Best Cheap Stocks For 2016: May 2014

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Best Information Technology Companies For 2015

Best Information Technology Companies For 2015: Guidance Software Inc.(GUID)

Guidance Software, Inc. provides digital investigative solutions to government agencies and corporations primarily in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia/the Pacific Rim. It offers EnCase platform for organizations to search, collect, and analyze electronically stored information to address human resources matters, litigation matters, allegations of fraud, suspicious network endpoint activity, and defend their data assets. The company?s EnCase Enterprise software provides visibility into laptops, desktops, and file servers to conduct internal investigations and determine the root cause of suspicious network activity; and EnCase eDiscovery solution to automatically perform search, collection, preservation, and processing of electronically stored information from unstructured and semi-structured data stores. Its EnCase Cybersecurity forensic solution to expose, triage, and remediate threats, and to enforce data policy compliance on endpoints; EnCase Fore nsic computer investigation solution allows examiners to acquire data from various devices and unearth potential evidence, and craft reports on their findings; and EnCase Portable solution allows forensic professionals and non-experts to triage and collect digital evidence forensically. The company also offers hardware products, including write blockers, forensic duplicators, and storage devices; professional services, such as eDiscovery, network security incident response, civil/criminal digital investigation, and implementation services; and packaged services. It serves various industries, such as financial and insurance services, technology, defense contracting, telecom, pharmaceutical, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail. The company sells its software products and services primarily through its direct sales force; and hardware products principally through resellers. Guidance Software, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Pasaden! a, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Evan Niu, CFA]
What: Shares of Guidance Software (NASDAQ: GUID ) got crushed today -- down by 25% at the low -- after the company reported first-quarter results.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/best-information-technology-companies-for-2015-2.html

Top 10 Regional Bank Companies To Watch In Right Now

Top 10 Regional Bank Companies To Watch In Right Now: Bankrate Inc (RATE)

Bankrate, Inc. (Bankrate), incorporated on April 13, 2011, is a publisher, aggregator and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. The Company provides consumers with personal finances editorial content across multiple vertical categories, including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Company provides financial applications and information to a network of distribution partners and through national and state publications. The Company develops and provides Web services to over 75 co-branded partners, including personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, CNN Money, CNBC and Comcast. The Company licenses editorial content to over 100 newspapers on a daily basis, including including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe. The Company offers services, including Mortgages and Home Lending, Deposits, Insurance, Credit Cards and Other financial products, including those related to retirement, tax, auto, and debt management.

The Company online publishing, is the sale of advertising, sponsorships, leads and hyperlinks, and lead generation within its Online Network through Bankrate.com, Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, Nationwidecardservices.com, Creditcardsearchengine.com, Feedisclosure.com, Insureme.com, Bankrate.com.cn (China), CreditCards.com, Creditcards.ca, Netquote.com, CD.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com and InsWeb.com. The print publishing and licensing business is primarily engaged in the sale of advertising in the Mortgage Guide and CD & Deposit Guide.

Mortgages and Home Lending

The Company offers information on rates for different types of mortgages, home lending and refinancing options. The Companys rate information is specific to geographic location and contains nearly 600 loc! al markets, covering al l 50 United States. Consumers can customize searches for mor! tgage rates by loan size, maturity, and location through its online portals. The Company also provides original articles that cover topics, such as trends in housing markets and refinancing perspectives to help consumers with their decision making.

Deposits

The Company offers rate information on different deposit products, such as money market accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit. It also provides online analytic tools to help consumers calculate investment value using customized inputs.

Insurance

The Company facilitates a consumers ability to receive multiple competitive insurance quotes for auto, business, home, life, health and long-term care based on a single application. It also provides advice and detailed descriptions of insurance terms, aiding consumers in deciding amongst a range of policy options. Insurance quotes can be customized by age, marital status and location. In addition, the Company provides articles on topical subjects, such as recent healthcare reforms, as well as the basics to understanding an insurance policy.

Credit Cards

The Company offers a selection of consumer and business credit and prepaid cards for visitors. It provides detailed credit card information and comparison capabilities, and allows consumers to search for cards that cater to their specific needs. It displays cards by bank or issuer, credit quality, reward program, or card limit. The Company further hosts news and advice on credit card debt and bank policies, as well as tools to estimate credit score and credit card fees.

Other Personal Finance Products

The Company offers information on retirement, taxes, auto, and debt management. The content provided on such topics include 401(k), Social Security, tax deductions and exemptions, auto loans, debt consolidation, and credit risk.

The Company se! lls leads! to insurance agen ts, insurance carriers and credit card issuers. Its credit c! ard compa! rison marketplace is one of the third party online application sources for all issuers. The Company charges its advertisers on a per-lead basis based on the total number of leads generated for insurance products, and on a per-action basis for credit cards (upon approval or completion of an application). Advertisers that are listed in the Companys rate tables have the opportunity to hyperlink their listings. In addition, advertisers can buy hyperlinked placement within its qualified insurance listings. It sells its hyperlinks on a per-click pricing model. The Company provides a variety of digital display formats. Its common digital display advertisement sizes are leader boards and banners, which are prominently displayed at the top or bottom of a page, skyscrapers, islands and posters. The Company charges for these advertisements based on the number of times the advertisement is displayed or based on a fixed amount for a campaign.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Rich Smith]
Getty Images You've all seen the bumper stickers -- maybe you even have one on your car -- "We're spending our kids' inheritance." But funny as the sticker is, and as much as you might share the sentiment on occasion, the truth is that most Americans of retirement age say they aren't doing anything of the sort. That's the upshot of a new survey from Bankrate.com (RATE) subsidiary Interest.com, which recently polled Americans ages 18 to 59, asking whether they expect to receive an inheritance from their elders at some point in their lifetimes. And then they polled the folks bearing the bumper stickers... and came to a pretty startling conclusion: Barely 1 in 4 Americans under the age of 60 have any hope of ever inheriting anything from anybody. But nearly 2 out of 3 Americans age 60 and over say that yes, indeed, they have been saving, and one of these days, their heirs are going to benefit. What We Have Here Is a Fai! lure to C! ommunicate A 2011 study conducted by the Boston College Center for Retirement Research estimated that U.S. retirees have built up an astounding $8.4 trillion dollars worth of inheritable wealth. Baby Boomers have benefited from giveaways to the tune of $2.4 trillion already, but this still leaves $6 trillion more waiting to be handed out. So on one hand, according to Interest.com, 64 percent of the folks with the dough say they expect to have enough money left over at the end of their lives to bequeath it to their heirs. Yet on the other hand, 27 percent of Americans who might inherit that money don't think they'll ever see any of it. Why not? The bumper stickers may be one reason. When enough people start joking about planning to spend what they've got on themselves -- especially in an economy like this one, when that may be their only option -- you can hardly blame the kids for beginning to believe them. Or perhaps the kids may not be expecting to receive an inheritance because they simply don't know there's any money to inherit.
[By Rich Smith]
Alamy You've probably heard by now that in some vague way, your credit rating has something to do with the premiums your auto insurance company charges you for coverage. But if you're like me, you've probably never quite understood the details of how this work. Fortunately, the good folks at InsuranceQuotes.com -- a subsidiary of Bankrate (RATE) -- recently published a report that draws back the curtain on this little-understood quirk of the insurance industry. Blame it on FICO Used to be, the rate you paid for insuring your car was tied primarily to demographic and personal factors that were clearly connected to the risk that you'd damage your car and ask the insurance company to pay for it: things like your age, sex, marital status, and driving history. It won't surprise anyone that younger, unmarried men are more likely to be risky drivers than soccer moms, and should therefore pay higher premiums. But about 20 years ago, the! folks at! Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) found a correlation between low credit scores and a higher risk of filing an insurance claim. That's not causation, of course -- having bad credit doesn't somehow cause you to crash your car. But according to FICO, "people who choose to effectively manage their finances are also less likely to have future insurance losses." Conversely, there is a "statistical correlation between a person's credit score and the likelihood that he or she will file an auto insurance claim in the future." Suddenly, FICO had a new way to hawk its credit histories to insurance companies -- and insurance companies had a new excuse to raise your rates. News Flash: Everybody Does It Ever since, insurance companies have used this finding to tweak the rates they charge you for insurance. Today, says InsuranceQuotes, "about 97 percent of U.S. insurance companies" do it. But how do they do it, exactly?
[By Rich Smith]
Meridian Studios, Getty Images It's no great secret that across the nation, insurance premiums are on the rise. Over the past five years, the cost of insuring a home against fire and other casualty has crept up about 10 percent a year -- every year. Health insurance increases, while they've been muted of late, still rose 4 percent this year. But if you think those hikes are steep, get a load of this next one. Congratulations! You're a Father! (Now Open Your Wallet) Kids are expensive. If you're a parent, you know this already. If you're a parent of a kid who hasn't turned 16 just yet, you're on track to get another lesson in how expensive they can be. Because once your offspring passes the driver's test and receive a license to drive from the state, he's going to need to be insured -- and that will cost you an extra $2,000 a year, on average. (By the way, if your kid is getting driver's license, your wallet won't take quite as big a hit, girls being 25 percent less expensive to insure than boys on average. But it'll still be some serious coin.) Ac! cording t! o the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driving is a risky activity for teens. The are more prone to get into accidents -- about four times as likely as older, more experienced drivers, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And traffic accidents are the leading causes of death for Americans ages 16 to 19. Between lives lost and property destroyed, this all makes insurance companies very wary of insuring teen drivers. And when they do agree to insure a teen, they make you pay through the nose. According to a recent report posted on Bankrate.com's (RATE) InsuranceQuotes.com, across both genders, all age categories, and all 50 states, parents pay an average 84 percent more for their car insurance after adding a teen to their policy. Stay Between the (State) Lines Think that's bad? It might get worse. Unless you're fortunate enough to live in a state like North Carolina or Hawaii,

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-regional-bank-companies-to-watch-in-right-now.html

Friday, May 30, 2014

Top 10 Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015

Top 10 Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015: Warner Chilcott plc(WCRX)

Warner Chilcott Public Limited Company, a specialty pharmaceutical company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, and promotion of branded pharmaceutical products focusing on the women?s healthcare, gastroenterology, dermatology, and urology markets in North America and western Europe. Its principal products include ACTONEL for the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis; ATELVIA for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis; LOESTRIN 24 FE and LO LOESTRIN FE, which are oral contraceptives for the prevention of pregnancy; ESTRACE cream, a vaginal cream for the treatment of vaginal and vulvar atrophy; ASACOL for the treatment of ulcerative colitis for orally administered 5-aminosalicylic acid products and maintenance of remission; ASACOL HD for the treatment of moderately active ulcerative colitis; DORYX, a tetracycline-class oral antibiotic for the treatment of severe acne; and ENABLEX for the treatment of overactive b ladder. The company markets its products and services through wholesale pharmaceutical distributors, and retail drug store chains. It has a strategic collaboration agreement with Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC. Warner Chilcott Public Limited Company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Dan Caplinger]
Tomorrow, Warner Chilcott (NASDAQ: WCRX ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed kneejerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.
[By Sean Williams]
What: Shares of Warn! er Chilcott (NASDAQ: WCRX ) , a branded pharmaceutical company focused on women's health care, shot higher by as much as 20% after the company reported its first-quarter earnings results, and on news that it could be a buyout target.
[By Rich Smith]
On Friday, shares of branded pharmaceutical manufacturer Warner Chilcott (NASDAQ: WCRX ) jumped 20% in response to rumors that the company was in talks to sell itself to larger rival Actavis (NYSE: ACT ) . Warner also reported steady earnings, where a decline had been expected, and reiterated full-year guidance.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-quality-stocks-to-buy-for-2015.html

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Why Donald Sterling Might Win in the Sale of the Clippers

Source: Flickr / Noize Photography.

Think Donald Sterling is appropriately being punished by being forced to sell the L.A. Clippers? Troublingly, it turns out this may actually be a good thing for him.

The demand of the league
It isn't worth rehashing the awful remarks that brought Sterling into this mess. And it should come as no surprise ESPN reported he was going to fight the demands of the NBA "to the bloody end," and would do all he could to ensure his Clippers weren't sold.

What is regrettably lost in all of this is Sterling might be the big winner as a result of his disgusting remarks.

Staples Center. Source: Flickr / David Jones.

The troubling truth
Consider the reality that there is only one Clippers team.

When supply is fixed at one, the price is only determined by demand. It's a straight line, and it will only get sold for what people are willing to pay for it.

And in the case of Donald Sterling, that may be exactly what is happening. With the widespread media attention surrounding the controversy, it's not difficult to imagine some of the possible groups interested in buying the Clippers are those who would've never considered it otherwise. Perhaps their thought to buy the Clippers was driven solely by the fact it's such a well-known sale.

After all, it was just last month when the Milwaukee Bucks were sold for $550 million, and Sports Illustrated said, "The sale of the team concludes a quiet, extended process carried out with specific ends in mind."

And while there would undoubtedly be more demand for the Clippers than the Bucks under normal circumstances, a "quiet" and "extended process" is the exact opposite of what the sale of the Clippers will ultimately be.

ESPN said today there are "at least six serious groups" who've approached Sterling's wife to buy the team already. And last week it also reported "the number of bidders for the Clippers is expected to stray well into double digits," provided the league is able to "force the sale of the team."

So does that mean demand will double? While we cannot say for certain, we do know the sale is expected to top $1 billion. But it was just this January when Forbes pegged the value of the Clippers at "just" $575 million. With the demand on the rise, and the supply fixed at one, the price is apparently only moving up. Meaning Sterling will only get more from the sale.

The surprising bright spot
To think a deplorable man like Sterling could actually benefit by getting a higher price than he would otherwise as a result of the attention devoted to him is somewhat defeating. Yet there is one lone bright spot.

Sterling's remarks note:

On top of that punishment, forcing a sale rather than allowing the team to pass by succession to the remaining spouse or heirs would trigger an avoidable capital gains tax estimated to be more than $300 million to $500 million.

If the price rises, it means Sterling will end up having to pay more in taxes. And while we may all think what we will about taxes, it turns out this may be one instance where the taxes appropriately make all Americans -- but one -- a little richer.

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Your credit card may soon be completely worthless
The news about the possibility of Sterling coming out on top is troubling, but it turns out supply and demand can actually benefit us all. The plastic in your wallet is about to go the way of the typewriter, the VCR, and the 8-track tape player. When it does, a handful of investors could stand to get very rich as the demand for one company's product sky rockets. You can join them -- but you must act now. An eye-opening new presentation reveals the full story on why your credit card is about to be worthless -- and highlights one little-known company sitting at the epicenter of an earth-shaking movement that could hand early investors the kind of profits we haven't seen since the dot-com days. Click here to watch this stunning video.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

10 Best Railroad Stocks To Own For 2015

10 Best Railroad Stocks To Own For 2015: Incyte Corporation(INCY)

Incyte Corporation focuses on the discovery and development of proprietary small molecule drugs for hematologic and oncology indications, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Its product pipe line includes INCB18424, which is in Phase III clinical trial for myelofibrosis; Phase III trial for polycythemia vera; Phase III trial for essential thrombocythemia; Phase I/II trial to treat solid tumors/other hematologic malignancies; and Phase IIb trail for the treatment of psoriasis. The company?s portfolio also includes INCB28050, a Phase IIb clinical trial product for rheumatoid arthritis; INCB28060, a Phase I/II product for solid tumors; INCB7839, a Phase II product for breast cancer; and INCB24360, a Phase I/II product for solid tumors. It has a collaborative research and license agreements with Novartis International Pharmaceutical Ltd.; Eli Lilly and Company; and Pfizer Inc. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Maxx Chatsko]
The company was also hoping to crack into the rheumatoid arthritis market with tabalumab, which kept the streak of ineffective treatments going for shareholders. Despite losing out on this massive market initially, Eli Lilly does have a promising JAK inhibitor (baricitinib) being developed with Incyte (NASDAQ: INCY ) for the disease and an additional trial for psoriasis. If successful, safe, and effective, the oral treatment could be more convenient for patients currently taking injectable biologics.
[By Maxx Chatsko]
Incite growth into your portfolio
Investors looking for the next high-growth biotech company should certainly spend time researching Incyte (NASDAQ: INCY ) . The company sports a handful of the most promising JAK inhibitors, which are garnering high level interest throughout the pharmaceutical industry. The molecules have big potential in! treating various cancers and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/10-best-railroad-stocks-to-own-for-2015.html

Innovations Will Keep This Apparel and Footwear Retailer Growing

Under Armour's (NYSE: UA ) shares went from around $6.20 per share in March 2009 to nearly $80.30 per share at the time of writing. The stock seems quite expensive because it is trading at around 28.20 times its EV/EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. However, the business has kept growing at an impressive rate. One of the main factors driving the business growth is Under Armour's ability to innovate to keep up with fast-changing customer behavior.

Fantastic growth, driven by innovations
In the third quarter, Under Armour reported that its revenue increased by 26%, while diluted earnings per share rose to $0.68. The company believes that its business is growing at an industry-leading pace, and considering this was its 14th consecutive quarter with net revenue growth of more than 20%, they probably aren't wrong. The net revenue growth was driven primarily by product innovations and expansions, including the Storm and Charged Cotton platform and the introduction of ColdGear Infrared technology.

The ColdGear Infrared uses ceramic thermo-conductive inner coating to absorb and retain body heat, making users warm, while SpeedForm is based on the innovative idea of fit. Interestingly, these shoes were not made in normal footwear factories, but bra factories instead, where fit was considered one of the most important factors. Because of these innovations, Under Armour can place premium pricing on its products.

Competitors also renovate themselves to stay ahead
In order to keep growing, Under Armour should keep innovating and staying ahead of its competitors. Nike (NYSE: NKE ) , the global leader of athletic footwear and apparel, also relies on innovation to fuel business growth. For Nike, it always starts with the athlete. Its product innovation goals are to make athletes stronger, faster, and help them achieve new performance levels.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2014 the next generation of Flyknit, the Nike Free Flyknit, was introduced to the market. The Nike Free Flyknit combines both Flyknit and Free technology to create a "compression fit with free flexibility" to keep the foot in place all of the time. In the sportswear category, the Nike Tech Pack new line of premium apparel was launched. The Tech Pack is designed to improve fit, comfort, and breathability for the consumer and it is expected to be a big growth driver for Nike's sportswear category in the future. The innovation in Footwear products could really move Nike's operating performance ahead, as Footwear was the biggest category of Nike's business. In the first quarter of fiscal 2014, Footwear generated nearly $4 billion in revenue, accounting for more than 57% of the company's total revenue.

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Another peer, Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ: COLM ) has also spent a lot of money on a major marketing campaign for its Omni-Freeze ZERO fabric. This fabric uses the industry's leading cooling technology and provides prolonged cooling for its users. This could be considered an important new franchise to complement the existing franchise innovations portfolio of Columbia Sportswear. Its fall 2014 product lines have been structured so that they were more reasonably priced to drive sales growth for the company.

The good news for investors is the recent increase in the company's quarterly dividend, from $0.22 per share to $0.25 per share. Thus, the dividend yield reaches 1.50%, higher than Nike's dividend yield at only 1.10%. Under Armour does not offer investors any dividends.

My Foolish take
Under Armour's innovative abilities have enabled the company to win with consumers and enhance its powerful pricing model. According to Kevin A. Plank, its founder, chairman and CEO, the innovation agenda allow Under Armour to be the premium brand at retail destinations and helps separate the company from its competitors. Indeed, with its intense focus on bringing new and transformational products to the market, Under Armor should keep delivering significant growth in the future.

Here are 6 stocks that might deliver higher growth than Under Armour
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Tuesday, May 27, 2014

McDonaldâ€™s Corporation (MCD) Dividend Stock Analysis for 2013

McDonald's Corporation (MCD), together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates McDonald's restaurants primarily in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. This[/color]dividend champion has paid dividends since 1976 and increased distributions on its common stock for 36 years in a row.

The company's last dividend increase was in September 2012 when the Board of Directors approved a 10% increase to 77 cents/share. The company's largest competitors include Yum Brands (YUM), Starbucks (SBUX) and Burger King (BKW).

Over the past decade this dividend growth stock has delivered an annualized total return of 19.50% to its shareholders.

[ Enlarge Image ]

The company has managed to an impressive increase in annual EPS growth since 2003. Earnings per share have risen by 18.30% per year. Analysts expect McDonald's to earn $5.60 per share in 2013 and $6.11 per share in 2013. In comparison McDonald's earned $5.36/share in 2012.

[ Enlarge Image ]
The company's international operations have fueled the strong growth in McDonald's earnings over the past twenty years. Despite the fact that a little over half of the company's profits are derived internationally, this segment could continue to deliver solid performance in the future. Another factor fueling the company's growth and maintenance of its edge against competitors and other threats has been its ability to innovate in its menu and reinvent itself in order to win. Some examples of that include the addition of salads to its menu a few years ago, as well as the introductions of premium drinks for customers. Other examples include extending store! hours as well as focusing on the core brands through disposition of Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG). The company has also been able to focus on streamlining operations and focusing on same-store sales, rather than mindlessly expanding at all costs. However, it still plans on expanding store count, while also reimaging existing locations, in order to improve the customer experience.

McDonald's growth targets include:

- Average annual sales growth of 3% to 5%
- Average annual operating income growth of 6% to 7%, and
- Return on incremental invested capital in the high teens

The company also has a strong brand name, which has also allowed it to pass on price hikes onto customers, who nevertheless are still perceiving it's menu in the "value" category. As a result, inflationary pressures should not affect profitability by a wide margin.

The return on equity has expanded from 13.20% in 2003 to 36.80% in 2012. Rather than focus on absolute values for this indicator, I generally want to see at least a stable return on equity over time.

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[ Enlarge Image ]
The annual dividend payment has increased by 28.40% per year over the past decade, which is much higher than to the growth in EPS.

[ Enlarge Image ]
A 28% growth in distributions translates into the dividend payment doubling every two and a half years. If we look at historical data, going as far back as 1976 we see that McDonald's has actually managed to double its dividend every three and a half years on average. I expect dividend growth to average 10%/year over the next decade.

The dividend payout ratio has increased from 34% in 2002 to 5! 3.50% in ! 2012. The expansion in the payout ratio has enabled dividend growth to be faster than EPS growth over the past decade. A lower payout is always a plus, since it leaves room for consistent dividend growth minimizing the impact of short-term fluctuations in earnings.

[ Enlarge Image ]

Currently, McDonald's is attractively valued at 16.80 times earnings, yields 3.10% and has an adequately covered dividend.

Full Disclosure: Long MCD and YUM

Monday, May 26, 2014

5 Ways Military Families Struggle With Money Matters

This Memorial Day, we celebrate the millions of men and women in uniform who work hard to defend the U.S. and keep us safe. But increasingly, military personnel are turning to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to defend themselves and their families from troubling practices among financial institutions.

Source: User DVIDSHUB via Flickr.

Back in March, the CFPB's Holly Petraeus, wife of Iraq-war commander David Petraeus, and her Office of Servicemember Affairs issued a report on the complaints that military personnel and their families brought against financial institutions. The report highlights more than 14,000 complaints since the CFPB started handling consumer complaints back in 2011, reflecting the extent to which military families have trouble in working with financial institutions and having their specific needs met. In particular, complaints have risen by almost 150% from 2012 to 2013, and the report highlighted several areas of greatest concern for our military personnel in handling their money matters.

1. Mortgages
The CFPB has addressed 4,700 mortgage complaints, making up about a third of its total military complaint volume. Most of those complaints deal with situations in which military personnel aren't able to make payments and therefore ask for help with loan modifications or have to deal with collection efforts and foreclosure proceedings. In particular, many financial institutions remain ignorant of programs designed specifically to help military personnel, including those who need help relocating pursuant to a permanent change of station order. With military members enjoying certain protections, the CFPB notes that financial institutions should be more aware of those protections in their dealings with military customers.

2. Debt collection
The CFPB has taken debt-collection complaints for less than a year now, but already, it has had 3,800 complaints filed. Military personnel face a wide variety of issues on the collection front, with the most common being collection agencies trying to collect a debt that the service member doesn't actually owe. Questionable communication tactics and illegal threats from debt collectors are also frequent issues for which the CFPB received complaints. Just like their civilian counterparts, military personnel have to deal with aggressive debt collection agencies that take full advantage of how busy members of the military are, hoping that they'll just pay rather than questioning the debt and taking advantage of their rights. Some have said that debt collectors threaten to contact their commanding officers or bring their cases before a court-martial for demotion or removal of security clearance.

3. Credit cards
Credit-card complaints made up 1,700 of those that the CFPB received, with billing disputes being the most prevalent. In addition to common issues among civilian and military personnel, the CFPB noted that card companies often fail to follow the provisions of the Servicemember's Civil Relief Act, which affords special protection to members of the military during periods of deployment. As a result of these mistakes, service members often have to have errors on their credit histories remedied, causing further hassle and hardship.

4. Bank accounts and service
About 1,500 military-personnel complaints relating to bank accounts and services went to the CFPB, with nearly half of all complaints relating to opening, closing, or managing accounts. In particular, the complex patchwork of fees and charges led to a huge number of complaints both in account management and in deposit and withdrawal issues, with transaction holds, overdrafts, and ongoing service fees raising concerns among many military personnel. Despite efforts to make fees more transparent, the CFPB has clearly seen ongoing difficulty among those in the military in navigating those fees and figuring out how to avoid them.

5. Other complaints
The CFPB has recently started taking complaints in several new areas, including money transfer and payday loan services. Although relatively few complaints have come in, these are areas that affect military members especially hard, as distances between family members often require money-transfer services while the difficulty that those left behind face in dealing with personal finances makes payday loans look attractive. Military members face the threat of scams from fraudulent money-transfer entities as well as sky-high fees on payday loans that can be difficult to understand.

Need to file a complaint? Here's how.
Both military and civilian personnel have the right to file financially related complaints with the CFPB. To get more information, visit the CFPB website here. By doing so, you can defend yourself and your family from financial institutions who aren't treating their customers the right way.

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Sunday, May 25, 2014

Is the Utica Shale Really a World-Class Energy Asset?

Photo credit: Chesapeake Energy

Last week at its Analyst Day Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK ) unveiled the Utica Shale as its next world-class asset. That's in stark contrast to what Halcon Resources (NYSE: HK ) thinks about the play, as it has virtually abandoned its efforts to develop its Utica Shale acreage. It's divergent opinions like these that make it tough for investors to determine who to believe when it comes to the Utica Shale.

Chesapeake Energy's advantage
Chesapeake Energy already has a long history in the Utica Shale. It was the first company to turn a well into production in June of 2011. The competition didn't start putting wells online until nearly a year later when Hess (NYSE: HES ) brought its first well into production that April. Being first in the basin is proving to be a real competitive advantage for Chesapeake Energy as it has drilled more wells than all of its competitors combined as the following slide shows.

Source: Chesapeake Energy Investor Presentation (Link opens a PDF)

In addition to drilling more wells than all of its competitors, Chesapeake Energy has invested in getting to know the rocks beneath its acreage. The company has nearly a mile of core samples so that it can understand the reservoir flow and can optimize completions as that slide noted. Further, the company has over 600 miles of 3D seismic data which helps it understand the structure to optimize lateral placement. This data allows it to drill wells with a higher degree of certainty of success.

Knowledge yields results
This knowledge of the basin is yielding best-in-class well results. Chesapeake Energy can drill its wells faster and for less money, which is yielding substantially higher rates of return as the following side shows.

Source: Chesapeake Energy Investor Presentation

As that slide notes, when Chesapeake Energy invests capital in a non-operated well drilled by a company like Hess its rate of return on that well averages just 4%. However, when Chesapeake Energy invests in a well where it's the operator it earned 20% last year, with that return heading higher this year as it continues to improve. These results are why Chesapeake Energy continues to drill in the Utica Shale while smaller peers like Halcon Resources have given up and while Hess has decided to sell some of its land position.

Investor takeaway
For companies like Chesapeake Energy with lower costs, the Utica Shale really is a world-class asset. However, for others like Halcon Resources or Hess the Utica Shale is just not going to fuel returns because both have higher costs and aren't in the best parts of the basin.

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What we're seeing in the Utica Shale is that location is one key but to really drive value the driller needs to know the rocks underneath its acres. By knowing the rocks and where to place and optimize wells companies like Chesapeake Energy are pushing well costs down. These are the companies that can turn the Utica into a world-class basin, while the rest just can't manage results worth their capital dollars.

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Saturday, May 24, 2014

Top Consumer Service Stocks To Watch For 2015

Top Consumer Service Stocks To Watch For 2015: Nathan's Famous Inc.(NATH)

Nathan's Famous, Inc. operates in the foodservice industry. It engages in marketing Nathan?s Famous brand, and selling products bearing the Nathan?s Famous trademarks through various channels of distribution in the United States and internationally. The company operates and franchises quick-service restaurant units that features Nathan?s beef hot dogs, crinkle-cut french-fries, and other menu offerings under the Nathan?s Famous brand name. It also provides licensing agreements for the sale of Nathan?s products within supermarkets, club stores, and other grocery-type outlets; and involves in the manufacture of spices, and sale of Nathan?s products directly to other foodservice operators. In addition, the company offers Arthur Treacher?s brand fish fillets. As of August 3, 2011, its restaurant system consisted of 269 Nathan?s units, including 264 franchised units and 5 company-owned units (including 1 seasonal unit). The company was founded in 1916 and is based in Je richo, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Chris Hill]
In this installment of Investor Beat, our analysts explain why they're watching Nathan's Famous (NASDAQ: NATH ) and Sony (NYSE: SNE ) .
[By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Nathan's Famous (Nasdaq: NATH ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-consumer-service-stocks-to-watch-for-2015.html

Friday, May 23, 2014

Yellen Worried About Housing, What's That Mean For You?

Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen recently told Congress that flattening housing activity "could prove more protracted than currently expected." Yellen's comment immediately threw a Klieg light not just on real estate but on a host of other related topics affecting investors, not the least of which is interest rates.

If you didn't immediately connect the dots, think of it this way. For most of 2013, minute ticks in housing measures seemed to signal a housing recovery was imminent. Now that we're halfway through 2014, however, no such thing seems to be occurring. Without a housing recovery — which in turn would imply an economic recovery — there is less incentive for the Fed to rush about winding down its controversial "quantitative easing" policy, which helped pushed interest rates to record lows during the past five years.

Of course, the Fed has said all along it might reverse course if new developments gave it a reason to. Now such a reason has been explicitly named.

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Housing

Yellen's take on the housing market certainly squares with the available information which to date shows sales of new homes down 13% year-over-year and sales of existing homes — which is most of them — down 8%. Buyers seem scarce since applications for new mortgages recently hit a 14-year low.

You might have thought that equities in the housing sector might have moved down on Yellen's comments. In fact, although the Nasdaq Composite Index fell over 13 points that day, the drop was tied to a 19% drop by Whole Foods Markets and a 6.6% loss by Yahoo Yahoo.

Representatives from housing-related stocks were rather sanguine about Yellen's remarks. "The pace of the recovery is slowing, but housing overall is doing pretty well," said Spencer Rascoff, CEO of research site Zillow Zillow. Rascoff predicts home-price appreciation, which was in the double-digits for most of 2013, will slow to "more normal levels" of 3% to 4%, indicating a "reasonably healthy market" in his opinion.

Those without specific stocks to worry about seemed more pessimistic. Real-estate developer Sam Zell for instance said that he expects the homeownership rate — which peaked in 2005 at 69.1% and is currently about 65% — to fall to 55%, which would be the lowest level since the early 1950s.

Whether or not you agree with the basic rationale behind a negative view of housing, it's certainly no reason to rush to dump stocks related to housing and real estate nor, by extension, the paint, furniture, appliance and other stocks which can show a close correlation to housing.

Interestingly, there are cases to be made for all three possible reactions to Yellen's remarks vis a vis equities: Sell, buy or do nothing. Depending on investors' timelines and needs, they may think about cycling out of housing stocks or at the least not putting more money into them at this time. Another stockholder may take the view that housing will eventually recover so now could be a time to buy equities in the sector at relative "bargain" prices. In the midst of all this, an investor whose portfolio is calibrated to his or her needs and risk tolerance and is performing to expectations couldn't be blamed for making no changes at all.

Interest Rates

Yellen's remarks raised the prospect of a change in Fed policy if an unforeseen housing downturn materializes, but they also underscored what the Fed has said all along – that it might reverse course if new developments give it a reason to. It might be housing today, but what if it's unemployment (or some other reason) tomorrow?

Here's an interesting scenario: interest rates could stay low. So far, just about everyone has been wrong regarding the direction of interest rates. Yet, here we are, half way (or less) through tapering and the yield of the Ten Year Treasury is about 1/4% lower than it was at the end of December 2013.

What this means is instead of worrying about real estate, we should take a closer look at bond investments. Every expert thought that once the Fed started tapering, yields would rise and bond values would fall because of the inverse relationship between bond yields and bond prices. In other words, as interests rates drop, prices rise and vice versa. Bonds are subject to market and interest rate risk if sold prior to maturity and are subject to availability.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Fitting Alts into Client Portfolios

Given the outsize performance of the U.S. stock market over the past few years, it may be tempting to cut back or omit alternative investments in portfolios.

But Tom Karsten, CFP and president of Karsten Advisors, makes sure his clients have between 5% and 7% of qualified clients’ assets in venture capital (VC) and private-equity (PE) investments.

The goals of specific alternative investments vary.

A growth-oriented VC fund managed by Raleigh, N.C.-based Hatteras Funds, for instance, has positions in roughly 20 tech companies and returns no income to investors.

In contrast, a PE investment with New York-based GPB Holdings focuses on car dealerships and has an 8% current distribution rate.

Karsten admits that the level of due diligence required to evaluate PE and VC offerings can be daunting. He addresses that by attending conferences about the industries he’s considering and by conducting in-depth research on prospective investments.

“We look at reports and due diligence reports from the law firms,” he said in an interview with ThinkAdvisor.

“As kind of a final step for me, I physically visit the fund sponsor myself,” the Fort Worth-based advisor explained “So we will not go into those funds unless we have gone to their offices personally to go through the process ourselves. It’s more time consuming, of course, but it gives me the comfort level to be able to then place clients into it.”

The due diligence has paid off so far, he adds: The income-alternatives are producing higher income than that available from bond portfolios or income-oriented equity portfolios.

For growth investments, Karsten aims for total returns in the high teens" and the funds are producing those results. “That’s what we would be targeting and on an average basis with the fun; that’s where we have seen those returns,” he says.

“Some of them are better than others over the years, but that’s where we typically feel we need to be to justify what is in many cases a little bit higher risk profile,” the advisor stressed.

In 2013, the Bloomberg Hedge Funds Aggregate Index returned an average of 7.4% in 2013. As for private equity, distressed-asset funds were up 18% in 2013, and buyout funds generated a 16% return, according to Bain & Company.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

First Eagle Global Fund First Quarter 2014 Commentary

Market Overview

In the first quarter of 2014, the MSCI World Index rose 1.3%, while in the U.S. the S&P 500 Index increased 1.8%. In Europe, the German DAX Index increased 0.04% and the French CAC 40 Index rose 2.2% during the quarter. The Nikkei 225 Index fell 9.0% over the period. Crude oil rose 3.2% to $102 a barrel, and the price of gold rose 6.5% to $1,284 an ounce by quarter-end. The U.S. dollar fell 2.0% against the yen and it remained relatively unchanged against the euro.

Our ongoing concern regarding weakness in the global financial architecture means we are alert to second order effects from the artificial suppression of interest rates. As we previously discussed, one of the key sources of disequilibrium in the global financial system has been the Chinese government's effort to tightly manage their exchange rate below fair value, thereby accumulating vast amounts of dollar reserves. Yet in recent weeks, China's exchange rate has actually weakened. We fear that the currency's moves reflect a softening in the Chinese economy beyond what policy makers expected. It is possible that the Chinese government worried that recent wage inflation was going to start to impinge on margins, profitability and economic growth. Furthermore, evidence of a slowdown in urbanization-related growth is manifested by the recent weakness in copper and iron ore pricing.

If our hypothesis about China is correct, it reinforces the notion that the core problem in the world financial architecture today is that neither the countries with a current account surplus, nor the current account deficit economies, can handle the equilibrium exchange rate or, conversely, the rise in interest rates that would be required for capital to be priced fairly. The political consequences would be too great.

A big driver of growth in China over the past decade has been fixed asset investment, and some amount of that manufacturing capacity would not have been added in the absence of a discounted exchange rate. The implication is the Chinese may have hit a political constraint on how much rebalancing they can tolerate.

The flip side of that is the current account deficits in reserve currencies like the U.S. dollar have resulted in excess debt. The U.S. economy cannot handle rates rising to say, 4%, because it would impose too big a debt service burden.

Thus, we have a continuation of this global financial repression for the forseeable future. The root cause of the malinvestment and excess debt has been easy money, which has become a widespread problem among both developing and developed economies because politically, no one wants to have neither a stronger exchange rate nor a tighter interest rate policy than competing countries. Every government is trying to maximize employment.

The excess assets and debt from easy money policy means there is a real risk of deflation were we to reprice currencies and interest rates to higher, more natural levels. But in the current political environment, there is no appetite for deflation. Thus financial repres - sion is indefinitely sustained. If unconventional policy is left in place too long, the feared deflationary risk could evolve and become more inflationary in nature as expectations could become unhinged. Inflation is ultimately a monetary phenomenon. So far, there has been limited evidence of that.

Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Own Right Now

In an environment where individual bargains are harder to come by and macroeconomic imbalances remain, we are comfortable with our cash position of around 20% but we are not eager for our cash levels to go too far beyond those levels as we don't want to create a strategic allocation to a repressed asset that would outlast an ordinary bear market. The cash is deferred purchasing power that we would like to put to work under the right circumstances. It has built as a residual of a disciplined approach to buying and selling.

Portfolio Review

Some of our weaker performers in the second half of last year rebounded nicely during the first quarter. The largest contributors to performance for the quarter were AngloGold Ashanti, Newcrest Mining, Microsoft, HeidelbergCement and gold bullion. The gold rebound arguably reflected the spike in risk sentiment following Russia's incursion into Ukraine, lower yields in the Treasury market and a moderation of ETF-related selling. Microsoft rose as the company chose a new CEO, who was formerly head of cloud computing. This choice may affirm what we've said all along: Microsoft's strength is in its corporate franchise.

Top detractors during the quarter were Mitsubishi Estate, MS&AD Insurance Group, Wm Morrison Supermarkets, KDDI Corpo - ration and NKSJ Holdings. Wm Morrison is suffering from a more competitive retail environment in the U.K. with the expansion of hard discounters. In the case of Mitsibushi Estate and MS&AD, their weakness may reflect anticipation of more fiscal drag in the local Japanese economy as the consumption tax is set to be increased in April.

In this environment of low risk perception, we maintain our preference for defensive franchise businesses, but are willing to add asset-intensive companies in windows of relative distress. The core of our portfolio continues to be in what we feel are resilient busi - nesses with strong balance sheets and reasonable free cash flow yields. We still see high option value in cash despite its low yield. Our cash allocation should not be viewed as a negative directional view on the market, but rather a reflection of our patience during an environment of high prices. As always, we take a long-term view and focus on seeking to build a durable portfolio that mini - mizes capital impairments and compounds wealth over time.

We appreciate your confidence and thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

First Eagle Investment Management, LLC

The performance data quoted herein represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Market volatility can dramatically impact the fund's short-term performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than figures shown. The investment return and princi - pal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Past performance data through the most recent month end is available at www.feim.com or by calling 800.334.2143. The average annual returns for Class A Shares "with sales charge" of First Eagle Global Fund give effect to the deduction of the maximum sales charge of 5.00%.

*The annual expense ratio is based on expenses incurred by the fund, as stated in the most recent prospectus.

There are risks associated with investing in funds that invest in securities of foreign countries, such as erratic market conditions, economic and political instability and fluctuations in currency exchange rates.

Investment in gold and gold related investments present certain risks, and returns on gold related investments have traditionally been more volatile than investments in broader equity or debt markets.

The principal risk of investing in value stocks is that the price of the security may not approach its anticipated value or may decline in value. All investments involve the risk of loss.

The holdings mentioned herein represent the following percentage of the total net assets of the First Eagle Global Fund as of March 31, 2014: AngloGold Ashanti 0.58%, Newcrest Mining 0.69%, Microsoft Corp. 1.82%, HeidelbergCement AG 1.34%, gold bullion 4.51%, Mitsubishi Estate 0.57%, MS&AD Insurance Group 0.68%, Wm Morrison Supermarkets 0.31%, NKSJ Holdings, Inc. 0.77%, KDDI Corporation 1.18%. The portfolio is actively managed and holdings can change at any time. Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk.

The commentary represents the opinion of the Global Value Team Portfolio Managers as of December 31, 2013 and is subject to change based on market and other conditions. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the entire firm. These materials are provided for informational purpose only. These opinions are not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results, or investment advice. Any statistics contained herein have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but the accuracy of this information cannot be guaranteed. The views expressed herein may change at any time subsequent to the date of issue hereof. The information provided is not to be construed as a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any fund or security. The MSCI World Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets. The Index provides total returns in U.S. dollars with net dividends reinvested. The Index is unmanaged, and the results include reinvested dividends and/or distribu - tions but do not reflect the effect of sales charges, commissions, account fees, expenses or taxes.

First Eagle Global Fund

Investors should consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other information about the Funds and may be obtained by contacting your financial adviser, visiting our website at www.feim.com or calling us at 800.334.2143. Please read our prospectus carefully before investing. Investments are not FDIC insured or bank guaranteed, and may lose value.

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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015

European stocks advanced, sending the Stoxx Europe 600 Index near a five-year high, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve�� decision on reducing monthly bond purchases.

Siemens AG climbed to a two-year high after appointing a new chief financial officer and a supervisory-board member. HeidelbergCement AG added 1.4 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended the stock. Lanxess AG dropped 2.8 percent as investors weighed its cost-cutting plan.

The Stoxx 600 gained 0.4 percent to 313.28, closing less than 0.1 percent below a five-year high it reached on Sept. 16. The gauge has rallied 12 percent so far this year as central banks pressed on with their supportive policies.

��he whole environment for growth does seem to have deteriorated slightly since June when the Fed last really spoke to the market,��Lucy MacDonald, chief investment officer for equities at Allianz Global Investors in London, told Mark Barton on Bloomberg Television. Her company oversees about $419 billion. ��f they don�� do anything at all that may raise questions and people will be more concerned about growth. Clearly we need to have the comfort that the economic recovery is still well underpinned.��

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: Golden Star Resources Ltd(GSS)

Golden Star Resources Ltd., a gold mining and exploration company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of gold properties. It owns and operates the Bogoso/Prestea gold mining and processing operation that covers approximately 40 kilometers of strike along the southwest-trending Ashanti gold district in western Ghana; and the Wassa open-pit gold mine located to the east of Bogoso/Prestea in southwest Ghana. The company also has an 81% interest in the Prestea underground gold mine located in Ghana. In addition, it holds interests in various gold exploration projects in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Cote d?Ivoire, as well as holds and manages exploration properties in Brazil in South America. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Littleton, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Patricio Kehoe] some future and gave several reasons for my bearish stance towards the stock. A small market, high geopolitical risk in some of the countries the firm operates, along with overexpansion in times of fluctuating gold prices gave tune to the massive shedding of shares by investment gurus. Five months have past since I last considered Golden Star�� potential, and everything indicates the situation has not changed.

Guru Activity Shows a Clear Tendency

Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) and Arnold Schneider (Trades, Portfolio), had already sold their entire holdings in the company by October 2013, indicating they had little faith in the gold miner�� recovery. By the end of the year, Jim Simons' (Trades, Portfolio) Renaissance Technologies took a similar decision, reducing its stake in the firm by 32%. This tendency towards the sale of Golden Star stock was duly noted by investors and analysts alike, and concurs with the company�� poor performance.

A Look at the Numbers

In an industry plagued by fluctuating metal prices, operating with lofty margins can be quite helpful. Yet Golden Star cannot afford such luxuries. With an operating margin of 0.1% and a net margin of -56.8% the firm is in a tight spot, especially when compared to the industry average. Unlike its industry peers��median, which are of 2.26% and -0.09%, respectively, the Toronto-based gold miner is struggling to generate decent cash flow levels. Further metrics depict a even worse situation for shareholders: return on equity is currently at -370% and revenue growth is estimated to reach a poor 2.5%. Purchasing overpriced assets, relative to current gold prices, is surely one of the reasons for such grim figures, as financial losses have taken their toll on Golden Star.

The announcement of its 2013 full year, and fourth quarter earnings only helped to add to shareholders��concerns. A 15% decline in revenue was expected by those
[By Rich Duprey]
Clash of the titans
When bears are raging on the gold bullion market, it's not surprising to see gold stocks getting mauled as well. Golden Star Resources (NYSEMKT: GSS ) was the biggest loser in the sector, losing a quarter of its market cap on no company-specific news, though a report last Friday indicated that a large number of hedge funds had recently dumped their positions in the mid-tier miner. Yet it wasn't all that much better among the majors, either, as Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX ) fell almost 13% and Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC ) was down 14%.
[By Patricio Kehoe] ating price of the commodity, along with the geopolitical risks involved in mining in African nations such as Ghana, are just two of the obstacles the firm is facing. In addition, as one of the smallest gold mining firms in the industry, with a market cap of just $122 million, Golden Star has had a very difficult time financing its latest expansion projects. With share prices tumbling towards all-time lows, gurus such as Steven Cohen, Chuck Royce and Arnold Schneider have already sold out their positions in the troubled firm.
Why Have Gurus Lost Faith in Golden Star?

Despite aggressive expansion over the past decade, the Toronto-based gold mining firm has not been able to take advantage of its increased production output. Gold prices might have exploded over a ten-year period, yet the recent six-month decline has put a huge strain on Golden Star. The expedited maturation of its mines is particularly troubling, since the accelerated extraction rates, which allowed for short-term profits, are now falling considerably. The impact of the company�� excessive overproduction on profits and growth is clear: decreasing gold reserves mean less production, and thus reduced revenue for the gold miner. When the decline in metal prices are taken into account, the outlook is even more grim.
In addition to overexpansion at the wrong time, Golden Star�� position has weakened due to its comparably less efficient operations. Unlike industry peers, such as IamGold Corp. (IAG) or Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI), the majority of the Toronto-based miner�� assets contain refractory ore, which is far more expensive to extract than non refractory ore. And, in an attempt to switch production to the lower cost gold ore, and thus increase margins, Golden Star has depleted its mines��non refractory ore. With low reserves and mounting cash costs, the firm inevitably turned to new acquisitions.
Overpriced Acquisitions and Geopolitical Risk

The purchase

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.(TC)

Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in mining, milling, processing, and marketing molybdenum products in the United States and Canada. The company?s principal properties include the Thompson Creek Mine and mill in Idaho; a metallurgical roasting facility in Langeloth, Pennsylvania; and a joint venture interest in the Endako Mine, mill, and roasting facility in British Columbia. It also holds interests in development projects comprising the Davidson molybdenum property and the Berg copper-molybdenum-silver property located in northern British Columbia; the Howard?s Pass property, a lead and zinc project situated in the Yukon territory-northwest territories border; and the Maze Lake property, a gold project located in the Kivalliq district of Nunavut. The company produces molybdenum products, primarily molybdic oxide and ferromolybdenum, as well as soluble technical oxide, pure molybdenum tri-oxide, and high purity molybdenum disulfide. As o f December 31, 2010, its consolidated recoverable proven and probable ore reserves totaled 462.2 million pounds of contained molybdenum in the Thompson Creek Mine and the Endako Mine. The company was formerly known as Blue Pearl Mining Ltd. and changed its name to Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. in May 2007. Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. is based in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Selena Maranjian]
The biggest new holdings are Chesapeake Energy�puts, and shares of Discovery Communications. Other new holdings of interest include Halcon Resources (NYSE: HK ) , and Thompson Creek Metals (NYSE: TC ) . Oil and gas company Halcon, operating in the promising Bakken region, as well as Texas's productive Eagle Ford shale region, among others, is expected to grow by 30% annually over the coming years. It recently reported 2012 net daily production 128% higher than year-ago levels, and proven reserves up 417%. Halcon was recently one of my colleague Joel South's top two energy holdings, and analysts at Stifel recently upped its rating�from Hold to Buy.
[By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Basic Materials shares gained around 0.24 percent in trading on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Harmony Gold Mining Company (NYSE: HMY), up 4.1 percent, and Thompson Creek Metals Company (NYSE: TC), up 3.8 percent. In trading on Wednesday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.36 percent.

Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Own Right Now: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited(AEM)

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties in Canada, Finland, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as silver, copper, zinc, and lead. Its flagship property includes the LaRonde mine located in the southern portion of the Abitibi volcanic belt, Canada. The company was founded in 1953 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Markus Aarnio]
Other gold miners that have seen intensive insider buying during the past four months include St. Andrew Goldfields (STADF.PK), Continental Gold (CGOOF.PK), Kinross (KGC) and Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM).
[By Sally Jones]
The once-troubled Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM) is hitting a new record for gold production in the third quarter at 315,828 ounces, according to the Financial Post, and the company�� executives are buying. Here�� a third quarter company update and a look at billionaire stakeholders of AEM, a stock that spiked 23.66% over the past five days.
[By Daniel Putnam]
The second factor working in gold stocks��favor is that analysts are growing optimistic again. Yesterday, HSBC put out a bullish note on gold and upgraded Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM), Yamana Gold (AUY), Barrick Gold, Iamgold (IAG), and Goldcorp. Most gold stocks are ranked ��old��or ��uy��(as opposed to ��trong Buy�� by the majority of analysts, meaning that there�� plenty of room for continued positive news flow on this front.
[By Patricio Kehoe] e, has cash costs of $912 per ounce, and Agnico Eagle�� costs do not even reach the $700 per ounce mark. Hence, it comes as little surprise that revenue has been decreasing steadily, since gold prices are hovering around the $1300 mark at best. As the company is hemorrhaging money, investment gurus the like of John Burbank and Seth Klarman have decided to sell their entire stake in the firm. I agree with this bearish stance, and recommend investors stay away from Kinross Gold.
Any Long Term Investment?

If you were to follow Jean-Marie Eveillard�� purchases, one would be inclined to see good growth prospects for Agnico Eagle, and thus believe in this stock�� potential. And, you wouldn�� be wrong, as the firm has been growing at a steady pace, with no end in sight to its expansion possibilities. However, with a 171% price premium, investors might be better off waiting until a more favorable entry-point is available. Nevertheless, as a long-term investment, I feel highly optimistic and would thus even consider paying the additional cost.
Disclosure: Patricio Kehoe holds no position in any stocks mentioned.

Also check out: Jean-Marie Eveillard Undervalued Stocks Jean-Marie Eveillard Top Growth Companies Jean-Marie Eveillard High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Jean-Marie Eveillard keeps buying John Burbank Undervalued Stocks John Burbank Top Growth Companies John Burbank High Yield stocks, and Stocks that John Burbank keeps buying
The Strategy of Ben Graham ��Warren Buffett�� Mentor From 1923 to 1957 Warren Buffett�� mentor, Ben Graham, followed a strategy of investing in net-nets. He said: ��t always seemed, and still seems ridiculously simple to say that if one can acquire a diversified group of common stocks at a price less than the...net current assets alone��he results should be quite satisfactory. They were so in our experience, for more than 30 years.��br> Today net-nets are rare. They are collected under Gu

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: NEW GOLD INC.(NGD)

New Gold Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, extraction, processing, and reclamation of mineral properties. The company primarily explore for gold, silver, and copper deposits. Its operating properties include the Mesquite gold mine in the United States; the Cerro San Pedro gold-silver mine in Mexico; and the Peak gold-copper mine in Australia. The company also has development projects, including the New Afton gold, silver, and copper project in Canada; and a 30% interest in the El Morro copper-gold project in Chile. The company was formerly known as DRC Resources Corporation and changed its name to New Gold Inc. in June 2005. New Gold Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Ben Levisohn]
Hamed singles out Goldcorp (GG) and Yamana Gold (AUY) as two companies that have strong production growth, falling costs, declining capital obligations and less debt than competitors. New Gold (NGD), meanwhile, should have the lowest all-on costs in the group at $731 an ounce, but its capital spending is likely to notes, Hamed says. Hamed rates Goldcorp and Yamana Overweight, while New Gold is rated Equal Weight.
[By Ben Levisohn]
Bridges favorite stocks include Goldcorp, Newmont, Eldorado Gold (EGO) and New Gold (NGD).

Note, however, that these recommendations are all qualified in one way or another. Investors should keep that in mind before going all in on the gold miners.
[By Ben Levisohn]
One group of stocks not feeling the optimism today: Gold miners. With fewer concerns that a U.S. attack on Syria will be disruptive and more evidence that tapering will begin this month, the price of the precious metal has dropped 1.6% to $1,388.90 an ounce–and gold stocks are falling with it. New Gold (NGD), for one, has dropped 3% to $6.55, while Barrick Gold (ABX) has fallen 1.3% to $19.25.

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: First Majestic Silver Corp.(AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the production, development, exploration, and acquisition of mineral properties with a focus on silver in Mexico. The company owns interests in La Encantada Silver Mine comprising 4,076 hectares of mining rights and 1,343 hectares of surface land located in Coahuila; La Parrilla Silver Mine consisting of mining concessions covering an area of 69,867 hectares; and San Martin Silver Mine comprising approximately 7,841 hectares of mineral rights and approximately 1,300 hectares of surface land rights located in Jalisco. It also holds interests in Del Toro Silver Mine consisting of 393 contiguous hectares of mining claims and an additional 129 hectares of surface rights located in Zacatecas; Real de Catorce Silver Project comprising 22 mining concessions covering 6,327 hectares located in San Luis Potosi state; and Jalisco Group of Properties consisting of mining claims totalling 5,240 hectares located in Jalisco. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Doug Ehrman]
While many precious-metals companies have been in a slump of late, there is one that belongs perpetually in your portfolio: Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW ) . The company is not like other miners -- including Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS ) and First Majestic (NYSE: AG ) -- in that it has a unique business plan that insulates it against many of the vagaries of the mining business. Moreover, because silver will always have a significant industrial demand component, even with the heightened volatility you see in the silver market, maintaining exposure to silver is appropriate.
[By Laura Brodbeck]
Tuesday
Earnings Expected: Fossil Group (NASDAQ: FOSL), CST Brands (NYSE: CST), First Majestic Silver (NYSE: AG) Economic Releases Expected: US retail sales, US redbook, German ZEW economic sentiment, Chinese retail sales, Chinese industrial production
Wednesday
[By Doug Ehrman]
It is no secret that precious metals companies have been taking a pounding for some time now. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: GLD ) and iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV ) , the gold and silver ETFs, have been hard hit and operating companies like First Majestic (NYSE: AG ) and Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX ) have been hit even harder. Through all of these struggles, and in some cases because of them, one precious metals company continues to look attractive for the long term: Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW ) .

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: CME Group Inc.(CME)

CME Group Inc. operates the CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX regulatory exchanges worldwide. The company provides a range of products available across various asset classes, including futures and options on interest rates, equity indexes, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, foreign exchange, weather, and real estate. It offers various products that provide a means of hedging, speculation, and asset allocation relating to the risks associated with interest rate sensitive instruments, equity ownership, changes in the value of foreign currency, credit risk, and changes in the prices of commodities. CME Group owns and operates clearing house, CME Clearing, which provides clearing and settlement services for exchange-traded contracts and counter derivatives transactions; and also engages in real estate operations. Its primary trade execution facilities consist of its CME Globex electronic trading platform and open outcry trading floors, as well as privately negotiated transact ions that are cleared and settled through its clearing house. In addition, the company offers market data services comprising live quotes, delayed quotes, market reports, and historical data services, as well as involves in index services business. CME Group?s customer base includes professional traders, financial institutions, institutional and individual investors, corporations, manufacturers, producers, and governments. It has strategic partnerships with BM&FBOVESPA S.A., Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, Singapore Exchange Limited, Green Exchange, Dubai Mercantile Exchange, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, S.A.B. de C.V., as well as joint venture agreement with Dow Jones & Company. The company was formerly known as Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. and changed its name to CME Group Inc. in July 2007. CME Group was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Holly LaFon]
We re-established an investment in CME Group, Inc. (CME) during the period. CME is the largest and most diversified derivatives marketplace in the U.S. Its exchanges support trading across a variety of asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, energy, agricultural commodities, foreign exchange and metals. We believe CME has the opportunity to significantly accelerate its growth rates due to the eventual normalization of interest rates and the attendant interest rate volatility. CME's interest rate trading volumes (ADV) have been depressed as a result of the Fed's zero interest rate policy and low interest rate volatility. For example, interest rate ADV was 4.8 million in 2012compared to 7.1 million in 2007, before the financial crisis. However, given the Fed's recent policy statements (discussed above), market participants are starting to anticipate an end to quantitative easing (QE). On May 30, CME experienced record volume for interest rate derivatives with ADV of 19.4 million. With the globalization of CME's business, a host of new products, and the regulatory requirement for interest rate swaps to be cleared on an exchange, we believe CME's interest rate volumes can surpass their prior peak, significantly driving earnings growth for the company.
[By Dan Caplinger]
Among exchanges, the action is beyond the stock market. With the rise in trading of futures, options, and other derivative investments, NYSE Euronext's ownership of the NYSE Liffe exchange in London was a key element of ICE's interest. CME Group (NASDAQ: CME ) and CBOE Holdings (NASDAQ: CBOE ) have worked hard to preserve their respective strength in futures and options, and rising market turbulence has made many of their products look a lot more enticing. Given that derivatives can help hedge market risk and reduce overall exposure, all of the exchange companies have an opportunity to bolster their presence in the derivatives market with innovative products that meet the new needs investors have in a more turbulent financial environment.
[By Jon C. Ogg]
We still have many key oil and energy companies reporting in the week ahead but we have now seen the sector leaders report earnings. Earnings previews have been prepared for the following stocks:
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) and OfficeMax Incorporated (NYSE: OMX) Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) T-Mobile US, Inc. (NYSE: TMUS) American Water Works Company Inc. (NYSE: AWK) Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) The Wendy’s Company (NYSE: WEN)
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) reports earnings on Monday morning. With all of the exchange mergers of the last decade this remains one of the dominant exchanges. Estimates are $0.73 EPS and $713.3 million in revenue. Keep in mind that this exchange is now worth $25 billion. At $74.70, the consensus analyst price target is only just barely higher at almost $75.50.
[By Jon C. Ogg]
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY) was maintained as Buy, but earnings estimates were cut and the price target was cut to $13 from $15, by Sterne Agee. Wedbush downgraded it to Neutral from Buy after the warning.

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: Iamgold Corporation(IAG)

IAMGOLD Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral resource properties worldwide. It primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, copper, niobium, diamonds, and other metals. The company holds interests in eight operating gold mines, a niobium producer, a diamond royalty, and exploration and development projects located in Africa and the Americas. Its advanced exploration and development projects include the Westwood project in Canada; and the Quimsacocha project, which consists of 3 mining concessions covering an aggregate area of approximately 8,030 hectares in Ecuador. The company was formerly known as IAMGOLD International African Mining Gold Corporation and changed its name to IAMGOLD Corporation in June 1997. IAMGOLD Corporation was founded in 1990 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Michael Blair]
IAMGOLD (IAG) is one of my favorite gold stocks principally because it is a relatively high cost producer with long lived mines. That paradox arises since high cost producers have the most volatility when gold prices change. If they are operating close to break even, a relatively small rise in gold prices makes them quite profitable. Conversely, when prices fall they bleed all over the floor.

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: Australian Dollar(AU)

AngloGold Ashanti Limited primarily engages in the exploration and production of gold. It also produces silver, uranium oxide, and sulfuric acid. The company conducts gold-mining operations in South Africa; continental Africa, including Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Namibia, and Tanzania; Australia; and the Americas, which include Argentina, Brazil, and the United States. It also has mining or exploration operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, and Colombia. As of December 31, 2010, the company had proved and probable gold reserves of 71.2 million ounces. The company has a strategic alliance with Thani Dubai Mining Limited to explore, develop, and operate mines across the Middle East and parts of North Africa. AngloGold Ashanti Limited, formerly known as Vaal Reefs Exploration and Mining Company Limited, was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Daniel Putnam]
First, and most important, earnings estimates are stabilizing. In the past sixty days, 2013 estimates for the major gold miners have begun to tick up. In most cases, the increase is very modest. For instance, Goldcorp‘s (GG) EPS estimates have climbed from $0.91 to $0.95, while Barrick Gold‘s (ABX) have inched up from $2.57 to $2.64. Newmont Mining (NEM), Anglogold Ashanti (AU), and Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI) have shown similar gains. This positive rate of change marks a significant departure from the steady stream of bad news investors have had to endure in recent years.
[By Jim Powell]
In addition to holding Goldcorp and Barrick Gold, the fund tracks the performance of Newmont Mining (NEM), Newcrest Mining (NCMGY), AngloGold Ashanti (AU), and several other industry leaders.
[By Dan Caplinger]
One way Yamana has kept its competitive cost advantage is through extensive sales of base-metal byproducts like copper and zinc, as both it and fellow low-cost rival Goldcorp (NYSE: GG ) benefit from utilizing those secondary metals to offset the cost of their gold production. Peers Gold Fields (NYSE: GFI ) and AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU ) , on the other hand, face much higher costs in part because of their exposure to South Africa and its unstable labor market.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Abbott Laboratories Acquiring CFR Pharma for $3.3B (ABT)

On Friday morning it was announced that Abbott Labs (ABT) had made a definitive agreement to acquire CFR Pharmaceuticals, a Latin American pharmaceutical company.

The acquisition will more than double Abbott’s Latin American branded generics presence. Abbott Labs will be acquiring the holding company that owns 73% of CFR, and will conduct a public cash tender offer for the remaining shares of the company. If all publicly traded shares are bought, the deal will be worth $2.9 billion, plus the assumption of approximately $430 million in net debt. Abbott expects to add $900 million in sales in the first full year after acquisition, and expects double-digit sales growth in the years following.

Abbott chairman and CEO Miles D. White had the following comments about the acquisition: “With its scale and leadership positions in the region, strong commercial and development organizations, well-respected leadership team and a trusted portfolio of recognized brands, CFR is one of the leading branded generic companies in Latin America. This acquisition will significantly enhance and broaden Abbott’s Latin American footprint, and is well aligned with our long-term strategy and commitment to fast-growing markets.”

For more on pharmaceutical companies, check out: How Much Dividend-Paying Drug Makers Spend on Research and Development

Abbott stock was inactive in pre-market trading. YTD, the stock is up 2.64%.

ABT Dividend Snapshot

As of Market Close on May 15, 2014

WMT dividend yield annual payout payout ratio dividend growth

Click here to see the complete history of ABT dividends.