US HOT STOCKS: Genesco, Giant Interactive, Greif

US HOT STOCKS: Genesco, Giant Interactive, Greif -2-

Last Update: 8/28/2008 2:36:57 PM

Among the companies whose shares are actively trading in Thursday’s session are
MBIA Inc. (MBI), Zale Corp. (ZLC), Gerber Scientific Inc. (GRB).

MBIA ($14.99, $3.01, 25.10%) said it will receive about $741 million for
reinsuring a $184 billion portfolio of U.S. public finance bonds insured by
Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. The nation’s largest bond issuer said it
immediately would improve its return on equity. Smaller bond insurer Ambac
Financial Group Inc. (ABK, $6.32, $1.08, 20.61%) also gained, as did mortgage
insurers.

Zale ($27.48, $4.33, 18.70%) swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter loss as margins
fell again amid continuing inventory reductions, though sales rose and the
jewelry chain provided an earnings outlook above analysts’ estimates.

Gerber Scientific’s ($9.04, -$1.01, -10.05%) fiscal first-quarter net income fell
76% as the producer of equipment for signs and graphics making said Thursday the
economic outlook continues to be uncertain. The profit drop was much worse than
analysts were expecting.

Fannie Mae (FNM, $7.29, $0.81, 12.50%) named new chief financial and risk
officers in a move it said was designed to drive the mortgage company’s efforts
to conserve capital, as well as to contain a surge in costs stemming from
defaults by homeowners. Bank of China Ltd. (3988.HK) said it sold $4.61 billion
worth of debt related to Fannie and Freddie Mac (FRE, $5.25, $0.50, 10.53%) in
July and August.

Analysts said department-store operator Dillard’s Inc. (DDS, $12.86, $1.36,
11.83%) is showing signs of a turnaround. Bill Dreher, senior retail analyst with
Deutsche Bank Securities, added that although the retailer reported fiscal-second
quarter reuslts Wednesday that weren’t great, Dillard’s looks like it’s becoming
more investor friendly.

Tiffany & Co. (TIF, $43.89, $4.28, 10.81%) doubled its fiscal second-quarter net
income amid a year-ago divestiture charge as the company continued to see strong
sales growth in the Asia-Pacific and Europe regions. The upscale jeweler also
raised its fiscal-year earnings forecast, but tempered its expectations for sales
growth.

Origin Agritech Ltd. (SEED, $5.58, $0.84, 17.72%), a supplier of crop seeds and
agri-biotech research in China, posted an 81% rise in fiscal third-quarter net
income amid higher selling prices and increased volumes.

Other Stocks In Focus

Telecom equipment firm Alcatel-Lucent (ALU, $6.39, $0.26, 4.24%) has compiled a
short list of contenders to be its next chief executive, including Mike Quigley,
a longtime Alcatel manager who left the company last year, people familiar with
the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

Aladdin Knowledge Systems Ltd. (ALDN, $12.08, -$0.67, -5.25%), a Tel Aviv
provider of computer-security solutions, rejected an unsolicited $13-a-share
takeover proposal from affiliates of investment firm Vector Capital.

Brown-Forman Corp. (BFB, $73.87, $3.15, 4.09%) the distiller of Jack Daniel’s and
Southern Comfort, posted a 7% drop in fiscal first-quarter net income amid a
charge related to raw materials needed to produce tequila.

Goldman Sachs boosted its investment rating on BT Group PLC’s (BT, $31.60, $1.10,
3.61%) shares to buy from neutral, saying the stock is “attractive” at current
levels.

Capstone Turbine Corp. (CPST, $2.73, $0.21, 8.33%) plans to ship its first C200
MicroTurbine production unit Thursday, ahead of its previous schedule for
late-September delivery. The turbine will be installed in a wastewater treatment
facility in Italy and will operate on methane gas. Capstone said interest in the
C200 product has been strong.

Energy companies, including Devon Energy Corp. (DVN, $103.27, -$3.51, -3.29%),
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY, $81.45, -$2.72, -3.23%) and El Paso Corp. (EP,
$16.82, -$0.51, -2.92%), fell as the price of crude futures slipped.

FuelCell Energy Inc. (FCEL, $7.54, -$1.25, -14.18%) reported a fiscal
third-quarter net loss wider than the previous year and also fell short of
analyst expectations.

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Genesco Inc.’s (GCO, $34.51, $1.52, 4.61%) fiscal second-quarter loss widened
amid a tax hit from its settlement earlier this year with Finish Line Inc., but
the shoe retailer again raised its fiscal-year outlook.

Giant Interactive Group Inc. (GA, $9.23, -$0.42, -4.35%) reported that while
fiscal second-quarter net income rose 33%, margins and average revenue per user
slid.

Greif Inc.’s (GEF, $68.77, $5.02, 7.87%) fiscal third-quarter net income rose 32%
as higher costs of raw materials were more than offset by strong sales growth.
The industrial packaging company again raised its outlook for the year.

Jo-Ann Stores Inc.’s (JAS, $24.95, $2.28, 10.06%) second-quarter loss narrowed on
higher margins and sales as the fabric and craft retailer boosted its fiscal-year
outlook.

Layne Christensen Co. (LAYN, $54.29, $6.23, 12.96%) posted a 58% rise in fiscal
second-quarter net income amid double-digit revenue growth in all its divisions
and high mineral and natural-gas prices. Results handily topped estimates.

Plum Creek Timber Company Inc. (PCL, $50.48, $3.70, 7.91%) said it is forming a
joint venture with Campbell Group LLC to which Plum Creek will give 454,000 acres
of Southern timberlands while getting access $783 million of loan proceeds. The
company plans to use half of that to pay down debt.

Solera Holdings Inc. (SLH, $29.87, $2.27, 8.22%) posted a sharply narrower fiscal
fourth-quarter loss amid surging margins as the developer of software for the
auto-insurance industry gave a bullish outlook for the new year.

TiVo Inc. (TIVO, $8.38, $0.42, 5.21%) posted its second-straight quarterly profit
on improved hardware margins and lower marketing costs, but the firm’s fiscal
third-quarter outlook was worse than Wall Street was expecting.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM, $16.95, -$1.49, -8.08%) posted a 29% drop in fiscal
second-quarter net income as the home-goods retailer again slashed its
third-quarter and fiscal-year views. In addition, the retailer said it is looking
at 2009 “with a very cautious outlook” that prompted a cut of up to 28% to its
capital-spending plan as well as reductions in leased square footage and
inventory levels.

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