The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has some questions for Genzyme Corp. (NASDAQ: GENZ) regarding trial data for its leukemia drug, Clolar. Because Genzyme didn't follow the FDA's recommendations in conducting its main study of Clolar, the regulatory agency is reluctant to make a decision on the basis of the trial results.

In 2007, FDA staff advised Genzyme to conduct a randomized study in which participants receiving Clolar would be compared against a set of patients not receiving the drug. However, the drug company's primary tests did not include a control group; instead, the treatment was tested only on elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

"Maidenform Brands (NYSE: MFB), which earns our strong buy rating, saw sales rise 5.6% in the second quarter based on strong demand," reports analyst Tracey Ryniec.

In Zacks Elite Stocks, she explains, "Maidenform Brands sells intimate apparel such as bras and shapewear at department stores and other retail outlets.

"The company provides a collection of recognizable brands including Maidenform, Lilyette, Control It!, and Sweet Nothings. It also licenses the Donna Karan and DKNY brands, which it launched in the first quarter.

"Corning (NYSE: GLW) is seeing green shoots; it recently announced significant gains in demand for LCD glass due to strong TV sales," says Tracey Ryniec of Zacks Research.

"Overall, LCD TV demand remains hot. The company is seeing much stronger demand for glass in the second quarter than it anticipated even just a few weeks ago.

"Corning is a specialty glass, ceramics and optical fiber manufacturer. It produces glass for LCD flat panel televisions and laptops, ceramic substrates and filters for mobile emission control systems, cable for Internet communication networks and advanced optics and specialty glass for various industries.

"International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) provides a good mix of rising earnings estimates, worldwide exposure and a safe dividend," says analyst Alex Kolb from Zacks Research.

"IBM was incorporated in the State of New York in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co., changing its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924.

"And with the strength of its global on-demand model, IBM is experiencing strong revenue growth in all geographies, with robust growth in emerging markets worldwide.

"Church & Dwight Co. (NYSE: CHD) continues to do well what it has done since 1846: sell baking soda," notes Tracey Ryniec, who has chosen the stock as the latest Zacks Elite Stock of the Day.

The advisor explains, "In these turbulent financial times, investors have been turning to companies with a long track record of selling essential name-brand products and Church & Dwight is one of those companies.

"Church & Dwight is a consumer products company which produces, among other things, ARM & HAMMER baking soda, dental care toothpaste and Super Scoop Clumping Cat Litter.

"It has also been on an expansion tear in this decade. In 2001, the company acquired USA Detergents, Inc. and the laundry brands XTRA and Nice'N Fluffy.

"The expansion continued later that year when CHD acquired Carter-Wallace, Inc, which had brands such as Arrid Antiperspirant, Trojan Condoms, Nair Depilatories and First Response Home Pregnancy and Ovulation Test Kits.

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.

By Alex Kolb, Zack's Investment Research

United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) has seen 8 out of 10 covering analysts boost full-year earnings estimates since we featured this Growth and Income pick back in mid-July. Forecasts of $20.50 per share are above last month's $16.00. The most accurate projection is more bullish at $21.46 per share.

Robust Growth with Record Numbers

The company recently announced second-quarter results and upped its dividend. Net income of $668 million soared past the previous year's $302 million. During the past 5 consecutive quarters, earnings per share were on average about 9% ahead of analyst expectations, with the most recent results coming in at an impressive 49.5% above expectations.

Commenting on results, U. S. Steel Chairman and CEO John P. Surma said, "We recorded the highest quarterly sales and net income in U. S. Steel's history during the second quarter as all three reportable segments posted record results, reflecting strong operating performance and favorable global pricing dynamics."

Higher Income

U.S. Steel declared a dividend of 30 cents per share, which is an increase of 5 cents per share. The company noted that the dividend is payable September 10, 2008, to stockholders of record at the close of business August 13, 2008. Read our July 17 analysis.

By Alex Kolb, analyst, Zacks Investment Research

Shares of QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) are trading about 15% higher than earlier this month, when the company was previously featured. Also, as was the case when previously featured, QCOM continues to trade close to a 52-week high. Wall Street forecasts are also higher now. Current earnings estimates of $1.95 per share for the year ending September 2008 are last month's $1.91.

The company posted a strong fiscal third quarter, noting that it delivered record revenues that were up by 19 % year-over-year. QCOM's third-quarter (GAAP) net income also increased year-over-year.

The Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company continues to offer a ROE of 20%, squashing the industry average of 2%. Its yield of 1.2% stands out as the company operates in an industry that virtually pays no dividend. QCOM's earnings per share are expected to grow by 19% over the next 3 – 5 years, versus the industry average of 17%. Read our Jul 10, 2008 analysis.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) could have a tough time beating expectations when it reports earnings on January 19. Specifically, 14 analysts surveyed by Zacks expect C to report earnings per share (EPS) of $1.06 for the fourth quarter of 2006 with a "whisper number" of $1.09. For all of 2006, analysts expect C to earn $4.26, and $4.55 for 2007, a 6.8% increase.

As I noted last year, we are in a beat-and-raise market. This means that if a company aspires to a rising stock price, it must beat analysts' EPS expectations each quarter and raise its future earnings guidance. For companies that are widely followed by analysts, it is particularly difficult to beat and raise because analysts are paid significant sums to set accurate expectations. Citigroup is widely covered, so it's hard for it to win.

C's stock price has risen 10.5% in the last year to $54 -- 5% below the all-time high it hit last month. And its $90.8 billion in revenues and $21 billion in net income have grown 19.4% and 6.4%, respectively, in the last 12 months. C trades at a price/earnings (P/E) multiple on 2007 earnings of 11.9 -- 177% of its anticipated 6.8% earnings growth -- not a good sign -- particularly considering that its EPS grew almost twice as fast -- 11.6% -- in 2006.

I'm a bit concerned about whether Citigroup will make its numbers since it announced last week that it was taking a seven cents a share charge to restructure its Japanese consumer finance operation. But analysts may have already factored that in to their expectations.

On January 18, we'll see whether C will beat-and-raise, meet-and-maintain, or miss-and-lower. What do you think will happen?

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm, a Professor of Management at Babson College, and editor of The Cohan Letter. He owns Citigroup shares.

Also check out some other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know your thoughts on earnings expectations.

According to the efficient market hypothesis (EMH), a company's stock price constantly adjusts to reflect all the currently available information about that company. If the theory was correct, then there would be no such thing as an under- or over-valued stock.  And it would be impossible for a stock's return to beat the market's.

But in practice, some stocks seem to beat the overall market over long periods of time. Consider Yahoo!. Over the last decade, Yahoo!'s stock price has climbed an impressive 2,500% while the S&P 500 has mounted a less impressive 100% rise. Over the last year, however, Yahoo!'s stock has lost 4.3% of its value while the S&P 500 increased 13%. Does Yahoo!'s short-term under-performance indicate that Yahoo!'s stock price is likely to continue to tumble and that it ultimately will conform to the EMH's prediction?

I don't know the answer to this. One valuation theory that I've used is that a company's stock price is cheap if its price/earnings ratio is lower than its earnings growth rate. And if the median of analysts' predictions for its earnings in 2006 and 2007 are correct, Yahoo!'s earnings growth rate is higher than its price/earnings ratio.

Does this mean that Yahoo! stock is undervalued?  Well, the consensus of 25 analysts polled by Zacks is that that Yahoo!'s earnings will grow 36%, from 56 cents a share in 2006 to 75 cents/share in 2007.  And Yahoo!'s P/E on current earnings is 25.8. For those investors who prefer to compare the earnings growth to future earnings, however, Yahoo! trades at a P/E of 58.9 -- making the stock overvalued at its current $32.30. But if you believe in that valuation method, it would take a 58.9% earnings growth rate to justify Yahoo!'s current stock price.