Top Penny Stocks To Buy For 2020: December 2013

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Europe Stocks Advance a Fourth Week on Corporate Results

European stocks advanced for a fourth week as companies from BP Plc to Alcatel-Lucent SA posted results that exceeded estimates, while cooling inflation fueled speculation the European Central Bank may ease monetary policy.

BP posted its best week in 23 months after the oil producer increased its dividend. Alcatel-Lucent rallied 18 percent after predicting it will beat its cost-cutting targets this year and reporting a narrower-than-forecast quarterly loss. UBS AG (UBSN) dropped the most in almost two years after saying it may fail to reach its profitability goal until at least 2016.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.4 percent to 321.50 this week, extending its rally so far this year to 15 percent. The gauge climbed to a five-year high of 322.37 on Oct. 31, capping its second consecutive month of gains.

"With Europe moving out of a recession we're really in the moment of truth for earnings," said Didier Duret, who oversees about $222 billion as chief investment officer for ABN Amro Private Banking. "Inflation coming down substantially may trigger an ECB rate cut in the following meetings. This is also good for equities and is not yet fully priced into current expectations."

The euro had its biggest weekly loss since July 2012 after data this week showed euro-area inflation (ECCPEMUY) unexpectedly slowed and the jobless rate climbed to a record. "Any weakening of the euro will add momentum to European earnings," Duret said. "The risks are now more on the upside."

Falling Inflation

Inflation in the region fell to 0.7 percent in October, the lowest annual rate since November 2009 and below the ECB's target of 2 percent. Economists at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, UBS, and Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch unit project the central bank will cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.25 percent after its policy meeting next week. Still, 65 of 68 economists predict no change from 0.5 percent, estimates compiled by Bloomberg News show.

In the U.S., the Federal Open Market Committee maintained its monthly bond purchases at $85 billion this week and said that while it sees signs of strength in the economy, it will wait for more evidence of sustained improvement before slowing stimulus. U.S. reports showed industrial production unexpectedly increased in September, while business activity expanded in October at the fastest pace since March 2011.

The FOMC dropped its warning from last month that tighter financial conditions could impair the recovery. The odds for the Fed to start reducing bond purchases in January rose to 45 percent from 25 percent before the statement, Citigroup Inc. said. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg Oct. 17-18 predicted the Fed would wait until March to begin the cuts.

National Indexes

National benchmark indexes rose in 14 of the 18 western European markets this week. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 (UKX) advanced 0.2 percent, while Germany's DAX added 0.3 percent and France's CAC 40 gained less than 0.1 percent.

BP rallied 7.5 percent, its biggest weekly increase since December 2011, after raising its dividend by 5.6 percent to 9.5 cents a share as third-quarter profit slipped less than analysts had predicted. Europe's third-largest oil company also said it will sell a further $10 billion of assets by the end of 2015 and give most of the proceeds to shareholders, favoring buybacks.

Alcatel-Lucent jumped 18 percent, rebounding from its worst week since April, after reporting a net loss of 200 million euros ($270 million), compared with 316 million euros a year earlier and analyst predictions of 274 million euros. Spending cuts helped the French network-equipment maker save 259 million euros so far this year, putting it on course to exceed its full-year target for as much as 300 million euros in savings.

Nokia Jumps

Nokia Oyj, which in September agreed to sell its mobile-phone division to Microsoft Corp., increased 12 percent. The Finnish company predicted operating profit, excluding some costs, will be as high as 16 percent of sales at its network unit in the final quarter of 2013. That compares with 8.4 percent in the previous quarter.

Best Companies For 2014

BT Group Plc rose 5.4 percent after Britain's biggest fixed-line phone company reported a smaller-than-projected decline in profit as more than 2 million customers subscribed to its new BT Sport channels.

A gauge of telecommunications companies posted the best performance of the 19 industry groups on the Stoxx 600 this week, closing at its highest level in more than five years. Telecom Italia SpA led with a 6.2 percent increase.

UBS slid 7.7 percent. Switzerland's largest bank said its target of reaching 15 percent return on equity in 2015 will be delayed by at least a year unless the Swiss regulator removes its demand that the lender hold more capital for risks related to litigation.

Renault Slides

Renault SA fell 7.3 percent, after its partner, Nissan Motor Co., cut its full-year profit forecast by 15 percent because of slowing demand in emerging markets and mounting recall costs.

Viscofan SA (VIS) fell 9.6 percent, its largest weekly drop in more than five years, after saying it may miss its targets for 2013 because of weak currencies. The Spanish maker of sausage casings in July predicted annual net income of 107 million euros to 108 million euros and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of as much as 195 million euros.

Technip SA (TEC) sank 15 percent, its biggest weekly retreat in more than two years after third-quarter profit missed the average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg. The oilfield-services provider also cut full-year forecasts for the operating margin and sales at its subsea unit, meaning total sales will miss an earlier target of as much as 9.5 billion euros.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Best High Tech Companies To Own For 2014

There isn't much that the stock market dislikes more than uncertainty; and there are few pieces of legislation to have worked their way through Congress with more question marks than the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known also as Obamacare.

This health reform bill, which will greatly expand the number of insured individuals in the U.S. while also capping insurers' profits, is set to go into full effect in just under six months... or so we thought.

Source: White House on Flickr.

A crushing blow to the U.S. labor force
Having just this weekend examined the merits of whether the federal government was ready to handle the technological, staffing, and educational aspects of setting up the complex health insurance data center and leading 34 separate state health exchanges, we received what I consider to be devastating news last night from the White House. According to the Obama administration, it will be announcing later this week a postponement to the health care law requirements (known as the employer mandate) for medium-to-large business for one additional year, until Jan. 1, 2015.

Best High Tech Companies To Own For 2014: Midlands Minerals Corporation(MEX.V)

Midland Minerals Corporation, a junior exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties. It engages in the exploration of gold, precious metals, diamonds, and other resources in the continent of Africa. It has interests in Sian-Praso property, which covers an area of approximately 157 square kilometers located on the northwest of Accra, Ghana; and Kaniago property that consists of an area of approximately 25.5 square kilometers located on the Asankrangwa Gold Belt, Ghana. The company also has interests in Lwenge, Kishapu, Lalago, Vukene, and Itilima properties in the Lake Victoria Goldfields area in Tanzania; and Tamota, Mziha East, Ruanda, and Turian East properties in the Handeni area in Tanzania. Midlands Minerals Corporation is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Best High Tech Companies To Own For 2014: Valmont Industries Inc.(VMI)

Valmont Industries, Inc. produces and sells fabricated metal products, pole and tower structures, and mechanized irrigation systems in the United States and internationally. The company?s Engineered Infrastructure Products segment offers steel and aluminum poles and structures, to which lighting and traffic control fixtures are attached for applications in streets, highways, parking lots, sports stadiums, and commercial and residential developments; and roadway safety systems, including guard rail barrier systems, wire rope safety barriers, and crash attenuation barriers to redirect vehicles and to prevent collisions between vehicles. This segment also provides structures and components for the wireless communication market, as well as for the erection of infrastructure, industrial, and commercial access systems. Its Utility Support Structures segment offers tapered steel and pre-stressed concrete poles for high-voltage transmission lines, substations, and electrical dist ribution, as well as produces hybrid structures, which are structures with a concrete base section and steel upper sections. The company?s Coatings segment provides metal coating services, such as hot-dipped galvanizing, anodizing, powder coating, and e-coating. Its Irrigation segment offers mechanical irrigation equipment and related service parts under the Valley brand. The company also manufactures forged steel grinding media for the mining industry, tubular products for industrial customers, and electrolytic manganese dioxide for disposable batteries; and distributes industrial fasteners. It serves state and federal governments, contractors, utility and telecommunications companies, commercial lighting fixtures manufacturers, and large farms, as well as the general manufacturing sector. The company sells its products through direct sales force, independent and commissioned sales agents, and independent dealers. Valmont Industries, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headqua rtered in Omaha, Nebraska.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Ong Kang Wei]
The above snapshot shows the Glassdoor page for Valmont Industries (VMI), a company that I was looking into previously. I like looking at various metrics shown on the page, with its overall rating and what employees think of the CEO bearing the most significance to me. Other metrics I would advocate taking a look at are: What percentage of employees would recommend the job to a friend; and also how optimistic the employee is about the company's future (not shown in picture).
[By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Valmont Industries (NYSE: VMI ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
[By Monica Gerson]
Valmont Industries (NYSE: VMI) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $2.43 per share on revenue of $800.97 million.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $0.75 per share on revenue of $3.47 billion.
[By Jacob Roche]
Valmont Industries (NYSE: VMI ) reported impressive first-quarter earnings recently, with operating income rising 43% on strong sales and increasing margins. The growth in sales was largely due to the company's Utility Support Structures and Irrigation segments, which each had 25% sales growth.

Top 5 Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Imperial Tobacco (ITYBY.PK)

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (Imperial Tobacco), incorporated on August 6, 1996, is a tobacco company. Through the Company�� total tobacco portfolio it provides consumers a range of brands and products, including cigarettes, fine cut tobacco, cigars and snus. Its total tobacco portfolio includes fine cut tobacco, cigars, rolling papers and tubes. Its non-European Union (EU) markets consist of Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East and Asia and markets of the United States and Australasia. Its international cigarette brands include Davidoff, Gauloises Blondes and West. It offers services across the whole logistics value chain to its customers, including order reception, storage and stock management, order preparation, transport and distribution, invoicing and collection and customer services. Its business has two aspects: tobacco logistics and non-tobacco logistics. Imperial Tobacco comprises two distinct businesses: Tobacco and Logistics. The Tobacco business comprises the manufacture, marketing and sale of tobacco and tobacco-related products, including sales to (but not by) the Logistics business. The Logistics business comprises the distribution of tobacco products for tobacco product manufacturers, including Imperial Tobacco, as well as a range of non-tobacco products and services. The Logistics business is run on an operationally neutral basis.

Best High Tech Companies To Own For 2014: Sino Grandness Food Ind Gp Ltd (JS5.SI)

Sino Grandness Food Industry Group Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the production and sale of canned vegetables and fruits primarily in Europe, the United States, and the People�s Republic of China. The company offers canned asparagus, canned long beans, canned mushrooms, sweet corn, artichoke, and bamboo shoots; and fruits, such as lychees, pineapples, peaches, apricots, and mandarin oranges. It also provides bottled juices, including mixed-fruit and vegetable-fruit juices. The company sells its products through distributors and retailers. Sino Grandness Food Industry Group Limited was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, the People�s Republic of China.

Best High Tech Companies To Own For 2014: Hays(HAS.L)

Hays plc operates as a specialist recruitment company. It provides temporary and permanent placement recruitment services, including qualified, professional, and skilled recruitment to public- and private-sector markets. The company specializes in various areas, including accountancy and finance, construction and property, information technology, life sciences, sales and marketing, banking and capital markets, contact centers, education, engineering and manufacturing, executive, financial services, health and social care, human resources, legal, energy, oil and gas, office professionals, retail, purchasing, resources and mining, and telecom industries. It has operations in the United Kingdom, the Asia Pacific, continental Europe, and Latin America. Hays plc is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Best High Tech Companies To Own For 2014: Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc (TTNP)

Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated in February 1992, is a biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics primarily for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The Company is focused primarily on clinical development of products that include Probuphine for the treatment of opioid addiction; Iloperidone: for the treatment of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders, and Spheramine for the treatment of advanced Parkinson�� disease. Titan Pharmaceuticals is directly developing its product candidates and also utilizing corporate partnerships, including a collaboration with Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany (Bayer Schering) for the development of Spheramine to treat Parkinson�� disease, and Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Vanda) for the development of iloperidone for the treatment of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders.

Probuphine

Probuphine is the first product to utilize the Company�� ProNeura long-term drug delivery technology. Probuphine is designed to provide continuous, long-term therapeutic levels of the drug buprenorphine, an approved agent for the treatment of opioid addiction. In December 2007, the Company completed enrollment in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center Phase III clinical study of Probuphine in the treatment of opioid addiction. This 150 patient study, which is being conducted in the United States, will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of treatment with Probuphine versus placebo in reducing opioid addiction over 24 weeks of treatment. This study is part of a registration directed program intended to obtain marketing approval of Probuphine for the treatment of opioid addiction in Europe and the United States.

Iloperidone

Iloperidone was evaluated in a Phase III program comprising over 3,500 patients at more than 200 sites in 24 countries, administered and funded by Novartis Pharma AG (Novartis). In three completed efficacy studies conducted by Novartis, ilop! eridone statistically reduced the symptoms of schizophrenia compared to placebo. Iloperidone has also been investigated in three 12-month safety studies, which confirm safety and tolerability. A dose dependent increase in the Q-T Corrected (QTc) interval was observed and investigated further in a clinical study, and no clinically significant adverse events were observed. In September 2007, Vanda submitted a new drug application (NDA) with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for iloperidone. The NDA for iloperidone was officially accepted for review by the FDA in November 2007.

Spheramine

Spheramine is a cell-based therapeutic that utilizes the Company�� cell-coated microcarrier (CCM) technology, which enables the development of cell-based therapies for minimally invasive, site-specific delivery to the central nervous system of therapeutic factors precisely where they are needed. Spheramine consists of microcarriers coated with human retinal pigment epithelial cells that are intended to enhance brain levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter deficient in certain brain regions in Parkinson�� disease, leading to movement disorders. Preclinical studies have demonstrated the preliminary efficacy and safety of Spheramine, including blinded studies in a primate model of Parkinson�� disease. In June 2007, enrollment was completed in a current multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of Spheramine in Parkinson�� disease. This Phase IIb clinical study enrolled 71 patients with advanced Parkinson�� disease (Hoehn and Yahr Stages III and IV) to further evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of Spheramine.

Bayer Schering, the Company�� corporate partner for worldwide development and commercialization of Spheramine, is funding the clinical development program for Spheramine. Under an agreement, Bayer Schering has received exclusive, worldwide development, manufacturing and commercialization rights, and, in ad! dition to! the clinical and manufacturing development funding and milestone payments, Bayer Schering will pay Titan Pharmaceuticals a royalty on future product sales.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By CRWE]
Today, TTNP surged (+2.76%) up +0.018 at $.689 with 152,996 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 2:02PM EDT October 1, 2013).

Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. previously reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the request for a meeting to discuss Probuphine庐. The meeting is scheduled for November 19, 2013. The FDA has designated this as a Type C meeting and has requested the submission of briefing materials by October 7, 2013.

Best High Tech Companies To Own For 2014: Gresham Computing(GHT.L)

Gresham Computing plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides real time financial and software solutions to banks and corporates in the United Kingdom and internationally. Its solutions include Clareti Cash Reporting Software that gives banks real-time availability of cash transaction data; Clareti Virtual Accounts, a client money/cash management system, which enables true STP and real-time reconciliation of receipts into virtual accounts or sub-accounts, all linked to a real bank account; Clareti Integration, an integration product that provides managed connectivity, data transformation, and integration workflow functions in a single distributed architecture; and Clareti Supply Chain Finance, a payment and information service that manages the opposing forces of buyer creditor-days and supplier receivable-days. The company also offers Clareti Banking, a real-time solution for core banking operations, front office business functionality, and self-service banking systems; Clareti Lending, a Web-enabled loan and card origination solution; and Clareti Systems Management that enhances the data and operations management of Fujitsu Open VME systems. Gresham Computing plc was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Best High Tech Companies To Own For 2014: Tyco International Ltd.(Switzerland)

Tyco International Ltd. provides security products and services, fire protection and detection products and services, valves and controls, and other industrial products worldwide. The company?s Tyco Security Solutions segment designs, sells, installs, services, and monitors electronic security, productivity, and lifestyle enhancement systems for residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers. This segment also designs, manufactures, and sells security products, including intrusion, security, access control, electronic article surveillance, and video management systems. Its Tyco Fire Protection segment designs, manufactures, sells, installs, and services fire detection and fire suppression systems, and building and life safety products for commercial, industrial, and governmental customers. The company?s Tyco Flow Control segment designs, manufactures, sells, and services valves, pipes, fittings, valve automation, and heat tracing products for general proce ss, energy, and mining markets, as well as the water and wastewater markets. Tyco International Ltd. was founded in 1960 and is based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Is Verizon a Buy?

With shares of Verizon (NYSE:VZ) trading around $50, is VZ an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Verizon is a provider of communications, information and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses and governmental agencies. It operates in two primary segments: Verizon Wireless and Wireline. Verizon Wireless's communications products and services include wireless voice and data services and equipment sales, which are provided to consumer, business and government customers across the United States. Wireline's communications products and services include voice, Internet access, broadband video and data, Internet protocol network services, network access, long distance, and other services. As consumers and companies strive to communicate at increasing rates, Verizon stands to see a rising profits as a main provider. Look for rising communications, information, and entertainment to drive profits for Verizon.

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T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

Verizon stock has broken above a key price level that extended back to the early 2000s. The stock is now consolidating a bit so it may need a little time before it really gets going. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Verizon is trading around its rising key averages which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Verizon options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Verizon Options	22.56%	80%	79%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a very significant amount of call and put options contracts, as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
July Options	Steep	Average
August Options	Steep	Average

As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and high demand by put buyers or low demand by put sellers, all neutral to bearish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a very significant amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bearish over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Verizon’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Verizon look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3	2012 Q2
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	15.25%	-107.21%	14.29%	12.28%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	4.17%	5.66%	3.92%	3.69%
Earnings Reaction	2.76%	0.58%	2.37%	-2.94%

Verizon has seen increasing earnings and revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have been upbeat about Verizon’s recent earnings announcements.

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P = Excellent Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Verizon stock done relative to its peers, AT&T (NYSE:T), T-Mobile (NYSE:TMUS), Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S), and sector?

	Verizon	AT&T	T-Mobile	Sprint Nextel	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	15.65%	4.60%	23.99%	11.90%	15.82%

Verizon has been a relative performance leader, year-to-date.

Conclusion

Verizon provides communications products and services at growing rates to consumers and companies worldwide. The stock has recently broken above key price levels and is now consolidating so it may need time before it moves higher. Over the last four quarters, investors in the company have been upbeat as earnings and revenue figures have been improving. Relative to its peers and sector, Verizon has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for Verizon to continue to OUTPERFORM.

Monday, December 23, 2013

5 Stocks Insiders Love Right Now

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) – Corporate insiders sell their own companies' stock for a number of reasons.

>>5 Rocket Stocks to Buy for a Santa Claus Rally

They might need the cash for a big personal purchase such as a new house or yacht, or they might need the cash to fund a charity. Sometimes they sell as part of a planned selling program that they have put in place for diversification purposes, which allows them to sell stock in stages instead of selling all at one price.

Other times they sell because they think their stock is overvalued and the risk/reward is no longer attractive. Some even dump their own stock because they have inside knowledge that a competitor is eating their lunch and stealing market share.

But insiders usually buy their own shares for one reason: They think the stock is a bargain and has tremendous upside.

>>5 Stocks Poised for Breakouts

The key word in that last statement is "think." Just because a corporate insider thinks his or her stock is going to trade higher, that doesn't mean it will play out that way. Insiders can have all the conviction in the world that their stock is a buy, but if the market doesn't agree with them, the stock could end up going nowhere. Also, I say "usually" because sometimes insiders are loaned money by the company to buy their own stock. Those loans are often sweetheart deals and shouldn't be viewed as organic insider buying.

At the end of the day, its large institutional money managers running big mutual funds and hedge funds that drive stock prices, not insiders. That said, many of these savvy stock operators will follow insider buying activity when they agree with the insider that the stock is undervalued and has upside potential. This is why it's so important to always be monitoring insider activity, but it's twice as important to make sure the trend of the stock coincides with the insider buying.

>>5 Dividend Stocks Ready to Pay You More in 2014

Recently, a number of companies' corporate insiders have bought large amounts of stock. These insiders are finding some value in the market, which warrants a closer look at these stocks. Here's a look at several stocks that insiders have been doing some big buying in per SEC filings.

Starbucks

One stock that insides are active in here is Starbucks (SBUX), a roaster, marketer and retailer of coffee operating in 60 countries. Insiders are buying this stock into notable strength, since shares are up 45% so far in 2013.

>>4 Big Stocks on Traders' Radars

Starbucks has a market cap of $58 billion and an enterprise value of $56 billion. This stock trades at a reasonable valuation, with a forward price-to-earnings of 24.47. Its estimated growth rate for this year is 17.3%, and for next year it's pegged at 20%. This is a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $3.23 billion and its total debt is $1.30 billion. This stock currently sports a dividend yield of 1.3%.

A director just bought 7,000 shares, or $535,000 worth of stock, at $76.43 per share.

From a technical perspective, SBUX is currently trending above its 200-day moving average and just below its 50-day moving average, which is neutral trendwise. This stock has sold off recently with shares falling from its high of $82.37 to its recent low of $75.91 a share. During that selloff, shares of SBUX have been making mostly lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of SBUX have started to rebound off that $75.91 low and it's starting to move within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade.

If you're bullish on SBUX, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above some near-term support at $75.91 and then once breaks out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $78.50 a share to its 50-day moving average of $79.46 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 4.51 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then SBUX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its 52-week high at $82.50 a share. Any high-volume move above that level will then give SBUX a chance to tag $85 to $90 a share.

Occidental Petroleum

Another stock that insiders are jumping into here is Occidental Petroleum (OXY), which engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas properties in the United States and internationally. Insiders are buying this stock into solid strength, since shares are up 22% so far in 2013.

>>5 Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume

Occidental Petroleum has a market cap of $75 billion and an enterprise value of $78 billion. This stock trades at a reasonable valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 16.48 and a forward price-to-earnings of 12.93. Its estimated growth rate for this year is -0.60%, and for next year it's pegged at 2.8%. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $3.77 billion and its total debt is $7.56 billion. This stock currently sports a dividend yield of 2.8%.

A director just bought 5,000 shares, or about $456,000 worth of stock, at $91.32 per share.

From a technical perspective, OXY is currently trending above its 200-day moving average and just below its 50-day moving average, which is neutral trendwise. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last few weeks, with shares moving higher from its low of $90.13 to its intraday high of $93.88 a share. During that uptrend, shares of OXY have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of OXY within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade.

If you're in the bull camp on OXY, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above some near-term support levels at $93 or at $92, and then once it breaks out above its 50-day moving average of $95.01 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 3.64 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then OXY will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $97 to its 52-week high at $99.42 a share. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give OXY a chance to trend north of $100 a share.

Centene

Another stock that insiders are in love with here is Centene (CNC), which provides multiline health care programs and services in the U.S. Insiders are buying this stock into solid strength, since shares have spiked sharply higher so far in 2013 by 39%.

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

Centene has a market cap of $3.1 billion and an enterprise value of $2.79 billion. This stock trades at a cheap valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 27.02 and a forward price-to-earnings of 15.86. Its estimated growth rate for this year is 48.9%, and for next year it's pegged at 27.2%. This is a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $863.91 million and its total debt is $520.98 million.

A director just bought 17,600 shares, or about $992,000 worth of stock, at $56.41 per share.

From a technical perspective, CNC is currently trending above its 200-day moving average and just below its 50-day moving average, which is neutral trendwise. This stock has been trending sideways for the last two months, with shares moving between $54.12 on the downside and $62.13 on the upside. Shares of CNC are now starting to spike higher just above its 200-day moving average of $54.58 a share. That move is quickly pushing shares of CNC within range of triggering a big breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern.

If you're bullish on CNC, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above its 200-day at $54.58 or above more key support at $54.12, and then once it breaks out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $59.13 to $62.13 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 612,491 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CNC will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance level at its 52-week high of $67.84 a share. Any high-volume move above that level will then give CNC a chance to tag $70 to $75 a share.

Kinder Morgan

One oil and gas player that insiders are snapping up a huge amount of stock in here is Kinder Morgan (KMI), which owns and operates energy transportation and storage assets in the U.S. and Canada. Insiders are buying this stock into modest weakness, since shares are up just 1.1% during the last three months.

>>5 Big Trades for Post-Taper Gains

Kinder Morgan has a market cap of $36 billion and an enterprise value of $71 billion. This stock trades at a cheap valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 34.37 forward price-to-earnings of 24.22. Its estimated growth rate for this year is 40.8%, and for next year it's pegged at 113%. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $930 million and its total debt is a whopping $36.09 billion. This stock currently sports a dividend yield of 4.7%.

The CEO just bought 828,324 shares, or about $27.64 million worth of stock, at $33.05 to $33.86 per share.

From a technical perspective, KMI is currently trending above its 50-day moving average and just below its 200-day moving average, which is neutral trendwise. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last few weeks, with shares moving higher from its low of $32.30 to its intraday high of $35.77 a share. During that uptrend, shares of KMI have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of KMI within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

If you're bullish on KMI, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above its 50-day at $34.82 or above more near-term support at $33, and then once it breaks out above its 200-day at $36.57 a share to more key overhead resistance levels at $36.75 to $37.86 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 5.82 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then KMI will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $39.58 to $40.60, a share or even its 52-week high at $41.49 a share. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give KMI a chance to tag $45 a share.

NuStar Energy

One final name with some big insider buying is NuStar Energy (NS), which is engaged in the terminalling and storage of petroleum products, the transportation of petroleum products and anhydrous ammonia, and asphalt and fuels marketing. Insiders are buying this stock into decent strength, since shares are up 19% so far in 2013.

NuStar Energy has a market cap of $3.9 billion and an enterprise value of $6.3 billion. This stock trades at a premium valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 110.61 and a forward price-to-earnings of 27.18. Its estimated growth rate for this year is 46.6, and for next year it's pegged at 73.8%. This is a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $24.52 million and its total debt is $2.47 billion. This stock currently sports a dividend yield of 8.8%.

A director just bought 102,100 shares, or about $5 million worth of stock, at $49 per share.

From a technical perspective, NS is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last three months and change, with shares soaring higher from its low of $35.25 to its recent high of $53.69 a share. During that move, shares of NS have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action.

If you're bullish on NS, then look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above some near-term support at $48.01 or above its 50-day at $46.67 a share, and then once it breaks out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $51.08 to $53.69 a share and above its 52-week high at $54.95 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 589,697 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then NS will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory above $54.95, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $60 to $65 a share.

To see more stocks with notable insider buying, check out the Stocks With Big Insider Buying portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Cisco to Acquire Composite Software

Highlighting the continued importance of data virtualization, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO ) announced this morning it would acquire privately held Composite Software, a data virtualization software and services specialist, for approximately $180 million in cash and retention-based incentives.

By consolidating the data in a simplified view, Composite's software helps businesses quickly integrate and analyze data and workflow across platforms, taking into account the cloud, as well as big data. This allows businesses to make better, more informed decisions in real time. Through this connection, companies can better leverage their network knowledge and programmability, maximizing the benefits of data virtualization, because it appears as if it's all in one place.

Cisco President and COO Gary Moore said: "By combining our network expertise with the performance of Cisco's unified computing system and Composite's software, we will provide customers with instant access to data analysis for greater business intelligence."

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Upon completion of the acquisition, Composite will be operated under Cisco's services platforms group and its integration brokerage technology group. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal year 2014.

Cisco's shares are down 0.6% to $24.54 in early morning trading.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Boeing Unveils New BBJ 3 Business Jet

Boeing (NYSE: BA ) unveiled its newest business jet, the BBJ 3, Wednesday, putting it on display at the 2013 European Business Aviation Conference in Geneva.

The BBJ 3, built in partnership with General Electric (NYSE: GE ) , is based on Boeing's 737-900ER design, but outfitted with a luxury interior. In the configuration shown off in Switzerland, it's designed to carry 38 passengers, along with a crew of eight. So far, seven of the planes are on order by Boeing's customers.

Touting the airplane's attributes, Boeing said the BBJ 3 is able to fly 4,900 nautical miles straight without refueling, which is 1,500 miles farther than its closest Airbus competitor, the ACJ. According to Boeing, this extra range is a key selling point for the BBJ 3. To date, the company says its BBJ line of business jets outsells Airbus seven to one.

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The plane's price is said to run anywhere from $75 million to $90 million apiece, which is less than the advertised list price on the 737-900ER commercial jet from which it's derived. That may say more about the amount that Boeing's commercial jets are discounted from list price than it does about the price customers actually pay for the BBJ 3, however.

Best Casino Companies For 2014

I don't know about you, but I've done some pretty dumb things with my own money. In my younger days I gambled in Las Vegas casinos and lost money, and more recently I've made some pretty poor stock purchasing decisions by buying into clearly questionable companies and ignoring the tell-tale warning signs that were present.

But the great thing about each and every failure is that it's a learning lesson meant to keep us from making the same mistakes over and over again. Clearly, I'm going to make mistakes going forward, but the ultimate goal should be to profit from those mistakes so they become fewer and more far between.

The reason I even bring my own personal money mistakes up is that data released a few days ago by Thompson Reuters' Lipper research service shows that $43 billion was removed from U.S. mutual funds in the previous week. It's quite plausible that the majority of these withdrawals had to do with the possibility of a debt default, which was thankfully avoided, but it also represents the biggest investment outflow we've witnessed in more than two years. With the S&P 500 near an all-time record high, it's evident that investor uncertainty and skepticism could be boiling over.

Best Casino Companies For 2014: Penn National Gaming Inc.(PENN)

Penn National Gaming, Inc. and its subsidiaries own and manage gaming and pari-mutuel properties in the United States. It operates approximately 27,000 gaming machines; 500 table games; and 2,000 hotel rooms in 23 facilities in 16 jurisdictions, including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ontario. The company was formerly known as PNRC Corp. and changed its name to Penn National Gaming, Inc. in 1994. Penn National Gaming, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Paul Ausick]
Stocks on the Move: BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) is down 16.4% at $6.50 after announcing that no buyout bid will be forthcoming. Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) is down 76.7% at $13.75 after spinning-off its real-estate holdings into a REIT. Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) is up 15.5% at $1.53 following the acquisition of its major operations in Wuxi.
[By Roberto Pedone]

Penn National Gaming (PENN) is a diversified, multi-jurisdictional owner and manager of gaming and pari-mutuel properties. This stock closed up 1.4% at $56.13 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 1.11 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 824,334

Volume % Change: 73%

From a technical perspective, PENN jumped modestly higher here right above some near-term support at $54.71 with above-average volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of PENN within range of triggering a breakout trade. That trade will hit if PENN manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance at $57.44 to some past resistance at $58 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in PENN as long as it's trending above Monday's low $55.65 or above more support at $54.71 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that this near or above 824,334 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then PENN will set up to re-test or possibly take out its 52-week high at $59.93. Any high-volume move above $59.93 will then give PENN a chance to hit $65.

Best Casino Companies For 2014: Boyd Gaming Corporation(BYD)

Boyd Gaming Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-jurisdictional gaming company in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the company owned and operated 1,042,787 square feet of casino space, containing approximately 25,973 slot machines, 655 table games, and 11,418 hotel rooms. It also owned and operated 16 gaming entertainment properties located in Nevada, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and New Jersey. In addition, the company owns and operates a pari-mutuel jai-alai facility located in Dania Beach, Florida, as well as a travel agency in Hawaii. Further, it holds a 50% controlling interest in the limited liability company that operates Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Boyd Gaming Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By M. Joy, Hayes]
Industry trends
Other businesses in the industry also have copious related-party transactions. In particular, founder-led businesses Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN ) and Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD ) �reported a large number of such transactions in their 2013 proxies, including employment of relatives, employee use of company services, and employee use of company-owned property. MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM ) , on the other hand, didn't have to report any related-party transactions in its 2013 proxy.
[By Dan Caplinger]
The real question is whether Zynga can hold off experienced casino operators if online gambling becomes a reality. Already, alliances are forming, with Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD ) and MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM ) having linked up with bwin.party -- the same company Zynga tapped for its real-money Zynga Poker -- to help Boyd take advantage of newly legal online gambling in New Jersey. Zynga has the obvious edge with its social savvy, but established casino companies will have huge incentives to defend their turf if Zynga starts to make a serious dent in the industry.
[By Travis Hoium]
What: Shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD ) jumped 10% today after the company got an analyst upgrade.

So what: Morgan Stanley upgraded shares to overweight today, and gave the stock a $12 price target. The analyst cited the potential for online gaming as the driver of the stock, potentially bringing as much revenue to the industry as Las Vegas and Atlantic City combined. �
[By Dan Caplinger]
MGM has built a history of being the odd player out in many of the most lucrative opportunities in the gaming industry. In Macau, the company is stuck in the slower-growth area of the Asian gaming destination. In Las Vegas, the new CityCenter area in the mid-Strip has watered down MGM's opportunities and has created another potential barrier for patrons coming from the northern end of the Strip to its namesake MGM Grand property. And in New Jersey, where online gaming has boosted prospects for Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR ) and Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD ) , MGM has no exposure.

5 Best Tech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: MGM Resorts International(MGM)

MGM Resorts International, through its subsidiaries, primarily owns and operates casino resorts in the United States. The company?s resorts offer gaming, hotel, dining, entertainment, retail, and other resort amenities. It also owns and operates golf courses and a golf club. As of December 31, 2010, the company owned and operated 15 properties located in Nevada, Mississippi, and Michigan; and has 50% investments in 4 other casino resorts in Nevada, Illinois, and Macau. In addition, MGM Resorts International has an agreement with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns and operates a casino resort in Connecticut, to carry the ?MGM Grand? brand name. The company was formerly known as MGM MIRAGE and changed its name to MGM Resorts International in June 2010. MGM Resorts International was founded in 1986 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Travis Hoium]
The recovery in Las Vegas is gaining steam, and after 6.4% growth in May and 4.3% growth over the past year, the gaming companies there have some room to breathe. MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM ) and Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR ) have the most to gain, but Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN ) and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS ) will benefit as well. In the following video, gaming analyst Travis Hoium covers who will benefit the most from Las Vegas' growth and one stock to stay away from.�
[By Travis Hoium]
Las Vegas is on a comeback and MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM ) will benefit from its growth, but this isn't the only opportunity for the company. A new resort on Cotai and the potential for online gaming in the U.S. make this an attractive stock in the gaming market. Gaming analyst Travis Hoium goes over the company's biggest opportunities in the video below.�

Best Casino Companies For 2014: Wynn Resorts Limited(WYNN)

Wynn Resorts, Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, ownership, and operation of destination casino resorts. The company owns and operates Wynn Las Vegas casino resort in Las Vegas, which includes approximately 22 food and beverage outlets comprising 5 dining restaurants; 2 nightclubs; 1 spa and salon; 1 Ferrari and Maserati automobile dealership; wedding chapels; an 18-hole golf course; meeting space; and foot retail promenade featuring boutiques. Wynn Las Vegas casino resort also features approximately 147 table games, 1 baccarat salon, private VIP gaming rooms, 1 poker room, 1,842 slot machines, and 1 race and sports book. It also owns and operates an Encore at Wynn Las Vegas resort, a destination casino resort located adjacent to Wynn Las Vegas that features a 2,034 all-suite hotel, as well as a casino with 95 table games, 1 sky casino, 1 baccarat salon, private VIP gaming rooms, and 778 slot machines. In addition, the company operates Wyn n Macau casino resort located in the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People?s Republic of China. Wynn Macau casino resort features approximately 595 hotel rooms and suites, 410 table games, 935 slot machines, 1 poker room, 1 sky casino, 6 restaurants, 1 spa and salon, lounges, meeting facilities, and retail space featuring boutiques. Further, it operates Encore at Wynn Macau resort located adjacent to Wynn Macau. Encore at Wynn Macau resort features approximately 410 luxury suites and 4 villas, as well as casino gaming space, including a sky casino consisting of 60 table games and 80 slot machines, 2 restaurants, 1 luxury spa, and retail space. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Roberto Pedone]
One gambling player that's starting to move within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade is Wynn Resorts (WYNN), a developer, owner and operator of destination casino resorts. This stock has been trending hot so far in 2013, with shares up 24%.

If you look at the chart for Wynn Resorts, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong for the last two months, with shares moving higher from its low of $120.96 to its intraday high of $140.82 a share. During that uptrend, shares of WYNN have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. Shares of WYNN have been consolidating for the last few weeks, moving between just below $137 to just above $140 a share. A high-volume move above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern could trigger a big breakout trade for shares of WYNN.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in WYNN if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $140.82 to its 52-week high at $144.99 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 1.30 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then WYNN will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $160 to $165 a share, or even $170 a share.

Traders can look to buy WYNN off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day moving average of $132.51 a share. One can also buy WYNN off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Best Casino Companies For 2014: Umax Group Corp (UMAX)

Umax Group Corp., incorporated on March 21, 2011, is a development-stage company. The Company focuses to develop and distribute its product to the arcade and entertainment industry. The Company�� products include Rocket Launch, is Strength testing game which allows players to test their pushing/ throwing strength; Space Hockey, is a two player hockey game - each player must score as many as possible goals and Boxer, is a Simple punch testing game: insert coin/token/bill, press start button, hit the punch bag, wait for result, and try to beat opponent�� score or high score.

As of April 30, 2013, the Company had no revenues. The Company has developed its business plan, and executed exclusive distribution contract GEO a private enterprise, where it engages GEO as an independent contractor for the specific purpose of developing, manufacturing and supplying games for the Company.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

ORCL – Oracle Stock Is Cheap, But for Good Reason

Oracle (ORCL) reports earnings after the bell today. And while shares of ORCL have been bumped slightly higher in today’s trading, it’s far from certain that the climb will continue following Oracle earnings.

oracle-stock-orcl-stock-larry-ellison Year-to-date, ORCL stock has been subpar, tallying a mere 2% gain. And that’s despite some momentum in recent months; Oracle stock actually has been barely beating the broader market from its July low until mid-December.

For the coming second-quarter report, analysts expect Oracle earnings of 67 cents per share on revenue on $9.19 billion. That ORCL sales number represents a small nudge higher, while the earnings estimate translates to a so-so 5% improvement.

Together, both translate to more reasons to stay away from Oracle stock.

ORCL Stock Is Struggling

One thing that simply has to be noted when talking about Oracle stock: It’s downright cheap. Shares of ORCL are currently trading for a forward P/E of 11, which is right in line with the 11% earnings growth expected long-term. And if you back out the billions of cash Oracle has on its balance sheet, that ratio drops down to 8.

Not too shabby, especially when the broader market has posted a killer 2013, making lots of big names expensive.

But Oracle stock has been battered down to bargain levels for good reason. Oracle has missed sales expectations for the last three quarters. In fact, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison lost more than $3 billion of his personal wealth in one day after a sales drop was reported in March.

What’s even more concerning is the fact that Cisco (CSCO) — another tech bellwether — recently cut its growth targets, citing trouble in emerging markets. That same headwind could easily weigh on ORCL stock … and in a way, it already has been. Since the Cisco news broke, Oracle stock has fallen around 3%.

Besides, even though Wall Street analysts remain generally optimistic about ORCL stock, consensus estimates translate to mere 9% upside. Meanwhile, RBC Capital Markets recently downgraded Oracle stock to “sector perform” from “outperform” and lowered its price target slightly. That came on the heels of a downgrade from Morgan Stanley the month prior.

What Could Jump-Start Oracle Stock

According to Business Insider, though, there could be more than just shrug-worthly quarterly numbers coming out of today’s Oracle earnings report. Wall Street analyst Pat Walravens — the director of technology research for JMP Securities — told Julie Bort about some things that could be in the works at ORCL.

The first: A potential reorganization of the company’s U.S. salesforce (although this may not be announced publicly). Of course, this would be a reorg of a reorg. Remember, Oracle President Mark Hurd began overhauling the salesforce a couple years back, and with mixed results. See (also according to Business Insider), lots of Oracle employees began quitting because the environment was too cut-throat.

The other big announcement, which would absolutely be shouted publicly, is a potential big agreement with Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). This is especially notable considering ORCL recently struck an agreement with another rival: Salesforce.com (CRM).

Until more details — and the right details — are announced, though, there’s little reason to believe ORCL stock will just suddenly get into gear.

As of this writing, Robert Martin did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Jim O'Neill - Don't Worry So Much About Tapering

Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Buy Right Now

Jim O'Neill thinks that by now the market will not be surprised when the Fed starts to taper.

His point: Tapering is all people have been talking about for a year. This is not going to be a surprise.

When tapering does start he expects it will be done very slowly and very carefully. He does not foresee an immediate bear market for bonds like was experienced in 1994.

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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Self-employed are facing a retirement crisis

Many of us have dreams of leaving the 9-to-5 grind and working for ourselves. And since the 2008 financial crisis, many have done it — even if some didn't really have a choice.

But many of these budding entrepreneurs, and even the people who have owned their businesses for years, are part of a growing problem: They aren't saving for retirement.

TD Ameritrade's Self-Employment and Retirement Survey found that 40% of the self-employed are not saving regularly for retirement, and 28% are not saving at all. The problem plagued all age groups: 29% of Generation X and 32% of Generation Y who were self-employed are not saving for retirement.

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Also, 83% of self-employed who said they are saving for retirement said that at some point they needed to stop or cut back on their savings due to various obstacles.

"I think it's a huge problem," says Michael Piershale, president of Piershale Financial Group in Crystal Lake, Ill. Most small-business owners aren't knowledgeable about retirement, because they focus on their business at the expense of everything else, he says. "For the first few years, it's nip and tuck. They are human resources, the accounting department, marketing department, IT department."

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But entrepreneurs need to balance between investing in the business today and investing in their future financial well-being, says Lule Demmissie, managing director of retirement at TD Ameritrade. "When you're self-employed, the temptation is to think that the business will grow enough that you won't need to save today," Demmissie says. "But, you don't know when the next payout is coming, and you also don't want to forfeit the power of tax-free compounded growth in vehicles like an IRA. Having a re! tirement plan in place with regular saving is doubly important."

Lynn Mayabb, managing director of BKD Wealth Advisors in Kansas City, Mo., said saving for retirement is an issue for the self-employed because many don't realize that there are retirement plans available to them. "We let them know they can set up their own individual 401(K) or SEP IRA. There are many types of plans they can use to defer income."

Piershale agrees. He says when he sits down with clients who own their own businesses, many are not aware of their options or the tax benefits of retirement accounts.

"Often they invest all their profit back in their business," he says. "They look at it as an alternative to a company retirement plan that might be invested in stocks or bonds. But the big danger is if your business s goes under, you would have only Social Security."

He says the first thing he does for his clients is run a retirement cash flow analysis on financial planning software. That will determine how much money they will need for retirement to live the kind of lifestyle they want. And if they plan on funding their retirement with the sale of their business, he often cautions them.

"In the best-case scenario I tell them to assume no more than half of their income will come from their business," he says. "Then we run a conservative calculation. I always tell them your business is your highest-risk asset. A lot of times familiarity breeds overconfidence."

Some advice for entrepreneurs who need to either get started or catch up on their retirement savings plans.

1. "First thing is to find a way to save systematically," says Patrick Strubbe, founder of Preservation Specialists in Columbia, S.C. and author of Save Your Retirement. "Most employees have 401(k)s. The self-employed don't have that. We encourage them to do some kind of automatic deduction into some type of savings plan."

2. Get help if you need it, says Lena Haas, senior vice president for long-term investing and retireme! nt at E-T! rade Financial. "Fortunately, most self-employed retirement plans are easy to start up, inexpensive to run, and simple to manage. Take advantage of the support tools and services available to help narrow down your options and select the plan that best meets your needs."

3. Figure out what type of plan works best for you, says Haas. "Review your business situation and the amount you can contribute each month to determine the right type of plan that meets your circumstance," says Haas. "Some plans offer loan features, so there are options available to get funds if you have a setback. And consider the increased contribution amounts, or 'catch-ups' if you are age 50 or older, which are available in several retirement plans today."

4. Reduce debt. "A lot of our clients have aspired to bigger and more expensive lifestyles as they get closer to retirement, says Strubbe. "They need to realize it's time to tighten that up. A lot of our clients start downsizing their homes. It could take a big burden of income needs in retirement."

"Sometimes it's hard," says Strubbe. "Some of the self-employed are scraping to make it by every day. Some think if they haven't saved a million dollars, a planner isn't going to make time for them. But everyone needs the opportunity to get some advice."

Monday, December 16, 2013

'Great rotation' of bonds to stocks flawed: Bernstein

Bloomberg News

The idea of a “great rotation” from bonds to stocks is flawed and investors expecting that shift to boost equity prices may be disappointed, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

“A rotation mental model may stem from incomplete notions of supply, demand, pricing and flows in capital markets,” Luke Montgomery, an analyst at the New York-based firm covering asset managers, wrote Friday in a note to clients.

Montgomery cited misconceptions over what happens when one investment type appears to win favor at the expense of another, saying there's no automatic correlation between the migration of money and asset prices. He also disputed the notion that individual investors are holding less in stocks than they have historically, supposedly setting up a major shift.

Investment analysts have been debating whether a major move from bonds to stocks, coined the great rotation by Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts in a January 2011 research report, is under way. Michael Hartnett, BofA Merrill Lynch's chief investment strategist in New York, wrote in an Aug. 15 note that the thesis has moved from controversial to consensus, joining analysts from UBS AG and Credit Suisse Group AG in recommending investment approaches based on the idea. Strategists from HSBC Holdings Plc, Deutsche Bank AG and Jupiter Investment Management Plc. disputed the rotation.

In Friday's report, Mr. Montgomery questioned how much of a rotation can occur and what its impact would be. He took aim at the argument that high levels of bank deposits and bond mutual fund assets created by the U.S. Federal Reserve's stimulus efforts might suddenly pour into stocks.

'WIDER RANGE'

“While quantitative easing floods investors with liquid financial assets and can inflate other asset values, this does not mean deposits in aggregate then become a latent source of funds for risk assets,” Mr. Montgomery wrote.

What's more, he said, bonds can drop in value without money flowing into other assets.

“Wealth destruction in bonds can be an independent event - - bond wealth can simply evaporate and need not be offset by wealth created in equities, or any other asset class,” he wrote. “Once the rate hike cycle begins, there is a far wider range of possibilities for the future market values of (and allocations to) cash, bonds, and equities than may be envisioned by the great rotation mental model.”

U.S. investors pulled $165 billion from equity mutual funds in the three years ended Sept. 30, according to data compiled by the Investment Company Institute in Washington. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index of U.S. stocks, which lost more than half its value in the 2007-2009 financial crisis, rose 57% in

Sunday, December 15, 2013

GigaMedia Q4 Loss Narrows, But Revenues Slip

GigaMedia (NASDAQ: GIGM ) results for the company's fiscal Q4 and 2012 have been released. For the quarter, revenue was $4.8 million, down by 34% from the $7.4 million in the same period the previous year. Attributable net loss, however, narrowed considerably to $15.4 million ($0.30 per diluted share) from Q4 2011's shortfall of $51.3 million ($1.01).

For the full year, top line was $27.5 million, a 20% drop from 2011's $34.4 million. As with the quarterly result, net loss contracted over that time frame, landing at $15.3 million ($0.30 per diluted share) for the year against the 2011 result of $71.2 million ($1.32).

GigaMedia also provided selected forward guidance. For its current Q1 2013, revenues are expected to further erode, by 10%-15% on a quarter-over-quarter basis, with gross margin coming in at roughly 56%. On the other hand, the company anticipates "significant decreases" in operating expenses and thus net loss compared to Q4 2012.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Apartment rents will keep rising next year

Higher rents are ahead next year for the nation's apartment dwellers but some cities will see smaller bumps than in recent years, market researchers say.

Rents will increase 3.1% nationally next year, about the same as this year, forecasts apartment market researcher Axiometrics.

Meanwhile, researcher Reis sees rents rising an average of 3.3% in 2014.

Tight supply and rising demand are still the key issues.

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"The construction pipeline really closed during the recession. We're still clawing our way back," says Ryan Severino, Reis chief economist.

Cities that have seen some of the sharpest increases will see rents rise a little more slowly next year, says Jay Denton, Axiometrics vice president of research.

Since the end of 2009, rents have soared 43% in San Francisco, including an 8% jump this year, Denton's data shows.

Next year, they'll go up 5.1% given still strong demand and limited new supply.

Seattle, which posted a 6.5% hike this year, will rise 4.4% next year. Austin, Texas, up 5.2% this year, will go up 3.7%

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Construction has been uneven across the country. Some major metros that have led the way in new construction are now at risk of having an oversupply of apartments.

Washington D.C. "has probably already gone over that cliff," Denton says. Rents there will fall 2.5% next year, Axiometrics predicts.

Austin has also seen a lot of construction. "It'll be difficult to raise rents there," Severino says.

Nationwide, almost 230,000 new apartments will be added to the supply next year, Axiometrics says. That's up from 170,000 this year and only 87,000 last year.

Any slowdown in rent increases will be good news for renters.

Half of all U.S. renters paid more than 30% of their income for rent — a traditional measure of affordability — in 2010, up 12 percentage points from a decade earlier, accord! ing to a recent study from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Apartment rents have risen every year since 2010, market data shows.

Meanwhile, the share of Americans who rent grew from 31% in 2004 to 35% in 2012, the study says, driven in part by the foreclosure crisis.

Trevor Coccimiglio, 24, is looking to rent a room in a shared house in San Francisco for less than $1,200 a month. That's about what his dad pays to rent an entire house in suburban Salt Lake City.

"That's just the cost," says Coccimiglio, who's taken a new investment banking job.

He recently looked at a $900-a-month room in a 3-bedroom, 864-square-foot apartment. The parking space costs $75 extra per month.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Twitter nixes changes to blocking feature

Twitter reversed course on changes to its blocking functionality that many users complained would leave the service more prone to abuse.

When a user blocks someone on Twitter, it prevents them from following or messaging that user, as well as add that account to their lists.

A change introduced yesterday by Twitter would have turned block into essentially a mute button, where users could remove their tweets from their Timeline, but the blocked user could still follow that user and reply to messages.

"We have decided to revert the change after receiving feedback from many users," said Michael Sippey, Twitter's vice president of product, in a blog post. "We never want to introduce features at the cost of users feeling less safe."

The changes caused an uproar on Twitter, highlighted by the trending hashtag #restoretheblock, raising worries that the move would make it easier for users to abuse and harass others.

Twitter continues to defend the revised block function, citing concerns blocked users could retaliate. "Some users worry just as much about post-blocking retaliation as they do about pre-blocking abuse," says Sippey.

He also says Twitter will continue to "explore features" to prevent abuse on the site.

Shares of Twitter are up 1.3% at $56.07 in morning trading.

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @bam923.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In 2014

LONDON -- The FTSE 100 (FTSEINDICES: ^FTSE ) set a 13-year high of 6,876 points on May 22, and since then it's been lurching from euphoria to panic on a regular basis, with 100-point swings becoming a near-daily occurrence. But at least things are a little quieter today, with the U.K.'s top-tier index up a relaxed 25 points, or 0.38%, to 6,652 as of 8:30 a.m. EDT.

A number of top companies have also been bouncing around their record share prices. Here are three toying with their peaks today.

BP (LSE: BP ) (NYSE: BP )
The BP share price has been hovering around a 52-week high of 485 pence all week. It's at 481 pence as I write, having approached 482 pence again around mid-morning. And over the past 12 months, BP shares have gained about 21% as panic from the Gulf of Mexico disaster subsides.

But after such a rise, what's the current valuation like? Well, with current forecasts for the year to December 2013 suggesting a 35% rise in earnings per share to about 54 pence, that puts the shares on a price-to-earnings ratio of less than nine. And though there is still some uncertainty surrounding the final cost of the oil spill cleanup, that looks cheap to me -- especially with a well-covered dividend yield of about 5% being predicted.

Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In 2014: Alliance Holdings GP L.P.(AHGP)

Alliance Holdings GP, L.P., through its subsidiaries, produces and markets coal primarily to utilities and industrial users in the United States. It produces a range of steam coal with varying sulfur and heat contents. The company operates nine underground mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, and West Virginia. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 697.4 million tons of proven and probable coal reserves in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. In addition, the company leases land; and operates a coal loading terminal, with a capacity of 8.0 million tons with ground storage of approximately 60,000 to 70,000 tons, on the Ohio River at Mt. Vernon, Indiana. Further, it engages in purchasing and selling coal; and providing services, including ash and scrubber sludge removal, coal yard maintenance, and arranging alternate transportation services. Alliance GP, LLC, serves as the general partner of the company. Allian ce Holdings GP, L.P. is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Alliance Holdings GP (Nasdaq: AHGP ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In 2014: S&P GSCI(GD)

General Dynamics Corporation, an aerospace and defense company, provides business aviation; combat vehicles, weapons systems, and munitions; military and commercial shipbuilding; and communications and information technology products and services worldwide. Its Aerospace group designs, manufactures, and outfits various large and mid-cabin business-jet aircraft; provides maintenance, repair work, fixed-based operations, and aircraft management services; and performs aircraft completions for aircraft. The company?s Combat Systems group offers tracked and wheeled military vehicles, weapons systems, and munitions. Its product lines include wheeled combat and tactical vehicles; battle tanks and infantry vehicles; munitions and propellant; rockets and gun systems; and axle and drivetrain components and aftermarket parts. This group also manufactures and supplies engineered axles, suspensions, and brakes for heavy-load vehicles for military and commercial customers. The company Advisors' Opinion:

[By Rich Smith]
General Dynamics (NYSE: GD ) �won a $67.4 million Pentagon contract Thursday, the Pentagon has just confirmed. Curiously, though, the General Dynamics division that won the award may soon not exist -- at least not independently.
[By Rich Smith]
The Department of Defense awarded more than $961 million worth of contracts to a total of 17 awardees on Thursday. Notable awards to publicly traded companies included:
[By Rich Smith]
General Dynamics has a fighting chance�
A funny thing happened on the way to President Obama's 2014 budget proposal. Somehow, someway, a budget that was supposed to cut $41 billion in defense spending under sequestation actually reduced requested spending by less than $4 billion from 2012 levels. This development has one analyst -- Drexel Hamilton -- thinking things might not turn out so badly for defense contractors like General Dynamics (NYSE: GD ) after all.

Hot High Tech Companies To Watch For 2014: First Busey Corporation(BUSE)

First Busey Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Busey Bank that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services to individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental customers in the United States. It accepts noninterest-bearing demand, interest-bearing transaction, savings, money market, and time deposits. The company?s loan portfolio includes commercial, agricultural, and real estate loans; individual, consumer, installment, first mortgage, and second mortgage loans; and commercial real estate, residential real estate, and consumer loans. It also provides money transfer, safe deposit, fiduciary, automated banking, and automated fund transfer services. In addition, the company provides asset management, brokerage, and fiduciary services, including financial planning, investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, and trust and estate advisory services to individuals; investment management, business succession planning, an d employee retirement plan services to businesses; and investment management, investment strategy consulting, and fiduciary services to foundations. Further, it offers pay processing solutions, such as walk-in payments processing for payments delivered by customers to retail pay agents; online bill payment solutions for payments made by customers on a billing company?s Website; customer service payments for payments accepted over the telephone; direct debit services; electronic concentration of payments delivered by the automated clearing house network; money management software and credit card networks; and lockbox remittance processing of payments delivered by mail. The company has 33 locations in Illinois, 7 locations in southwest Florida, and 1 location in Indianapolis, Indiana. First Busey Corporation was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois.

Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In 2014: Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.(FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. engages in the exploration, mining, and production of mineral resources. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and cobalt. It holds interests in various properties, located in North and South America; the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; and the Tenke Fungurume minerals district in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s consolidated recoverable proven and probable reserves totaled 120.5 billion pounds of copper, 35.5 million ounces of gold, 3.39 billion pounds of molybdenum, 325.0 million ounces of silver, and 0.75 billion pounds of cobalt. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Paul Ausick]
That doesn�� mean that the world�� largest copper producers are in immediate danger. Even with the production increase, Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO) and BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) currently receive about 50% more for their copper production than they spend to mine it according to Macquarie. Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) gets nearly 80% of its annual revenue from copper and its shares are down more than 15% in the past 12 months.
[By Taylor Muckerman]
The market has not been kind to gold miners or gold investors in 2013. With prices finally crossing back above $1,300 per ounce this week, will the miners' quarterly reports add to the momentum? Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX ) will kick things off on Tuesday, July 23, followed by much larger gold-producing peers Goldcorp (NYSE: GG ) and Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM ) .
[By Reuters]
Richard Drew/APA board overlooking the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows an intraday number above 1,600 for the S&P 500 on Friday. A big gain in the job market lifted the stock market to a record high. NEW YORK -- The Dow and S&P 500 advanced to all-time closing highs on Friday, with major indexes jumping 1 percent after an unexpectedly strong April jobs report eased concerns about an economic slowdown. The S&P closed above 1,600 and the Dow briefly traded above 15,000 for the first time as stocks extended this year's rally. Bellwether companies, including Chevron Corp. (CVX), Boeing Co. (BA) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), reached 52-week highs. The Russell 2000 stock index of mid- and small cap companies also hit a record, confirming the broadness of the rally. About 70 percent of stocks on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq ended in positive territory. Non-farm payrolls rose by 165,000 last month and the unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent, a four-year low, from 7.6 percent, the government said. In addition, hiring was much stronger than previously thought in February and March. Investors welcomed the gains after weeks of disappointing data, including tepid manufacturing reports, that suggested the economic recovery was losing steam. "We were all wringing our hands over the past month but this alleviates fears about a sharp spring slowdown," said Brad Sorensen, director of market and sector analysis at Charles Schwab in Denver. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) was up 140.61 points, or 0.95 percent, at 14,972.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^GSPC) was up 16.63 points, or 1.04 percent, at 1,614.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMPX) was up 38.01 points, or 1.14 percent, at 3,378.63. Both the Dow and S&P ended at all-time closing highs. For the week, the Dow rose 1.8, the S&P gained 2 percent and the Nasdaq rose 3 percent in its biggest weekly climb since the first week of the year. Sectors ti

Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In 2014: Hewlett-Packard Company(HPQ)

Hewlett-Packard Company and its subsidiaries provide products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers and small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), as well as to the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. Its Personal Systems Group segment offers commercial personal computers (PCs), consumer PCs, workstations, calculators and other related accessories, and software and services for the commercial and consumer markets. The company?s Services segment provides consulting, outsourcing, and technology services to infrastructure, applications, and business process domains. Its Imaging and Printing Group segment provides consumer and commercial printer hardware, supplies, media, and scanning devices, such as inkjet and Web solutions, laser jet and enterprise solutions, managed enterprise solutions, graphics solutions, and printer supplies. The company?s Enterprise Servers, Storage, and Networking segment offers industry standard s ervers, business critical systems, storage platforms, and networking products, including switches, routers, wireless LAN, and TippingPoint network security products. Its HP Software segment provides enterprise IT management software, information management solutions, and security intelligence/risk management solutions. The company?s HP Financial Services segment offers leasing, financing, utility programs, and asset recovery services; and financial asset management services for enterprise customers, as well as specialized financial services to SMBs, and educational and governmental entities. Hewlett-Packard Company also provides business intelligence solutions that enable businesses to standardize on consistent data management schemes, connect and share data across the enterprise, and apply analytics, as well as licenses its specific technology to third parties. The company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Namitha Jagadeesh]
Tiffany & Co. (TIF), the world�� second-largest luxury jewelry retailer, and personal-computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) are among companies scheduled to report quarterly earnings today.

Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In 2014: Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc.(WEN)

The Wendy's Company operates as a quick-service hamburger company in the United States. The company, through its subsidiary, Wendy's International, Inc., operates as a franchisor of the Wendy's restaurant system. As of December 26, 2011, the Wendy's system comprised approximately 6,500 franchise and company restaurants in the United States and the United States territories, as well as in 26 other countries worldwide. The company was formerly known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc. and changed its name to The Wendy's Company in July 2011. The Wendy's Company was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Nicole Seghetti]
Interestingly, Chipotle's selling, general, and administrative expenses (which include advertising spend) come in at less than 7% of revenues. Compare that with a whopping 26% for Burger King Worldwide (NYSE: BKW ) , 12% for Wendy's (NASDAQ: WEN ) , 11% for Yum! Brands, and 8% for McDonald's. Chipotle proves that a trimmed-down SG&A as a percentage of revenues can be quite effective, especially when you boast a competitive advantage like differentiation through focus on quality.