Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks Features Whole Food Markets, Estee Lauder, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Electronic Arts, and UnumProvident

Business Wire, May 4, 2006

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the May 4 edition of Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks are Whole Food Markets (NASDAQ:WFMI), Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL), Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX), Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS), and UnumProvident (NYSE:UNM). Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks is just one of the many free market commentaries written everyday at www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. For additional information about this report or to have it delivered to you free via email every day click on the following link. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PRSHS12M&PAGE=1 .

E[acute accent]Schaeffer's S&P 500 Index Hot Stocks for Wednesday, May 3, 2006:

E[acute accent]A daily feature available on SchaeffersResearch.com is the "SPX Hot Stocks" column. Each afternoon, we will provide a list of the day's top-20 performing stocks in the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,313.27) as well as the bottom-20 names. Featured along with this table will be news that is moving some of the securities. E[acute accent]NOTE: Stocks trading under $5 per share have been eliminated from this listing of the top-20 and bottom-20 performing stocks. E[acute accent]A combination of strong retail numbers and a sizeable drop in crude prices has U.S. stocks higher on the day. Currently, the SPX is nearly six points higher on the day, logging a gain of 0.45 percent. Sixty-nine percent of SPX components currently rest on higher ground. E[acute accent]Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFMI) finds itself atop the SPX today, after reporting second-quarter earnings of 36 cents per share, topping the consensus estimate for 35 cents per share. The company attributed its quarterly profit to strong sales and increasingly profitable new stores, which offset this year's late Easter. The firm also reported an 11.9-percent increase in same-store sales. Finally, WFMI execs noted that, if current trends continue, same-store sales should grow 10 to 12 percent, higher than its previous forecast for eight to 11 percent growth. WFMI is more than 11 percent higher as we head into the final hour of the trading day. E[acute accent]In the second spot today is Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL). The cosmetics and fragrance manufacturer announced third-quarter, ex-items earnings of 29 cents per share. Excluding a "special" restructuring charge of 15 cents per share from its cost savings plan, EL earned 44 cents per share. The makeup maker also reported revenue of $1.58 billion. According to Thomson First Call, the consensus expected earnings of 39 cents per share on sales of $1.57 billion. EL is more than six percent higher on the day. E[acute accent]Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX), enjoyed a nice day, thanks to copper futures. FCX is more than five percent higher today, as copper futures added more than five percent to close at a record level. Copper investors are taking heart in the belief that copper's prices are justified by the current state of strong demand and tight supplies. E[acute accent]I guess a gain wasn't in the game today. Yesterday afternoon, Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) reported a fourth-quarter loss of five cents per share as its tax bill increased more than 13-fold. Excluding the tax bill and restructuring costs, ERTS would have earned 14 cents per share, topping the Street's expectation for nine cents per share. So why the drop? ERTS estimated that it will lose between 36 and 42 cents per share in the current quarter. Excluding certain charges, ERTS expects to lose between 22 and 28 cents per share. Quarterly sales were forecast between $300 million and $340 million. Both of these figures are short of the Street's forecast for a loss of 19 cents per share on sales of $411.9 million. ERTS has lost more than 11 percent in today's trading action. E[acute accent]Finally, we have UnumProvident (NYSE:UNM) and its loss of more than eight percent. Yesterday, UNM reported first-quarter earnings of 23 cents per share. A regulatory charge cut the profit to 17 cents per share. The company then forecast 2006 earnings between $1.65 and $1.70 per share, down from its previous forecast of $1.75 to $1.80 per share.

E[acute accent]Click the following link to see a Chart of the SPX 500 Index's Top-20 Percentage Gainers: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=15937 .

E[acute accent]Click the following link to see a Chart of the SPX 500 Index's Top-20 Percentage Losers: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=15937 .

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E[acute accent]About Schaeffer's Investment Research (www.SchaeffersResearch.com)

E[acute accent]Schaeffer's Investment Research, founded by Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, is a financial information and trading resources company. It publishes Bernie Schaeffer's Option Advisor, the nation's leading options subscription newsletter. The firm's contrarian approach focuses on stocks with technical and fundamental trends that run counter to investor expectations. The firm's website, http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com , is recognized as one of the leading information sources for stock and options traders and was cited as the top options website by both Forbes and Barron's. Click here for more details about Schaeffer's trading methodology: http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com/method .