In This Issue:
• Keep Your Eye on Earnings - Despite the tug of lofty oil prices and higher short-term interest rates, earnings of U.S. corporations keep rising.
• In the Limelight
• STARS Status - Changes in S&P analysts' STARS rankings for May 2 through May 6.
• Hospital Stocks on the Mend - We recently upgraded our opinion of the health care facilities industry because we think the group's fundamentals are improving.
• Attractive Industry Leaders - We think the companies profiled here are comfortably ahead of the competition, and we expect their stocks to outperform.
• For Bond Investing, Keep It Short - Standard & Poor's Investment Policy Committee advocates a 25% allocation to fixed-income instruments, but recommends short- to intermediate-term bonds only. Here's why.
• Liz Claiborne Fashions an Empire - This apparel company has been building a stable of brands and an array of retail concepts, and we think the strategy is paying off.
• S&P Sector Scorecard Some of the Companies Featured:
Ansys Inc.,
SRA International
Macerich Co.
Time Warner
Carnival Corp.
McDonald's Corp.
Pitney Bowes Inc.
Thomas & Betts Corp.
Liz Claiborne Inc.
Triad Hospitals
Community Health Systems
HCA Inc.
Kindred Healthcare
Lifepoint Hospitals
United Surgical Partners
Universal Health Services | 
