Zacks.com Announces That Vivian Lewis Highlights the Following Stocks: Spirent, S&T System Integration and Technology Distribution, and M-System Flashdisk.

CHICAGO -- Vivian Lewis' Speculative Portfolio was the second best performer among U.S. newsletters for the 12-month period ended June 30, 2004. Discover the benefits of investing in foreign companies through highlights of three stocks from this very successful portfolio. Read about Spirent (NYSE:SPM), S&T System Integration & Technology Distribution AG (OTC:STSQY), and M-System Flashdisk (NASDAQ:FLSH). Vivian Lewis is editor of the Global Investing newsletter. Click here for the full story exclusively on Zacks.com: http://at.zacks.com/?id=84

Here are the highlights from the Featured Expert column:

Vivian Lewis is happy to report that Mark Hulbert has published a correction in his August issue showing that Global Investing performed much better than his original calculation. He wrote: "let me make a correction to the performance rating we reported in last month's Long Term Performance Ratings (LTPR) for the Speculative Portfolio of Global Investing. Instead of a 1.% year-to-date gain for that portfolio through June 30, we should have reported an 8.1% gain. As a result, we should also have reported a 2.4% gain for this newsletter's portfolio average, instead of 0.8%. Please make the appropriate corrections in your version of the LTPR."

Separately, Mark has also reported that Global Investing's Speculative Portfolio had a gain of 67% in the 12-month period to June 30, 2004. That makes it the second best performing U.S. newsletter stock portfolio in that period.

Speculative Portfolio

For investors able to shoulder above-average risk for high reward.

Spirent (NYSE:SPM) is growing sales again, it reported last month about H1, after 3 years of shrinkage after the collapse of the telecoms bubble in 2000. It expects its largest unit, its performance analysis division, to grow sales by 20% this year. The once-stricken group, unlike rivals had the cash to weather layoffs and profit shortfalls.

S&T System Integration & Technology Distribution AG (OTC:STSQY) had a good Q2 with sales of EUR 46.6 million, up just below 13% and H1 sales topped EUR 100 million. The EBITDA margin rose in the past 12 months to 3.9% vs. 3.6%. Gross margins rose to 29% in H1 vs. 27.4% in the prior year. As a result of EU enlargement, S&T says more direct investment is flowing into its markets, "a trend from which S&T will continue to profit strongly."

M-System Flashdisk (NASDAQ:FLSH) was upgraded to hold by Smith Barney which downgraded it to sell only 2 months ago. It will earn $1 per share next year and its pe is 10 if you don't count cash. The Mobile Disk on Chip and hard disk storage drive products will gain from new telephone applications. Disk on Key is more difficult to forecast, the brokerage said.

Read Vivian Lewis' complete commentary and take a look at all of the stocks in her portfolios, by clicking: http://at.zacks.com/?id=85

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