Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Transocean, Diamond Offshore, Patterson-UTI, Morgan Stanley and Vivo.

Chicago, IL – June 18, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Transocean (RIG - Snapshot Report), Diamond Offshore (DO - Analyst Report), Patterson-UTI (PTEN - Analyst Report), Morgan Stanley (MS - Snapshot Report) and Vivo (VIV - Snapshot Report).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

Inflation Under Control…For Now

The index for housing fell by 0.1% for the third straight month, and for the fourth time in seven months (the other three were unchanged). This was largely due to a decline in household energy prices.

Note that natural gas prices have not come close to keeping up with the rise in oil prices. This has some interesting implications for the oil service sector. Firms that are tied to exploration and development of oil, like the deep-water drillers Transocean (RIG - Snapshot Report) and Diamond Offshore (DO - Analyst Report) are much better positioned than the land drillers such as Patterson-UTI (PTEN - Analyst Report) that are more tied natural gas drilling.

Medical Care inflation continued on its merry way, rising 0.3% for the month and up 3.2% over the last year. That is 4.7% ahead of overall inflation and 1.6% ahead of core inflation (more if you stripped out medical inflation from the rest of core inflation). Medical Care, despite making up over 16% of GDP only has a 6.4% weighting in the CPI. Education and communication prices increased by 0.3% for the month and are up 3.2% over the last year, mostly due to higher tuition costs.

Morgan Revises Brazilian GDP Up

Some months ago during the difficult moments of the financial crisis, Morgan Stanley (MS - Snapshot Report) issued a report forecasting a GDP contraction of 4.5% for Brazil in 2009. We always had a more benign view on emerging markets in general and Brazil in particular.

We had been stressing that: (i) the Brazilian banking system remains sound, (ii) domestic interest rates have huge room for cuts and (iii) Brazil is still a "closed" country which does not rely overly much on exports and imports. All this together points to a more positive economic environment in Brazil in 2009, if compared to more developed economies like those in Europe, the U.S. and Japan.

The more positive view on Brazil (and other emerging markets, particularly China and India) is now considered basic common sense. Yesterday Morgan Stanley announced that it revised its expectation for the Brazilian GDP from -4.5% to just -1% for 2009. For 2010, Morgan Stanley revised its estimate from +0.5% to +2.5%. We believe the new numbers are a better portrait of the current economic situation in Brazil.

We continue to favor companies with strong exposure to the Brazilian domestic market. We like Vivo (VIV - Snapshot Report).

Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5515.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5518.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ZacksInvestment

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts

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.

Contact:
Mark Vickery
Web Content Editor
312-265-9380
Visit: www.zacks.com