Top Penny Stocks To Buy For 2020: May 2014

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Hot Quality Stocks To Watch For 2015

Hot Quality Stocks To Watch For 2015: Superconductor Technologies Inc.(SCON)

Superconductor Technologies Inc. engages in the development and production of high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials and associated technologies worldwide. The company is leveraging its technologies, including HTS materials and cryogenics, to develop second generation (2G) HTS wire for power applications. Its HTS-based products play a role in emerging power generation, conversion, and distribution applications by enhancing grid reliability and efficiency. The company?s flagship wireless product, SuperLink, combines a specialized filter using patented HTS technology with a proprietary cryogenic cooler and a low-noise amplifier. Its commercial product offerings include SuperLink, a receiver front-end HTS wireless filter system that eliminates out-of-band interference for wireless base stations; AmpLink, a ground-mounted unit for wireless base stations that includes a high-performance amplifier and up to six dual duplexers; and SuperPlex, a multiplexer that provide s low insertion loss and cross-band isolation. The company also grants the U.S. government a royalty-free, non-exclusive, and nontransferable license to use its intellectual property. It sells its products primarily to wireless carriers through direct sales force in the United States, as well as through indirect channels internationally. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Bryan Murphy]
Just for the record, Superconductor Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCON) isn't over the hump yet. But, given the likelihood that it could get over the hump with little to no fanfare, now's the time to put SCON on your radar.
[By Bryan Murphy]
A week and a half ago, not to mention a couple of months ago, I suggested Superconductor Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCON) was a budding bullish play worthy of your attention. I get the suspicion that w! hile more than a handful of traders read my take, the vast majority of the people who read that commentary weren't as impressed with (SCON) as I was. That's fine. Yet, being a diehard - and perhaps being a glutton for punishment - this is one of those trading ideas I can't let go of, mostly because Superconductor Technologies refuse to give up. Thing is, the stock's given me some new bullish fodder to use since the last look back on January 6th.
[By Bryan Murphy]
It's not the kind of thing anybody would have expected to hear, or read, five months ago, but Superconductor Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCON) is close to becoming one of the market's best bullish short-term bets. Yes, we're talking about the same Superconductor Technologies that plunged from $2.57 to $1.66 in August - hitting new lows in the process - on news that the company was issuing $12 million worth of new stock... right in front of news that SCON booked another significant quarterly loss. By November, the disaster's final tally was officially recorded - an 82% plunge in the prior quarter's revenue for SCON. As they say though, nothing lasts forever. That includes a malaise that can hold a stock down. Indeed, it's looking like SCON is about to make an explosive move higher.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/hot-quality-stocks-to-watch-for-2015.html

Friday, May 30, 2014

Hot Healthcare Technology Stocks To Own Right Now

Hot Healthcare Technology Stocks To Own Right Now: Emera Inc (EMRAF.PK)

Emera Incorporated (Emera) is an energy and services company. The Company invests in electricity generation, transmission and distribution, gas transmission and utility energy services. As of December 31, 2011, its subsidiaries include Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI), an integrated electric utility and the primary electricity supplier in Nova Scotia; Bangor Hydro Electric Company (Bangor Hydro) and Maine Public Service Company (MPS), (a wholly owned subsidiary of Maine and Maritimes Corporation (MAM)), which together provide transmission and distribution services, and Emera Brunswick Pipeline Company Limited (Brunswick Pipeline). In December 2011, its subsidiary, Emera Utility Services Inc. acquired utility line and communications construction, installation and maintenance business of Green's Service Station Ltd. In November 2013, the Company purchased three combined-cycle natural gas-fired electricity generating facilities in New England from Capital Power Corporation. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Markus Aarnio]
3. Emera Incorporated (EMRAF.PK) engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity to various customers. Emera's strategic energy services and infrastructure include electric utilities in the Northeastern US, Atlantic Canada, St. Lucia, Grand Bahama and Barbados, a pumped storage hydro-electric facility, natural gas pipelines, a gas-fired power plant, an energy services company and a renewable tidal energy company.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/hot-healthcare-technology-stocks-to-own-right-now.html

5 Best Valued Stocks For 2015

5 Best Valued Stocks For 2015: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, ! Texas .

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Aaron Levitt]
With a variety of oil stocks reporting full-year 2013 earnings, unconventional assets are the gifts that keep on giving for the oil service trio of Halliburton (HAL), Baker Hughes (BHI) and Schlumberger (SLB).
[By John Kell]
Schlumberger Ltd.(SLB) reported its fourth-quarter income rose a bigger-than-expected 22% as oil-field services revenue jumped in the Middle East and Asia. Shares edged up 1.3% to $89.79 premarket.
[By DAILYFINANCE]
Alamy HOUSTON -- Halliburton says it lost $18 million in the first quarter, pulled down by $637 million in charges related to its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. But it made money if unusual items are excluded, beating Wall Street expectations. The oil services company's loss amounted to 2 cents a share. That compares with net income of $627 million, or 68 cents a share, a year earlier. Halliburton Co. (HAL), which is in talks to settle claims against it related to the oil spill, said that excluding the charges it posted adjusted earnings of 67 cents a share. That beat the 57 cents that analysts expected. The Houston company, which provides a variety of services for the petroleum industry, is benefiting from a boom in U.S. oil production, which is at the highest level in more than two decades. At the same time, Halliburton's natural gas business has slowed as drillers slowed production due to falling prices for the fuel. Revenue rose slightly to $6.97 billion from $6.87 billion. Analysts expected $6.88 billion. Halliburton shares jumped $1.44, or 3.9 percent, to $38.65 in premarket trading an hour before the market opening. Halliburton is the biggest provider of oil field services in North America, including hydraulic fracturing, a technology that has helped unlock large supplies of oil and natural gas from shale rock formations in the U.S. North American revenue fell 11 percent to $3.71 billion, while operating income tu! mbled 43 ! percent to $605 million. Dave Lesar, the company's chairman, president and CEO, said a drop in Halliburton's rig count and pricing pressures in North America were more than offset by the company's growing international business. International revenue increased 21 percent from a year ago. For the full year, Halliburton still expects total international revenue growth in the "low teens," he said. Rival Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB), which has a larger international business, said Friday that its revenue climbed in region

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/5-best-valued-stocks-for-2015.html

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Costco earnings up, but not enough for Wall St.

Costco Wholesale net income rose 3% in the third-quarter as the warehouse club operator's sales and membership fees improved.

A key sales figure rose both in the U.S. and abroad, but its earnings fell short of Wall Street expectations. Its shares slipped in pre-market trading Thursday.

Costco's stores offer members the ability to buy items in bulk at low prices.

Net income for the 12 weeks ended May 11 rose 3% to $473 million, or $1.07 per share. That compares with net income $459 million, or $1.04 per share. Analysts expected $1.09 per share, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 7% to $25.79 billion from $24.08 billion last year. Analysts expected $25.68 billion.

Revenue in stores open at least one year rose 5% in the U.S. and 3% internationally. Excluding gas prices and foreign currency fluctuation, the figure rose 6% in the U.S. and 8% internationally.

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Costco, based in Issaquah, Wash., operates 655 warehouses, including 464 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 87 in Canada, 33 in Mexico, 25 in the United Kingdom, 19 in Japan, 10 in Taiwan, 10 in Korea, six in Australia, and one in Spain.

Its shares were trading between $112.85 and $113.80 ahead of market opening today, down from the previous day's close of $113.87.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Americans Worry About Finances, but Just 1 in 3 Work With Advisor

Americans say their financial health is a top priority, yet only a minority work with a financial advisor or have a financial plan, a recent poll funded by Northwestern Mutual finds. Plus, some 60% say their financial planning needs improvement.

Of the roughly 2,100 Americans surveyed earlier this year, 43% say their physical health is their most important concern, while 38% say their personal financial situation is a “top priority.” (These priorities come in ahead of the desire to spend time with family and friends, 31%, and focus on their careers, 15%.)

Despite these responses, 66% of those surveyed do not have a financial plan in place. Of the 31% of adults that say they have financial plans, slightly more than half developed such plans with a financial advisor. Furthermore, only three out of every 10 adults is working with a financial advisor, the survey says.

"People recognize the need for improvement, yet most are choosing to make important financial decisions entirely on their own," said Greg Oberland, president of Northwestern Mutual in a statement about the group’s 2014 Planning and Progress Study.

"In the same way that most people wouldn't hesitate to see a doctor, or even work with a personal trainer, we believe more Americans need to see their finances in a similar light,” Oberland explained. “While finance is obviously different than health, both are highly complicated and have long-term implications. As a result, expert advisors are critical."

Of the roughly 30% of adults working with advisors, the majority, nearly 70%, consider themselves disciplined planners and feel “very financially secure.”

Adults who are 60 and older are three times as likely as those ages 18 to 29 to use an advisor: 41% versus 13%, the poll shows. In addition, individuals with $100,000 or more of investable assets are three times more likely to be working with an advisor than others.

According to the study, a large majority of American adults, 70%, think the U.S. economy will experience future crises, and that a financial plan can help them weather the ups and downs, 52%. Only two in five, though, believe their financial plans can withstand market cycles.

"Remember that financial planning is not a 'set-it-and-forget-it' exercise, and while it's encouraging that many Americans are engaged on a regular basis, I'm hopeful those numbers will increase as more people see the benefits of a disciplined approach to long-term planning," Oberland added.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

This Is the Job Market the Fed Faces: Healing, but Still Unwell

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Inside A Job Fair As Weekly Jobless Figures Are Released Getty Images WASHINGTON -- Just how sturdy is the U.S. job market? That's the key question the Federal Reserve will face when it decides later this month whether to reduce its economic stimulus. The answer depends on where you look. The economy has added jobs for 35 straight months. Unemployment has reached a 4½-year low of 7.3 percent. Layoffs are dwindling. Yet other barometers of the job market point to chronic weakness: The pace of hiring remains tepid. Job growth is concentrated in lower-paying industries. The economy is 1.9 million jobs shy of its pre-recession level -- and that's not counting the additional jobs needed to meet population growth. Nearly 4.3 million people have been unemployed for at least six months. What's more, employers have little incentive to raise pay. Many unhappy employees have nowhere else to go. Still, when it meets Sept. 17-18, the Fed is expected to reduce its $85 billion a month in bond purchases by perhaps $10 billion. Its purchases have helped keep home-loan and other borrowing rates low to try to encourage consumers and businesses to borrow and spend more. Here's a look at the job market's vital signs as the Fed's decision nears: Unemployment The unemployment rate slid in August to 7.3 percent, its lowest level since December 2008. Unemployment had peaked in October 2009 at 10 percent and has since fallen more or less steadily. Since then, the number of people who say they have jobs has risen by 5.7 million. And the number of those who say they're unemployed has dropped by nearly 4.1 million. That's the good news behind the tumbling unemployment rate. But the rate has been falling, in part, for a bad reason: People are dropping out of the labor force. Once people without a job stop looking for one, the government no longer counts them as unemployed. Some are retiring. Some are young adults who have chosen to go to college rather than brave a tough job market. Some have gone on disability. And some have given up the job search, discouraged by repeated rejections. The percentage of people either working or looking for work -- the so-called labor force participation rate -- fell last month to a 35-year low: 63.2 percent. If the participation rate were at the pre-recession level of 66 percent, up to 6.8 million more people could be counted as unemployed. And the unemployment rate could be as high as 11.2 percent. The 4 million-plus Americans who have been unemployed for six months or more are down from a peak of 6.7 million in April 2010. Yet before 2009, the United States had never seen long-term unemployment surpass 2.9 million, even during the deep recessions of the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has called long-term unemployment a "national crisis" that's causing workers to lose skills. Job Creation Since the Great Recession officially ended in June 2009, the American economy has added nearly 5.6 million jobs. Yet that hasn't been nearly enough to fill the hole left by the recession. The United States still has 1.9 million fewer jobs than the 138 million it had when the recession officially began in December 2007. If hiring continued at August's 169,000-job monthly pace, the job market wouldn't return to pre-recession levels for almost another year. And that's before taking population growth into account. Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the liberal Economic Policy Institute, calculates that the U.S. job market is 8.3 million jobs short of where it needs to be to keep up with a growing population and reduce unemployment to pre-recession levels. But job creation seems to be slowing. From January through April this year, employers added a robust 205,000 jobs a month. In the four months since, they've added only 155,000. "Job gains are just not good enough," says Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. Low-Quality Jobs The jobs the economy is generating this year have tended to be low-paying, part-time or both. More than 654,000 -- or 45 percent -- of the 1.44 million jobs added this year come from three generally low-paying industries: department stores and other retailers; hotels and restaurants; and temporary services. And nearly 60 percent of the jobs added this year have been part-time, though economists caution that the part-time employment figures are volatile. The lower quality of the available jobs is one reason pay has stagnated. The average hourly earnings of private-sector employers haven't kept up with inflation since the end of the recession. "More and more, America's jobs are not supporting America's families," said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, which advocates on behalf of low-wage workers. Layoffs and Hiring The American labor market is divided between haves and have-nots. If you have a job, your position is safer than it's been in years. If you don't have one and aren't willing to settle for lower-wage work, the job search can be brutal. Layoffs are averaging just over 1.6 million a month this year through June. That means the United States this year is on pace to have the fewest layoffs in Labor Department records dating to 2001. The drop in layoffs has sharply reduced the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits. Over the past month, weekly applications have fallen to their lowest level since October 2007 -- two months before the official start of the recession. Yet while companies aren't cutting many jobs, they're in no hurry to hire, either. Total hiring has averaged 4.3 million people a month through June this year, before subtracting those who quit, retired or were laid off, the Labor Department says. That's 1 million fewer than the 5.3 million monthly average in the pre-recession year of 2006. For every available job, there are three unemployed people -- up from an average of just 1.8 before the recession. Job seekers can testify to how competitive the market is. Kelly Kloster, 23, was hoping to land a job -- any job -- in the film industry after she graduated with a degree in cinema and media arts from Southern California's Biola University in May. She sent out 100 resumes -- and heard back from one potential employer. After a grueling interview process, she didn't get the job. "I thought I got my degree so that I could get a job right out of college," she said by email. Michael Magnum, 28, graduated from the University of Utah in May 2010 with a degree in finance. Unable to land a job as a financial analyst, he worked for a couple of years as a photographer. When he started looking again for a job in finance, he endured six more months of rejections and "dead-end interviews." Eventually, he found work with a mortgage lender -- for about 40 percent less than the $40,000 starting salary he'd been counting on.

Forget Starbucks: This Coffee Stock Is Better

"One dollar for a cup of coffee -- they are out of their minds!" my frugal, land-speculating grandfather said when we stopped at the local corner gas station on the way to visit one of his properties.

Having lived through the Great Depression, he was convinced that coffee shouldn't cost more than a quarter a cup. A book could be filled with his assorted old-timer economic beliefs -- such as the $5 union-rate haircut -- but I'll never forget his reaction to the $1 cup of coffee.

I wish he would have lived to see the rise of Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) and its $6 cups of coffee. He would have certainly had a few choice words for people like myself who patronize the wildly popular high-end coffee emporium.

Not only did Starbucks change the way coffee is viewed, but the company has made its investors wealthy. Shares have tripled in value to around $75 over the past three years. This success has spawned a variety of copycat operations. Some of these are established companies that have added gourmet coffee products to their existing lines; others are regional startups.

One Starbucks-influenced company that morphed into a gourmet coffee profit-making machine is none other than the once humble Dunkin' Brands (Nasdaq: DNKN).



	Flickr/Paul Downey
	Although the Dunkin' Donuts brand has been around since 1950, Dunkin' Brands is relatively young as a public company.

I was pleasantly surprised that a Dunkin' Donuts I recently visited in South Carolina offered free Wi-Fi, a lounge area full of leather chairs, a variety of coffee flavors, sandwiches and, of course, donuts that are vastly superior to Starbucks' offerings. During my travels recently, I have noticed Dunkin' Donuts sprouting up in the same general areas as established Starbucks locations. This strategy resembles Burger King's (NYSE: BKW) pursuit of McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) locations.

I think my grandfather would still believe the prices at Dunkin' Donuts are too high, but Dunkin's prices are lower than Starbucks. This lower price point, combined with the wide variety of quality products and coffees, provides a strong incentive for many consumers to favor Dunkin' Donuts over Starbucks. This is particularly true when the stores are as comfortable as the newly opened location I recently visited.

I like how Dunkin' Donuts is operated, its business ideas, and the quality of the products -- not to mention the fact that its stock is up nearly 30% this year.

Dunkin' Brands is close to being a 100% franchised business. This means the owners of the 10,400 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in more than 60 nations (and almost 7,000 Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlors, which Dunkin' Brands also franchises) provide the capital for the brand's expansion.



	Flickr/renaissancechambara
	Dunkin' Donuts has morphed into a gourmet coffee profit-making machine.

This transferring of the expansion costs to the individual franchise owner is a brilliant and powerful means of growth. When compared to Starbucks company-owned and -financed store concept, the expansion potential is clearly on Dunkin' Brands' side. While Starbucks' market cap of more than $53 billion dwarfs Dunkin' Brands' less than $5 billion, the innovative nature of Dunkin' Brands should close this gap over time.

Although the Dunkin' Donuts brand has been around since 1950, Dunkin' Brands is relatively young as a public company. In 2006, a group of private equity firms purchased the company, and an initial public offering followed in 2011.

In the second quarter, earnings per share (EPS) rocketed 24% higher from the same period a year earlier, and revenue rose by nearly 6%. Perhaps more importantly, domestic same-store sales increased 4% for Dunkin' Donuts and 2.6% for Baskin-Robbins during the same time.

This is a powerful tell on the future direction of the company. It shows that consumers are willing to purchase more products at a higher price point, which will drive the bottom line higher.

The company also recently initiated a dividend. Although nothing spectacular, the dividend is currently yielding 1.8% and was increased from last year, which may be the start of regular annual increases. Another positive move is Dunkin' Brands' repurchase of 400,000 shares of common stock; management has another $33 million available for additional buybacks.

Risks to Consider: The gourmet coffee craze may not last forever. Consumers are fickle, and tastes change. There is also fierce competition in the space with even the fast-food giant McDonald's vying for a piece of the action. Always use stops and position size properly when investing.

Action to Take --> Price has pulled back to the 50-day simple moving average setting up a strong value buy zone opportunity. Buying now in the $43 range with stops at $42 and a 12-month target of $48 makes solid investment sense.

P.S. -- Wouldn't you like to know about the next Starbucks before the rest of the public? Or how about the next Coke or Pepsi? Turns out there's another beverage company that's growing profits 12 times faster than Coke and 60 times faster than Pepsi. Click here to get the name of this stock now before the herd catches on.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Will This Idea From Amazon Prove Beneficial for Investors?

Recently Amazon (AMZN) announced that the company is expanding its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service to Los Angeles. The service, which has existed for a few years solely in Seattle, carries an annual fee of $299 and free shipping on qualified orders. Amazon has been slow to expand the service, learning from the mistakes of failed grocery delivery companies of the past. Amazon plans to expand the service to San Francisco later this year to around 20 more markets by the end of 2014.

What does this expansion mean for Amazon, and what does it mean for companies like Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, and Costco?

What Amazon Fresh means for Amazon

Amazon's quest to grow revenue and ignore profits continues. The grocery delivery business is a graveyard of failed companies, with margins razor-thin and competition fierce. But if any company is capable of delivering groceries in a sustainable way, it's Amazon.

Amazon has been extremely slow and cautious with the expansion of Amazon Fresh, largely due to the tough economics of the business. In the short-term and intermediate-term Amazon Fresh will have little effect on the company's results due to the limited footprint, but if new markets prove successful Amazon Fresh could eventually bring in billions of dollars in revenue.

The problem is that Amazon Fresh only makes sense for people who can afford to not only pay more for their groceries but also the $299 annual fee. This excludes, I think, a significant fraction of the American population. And considering that Amazon Fresh only makes sense in densely populated areas, there's a limit on how expansive the service can become.

Just running a grocery delivery service at break-even is extremely difficult, so it's unlikely that Amazon will derive much profit at all from Amazon Fresh, now or in the future. The return on investment here is terrible, and investors should be concerned.

What Amazon Fresh means for Wal-Mart

I think it's safe to say that people who grocery shop at Wal-Mart do so because of the low prices. Wal-Mart uses its grocery business to give shoppers a reason to visit its stores more often, leading them to buy other higher-margin goods. Wal-Mart has taken a big chunk of the grocery market from traditional grocery stores and is unlikely to lose that share to a grocery delivery service.

Many people can't afford to pay $299 for access to a grocery delivery service which then costs more than brick and mortar groceries. There is likely no overlap at all between Wal-Mart shoppers and possible Amazon Fresh members, so even if Amazon Fresh becomes widespread Wal-Mart will not be affected.

What Amazon Fresh means for Whole Foods

Whole Foods carries the most risk of losing customers to Amazon Fresh, given its high prices and upscale products. But going to Whole Foods is an experience, one which many shoppers wouldn't want to give up for convenience. In Austin, TX, where the flagship Whole Foods store is located, Whole Foods is a tourist destination. Many people go there for lunch at the cafe or get take-out from the buffet-style prepared food selection. Calling Whole Foods a grocery store is a vast understatement.

Whole Foods could lose some customers to Amazon Fresh, but I think the losses will be minimal. The idea of having meat left outside your door is a little strange, and most people prefer to choose their own produce at the store. Grocery delivery may be appealing for some types of items, but I doubt Whole Foods will be greatly affected.

What Amazon Fresh means for Costco

Costco's business model is vastly different than its competitors. The company charges an annual membership, about $55, and then prices its products around 15% above cost. Almost all of Costco's profits come from the membership fees, and this allows Costco to have extremely low prices.

You could argue that Amazon is attempting the same type of model with Amazon Fresh, but that would require the service itself to at least break even. This is unlikely given the delivery overhead, something that Costco doesn't have to deal with.

To some degree Costco is an experience, although not to the same degree as Whole Foods. People like shopping at Costco, something that is rarely said of traditional supermarkets. The low prices pay for the membership very quickly, and socially conscious shoppers appreciate that Costco pays high wages to its employees. And with a high membership renewal rate a Costco membership is extremely sticky. Amazon Fresh will not put a dent in the Costco Juggernaut.

The bottom line

Grocery delivery is a strange business. The market seems small, as people who shop at traditional grocery stores or chains like Wal-Mart care more about price than convenience. The target market appears to be the higher-end shopper who frequents Whole Foods or privately held Trader Joe's, but it's questionable whether or not convenience would trump the benefits that these types of stores offer. And environmentally it seems that door-to-door grocery delivery has a much larger carbon footprint than other options, potentially turning people off from the service. I don't think that Amazon Fresh will revolutionize anything, instead being just another profitless business for Amazon.

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Saturday, May 24, 2014

Gas prices have familiar look as summer nears

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of gasoline looks familiar this Memorial Day. For the third year in a row, the national average will be within a penny or two of $3.64 per gallon.

Stability wasn't always the norm. Between 2003 and 2008 average retail gasoline prices more than doubled, reaching an all-time high of $4.11 per gallon in 2008. Prices then collapsed as the U.S. plunged into recession. But after a two-year run-up between 2009 and 2011, the price of gasoline has remained in a range of roughly $3.25 to $3.75 per gallon.

Drivers can handle that, according to AAA, and are ready to head out for Memorial Day driving trips in the highest numbers since 2005. "It is unlikely that gas prices will have a significant effect on travel plans compared to a year ago," AAA wrote in its annual Memorial Day forecast.

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Steady gasoline prices are largely the result of relatively steady crude oil prices, even though there has been a long list of global supply disruptions and political turmoil that that typically would push the price of oil higher.

Sanctions have sharply cut output from Iran, once the world's third largest oil exporter. Libya went through civil war, and labor and political disruptions continue to limit its exports. Venezuela's oil output has been steadily declining for a decade. Most recently, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is raising concerns that sanctions will impact production or exports from Russia, the world's second largest exporter after Saudi Arabia.

But rising crude output in countries such as the U.S., Canada and Brazil have offset the declining supply elsewhere, helping to keep prices steady.

Approaching this Memorial Day, the national average is $3.65 per gallon, according to AAA, OPIS and Wright Express. Last year on the holiday it was $3.63 per gallon. In 2012 it was $3.64.

The sto! ry is similar with other fuels. Through the first quarter of this year airlines are paying $3.03 per gallon for jet fuel — exactly the same they paid on average for all of last year, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The average price of diesel, $3.93 per gallon, is a nickel higher than last year.

Averages only tell part of the story, though. Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service and Gasbuddy.com, compares the national average price of gasoline to the average temperature of the country — outside your door it's almost certainly hotter or cooler than the average.

This year, drivers in the Midwest, Great Plains states and the Rockies are paying quite a bit less than they did a year ago on Memorial Day weekend. The Minnesota average of $3.49 is 78 cents lower than last year, the biggest drop in the nation. Drivers in North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa and Kansas are all paying at least 50 cents per gallon less.

That's because last year some big Midwest refineries were taken offline to be upgraded to handle cheaper Canadian crude oil. That work is done and the refineries are churning out a lot of fuel, pushing down prices in the region.

The story is different on the coasts, though. Refineries there have to pay higher prices for global crude, and more refineries are seeing downtime in Texas and Louisiana than in recent springs, according to Kloza. Gulf coast refiners supply much of the nation, and especially the coasts, with fuel.

Pennsylvania drivers are paying $3.77 per gallon on average. That's 27 cents higher than last year, the biggest increase in the country. Drivers in the Carolinas and Alabama are paying at least 20 cents more than last year, though they are paying less than the national average.

As usual, California drivers are paying the most in the lower 48 states, at $4.15 per gallon, about 10 cents higher than last Memorial Day weekend.

Across the nation, all U.S. drivers will likely be paying less i! n the com! ing weeks, the result of a typical seasonal decline between late spring and early summer.

"Temperate-to-lower prices is the most likely path for the next couple of months," Kloza says. "And then in hurricane season you just cross your fingers."

Jonathan Fahey can be reached on Twitter @JonathanFahey

Friday, May 23, 2014

The guy who tried to rig gold prices and cost his bank $44 million

London has been a gold trading center for hundreds of years, and the system for "fixing" benchmark prices dates back to 1919.

LONDON (CNNMoney) It was all over in 10 minutes, but it cost Barclays nearly $44 million and landed another blow to the giant bank's reputation.

Nearly two years ago, a Barclays trader took advantage of weak internal controls in a bid to rig the price of gold and profit at a customer's expense.

On Friday, Barclays (BCS) was fined £26 million, or nearly $44 million, by British regulators. Public documents lay out how the trader was able to slip through the bank's oversight.

The story begins on June 27, 2012. It was already a lousy day in the history of Barclays. The U.K. banking icon had been exposed for trying to manipulate global interest rates and fined $453 million.

Separately, gold trader Daniel Plunkett stood to lose heavily on a single trade.

A client of his had staked about $43 million on a two-year bet that the price of gold would rise.

Plunkett was on the other side of that bet: If gold prices rose, he would lose money.

The contract for the trade was based on the London Gold Fixing -- a benchmark price set by a group of banks, including Barclays, in a process that dates back to 1919.

If gold was "fixed" above $1,558.96 an ounce on June 28, the bank would have to pay $3.9 million and Plunkett's trading book would take a hit.

On June 27, gold was fixed at $1,573.50. And worse, future prices were trading higher that evening.

So Plunkett emailed the metals trading desk at Barclays to tell them he was hoping for a "mini puke" -- or fall -- in the price the following day.

"Hopefully we fix 1,558, or 1,558.75 ideal," he repeated to a colleague early on June 28, regulators said.

At the time, Barclays' systems were unable to spot such attempts to manipulate benchmark prices. It couldn't properly manage the conflict of interest between being part of the price-setting club and selling products dependent on those prices.

It was a weakness Plunkett was able to exploit.

The Gold Fixing began as usual at 3 pm. Deutsche Bank (DB), HSBC (HBCYF), Scotiabank and Societe Generale (SCGLF) joined Barclays on a conference call.

After a few minutes weighing up buying and selling interest, the group came up with a proposed "fix" of $1,558.50.

But the balance swung in fa! vor of buyers, so Plunkett jumped in with a sell order for 60,000 ounces (worth about $90 million) in the hope of preventing a price rise.

At 3:10 pm the "fix" was done at $1,558.50, letting Barclays off the hook and boosting Plunkett's trading book by $1.75 million.

Plunkett's victory was short-lived. The customer demanded an explanation almost immediately, and after an investigation, Barclays made good on the trade.

"We very much regret the situation that led to this settlement," said Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins. The bank has worked hard to improve systems and controls, and was committed to the "highest standards," he added.

Plunkett was fined £96,500 and banned from trading.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Glu Mobile Is a Better Buy Than Zynga

The mobile gaming market is a hit-or-miss industry and this volatility has taken its toll on many game-developing companies over the past few years. Companies like Zynga (ZNGA) and Glu Mobile (GLUU) have fallen prey to this uncertainty due to their inability to consistently create attractive games. Consequently, stocks of both companies have consistently tumbled since they went public.

However, it seems like this trend is changing as both Zynga and Glu have appreciated considerably in the last few months. But will the companies be able to sustain this run in 2014? Let's find out.

Glu Mobile's Impressive Plans

Glu Mobile's run-up in the stock price has come solely because of the company's stellar quarterly results. Glu delivered record quarterly revenue of $42.8 million, up 62% year over year, while adjusted EBITDA came in at $6 million. The company thrashed Wall Street estimates and even revised its top- and bottom-line guidance upward. Although Glu's shares have shot up nearly 18% in 2014, it still has more upside potential.

The flavors of the mobile gaming market change habitually as gamers tend to get bored within a few months of playing any game (you don't play Angry Birds anymore, do you?). Therefore, it's important for any company to either constantly come up with chart-topping games or make regular updates to prolong the popularity of existing games. The latter seems to be easier to execute and that is exactly what Glu Mobile is doing.

Glu's success was largely driven by the success of its Deer Hunter 2014 title, so the company will be making content updates in the coming quarters to ensure that gamers don't lose interest. In addition, it will also launch the sequels of its famous Frontline Commando and Contract Killer franchises.

Also, Apple (AAPL)'s contract with China Mobile is a likely tailwind for Glu as Apple's App Store contributed to close to 64% to Glu Mobile's revenue. Analysts predict that Apple will sell an additional 20 million phones in China in 2014, and this can boost Glu Mobile's sales as well. In addition, China's smart devices gaming industry is growing at a rapid pace. The nation's mobile games market jumped over 370% year-over-year in 2013 to nearly $2 billion and is expected to grow another 94% in 2014.

As evident from the above chart, the Chinese smart devices gaming market will continue to grow at an overwhelming pace for at least a few years. Thus, the Apple-China Mobile tie-up can be a massive growth driver for Glu.

Moreover, Glu Mobile will be pumping out 30 games in 2014 to benefit from the growth opportunity and what makes this fact even more impressive is that the company will achieve this feat with a small workforce of 521 people. Given that it has such competent employees, it is well set to sustain its run in the foreseeable future.

Zynga Looks Dubious

Like Glu, Zynga also witnessed a decent run-up in its share price in 2013. Its fortunes turned around when Don Mattrick replaced Mark Pincus as the CEO. The company managed to beat analysts' estimates in the last two quarters. However, whether it will sustain this trend is yet to be seen.

The primary reason behind Zynga's recent success were cost-cutting initiatives and reduction in its workforce. The company sacked 520 employees in mid-2013 and continued down the same road by slashing nearly 15% of its workforce in January 2014.

While there's nothing wrong in reducing losses, Zynga cannot continue doing this forever. It will have to consistently come up with chart-topping games in order to return to profitability. The $527 million acquisition on NaturalMotion may be a step in the right direction, but the breakeven line is far, far away and there's still a long way to go before Zynga benefits from this purchase.

Moreover, you should keep in mind that Zynga's last high-profile acquisition of OMGPOP ended in a big disaster as the company lost a whopping $528,000 on a daily basis because of this acquisition. Thus, Zynga needs to concentrate more on game developing to achieve long-term success. As of now, Glu Mobile looks a better bet out of the two.

Takeaway

It is clear that Glu is the gaming stock to buy right now as opposed to Zynga. Zynga could be a good buy in the future if the company comes up with chart-topping games, but until then, investors should stay away.

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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Week In FX Europe â€“ Will The BoE Show Dissent?

Attention Turns to BoE MPC Votes Tuesday

Will the BoE hawks come out to play?

This week saw the pound slip to a four-week low on Wednesday (£1.6753), after investors were left disappointed following the Bank of England's (BoE) ‘dovish' inflation report. A ‘hawkish' report had been expected and certainly priced in.

UK policy makers have left its growth and inflation forecasts broadly unchanged – a rise of its main benchmark rate (+0.5%) is still expected in H1 of 2015. In the post press conference, Governor Carney played down expectations of an earlier-than-expected rise in interest rates. Tightening UK monetary policy depends on the degree of slack in the economy, and the prospects for its absorption. In retrospect, sterling's reaction was a clear signal that the market once again got ahead of itself.

Attention now turns to the minutes from the BoE's May 7-8th MPC meeting. They will be published next week (May 21st), a day after the UK's April inflation data. Annualized inflation is expected to tick up to +1.7%, from a four-year low of +1.6% in March. The minutes will provide a better indication of the spectrum of views within the MPC as “to spare capacity and the size of the minority supporting earlier tightening.”

The BoE's MPC membership will change by one-third over the next few months:

In – Haldane, Forbes and Shafik join on June 1st.
Out – Dale Bean and Fisher

The market should expect the high turnover to be a blow to the ‘hawks' backing a rate hike by year-end. It would be a tad unusual for any new members to “swim against the current” so early in the new career. Expect the new members to follow the leader, Carney, who does not seem in any rush to tighten policy.

Other Major Events Next Week:
Wednesday:

MPC Asset Purchase Facility votes and official Bank rate votes see above.

Thursday:

French and German flash manufacturing PMI (leading indicator of economic health). The ECB needs all the help it can get. From a market and credibility perspective, they are playing with fire by using strong words to talk about action in June. The biggest risk to the market is the ECB disappointing at the next rate decision meeting on June 5th as it has done in the past. If so, all the hard work done by the EUR bear over the past ten-day's would be unwound.

Friday:

German Ifo business climate. It will be interesting to see if geo-political concerns with Ukraine have any impact within Europe's strongest economy. This survey is highly respected due to its large sample size and historic correlation with German and wider Eurozone economic conditions. European Shares Flat Early – MarketPulse Britain to Run out of Resources – MarketPulse Russia Growth Stalls At 0.9 Percent in Q1 – MarketPulse IMF Warns France Must Stick To Budget Cuts – MarketPulse Euro Zone Growth Unchanged at 0.2 Percent – MarketPulse Euro Area Bonds On The Front Foot – MarketPulse Germany Powers On Boosted by Domestic Demand – MarketPulse Germany's Economy Grows 2.3% Year on Year – MarketPulse Carney: U.K. Economy Still Faces Headwinds – MarketPulse IMF Predicting Low Inflation in the EuroZone – MarketPulse DAX Near Record High As Part of Global Rally – MarketPulse ECB Sources Say Bank is Preparing the Policy Bazooka – MarketPulse GBP Falters After BoE Inflation Report Keeping Rate Hike to 2015 – MarketPulse BoE Cools Down UK Rate Hike Talk – MarketPulse BOE Carney Says Economy Heading Back to Normal – MarketPulse German Confidence Drop sees EUR/USD near 1.37 – MarketPulse Greece Posts 1.05 Billion EUR Budget Surplus – MarketPulse German Central Bank Ready To Back ECB Policy Play – MarketPulse Euro Equities Advance To A Six-Year High – MarketPulse Russia Tells Ukraine Gas Hike To Be Negotiated After Outstanding Debt Paid – MarketPulse IMF's Lagarde Says European Crisis Not Over Yet – MarketPulse UK PM Bullish on Deal With European Union – MarketPulse Ukrainian Rebels Declare Victory on Self-Rule – MarketPulse

The following article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

Posted-In: Forex Markets

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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Top 10 Cheap Stocks To Invest In 2015

Top 10 Cheap Stocks To Invest In 2015: 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 Robert Rapier]
The National Association of Publicly Traded Partnerships (NAPTP) lists five MLPs in the category "Natural Resources – Coal," although two of the five are Alliance Holdings (NYSE: AHGP) and its operating affiliate, Alliance Resource Partners (NYSE: ARLP). The other three are Natural Resource Partners (NYSE: NRP), Rhino Resource Partners (NYSE: RNO), and Oxford Resource Partners (NYSE: OXF).
[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 Ho! ldings GP (Nasdaq: AHGP ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-cheap-stocks-to-invest-in-2015.html

5 Best Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In 2015

David Ryder/Bloomberg via Getty Images WASHINGTON -- Average U.S. rates for fixed mortgages edged higher this week for the third straight week but remained low by historical standards. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average for the 30-year loan rose to 4.53 percent from 4.48 percent last week. The average for the 15-year loan increased to 3.55 percent from 3.52 percent. Mortgage rates peaked in August at 4.6 percent amid expectations the Federal Reserve would reduce its $85 billion a month in bond purchases. The purchases push mortgage and other long-term rates lower. Last month the Fed deemed the economy strong enough for it to reduce the monthly purchases by $10 billion. Mortgage rates are sharply higher than they were a year ago when the 30-year fixed rate was 3.35 percent and the 15-year was 2.65 percent. That's contributed to a decline in home sales over the past three months. Still, the average for the 30-year loan has been below 5 percent for nearly three years, a trend that has made home-buying more affordable. Separately, the Commerce Department reported Thursday that U.S. construction spending rose in November at the strongest pace in more than four years, driven by solid gains in home construction and commercial projects.

5 Best Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In 2015: Acme United Corp (ACU)

Acme United Corporation, incorporated in 1882, is a worldwide supplier of cutting, measuring and safety products to the school, home, office, hardware and industrial markets. It markets and sells under five main brands - Westcott, Clauss, Camillus, PhysiciansCare and Pac-Kit. The Company has grouped its operations into three segments based on the Company's geographical organization and structure: United States, which includes its Asian operations; Canada and Europe. On February 28, 2011, the Company purchased all of the assets of The Pac-Kit Safety Equipment Company, which is a manufacturer of first aid kits for the industrial, safety, transportation and marine markets. In June 2012, the Company acquired selected assets of The C-Thru Ruler Company. In August 2013, the Company purchased a manufacturing and distribution center in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

The Company's operations are in the United States, Canada, Europe (located in Germany) and Asia (located in Hong Kong and China). The operations in the United States, Canada and Europe are primarily engaged in product development, marketing, sales, administrative and distribution activities. The operations in Asia consist of sourcing, product development, production planning, quality control and sales activities.

Cutting

Principal products within the cutting device category are scissors, shears, guillotine paper trimmers, rotary paper trimmers, rotary cutters, knives, hobby knives and blades, utility knives, pruners, loppers, saws, manicure products, medical cutting instruments and pencil sharpeners. During the year ended December 31, 2011, products introduced included an expanded line of heavy duty school and office iPoint pencil sharpeners. Other recent product introductions included Westcott TrimAir paper trimmers with patented titanium coating and a blade change system for rotary and personal trimmers, Westcott Ultra Soft Handle scissors with anti-microbial product protection, True Professional sewing shear! s, as well as a line of iPoint pencil sharpeners utilizing the Company's non-stick coating. The Company also added to its KleenEarth family of recycled products by modifying the production process to allow for multi-colored products as opposed to the traditional black. During 2011, Clauss introduced the AirShoc line of titanium coated non stick garden tools.

Measuring

Principal products within the measuring instrument category are rulers, and math tools. During 2011, product introductions included Westcott branded compasses, protractors, rulers and math kits with anti-microbial product protection.

Safety

Principal products within the safety product category are first aid kits, personal protection products and over-the-counter medication refills. The Company markets these products under the PhysiciansCare brand.

The Company competes with Fiskars Corporation, Helix International Ltd. and Johnson and Johnson.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Bristol Voss]
Acme United (NYSE: ACU) is a global supplier of cutting, measuring and safety products to consumer and industrial markets. It has neatly tracked the S&P small-cap index and shown the least volatility of the three stocks. While its $43.7 million market cap is the lowest of the three, its nearly $14 share price is the highest. It has a forward P/E of 9.2, and its dividend yield is the best of the three at 2.3%. In its most recent quarter, Acme posted a 7% increase in net income and a 3% rise in earnings.

5 Best Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In 2015: Ferchem Egypt Fertilizers and Chemicals (FERC)

Ferchem Egypt Fertilizers and Chemicals is an Egypt-based company engaged in the establishment and operation of a factory for mixing and packaging of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides and hormones, as well as other agricultural related activities. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Jim Jubak]
Cheniere also has received other good news on Corpus Christi. To get a permit for the unrestricted export of liquefied natural gas, a facility has to win approval from the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). DOE has accelerated its permit process, but FERC approval has become a major bottleneck, since the commission needs to coordinate studies from several other agencies before it can complete its review. Cheniere has recently received a scheduling notice from FERC, which looks to put that facility on track for a permit ruling by the end of 2014 or early 2015.

5 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Watch Right Now: Rudolph Technologies Inc.(RTEC)

Rudolph Technologies, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells process control defect inspection, metrology, and process control software systems to microelectronics device manufacturers. The company provides yield management solutions for use in wafer processing and final manufacturing through a range of standalone systems for macro-defect inspection, test systems, and transparent and opaque thin film measurements. It also offers a range of process control software solutions for semiconductor, solar, and LED manufacturing. It provides products for various applications in the areas of macro-defect detection and classification, diffusion, etch, lithography, CVD, PVD, and CMP. The company sells its products and solutions to logic, memory, data storage, and application-specific integrated circuit device manufacturers. It sells its products in the United States, Taiwan, China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Europe. The company was founded in 1940 and is based in Fla nders, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By John Emerson]
Orbotech (ORBK) and Rudolph Technologies (RTEC) Sizable Net-Nets in the AOI Sector
As noted previously, I rode the elevator up and then back down on Camtek (CAMT), a tiny Israeli automated optical inspection (AOI) company. By late 2008 the company had fallen to below $1 per share. Both of Camtek�� larger rivals, RTEC and ORBK, had dropped to absurdly low levels by November 2008. I used the opportunity to switch out of CAMT and some of my other losing propositions in favor of these superior companies. In the process, I created a large amount of tax loss carry-forwards which would allow me to minimize my future taxation when I decided to sell these cyclical entities.
[By Seth Jayson]
When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to Rudolph Technologies (Nasdaq: RTEC ) .
[By Seth Jayson]
Basic guidelines
In this series, I examine inventory using a simple rule of thumb: Inventory increases ought to roughly parallel revenue increases. If inventory bloats more quickly than sales grow, this might be a sign that expected sales haven't materialized. Is the current inventory situation at Rudolph Technologies (Nasdaq: RTEC ) out of line? To figure that out, start by comparing the company's inventory growth to sales growth. How is Rudolph Technologies doing by this quick checkup? At first glance, not so great. Trailing-12-month revenue increased 17.6%, and inventory increased 32.2%. Comparing the latest quarter to the prior-year quarter, the story looks potentially problematic. Revenue dropped 8.9%, and inventory grew 32.2%. Over the sequential quarterly period, the trend looks worrisome. Revenue dropped 23.3%, and inventory grew 10.8%.

5 Best Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In 2015: ProShares UltraShort QQQ (QID)

ProShares UltraShort QQQ (the Fund), formerly UltraShort QQQ ProShares, seeks daily investment results that correspond to twice the inverse daily performance of the NASDAQ Index-100 Index. The NASDAQ-100 Index represents the largest non-financial domestic and international issues listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market. To be eligible for inclusion, companies cannot be in bankruptcy proceedings and must meet certain additional criteria, including minimum trading volume and seasoning requirements.

The NASDAQ-100 Index is calculated under a modified capitalization-weighted methodology. The Fund takes positions in securities and/or financial instruments that, in combination, should have similar daily return characteristics as 200% of the daily return of the index. The NASDAQ-100 Index is a price return index. The Fund�� investment advisor is ProShare Advisors LLC.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By John Udovich]
The so-called Hindenburg Omen predicting a major market crash is increasingly popping into the headlines; but regardless of whether or not you believe in the prophecy,�short ETFs like ProShares UltraShort S&P500 ETF (NYSEARCA: SDS), ProShares Short Dow30 ETF (NYSEARCA: DOG) and�ProShares UltraShort QQQ ETF (NYSEARCA: QID) can off you some protection or insurance. We have also periodically added short ETFs to our�SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio as a�hedge against short-term�market downturns or�short-term trend reversals and right now, we have the ProShares UltraShort S&P500 ETF in our portfolio.

5 Best Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In 2015: Linde AG (LIN)

Linde AG is a German company engaged in the gases and engineering sector. It operates two divisions: Gases and Engineering, as core divisions, as well as Gist. The Gases Division includes Healthcare, producing medical gases; and Tonnage, as its two global business units; as well as the two business areas Merchant and Packaged Gases, offering liquefied and cylinder gases, and Electronics. The Company�� products are used in the energy sector, for steel production, chemical processing, environmental protection and welding, as well as in food processing, glass production and electronics. The Engineering division offers planning, project development and construction of turnkey industrial plants used in fields, such as petrochemical and chemical industries, in refineries and fertilizer plants, to recover air gases, to produce hydrogen and synthesis gases, to treat natural gas, and in the pharmaceutical industry. As of August 13, 2012, the Company acquired Lincare Holdings Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Shares of LIN Media LLC (NYSE: LIN) got a boost, shooting up 30.67 percent to $28.08 after Media General (NYSE: MEG) announced its plans to buy Lin Media LLC for $1.6 billion.
[By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Shares of LIN Media LLC (NYSE: LIN) got a boost, shooting up 21.92 percent to $26.20 after Media General (NYSE: MEG) announced its plans to buy Lin Media LLC for $1.6 billion.
[By Monica Wolfe]
Gabelli started the week by reducing his position in LIN Media (LIN). The guru reduced his position by -1.36%. Gabelli sold a total of 23,007 shares at an average price of $16.88 per share. Gabelli now holds on to a total of 1,666,208 shares of LIN Media, representing 3.06% of the company�� shares outstanding.
[By John Udovich]
Small cap media stock�LIN Media LLC (NYSE: LIN) might not be a household name, but there is a good chance you might be watching the company�� programs because like the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc (NASDAQ: SBGI) and Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc (NASDAQ: NXST), its helping to consolidate the media industry plus its making investment in other forms of media like social media. The stock has also outperformed those two peers along with the�PowerShares Dynamic Media Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: PBS).

Monday, May 19, 2014

It's Getting Easier to Get a Mortgage

house mortgage application with ... Casper1774 Studio/Shutterstock You may not have noticed it, but recently, it's gotten easier to buy a new home. Last year, a strong housing market combined with fears that the Federal Reserve would eventually begin tapering its purchases of mortgage bonds. Together, these factors helped drive up the cost of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage from about 3.3 percent in January 2013 to nearly 4.6 percent by September. Since then, mortgage rates have backed off those recent highs, bobbling back and forth between 4.5 percent or so, and, recently, 4.2 percent. This has helped to keep housing affordable for those who want to buy a home. But it did pose the bankers a dilemma: How could they get more people to want to buy homes in the first place, so that they could sell more mortgages? Answer: Make it easier to apply for a mortgage. Mortgage Down Payments Live Down to Their Name Last spring, lending data website LendingTree.com (TREE) released a report showing that the average down payment demanded by mortgage bankers to obtain a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage had fallen 9.4 percent since mid-2011. At 16.1 percent, it was nearly 4 full percentage points shy of the old rule of thumb that a home buyer should put 20 percent down on a new home. Six months later, average down payments had fallen to 15.73 percent of the value of a home. Now, LendingTree has put out an updated report showing that after down payment demands inched back up in 2013 (to 16.01 percent), they've begun to fall once more. At last report, mortgage bankers on average want to see a 15.78 percent down payment -- a bit more than what we saw last fall, but still continuing the downward trend in down payments. Why? One clue may be found in recent comments from Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft, who's been highlighting declines in existing-home sales, in new-home sales as well, and even in permits taken out to build houses, in a series of reports through April. If home-buying is starting to taper off, then the bankers may be looking for a way to goose that market a bit. Peering Into the Bankers' Bag of Tricks Demanding less money up front to obtain a loan is one obvious way to ease more buyers into the housing (and home mortgage) market. Another tool is loosening up lending restrictions. According to LendingTree, "Average credit scores for borrowers matched with lenders on the LendingTree network have dropped 6 percent year over year." This, says LendingTree, indicates banks being "more willing to consider a wider pool of borrowers." Company founder and CEO Doug Lebda put it this way: "As the housing market improves and refinance activity declines, lenders are adapting their guidelines to improve credit accessibility for borrowers. Relaxed lending guidelines translates to a larger pool of qualified homebuyers." What It Means to You Obviously, if you're in the market for a home today, this is great news for you. According to Lebda, "Lenders have started to accept lower down payments and credit scores from potential borrowers." With actual mortgage rates now range-bound, it's a bit cheaper to obtain a mortgage today than it was a year ago, and there's also less uncertainty about which way mortgage rates are moving. Indeed, in some markets -- North Dakota, Nebraska, and West Virginia now being the cheapest -- bankers are demanding down payments of not much more than 12 percent of the value of a home, in exchange for a mortgage. Throw in the fact that bankers are less antsy about the risk their loans will ultimately get defaulted on, and it's also a bit easier to get that mortgage loan approved. Granted, it's developments just like these that sucked America into a financial crisis that nearly destroyed the economy six years ago. But if that's what it takes to get you into a new home -- and a new mortgage obligation -- apparently, the bankers are willing to risk it. More from Rich Smith
•Switzerland's Minimum Wage Could Jump from $0 to $25 an Hour •What the Fed's Low Rate Policy Cost U.S. Savers: $750 Billion •Amazon's Sales Tax Move Changed Everything ... and Nothing

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Tax Extenders Bill Stalled In Senate

Remember that Tax Extenders Bill that seemed to be moving ahead? Consider it stalled.

Amid a flurry of proposed amendments to the bill, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) moved to consider a cloture motion on Amendment No. 3060 to H.R. 3474. H.R. 3474 is the Hire More Heroes Act, originally intended "[t]o amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers to exempt employees with health coverage under TRICARE or the Veterans Administration from being taken into account for purposes of the employer mandate under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act." The amendment was offered "in the nature of a substitute" which means that it would strike out the entire text of the bill and replace it with a different text.

Cloture is a procedure by which the Senate can put an end to a debate without actually voting a matter down. Procedurally, what happened is this: a motion was made to table Amendment No. 3060. By rule, no debate is allowed on a cloture motion. A vote in favor of cloture is a vote to end debate on the original matter and go to a vote (in this case, the tax extenders bill) while a vote against is a vote to keep debating.

The vote was 53-40 in favor but since the Senate needed 60 votes, by rule, the measure will remain open to debate and will not move to a vote. Those who voted did so along party lines with Sen. Reid breaking ranks to vote no, a move for the sake of procedure, and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) voting yes (you can see the roll call here).

Why the divide? Republicans in the Senate accused Sen. Reid of not wanting to broker a deal on the bill, including adding provisions that would eliminate the wind production credit and repeal the ObamaCare medical device tax. Sen. Reid has suggested that the debates were simply a political tactic and that any amendments to the bill could be offered later as an amendment package.

The result? Both sides are crying foul while the future of the bill remains uncertain. The measure could come up for debate in the near future (that's why Sen. Reid voted no, in order to do so) but chatter suggests that we won't hear about it again until after the elections.

–

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Friday, May 16, 2014

Best Energy Companies To Invest In Right Now

Best Energy Companies To Invest In Right Now: Karoon Gas Australia Ltd (KRNGF)

Karoon Gas Australia Ltd (Karoon Gas) is an Australia-based exploration company. The Company is principally engaged in the hydrocarbon exploration and evaluation in Australia, Brazil and Peru. The Company operates in three segments: Australia, Brazil and Peru exploration. The Company's Australia segment is involved in the exploration and evaluation of hydrocarbons in four offshore permit areas: WA-314-P, WA-315-P, WA-398-P and WA-482-P; The Company in its Brazil segment is involved in the exploration and evaluation of hydrocarbons in five offshore blocks including Block S-M-1037, Block S-M-1101, Block S-M-1102, Block S-M-1165 and Block S-M-1166. The Company under its Peru exploration segment is involved in the exploration and evaluation of hydrocarbons in two blocks in Peru, including Block 144 (onshore) and Block Z-38 (offshore). Advisors' Opinion:

[By MARKETWATCH]
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks gave ground in early Friday trading, with banks broadly lower after overnight losses in the U.S., where investors worried that better-than-expected data would prompt the Federal Reserve to roll back stimulus soon. The S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO) lost 0.4% to 5,178.30, as National Australia Bank Ltd. (AU:NAB) (NAUBF) fell 1.8%, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (AU:ANZ) (ANEWF) lost 0.8%, and Macquarie Group Ltd. (AU:MQG) (MCQEF) retreated 1.3%. Among the resource shares, losses for gold both in New York and in! early Asian electronic trade helped send Evolution Mining Ltd. (AU:EVN) (CAHPF) down 1.9% and Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd. (AU:KCN) (KSKGF) off 4.5%, though Newcrest Mining Ltd. (AU:NCM) (NCMGF) held the drop to 0.4%. Oil prices managed a modest gain, however, resulting in a 0.2% rise for Oil Search Ltd. (AU:OSH) (OISHF) and Karoon Gas Australia Ltd. (AU:KAR) (KRNGF) , while Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (AU:WPL)
[By MARKETWATCH]
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks seesawed in early Monday trade, with gains for miners and energy names helping support the market, as the S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO) sat 0.1% higher at 5,325.90 after changing direction several times. Official Chinese data showing manufacturing holding its growth rate in October appeared to help some miners, as did gains for some commodity prices. Shares of Rio Tinto Ltd. (AU:RIO) (RIO) rose 0.5%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (AU:FMG) (FSUMF) added 0.7%, Oz Minerals Ltd. (AU:OZL) (OZMLF) advanced 1%, and Whitehaven Coal Ltd. (AU:WHC) impr! oved by 1! .9%. Likewise, an advance for gold futures sent Newcrest Mining Ltd. (AU:NCM) (NCMGF) rallying 3.4%, and Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd. (AU:KCN) (KSKGF) up 2.9%. Energy shares also traded higher, with Oil Search Ltd. (AU:OSH) (OISHF) up 1.3%, and Karoon Gas Australia Ltd. (AU:KAR) (KRNGF) adding 1.7%. On the downside, retailers were mostly lower, with David Jones Ltd. (AU:DJS) (DVDJF)

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-energy-companies-to-invest-in-right-now-2.html

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Target exec responds to employee rant on culture

A week after Gawker published an anonymous rant from a Target corporate employee that further revealed the extent to which the retailer's massive data breach has affected both employee and customer morale, the retailer's Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Jones responded with a LinkedIn post titled "The Truth Hurts."

In the employee letter, which Gawker says was e-mailed to the website by a current midlevel employee at Target headquarters in Minneapolis, the employee writes about Target's unproductive staffing strategy, which the employee says rewards socializing in the office above producing results, and Target's copy-cat tendency to follow what other retailers are doing instead of innovating. The employee calls for a leadership overhaul.

In an excerpt highlighted by Gawker, the employee writes, "If Target doesn't make a serious change in their leadership and culture, it will end up being a Kmart, a Sears, or even worse, a Circuit City. The Twin Cities would be devastated — around 15,000 people work for Target HQ at one of their numerous sites in the Twin Cities."

The letter put Target's deteriorating workplace culture into the public eye two days after CEO Gregg Steinhafel resigned last week, as the company struggles to regain its luster five months after a massive data breach drove a wrench into customer satisfaction and took a toll on the company's fourth-quarter results. Target's Chief Information Officer Beth Jacob resigned in March, replaced last week with Target outsider Bob DeRodes, a rare move for a company that typically promotes from within.

Target Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Jones, the only person the anonymous Target employee said should stay at the company, responded to the letter on LinkedIn Tuesday with a post titled "The Truth Hurts."

Jones says, "While we would have preferred to have a conversation like this with the team member directly, speaking openly and honestly, and challenging norms is exactly what we need to be doing today and every day going forward.! "

He also calls out other beloved brands that were once in jeopardy, but recovered, including Apple, Starbucks and J.Crew.

"Target is not the first brand in history to hit a rough patch," he says. "And we won't be the last brand to do what it takes to recover."

For a "very insular corporation" that's typically been resistant to change, Edward Jones analyst Brian Yarbrough says he's impressed with Jones' honest response.

"He didn't deny some of the stuff the employee said," Yarbrough says. "At least he recognizes it."

Others are applauding Target for taking to social media to address the employee's concerns. The company wisely bypassed any media intermediary "and went straight to the public," says public relations guru Katharine Paine.

"I'm sure that social-media heads of a lot of corporations will be talking about this today and probably trying to convince their bosses to do something similar in the next crisis," says Paine, CEO of Paine Publishing, which is a marketing and PR measurement specialist.

That said, investors don't typically love this kind of public airing of dirty laundry, she says. "It could freak out the investment community, which likes things calm and quiet."

Target shares ended Wednesday down 0.5%, or 29 cents, to $59.27.

But Paine doesn't think the latest volley will have any impact on whether shoppers go to Target. Paine is also impressed with the letter's honesty. "It's so honest," she jokes, "it's almost like Target made up the letter from the disgruntled employee" just so it could do the LinkedIn post.

Target still has a lot of work to do to revamp both its company culture and operations, Yarbrough says. The retailer needs more product offerings online and needs to integrate technology in stores, as Nordstrom and Macy's have done — employees are equipped with iPads and mobile phones for instant check-out, stores have interactive displays, and online and in-store inventory are connected for a more seamless exper! ience.

But Yarbrough says at least Target isn't facing a large-scale turnaround problem à la J.C. Penney.

"It's not like this is a retailer that's just totally damaged and you have to do a 180-degree turn," he says. "It's still a strong brand. It just needs some tweaking."

Contributing: Bruce Horovitz

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Hot Healthcare Equipment Companies To Invest In 2015

Hot Healthcare Equipment Companies To Invest In 2015: Main Street Capital Corp (MAIN)

Main Street Capital Corporation (MSCC) is a principal investment firm primarily focused on providing customized debt and equity financing to lower middle market (LMM) companies, which it generally define as companies with annual revenues between $10 million and $100 million that operate in diverse industries. Main Street's LMM portfolio investments principally consist of secured debt, equity warrants and direct equity investments in privately held LMM companies. Main Street's privately placed portfolio investments consist of primarily debt investments in middle market businesses that are generally larger in size than the portfolio companies within the LMM portfolio. Its LMM portfolio investments range in size from $5 million to $25 million. As of December 31, 2011, it had debt and equity investments in 54 LMM portfolio companies. On February 29, 2012, MSCC completed the exit of its debt investment and a portion of its equity investments in Drilling Info, Inc., (Drilling In fo). Effective September 5, 2013, Main Street Capital Corp acquired TBT Holding Co Inc, a manufacturer of dump trailers, from Harbert Management Corp's Harbert Private Equity Fund II LLC subsidiary.

On January 5, 2012, Main Street fully exited its debt and equity investments in Currie Acquisitions, LLC (Currie). On February 17, 2012, MSCC acquired a total of approximately 8.5% of the total dollar value of the MSC II limited partnership interests not owned by MSCC. The Company has approximately 75% of its total LMM portfolio investments at cost were in the form of debt investments as of December 31, 2011. At December 31, 2011, it had equity ownership in approximately 94% of its LMM portfolio companies and the average fully diluted equity ownership in those portfolio companies was approximately 34%. Its portfolio investments ar! e generally made through MSCC and the Funds.

Debt Investments

The Company's LMM debt investments have terms o f three to seven years, with limited required amortization p! rior to maturity, and provide for monthly or quarterly payment of interest at fixed interest rates generally between 12% and 14% per annum, payable in cash. The Company also provides floating interest rates for a portion of a single tranche debt security. In addition, certain LMM debt investments may have a form of interest that is not paid but is accrued and added to the loan balance and paid at maturity. As of December 31, 2011, 93% of its LMM debt investments at cost were secured by first priority liens on the assets of LMM portfolio companies. In addition to seeking a senior lien position in the capital structure of its LMM portfolio companies, it seeks to limit the downside of its LMM investments by negotiating covenants that are designed to protect its LMM investments while affording its portfolio companies as much flexibility in managing their businesses as is reasonable.

Warrants

In connection with its LMM debt investments, the Company has received equity warrants to establish or increase its equity interest in the LMM portfolio company. Warrants it receives in connection with a LMM debt investment typically require only a nominal cost to exercise, and thus, as a LMM portfolio company appreciates in value, it may achieve additional investment return from this equity interest. The Company structures the warrants to provide provisions protecting the rights as a minority-interest holder, as well as secured or unsecured put rights, or rights to sell such securities back to the LMM portfolio company, upon the occurrence of specified events.

Direct Equity Investments

The Company usually makes its direct equity investments in connection with debt investments. In addition, the Company may have both equity warrants and direct equity positions in some! of its L! MM portfolio companies. The Company makes its direct equity investments in connection with debt investments. In addition, it may have bot h equity warrants and direct equity positions in some of its! LMM port! folio companies. It seeks to maintain fully diluted equity positions in its LMM portfolio companies of 5% to 50%, and may have controlling equity interests in some instances.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Grass Hopper]
Examples of the first class of publicly ‐traded private equity firms include Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (KKR), The Blackstone Group L.P. (BX), and Oaktree Capital Group, LLC (OAK). Examples of the second class are Wendel SA (MF FP), Exor SpA (EXO IM) and, to some extent, Reinet Investments SCA (REI SJ). Examples of the third class are American Capital, Ltd. (ACAS), Main Street Capital, Gladstone Capital Corp. (MAIN), and Prospect Capital Corp. (PSEC).
[By GURUFOCUS]
Main Street Capital Corporation (MAIN) is a business development company specializing in long- term equity, equity related, and debt investments in small and lower middle market companies. Yield: 6.3%

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-healthcare-equipment-companies-to-invest-in-2015.html