Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, US Bancorp and JPMorgan Chase.

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CHICAGO--(Business Wire)--
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:
Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), US
Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM).

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Here are highlights from Friday`s Analyst Blog:

Investors Seek to Make Owners Rent

In some select markets, even with foreclosures still looming, bidding wars are
actually occurring.

In Phoenix for example, a large supply of foreclosed families who can no longer
qualify for a loan has spurred investor interest to turn as many of these
families as possible into rent-paying tenants in the very homes they used to
own. The bidding war is generally from absentee buyers (investor or vacation
properties), which currently represents 4 out of 10 homes sold in the Phoenix
metropolitan area as of April. This is about double the level experienced for
2007.

Homes that sold originally for $225,000, now have been sold for $80,000-110,000.
Great news for the investor, unless the population contracts.

Similar antidotal data appears to be occurring in the California markets of such
as Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista, but only at much higher prices in the
$350,000-400,000 range.

For the banks such as (but not limited to) Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America
(NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB), JPMorgan Chase
(NYSE: JPM), their respective Other Real Estate Owned (OREO) levels may not
expand as these homes sell, but we would expect the need for additional
substantial write-offs and provisions from the valuation of these sold homes has
been cut more than in half.

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