For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL - May 8, 2012 - 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
Dish Network
(
DISH
),
Tyson Foods
(
TSN
),
Avis Budget Group
(
CAR
),
PepsiCo Inc.
(
PEP
) and
The Coca Cola Company
(
KO
).
Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the
free Profit from the Pros newsletter:
http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513
Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:
Sea Change in France Triggers Sell-Off
Asian and European investors' first response to the weekend
election in France (and Greece) has been to run for cover. This
theme will likely be the dominant driver of market action today in
the U.S., as it did in Europe and Asia as the new week got
underway. But does this reaction make economic sense or is it just
another sign of a collective knee-jerk response from investors
worldwide?
It does make sense, and here is why:
The response of Euro-zone leadership, which basically means
Germany and France, to the region's mounting financial crisis over
the last three years has been to institute measures that will
restore market confidence. The most important of such confidence
boosting measures has been to cut deficits through tough austerity
measures. The premise behind this policy line is that the
implementation of a deficit reduction plan will demonstrate to the
markets the country's ability to pay back its debts.
The only problem with this otherwise reasonable logic is that
implementing fiscal austerity in a backdrop of economic weakness
exacerbates near-term growth. The ongoing recession in the
Euro-zone is a direct result of this policy. It becomes politically
difficult to sustain such policies in the face of widespread
economic hardships. Electoral defeats for incumbent governments
across Europe is evidence of this trend.
France has been a willing partner to Germany in pushing this
policy prescription. But the election of Francois Hollande in
France this weekend -- who ran on a traditional leftist
pro-spending platform -- represents the first credible challenge to
this German-inspired fiscal orthodoxy. It is not unreasonable for
the markets to be concerned about the prospect of discord at the
top of Euro-zone leadership, and that's precisely what today's
worldwide market sell-off is reflecting.
Europe aside, it is fairly quiet on the domestic front, with the
first quarter earnings season winding down and nothing major on the
economic calendar. For the 84% of S&P 500 companies that
have already reported, total earnings growth is tracking 6.5%, with
roughly 67% coming out with positive earnings surprises. Most of
the growth is coming through revenue gains, with aggregate margins
essentially flat from the year-earlier level.
This is a far cry from pre-season expectations, when aggregate
earnings were expected to be down modestly from the year-earlier
period. Of this morning's major earnings reports, we got
better-than-expected results from
Dish Network
(
DISH
),
Tyson Foods
(
TSN
) and
Avis Budget Group
(
CAR
).
Pepsi Cans & the King of Pop
PepsiCo Inc.
(
PEP
) has teamed up with the Estate of Michael Jackson to feature the
late pop star's image on its Pepsi cans.
Per the global partnership, the soft drink company will launch 1
billion cans of its popular soft drink, Pepsi, which will feature
Michael Jackson's iconic image in silhouette. The partnership is
part of PepsiCo's broader 'Live for Now' marketing campaign which
was launched in U.S. last month. The partnership coincides with the
25
th
anniversary of the legendary singer's multi-platinum
album,
Bad
.
The campaign will also feature some music events and contests
where fans can win special edition merchandise. As part of the
campaign, Pepsi, Jackson's estate, and his Sony Music record
company have also entered into a deal to share new mixes of music
from the
Bad
album.
On May 5, limited edition Pepsi cans were launched throughout
China and will be launched later this month in the U.S. Thereafter,
the Michael Jackson activity will be rolled out in 20 other
countries in Asia, South America and Europe. From May 15 to June
14, the company will offer Chinese fans tickets to a popular tour
on sharing photos of their Jackson collections or original
artwork.
PepsiCo is trying to lure Michael Jackson fans to boost sales of
its Pepsi soft drink and win market share from its biggest
competitor
The Coca Cola Company
(
KO
).
Our Recommendation
Currently, the stock retains a Zacks #3 Rank (short-term Hold
rating). Over the long term, we provide a Neutral recommendation on
the stock.
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AVIS BUDGET GRP (CAR): Free Stock Analysis
Report
DISH NETWORK CP (DISH): Free Stock Analysis
Report
COCA COLA CO (KO): Free Stock Analysis Report
PEPSICO INC (PEP): Free Stock Analysis Report
TYSON FOODS A (TSN): Free Stock Analysis Report
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