If it survives another 155 trading days without experiencing a significant drop, the present bull market in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) will surpass that of the 2002-2007 subprime-mortgage bubble as the fifth-longest bull market since 1896. In just more than 1,100 trading days, the index has grown by nearly 140%, better than all but six other bull markets -- and it's within striking distance of sixth place, which would be in reach once the index's value approaches 16,000 points.
One recent analysis by LPL Financial suggests that this is the strongest bull market since the end of World War II, at least in its first four-odd years of growth. Since only four other bull markets have even survived as long as this latest one since 1945, it's not all that hard to make the comparison. But this limitation is a bit restrictive. We should look a little further back at the Dow's century-plus wealth of data to see how all bull markets of similar or greater length have performed in their first four years. This bull market is widely regarded as one of the least trusted in modern investing history, but is that justified, or are investors scared for no reason?
Top Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Commonwealth Bankshares Inc. (CWBS)
Commonwealth Bankshares, Inc. completed the sale of Bank of the Commonwealth to Southern Bank and Trust Company in September 2011. Previously, the company provided a range of commercial banking services to individuals and small to medium-sized businesses in the United States. Commonwealth Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia.
Top Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ)
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) provides a range of banking and financial products and services to retail, small business, corporate and institutional clients. The Company conducts its operations in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region. It also operates in a range of other countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. The Company operates on a divisional structure with Australia, International and Institutional Banking (IIB), New Zealand, and Global Wealth and Private Banking. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had 1,337 branches and other points of representation worldwide, excluding automatic teller machines (ATMs). In September 2012, it sold its remaining shareholding in Visa Inc. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Adam Haigh]
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) sank 3 percent after Australia�� third-largest bank by market value forecast interest margins will keep dropping. Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. jumped 6.9 percent in Seoul after North Korea and South Korea agreed to reopen the Gaeseong industrial complex. Chinese stock exchange officials are investigating a spike in the Shanghai Composite Index, which soared from a loss of as much as 1 percent to a gain of 5.6 percent in two minutes. Everbright Securities Co. said it experienced a trading error.
- [By Weiyi Lim]
The funds lured a net $25.9 billion in the period, Wei Liang Chang, a foreign-exchange strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ), said by phone from Singapore today, citing data from EPFR Global. Developed markets posted $24.3 billion of inflows, while emerging-nation funds drew $1.6 billion, according to Chang.
Top Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now: Home Federal Bancorp Inc. of Louisiana(HFBL)
Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana operates as the holding company for Home Federal Bank, which provides financial services to individuals, corporate entities, and other organizations in northwest Louisiana. The company?s deposit products include savings accounts, NOW accounts, money market accounts, and certificate accounts, as well as passbook savings, certificates of deposit, and demand deposit accounts. Its loan portfolio comprises real estate loans, such as one to four family residential loans; commercial-real estate loans; multi-family residential loans; commercial business loans; land loans; construction loans; home equity and second mortgage loans; equity lines of credit; and consumer loans, including loans secured by deposit accounts, automobile loans, and other unsecured loans. The company also offers wealth management services. As of December 7, 2010, it operated through its main office, two branch offices, and one agency office in Shreveport, Louisiana. T he company is based in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lauren Pollock]
Bank-holding company Banner Corp.(BANR) on Tuesday said it had agreed to buy Home Federal Bancorp Inc.(HFBL) (HOME) for $197 million in cash and stock. The deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, will result in a combined company with about $5.2 billion in assets, making it the fourth-largest bank in the Pacific Northwest by assets, the companies said.
Top Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Gafisa SA (GFA)
Gafisa S.A. (Gafisa), incorporated on November 12, 1996, is a diversified national homebuilder serving all demographic segments of the Brazilian market. The Company�� brands include Tenda, which serves the affordable entry-level housing segments, Gafisa, which offers a variety of residential options to the mid to higher income segments and Alphaville, which focuses on the identification, development and sale of residential communities. In addition, it provides construction services to third parties. Gafisa�� core business is the development of residential units in attractive locations. During the year ended December 31, 2009, approximately 55% of the value of its launches was derived from high and mid high-level residential developments under the Gafisa brand. It is also engaged in the development of land subdivisions, also known as residential communities, representing approximately 18% of the value of its launches under the Alphaville brand, and affordable entry-level housing, which represents approximately 27% of the value of its launches under the Tenda brand. In addition, it provides construction services to third parties. Gafisa operates in more than 120 cities, including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Fortaleza, Natal, Curitiba, Belo Horizonte, Manaus, Porto Alegre and Belem, across 21 states and the Federal District.
Real Estate Activities
The Company�� real estate business includes developments for sale of residential units; land subdivisions (also known as residential communities); commercial buildings; construction services to third parties, and sale of units through its brokerage subsidiaries, Gafisa Vendas and Gafisa Vendas Rio, jointly referred to as Gafisa Vendas. In the residential buildings product category, Gafisa develops three main types of products: luxury buildings targeted at upper-income customers, buildings targeted at middle-income customers; and affordable entry-level housing targeted at lower-income customers. Quality residential buildi! ngs for middle- and upper-income customers are its core products. Luxury buildings units usually have over 180 square meters of private area, at least four bedrooms and three parking spaces. The development includes swimming pools, gyms, visitor parking, and other amenities.
Buildings targeted at middle-income customers have accounted for the majority of its sales. Units usually have between 90 and 180 square meters of private area, three or four bedrooms and two to three underground parking spaces. Buildings are usually developed in large tracts of land as part of multi-building developments and, to a lesser extent, in smaller lots in attractive neighborhoods. Affordable entry-level housing consists of building and house units. Units usually have between 42 to 60 square meters of indoor private area and two to three bedrooms.
Commercial Buildings
During 2009, the Company launched four commercial buildings. These buildings include Centro Empresarial Madureira, Paulista Corporate, Reserva Eco Office Life and Global Offices.
Construction Service
Gafisa provide construction services to third parties, building residential and commercial projects for developers in Brazil. The Company�� principal construction services clients are large companies, many of them developers that do not build their own projects. As of December 31, 2009, its principal construction services clients were Fibra Empreendimentos Imobiliarios S.A., Sisan-Grupo Silvio Santos, Camargo Correa Desenvolvimento Imobiliario S.A., Helbor Empreendimentos Imobiliarios Ltda., InCons S.A., SDI Desenvolvimento Imobiliario Ltda. and Abyara. It also provides construction services on certain developments where it retains an equity interest.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
Brazilian construction firm Gafisa (NYSE: GFA ) is not only selling houses these days. The company has signed an agreement to sell a 70% stake in residential community developer Alphaville Urbanismo to funds managed by Blackstone (NYSE: BX ) and the American company's Brazilian partner firm Patria Investimentos.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
Gafisa (GFA) is a homebuilder in Brazil. This stock closed up 5% to $3.13 in Tuesday's trading session.
Tuesday's Range: $2.97-$3.15
52-Week Range: $2.22-$5.24
Tuesday's Volume: 1.70 million
Three-Month Average Volume: 1.77 millionFrom a technical perspective, GFA ripped higher here right above some near-term support at $2.80 with decent upside volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last month, with shares moving higher from its low of $2.27 to its intraday high of $3.15. During that move, shares of GFA have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of GFA within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if GFA manages to take out Tuesday's high of $3.15 to some past resistance at $3.30 with high volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in GFA as long as it's trending above support at $2.80 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 1.77 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then GFA will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at its 200-day moving average of $3.68 to more resistance at $4.20 to $4.70.
Top Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Beacon Federal Bancorp Inc.(BFED)
Beacon Federal Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Beacon Federal that provides various banking services. The company?s deposit products include savings accounts, health savings accounts, certificates of deposit, interest and noninterest-bearing checking accounts accounts, money market accounts, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan products portfolio comprises one-to four-family residential mortgage loans, consumer loans, home equity loans, commercial real estate loans, multi-family mortgage loans, and commercial business loans. The company also sells tax preparation services, as well as investment and insurance products on an agency basis. It operates from its corporate office located in East Syracuse, New York; and from eight full-service branches located in Syracuse, Marcy, and Rome, New York; Smartt and Smyrna, Tennessee; Tyler, Texas; and Chelmsford, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in East Syracuse, New Y ork.
Top Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Beneficial Mutual Bancorp Inc.(BNCL)
Beneficial Mutual Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Beneficial Bank that provides financial services to consumers and businesses in the United States. The company accepts a range of deposit products, such as non-interest bearing demand deposits, including individual checking accounts; interest-bearing demand accounts comprising negotiable order of withdrawal and money market accounts; savings accounts; certificates of deposit; and business banking deposit products, such as a commercial checking account and a checking account for small businesses, as well as offers cash management services, which consist of remote deposit, lockbox, and sweep accounts. It originates various loans, including fixed-rate and adjustable-rate one-to-four family residential loans; commercial real estate loans; commercial business loans, such as installment loans for capital improvements, equipment acquisition, and long-term working capital to professionals, sole proprietorships, an d small businesses; consumer loans comprising home equity loans and lines of credit, automobile loans, boat loans, loans for recreational vehicles, guaranteed student loans, and loans secured by passbook accounts and certificates of deposit; and construction loans. In addition, the company provides insurance brokerage and investment advisory services. It operates approximately 65 banking offices located in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; and Burlington and Camden Counties in New Jersey. The company was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Beneficial Mutual Bancorp, Inc. is a subsidiary of Beneficial Savings Bank MHC.
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