Super Typical

Kevin Cook here again, minding the store for Steve.

Well that was relatively painless now, wasn't it? The S&P 500 cut through the 50-day moving average and support at 1,200 like a politician spending your taxes. We should expect some small "digestion" trading around 1,190 but I think the market is on the ropes enough, given the politics of debt in Frankfurt and now Washington, that we will keep plumbing lower toward 1,150.

I'm not much of a political analyst, but I think the elections of 2012 have just been given a whole new platform for debate: defense vs. taxes, with a bit of self-righteous "budget deficits matter" vs. "you gambled with the US credit rating" thrown in. The battle lines in campaign ads will separate those who would risk America's freedom by cutting the military budget from those who want to keep tax cuts for the rich.

The rhetoric will be so charged and ideological, we will barely notice all the back room scheming for the next year to defuse the automatic spending cuts time bomb. Such is politics. Hopefully, the good stuff we can bank on, like growth in the economy and earnings, will be strong enough to weather the storms. S&P 1,100? I'd love to buy stocks there again.

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Best,

Kevin Cook
Senior Stock Strategist, Zacks Investment Research

Today's Top Stories: Tuesday- November 22, 2011

ZACKS RANK BUY STOCKS

• Aggressive Growth - Hollysys Automation Technologies, Ltd. (HOLI) revenues jumped more than 43%, to $87.2 million. Earnings broke down to $0.23 per share, 2 cents higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Read More...
   
• Growth & Income - Koppers Holdings Inc. (KOP) Q3 earnings per share came in at $1.08, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.02. It was a whopping 44% increase over the same quarter in 2010. Read More...
   
• Momentum - Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (HPY) saw movement in estimates off a good quarter, with the current year adding 2% to $1.06 while the next-year estimate climbed 5% to $1.30, a bullish 22% growth projection. Read More...
   
• Value - HARMAN International Industries (HAR) has a price-to-book ratio of 1.9. A P/B under 3.0 usually indicates value. HAR also has a price-to-sales ratio of just 0.7. A P/S under 1.0 can mean a company is undervalued. Read More...
   

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

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• Mutual Fund Homepage

• Bull Of The Day: Garmin, Ltd.
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• Bear Of The Day: Hartford Financial Services Group
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• Zacks Industry Outlook: Alt-Energy Stock Outlook - Nov. 2011
  The fortunes of the alternative energy players are undergoing a radical transformation. Read More...
  
  
• Analyst Blog Highlights
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• Earnings Scorecard: Target
• Full Analyst Blog

• ECB Credibility vs. Contagion
• Debt Debacle American Style
• Strategist Stock Picks: GDI, XLI, IBM

PeopleAndPicks.com:

VIP "Neurodoc" continues his prescription for profit with BUY calls in (AOL), (KND) and (TZA). Read More...

EARNINGS TRENDS: Roughly 15% Growth in 3Q Earnings

With only 17 of the S&P 500 remaining to report, earnings totals should reach about 15%. Not bad, but not terrific either. Read More...

• MF Global missing funds may hit $1.2 billion @ CNNMoney.com
• Dow Drops 250 Points on Super Committee Uncertainty @ TheStreet.com
• Stocks Sink Amid Global Debt Fears @ FOXBUSINESS.com
• H-P shares fall on lowered outlook @ MarketWatch.com

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