These gains don't cause pain. A capital gain is the amount of money you pocket by selling one of your investments for more than you paid for it. Technically, capital gains only count for what's called a capital asset, but that's really just anything you own for investment purposes. Stocks and bonds obviously qualify, but your house and household furnishings can also count.

For tax purposes, capital gains are classified as either long-term (held for more than one year) or short-term (held for less than one year) and there are different tax implications for how long you hold onto a capital asset. For most long-term capital gains, you're taxed no more than 15% of the value of the asset. Short-term gains get taxed as regular income, so you pay the rate for the tax bracket you're in.

Capital gains can also be realized or unrealized. When you physically sell an asset like a stock, you've realized the capital gain. When you're holding the stock, and it has a value over its purchase price, but you're not selling it, you've got an unrealized gain, and you won't realize it until you sell.

In a perfect world, we'd all have capital gains. But no one¿s that smart or lucky. When the value of an asset at sale is below what you've paid for it, it's called a capital loss. The good news is that the government lets you count that loss against any gains you've had, lowering the taxes you pay. In fact, many people who sell a stock that has risen far over their purchase price tend to sell some stinkers, too, at the same time for the tax benefit. This is known as a capital-loss offset.

Home / Markets / Industries / Finance

Friday, July 11, 2008

Zacks Releases Four Powerful ''Buy'' Stocks: Accenture Ltd., Bunge Limited, Frontline, Ltd. and UniFirst Corporation

Email this Story | Respond to Editor | Print

Comtex

CHICAGO, Jul 11, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----Four free stock picks are being made available today on Zacks.com. The industry's leading independent research firm highlights one Zacks #1 Rank Strong Buy or a Zacks #2 Rank Buy stock for each of the four main styles of investing: Aggressive Growth, Growth & Income, Momentum, and Value.

The four highlighted picks are: Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN), Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), Frontline, Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) and UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF).

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Four daily picks are offered free at http://at.zacks.com/?id=88

Zacks #1 Rank Stocks have nearly tripled the S&P 500 since 1988, producing an average annual return of +30%. Performance has been notable even during volatile and down times. For example, during the last bear market, 2000-2002, the market tumbled -37.6% - but Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%.

Here is a summary of today's selected stocks that are now highly rated by Zacks:

Aggressive Growth - Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN)

Accenture Ltd. is not just sustaining itself in this tough environment, it is actually prospering, having recently reported excellent third-quarter results that were ahead of analyst estimates. After dipping lower in late 2007, the company's share price is once again in rally mode, producing excellent gains for the last 5 months.

Zacks Guide to Aggressive Growth Investing (free!): http://at.zacks.com/?id=4309

Growth & Income - Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG)

Bunge Limited sees solid growth ahead as evidenced by the company's recent increase of its full-year 2008 guidance from a range of $7.10 to $7.40 per share to $9.35 to $9.65 per share. Wall Street is in agreement, pegging current estimates at $9.58 per share, versus last month's $7.47. In addition to the promise of growth, Bunge will reward investors with income in the form of a 0.7% dividend yield, which is more than what is being paid by the other companies within BG's industry group.

Zacks Guide to Growth & Income Investing (free!): http://at.zacks.com/?id=4310

Momentum - Frontline, Ltd. (NYSE: FRO)

Frontline, Ltd. shares recently traded lower after hitting a new 52-week and all-time high above the $72 mark in late June. This stock is currently pressuring a key support level and looks well positioned to rebound. At these levels, especially when considering the nice dividend Frontline pays, this stock looks like a great deal.

Zacks Guide to Momentum Investing (free!): http://at.zacks.com/?id=4311

Value - UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF)

UniFirst reported a record third quarter as the uniform manufacturing and laundry business remains hot. The company has surprised on estimates the last three quarters on average of 22.37%. UniFirst has a forward P/E of 14.07.

Zacks Guide to Value Investing (free!): http://at.zacks.com/?id=4312

How to Regularly Access Picks from the Zacks Rank Discovery for Free: http://at.zacks.com/?id=88

Underlying the four free stock picks is a simple truth that first appeared in a Financial Analysts Journal article published in 1979. Leonard Zacks, a Ph.D. in Mathematics from M.I.T. found that "earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." Zacks #1 Rank is awarded to a stock when analysts sharply upgrade their estimates of what the company will earn.

Today, Zacks is promoting its stock recommendations by offering four daily picks free to those who register at http://at.zacks.com/?id=88

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Len Zacks. The company continually processes stock reports issued by 3,000 analysts from 150 brokerage firms. It monitors more than 200,000 earnings estimates, looking for changes.

Then, when changes are discovered, they're applied to help assign more than 4,400 stocks into five Zacks Rank categories: #1 Strong Buy, #2 Buy, #3 Hold, #4 Sell, and #5 Strong Sell. This proprietary stock-picking system continues to outperform the market by a nearly 3-to-1 margin.

More Free Stock Picks

Each weekday, new Zacks #1 Rank or Zacks #2 Rank stock picks are released on the free email newsletter, Profit from the Pros. Investors are invited to register for their free subscription at http://at.zacks.com/?id=91

Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.

Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

SOURCE: Zacks.com

Zacks.com Aggressive Growth Stocks: Contact: Michael Vodicka Phone: 312-265-9226 or Growth & Income
   Stocks: Contact: Alex Kolb Phone: 312-265-9149 or Momentum Stocks: Contact: Michael Vodicka Phone: 312-265-9226 or Value Stocks:
   Contact: Tracey Ryniec Phone: 312-265-9232 Email: pr@zacks.com Visit: www.zacks.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008
   ********************************************************************** As of Monday, 07-07-2008 23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend�
   Alert, an automated pattern recognition system, indicated an UPTREND on 03-24-2008 for ACN @ $35.70. As of Monday, 07-07-2008
   23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend Alert, an automated pattern recognition system, indicated a DOWNTREND on 06-25-2008 for
   BG @ $108.92. As of Monday, 07-07-2008 23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend Alert, an automated pattern recognition system,
   indicated a DOWNTREND on 07-03-2008 for FRO @ $63.52. For more information on SmarTrend, contact your market data provider
   or go to www.mysmartrend.com SmarTrend is a registered trademark of Comtex News Network, Inc. Copyright � 2004-2008 Comtex
   News Network, Inc. All rights reserved.