Ben Zacks Recommends the Following Stocks: JCP and X.Business Editors CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 11, 2002 The market may look better these days than it has in the past, but, as last week proved, there are still several challenges that must be overcome. Ben Zacks keeps investors in the driver's seat driv·er's seat n. A position of control or authority. by offering in-depth analysis and keeping them on top of additions to his Focus List, such as JC Penney's (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :JCP See Java Community Process. JCP - Java Community Process ) and US Steel Corp. (NYSE:X). http://featuredexpert2bw.zacks.com/ Here are the highlights from the Featured Expert column: While Zacks' mood on the economy is not as somber as it had been for some time, he is under no illusions. Companies continue to face a difficult environment characterized by continued over-capacity, low volumes and very little pricing power Pricing Power An economic term referring to the effect that a change in a firm's product price has on the quantity demanded of that product. Pricing power ties in with the "Price Elasticity of Demand. . As such, it will be difficult for capital spending capital spending Spending for long-term assets such as factories, equipment, machinery, and buildings that permits the production of more goods and services in future years. to resume vigorous levels and companies will continue to face difficulties in growing their top lines Addicts speak of top lines to prevent approaching doing something which may trigger a slip, relapse or loss of sobriety. As addicts work with sponsors to help them understand their addiction and the behaviors which trigger their addiction or actions which endanger their . Corporate outlooks, at least thus far, are not especially encouraging. Furthermore, companies will be figuring out their pension obligations and attempting to improve their balance sheets. So, all of this begs the question of where money can be made. First, money should be rotating into some of the more defensive sectors that have been a bit neglected including consumer staples Consumer Staples The industries that manufacture and sell food/beverages, tobacco, prescription drugs, and household products. Notes: Proctor and Gamble would be considered a consumer staple company because many of its products are household and food related. and health care. If you have funds sitting on the sidelines On the sidelines An investor who decides not to invest due to market uncertainty. on the sidelines Of or relating to investors who, having assessed the market, have decided to avoid committing their funds. waiting to "get back in", Zacks thinks that now is the time to be fully invested. Zacks recently added JC Penney's (NYSE:JCP) to the Focus List. This retailer reported record Thanksgiving weekend sales after beating earnings expectations in the third quarter. We believe in this turnaround story, and the analysts are extremely bullish about the company's holiday offering and the company is expecting same store sales Same Store Sales A statistic used in retail industry analysis. It compares sales of stores that have been open for a year or more. Notes: This statistic allows investors to determine what portion of new sales has come from sales growth and what portion from the opening of growth in the low single digits. Zacks is also adding the economically sensitive US Steel Corp. (NYSE:X) to the Focus List. The company is in a position to benefit from cyclical strength in the economy. Earnings for the next several years are moving up to the $2-3 per share range with Morgan Stanley  To comply with Wikipedia's , the introduction of this article needs a complete rewrite. just raising their '03 number to $3.64 a share. Get all of the stocks on Ben Zacks' Focus List, along with his complete market commentary, by clicking: http://featuredexpert3bw.zacks.com/ About Zacks Featured Experts To be a successful investor you need professional advice. Experts who know what they're talking about and can help you achieve your financial goals in good markets...and especially in bad ones will help you improve your portfolio. That is why Zacks Investment Research Zacks Investment Research A firm that compiles earnings estimates and brokerage firm investment recommendations for thousands of publicly traded firms. has assembled the best investment experts in the business to offer their powerful advisory newsletters to you on all the major investment topics: Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Options, Futures etc. Recommendations from Featured Experts Highlighted in FREE Investment Newsletter The best way to tap into the powerful advice from these experts is through our free weekly e-mail newsletter, "Profit from the Pros". Each week we highlight several Featured Experts in this free e-mail newsletter. Get your free subscription to "Profit from the Pros" at: http://www.freeprofit1bw.zacks.com About Zacks Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1981 to compile, analyze, and distribute investment research to both institutional and individual investors. The guiding principle behind our work is the belief that investment experts, such as brokerage analysts and investment newsletter writers, have superior knowledge about how to invest successfully. Our goal is to unlock their profitable insights for our customers. And there is no better way to enjoy this investment success, than with a FREE subscription to "Profit from the Pros" weekly e-mail newsletter. For your free newsletter, visit http://www.freeprofitbw.zacks.com Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. Methodology of the Performance Calculations: The Timely Buys portfolio is measured based on how an investor would have fared by buying all of the given recommended stocks and selling all of the stocks which have been removed from the list. Time frame is from 3/1/1996 to 6/28/2002. All stocks are equally weighted at the beginning of each calendar year and are rebalanced after a stock is added or deleted from the list and on a quarterly basis. Performance is measured at the same intervals. Results are measured using only capital gains or losses capital gains or losses n. particularly when calculating the tax liability of an individual or business, this is the difference between the original cost plus the cost of capital improvements, excluding maintenance, called "basis" and the sales price. . No dividends, taxes or transaction costs Transaction Costs Costs incurred when buying or selling securities. These include brokers' commissions and spreads (the difference between the price the dealer paid for a security and the price they can sell it). are included. Transactions occur on the date posted. Closing prices are used on those dates for the calculation of the results. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. |
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