Over the last decade, most of us have been gluttons at one point or another. Nothing says gluttony like a nice juicy steak. And in this country, that means a very big juicy steak.

At high-end steakhouse Morton's (NYSE: MRT), that gluttony takes the form of complete and utter excess. The high rollers of the world love to show off their clients and friends at this upscale restaurant, but those days appear to be over. The stock has been in a freefall as a result.

Click here for the complete list of deadly sin stocks.

Just for fun, I thought I'd find a stock that loosely symbolizes each of the 7 Deadly Sins -- greed, wrath, envy, pride, lust, sloth and gluttony -- to see how it fares against my momentum criteria.

Now, I'm not saying any of these companies are bad or evil. And I don't know whether our new climate of parsimony means the "greed is good" era of the 1980s is dead. What I do know is which stocks are in a position to profit today and which aren't.

Here's a fun look at some stocks that symbolize the 7 Deadly Sins and how I expect them to perform.

The following is a Q&A with Director of Zacks Equity Research Dirk van Dijk, CFA.

We're doing a rather last-minute interview here for publication Thursday morning (the 28th). What is on your mind to talk about?

Well, with the Democratic National Convention underway and therefore political season in full swing, lots of claims and counter claims will be made about taxes. Amid all the spin, careful analysis often gets lost. The Tax Policy Center (TPC), a non-partisan group, sat down with the top economic advisors for both campaigns and attempted to sort out just what the implications are from the proposals of each side would be.

And what is the verdict?

Well first of all, I strongly urge all readers who care about the long-term fiscal health of the U.S. Government to read the report.

But to my mind, given the massive size of the deficit this year and projected for next year, both McCain and Obama are being too "generous." Still, the charge of "tax and spend" is absurd if applied to either candidate, while the charge of "borrow and spend" is valid for both of them.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) is near a deal to sell its plastics division to Saudi Basic Industries for $11B, reported the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
• Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc (NYSE: BUD) has stopped making its Spykes malt beverage amid poor sales and criticism that it was marketing to underage drinkers, reported the Wall Street Journal.

OTHER PAPERS:

• According to the Telegraph, citing Cadbury-Schweppes ADS (NYSE: CSG), two rival private-equity groups are preparing to bid for the U.S. beverages arm of the company, with bids in the GBP8B range.
• The Times of India reported that Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) is putting its captive business process outsourcing arm, which could be worth between $1B-$1.5B, on the block.
• BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" column focused on OfficeMax Incorporated (NYSE: OMX), Verichip Corporation (NASDAQ: CHIP) and Morton's Restaurant Group (NYSE: MRT):
  
• Office Max may be a target for Staples Inc (NASDAQ: SPLS) or Office Depot Inc (NYSE: ODP).
  
• Verichip, a maker of RFID chips, is starting to get attention on Wall Street.
  
• Morton's is being helped by boardroom business being conducted at the upscale steakhouse.