From Barron's 4/9/07 "Best known in the U.S. for its Pimco money-management and Fireman's Fund insurance businesses, Allianz is beginning to see the results of a restructuring that emphasizes efficiency and simplicity in its global operations. Coupled with fewer natural disasters and rising capital markets, the program produced vastly improved profits in 2006 and has allowed the insurance, banking and asset-management company to lift earnings projections through 2009 and propose a series of dividend hikes... The shares still look relatively cheap. Paul Goodhind, an analyst with Bear Stearns in London, said in a recent note: "The valuation case for Allianz remains compelling, with the shares trading on a modest nine times 2008 earnings. While the shares may pause in the near term, evidence that Allianz is on track to achieve its targets should lead to further outperformance." Allianz's French rival AXA carries a price-earnings ratio near 15, the insurance industry's general benchmark."

From Barron's 4/9/07 "The McLean, Va.-based company has the highest operating margins in the U.S. newspaper business, at almost 30%. With a market value of $13.2 billion and debt of $5 billion, it is an unlikely target for a takeover or leveraged buyout, especially given private-equity firms' aversion to the industry. Yet there are steps Gannett could take to enhance shareholder value, starting with a sizable increase in its annual dividend, now $1.24 a share, which provides a yield of 2.2% The company also could spin off its TV operation, which includes an attractive collection of NBC stations...Gannett gets little credit for its captive broadcast division, which generates 10% of its annual revenue and 17% of its pre-tax cash flow. Given rising valuations in the sector, the TV business could be worth $5 billion, or more than $20 per Gannett share. Other assets include a 42% stake in CareerBuilder.com, a leading online jobs site, that could be worth $600 million."

From Barron's 4/9/07 "Sales of carpet tile have grown four times faster than those of other types of carpet ordered by architects and designers since 2001, says Wachovia Capital Markets...Interface has the market covered like a rug. Roughly 70% of its $1 billion-plus in annual sales comes from modular carpeting. It has grabbed a full one-third of the $1.1 billion U.S. industry, and looks to be doing brisk business overseas...There's every reason to think the good times will continue. Fans think the company will see its revenue advance by about 10% in the next year and at a compound 25% over the next three years, thanks to the growing demand for carpet-tile. That's not just from offices -- hotels, schools, and medical centers are taking to the floor covering, too."

From Barron's 4/9/07 "Secure Computing, with a $535 million market value, is the biggest pure play in the rapidly growing network-security segment that caters mostly to huge corporate and government clients. As they gear up, 23-year-old Secure Computing (SCUR), whose 2006 sales rose by about 62% (including acquisitions) to $176.7 million, remains the No. 1 player in the enterprise fire-wall market and offers a suite of other well-regarded products... Following stellar fourth-quarter earnings of seven cents, which beat consensus estimates of break-even, Security Computing shares surged by more than two points in February to top 9, giving them a robust price-earnings multiple of 21 based on 2008 estimates. That seemingly rich valuation for a company that posted an overall loss in 2006 was among the reasons Goldman Sachs issued a Sell rating March 12, helping push the stock price back down to 8 last week. Around that level, some investors and analysts see a buying opportunity."

From Barron's 4/9/07 "One of the nation's largest diversified financial-services providers, super-regional PNC Financial Services Group (PNC), voted on Thursday to boost its dividend by 15%. The new payout will be 63 cents a share, versus 55 cents. Disbursement is set for April 24 to investors on the books April 13. The stock goes ex-dividend April 11. Yield: 3.46%.Including predecessor companies, Pittsburgh-based PNC has paid dividends without interruption since 1865.Traded on the New York Stock Exchange, PNC set a 52-week high of 76.41 Feb. 20. It's now a bit below that level."

From Barron's 4/9/07 "Hitachi has long been condemned by investors as the archetypal value-destroying conglomerate. Goldman Sachs estimates that the firm's return on invested capital hasn't beaten its weighted-average cost of capital for 12 years. Still, the oft-maligned outfit's shares have shown stellar returns since September, after hitting a 12-month low of 644 yen and trading well below book value. Despite no Buy ratings among the 11 analysts who cover the company, Hitachi (ticker: 6501.TO) is up 16% this year alone, from its closing price at year-end 2006 of ¥810. By comparison, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average has been essentially flat (closing price at year end was 17383.42). Hitachi is now selling at ¥936, and traders say some investors are speculating the share price could top ¥1,000"

From Barron's 4/9/07 "If you're not one to bet on buyouts, it makes sense to look for alternative high-growth telecoms that are profitable. One is Atlanta-based Cbeyond (CBEY), which has an $800 million stock-market value. Its shares have risen by more than 90% in the past 12 months, to around 30.50, but the stock is still cheaper than Savvis', based on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda, a measure of cash flow). And the company expects heady sales growth of 30% this year. A valuation closer to Savvis' would suggest 16% upside to Cbeyond's stock."

From Barron's 4/9/07 "As the Democrats' political fortunes began to visibly rise last summer, the shares of student-loan giant SLM, or Sallie Mae, went into a swoon. Democrats for years have been agitating for a reduction in arguably generous federal guarantees and subsidies paid to private lenders in the student-loan market -- and Sallie Mae is the biggest of the bunch. Since July, its shares (ticker: SLM) have fallen from the low 50s to a recent 41. But there's a compelling argument that the shares have been oversold, and could bounce back by at least 10%."