The new list of Unusual Suspects for stocks to watch this coming week is out.  How can you pick out just over ten stocks to watch in the week ahead after the debacle we saw this last week?  Carefully… There is only one of the preview stocks the week ahead based on earnings.  The new cast of characters in this week’s Unusual Suspects includes American International Group Inc (NYSE: AIG), Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU), BP plc (NYSE: BP), Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), DragonWave Inc. (NASDAQ: DRWI), General Growth Properties, Inc. (NYSE: GGP), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), iShares Dow Jones US Aerospace & Defense (NYSE: ITA), Medifast Inc. (NYSE: MED), Rock of Ages Corp. (NASDAQ: ROAC), and SIRIUS XM Radio Inc (NASDAQ: SIRI).

American International Group Inc (NYSE: AIG) closed up on Friday because of its earnings report actually showing income.  More importantly, reports over the weekend in the U.K. put Prudential plc putting up a fund of over 1 billion pounds as a financial backstop for FSA regulatory and compliance concerns over its capitalization.  While that is arbitrary news here in the U.S., that would likely allow the insurer to buy AIG’s Asian operations that were put on hold because the FSA delayed its $20 billion rights offering to pay for the $35.5 billion purchase.

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) has not gotten the normal attention you would expect, but on May 12 (Wednesday) the Chinese search giant will reflect its upcoming 10-for-1 ADS split.  Around $640, this one is down from a high of $718.00.

BP plc (NYSE: BP) and Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) did not get the resolution over the weekend for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill at the Deepwater Horizon.  Gas hydrates, a crystal-like material, formed at the top where the oil was supposed to exit.  In the flip-side of this, it now appears after the interviews came out that a methane bubble coming up the line and being ignited by a spark may be responsible for the explosion and ultimate sinking of the rig.  If so, these two may face less liability than if this was due to negligence.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) reports this coming Wednesday.  For technology earnings, this will be the biggie of the week.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.39 EPS on $10.23 billion in revenues.  At $24.71, shares are trading down about 11% from the 52-week highs of $27.74.

DragonWave Inc. (NASDAQ: DRWI) was one of the worst performers Friday with a drop of close to 25%.  The earnings report showed that the Clearwire business (80% of revenue) is close to coming to an end of the first phase of its network.  That will mean substantially lower revenue, even though this should have been a known event.  This $6.01 close on Friday is the lowest closing price since mid-September before its quasi-IPO where it went from OTC to full NASDAQ listing.

General Growth Properties, Inc. (NYSE: GGP) is going to Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (NYSE: BAM) rather than to Simon Property (NYSE: SPG).  This deal is close to $5.00 less than the “last and final $20.00 per share offer” from Simon, which is why shares closed down 11% at $14.07 Friday.  Sometimes pride takes precedent over money, but sometimes that pride is the basis for shareholder lawsuits as well.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) was rumored to be talking to the SEC over last week and Lloyd Blankfein at the shareholder meeting was far more confident than many might have considered.  Blankfein even discussed possibly raising the dividend.  He did not sound like a CEO about to depart.  To add to the drama, Goldman common stock closed up about 0.5% on Friday and that will have traders buzzing about…

iShares Dow Jones US Aerospace & Defense (NYSE: ITA) ETF may be one to watch as shares closed down 2.85% on Friday and at $54.46 and are down only about 11% from 52-week highs.  A very long article in the WSJ over the weekend outlines Defense Secretary Robert Gates showing specifically how military and defense spending cuts are necessary in the new economy and how multi-billion advanced systems purchases are not needed in today’s world.  That will put some real growth caps on major defense companies which are its key components (General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrup Grumman and more).

Medifast Inc. (NYSE: MED) remained the #1 pick on the IBD 100 as “first quarter earnings and sales were above expectations.”  What is interesting is that this one closed down 6.6% at $30.38 on Friday, down from the $31.92 close on the Friday before.  The $32.55 close on Thursday appears to have cinched the pole position, although it is questionable as to why it was #1 again.

Rock of Ages Corp. (NASDAQ: ROAC) is so small that it often sees ZERO TRADES some days.  But after the bell on Friday its CEO and brother proposed a management buyout to take the company private at $4.38 for a 30% buyout premium.  The 52-week range is $1.77 to $3.88, and shares were up about 20% around $4.00 in the after-hours session.

SIRIUS XM Radio Inc (NASDAQ: SIRI) did on Thursday and Friday what many investors were hoping would not be seen again; it broke the buck.  Shares went under $1.00 on both days, but fortunately did not close under the $1.00 mark.  What this will do is continue to have many talk about that pending and potential reverse stock split.  Barron’s even brought that up over the weekend.

Barron’s “Bear Scare” cover story noted, “Try not to get rattled by the market rout. Instead, here’s a chance to shop for stocks.”

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JON C. OGG

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