Top Stocks To Buy 2014: March 2014

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Will the Facebook Phone Inspire a Twitter Phone?

On April 4, Facebook (NASDAQ: FB ) introduced Facebook Home to the world, potentially changing the future of the smartphone landscape. Facebook Home is a meta-app that functions somewhere between Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG ) Android OS and the rest of the apps on your phone. CEO Mark Zuckerberg described it as an experience that allows you to make your phone about people, not just apps. Not only does Facebook Home reimagine how you will interact with your device, but it also opens the door for the company to break into mobile advertising in a significant way. If the release is successful, you have to wonder whether Twitter and others will soon follow suit, spawning increasingly customizable user experiences.

What is Facebook Home?
Facebook Home takes over the lock screen and home screen of the Android devices on which it's installed. As Zuckerberg explained in the release announcement, Facebook Home is possible only because of the extremely open nature of Android. Once it's installed, you're able to see Facebook updates on both the home and lock screens; the idea is to make your smartphone a portal to the people in your life rather than just a conduit for information.

Source: Facebook.

Where FB Home has real potential for the company is in all of the real estate it leaves open to place mobile ads in at some later date. The company has prudently decided to release Home without the inclusion of any advertising, but it's easy to see where they will be easy to integrate. One of the biggest complaints investors have had since the company's IPO is that it has struggled to monetize its huge user base. If the company is successful in breaking into the mobile ad space, this criticism will rapidly disappear.

The lock screen is key
Another highlight Zuckerberg pointed out in the announcement is that most of us look at the lock screen on our smartphones up to 100 times each day. If that screen can now contain information about the people in our lives, we're more likely to keep track of them . Likewise, this frequency holds the key for advertising that may give Facebook an advantage over its willing host in Google.

Where does the industry go from here?
While it's hard to imagine that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) would ever allow a third party like Facebook to take over the home and lock screen in iOS, the model may affect how Apple and others approach the precious real estate that exists on the small screen. Significant adoption could well cause Apple to consider whether it needs a significant footprint in social media. If the lock screen becomes a significant revenue source for others, that could also prove an important differentiator for Apple.

Likewise, if the Facebook Phone becomes popular, it would seem natural to see others, particularly Twitter, follow suit and release similar meta-apps. As social media becomes more fully integrated into our smartphones, you should expect to see an increasing number of choices, leading to an increasing level of customization. How, for example, will a Facebook Phone incorporate Twitter? How will a Twitter Phone incorporate Facebook? Will Google continue to allow these meta-apps to push its OS to the background?

That last question is of critical importance to investors and users alike, because it will probably affect the future direction of the industry. If Google begins to lose search prowess as a result of having Android subjugated to social-media versions of its devices, it may need to adopt a more protective posture. Google's business model has always been about directing traffic to search, but if Facebook somehow steps ahead of that effort, the landscape is likely to change. As things currently stand, Facebook is extremely well positioned to capitalize, and if Facebook Home gains traction, the stock should have plenty of room to run.

Even more certain is the introduction of a Twitter Phone if the Facebook version gains acceptance. These top two social-media competitors are always looking for points of differentiation and even footing. A Twitter Phone seem inevitable unless users quickly pan the Facebook version.

After the world's most-hyped IPO turned out to be a dud, most investors probably don't even want to think about shares of Facebook. But there are things every investor needs to know about this company. We've outlined them in our newest premium research report. There's a lot more to Facebook than meets the eye, so read up on whether there is anything to "like" about it today, and we'll tell you whether we think Facebook deserves a place in your portfolio. Access your report by clicking here.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Best Prefered Stocks To Buy For 2014

Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) reported first fiscal quarter 2014 results after markets closed on Tuesday. For the quarter, the LED-lighting maker posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.39 on revenues of $391 million. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.27 on revenues of $315.8 million. First-quarter results compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.39 and $392.31 million in revenues.

The company warned on earnings in mid-August and today�� results were right in line with the mid-points of the ranges the company gave for EPS and revenues. The damage today came from Cree�� estimate of second quarter profit. The company says it expects EPS of $0.36 to $0.41 compared with a current consensus estimate of $0.44. The company expects revenues in the range of $410 to $420 million and the analysts��estimate calls for $414.29 million.

In addition to the weak profits, gross margins are expected to be lower in the second quarter and operating expenses are going to rise as the company promotes its new LED Bulb.

Best Prefered Stocks To Buy For 2014: Casella Waste Systems Inc (CWST)

Casella Waste Systems, Inc., incorporated on March 1, 1993, is a vertically integrated solid waste, recycling, and resource management services company. The Company provide resource management and services to residential, commercial, municipal, and industrial customers, primarily in the areas of solid waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling, and organics services. The Company operates in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, and Pennsylvania. As of May 31, 2013, the Company owned and/or operated 35 solid waste collection operations, 38 transfer stations, 16 recycling facilities, nine Subtitle D landfills, four landfill gas-to-energy facilities, one landfill permitted to accept construction and demolition, or C&D, materials.

The Company manages its solid waste operations on a geographic basis through two regional operating segments: the Eastern and Western regions, each of which includes a range of solid waste services, and its larger-scale recycling operations and commodity brokerage operations through its Recycling segment.

Solid Waste Operations

The Company solid waste operations consists a range of non-hazardous solid waste services, including collections, transfer stations, material recovery facility ( MRFs) and disposal facilities. A majority of its commercial and industrial collection services are performed under one to three-year service agreements, with prices and fees determined by such factors as collection frequency, type of equipment and containers furnished, type, volume and weight of solid waste collected, distance to the disposal or processing facility and cost of disposal or processing. Its residential collection and disposal services are performed either on a subscription basis. The Company transfer stations receive, compact and transfer solid waste collected primarily by various collection operations, for transport to disposal facilities by larger vehicles.

The Company�� MRFs, receive, sort, bale and res! ell recyclable materials originating from the municipal solid waste stream, including newsprint, cardboard, office paper, containers and bottles. The Company operates six MRFs in geographic areas served by its collection divisions. Revenues are received from municipalities and customers in the form of processing fees, tipping fees and commodity sales. The Company's MRFs, two of which are located in Vermont, two in Massachusetts and two in New York, are large-scale, high-volume facilities that process over 0.4 million tons per year of recycled materials delivered to them by municipalities and commercial customers under long-term contracts. The Company also operates MRFs as an integral part of its core solid waste operations, which generally process recyclables collected from its various residential collection operations.

Eastern region

The Eastern region consists of wastesheds located in Maine, southern and central New Hampshire and central and eastern Massachusetts. The Eastern region is vertically integrated, with transfer, landfill, organics and processing and recycling assets serviced by its collection operations. In February 2013, the Company aligned management of the NCES landfill with the Eastern region. NCES had been historically aligned with the Western region. In December, 2012 the Company acquired BBI Waste Services (BBI), which gave the Company additional hauling and transfer capacity in southern Maine.

Western region

The Western region includes wastesheds located in Vermont, north and south western New Hampshire and eastern New York that were previously included in the eliminated Central region. The portion of New York served by the Western region includes Clinton (operation of the Clinton County landfill), Franklin, Essex, Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Rennselaer and Albany counties. The Western region also consists of wastesheds in upstate New York (which includes Ithaca, Elmira, Oneonta, Lowville, Potsdam, Geneva, Auburn, Dunkirk, Jame! stown and! Olean). Its collection operations include leadership positions in nearly every rural market outside of the larger metropolitan markets, such as Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo and Albany.

Recycling

Recycling is the processors and marketers of recycled materials in the eastern United States, consists six MRFs that process and then market recyclable materials that municipalities and commercial customers deliver to them under long-term contracts. Three of the 6 MRFs are leased, the other three are owned. During fiscal year ended April 30, 2013, Recycling segment processed and/or marketed approximately 0.5 million tons of recyclable materials including tons marketed through the Company's commodity brokerage operation. Recycling facilities are located in Vermont, New York and Massachusetts.

The Company competes with Waste Management, Inc, Republic Services, Inc, Waste Connections, Inc., Owens Corning, CertainTeed Corporation and Johns Manville.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By James Miller Phd]
As we can see, the firm has a higher ROE than it peers: Sharps Compliance, Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (CWST), Donaldson Company, Inc. (DCI) and GSE Holding Inc. (GSEH).

Best Prefered Stocks To Buy For 2014: JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited(JKS)

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of solar power products in China and internationally. The company provides solar modules, silicon wafers and ingots, and solar cells, as well as processing services, including silicon wafer tolling services. It sells its products under the JinkoSolar brand name. The company?s customers include distributors, project developers, and system integrators. It trades its products under short-term contracts and by spot market sales. The company also produces accessory materials for solar power products, such as solar aluminum frame, solar junction box, aluminum materials windows, and other metal component parts. JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. was founded in 2006 and is based in Shangrao, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Eric Volkman]
JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS ) suffered a widened quarterly loss, as revealed in the release of its fiscal Q4 and 2012 results. For the quarter, revenue for the China-based solar specialist was the equivalent of $187 million, down from $192 million in the same period the previous year. Net loss widened over that time span, to $122 million, or $1.38 per share, from Q4 2011's red figure of $59 million, $0.65.
[By Aaron Levitt]
Like FSLR, CSIQ and JinkoSolar (JKS), ReneSola has moved beyond its original focus of creating just wafers. That means SOL stock investors are now betting on one of the more integrated solar stocks … and one that has grown to become a strong module shipper over the last few years. That includes outsourcing modules to nations like India, South Africa and Poland. SOL has done well in this regard and has been catching up to sizzling solar stocks like Yingli Green Energy (YGE).
[By Travis Hoium]
What: Solar stocks are shooting higher again today as the strong run in 2013 continues. LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK ) , Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ ) , Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE ) , Hanwha SolarOne (NASDAQ: HSOL ) , and JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS ) led the way, gaining between 10% and 22% today.

Top 10 Biotech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Swift Transportation Company(SWFT)

Swift Transportation Company, through its subsidiary, Swift Transportation Co., LLC, operates as a multi-faceted transportation services company and truckload carrier in North America. The company offers its truckload services through dry van, temperature-controlled, flatbed, and specialized trailers; and rail intermodal services. It also provides freight brokerage and logistics management services to other trucking companies, as well as leases tractors and offers repair services. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated a tractor fleet of approximately 15,900 units, including 11,900 tractors driven by company drivers and 4,000 owner-operator tractors; 50,600 trailers; and 6,200 intermodal containers in the United States and Mexico. It serves various industries, such as retail, discount retail, consumer products, food and beverage, manufacturing, and transportation and logistics industries. The company, formerly known Swift Holdings Corp., and was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of Hub have dropped 5.1% to $35.41, but the plunge doesn’t seem to be weighing on other logistic companies. CH Robinson Worldwide (CHRW), for instance, has gained 1.1% to $58.64, JB Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) has risen 1.1% to $71.61, Swift Transportation (SWFT) has advanced 0.9% to $19.56 and Ryder System (R) is up 3.1% to $59.23.
[By Seth Jayson]
Swift Transportation (NYSE: SWFT ) reported earnings on April 22. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Swift Transportation met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.
[By Seth Jayson]
Swift Transportation (NYSE: SWFT ) reported earnings on July 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Swift Transportation met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.
[By Sean Williams]
Swift Transportation (NYSE: SWFT ) , for example, delivered a 4% increase in revenue this past quarter in spite of having fewer trucks in service. The company was able to realize better utilization of its existing fleet and actually saw fuel prices fall from the previous year. The results were even more robust for Knight Transportation (NYSE: KNX ) , whose shareholders saw revenue rise by 7% as the company grew from the year-ago quarter for the 14th straight time and delivered growth from each of its business segments.

Best Prefered Stocks To Buy For 2014: Avago Technologies Limited(AVGO)

Avago Technologies Limited engages in the design, development, and supply of analog semiconductor devices with a focus on III-V based products. Its product portfolio comprises RF amplifiers, RF filters, RF front-end modules, ambient light sensors, light emitting diodes, low noise amplifiers, mm-wave mixers, optical finger navigation products, diodes, fiber optic transceivers, serializer/deserializer ASICs, motion control encoders and subsystems, optocouplers, and optical mouse sensors. The company?s products are used in cellular phones, consumer appliances, data networking and telecommunications equipment, enterprise storage and servers, renewable energy and smart power grid, factory automation, displays, optical mice, printers, voice and data communications, keypad and display backlighting, backlighting control, base stations, storage area networking, in-car infotainment, lighting, motor controls, power supplies, and optical disk drives applications. It markets its produ cts through a network of distributors and its direct sales force worldwide. The company sells approximately 6,500 products to original equipment manufacturers of wireless communications, wired infrastructure, industrial and automotive electronics, and consumer and computing peripherals markets. Avago Technologies Limited was founded in 2005 and is based in Singapore.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Dan Caplinger]
On Wednesday, Avago Technologies (NASDAQ: AVGO ) will release its latest quarterly results. Although the stock has largely treaded water over the past year, investors are concerned about troubling sales trends and their potential impact on the company's future.

Best Prefered Stocks To Buy For 2014: Perfumania Holdings Inc(PERF)

Perfumania Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a wholesale distributor and specialty retailer of perfumes and fragrances in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company distributes designer fragrances to mass market retailers, drug and other chain stores, retail wholesale clubs, traditional wholesalers, and other distributors. It also owns and licenses designer and other fragrance brands. The company sells its products in retail stores on a consignment basis; and online through perfumania.com, an Internet retailer of fragrances and other specialty items. As of July 30, 2011, it operated a chain of 343 retail stores specializing in the sale of fragrances and related products. The company is based in Bellport, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By John Udovich]
Vitamin Shoppe Inc (NYSE: VSI), Books-A-Million, Inc (NASDAQ: BAMM) and Perfumania Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: PERF) have the dubious distinction of being�the worst performing small cap�specialty retail stocks for this year (according to Finviz.com) with losses of 4.85% and�3% and a gain of 0.61%, respectively, since the start of the year (See my previous article: This Year�� Best Performing Small Cap Specialty Retail Stocks? UNTD, TA & HZO). I should mention that the definition of specialty retail stocks might vary from one stock screener to another, but what�� clear is that these three small cap retail stocks have been heading in the wrong direction for investors for much of this year. �With that in mind, what sort of performance should investors expect from these small cap specialty retail stocks on Black Friday and for the all important holiday season? Here is what you need to be aware of:

Best Prefered Stocks To Buy For 2014: Western Refining Inc.(WNR)

Western Refining, Inc. operates as an independent crude oil refiner and marketer of refined products. The company operates in three segments Refining Group, Wholesale Group, and Retail Group. The Refining Group segment operates two refineries in Texas and Mexico; two stand-alone refined product distribution terminals in New Mexico; and four asphalt terminals in Texas, as well as operates crude oil transportation and gathering pipeline system in New Mexico. It refines various grades of gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and other products from crude oil, other feedstocks, and blending components; and acquires refined products through exchange agreements and from various third-party suppliers. This segment sells its products through its wholesale group and service stations, independent wholesalers and retailers, commercial accounts, and sales and exchanges with oil companies. The Wholesale Group segment distributes commercial wholesale petroleum products primarily in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah for retail fuel distributors, as well as for the mining, construction, utility, manufacturing, transportation, aviation, and agricultural industries. The Retail Group segment operates service stations, which include convenience stores or kiosks that sell various grades of gasoline, diesel fuel, general merchandise, and beverage and food products to the general public. As of February 24, 2012, it operated 210 service stations with convenience stores or kiosks located in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in El Paso, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Aimee Duffy]
It;s been a very robust year for master limited partnership IPOs to say the least. On Thursday, Western Refining (NYSE: WNR ) successfully spun off its midstream logistics MLP, Western Refining Logistics (NYSE: WNRL ) . The partnership became the 14th MLP to make its debut this year.
[By Eric Volkman]
Western Refining (NYSE: WNR ) investors are about to find a few more coins in their pockets. The company has declared a Q3 dividend of $0.18 per share, to be paid on Aug. 15 to shareholders of record as of July 31. That amount is exactly 50% higher than Western Refining's previous disbursement of $0.12, which was handed out in early May.
[By Ben Levisohn]
My colleague Vito Racanelli recommended refining stocks, including Valero, Marathon, Hollyfrontier and Western Refining (WNR) in Barron’s on Oct. 19.

Best Prefered Stocks To Buy For 2014: BorgWarner (BWA)

BorgWarner Inc., incorporated in 1987, is a global supplier of engineered automotive systems and components primarily for powertrain applications. The Company�� products are manufactured and sold worldwide, primarily to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of light vehicles (passenger cars, sport-utility vehicles (SUVs), vans and light-trucks). The Company's products are also sold to other OEMs of commercial vehicles (medium-duty trucks, heavy-duty trucks and buses) and off-highway vehicles (agricultural and construction machinery and marine applications). It also manufactures and sells its products to certain Tier One vehicle systems suppliers and into the aftermarket for light, commercial and off-highway vehicles. On January 31, 2011, the Company acquired 100% of the stock of Haldex Traction Holding AB (Haldex Traction Systems) of Haldex Group. In July 2012, the Company sold its spark plug business to Federal-Mogul Corporation. The Company operates manufacturing facilities serving customers in the Americas, Europe and Asia, and is an original equipment supplier to every automotive OEM in the world. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 10 joint ventures in which it had a less-than-100% ownership interest. Engine Engine Group products include turbochargers, emissions systems, timing devices and chain products, thermal systems, diesel cold start, gasoline ignition technology and cabin heaters. The Engine Group provides turbochargers for light, commercial and off-highway applications for diesel and gasoline engine manufacturers in the Americas, Europe and Asia. As of December 31, 2011, the Company supplied light-vehicle turbochargers to many OEMs, including Volkswagen, Renault, PSA, Daimler, Hyundai, Fiat, BMW, Ford and General Motors. The Company also supplies commercial vehicle turbochargers to Daimler, Navistar, Deutz and MAN and off-highway turbochargers to Caterpillar and John Deere. The Company's newest turbocharger technologies are its regulated two-stage turbocharging system, R2S, variable turbine geometry (VTG) turbochargers and turbochargers for gasoline direct injected engines, all of which may be found in numerous applications worldwide. Also, the Company supplies VTG turbochargers to Renault's 1.6 liter R9M diesel engine featured in the Megane Scenic. The Engine Group also designs and manufactures products to control emissions. These products include electric air pumps, turbo actuators using integrated electronics to control turbocharger speed and pressure ratio and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) coolers, tubes and valves for gasoline and diesel applications. The Engine Group's timing devices and chain products include timing chain and timing drive systems, variable cam timing (VCT) systems, crankshaft and camshaft sprockets, tensioners, guides and snubbers, HY-VO front-wheel drive (FWD) transmission chain and four-wheel drive (4WD) chain and MORSE GEMINI chain systems for light vehicles. It is a manufacturer of timing chain systems to OEMs worldwide. BorgWarner timing chain systems are featured on Ford's family of engines, including the Duratec, Modular, and in-line four-cylinder engines, Chrysler's 3.6 liter Pentastar engine, Volkswagen's EA888 family, Hyundai's Gamma, Nu and Theta families and other applications worldwide. The Engine Group's newest chain product technology is its VCT with mid position lock. The Company is a manufacturer of chain for FWD transmissions and 4WD transfer cases. Its HY-VO chain is used to transfer power from the engine to the drivetrain. The chain in a transfer case distributes power between a vehicle's front and rear output shafts which, in turn, provide torque to the front and rear wheels. The Company is a global provider of engine thermal solutions for truck, agricultural and off-highway applications. The Engine Group designs, manufactures and markets viscous fan drives that control fans to sense and respond to multiple cooling requirements. The Engine Group also manufactures and markets polymer fans for engine cooling systems. The Company is a global automotive supplier of diesel cold start technology (glow plugs and instant starting systems), including its Pressure Sensor Glow Plug, which monitors and enhances the combustion process of a diesel engine, minimizing carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. The Company also designs and manufactures gasoline ignition technology (ignition coils) and electronic control units and sensor technology (diesel cabin heaters and selected sensors). Drivetrain The Drivetrain Group's products are transmission components and systems, and all-wheel drive (AWD) torque management systems. The Drivetrain Group designs and manufactures automatic transmission components and modules and is a supplier to virtually every automatic transmission manufacturer in the world for conventional automatic, new dual-clutch transmissions (DCT) and automated manual transmissions. Friction and mechanical products include dual clutch modules, friction clutch modules, friction plates, transmission bands, torque converter clutches, one-way clutches and torsional vibration dampers. Controls products feature electro-hydraulic solenoids for high pressure hydraulic systems, transmission solenoid modules and dual clutch control modules. The Company's 50%-owned joint venture in Japan, NSK-Warner Kabushiki Kaisha (NSK-Warner), is a producer of friction plates and one-way clutches in Japan. The Drivetrain Group's torque management products include rear-wheel drive (RWD)/AWD transfer case systems, FWD/AWD electromagnetic coupling systems and advanced products. Transfer cases are installed primarily on light-trucks, SUVs, RWD based cross-over utility vehicles (CUVs) and passenger cars. The Company is engaged in the AWD market for FWD based vehicles with electromagnetic couplings that use electronically controlled clutches to distribute power to the rear wheels instantly as traction is required. As of December 31, 2011, the Company supplied its eGearDrive single-speed gearbox to the Ford Transit Connect Electric. It is engaged with traditional and non-traditional OEMs on a number of other transmission programs for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. The Company competes with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Modine, Valeo, Schaeffler Group, Tsubaki Group, Usui, NGK, Sensata, Honeywell, IHI, Behr, Pierburg, Denso, Iwis, Horton/Sachs, Bosch, Eberspacher Catem, GKN Driveline, JTEKT, Magna Powertrain, Dynax and Unick. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Sara Murphy]
BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA ) makes fuel-efficiency tools for cars and is among the tips Sarbjit Nahal provided in his report. The company has outperformed every auto supplier in North America over the past three years. BorgWarner's stock has slipped recently, largely because of declines in European auto sales. That could make the timing just right to consider this solid company.
[By Jonas Elmerraji]
The automotive industry has fared well this past year, turning out the best sales numbers in a decade, as consumers replace a fleet that's older on average than ever before. That brisk sales pace has been a big tailwind for parts suppliers such as BorgWarner (BWA). Even if you're not familiar with the BorgWarner name, there's a good chance that your car is on the road today because of this $13 billion tier-1 parts supplier -- the firm makes engine and drivetrain components like turbochargers, timing belts, and transmissions for a huge group of automakers.

BorgWarner boasts a big customer list that includes the likes of Volkswagen, Ford, Daimler, and GM. The emphasis on increased efficiency without sacrificing performance has been a boost for BWA -- it's one of the reasons why the market for turbochargers has grown at brisk rates, and it's helped user in the adoption of diesel cars here in the U.S. Like any tier-1 auto supplier, BorgWarner benefits by locked-in customers; since automakers rely on BWA to produce specific parts for specific vehicles, switching costs are extremely high if Ford or Volkswagen decide to switch suppliers. And OEMs aren't likely to switch in the first place, since BWA's enormous scale means that it can produce quality parts more cheaply than most.

From a financial standpoint, BorgWarner is in solid shape, with a $1.4 billion cash and investment balance more than offsetting the firm's $1.2 billion debt load. The parts business is capital intense, but BWA has been a great capital allocator, keeping balance sheet leverage at zero. Look for a possible upside catalyst at BWA's next earnings call this coming month.
[By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of Lear have gained 0.2% to $77.32 at 2:24 p.m. on a day when most auto-part companies are not doing much of anything.�Delphi Automotive, the big loser, has dropped 1.1% to $57.39,�Johnson Controls�(JCI) has fallen 0.2% to $42.94 and�Borg Warner�(BWA) has risen up 0.4% to $106.70. The big winner: Tenneco�(TEN), which has jumped 3.3% $54.65 after reporting better than expected earnings.
[By Seth Jayson]
BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA ) is expected to report Q2 earnings around July 24. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict BorgWarner's revenues will expand 3.2% and EPS will grow 2.9%.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Buy Right Now

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Buy Right Now: United States Natural Gas Fund LP (UNG)

United States Natural Gas Fund, LP (USNG) is a limited partnership. The Company is a commodity pool that issues limited partnership interests (units) traded on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the NYSE Arca). The investment objective of USNG is for the changes in percentage terms of its units' net asset value (NAV) to reflect the changes in percentage terms of the spot price of natural gas delivered at the Henry Hub, Louisiana as measured by the changes in the Futures Contract on natural gas traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) that is the near month contract to expire, except when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration, in which case the futures contract will be the next month contract to expire. The Company's general partner is United States Commodity Funds LLC (the General Partner) and is responsible for the management of USNG.

USNG invests in futures contracts for natural gas, crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, and other petroleum-b ased fuels that are traded on the NYMEX, ICE Futures or other United States and foreign exchanges (collectively, Futures Contracts). USNG also invests in other natural gas-related investments, such as cash-settled options on Futures Contracts, forward contracts for natural gas, cleared swap contracts, and over-the-counter transactions that are based on the price of natural gas, oil and other petroleum-based fuels, Futures Contracts and indices based on the foregoing (collectively, Other Natural Gas-Related Investments). USNG invests in Natural Gas Interests to the fullest extent possible. In pursuing this objective, the primary focus of the General Partner is the investment in Futures Contracts and the management of USNG's investments in short-term obligations of the United States of two years or less (Treasuries), cash and/or cash equivalents for margining ! purposes and as collateral.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Paul Ausick]
The U.S. Natural Gas Fund (NYSEMKT: UNG) was down about 0.6%, at $26.76 in a 52-week range of $16.59 to $27.58. The Market Vectors Oil Services ETF (NYSEMKT: OIH) was up 0.4%, at $47.77 in 52-week range of $39.42 to $51.11. The first fund tracks spot prices; the second includes major drillers and services companies.
[By Jim Jubak]
I use United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG), an ETF that follows the Henry Hub price of natural gas in the United States, to track trends in natural gas prices. From a low of $17.09 on November 4, United States Natural Gas climbed, first to $19.69 on January 9, and then to $26.73 on January 29. Total gain 56.4%.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-safest-stocks-to-buy-right-now.html

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Is the $12 McDonald's burger for real?

You probably never thought you'd sink your teeth into a $12 burger at McDonald's.

McDonald's Golden Arches logo at a McDonald's restaurant in Robinson Township, Pa.(Photo: Gene J. Puskar AP)

But you can -- if you head to Switzerland. That's where the fast-food giant just rolled-out The Prime, a 6.3 ounce Swiss beef patty topped with "rustic mountain cheese," bacon, coleslaw, arugula and a special sauce.

The new burger, part of the fast-food giant's upscale "Signature" line-up in Switzerland, has some Swiss -- well-accustomed to overpaying for everything -- grumbling on the chain's Facebook page.

"Twelve dollars is enough to even get Swiss consumers asking: How the devil can we pay $12 for a burger?" says Scott Hume, editor of the BurgerBusiness.com blog, which first posted the story.

The Prime burger and other items in the Swiss Signature Line were developed in conjunction with local TV cooking show host Rene Schudel, who appears in the TV ads. The ads boast that the burger's got it all: "character, taste and size."

But, amazingly, it's also got company. At least in the casual dining sector. With the economy getting a bit a of lift for the well-to-do sector, restaurants are vying for their business with pricier burgers, says Hume. Red Robin, for example, is now promoting a line of "Finest" gourmet burgers, which cost up to $12, with an image of a woman holding one while wearing white gloves, pearl bracelet and a diamond ring.

Even McDonald's, in the U.S., just rolled out a Bacon Clubhouse burger for just under $5.

"Posh is okay, again," says Hume.

But could the $12 burger show up at your corner McDonald's?

In a word, no, says Becca Hary, a McDonald's spokesperson. "There are no plan! s to bring this to the U.S."

Where Has All the Silver Gone?

Investing legend Mark Skousen wonders why he hasn't seen any of those silver dollar coins around, and encourages their reintroduction back into circulation.

TERRY: I'm Terry Savage from moneyshow.com talking with the always fascinating Mark Skousen, who just handed me this. What is this? It's a silver dollar, but not one of the old-fashioned kind. It doesn't feel too heavy. Mark, what is this?

MARK: That's actually a 1-ounce American Eagle silver dollar. It's legal tender, and 40 million of those were minted last year, and I ask you: Where are they? This is the first time you've seen one of these, right?

TERRY: Yeah, absolutely.

MARK: Yet this is a legal tender coin, and since 1986, when Ronald Reagan signed a bill called the Gold and Silver Act, creating the American Eagle 1-ounce gold coins…

TERRY: Those I've seen.

MARK: …and 1-ounce silver coins, and 40 million of these beautiful coins that have Lady Liberty on them, the rising sun—Ben Franklin's favorite symbol of America, In God We Trust, the eagle. It's got everything in there.

TERRY: These must be coll—they're an ounce of silver, correct?

MARK: That's correct.

TERRY: It's alloyed. It must be.

MARK: It'll cost you $25 to buy one of these.

TERRY: Exactly. Based on the price of one ounce of silver.

MARK: Right.

TERRY: Nobody's going to give this as a tip to the doorman who brings the car around.

MARK: Au contraire. I encourage people in my newsletter all the time to use them as gifts, anniversaries…

TERRY: Oh, right. But not as a dollar.

MARK: …when you graduate. These are wonderful coins that people should hold on as good luck pieces.

TERRY: Yes, exactly. You're just not, in other words, going to buy a dollar's worth of goods with this because it's worth…

MARK: No. No.

TERRY: …whatever the price of silver.

MARK: That's the problem. Because of Gresham's law…

TERRY: But where are they, Mark?

MARK: …we spend the one-dollar, the one-dollar bill…

TERRY: The paper, yep.

MARK: …and we keep—we put the silver dollar in our pocket…

TERRY: Of course.

MARK: …or in our safety deposit box, but I am encouraging people to circulate them. We need to remember these are what coins used to be like. The silver dollars that used to go in the slot machines in Las Vegas, and we used to all have in our pockets beautiful coins. Now we have these tinty (SP?) little quarters that nobody wants to carry.

TERRY: Yeah, but the point is, if I'm buying a Coke in a vending machine, I'd never put a silver dollar in there.

MARK: No, no. But here's another thing: These are superior inflation hedges now…

TERRY: Okay.

MARK: …because this was equal to $1 in 1960 and now in real terms is worth three or four times that, so that's pretty impressive.

TERRY: Okay, so where do you—by the way, do you buy these through the U.S. Mint or any coin dealer?

MARK: Any coin dealer, right. You can't buy directly from the U.S. Mint at this time.

TERRY: Okay. There's probably a slight premium to the price of silver.

MARK: Yes, there is because silver's at 20, and these are selling for $23 or $24 each.

TERRY: So, both the collectability of them and the very fact that it's nice to hold real silver…

MARK: It's beautiful.

TERRY: …and the fact that silver prices may go up. Before we leave you: Gold—ahh! It's been a terrible bear market for the last year, but it's been a great bull market for a long time. What do you think?

MARK: Well, we gave a sell signal in November of 2011. That was a really good lucky call because gold has basically drifted downward ever since. I have not given a buy signal for gold, but I do recommend people accumulate them and squirrel them away and that sort of thing because it is real money. Who knows what the government's—they're going to inflate more. Yellen is very much in favor of inflation and waiting for the unemployment rate to drop. It's unlikely with our generous welfare system and raising the minimum wage is going to put a lot of teenagers out of work. I'm quite assured that inflation is going to be the number one problem we're going to be facing…

TERRY: Down the road.

MARK: Yeah.

TERRY: At these levels, silver around $20 and gold somewhat over $1200; you're a buyer of coins.

MARK: I am, of the coins, but not in my regular IRA portfolio. I'm not owning any gold or silver at the present time, or even the mining shares, because they're showing weakness as well…

TERRY: Oh, more weakness.

MARK: …but that could change at any time, so I will be alert to any increase in mining shares.

TERRY: Mark, thank you very much. You can find out more at markskousen.com. I'm Terry Savage from moneyshow.com

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Jack Bogle - Risky Territory for Market

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Saturday, March 22, 2014

China Mobile Adds One Million Apple (AAPL) iPhone Users in February

Best Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- China Mobile CEO Li Yue said Thursday the wireless carrier added approximately one million Apple (AAPL) iPhone users in February, according to The Wall Street Journal.

"We added 1.34 million new 4G users in February and most of them are iPhone users. We are happy with the progress as we are still building our 4G network and the coverage is only available in some major cities," China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua told The Wall Street Journal.

China Mobile, which launched faster 4G service in December, began selling the iPhone on Jan. 17. The partnership gives Apple access to 776 million potential new subscribers in the Chinese market, the largest smartphone market in the world by shipments. Analysts expect the deal to increase Apple's iPhone shipments in 2014 by 15 million to 30 million. The company reported it had sold 51 million iPhones worldwide in the quarter ended Dec. 28.

Must Read: Warren Buffett's 10 Favorite Stocks STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more. TheStreet Ratings team rates APPLE INC as a "buy" with a ratings score of A-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate APPLE INC (AAPL) a BUY. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, solid stock price performance, expanding profit margins and growth in earnings per share. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income." Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: AAPL's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 4.7%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 5.7%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share. Although AAPL's debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13 is very low, it is currently higher than that of the industry average. Along with the favorable debt-to-equity ratio, the company maintains an adequate quick ratio of 1.23, which illustrates the ability to avoid short-term cash problems. The stock has not only risen over the past year, it has done so at a faster pace than the S&P 500, reflecting the earnings growth and other positive factors similar to those we have cited here. Turning our attention to the future direction of the stock, it goes without saying that even the best stocks can fall in an overall down market. However, in any other environment, this stock still has good upside potential despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year. 41.65% is the gross profit margin for APPLE INC which we consider to be strong. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Along with this, the net profit margin of 22.69% is above that of the industry average. APPLE INC's earnings per share improvement from the most recent quarter was slightly positive. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, APPLE INC reported lower earnings of $39.63 versus $44.16 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($42.73 versus $39.63). You can view the full analysis from the report here: AAPL Ratings Report STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

Stock quotes in this article: AAPL

Friday, March 21, 2014

U.S. Stocks Push Higher, Eye Weekly Advance

Hot Canadian Stocks To Invest In 2014

Wall Street climbed higher on Friday as U.S. equity markets looked to cap a turbulent trading week in the green.

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

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Thursday, March 20, 2014

Stocks Tumble on Yellen’s Definition of ‘Considerable’

The market expected a dovish Fed but what it got were signs that US central bank might raise interest rates sooner than expected–and a falling stock market.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

The S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 1,860.77 today, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.7% to 16,222.17.

Initially, nothing in the Fed’s statement jumps out as particularly hawkish. The Fed modified its guidance so it wouldn’t have to rely on a 6.5% unemployment rate. It said rates would remain low even when tapering was finished.

But there was clearly a lot of reading between the lines. The Fed changed its assessment of the risks to the economy from “having become more balanced” to “nearly balanced.” It lifted the bottom end of its 2014 PCE forecast to 1.5% from 1. 4%, but left the top end unchanged at 1.6%. The Fed’s tone, says Newedge’s Annalisa Piazza, “sounds more hawkish than expected.”

Marketfield’s Michael Shaoul points to the timing of rate hikes as the cause for concern:

The much more interesting news was a change in the timing of anticipated forward guidance for a rise in the federal funds rate. This now anticipates an interest rate of 1% at the end of 2015 and 2.25% at the end of 2016, compared to prior guidance of 0.75% to 1.75% respectively. Although Chair Yellen was careful in her press conference to explain that this is not a change in policy, merely a change in anticipated timing this is both true and irrelevant to the pricing of short to medium term interest rates. Although the scale of the shift in guidance is small it represents the first clear tightening step taken by the FOMC in many years.

Top Growth Companies To Buy For 2014

If that had been all, the debate would have been just that–a debate. Then Fed Chair Janet Yellen spoke and the market tumbled thanks to her definition of the word “considerable.” Rhino Trading Partners’ Michael Block explains:

The issue that arose had to do with the phrase in the official statement which read that policy would remain accommodative "for a considerable time after the asset purchase program ends." That seems innocuous but during the Q&A session at the press conference, Yellen was asked to define what a "considerable period" is and she uttered "six months." If we think tapering ends in October (another $10 billion or so per meeting,) that implies actual fed funds target rate hikes in April or May of next year. The stark reality of that early date spooked traders and we sold off precipitously…

Fears–and hopes–for rising rates were apparent everywhere. Charles Schwab (SCHW), a beneficiary of higher rates, rose 3.2% to $27.58. Newmont Mining (NEM) dropped 3.1% to $24.50 because who needs gold when rates are heading higher? The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) fell 2.1% to $38.57 because we all know higher rates in the US are bad news for emerging markets. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.77% and the CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (FXY) declined 1.1% to $95.22.

Clearly, the market is readying itself for a rate hike–even if it’s still well into the future.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

What ETFs Currently Have the Most Value?

As long as it's fear, not fundamentals, that's driving selling, Jim Lowell is almost always going to be buying and he offers some ETFs to consider before you do.

TERRY: I'm Terry Savage from MoneyShow.com talking with Jim Lowell of the Fidelity Advisor, and he writes the Forbes ETF newsletter. Let's talk about exchange traded funds. It's like the hottest fad for the last three or four years. Don't buy a regular mutual fund, by an exchange traded fund. I guess you can get in and out during the day.

JIM: You can trade them like a stock, that's probably their single best characteristic. They tend to not be less expensive or more tax efficient or inefficient for that matter. Within a well run mutual fund, especially a good low cost, no-load fund from T. Rowe Price, Vanguard, Fidelity, so there's a lot of hype. People were basically thinking that they were not only new but somehow a much better investment vehicle. I don't believe that's the case at all, even though I write about ETFs frequently. I started writing about them in 1996, made our first professional investment in them in 1998, so they can play a role and should play a role in your portfolio.

TERRY: Right, so there's lots of ETFs out there -

JIM: Yeah.

TERRY: - and there's sector funds and there's specific industry groups.

JIM: Yeah.

TERRY: What do you do, just throw a dart and have one of each, or how do you play that game?

JIM: No, I have model portfolios in the newsletter that really I hope do a good job of figuring out how to piece together for different risk tolerances and objectives, good ETFs, but I almost always opt for very narrowly defined, narrowly specified ETFs rather than the broad market averages.

TERRY: All right. Here we are only in 2014. What ETFs do you think have the most promise given the fact the market was down in January and who knows from here?

JIM: I'll give you two that I think would be reasonable for any investor to consider. One would be the Dow Diamonds, the multi-national battleship balance sheet blue chip stocks. They trade globally, they're still undervalued by any historical measure although you'd think by now they would be at least relatively fairly valuable. They aren't, they're undervalued.

TERRY: Why? I mean, the Dow isn't undervalued to the S&P.

JIM: A big flood of money continues to push momentum and valuations up in the small and mid cap space here in the US, so you are getting a reasonable level of valuation left over in that really truly mega cap space, and then Vanguard Europe ETF, great way to play Europe. I prefer active management but if I'm going the EFT route, that would be the recommendation that I would make.

TERRY: A lot could blow up in Europe, the Euro for one.

JIM: Sure.

TERRY: What about that?

JIM: Well, if things don't threaten to blow up, then chances are you're not going to be able to find many bargains in the street, so as long as it's fear, not fundamentals, that's driving the selling I'm almost always going to be on the buy side.

TERRY: Okay, thank you very much, Jim Lowell. You can find him at FidelityInvestor.com. I'm Terry Savage for MoneyShow.com.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Taxes From A To Z (2014): I Is For Internal Revenue Code

Most taxpayers are familiar with the 16th Amendment of the Constitution which sets the stage for the collection of federal income tax:

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

But that's just the beginning. Since the 16th Amendment was adopted in 1913, additional federal tax laws have been codified and organized under the United States Code (U.S.C.). Today, most of those tax laws have been codified at Title 26 (26 U.S.C.) and commonly referred to as the Tax Code. It's worth noting, though, that the Tax Code, or Internal Revenue Code, includes most – but not all – federal tax laws. You'll find more tax laws in other parts of the United States Code, including at Title 11 (Bankruptcy); Title 19 (Customs) and Title 28 (Judiciary).

Title 26 is a way of distinguishing tax laws from other legal subjects under US law. The US Code is divided into sections and arranged by subject area referred to as titles. There are 51 titles in the Code.

Each title is further broken down into smaller pieces called subtitles, chapters, subchapters, parts, subparts, and sections. Some of the most popular subchapters in the Tax Code are subchapter k (dealing with partnerships) and subchapter s (dealing with s corporations). You might also be familiar with sections: those give rise to common tax terms like section 501(c)(3) (dealing with charitable organizations) and section 179 (dealing with expensing).

English: A few volumes of the Code of Federal Regulations (titles 12 to 26 out of 50 titles). The CFR is published each year as a set of softcover volumes which are updated on a quarterly schedule. Photographed at the law library of the UC Berkeley School of Law by user Coolcaesar on February 13, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Top 5 Penny Stocks For 2014

The Internal Revenue Code is enormous but it's not the biggest title in the US Code. The most words, elements and sections are found in Title 42 (The Public Health and Welfare). The most words per section? Those are found at Title 23 (Highways).

Notwithstanding that it's not the biggest title, Title 26 is still quite large: as of 2012, it was 73,608 pages long. But that doesn't include a number of other important guidance documents, including tax treaties and Treasury Regulations, which are found elsewhere. Treasury Regulations (26 C.F.R.) – or "Regs" as tax professionals call them – are the Treasury Department's official interpretations of the Internal Revenue Code. In other words, it's how Treasury (and thus, IRS) understands and administers the specific provisions of the Tax Code – a power given to the Treasury by Congress under section 7805 of the Internal Revenue Code.

For more in the series, see:

Top 5 Bank Stocks For 2014

Top 5 Bank Stocks For 2014: Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A., incorporated on September 9, 1943, is a bank in Brazil. The Company has four operational segments: Commercial Banking, Itau BBA, Consumer Credit and Corporate and Treasury. Commercial banking, including insurance, pension plan and capitalization products, credit cards, asset management and a variety of credit products and services for individuals, small and middle-market companies). Itau BBA includes corporate and investment banking. Consumer credit includes financial products and services to its non-accountholders. Corporate and treasury includes the results related to the trading activities in its portfolio, trading related to managing currency, interest rate and other market risk factors, gap management and arbitrage opportunities in domestic and foreign markets. It also includes the results associated with financial income from the investment of its excess capital.

On October 24, 2010, Itau Unibanco completed the integration of customer service locations throughout Brazil. In total, 998 branches and 245 customer site branches (CSB) of Unibanco were redesigned and integrated as Itau Unibanco customer service locations, thus creating a network of approximately 4,700 units in the country under the Itau brand. The Company is a financial holding company controlled by Itau Unibanco Participacoes S.A. (IUPAR). As of December 31, 2010, it had a network of 3,747 service branches throughout Brazil. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 913 CSBs throughout Brazil. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 28,844 automated teller machines (ATMs) throughout Brazil.

Commercial banking

The commercial banking segment offers a range of banking services to a diversified base of individuals and companies. Services offered by the commercial banking segment include insurance, pension plan and capitalization produc! ts, credit cards, asset management, credit products and customized products and solutio ns. The commercial banking segment comprises the specialized! areas and products, such as retail banking (individuals); public sector banking; personnalite (banking for high-income individuals); private banking (banking and financial consulting for wealthy individuals); very small business banking; small business banking; middle-market banking; credit cards; real estate financing; asset management; corporate social responsibility fund; securities services for third parties; brokerage, and insurance, private retirement and capitalization products.

The Company's credit products include personal loans, overdraft protection, payroll loans, vehicles, credit cards, mortgage and agricultural loans, working capital, trade note discount and export. Its investments products include pension plans, mutual funds, time deposits, demand deposit accounts, savings accounts and capitalization plans. Its services include insurance (life, home, credit/cash cards, vehicles, loan protection, among others), exchange, brokerage and others. Its core business is retail banking, which serves individuals with a monthly income below R$7,000. In October 2010, it completed the conversion of branches under the Unibanco brand to the Itau brand and as of December 31, 2010, it had over 15.2 million customers and 4,660 branches and CSBs. Its public sector business operates in all areas of the public sector, including the federal, state and municipal governments (in the executive, legislative and judicial branches). As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 2,300 public sector customers. Itau Personnalite's focus is delivering financial advisory services by its managers, who understand the specific needs of its higher-income customers; a portfolio of exclusive products and services; special benefits based on the type and length of relationship with the customer, including discounts on various products and services. Itau Personn! alite's! customer base reached more than 600,000 individuals as of December 31, 2010. Itau Pe rsonnalite customers also have access to Itau Unibanco netwo! rk of bra! nches and ATMs throughout the country, as well as Internet banking and phone.

Itau Private Bank is a Brazilian bank in the global private banking industry, providing wealth management services to approximately 17,951 Latin American clients as of December 31, 2010. The Company serves its customers' needs for offshore wealth management solutions in major jurisdictions through independent institutions in the United States through Banco Itau Europa International and Itau Europa Securities , in Luxembourg through Banco Itau Europa Luxembourg S.A. , in Switzerland through Banco Itau Suisse , in the Bahamas through BIE Bank & Trust Bahamas and in Cayman through Unicorp Bank & Trust Cayman. As of December 31, 2010, it had over 565 very small business banking offices located throughout Brazil and approximately 2,500 managers working for over 1,235,000 small business customers. Loans to very small businesses totaled R$5,981 million as of December 31, 2010. As of Decembe r 31, 2010, it had 374 small business banking offices located nationwide in Brazil and nearly 2,500 managers who worked for over 525,000 companies. Loans to small businesses totaled R$28,744 million as of December 31, 2010.

As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 115,000 middle-market corporate customers that represented a range of Brazilian companies located in over 83 cities in Brazil. The Company offers a range of financial products and services to middle-market customers, including deposit accounts, investment options, insurance, private retirement plans and credit products. Credit products include investment capital loans, working capital loans, inventory financing, trade financing, foreign currency services, equipment leasing services, letters of credit and guarantees. The Company also carries out financial transactions on behalf of middle-market c! ustomers,! including interbank transactions, open market transactions and futures, swaps, hedging and arb itrage transactions. It also offers its middle-market custom! ers colle! ction services and electronic payment services. The Company is able to provide these services for virtually any kind of payment, including Internet office banking. It charges collection fees and fees for making payments, such as payroll, on behalf of its customers.

The Company is engaged in the Brazilian credit card market. Its subsidiaries, Banco Itaucard S.A. (Banco Itaucard) and Hipercard Banco Multiplo S.A. (Hipercard), offers a range of products to 26 million customers as of December 31, 2010, including both accountholders and non-accountholders. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately R$16,271 million in outstanding real estate loans. As of December 31, 2010, it had total net assets under management of R$291,748 million on behalf of approximately 2.1 million customers. The Company also provides portfolio management services for pension funds, corporations, private bank customers and foreign investors. As of December 31, 2010, it had R$184,496 million of assets under management for pension funds, corporations and private bank customers. As of December 31, 2010, the Company offered and managed about 1,791 mutual funds, which are mostly fixed-income and money market funds. For individual customers, it offered 154 funds to its retail customers and approximately 287 funds to its Itau Personnalite customers. Private banking customers may invest in over 600 funds, including those offered by other institutions. Itau BBA's capital markets group also provides tailor-made mutual funds to institutional, corporate and private banking customers.

The Company provides securities services in the Brazilian capital markets. Its services also include acting as transfer agent, providing services relating to debentures and promissory notes, custody and control services for mutual funds, pension funds and portfolios! , providi! ng trustee services and non-resident investor services, and acting as custodian for depositary receipt pr ograms. The Company also provides brokerage services to inte! rnational! customers through its broker-dealer operations in New York, through its London branch, and through its broker-dealers in Hong Kong and Dubai. Its main lines of insurance are life and casualty (excluding Vida Gerador de Benefucio Livre), extended warranties and property. Its policies are sold through its banking operations, independent local brokers, multinational brokers and other channels. As of December 31, 2010, it had 9.9 million in capitalization products outstanding, representing R$2,620 million in liabilities with assets that function as guarantees of R$2,646 million. The Company distributes these products through its retail network, Itau Personnalite and Itau Uniclass branches, electronic channels and ATMs. These products are sold by its subsidiary, Cia. Itau de Capitalizacao S.A.

Itau BBA

Itau BBA is responsible for its corporate and investment banking activities. As of December 31, 2010, Itau BBA offered a portfolio of products and servic es to approximately 2,400 companies and conglomerates in Brazil. Itau BBA's activities range from typical operations of a commercial bank to capital markets operations and advisory services for mergers and acquisitions. As of December 31, 2010, its corporate loan portfolio was R$ 76,584 million. In investment banking, the fixed income department was responsible for the issuance of debentures and promissory notes that totaled R$18,888 million and securitization transactions that amounted to R$4,677 million in Brazil in 2010. In addition, Itau BBA advised 35 merger and acquisition transactions with an aggregate deal volume of R$16,973 million in 2010.

Itau BBA is also active in Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES) on-lending to finance large-scale projects, aiming at strengthening domestic infrastructure. In consolid! ated term! s, total loans granted by Itau BBA under BNDES on-lending represented more than R$9,010 million in 2010. Itau BBA f ocuses on the products and initiatives in the international ! business ! unit, such as structuring long-term, bilateral and syndicated financing, and spot foreign exchange. In addition, in 2010 Itau BBA continued to offer a large number of lines of credit for foreign trade.

Consumer Credit

As of December 31, 2010, its portfolio of vehicle financing, leasing and consortium lending consisted of approximately 3.8 million contracts, of which approximately 71.1% were non-accountholder customers. The personal loan portfolio relating to vehicle financing and leasing reached R$60,254 million in 2010. The Company leased and financed vehicles through 13,706 dealers as of December 31, 2010. Sales are made through computer terminals installed in the dealerships that are connected to its computer network. Redecard S.A. (Redecard) is a multibrand credit card provider in Brazil, also responsible for the capturing, transmission, processing and settlement of credit, debit and benefit card transactions. As of December 31, 2010, the Compan y held approximately 50% interest in Redecard's capital stock.

The Company competes with Bradesco, Banco do Brasil S.A. (Banco do Brasil), Banco Santander, Caixa Economica Federal (CEF), BNDES, HSBC, Banco Citibank S.A, Banco de Investimentos Credit Suisse (Brasil) S.A., Banco JP Morgan S.A., Banco Morgan Stanley S.A., Banco Merrill Lynch de Investimentos S.A., Banco BTG Pactual S.A., Banco Panamericano S.A, Citibank S.A., Banco GE Capital S.A. and Banco Ibi S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Will Ashworth]
Cencosud is one of the largest retailers in Latin America. It operates grocery stores, home improvement stores and department stores in five countries including Chile, its home base. Its stock is down 51% over the past year for several reasons, including a deal falling through that would have seen it s! ell 51% o! f its credit card operations in Chile and Argentina to Itau Unibanco (ITUB) and using the proceeds to reduce its heavy debt load. Add to that a major devaluation of the peso in Argentina, where it generates a quarter of its overall revenue, and you have investors in a full-on panic.
[By Charles Sizemore]
And speaking of top dividend stocks with high capital gains potential, next on the list of are Brazilian banking groups Banco Bradesco (BBD) and Banco Itau (ITUB) — two monthly dividend stocks you must consider.
[By Hilary Kramer]
Itau Unibanco (ITUB): A lot of investors have never heard of Itau because it’s headquartered in Brazil, but it’s one of the world’s largest financial institutions. With 5,000 branches, 100,000 employees and nearly $500 billion in assets (yes, half a trillion!), ITUB is not just the largest Latin American bank, it is one of the biggest in the world. With proven dominance in Brazil (and Latin America), Itau Unibanco is a go-to financial pick, and it currently yields an attractive 3.5%. I recently recommended that my Inner Circle readers sell ITUB on a nice bounce due to the risk of near-term weakness on economic data out of China, but I'm already looking for an opportunity to get back in.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-bank-stocks-for-2014.html

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Top Canadian Stocks To Own For 2014

Top Canadian Stocks To Own For 2014: Wells Fargo & Company(WFC)

Wells Fargo & Company, through its subsidiaries, provides retail, commercial, and corporate banking services primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Community Banking; Wholesale Banking; and Wealth, Brokerage, and Retirement. The Community Banking segment offers deposits, including checking, market rate, and individual retirement accounts; savings and time deposits; and debit cards. Its loan products comprise lines of credit, auto floor plans, equity lines and loans, equipment and transportation loans, education loans, residential mortgage loans, health savings accounts, and credit cards. This segment also provides equipment leases, real estate financing, small business administration financing, venture capital financing, cash management, payroll services, retirement plans, loans secured by autos, and merchant payment processing services; purchases sales finance contracts from retail merchants; and a family of funds, and investment managemen t services. The Wholesale Banking segment offers commercial and corporate banking products and services, including commercial loans and lines of credit, letters of credit, asset-based lending, equipment leasing, international trade facilities, trade financing, collection services, foreign exchange services, treasury and investment management, institutional fixed-income sales, commodity and equity risk management, insurance, corporate trust fiduciary and agency services, and investment banking services. This segment also provides banking products for commercial real estate market, and real estate and mortgage brokerage services. The Wealth, Brokerage, and Retirement segment offers financial advisory, brokerage, and institutional retirement and trust services. As of December 31, 2010, the company served its customers through approximately 9,000 banking stores in 39 States an! d the District of Columbia. Wells Fargo & Company was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in San Franc i sco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Dan Strumpf var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach(fu]
Financial stocks may be outperforming the broader market this year, but that's not good enough for Wells Fargo(WFC), which is downgrading its rating on the sector.
[By Rich Smith]
AFP/Getty Images/Frederic J. Brown Over the past decade or so, waves of computer-aided identity theft have washed over the U.S. Since the first big hack attack on ChoicePoint in 2005, through more recent data breaches at Evernote, LivingSocial, and now the massive Target (TGT) breach involving 110 million pieces of data (just the third-largest data breach in U.S. history, by the way), companies have more or less figured out a routine for dealing with data breaches. You notify the FBI. You (eventually) notify your customers. And you replace everybody's credit cards. With the latest breach at Target, that process is already well under way. Megabanks like JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Citigroup (C) have collectively handed out millions of new cards, with new card numbers, to customers whose data may have been compromised by the Target data breach. Last week, the Independent Community Bankers of America issued a release confirming its members -- small banks around the country -- have "reissued more than 4 million credit and debit cards." To ensure that credit and debit card numbers that hacker stole from Target and Neiman Marcus will soon be useless, ICBA member bankers absorbed costs in excess of $40 million. And as a result of their quick action, says the group, "community banks' initial fraud costs were relatively low, with less than 1 percent of community bank customers reporting fraud." So, while the Target breach and the "110 million pieces of data lost" sounds bad, the dama! ge probab! ly won't be as bad as you think. In fact, you can use this epic data fail to your advantage. You Have to Set up New Auto-Payments When your bank sends you a new credit or debit card, it will come with a new number to replace the one that Target lost. Your old number has been canceled. This means any automatic payment plans you've set up -- your subscriptions and the card numbers that you have preselected for payments on Amazon (AMZN), P
[By David Dittman]
The top 10 also includes US-based Microsoft Corp (NSDQ: MSFT), JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE: WFC).
Question: I have an MLP in my IRA. Please explain why I should not have one there. Thank you I sure enjoy these web chats.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-canadian-stocks-to-own-for-2014.html

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Best India Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Best India Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Tata Motors Ltd(TTM)

Tata Motors Limited, an automobile company, engages in the manufacture and sale of commercial and passenger vehicles primarily in India. The company offers cars, utility vehicles, trucks, buses and coaches, and defense vehicles, as well as develops electric and hybrid vehicles for personal and public transportation. It also involves in distributing and marketing cars; and financing the vehicles sold by the company. In addition, the company engages in the provision of engineering and automotive solutions, as well as machine tools and factory automation solutions; construction equipment manufacturing; automotive vehicle components manufacturing and supply chain activities; tooling and plastic and electronic components for automotive and computer applications; and automotive retailing and service operations. It offers its products and services through its dealership, sales, services, and spare parts network. The company also markets its commercial and passenger vehicles in Eu rope, Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, South Asia, and South America. The company was formerly known as Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Limited and changed its name to Tata Motors Limited in July 2003. Tata Motors Limited was founded in 1945 and is based in Mumbai, India.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Paul Ausick]
Among car makers, the Cadillac brand from General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), the Lincoln brand from Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), and Toyota Motor Corp.’s (NYSE: TM) Lexus brand make the list, as does Jaguar, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors Ltd. (NYSE: TTM).
[By Sophia Yan]
Shares of Tata Motors (TTM) tumbled almost 5% in morning trading in Mumbai as investors reacted to news of Slym's death. Tata Motors also owns Jaguar and Land Rover brands.
[By Trey Thoelcke]
The rise of VW could hit GM particularly hard, both in terms of reputation and in earnings. GM said it was looking to introduce four new Chevrolet models in China next year, as well as to expand its low-cost Baojun brand. Chinese buyers could already be looking elsewhere though, given the rise of VW and of Tata Motors Ltd. (NYSE: TTM), which sells cars under the Jaguar and Range Rover brands. Sales of Tata vehicles have risen sharply in the past year, and the company is set to begin producing cars in China.

[By James Well]
Pfizer's Net Income Growth Is Increasing Leading to Increase in Its Operating Margins

Net incomes and operating margins of a company give some insights into its financial health. Pfizer's net income growth has accelerated this year. In fact, when compared with its direct competitors like Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi, the rate of increase of net income growth trailing twelve months (TTM) is greatest at Pfizer with $10.68 billion followed by Novartis with $9.37 billion while Merck and Sanofi lagged behind with $4.53 billion and $4.05 billion respectively. Really, rather than increasing, there has been a decrease in Merck's and Sanofi's net incomes this year which should be a source of concern for investors. A healthy operating margin shows that a company is earning more per dollar of sales and, hence, able to pay for its fixed costs including interest on debt.

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

Posted by Best Stock Investment at 6:32 AM No comments:
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Thursday, March 13, 2014

Top Small Cap Stocks For 2014

Top Small Cap Stocks For 2014: OCZ Technology Group Inc(OCZ)

OCZ Technology Group, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes computer components for computing devices and systems worldwide. It primarily offers solid state drives, flash memory storage, memory modules, thermal management solutions, AC/DC switching power supply units, and computer gaming solutions. The company?s products are used in industrial equipment and computer systems; computer and computer gaming solutions; mission critical servers and high end workstations; personal computer (PC) upgrades to extend the useable life of existing PCs; high performance computing and scientific computing; video and music editing; home theatre PCs and digital home convergence products; and digital photography and digital image manipulation computers. OCZ Technology Group, Inc. offers its products to retailers, on-line retailers, original equipment manufacturers, systems integrators, and distributors. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in San Jose, Califo rnia.
Advisors' Opinion:
[By Rich Duprey]
The not-so-great and wonderful OCZ
There was no company-specific news that caused solid-state-drive maker OCZ Technology (NASDAQ: OCZ  ) to fall almost 8% Wednesday. But an article that appeared on Seeking Alpha questioning whether the company had six months or less to live before it filed for bankruptcy seemed to coincide with its fall.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-small-cap-stocks-for-2014-2.html

Posted by Best Stock Investment at 8:35 AM No comments:
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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Hot Sliver Stocks For 2015

Hot Sliver Stocks For 2015: American Superconductor Corporation(AMSC)

American Superconductor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides wind and power grid products and services primarily in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The company?s Wind segment designs, develops, and licenses engineered wind turbine designs to wind turbine manufactures; provides engineering and customer support services; supplies power electronics and software-based control systems to wind turbine manufactures to regulate voltage, control power flows, and maximize wind turbine efficiency; offers consulting services to the wind industry; and provides products that enhance power quality for industrial operations. This segment serves the transmission and distribution, wind power, and manufacturing industries. Its Grid segment manufactures high-temperature superconductor wire and coils; designs and develops superconductor products, such as power cables, fault current limiters, electric motors, generators, and synchronous condensers; manages large-s cale superconductor projects; and provides transmission planning services that identify power grid congestion, poor power quality, and other risks. This segment?s products enable electric utilities and renewable energy project developers to connect, transmit, and distribute power. Its products include D-VAR systems that provide the reactive power needed to stabilize voltage on the grid, and are used to connect wind farms and solar power plants to the power grid; SolarTie Grid Interconnection Systems, which provide the inversion and reactive compensation necessary to connect megawatt-scale solar photovoltaic power plants to the power grid; superconductor wires for various applications, including motors, generators, fault current limiters, and power cables; and power cable systems that are manufactured by third parties, as well as turnkey project management services to electric util! ities. American Superconductor Corporation was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Devens, M assachusetts.
Advisors' Opinion:
[By Lisa Levin]
American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC) shares touched a new 52-week low of $1.89. American Superconductor shares have dropped 39.25% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 26.62% in the same period.

[By Dan Caplinger]
On Friday, American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC  ) will release its latest quarterly results. After the loss of its largest customer two years ago, the company has had to make a massive readjustment in its business model, and investors still aren't sure whether it can bounce back from that major setback.

[By Travis Hoium]
To make matters even more contentious, China has been stealing trade secrets and other intellectual property for years, and that may finally be coming to a head now that it's the second largest economy in the world. Last week, American Superconductor's (NASDAQ: AMSC  ) trade dispute with China was taken to another level when the Department of Justice indicted former AMSC partner Sinovel for stealing trade secrets. All indications are that this should have been an open-and-shut case in China, but the Chinese court system has thrown out the case, or dragged its feet for two years.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-sliver-stocks-for-2015-2.html

Posted by Best Stock Investment at 10:33 AM No comments:
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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Hot China Stocks To Buy Right Now

Hot China Stocks To Buy Right Now: Sina Corporation(SINA)

SINA Corporation provides online media and mobile value-added services (MVAS) in the People?s Republic of China. It provides advertising, non-advertising, and free services through SINA.com, Weibo.com, and SINA Mobile. SINA.com offers free interest-based channels that provide region-focused format and content, including news, sports, automobile-related news, finance, entertainment, luxury, technology, digital, tools, collectibles, video, music, and wireless application protocol, as well as interactive platform for fashion-conscious users to share comments and ideas on a range of topics, such as health, cosmetics, and beauty. The company's microblogging platform, Weibo.com, enables its users to follow the hottest topics being discussed online, as well as discussions related to people they know. Weibo accounts consist of celebrities, commercial enterprises, government entities, and grass root Internet users. Its SINA Mobile service allows users to receive news and informatio n, download ring tones, mobile games and pictures, and participate in dating and friendship communities. The company also offers SINA Game, which serves as an interactive platform that provides users with downloads and gateway access to popular online games; SINA eReading, a shop for book reviews; SINA.net, an enterprise solutions platform to assist businesses and government bodies; and SINA Mall, an online shopping Website. In addition, it provides a platform for Chinese bloggers; photo-sharing platform; free email, VIP mail, and corporate email for enterprise users; audio and video-based instant messaging tools; proprietary search technology; and classified advertising services, as well as hosts topic-specific discussion forums in Chinese language; and creates user-maintained and supported online communities. The company has strategic cooperation agreement with China Unicom (Hong K! ong) Limited. SINA Corporation was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the Peo p le?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:
[By Victor Selva]
There aren't many Internet portals that can pride themselves on successfully climbing the industry ladder in only a decade. But, NetEase Inc. ADR (NTES) is one of them. Ever since the Chinese gaming market exploded into a multi-billion dollar business, this online game operator has managed to reach its competitors SINA Corp. (SINA) and Sohu.com Inc. (SOHU), via an extensive brand portfolio of in-house and licensed games. Some of the core online games include Fantasy Westward Journey, Westward Journey Online II and Ghost II.

[By Paul Ausick]
SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) closed the past two days down 6% at $72.51 on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $89 just two weeks ago, and the 52-week range is $45.54 to $92.83. Early volume was fairly heavy, with about one-sixth of the daily average of nearly 3 million shares already changing hands.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-china-stocks-to-buy-right-now.html

Posted by Best Stock Investment at 2:14 PM No comments:
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