a yield of 3.6%.

Hancock Holding Company (HBHC) is a financial institution. It services include banking, and lending. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE of 20, a PEG of 1.78, and it pays a yield of 2.1%.

Trustmark Corporation (TRMK) is a financial company. Its services include banking and financial services for individuals, institutions and corporations. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE of 12, a PEG of 1.33, and it pays a yield of 4.4%.

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (EGP) is a real estate company. It purchases and develops properties throughout the United States. The stock has a market cap of $905.92 million, a PE of 27, a PEG of 1.17 and it pays a yield of 5.9%.

Sanderson Farms, Inc. (SAFM) is a poultry processing company. The stock has a market cap of $672.82 million, a PE of 21, a PEG of 9.13, and it pays a yield of 1.6%.

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (CALM) is in the business of producing and packaging shell eggs. The stock has a market cap of $668.23 million, a PE of 5, and it pays a yield of 2.5%.

Renasant Corporation (RNST) is a financial and insurance company. Its clients are retail and commercial businesses. The stock has a market cap of $416.98 million, a PE of 13, a PEG of 1.56, and it pays a yield of 3.4%.

Parkway Properties, Inc. (PKY) is a real estate company, it purchases, manages and rents office space. The stock has a market cap of $312.90 million, a PEG of 1.25, and it pays a yield of 12.4%.

Callon Petroleum Company (CPE) is an oil and gas exploration company. The stock has a market cap of $237.19 million, a PE of 12, and a PEG of 0.77.

Peoples Financial Corporation (PFBX) is a financial institution providing banking services in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $103.78 million, a PE of 17, and it pays a yield of 2.8%.

Don't forget to check out the stocks from the states of Wisconsin, Louisiana, Michigan, and Kentucky.

Author does not own any of the above.

By Stockerblog.com

Georgia Stocks

Fred Fuld — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:24:00 +0000

As one of the states with the largest manufacturing industries in the country, it is no mystery as to why Georgia ranks as one of the top consumers of energy. Some interesting facts on what is the world 28th largest economy follow:

1. The travel industry contributes around $20 billion a year to the state economy.
2. Georgia’s bioscience industry generates 15,000 jobs.
3. Over 250 bioscience companies are headquartered in the state.
4. The Georgia paper industry is second only to Alabama, and it employs 26,000 workers.
5. The state has the largest commercial forest in the country, which produce over $19 billion in revenue and employ more than 150,000 people.
6. The food processing industry generates more than 70,000 jobs, and produces sales receipt of over $16 billion a year.
7. The largest manufacturing employer is the textile-carpet industry which employs over 100,000 workers and produces more than $2.5 billion in revenue annually.
8. There are over 700 textile companies headquartered in Georgia.
9. The mining industry of non fuel minerals produces $1.8 billion in income, and it employs over 9,000 workers.
10. Georgia’s clay production amounts to 24% of total U.S. production

The following companies are headquartered in Georgia:

The Coca-Cola Company (KO) makes, delivers and sells non alcoholic beverages around the globe. The stock has a market cap of $102.17 billion, a PE of 18, a PEG of 1.61, and it pays a yield of 3.4%.

United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is a parcel delivery firm, and it operates worldwide. The stock has a market cap of $50.95 billion, a PE of 247, a PEG of 1.36, and it pays a yield of 3.5%.

Home Depot, Inc. (HD) is a retailer of home improvement products in North America. The stock has a market cap of $34.33 billion, a PE of 10, a PEG of 1.06, and it pays a yield of 4.5%.

Southern Company (SO) produces and markets electricity in the south. The stock has a market cap of $25.79 billion. A PE of 15, a PEG of 2.74, and it pays a dividend of 5.2%.

Aflac Incorporated (AFL) is a life and health insurance company in the United States and Japan. The stock has a market cap of $20.54 billion, a PE of 12, a PEG of 0.74, and it pays a yield of 2.3%.

SunTrust Banks, Inc (STI) is a financial institution providing services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $14.81 billion, a PE of 12, a PEG of 2.49, and it pays a yield of 7%.

Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) is an investment management company providing management services in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a PE of 9, and it pays a yield of 1.4%.

Oca Cola Enterprises, Inc. (CCE) makes, distributes and sells nonalcoholic drinks. The stock has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a PEG of 1.27 and it pays a yield of 2.5%.

Genuine Parts Company (GPC) is a distributor of industrial and automobile parts in North America. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE of 11, a PEG of 1.30, and it pays a yield of 5.0%.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) is an online marketplace for the trading of securities and commodities. The stock has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a PE of 19, and a PEG of 0.67.

Don't forget to check out the stocks from the states of Wisconsin, Louisiana, Michigan, and Kentucky.

Author owns UPS.

By Stockerblog.com

Five Ways to Profit From China’s $585 Billion Stimulus Plan

Martin Hutchinson — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:05:25 +0000

By Martin Hutchinson Contributing Editor Money Morning/The Money Map Report The $585 billion (RMB4 trillion) stimulus package that China announced Sunday may or may not help China’s ... Money Morning is here to help investors profit hand...

Standard & Poor’s Makes Changes to Indices

Daniel Shepard — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:13:28 +0000

Monday November 13, 2008 Navivest Standard & Poor’s is making changes to the S&P 500 and the S&P 400 MidCap. Following are details of the changes: Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) is replacing Ashland Inc. (ASH) in the S&P 500, Ashland will replace Lear Corp. (LEA) in the S&P MidCap 400, S&P MidCap 400 constituent DENTSPLY International Inc. (XRAY) [...]

Florida Stocks: A Politically and Economically Important State

Fred Fuld — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 07:34:00 +0000

Florida was a turning point in the presidential election four years ago. This year, it wasn't as significant politically but it is significant from an economic standpoint. Florida is one of those places you visit for pleasure and stay for business. Beautiful beaches and tropical weather attract tourists from all over the world, and the state’s low cost of living, and business friendly policies keep them there. Actually over 1,000 people relocate to Florida daily. Some interesting facts about Florida are:

1. Florida residents spend less on energy than any other state in the country.
2. Florida is the top travel destination in the world, with a total of 77 billion visitors in 2004.
3. The aerospace industry of Florida generates 23,000 jobs.
4. Florida produces about 40% of total world supply of orange juice.
5. Florida is the number 4 producer of nonfuel minerals in the country. Generating more than 9,000 jobs.
6. The state is the top producer of phosphate in the nation.
7. Florida has no state income tax.
8. Limited partnerships and S-corporations are exempt of income tax.
9. The state does not impose a property tax.
10. Florida is the 15th largest economy in the world.

The following companies are headquartered in Florida:

Publix Super Markets, Inc. (PUSH.OB) is a retail supermarket chain in the state of Florida. The stock has a market cap of $102.37 billion, a PE of 87, and it pays a yield of 0.4%.

Carnival Corporation (CCL) is a cruise, hotel and vacation company, with property around the world. The stock has a market cap of $23.26 billion, a PE of 10, a PEG of 0.88, and it pays a yield of 5.8%.

CSX Corporation (CSX) is a transportation company. It provides rail services in North America. The stock has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a PE of 12, a PEG of 0.68, and it pays a yield of 2.1%.

FPL Group, Inc. (FPL) produces and sells electricity in the state of Florida. The stock has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a PE of 14, a PEG of 0.98, and it pays a yield of 4.7%.

Harris Corporation, (HRS) is a communications company. Its customers include government, and broadcast networks. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a PE of 11, a PEG of 0.51, and it pays a yield of 2.4%.

Republic Services, Inc. (RSG) is a waste collection company. Its services include commercial, industrial and residential services throughout the United States. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE of 16, a PEG of 1.11, and it pays a yield of 3.5%.

Roper Industries, Inc. (ROP) is an energy systems developer. It produces scientific and industrial products and software. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE of 14, a PEG of 0.86, and it pays a yield of 0.7%.

Citrix Systems, Inc. (CTXS) is a developer and seller of software solutions. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE of 21, and a PEG of 0.93.

Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. (RCL) is a cruise company that operates worldwide. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a PE of 6, a PEG of 0.58, and it pays a yield of 3.5%.

Regency Centers Corporation (REG) is a real estate investment company. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE of 20, a PEG of 1.34, and it pays a divided of 7.0%.

Don't forget to check out the stocks from the states of Wisconsin, Louisiana, Michigan, and Kentucky.

Author does not own any of the above.

By Stockerblog.com

Alabama Stocks

Fred Fuld — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 04:45:00 +0000

Although Alabama is best known as a cotton growing state, the state produces much more, from poultry to automobiles. As a matter of fact manufacturing accounts for more than half of the total income produced within the state. Some interesting facts about Alabama follow:
1. Alabama’s GDP of $160.6 billion is the 25th largest in the country.
2. The transportation, equipment and manufacturing industry employ over 30,000 workers.
3. The agribusiness sector provides the state with 21% (476,000) jobs.
4. The aerospace industry in Alabama has grown to provide $6 billion in revenue and employ over 139,000 workers.
5. The state offers several incentives to new businesses and businesses relocating to Alabama. The Income tax capital credit, and the property & sales tax abatements are just two of the most common.
6. With the second largest contiguous forest is in America, Alabama’s paper industry is a vital industry in the state economy.
7. More than 150 banks are headquartered in Alabama.
8. The tourism industry of Alabama employs over 160,000 individuals.
9. During 2006 tourists in Alabama spent over $8 billion in the state
10. Alabama produces approximately 2.13% of total nonfuel mineral production in the United States.

The following companies are headquartered in Alabama:

Regions Financial Corporation (RF) is the holding company of Regions Bank, a retail and commercial bank in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $7.4 billion, a PE of 7, a PEG of 1.29, and it pays a yield of 3.5%.

Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) makes construction materials in the United States and Mexico. The stock has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a PE of 16, a PEG of 2.17, and it pays a yield of 3.8%.

Energen Corporation (EGN) buys, develops and produces oil, and natural gas in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a PE of 7, a PEG of 0.65, and it pays a dividend of 1.6%.

ProAssurance Corporation (PRA) is a liability insurance corporation; its clients are physicians and other health care providers. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a PE of 10, and a PEG of 0.98.

Colonia BankGroup, Inc. (CNB) is a commercial banking company, it offers mortgages and insurance services in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a PE of 14, a PEG of 11.70, and it pays a yield of 4.6%.

Health South Corporation (HLS) provides patient rehabilitation services in hospitals throughout the United States. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE of 4, and a PEG of 0.90.

ADTRAN, Inc. (ADTN) provides network access solutions in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $969.15 million, a PE of 13, a PEG of 1.20, and it pays a yield of 2.2%.

Protective Life Corporation (PL) is in the business of administrating insurance and investment services in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $839.97 million, a PE of 4, a PEG of 0.36, and it pays a yield of 8.1%.

Avocent Corporation (AVCT) produces, and markets hardware and software products worldwide. Its products include management software among others. The stock has a market cap of $661.17 million, a PE of 21, and a PEG of 0.59.

Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation (IPCC) is an insurance company that provides automobile insurance for individuals, commercial and industrial customers. The stock has a market cap of $611.21 million, a PE of 11, a PEG of 1.48, and it pays a yield of 1.1%.

Don't forget to check out the stocks from the states of Wisconsin, Louisiana, Michigan, and Kentucky.

Author does not own any of the above.

By Stockerblog.com

CenturyTel’s Bid for Embarq Will Likely Jump-Start a Wave of Mergers Among Rural Telecom Players

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:45:34 +0000

CenturyTel Inc. (CTL) will acquire rival Embarq Corp. (EQ) in an $11.6 billion deal that could kick-start a flurry of mergers among rural-regional telephone carriers. The deal should be good for the two companies, said Jeff Kagan, an independent analyst who is well known for his coverage of the telecom sector.

“There has been a lot of talk recently about Embarq wanting to be acquired,” Kagan told MarketWatch.com. “However, the financial crisis that is on the front page every day made finding a partner difficult. That may have lowered the price Embarq hoped to get. CenturyTel saw an opportunity and jumped in to acquire Embarq. Timing was on CenturyTel’s side in this deal.”

The all-stock deal – announced yesterday (Monday) – calls…

CenturyTel’s Buyout Bid for Embarq Will Likely Jump-Start a Wave of Mergers Among Rural Telecom Players

William Patalon lll — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:30:17 +0000

By William Patalon III Executive Editor Money Morning/The Money Map Report CenturyTel Inc. (CTL) will acquire rival Embarq Corp. (EQ) in an $11.6 billion deal that could kick-start a flurry of... Money Morning is here to help investors profit ha...

ZBB Energy Corp (ZBB) Signs Distribution Agreement to Energize Australia and New Zealand

QualityStocks — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:07:48 +0000

ZBB Energy Corporation (AMEX: ZBB), a company focused on providing turn-key energy storage systems and renewable energy generators, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a sales distribution agreement with Zest Energy Pty Ltd. Zest will be responsible for the marketing, selling, and distribution of the ZBB products throughout Australia and New Zealand. [...]

Wisconsin Stocks

Fred Fuld — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:34:00 +0000

Wisconsin is a popular tourist destination. The most visited places within the state are: The Wisconsin Dells, House on The Rock, and the Circus World Museum. Some interesting facts about Wisconsin follow:

1. Wisconsin’s largest forest product is papermaking, and it employs more than 100,000 people.
2. Gravel and construction sand represent 80% of Wisconsin’s nonfuel mineral production.
3. Wisconsin’s top agricultural products are dairy beef and calves, and corn
4. Workers in the papermaking industry of Wisconsin are the highest paid within the manufacturing industry.
5. Wisconsin tourism industry employs 177,000 workers and generated about $6 billion in revenue.
6. Wisconsin’s major exporter industries are the computer, machinery, and the transportation.
7. Wisconsin’s main exports go to Canada, Japan, and Mexico.
8. One of the largest ore bodies of zinc copper is located in Wisconsin.
9. Wisconsin offers property tax exemptions for certain manufacturing companies.
10. Business taxes in Wisconsin are among the 15 lowest in the country.

The following companies are headquartered in Wisconsin:

Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) develops and sells energy saving technologies, among other services. The stock has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a PE of 9, a PEG of 0.73, and it pays a yield of 2.0%.

Kohl’s Corporation (KSS) is a retail chain with operations throughout the United States. The stock has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a PE of 10, and a PEG of 0.74.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG) develops and manufactures motorcycles, accessories and parts for motorcycles worldwide. The stock has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a PE of 8, a PEG of 0.88, and it pays a yield of 4.5%.

Fiserv, Inc. (FISV) renders information management systems services in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a PE of 9, and a PEG of 0.70.

Wisconsin Energy Corporation (WEC) delivers natural gas and electric services in Wisconsin and Michigan. The stock has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a PE of 12, a PEG of 1.51, and it pays a yield of 2.6%.

Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (MI) is a bank providing financial services to corporate, institutional, and government customers. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE of 8, and it pays a dividend of 7.3%.

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (ROK) designs and provides software and solutions for industrial automation of different processes. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a PE of 6, a PEG of 0.52, and it pays a yield of 4.0%.

Joy Global, Inc. (JOYG) makes, and sells mining gear. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a PE of 9, a PEG of 0.67, and it pays a dividend of 2.2%.

Alliant Energy Corporation (LNT) generates, delivers and sells electric power in Minnesota, and Iowa. The stock has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a PE of 6, a PEG of 1.74, and it pays a yield of 5.1%.

Manpower Inc. (MAN) offers employment services in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Japan, Australia, and Argentina. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE of 5, a PEG of 0.46, and it pays a yield of 2.2%.

Don't forget to check out stocks from some of the other states, such as Missouri stocks, Minnesota stocks, Kansas stocks, and Iowa stocks.

Author owns HOG.

By Stockerblog.com

Wisconsin Stocks

Fred Fuld — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:34:00 +0000

Wisconsin Stocks

Fred Fuld — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:34:00 +0000

Casey & General Stores – Growth And Income – Zacks Rank Buy

Alex Kolb — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Casey & General Stores (CASY) has been trading ahead of the broader market amid recent turmoil and over the long-term. While grocers and food retailers have been slowing down, convenience stores like CASY have been outperforming. CASY has been consistently outperforming the Dow Jones ($DJI), S&P 500 (SPX) and the Nasdaq (COMP). The company offers a dividend yield of 1.2%, while the majority of its industry peers pay no dividend at all.

Company Description

Casey & General Stores, Inc. together with its subsidiaries, operate convenience stores under the Casey's General Stores name in the Midwest states. It has operations in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Indiana. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa.

Solid Growth

The company reported an all-time high in earnings for the first fiscal quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate by nearly 18% and noting that the record quarter gave CASY a solid foundation for meeting its annual performance goals. During the past 5 consecutive quarters, the company missed analyst forecasts only once and on average topped estimates by 11%.

First-quarter sales were up 16.8% to $1.3 billion. Same-store gallons sold increased by 0.50%. Grocery and other merchandise same-store sales climbed 4.7%, and prepared food and fountain drinks same-store sales jumped 12.3 percent.

Favorable Comparison and Higher Expectations

CASY offers a dividend yield of 1%, which exceeds the industry average as CASY's industry group pays little to no income. The company's return on equity (ROE) is 13%, which beats industry average of 5%.

Analyst earnings estimates for the year ending April 2009 of $1.58 per share are above last month's expectations of $1.56. The most accurate projection of $1.63 per share is a more bullish one.
"CASY" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

How U.S. Missteps Triggered a Spiral of Worldwide Margin Calls and Deepened the Financial Crisis

Money Morning — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:32:15 +0000

By Shah Gilani Contributing Editor Money Morning [This is the eighth installment of an ongoing series in which Shah Gilani breaks down the credit crisis for readers.] In the mid-80s, I ran a... Money Morning is here to help investors profit h...

Credit-Crisis Update: An Inside Look at the Commercial Paper Debacle

Money Morning — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:34:27 +0000

By Shah Gilani Contributing Editor Money Morning The commercial paper market is the thoroughfare where Wall Street merges into Main Street. Corporations, finance companies and banks rely on... Money Morning is here to help investors profit h...

By Relaxing “Market-to-Market” Rules, Has the U.S. Switched Off its Financial Crisis Early Warning System?

Money Morning — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:00:26 +0000

By Jennifer Yousfi Managing Editor By relaxing the U.S. financial system’s mark-to-market accounting standards, the U.S. government is effectively deactivating the financial “early... Money Morning is here to help investors profit ha...

Actuant Falls on Weak Guidance – Zacks Tale of the Tape

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:18:45 +0000

Actuant Corp (ATU) reported soft fourth- quarter sales on Wednesday that fell short of the consensus view and forecast disappointing results for the current quarter. For the first quarter of fiscal 2009, the company guided to earnings of 48 cents to 52 cents per share, much below market expectations. The Butler, Wisconsin-based industrial products maker sees 2009 as a challenging year in the face of the credit downturn and headwinds from the stronger U.S. dollar. The stock shed more than 13% of its value to trade at $21.95 at mid-noon.

"ATU" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Journal Communications Inc. (JRN): A Media Darling?

QualityStocks — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:29:31 +0000

Journal Communications (JRN) is a publishing company operating in the printing services, broadcasting and publishing segments. Its flagship newspaper is the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the company owns 49 community newspapers and shoppers throughout Florida and Wisconsin. The broadcasting segment operates 35 radio stations and 11 television stations in 12 states, as well as involves [...]

Actuant Corp. (ATU) Signs Agreement to Acquire Cortland Companies from Investor Group Cortec Group

QualityStocks — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:38:20 +0000

Actuant Corporation (ATU), based in Butler, Wisconsin, is an industrial company with operations in more than 30 countries. Actuant businesses provide highly engineered position and motion control systems and branded hydraulic and electrical tools and supplies. The company employs more than 7,500 people worldwide, and since its creation through a spin-off in 2000 [...]

University Endowment Funds List | Resource

Richard C. Wilson — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:43:22 +0000

University Endowment Funds

University Endowment Funds List

Quick Link: Hedge Fund Marketing Guide

Yesterday a hedge fund sent me this list of university endowments from Wikipedia and I thought I would share this with others involved in hedge fund marketing and sales.

Institution	Endowment (2005) billion USD	Endowment (2006) billion USD	Endowment (2007) billion USD
Amherst College	$ 1.155^[1]	$ 1.337^[2]	$ 1.662^[3]
Baylor College of Medicine	$ 1.008^[1]	$ 1.059^[2]	$ 1.278^[3]
Baylor University	$ 1.008^[1]	$ 0.870^[2]	$ 1.278^[3]
Berea College	$ 0.862^[1]	$ 0.949^[2]	$ 1.102^[3]
Boston College	$ 1.270^[1]	$ 1.448^[2]	$ 1.670^[3]
Boston University	$ 0.777^[1]	$ 0.916^[2]	$ 1.101^[3]
Brown University	$ 1.844^[1]	$ 2.167^[2]	$ 2.781^[3]
California Institute of Technology	$ 1.418^[1]	$ 1.581^[2]	$ 1.860^[3]
Carnegie Mellon University	$ 0.837^[1]	$ 0.939^[2]	$ 1.116^[3]
Case Western Reserve University	$ 1.516^[1]	$ 1.599^[2]	$ 1.841^[3]
Columbia University	$ 5.191^[1]	$ 5.938^[2]	$ 7.150^[3]
Cornell University	$ 3.777^[1]	$ 4.321^[2]	$ 5.425^[3]
Dartmouth College	$ 2.714^[1]	$ 3.092^[2]	$ 3.760^[3]
Duke University	$ 3.826^[1]	$ 4.498^[2]	$ 5.910^[3]
Emory University	$ 4.376^[1]	$ 4.870^[2]	$ 5.562^[3]
George Washington University	$ 0.823^[1]	$ 0.963^[2]	$ 1.147^[3]
Georgetown University	$ 0.741^[1]	$ 0.834^[2]	$ 1.059^[3]
Georgia Institute of Technology	$ 0.937^[1]	$ 1.047^[2]	$ 1.281^[3]
Grinnell College	$ 1.391^[1]	$ 1.472^[2]	$ 1.718^[3]
Harvard University	$ 25.473^[1]	$ 28.916^[2]	$ 34.635^[3]
Indiana University (system-wide)^[4]	$ 1.107^[1]	$ 1.276^[2]	$ 1.557^[3]
Johns Hopkins University	$ 2.177^[1]	$ 2.351^[2]	$ 2.800^[3]
Lehigh University	$ 0.845^[1]	$ 0.939^[2]	$ 1.086^[3]
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	$ 6.712^[1]	$ 8.368^[2]	$ 9.980^[3]
Michigan State University	$ 0.906^[1]	$ 1.048^[2]	$ 1.248^[3]
New York University	$ 1.548^[1]	$ 1.775^[2]	$ 2.162^[3]
Northwestern University	$ 4.215^[1]	$ 5.141^[2]	$ 6.503^[3]
Ohio State University	$ 1.726^[1]	$ 1.997^[2]	$ 2.338^[3]
Pennsylvania State University	$ 1.175^[1]	$ 1.326^[2]	$ 1.590^[3]
Pomona College	$ 1.299^[1]	$ 1.457^[2]	$ 1.761^[3]
Princeton University	$ 11.207^[1]	$ 13.045^[2]	$ 15.787^[3]
Princeton Theological Seminary	$ 0.864^[1]	$ 0.945^[2]	$ 1.109^[3]
Purdue University (system-wide)^[4]	$ 1.341^[1]	$ 1.494^[2]	$ 1.787^[3]
Rice University	$ 3.611^[1]	$ 3.986^[2]	$ 4.670^[3]
Rockefeller University	$ 1.557^[1]	$ 1.772^[2]	$ 2.145^[3]
Smith College	$ 1.036^[1]	$ 1.156^[2]	$ 1.361^[3]
Southern Methodist University(SMU)	$ 1.014^[1]	$ 1.122 ^[2]	$ 1.328^[3]
Stanford University	$ 12.205^[1]	$ 14.085^[2]	$ 17.165^[3]
Swarthmore College	$ 1.164^[1]	$ 1.245^[2]	$ 1.441^[3]
Syracuse University	$ 0.818^[1]	$ 0.908 ^[2]	$ 1.086^[3]
Texas A&M University System (system-wide)^[4]	$ 4.964^[1]	$ 5.643^[2]	$ 6.590^[3]
Texas Christian University	$ 0.942^[1]	$ 1.016^[2]	$ 1.187^[3]
Tufts University	$ 0.845^[1]	$ 1.215^[2]	$ 1.452^[3]
Tulane University	$ 0.780^[1]	$ 0.858^[2]	$ 1.009^[3]
University of California (system-wide)^[4]	$ 5.222^[1]	$ 5.734^[2]	$ 6.439^[3]
University of Chicago	$ 4.137^[1]	$ 4.867^[2]	$ 6.204^[3]
University of Cincinnati	$ 1.032^[1]	$ 1.101^[2]	$ 1.185^[3]
University of Delaware	$ 1.077^[1]	$ 1.223^[2]	$ 1.397^[3]
University of Florida	$ 0.836^[1]	$ 0.996^[2]	$ 1.219^[3]
University of Illinois (system-wide)^[4]	$ 1.148^[1]	$ 1.252^[2]	$ 1.515^[3]
University of Kansas (system-wide)^[4]	$ 0.955^[1]	$ 1.049^[2]	$ 1.239^[3]
University of Michigan	$ 4.931^[1]	$ 5.652^[2]	$ 7.090^[3]
University of Minnesota	$ 1.969^[1]	$ 2.224^[2]	$ 2.804^[3]
University of Missouri (system-wide)^[4]	$ 0.849^[1]	$ 0.944^[2]	$ 1.098^[3]
University of Nebraska (system-wide)^[4]	$ 1.042^[1]	$ 1.153^[2]	$ 1.277^[3]
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	$ 1.486^[1]	$ 1.149^[2]	$ 2.164^[3]
University of Notre Dame	$ 3.650^[1]	$ 4.437^[2]	$ 5.944^[3]
University of Oklahoma	$ 0.777^[1]	$ 0.960^[2]	$ 1.114^[3]
University of Pennsylvania	$ 4.370^[1]	$ 5.313^[2]	$ 6.635^[3]
University of Pittsburgh	$ 1.530^[1]	$ 1.803^[2]	$ 2.254^[3]
University of Richmond	$ 1.208^[1]	$ 1.388^[2]	$ 1.655^[3]
University of Rochester	$ 1.370^[1]	$ 1.491^[2]	$ 1.726^[3]
University of Southern California	$ 2.746^[1]	$ 3.066^[2]	$ 3.715^[3]
University of Texas (system-wide)^[4]	$ 11.610^[1]	$ 13.235^[2]	$ 15.614^[3]
University of Virginia	$ 3.219^[1]	$ 3.618^[2]	$ 4.370^[3]
University of Washington	$ 1.490^[1]	$ 1.794^[2]	$ 2.184^[3]
University of Wisconsin (UW Foundation only)	$ 1.125^[1]	$ 1.426^[2]	$ 1.645^[3]
Vanderbilt University	$ 2.628^[1]	$ 2.946^[2]	$ 3.487^[3]
Wake Forest University	$ 0.907^[1]	$ 1.042^[2]	$ 1.249^[3]
Washington University in St. Louis	$ 4.268^[1]	$ 4.684^[2]	$ 5.658^[3]
Wellesley College	$ 1.276^[1]	$ 1.412^[2]	$ 1.657^[3]
Williams College	$ 1.348^[1]	$ 1.462^[2]	$ 1.892^[3]
Yale University	$ 15.224^[1]	$ 18.031^[2]	$ 22.530^[3]
Yeshiva University	$ 1.149^[1]	$ 1.273^[2]	$ 1.410^[3]

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Casey & General Stores – Growth & Income – Zacks Rank Buy

Alex Kolb — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Casey & General Stores (CASY) reported an all-time high in earnings for the first fiscal quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate by nearly 18%. The companys return on equity (ROE) is 13%, which beats industry average of 5%.

Company Description

Casey & General Stores, Inc. together with its subsidiaries, operate convenience stores under the Caseys General Stores name in the Midwest states. It has operations in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Indiana. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa.

Solid Growth

Favorable Comparison and Higher Expectations

CASY offers a dividend yield of 1%, which exceeds the industry average as CASYs industry group pays little to no income. The companys return on equity (ROE) is 13%, which beats industry average of 5%.

Analyst earnings estimates for the year ending April 2009 of $1.56 per share are above last months expectations of $1.49.
"CASY" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Snap On Inc. – Zacks Elite Stock of the Day

Michael Vodicka — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Snap On Inc. (SNA) manufactures tools, equipment and diagnostics for professional applications, selling its products to a wide range of international markets. The company was founded in 1920, has a market cap. of $3.21 billion and is headquartered in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

A Great Quarter

Snap-On reported strong second-quarter results on July 24 that demonstrate the company's ability to whether the difficult economy.

Sales were up 8% to $766.1 million, helped by positive currency translations. Net income totaled $66.9 million, up from $43.8 million last year. This produced earnings of $1.15 per share, ahead of analyst expectations of $1.05 per share.

A History of Surprising

This is the fourth time in four quarters that Snap-On has surprised and beaten analyst estimates, having done so by an average of 11 cents, or 13.3%.

Estimates Are Up

The analyst community is bullish on Snap On. The current-year estimate now stands at $4.10 per share, up from $4.05 30 days ago. The next-year estimate is pegged at $4.60 per share, a 12% earnings growth projection.

Attractive Valuations

Based upon this earnings projection, this stock is trading at a slight discount to the overall market, carrying a forward P/E multiple of 13.9X.

Shares of SNA have been trading sideways for most of the last month, moving between $55 and $60. The 52-week and all-time high is close at hand, just above $62. Take a look at the chart below.

"SNO" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

RedChip Featured Company: ZBB Energy Corporation (AMEX: ZBB)

QualityStocks — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:40:44 +0000

ZBB Energy Corporation is an energy company engaged in researching the manufacture of energy storage systems for utility companies, renewable energy generators, and commercial and industrial customers. ZBB Energy was formed in 1998 in Wisconsin as a holding company for its subsidiaries in the United States and Australia. The ZBB zinc energy storage systems (ZESS) [...]

McCain Hurting In The Rural Vote

Jeffrey Miller — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:12:33 +0000

Republicans have long counted on the rural vote to help them win battleground states. It seems like McCain should be able to do the same, especially with the view that Obama is elitist (remember “bittergate”?). Unfortunately for McCain, the economic strife that rural voters perceive to be caused by the Bush administration is causing more [...]