Zacks Equity Research picks Burger King (NYSE: BKC) as Bull of the Day and Celanese Corp. (NYSE: CE) as Bear of the Day. In addition, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research discuss the latest on AIG (NYSE: AIG), Citigroup (NYSE: C) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678

Bull of the Day

In the midst of a turnaround, Burger King’s (NYSE: BKC) customer traffic is beginning to decline, as diners move to food prepared at home and to competitors value meals, some of which are more extensive than Burger King’s. Though these increasing economic headwinds heighten the risk in the company’s turnaround, we think the plan is still viable and the shares valuation is compelling, albeit with substantial risk.

Now back in positive unit growth mode after four years of negative or no growth, BKC is poised, in our opinion, to grow earnings at a mid to high-teens CAGR over the next five years by accelerating unit growth, improving average unit volumes through restaurant remodels and new product launches and by expanding restaurant margins closer to those of McDonald’s, the category leader.

Moreover, we think BKC shares offer investors an opportunity to participate in the fast-growing economies of Asia and South America, which are central to BKC’s expansion plans but where it has a very small presence relative to MCD and Yum! Brands.

Bear of the Day

Celanese Corp. (NYSE: CE) is a global hybrid chemical company based in Dallas. The company produces chemical substances and materials. The company concentrates in four different business segments targeting the consumer and industrial products market.

Weak market conditions drove a dramatic decline in overall global demand for many industries which affected Celanese operations. Recessionary trends, coupled with inventory destocking, resulted in sharp volume declines in the Advanced Engineered Materials and the Acetyl Intermediates businesses.

The company expects volumes to remain under pressure in 2009, even with the easing of inventory destocking. Thus, we rate the shares a Sell with a target of $10.00.

Recent Analysis from the Analyst Blog

Will the FDIC Be Super-Regulator?

In a speech to the Economic Club of New York yesterday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Chairman Sheila Bair suggested that her agency was best suited to handle broad new powers being considered by the government to seize and restructure impaired, systemically important financial institutions before they threaten the broader system.

Government bailouts of companies like AIG (NYSE: AIG), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and others involving billions of taxpayer dollars have brought into focus the need to better handle the problem of "too big to fail" financial institutions. Regulatory reforms currently being considered include close supervisory oversight of risk-taking, risk management and the financial condition of such institutions.

Regarding the mechanism for resolution, Ms. Bair suggested the "good bank-bad bank model," where viable parts can be placed into the "good bank" using a structure similar to the FDIC's bridge bank, and the nonviable parts can be placed in a "bad bank" until they can be unwound or sold.

She stated that there is no need for another government agency to run the resolution program since the FDIC already has many years of experience resolving banks and closing them.

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About the Bull and Bear of the Day

Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.

About the Analyst Blog

Updated throughout every trading day, the Analyst Blog provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets.

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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.

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