Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks Features Charles Schwab, H&R Block, LSI Logic, ConAgra Foods, and E.W. Scripps.

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the March 16 edition of Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks are Charles Schwab (NASDAQ:SCHW), H&R Block (NYSE:HRB), LSI Logic (NYSE:LSI), ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG), and E.W. Scripps (NYSE:SSP). Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks is just one of the many free market commentaries written everyday at www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. For additional information about this report or to have it delivered to you free via email every day click on the following link. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PRSHS12M&PAGE=1 .

Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks for Thursday, March 16, 2006:

A daily feature available on SchaeffersResearch.com is the "SPX Hot Stocks" column. Each afternoon, we will provide a list of the day's top-20 performing stocks in the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,306.97) as well as the bottom-20 names. Featured along with this table will be news that is moving some of the securities.

NOTE: Stocks trading under $5 per share have been eliminated from this listing of the top-20 and bottom-20 performing stocks.

At 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, the SPX is up approximately four points after tagging a new multi-year high at 1,310.45 earlier today. Of its 500 components, roughly 66 percent are in positive territory.

Before the open this morning Charles Schwab (NASDAQ:SCHW) announced that client daily average trades in February soared 52 percent over the year-ago period to nearly 320,000, but was down four percent from January. Total client assets were a record $1.255 trillion as of February 28, up 15 percent from the year-ago period. The discount brokerage firm now expects first-quarter earnings between 18 and 19 cents per share compared to the Street estimate for a gain of 17 cents per share. Included in the company's estimate are $25 million in pretax severance charges, stemming from job cuts at the firm's Schwab Investor Services and U.S. Trust units. The positive news has helped to boost the shares roughly five percent today.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) has managed to rebound some today on news that tax preparation and related fees increased two percent to $1.5 billion for the interim period of January 1 through February 28. Average fee per client served rose 6.2 percent to $153.2 million. Yesterday, the shares fell sharply on news that the New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said it was suing the company for alleged "fraudulent marketing of individual retirement accounts."

Meanwhile, LSI Logic (NYSE:LSI) was boosted from "sell" to "buy" by Banc of America Securities, with the broker saying LSI has morphed into a turnaround story. The brokerage firm stated that "Specifically, we believe recent restructuring actions undertaken by the new management team, including the decision to phase out development of the underperforming RapidChip product line, have largely addressed our long-held reservations regarding LSI's strategy, and have positioned it on a path of improved profitability."

Elsewhere, the homebuilders sector is putting in another solid session after the Consumer Price Index revealed that core inflation increased a lower-than-expected 0.1 percent in February, easing inflation fears and boosting expectations the Federal Reserve may soon pause in raising interest rates. What's more, the Commerce Department reported that housing starts fell 7.9 percent in February, but the level was higher than economists' expectations. This positive news has lifted a number of the sector's components, including Pulte Homes, KB Homes, and D.R. Horton.

Popping to the top of the losers' column is ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG). The company announced restructuring actions that will mean earnings for fiscal 2007 won't be as high as previously believed. CAG reported that its dividend will be cut by 34 percent as part of a series of moves hoping to boost its long-term operating performance. The packaged food company also announced that it plans to sell off its seafood and domestic and imported cheese businesses. This news follows February's announcement that it will sell most of its refrigerated-meat operations. En masse, these businesses generate annual revenue of roughly $2.8 billion. Other actions that the company will undertake include increased annual marketing spending of more than $75 million, plant "rationalization," supply-chain improvements, and reductions in administrative costs. CAG expects the divestitures and restructuring moves will yield unspecified charges.

E.W. Scripps (NYSE:SSP) announced plans to acquire privately held uSwitch, a provider of online price-comparison services in the United Kingdom, for $366 million. Together with the Shopzilla online service that SSP acquired last year, uSwitch will provide the foundation for Scripps' newly created interactive-media division. The firm noted that the uSwitch acquisition is expected to dilute earnings by 10 cents to 15 cents a share for 2006 and by an unspecified amount for 2007, before beginning to contribute to profits thereafter.

Click the following link to see a Chart of the SPX 500 Index's Top-20 Percentage Gainers: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=15559 .

Click the following link to see a Chart of the SPX 500 Index's Top-20 Percentage Losers: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=15559 .

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Schaeffer's Investment Research, founded by Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, is a financial information and trading resources company. It publishes Bernie Schaeffer's Option Advisor, the nation's leading options subscription newsletter. The firm's contrarian approach focuses on stocks with technical and fundamental trends that run counter to investor expectations. The firm's website, http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com , is recognized as one of the leading information sources for stock and options traders and was cited as the top options website by both Forbes and Barron's. Click here for more details about Schaeffer's trading methodology: http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com/method .