Euro-Purgatory

Kevin Cook here, starting off the week for Steve.

Because our markets twist and turn on the whims of European politicians and financial leaders these days, stocks must restrain their enthusiasm for fundamental tailwinds. Thus the strong reading we received Friday from the index of Leading Economic Indicators had to take a back seat to debates about the ECB's willingness and freedom to "be like Ben."

And with elections in Spain over the weekend, the risk of being "long risk" was definitely greater than the upside reward. The marriage of economic cooperation and convenience that is the eurozone probably faces internal battles we don't even imagine, as evidenced by the story that German leaders leaked the most recent Ireland budget austerity proposals before the Irish parliament had even seen them.

Speaking of politicians "enhancing" markets, we get our own masters of malfunction to deal with again this week as the Super Committee deadline (debacle?) looms. All we can do is hope that some form of cooperation prevails here. Otherwise, the S&P 500 is looking a lot like it is merely resting before falling through the 50-day moving average at 1,207.

Pardon my lack of enthusiasm, but I'm afraid my prediction last Monday that waiting for Europe to get quantitative easing religion would eventually prove exhausting for the market has come true. This said, I am still buying big, fear-driven dips. So let's sit back and see if 1,200 holds, or we get to buy this market again closer to 1,150.

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Best,

Kevin Cook
Senior Stock Strategist, Zacks Investment Research

Today's Top Stories: Monday- November 21, 2011

ZACKS RANK BUY STOCKS

• Aggressive Growth - Universal Truckload Services Inc. (UACL) year's average estimate is up 11 cents, to $1.04. Analysts are looking for $1.20 next year, up 7 cents. This is projected growth rates of 74% and 15% respectively. Read More...
   
• Growth & Income - Essex Property Trust, Inc. (ESS) pays a dividend that yields a stellar 3.2%. The company has consistently increased its dividend over the last several years, at an average annual rate of 5% since 2000. Read More...
   
• Momentum - Hibbett Sports, Inc. (HIBB) earnings came in strong at 21 cents, 11% ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, where the company has an average earnings surprise of 10% over the last four quarters. Read More...
   
• Value - Dillard's Inc. (DDS) has a price-to-sales ratio of 0.4. A P/S ratio under 1.0 usually indicates a company is undervalued. Additionally, DDS has a solid 1-year return on equity [ROE] of 10.8%. Read More...
   

Learn how to profit from our exclusive Zacks Rank stock-ranking system with free resources. Read More...

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• Bull Of The Day: ZOLL Medical Corp.
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• Bear Of The Day: DeVry, Inc.
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• Analyst Blog Highlights
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• Earning Scorecard: Comcast
• Earnings Preview: Tech Data
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• Starbucks Gets Into Juice
• Understanding Delta is the Key to Option Profitability
• Aggressive Growth Stock Picks-Nov.17, 2011

PeopleAndPicks.com:

VIP "SteveHarm" pulls in stellar returns with his BUY calls in (AKRX), (SPRD) and (STMP). Read More...

EARNINGS PREVIEW Turkey, with Data Stuffing

Before we feast, the market will have to digest some important economic data. Read More...

• Debt committee countdown @ CNNMoney.com
• Facebook's Value Declines in Private Shares Market @ TheStreet.com
• Week Ahead: Earnings, Housing and Black Friday @ FOXBUSINESS.com
• Europe bond dive rooted in Greek CDS deal @ MarketWatch.com

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