Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD – Analyst Report) reported third quarter fiscal 2011 EPS of $1.46, versus $1.17 in the year-earlier quarter and matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.46.

The results exclude a 4-cent gain in discontinued operations recognizing a tax benefit from the sale of the company’s U.S. healthcare operations in 2009.

Net sales amounted to $2.6 billion, versus $2.3 billion in the prior-year quarter, moving ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.5 billion. The improved results were mainly driven by higher volumes in the Electronics and Performance Materials and Tonnage Gases segments.

The company witnessed strong volume growth across a number of businesses mainly in the Asia Merchant business and the energy and electronics markets.

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Though no clear compromise over the debt ceiling is in sight, markets were strong today as companies continued to trend of beating earnings expectations. Morgan Stanley (MS) experienced a smaller loss, and larger gain in revenue, than investors were expecting. On the other hand, it has become clear that demand in the economy has softened up as the second half of the year has begun. In corporate news, Google (GOOG) broke its previous records in spending on lobbying, at more than $2 million for Q2 2011.

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The bulls were behind the 8-ball for much of Mondays session as there was no follow-through from Fridays pop to help offset the ongoing U.S. an

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As the DOW comes roaring back today to the tune of +125 points, investors are looking for some over-sold bargain stocks.

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD) is looking like a great play right now, having dropped about 30% since June.

Both Intel and AMD are seen benefitting from higher corporate spending, which is a positive for both PC and server chip sales. But some analysts are also watching for signs of a slowdown given the global economic uncertainty.

Mastery Bottom Line:

There’s not much else to say about AMD, other than share look over-sold and could be a solid short term play.

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