Best Small Cap Stocks To Invest In 2014

Small cap media stock�LIN Media LLC (NYSE: LIN) might not be a household name, but there is a good chance you might be watching the company�� programs because like the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc (NASDAQ: SBGI) and Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc (NASDAQ: NXST), its helping to consolidate the media industry plus its making investment in other forms of media like social media. The stock has also outperformed those two peers along with the�PowerShares Dynamic Media Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: PBS).

What is LIN Media LLC?

Small cap LIN Media LLC�is a local multimedia company that operates or services 43 television stations and seven digital channels in 23�US markets plus the company has a�diverse portfolio of web sites, apps and mobile products. More specifically, LIN Media delivers local news and community stories, sports and entertainment programming to 10.5% of U.S. television homes while digital media operations focus on emerging media and interactive technologies for the delivery of performance-driven digital marketing solutions to agencies and brands. The company also has strategic investments in Nami Media (an online marketing and technology company that specializes in performance marketing), HYFN (a full service digital agency that develops and implements award-winning mobile, social and web experiences for some of the world�� largest brands), Dedicated Media (direct response marketing), EndPlay (a Software as a Service or SaaS provider of Web Content Management solutions to enterprise clients in the media, entertainment and education industries) and�VoxFrontera (a leader in providing automated, real-time Spanish captioning to the TV industry).

Best Small Cap Stocks To Invest In 2014: Voyager Oil & Gas Inc.(VOG)

Voyager Oil & Gas, Inc. engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas in the United States. It primarily focuses on oil shale resource prospects in Montana, North Dakota, Colorado, and Wyoming. As of May 17, 2011, the company controlled approximately 141,500 net acres in the five primary prospect areas comprising 28,000 net acres targeting the Bakken/Three Forks in North Dakota and Montana; 14,200 net acres targeting the Niobrara formation in Colorado and Wyoming; 800 net acres targeting a Red River prospect in Montana; 33,500 net acres in a joint venture targeting the Heath Shale formation in Musselshell, Petroleum, Garfield, and Fergus counties of Montana; and 65,000 net acres in a joint venture in the Tiger Ridge gas field in Blaine, Hill, and Chouteau counties of Montana. It supplies energy and fuel for industrial, commercial, and individual consumers. The company is based in Billings, Montana.

Best Small Cap Stocks To Invest In 2014: ATA Inc.(ATAI)

ATA Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides computer-based testing services in the People?s Republic of China. It offers services for the creation and delivery of computer-based tests utilizing its test delivery platform, proprietary testing technologies, and testing services; and provides logistical support services relating to test administration. The company?s computer-based testing services are used for professional licensure and certification tests in various industries, including information technology (IT) services, banking, securities, teaching, and insurance. Its e-testing platform integrates various aspects of the test delivery process for computer-based tests ranging from test form compilation to test scoring, and results analysis. ATA also provides career-oriented educational services, such as single course programs, degree major course programs, and pre-occupational training programs focusing on preparing students to pass IT and other vocational certification tests; test preparation and training programs and services to test candidates preparing to take professional certification tests in securities, futures, banking, insurance and teaching industries; online test preparation and training platform for the securities and banking industries; and test preparation software for the teaching industry. In addition, the company offers HR select employee assessment solution, an online system that utilizes its proprietary software and an inventory of test titles to help employers improve the efficiency and accuracy of their employee recruitment process. As of March 31, 2010, it had contractual relationships with 1,988 ATA authorized test centers. The company serves Chinese governmental agencies, professional associations, IT vendors, and Chinese educational institutions, as well as individual test preparation services. ATA Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Hot Casino Companies To Buy Right Now: bebe stores inc.(BEBE)

bebe stores, inc. engages in the design, development, and production of women?s apparel and accessories. Its products include a range of separates, tops, dresses, active wear, and accessories in career, evening, casual, and active lifestyle categories. The company markets its products under the bebe, BEBE SPORT, bbsp, and 2b bebe brand names targeting 21 to 34-year-old woman. As of July 2, 2011, it operated 252 retail stores, and an online store at bebe.com in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Japan, and Canada, as well as 60 international licensee operated stores in south east Asia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Russia, Mexico, and Turkey. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Brisbane, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Bebe Stores (BEBE) reported a loss of 14 cents a share, more than the 13 cent loss forecast by analysts, and said it would experience a loss in the low- to mid-teens during the current quarter.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  bebe stores (NASDAQ: BEBE  ) continues to outfit its shareholders in cash by maintaining its dividend policy. The company has declared a fresh quarterly distribution of $0.025 per share of its stock, payable on June 20 to shareholders of record as of June 6.��That amount matches the company's preceding disbursement, which was handed out in mid-March.

• [By Rich Smith]

  This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines include upgrades for both industrialist Aixtron (NASDAQ: AIXG  ) and fashionista bebe stores (NASDAQ: BEBE  ) . But the news isn't all good, so let's start off with a few words on...

Best Small Cap Stocks To Invest In 2014: Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACHN)

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of treatments for infectious diseases. The company focuses on the development of antivirals for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C; and the development of antibacterials for the treatment of resistant bacterial infections. Its drug candidates for the treatment of chronic HCV include ACH-1625, a protease inhibitor, which is in phase IIa clinical trial for the treatment of chronic HCV; ACH-2684, a pangenotypic protease inhibitor, which is in phase I clinical trial for the treatment of chronic HCV infection; and NS5A inhibitors for the treatment of chronic HCV infection, including ACH-2928, which is to enter a phase I clinical trial, as well as various additional NS5A inhibitors in preclinical development. Its pipeline of product candidates also includes ACH-702 and ACH-2881 for drug resistant bacterial infections; elvucitabine for HIV infection; and AC H-1095 for HCV infection. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in New Haven, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  The latest hepatitis-C nightmare came from Achillion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACHN  ) which plunged 24% on the week after the FDA placed a clinical hold on its lead compound, sovaprevir (previously known as ACH-1625) because of a worrisome drug-to-drug interaction noted in early stage trials. According to Achillion's update, sovaprevir, when studied with atazanavir, was associated with elevated ALT enzymes in the liver, although no serious adverse events were documented. Even though the FDA is allowing Achillion to continue studying sovaprevir in its mid-stage trial with ACH-3102, it's just another setback for Achillion which is miles behind Gilead Sciences�and AbbVie�in terms of time it will take to bring a new hepatitis-C therapy to market.

Best Small Cap Stocks To Invest In 2014: FuelCell Energy Inc.(FCEL)

FuelCell Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacturing, and sale of high temperature fuel cells for clean electric power generation primarily in South Korea, the United States, Germany, Canada, and Japan. The company offers proprietary carbonate Direct FuelCell Power Plants that electrochemically produce electricity from hydrocarbon fuels, such as natural gas and biogas. Its fuel cells operate on a range of hydrocarbon fuels, including natural gas, renewable biogas, propane, methanol, coal gas, and coal mine methane. The company also develops carbonate fuel cells, planar solid oxide fuel cell technology, and other fuel cell technologies. It provides its products to universities; manufacturers; mission critical institutions, such as correction facilities and government installations; hotels; and natural gas letdown stations, as well as to customers who use renewable biogas for fuel, including municipal water treatment facilities, br eweries, and food processors. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  FuelCell Energy Inc.'s(FCEL) fiscal fourth-quarter loss narrowed as the power-equipment maker reported broad sales growth across all segments and wider gross margins. But the loss was still steeper than expected, sending shares down 11% to $1.65 premarket.

Best Small Cap Stocks To Invest In 2014: OCZ Technology Group Inc(OCZ)

OCZ Technology Group, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes computer components for computing devices and systems worldwide. It primarily offers solid state drives, flash memory storage, memory modules, thermal management solutions, AC/DC switching power supply units, and computer gaming solutions. The company?s products are used in industrial equipment and computer systems; computer and computer gaming solutions; mission critical servers and high end workstations; personal computer (PC) upgrades to extend the useable life of existing PCs; high performance computing and scientific computing; video and music editing; home theatre PCs and digital home convergence products; and digital photography and digital image manipulation computers. OCZ Technology Group, Inc. offers its products to retailers, on-line retailers, original equipment manufacturers, systems integrators, and distributors. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in San Jose, Califo rnia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  The not-so-great and wonderful OCZ
  There was no company-specific news that caused solid-state-drive maker OCZ Technology (NASDAQ: OCZ  ) to fall almost 8% Wednesday. But an article that appeared on Seeking Alpha �questioning whether the company had six months or less to live before it filed for bankruptcy seemed to coincide with its fall.

Best Small Cap Stocks To Invest In 2014: Sify Technologies Limited(SIFY)

Sify Technologies Limited provides enterprise and consumer Internet services primarily in India. The company offers various corporate network/data services comprising e-commerce and network connectivity solutions, such as end-to-end services network, application, and security services; voice origination and termination services; co-location and managed hosting services; and system integration services for data centre build, hardware distribution, security solutions, and turnkey projects. It also provides application services, including SLEMS and Microsoft Exchange messaging platforms; I-test for online assessment and LiveWire, which enable management of training processes across the organization; document management system for the management of documents electronically; and Forum, a forward supply chain solution. In addition, the company operates e-Ports that offer browsing, chat, email, gaming, utility bill payment, travel ticketing, hotel booking, mobile recharge, Intern et telephony, and online share trading services; and portals, which provide news, views, reviews, interactions, and services in the areas of movies, sports, finance, food, videos, astrology, online games, shopping, and travel, as well as offers content offerings and broadband services. Further, it provides infrastructure management services, such as network management, datacenter and helpdesk outsourcing, desktop and storage outsourcing, IT security outsourcing, LAN and WAN outsourcing, database and telecom outsourcing, and application monitoring and management services to automotive, chemical, media, and financial enterprises; and virtualization design, integration, and deployment services for servers, storage, networks, and end user clients. Sify has approximately 1,278 e-Ports in 200 towns and cities; and serves 1,06,000 broadband subscribers through 1500 cable TV Operators. The company, formerly known as Sify Limited, was founded in 1995 and is based in Chennai, India.

Best Small Cap Stocks To Invest In 2014: InterDigital Inc.(IDCC)

Interdigital, Inc. engages in the design and development of digital wireless technology solutions. The company offers technology solutions for use in digital cellular and wireless products and networks, including 2G, 3G, 4G, and IEEE 802-related products and networks. It holds patents related to the fundamental technologies that enable wireless communications. The company licenses its patents to equipment producers that manufacture, use, and sell digital cellular and IEEE 802-related products; and licenses or sells mobile broadband modem solutions, including modem IP, know-how, and reference platforms to mobile device manufacturers, semiconductor companies, and other equipment producers that manufacture, use, and sell digital cellular products. InterDigital?s solutions are incorporated in various products comprising mobile devices, such as cellular phones, tablets, notebook computers, and wireless personal digital assistants; wireless infrastructure equipment, such as base stations; and components, dongles, and modules for wireless devices. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  InterDigital (NASDAQ: IDCC  ) is about to raise its global profile following an international patent licensing deal. The company announced that it has entered an agreement with Spain-based Teltronic Unipersonal for the latter to license a set of its 4G technologies. The terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Investors love stocks that consistently beat the Street without getting ahead of their fundamentals and risking a meltdown. The best stocks offer sustainable market-beating gains, with robust and improving financial metrics that support strong price growth. Does InterDigital (NASDAQ: IDCC  ) fit the bill? Let's take a look at what its recent results tell us about its potential for future gains.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Well, it would be inaccurate to see patent-defense companies like Vringo, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNG), InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDCC), and Acacia Research Corp. (NASDAQ:ACTG) have been forced into going out of business. But, it wouldn't be inaccurate to say some of these so-called patent trolls are now potentially facing a much bigger legal headwind. Investors of companies like IDCC, ACTG, and VRNG may want to reassess the upside of their holdings, now that new laws regarding patent litigation have all but been put into place.

AIG’s Benmosche Sorry For Racist Comments, But, Not Really

This is what AIG (NYSE: AIG) CEO Robert H. Benmosche told The Wall Street Journal, when he was asked about the public’s negative reaction to bonuses paid to executives as large U.S. financial services companies. The movement against Benmosche and his colleagues

"was intended to stir public anger, to get everybody out there with their pitch forks and their hangman nooses, and all that–sort of like what we did in the Deep South [decades ago]. And I think it was just as bad and just as wrong.”

The public reaction, and particularly the reaction of black leaders was swift and powerfully negative. Benmosche kept quite, a sign, perhaps, that he believed completely in what he said. The pressure on him, however, continued. He finally did what he had not choice other than to do as the CEO of a public company. He met with his most vocal opponent and sent out a press release:

"I was very pleased to meet with Rep. Elijah Cummings earlier today. In our meeting, I apologized for my reference to the South and the impact that it had on him and others.

"I explained to Rep. Cummings that I was responding to a reporter's question about certain actions I felt were wrong at the time of the financial crisis: that what stood out to me was the enormous fear AIG employees felt about their safety and the safety of their families because people in positions of public responsibility were actively encouraging the vilification of our people.

"I expressed my belief that people should never encourage public anger against any group – for any reason – and that the vilification of a person or a group of people is not right. It's never right, and when it happens it should not be trivialized or dismissed lightly, as it too often was in the context of AIG. And when I referred to the South, I unintentionally trivialized a horrible legacy of our country. That was the opposite of my intent.

"I look forward to continued dialogue. AIG repaid America every dollar plus a profit of $22.9 billion – a total of $205 billion – and every one of our employees is committed to making sure AIG stands for what's right about this great country."

Too long and too many qualifications to be sincere

5 Stocks Poised to Break Out

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Trading stocks that trigger major breakouts can lead to massive profits. Once a stock trends to a new high or takes out a prior overhead resistance point, then it's free to find new buyers and momentum players that can ultimately push the stock significantly higher.

>>5 Stocks Under $10 to Trade for Breakouts

Breakout candidates are something that I tweet about on a daily basis. I frequently tweet out high-probability setups, breakout plays and stocks that are acting technically bullish. These are the stocks that often go on to make monster moves to the upside. What's great about breakout trading is that you focus on trend, price and volume. You don't have to concern yourself with anything else. The charts do all the talking.

Trading breakouts is not a new game on Wall Street. This strategy has been mastered by legendary traders such as William O'Neal, Stan Weinstein and Nicolas Darvas. These pros know that once a stock starts to break out above past resistance levels, and hold above those breakout prices, then it can easily trend significantly higher.

>>5 Big Stocks to Trade for Big Gains

With that in mind, here's a look at five stocks that are setting up to break out and trade higher from current levels.

Insys Therapeutics

One specialty pharmaceutical player that's quickly moving within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Insys Therapeutics (INSY), which develops and commercialize supportive care products that target the unmet needs of cancer patients, with an initial focus on cancer-supportive care. This stock is off to a monster start in 2013, with shares up a whopping 434%.

>>5 Stocks Insiders Love Right Now

If you take a look at the chart for Insys Therapeutics, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong for the last six months, with shares soaring higher from its low of $9.30 to its recent high of $53.64 a share. During that uptrend, shares of INSY have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. Shares of INSY have recently pulled back to its 50-day moving average and the stock has now started to spike higher off that level. That spike is starting to push shares of INSY within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in INSY if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $43.50 to $44.52 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 235,266 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then INSY will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $47.25 to its all-time high at $53.64 a share.

Traders can look to buy INSY off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some near-term support at $38.75 a share or near its 50-day at $36.73 a share. One can also buy INSY off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Lee Enterprises

Another newspaper publishing player that looks ready to trigger a major breakout trade is Lee Enterprises (LEE), which is a provider of local news and information and a platform for advertising, in primarily midsize markets. This stock has been on fire so far in 2013, with shares up big by 154%.

>>Hack Earnings Season With These Serial Surprisers

If you take a look at the chart for Lee Enterprises, you'll notice that this stock is just starting to spike higher back above its 50-day moving average of $2.89 a share with strong upside volume. Volume already today has registered over 360,000 shares, which is quickly approaching its three-month average action of 399,735 shares. This move is quickly pushing shares of LEE within range of triggering a major breakout trade.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in LEE if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $3.14 a share to its 52-week high at $3.20 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 399,735 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then LEE will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $4 to $5 a share.

Traders can look to buy LEE off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $2.71 or at $2.60 a share. One could also buy LEE off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Raptor Pharmaceuticals

One biotechnology player that's starting to trend within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Raptor Pharmaceuticals (RPTP), which has a pipeline that includes both candidates from its proprietary drug targeting platforms and in-licensed and acquired product candidates. This stock is in play with the bulls so far in 2013, with shares up sharply by 151%.

>>5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Love

If you take a look at the chart for Raptor Pharmaceuticals, you'll notice that stock has been uptrending strong for the last six months, with shares soaring higher from its low of $5.50 to its recent high of $15.29 a share. During that uptrend, shares of RPTP have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of RPTP within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in RPTP if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $14.99 a share to its 52-week high at $15.29 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 844,332 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then RPTP will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $18 to $20 a share, or even north of $20 a share.

Traders can look to buy RPTP off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $13.69 a share or at $13 a share. One can also buy RPTP off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Five Below

Another stock that's quickly pushing within range of triggering a major breakout trade is specialty retailer Five Below (FIVE), which offers merchandise targeted at the teen and pre-teen customer. This stock is off to a strong start in 2013, with shares up 54%.

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

If you look at the chart for Five Below, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong for the last month and change, with shares pushing higher from its low of $42.42 to its recent high of $50.39 a share. During that uptrend, shares of FIVE have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of FIVE within range of triggering a major breakout trade.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in FIVE if it manages to break out above its all-time high at $50.39 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 835,622 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then FIVE will set up to enter new all-time-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $60 to $65 a share.

Traders can look to buy FIVE off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support at $47.13 a share or around $46 a share. One can also buy FIVE off strength once it takes out its all-time high at $50.39 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Prologis

My final breakout trading prospect is industrial REIT player Prologis (PLD), a global owner, operator and developer of industrial real estate, focused on major hub and gateway distribution markets in the Americas, Europe and Asia. This stock is off to a decent start in 2013, with shares up 10.4%.

>>4 Hot Stocks to Trade (or Not)

If you look at the chart for Prologis, you'll notice that this stock recently formed a double bottom chart pattern at $37.31 to $37.33 a share. Following that bottom, shares of PLD have ripped higher right off its 50-day moving average and back above its 200-day moving average. That move has now pushed shares of PLD within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in PLD if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $40.99 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 2.35 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then PLD will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels $44.86 to its 52-week high at $45.52 a share. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give PLD a chance to tag $50 to $60 a share.

Traders can look to buy PLD off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 200-day moving average of $38.83 a share or near its 50-day moving average at $38.09 a share. One could also buy PLD off strength once it clears $40.99 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a conformable percentage from your entry point.

To see more breakout candidates, check out the Breakout Stocks of the Week portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

Apple Unveils Two New iPhones (AAPL)

After much anticipation surrounding its latest devices, on Tuesday Apple (AAPL) finally detailed the next products in its iPhone pipeline.

As many had expected, the company announced not one, but two new models. The iPhone 5S is the newest device with a number of upgrades over the older device. One of its most unique new features is a fingerprint scanner built into the home button that gives the user added security and ease of use.

Top 5 Insurance Companies To Invest In Right Now

The second model that was shown was the iPhone 5C. This product will feature a price point of just $99 and will be marketed mainly towards overseas markets that wish to utilize the iPhone technology but not at the hefty price tag that comes with the device in the U.S. This move looks to directly chip away at Android devices, which have been dominating emerging markets for some time now.

Investors were apparently unimpressed with the new devices, as Apple’s stock was down $11.53, or 2.33%, at Tuesday’s close.

A Lousy Investment That May Be A Good Source Of Income

Top 10 Small Cap Stocks For 2014

One of the biggest challenges facing retirees is how to bridge the gap between ever-rising expenses and virtually stagnant Social Security checks and other sources of income. While we are all finding ways to be more frugal, many folks still fall short every month.

In a recent issue of Miller's Money Forever, our team took an in-depth look at reverse mortgages, something many retirees turn to for extra income. I can safely say that for the vast majority of our readers they are a poor investment, but not necessarily a bad idea.

In a nutshell, in exchange for a reverse mortgage on your home the bank sends you a monthly check until your 100th birthday. There are some up-front fees, and with each monthly check your mortgage increases. You must, however, continue to live in your home as your primary residence. If you move out and sell, any remaining equity after the sale is yours to keep. At the same time, if the mortgage is higher than your home's selling price, you don't have to make up the difference.

It sure sounds nice, and yet the only way to turn a reverse mortgage into a great investment is to live a good, long life and stay in your home. The odds are stacked against you, as you must outlive your actuarial lifespan by a good five years or so to make it a good investment. And what if your health takes a turn for the worse, and you need to move into an assisted-living facility? Those checks will stop coming.

With a reverse mortgage, you're bargaining with your home, which for most folks is a large part of their personal wealth. You will never learn if your investment turned out to be good or bad until you die or move out.

Fortunately, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing counseling is mandated for 95% of reverse mortgages. The counseling is quite worthwhile, and I recommend it to any retiree who's struggling to meet monthly expenses.

Our team worked with the HUD agency in Orlando while researching our reverse mortgage report, and they were a tremendous help. I never knew how many state and federal programs were available to help keep seniors in their homes. The good news is that you cannot be turned away if you cannot pay the normal $125 fee.

Any senior who is struggling to keep his or her finances together should take the time to meet with a HUD counselor. Even if a reverse mortgage is not right for you, they have many other options that may better suit your needs.

In speaking with the HUD counselor and through our own research we found that many seniors are turning to reverse mortgages because their bills are stacking up while their income is drying up. A reverse mortgage may be a good solution for you under very particular circumstances, but if you're finding your income isn't keeping up with expenses then it's time to seriously consider changing your income strategy. Most seniors do this several times during retirement. We've recently released a presentation on our income strategy: it uses a special class of investments to create a monthly income stream. The best part is, you can start as soon as today and with as little or as much as you want to put into it. Here's the link to the presentation with all of the details.

Dennis Miller is the author of "Retirement Reboot", a book chronicling his own journey to save his retirement in a low yield, turbulent investing environment and providing readers with actionable ideas for getting their retirement finances back on track. He works with some of the country's top investment managers, authors and analysts to tackle the financial challenges faced by today's retirees. Working with analysts at Casey Research, Dennis created "Miller's Money Forever," a newsletter that provides retirees, and those soon to be retired, with actionable recommendations on how to prepare and maintain a profitable retirement portfolio. Prior to retiring in 2008 Dennis ran a successful consulting business and authored several books on sales management. He was also a regular contributor to the American Management Association and an active international lecturer for 40 years. Find more of Dennis' columns and latest special research reports at millersmoney.com or contact him at dennis@millersmoney.

Hotels & Lodging Stock Outlook - Aug. 2013 - Industry ...

The U.S. hotel & lodging industry saw a solid start to 2013, with lodging performance indicators going up in most parts of the world. With concerns still lingering over a number of macro issues that could still leave the sector in disarray, we have now come halfway through 2013 and would like to take a close look at how things are shaping up.

In the second quarter, two of the sector heavyweights -- Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) and Wyndham Worldwide Corp. (WYN) -- surpassed their respective Zacks Consensus Estimates on earnings. While Wyndham managed to beat on revenues, Starwood missed. Both have raised earnings guidance for the full year.

Notwithstanding the common macroeconomic hurdles expected ahead, the lodging sector would continue its recovery trail this year thanks to improving U.S. business as well as strong international travel and tourism volumes. The number of hotels Starwood opened and new deals signed in North America in 2012 were much more than the past couple of years.

Other important factors like higher barriers to entry and lower reliance on third-party wholesalers have positioned the hoteliers to attain peak levels not seen since the onset of the global economic crisis in 2007. The hoteliers are giving every effort to improve their primary performance metrics like occupancy and RevPAR (revenue per available room).

Market researcher Price Waterhouse Coopers expects RevPAR growth of 5.9% in 2013, representing the fourth year of lodging recovery. According to the market researcher, hotels across the gamut of price tiers, in particular the higher-priced ones, are expected to drive this recovery and a consequent growth in the sector.

Zacks Industry Rank

Within the Zacks Industry classification, we rank all the 260 plus industries in the 16 Zacks sectors based on the earnings outlook and fundamental strength of the constituent companies in each industry. To learn more visit: About Zacks Industry Rank.

As a guideli! ne, the outlook for industries in the top 1/3rd of all Industry Ranks or a Zacks Industry Rank of #88 and lower is 'Positive,' the middle 1/3rd or industries with Zacks Industry Rank between #89 and #176 is 'Neutral' and the bottom 1/3rd or Zacks Industry Rank of #177 and higher is 'Negative.'

The Zacks Industry Rank for the hotels/motels industry is currently #65. This is in the top 1/3rd of all industries ranked, highlighting the group's near-term Positive outlook. The group's favorable Zacks Rank placement is essentially a function of many companies' improving their earnings picture which prompted analysts to raise their estimates. Notably, this group of 13 companies benefited from 31% positive revisions to annual earnings estimates.

OPPORTUNITIES

Demand Exceeds Supply: Owing to gradual economic recovery, the hotel industry continues to see upside. Starwood has estimated high-end travel spending to have grown nearly 40% over the last four years, almost double as fast as global GPD. The supply situation remains tight both in the U.S. and Europe . PWC forecasts 0.8% supply growth and around 1.8% demand growth in 2013. This scenario is anticipated to push up occupancy levels. Supply growth is expected to remain low for a few years to come.

For 2014, PKF Hospitality Research predicts RevPAR to increase 7.7% buoyed by a 3.3% rise in demand and an occupancy level of 63.8%. As per the research firm, this is going to be the highest annual occupancy level since 1997.

According to Marriott International (MAR), fewer supplies combined with nearly peak occupancy levels will help hoteliers charge higher for the rooms in 2013. In a nutshell, with lower supply, RevPAR is improving on strong demand and continued higher pricing.

Improving Trends in North America & Europe: System-wide occupancies in North America appear steady. Starwood expects 2013 to be its strongest year since the recession in terms of hotel openings in North America. As per Smith Travel Resear! ch, the U! .S. lodging sector has now seen RevPAR growth for 13 straight quarters.

In Europe, too, the scenario is improving. Consumer confidence in the Eurozone was recorded close to a two-year high for the month of July. In fact, select markets in Southern Europe which was hard hit during recession began to report growth. The bullish trend on two continents can be validated by Starwood's occupancy data in the second quarter which surpassed 76% in the U.S. and 72% in Europe.

Renovation Gaining Precedence: Lately, most of the hoteliers are increasingly investing on property renovations. Hotel companies are diligently working on guest satisfaction to enhance their position in a cut-throat environment. Brand conversion and remodeling have become industry trends. Many industry biggies like Starwood, Marriott and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) have treaded the same path.

There are several well-positioned, older hotels in metro markets, which are good candidates for restructuring. In view of that, we foresee several renovations this year.

International Expansion: Owing to saturation in the U.S. market, major hoteliers are exploring growth opportunities abroad. Some international markets offer greater potential on their stepped-up pace of economic growth.

A number of U.S.-based hoteliers are targeting the unsaturated markets of India, Brazil, China, Russia and Africa. China is set to fuel a recovery in global tourism, and is expected to emerge as the world's most popular travel destination by 2020. Both Starwood and Marriott generate their second largest revenue stream from China.

Apart from China, India is another hot spot for western hoteliers as the country is emerging as a global business hub. The prospect for Latin America, particularly Mexico, remains outstanding. Lower crime rates in the country have ensured that U.S. groups are once again taking an interest in Mexico. Further, major events like the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016 in Braz! il is als! o boosting the country's infrastructure as demand for hotel rooms will grow and the events will significantly increase tourism in the country.

Shift Toward Asset-Light Model: Since late 2010, transitioning to an "asset light" business model has gained prominence in hotels and REIT industries. Asset sales remain a long-term strategy to strengthen financial flexibility, which help companies grow through management and licensing arrangements instead of direct ownership of real estate. A higher concentration of management and franchise fees reduces earnings volatility and provides a more stable growth profile.

Following the industry trend, many industry players like Morgans Hotel Group Co. (MHGC), Red Lion Hotels Corp. (RLH) and Starwood have taken resorts to an asset disposition strategy.

WEAKNESSES

Global Economic Backdrop Yet to Fully Recover: Despite the strengths, the companies are still caught up with macroeconomic tensions like the probability of tapering quantitative easing by the Fed, ongoing austerity measures in Europe owing to the sovereign debt crisis and decelerating growth in Asia.

The budget sequestration, effective since Mar 1, 2013, to fight issues like high unemployment and tighter credit availability might hamper business travel in North America to some extent. Government is likely to cut its group and transient bookings. Therefore, declining government business is expected to affect the company's RevPAR for the rest of 2013.

We believe the European tourism industry will likely remain challenged until the continent tides over its nagging economic difficulties. Most data from the region still shows continued problems, even though the broader picture has materially stabilized.

Growth has also slowed in a number of major emerging economies, especially in Brazil, China and India. A weaker external environment, a sharp deceleration in domestic demand and a fragile export environment could possibly hurt the performance of the lodging se! ctor in t! he near term.

The shadow banking system in China has created trouble and India raised concerns due to its recent economic weakness. Brazil is feeling the dual pressures of slower growth and heightened inflation. Apart from slower GDP growth, RevPAR in 2013 might slowdown on account of higher supply growth in a few emerging markets.

Operating Margins Under Pressure: Though RevPAR has fairly picked up since the recovery in the industry, operating margins are yet to reach the industry peak in the U.S. This is due to the spike in overall inflation. As a result of economic uncertainty, it is now estimated that peak levels will not be achieved anytime soon. Some hoteliers like Marriott even feel that the golden days of the lodging industry will not be back before 2014 or 2015.

Earnings Trends

Hotel industry falls under the broader Consumer Discretionary sector, which portrays stable earnings trends. The second quarter 2013 results for the sector have been impressive in terms of both beat ratios (percentage of companies coming out with positive surprises) and growth.

The earnings "beat ratio" was 72.7%, while the revenue "beat ratio" was 45.5%. However, most earnings results from this sector have yet to be released with just 35.5% reported as of July 25. Total earnings for this sector are expected to go up 11.6% in the second quarter, modestly down from the 14.0% growth in the first quarter of 2013. The lag in sequential earnings growth came from margin shortfall.

On the revenue front, the sector has been witnessing a remarkable recovery. Expectation for total revenue expanded 5.9% in the quarter on the top of a 4.6% increase in the prior quarter.

Looking at the consensus earnings expectations for the rest of the year, we are encouraged since earnings are expected to grow 5.4% in the third quarter of 2013 and 16.2% in the fourth quarter, thereby registering full-year 2013 growth of 12.9%. For the next year, the sector is poised to expand around 15.9% with 1! 3.8% grow! th in the first quarter itself.

For more details about earnings for this sector and others, please read our 'Earnings Trends' report.

Moving Into the Third Quarter

Hoteliers will be facing tough comparison in Europe as the biggest event of 2012 -- the Summer Olympics -- brought in extra business in the comparable period of last year. In the Gulf, Saudi visa restrictions are harshly reducing Ramadan-related travel. Turmoil is also creeping up in the apparently improving Egypt. The recent protests in Turkey will also likely mar the country's lodging business in the third quarter. However, according to Starwood, all these threats should subside by the fourth quarter.

On the positive front, Argentina which had been adversely affecting Latin American RevPAR for the last nine months mainly due to a negative currency impact will likely represent an easy comparison in the third quarter. Markets of Canada and Australia which boast ample of resources should bode well for the big hoteliers' business.

Bottom Line

In hindsight, the performance of the hotel sector was essentially satisfactory. Our proprietary Zacks Ranks indicate the movement of the stocks over the short term (1 to 3 months). At present, respectively 46% and 24% stocks sport a positive and neutral outlook.

Stocks which will likely outperform the broader market and currently hold a favorable Zacks Rank include Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc. (HMIN), The Marcus Corporation (MCS), Wyndham (WYN) and Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. (OEH). We currently refrain from getting too enthusiastic on the three stocks in our universe that continue to hold a Zacks #3 Rank (Hold). These stocks are Intercontinental, Starwood and Red Lion.

However, there are two bellwethers -- Marriott International Inc. (MAR) and Hyatt (H) -- that currently carry Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Is Tapering a Threat or a Good Bet?

Every time Fed chairman Ben Bernanke even hints at phasing out the federal stimulus program, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) does a spit-take. Since the economy's most important figurehead keeps talking about it, the Dow is starting to look downright neurotic. Is that the right reaction to Bernanke's long-term plan?

First, let's look at the market reactions in context of Bernanke's stimulus-tapering talk. The Dow took a 0.4% dive on May 22 when Bernanke testified before Congress that the Fed might start scaling down its $85 billion-per-month bond-buying if the job market keeps improving and the economy doesn't slow down.

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That dip was dramatic at the time. The comments sent stocks "sharply lower," in the words of fellow Fool Travis Hoium. These days, a 0.4% fall is hardly worth mentioning.

^DJI data by YCharts.

In the 22 market days since May 22, I see exactly four instances of the Dow trading between 0.4% and -0.4%. The other 18 full days jumped outside that range -- often by quite a distance, and usually to the downside. This sunshiny Monday looks no different, as the Dow trades down 0.95% as of this 1:50 p.m. EDT. And, yes, the biggest of these moves all come down to Bernanke's potential strategy choices.

But what, exactly, are investors worried about? Sure, it sounds scary to turn off such a large and important spigot flowing into the tentative economic recovery. But have you considered the other side of the coin?

Here are the top three reasons I see not to panic about Bernanke's tapering comments -- and perhaps even too get excited instead:

The end of the stimulus program would be tied to some solid metrics. Bernanke wants to see unemployment dropping below 6.5% before he turns off the stimulus engines. The alternative trigger would be inflation rising above a 2% annual rate. (Yes, reasonable inflation levels can be a good thing.) Wouldn't these be signs of a sustainable recovery that will keep the free market's blood flowing without artificial stimulus?

You might recall that the government is operating under a negative budget. The government spent $136 billion more than it collected in May. The "fiscal cliff" panic of 2012 focused on this metric. Now we're supposed to forget about it and keep feeding $85 billion into the stimulus program anyhow. You'd think the people who worried about the cliff would cheer the idea of reducing monthly red-ink flows by two-thirds.

The stimulus program was always meant to give America a quick shot of adrenalin, not a daily dose of addictive caffeine. The whole tapering plan would avoid going cold turkey, slowly easing things back to what we used to call "business as usual." Assuming that the need for stimulus has passed (see the first point about trigger thresholds), wouldn't this be a great thing?

I could go on, but these points should suffice to make any long-term investor think about the real implications of Bernanke's tapering. The sudden discounts on the Dow's premium stocks seem based on entirely backward reasoning. If I'm right, this could be the perfect time to invest in the Dow before Mr. Market wakes up to the beneficial effects of a tapered stimulus. Buy when there's blood in the streets.

Taper target: $10B each over next seven Fed meetings

In her court: Fed chairman Ben Bernanke started the tapering ball but it will fall to incoming chief Janet Yellen to finish the job. Bloomberg News

The Federal Reserve probably will reduce its bond purchases in $10 billion increments over the next seven meetings before ending the program in December 2014, economists said.

The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 41 economists matches the $10 billion reduction announced on Wednesday as the Fed began to unwind quantitative easing, the unprecedented stimulus that has defined Ben S. Bernanke's chairmanship.

The Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement that it will slow buying “in further measured steps at future meetings” if the economy improves as forecast. The Fed may taper its buying by about $10 billion per gathering, Mr. Bernanke said at a press conference in Washington.

“We're going to take further modest steps subsequently, so that would be the general range,” Mr. Bernanke said.

Such predictable increments would extend Mr. Bernanke's push toward greater transparency and openness at the Fed, said Dana Saporta, an economist at Credit Suisse Group AG.

“Doing this would avoid the drama of having to come to a consensus at each meeting,” Ms. Saporta said. “It may have been difficult enough to agree on the timing, size and composition of the first taper, so maybe no one has the appetite to do that on an ongoing basis.”

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Mr. Bernanke's second four-year term ends Jan. 31, and Vice Chairman Janet Yellen is awaiting Senate confirmation to succeed him.

'MODEST STEPS'

The Fed coupled its decision to taper bond purchases with a stronger commitment to keep its benchmark interest rate low. Mr. Bernanke said the decision was intended to “keep the level of accommodation the same overall.”

Unemployment fell to a five-year low of 7% in November as employers added 203,000 workers to payrolls. Inflation measured by the personal consumption expenditures index was 0.7% in October and has remained below the Fed's 2% objective for almost a year and a half.

The Fed's balance sheet rose to a record $4.01 trillion as of Dec. 18, up from $2.82 trillion when it began the third round of purchases. The FOMC began QE3, as the program is known, in September 2012 with monthly purchases of $40 billion in mortgage bonds and added $45 billion in Treasury purchases starting in December 2012.

The balance sheet will expand to about $4.4 trillion by the time the program ends, according to median estimates in the survey. Economists forecast purchases in the third round eventually will reach $800 billion in mortgage bonds and $789 billion in Treasuries.

(Bloomberg News) Like what you've read?

Boeing Adds Orders From FedEx, Cathay Pacific

As of December 17, The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) had booked a net total for 1,074 new planes in 2013, compared with a net total of 1,314 new orders reported by archrival Airbus. On Friday, Boeing added an order for 21 new 777X aircraft from Cathay Pacific Airways, on top of an order for two new 767 freighters from FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX).

The FedEx order is something of a mixed blessing, however, because the package delivery firm at the same time delayed for two years an order for 11 new 777F freighters. FedEx already had orders for 50 of the 767 freighters on Boeing’s order book. The deferment of the 777F order comes as a result of a slowdown in freight traffic between the United States and Asia.

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Cathay Pacific’s order is valued at $7.5 billion at list prices, but the actual amount is certainly lower than that. Asia's largest international carrier is working to replace its fleet of four-engine 747-400 jets with the new, more fuel-efficient two-engine 777X.

The new planes were first introduced last month at the Dubai Air Show. First deliveries of the new planes are expected in 2021 and will stretch out through 2024. Boeing reported that it took orders for 259 of its new 777X mini-jumbo jets at the show, and that the value of the orders totaled more than $95 billion at list prices. What the company does not have yet is a place to build the planes.

Boeing’s local International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) union rejected a contract offer that the company said would have kept the manufacturing plant for the 777X in Washington state, and a somewhat sweetened offer proposed by Boeing last week was rejected without even going to a vote of the IAM membership. The main items under dispute are a change to the pension plan and a revised salary schedule. Boeing said it is considering offers from 22 states competing for the 777X manufacturing plant.

All I Want for Christmas Is a Bigger Cellphone Battery

A recent poll on tech enthusiast website Slashdot shows what tech-savvy consumers really want out of their smartphones nowadays. The poll may not be very scientific, but the voice of 32,000 tech enthusiasts should still count for something.

Apple can stop making thinner iPhones and squeeze a bigger battery into that extra space instead. Microsoft might be able to snag some mobile market share by lowering prices on its Lumia phones. There will always be a niche market for high-end models where price is no object, but high performance and the correct handset size don't seem to matter outside that specialized market.

Huge volume will come from making these two changes above all else. The only handset designer that seems to get it right now is Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) , as shown in the low-cost but very capable Moto G by Big G's Motorola division.

In the video below, Erin Miller asks Fool contributor Anders Bylund what this smartphone poll means and what it can teach investors in the mobile industry.

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Take Your Profits Now: 5 Energy Stocks To Trim in 2014

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Wall Street is full old-timey investment sayings. One of the best adages goes "Bulls make money, Bears make money, but Pigs get slaughtered."

There's some evidence of truth to that statement. Being too greedy when it comes to investing can have major portfolio implications and the concept of mean reversion is very real. No one ever lost money taking some profits on a stock. While it can be hard to do, selling and trimming back some of winners is an important piece of portfolio rebalancing.

After a year of torrid growth, plenty of energy stocks have surged to new highs. Gains in hydraulic fracturing, production and prices for the underlying commodities have lit a fire under a variety of stocks in the oil and gas industry — with the broad based Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) up about 20% this year.

With that said, it could time to trim back positions in some winning energy stocks. And with the new year quickly approaching, today could be a prime opportunity. Here are five of the best candidates to trim after a 2013 surge.

Hess

Shareholder activism can be a wonderful thing when it's done right. Known for its iconic green-and-white trucks, Hess (HES) had been stuck in neutral as its peers dove head-first into shale production and "sexier" unconventional resource plays. HES stock languished and was passed by in many portfolios.

Enter activist hedge fund Elliot Management. After calling management at HES inept, Elliott pressured the firm to focus on its core business of E&P operations and reduce its exposure to refining, marketing and other ventures. After a bitter proxy battle, the two came to an agreement and Hess began divesting assets and shifting focus.

Well, those efforts seem to have delighted investors, as HES stock has surged more than 48% year to date.

Given those huge gains, investors may want to trim back their position in HES shares — especially given Hess's recent weak earnings guidance. For the fourth quarter, HES estimates that it will realize a $6 per barrel decrease in its average selling price for crude, in addition to pumping out less oil than expected. All in all, HES will earn than it did in the third quarter.

For investors, the time to sell some HES stock is now if they want to capture those hefty gains.

Dril-Quip

It takes an awful lot of muscle and technological know-how to frack and drill unconventional wells. So the oil service industry is poised to continue churning out hefty profits in years to come. That fact has benefited mid-cap maker of drill-bits, pipes and other rig equipment Dril-Quip (DRQ).

Being a potential buy-out candidate hasn't hurt either.

Some analysts have proposed that DRQ could be one of the next targets for industrial titan GE (GE) as it expands into the oil and gas space by buying up smaller energy stocks. That speculation, along with stronger revenues and earnings, have propelled DRQ stock upwards — to the tune of 48% year to date.

That's a big gain for such a small firm, and while there isn't anything particularly wrong with DRQ or its prospects, it has gotten ahead of itself in terms of the "buy-out" potential. DRQ shares now trade for a P/E of near 30 and forward P/E of around 21. That's about double the oil service sector’s average and about 5% higher than its normal P/E range.

Given the gains, investors may want sell a bit of DRQ stock.

EOG Resources

There's no denying that EOG Resources (EOG) is the reigning kingpin in the Eagle Ford shale. The firm has some of the largest acreage in the region and continues to churn out hefty oil and natural gas liquids production in Texas.

That fact hasn't been lost on investors, who continue to bid up shares.

Overall, EOG stock is up 30% this year, on top of the 23% it gained in 2012. Which means early investors are sitting on some pretty hefty capital gains, and EOG could represent one of the "piggiest" stocks in the oil and gas sector. Trimming back some your EOG stock makes a whole lot of sense after such a huge win.

Besides, EOG is getting expensive. Shares are currently going for a P/E of nearly 40 and forward price-to-earnings metrics are still an industry high at 18.

EOG isn't a bad firm — it's just so darn pricey.

Continental Resources

Like EOG, Continental Resources (CLR) is a beast in its core production area, North Dakota's Bakken shale. And like EOD, CLR has seen its production surge as it continues to frack the formation with gusto.

And like EOG, CLR stock is up huge in 2013 — racking up an impressive 43% gain for shareholders. Which means it may be time to sell some and move on to more undervalued pastures. That position trimming could even be more prudent because rising production for CLR is a bit of a Catch-22.

That's because there' still a huge glut of Bakken crude that can't leave the region. Crude-by-rail is growing, but there's still insufficient pipeline infrastructure to carry CLR's production down to refiners on the Gulf. Overall, lower WTI crude prices because of the glut hinders CLR's earnings and rising production.

And with investors in CLR shares up big, the time could be right to sell some of those gains and move on.

Cheniere Energy

With so much natural gas coming from our shale fields, the promise of exporting that bounty is quickly becoming a reality for the U.S. As one of the first firms to win export approvals for its Sabine Pass facility, Cheniere Energy (LNG) shares have surged nearly 120% year to date.

With the Sabine Pass scheduled to begin liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments in 2015 and construction starting on a second LNG facility in Corpus Christi, the long-term promise is certainly there for LNG stock.

However, the glaring problem is that LNG doesn't actually make any money right now. Contract royalties from when it was an importer still trickle in, but as an exporter, LNG hasn't yet produced a profit.

On the flipside, competing energy stocks — Dominion (D) and Spectra (SE) — have a breath of assets that continue rack up earnings and pay dividends. Investors are being paid to wait while their LNG facilities take shape.

LNG has no such cushion, and with the stock up so huge in 2013, investors may have already priced in much of the export growth into the stock. It'll be better in the longer term, but as we go into the new year, trimming Cheniere is prudent.

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

General Dynamics: Defensive Gains

Our latest featured stock is an aerospace and defense company that offers a broad portfolio of products and services in aviation, combat vehicles, shipbuilding, and communications, explains Charles Mizrahi, editor of Hidden Values Alert.

General Dynamics (GD) offers segment diversification. Although the US government accounts for nearly two-thirds of the company's revenue, it has four operating segments, with no single division accounting for more than a third of total revenue.

Segment diversification allows the company to weather the effects of recent defense spending cuts. Ultimately, GD's sound fundamentals offer the company a strong long-term outlook.

Its aerospace segment has experienced strong double-digit growth over the past two years (15% and 13% year over year, respectively).

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Robust demand for business jets helped offset defense funding cuts. Its line of Gulfstream models caters to the commercial market and offers the company another source of revenue (in addition to its military operations). GD controls nearly 30% of the commercial jet market.

GD has total backlog of more than $48 billion. Strong orders for its recently launched G650 commercial jet account for nearly $13 billion in backlog. The company was also awarded numerous military contracts, which account for the remainder of its backlog ($34 billion).

The company's longstanding relationship with the US government is a strong barrier to entry in the industry. Competition is limited to companies who secure contracts with the DoD and receive the necessary clearance. GD is a member of a duopoly (with Huntington Ingalls (HII)) of companies who manufacture US Navy submarines.

GD has more than $4 billion on its balance sheet, with no short-term debt. It consistently generates close to $3 billion in operating cash flow per year. The company allocates a significant portion of its cash flow to shareholder returns.

The firm has allocated nearly $5 billion to share repurchases in the past five years. This has reduced shares outstanding by more than 8%. The company also distributes a $2.24 annual dividend, which represents a 2.5% dividend yield.

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On the Job: Trust is key in the best workplaces

Earlier this year, the Gallup Organization asked Americans about the trust they had in various institutions, including Congress.

Congress received its lowest ratingever since Gallup began the poll in 1973. Only 10% of respondents said they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress.

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Those results may not really surprise many Americans, but they might be taken aback to learn in their own work life, their colleagues, bosses or employees may not trust them, either.

Another Gallup survey finds that only 30% of the 100 million full-time workers are actively engaged in their work. That lack of engagement stems from a lack of trust in an organization or a boss, says Nan S. Russell, author of Trust Inc.

Just as a lack of trust among lawmakers slows down business, so does a lack of trust and engagement in the workplace. Gallup estimates that the 70% of workers who are not engaged cost $450 billion to $550 billion a year in lost productivity.

In addition, disengaged and distrustful workers are less collaborative and innovative, Russell says.

"Part of the problem is that we always believe the lack of trust is someone else's problem," she says. "But the answer to developing better trust comes person to person."

That means that a boss who wants to develop more trust within his team doesn't wait for human resources or a corporate training program but instead moves ahead on his own to improve team members' confidence in one another.

"I think the biggest mistake people make when they think about trust is that they get it backwards," she says. "We look for people we can trust, instead of thinking about whether we are worthy of their trust. It's a mindset."

In her book, Russell addresses several issues, such as the kinds of behaviors that diminish trust. If you want to have more people trust you, she suggests you stop behaviors such as these:

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1. Piling on the hype. If you over promise and under deliver, it shows you don't take your words seriously — so no one trusts them.

2. Broadcasting distrust. Dictating to others and micromanaging can convey loudly and clearly that you don't trust others to do what needs to be done.

3. Avoiding responsibility. Maybe you wimp out, make excuses or blame others and refuse to apologize.

But such behavior doesn't portray you as a mature adult who can own his or her actions.

4. Spending too much time covering your behind. Hitting "reply all" and "cc-ing" your boss, your boss's boss and everyone else is not only annoying but shows that you don't trust anyone.

Such feelings also can infect the rest of your team.

5. Being a glory hog. Even if you worked really hard and put together a terrific project, chances are good that you were helped along the way by those offering pointers, ideas, resources and encouragement.

If you don't recognize others for the aid they offer, it reduces trust.

6. Spinning the truth. People have such a dismal opinion of politics right now, and much of it has to do with the spin that lawmakers seem to put on every issue.

Doing the same by deliberately misleading colleagues or being evasive can hurt your personal integrity and the trust others have in you.

7. Wimping out. When delivering a tough message, you hide behind texts or e-mails.

By not stepping up and personally communicating difficult information, you show you don't have what it takes to be trusted.

8. Abandoning self-control. We've all wanted to fire off nasty e-mails or make a snide remark, but personal integrity and professionalism generally hold us back.

If you let snarky comments fly, those personal attacks kill trust.

To engender trust, take actions that benefit someone else, genuinely care about others and be passionate about what you do, Russell says.

"It's all about w! ho you ar! e and how you show up," she says. "You give trust to get trust."

Anita Bruzzese is author of 45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy ... and How to Avoid Them, www.45things.com. Twitter: @AnitaBruzzese.

Pension Advocates Blast Budget’s Premium Hike

The two-year budget deal struck by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sailed through the House of Representatives on Thursday by a 332-94 vote. The deal is expected to pass the Senate next week.

The agreement sets spending levels at just above $1 trillion for fiscal 2014 and 2015 and eliminates $63 billion in automatic sequestration cuts. New spending increases would be offset by increasing the amount federal workers must contribute to their retirement plans as well as increasing premiums for pensions backed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

The American Benefits Council balked at the $8 billion in PBGC premium hikes that are to be paid by employer plan sponsors under the measure. The pension premium increase, said ABC President James Klein, “follows a $9 billion increase in premiums enacted just a year ago.”

Klein said in a statement that “It is simply unacceptable that members of Congress of both parties, as well as both Democratic and Republican administrations in recent years, view pension plans as a piggy bank for other budget priorities, without regard for the real-life policy implications of their actions.”

As the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 notes, the sequester relief is fully offset by savings elsewhere in the budget, which includes “dozens of specific deficit-reduction provisions, with mandatory savings and non-tax revenue totaling approximately $85 billion.” The agreement says it would reduce the deficit by between $20 billion and $23 billion.

Securities and Exchange Commission spokesman John Nester told ThinkAdvisor Friday that there are “no details at present” on how the budget deal impacts the agency.

Lawmakers and the executive branch, Klein argued, “sometimes cite the PBGC’s self-reported $36 billion deficit to justify new premium increases.” However, he said the current PBGC deficit projection is “highly misleading and is based on both today’s historically low interest rates and flawed assumptions by the PBGC in the way it determines its financial situation.”

Said Klein: “Today’s $36 billion ‘deficit’ is no more real than its purported $11 billion ‘surplus’ several years ago when interest rates were high.”

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While the Federal Reserve Board’s low-interest rate policy “is appropriately designed to help spur economic recovery," Klein added, "it has the perverse effect of undervaluing pension assets, understating the funding levels of employer-sponsored plans and the financial position of the PBGC itself.”

---

Check out Don’t Break Our Thriving 401(k) System, Groups Urge Government on ThinkAdvisor.

4 Health Care Stocks Under $10 to Watch

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- At Stockpickr, we track daily portfolios of stocks that are the biggest percentage gainers and the biggest percentage losers.

>>5 Stocks Set to Soar on Bullish Earnings

Stocks that are making large moves like these are favorites among short-term traders because they can jump into these names and try to capture some of that massive volatility. Stocks that are making big-percentage moves either up or down are usually in play because their sector is becoming attractive or they have a major fundamental catalyst such as a recent earnings release. Sometimes stocks making big moves have been hit with an analyst upgrade or an analyst downgrade.

Regardless of the reason behind it, when a stock makes a large-percentage move, it is often just the start of a new major trend -- a trend that can lead to huge profits. If you time your trade correctly, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends, discipline and sound money management, you will be well on your way to investment success.

>>Buy the Dips: This Bull Market's Not Over

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at a several stocks under $10 that are making large moves to the upside today.

Cardiome Pharma

Cardiome Pharma (CRME), a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops and commercializes new therapies that improve the health of patients around the world. This stock closed up 6.5% to $6.64 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $6.20-$6.78

52-Week Range: $1.60-$7.15

Tuesday's Volume: 120,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 202,559

From a technical perspective, CRME ripped higher here right off some near-term support at $6 with lighter-than-average volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of CRME within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if CRME manages to take out Tuesday's high of $6.78 and then once it clears its 52-week high at $7.15 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CRME as long as it's trending above some near-term support levels at $6 or at $5.85, and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 202,559 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CRME will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. If that breakout hits, then CRME will have a chance to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from March of 2012 that started near $10.

Pernix Therapeutics

Pernix Therapeutics (PTX) is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the sales, marketing and development of branded and generic pharmaceutical products for pediatric and adult indications in a variety of therapeutic areas. This stock closed up 5.9% to $2.49 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $2.35-$2.60

52-Week Range: $1.68-$8.70

Tuesday's Volume: 91,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 124,498

From a technical perspective, PTX ripped higher here right off its 50-day moving average of $2.36 with lighter-than-average volume. This move is starting to push shares of PTX within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if PTX manages to take out Tuesday's high of $2.60 to some more near-term overhead resistance at $2.90 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in PTX as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $2.36 or above some more near-term support at $2.23 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 124,498 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then PTX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at its 200-day of $3.46 to $3.59. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give PTX a chance to tag its next major overhead resistance level at $4.30.

Idera Pharmaceuticals

Idera Pharmaceuticals (IDRA) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of novel synthetic DNA- and RNA-based drug candidates. This stock closed up 3.2% to $2.56 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $2.52-$2.68

52-Week Range: $0.19-$3.12

Thursday's Volume: 1 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 1.43 million

From a technical perspective, IDRA spiked notably higher here with lighter-than-average volume. This stock has been uptrending over the last month and change, with shares moving higher from its low of $1.55 to its recent high of $2.87. During that uptrend, shares of IDRA have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of IDRA within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if IDRA manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.87 to its 52-week high at $3.12 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in IDRA as long as it's trending above some key near-term support levels at $2.27 or above its 50-day at $2.18 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 1.43 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then IDRA will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $4 to $4.50.

Solta Medical

Solta Medical (SLTM) designs, develops, manufactures and markets energy-based medical device systems for aesthetic applications. This stock closed up 3.4% to $2.12 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $2.05-$2.15

52-Week Range: $1.44-$2.89

Tuesday's Volume: 684,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 512,202

From a technical perspective, SLTM spiked notably higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $2.02 with above-average volume. This stock has been uptrending for the last month and change, with shares moving higher from its low of $1.70 to its recent high of $2.16. During that uptrend, shares of SLTM have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of SLTM within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if SLTM manages to take out some key overhead resistance levels at $2.16 to $2.25, and then once it takes out some past resistance at $2.28 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SLTM as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $2.02 or above more near-term support at $1.90, and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 512,202 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then SLTM will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $2.70 to its 52-week high at $2.89. Any high-volume move above $2.89 will then give SLTM a chance to tag its next major overhead resistance levels at $3.21 to $3.35.

To see more stocks that are making notable moves higher today, check out the Stocks Under $10 Moving Higher portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

RELATED LINKS:

>>Sell These 5 Toxic Stocks to Avoid a Christmas Crash

>>5 Stocks Poised for Breakouts

>>5 Rocket Stocks to Buy Before 2014

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

What Bizarro Bogle's world might look like

Illustration by Julia Johns.

In the Superman mythos, there's a villain named Bizarro Superman that possess all of the same powers as Superman, but uses them for evil instead of good.

At a luncheon in New York Thursday honoring John Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group Inc. and investing Superman, James Grant, editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, imagined what the world would look like if a Bizarro Bogle took the place of the real Mr. Bogle.

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Imagine a child growing up in the Great Depression who forgets his lunch money on the dinner table one day and is scolded by his mother for it. “Don't leave money on the table!” she says. Those words would stick with Bizarro Bogle for the rest of his life, in Mr. Grant's alternate universe.

With that thought in mind, Bizarro Bogle is inspired to write his senior thesis on hedge funds instead mutual funds. “Why settle for 1% when I could get 2 and 20?” Bizarro Bogle muses. And he doesn't stop there. Instead of a single hedge fund structure, why not layer on the fees by using funds of funds?

Fees are all that matter in Bizarro Bogle's world and it leads to him becoming ridiculously rich. Meanwhile, index funds, one of the few financial innovations to truly benefit ordinary investors, are left undiscovered.

Luckily for the countless investors who have benefited from index funds, which Mr. Bogle created in 1976, Mr. Grant's imagination is not reality.

It's hard to say just how tremendous an impact Mr. Bogle has had on ordinary investors.

“We know more about the mating life of the whooping crane than we do about the quantitative impact passive investing has had over the last 30 years,” said Knut Rostad, president and founder of The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard.

Only one person's even tried, Mr. Rostad said, noting that in a study, Kenneth French estimated that index investors saved about $1 billion in fees from 1977 to 2006. But critics of that study complained it was too conservative an estimate, Mr. Rostad said.

In truth, the power of Mr. Bogle's legacy exceeds any dollar amount.

“The financial industry is short on heroes,” said Alan Blinder, Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University. “But John Bogle is one of the few.”

Lions Gate Entertainment is Close to Going From Bad to Worse (LGF)

A year and a half ago, yours truly here penned some bullish thoughts on a then-still-somewhat-unknown film and TV studio known as Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF). Consumers loved some of the programs and films the company was responsible for, like TV's Mad Men and the then-still-new first installment of The Hunger Games movie series. Most of those fans, however, may not have even realized LGF was the organization behind those hits.

Oh, to be fair, a few investors put two and two together, bidding up Lions Gate Entertainment shares from less than $8.00 per share in September of 2011 (just a few weeks before The Hunger Games was released) to around $12.00 by May of the following year when I last looked at the stock. By and large though, most folks didn't think much about how to invest in a TV show's or a movie's success, and most traders who read my bullish take on the opportunity either (1) didn't care, or (2) didn't agree.

Big mistake. Not only is LGF now the owner of a now-huge movie franchise (the second Hunger Games movie opened this past weekend), but the organization is still filming the wildly popular Mad Man on top of raking in some nice cash flow from several TV series it's behind. Oh, and by the way, the stock's now trading at $30.00, up 150% since my call a year and a half ago; it had been up as much as 200%.

I'm not revisiting Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. to pat myself on the back, however. I'm revisiting the stock now to reverse may call and say if you stepped into LGF a year and a half ago on my advice, it's time to take your profits by exiting the trade.

I've got a feeling I know what you're thinking ... that I'm nuts. This company just released what's apt to be the biggest movie of the year, and I'm bailing out? Yep. Just hear me out.

If I had to venture, I'd say about 85% of real investing success (defined as "beating the market") is rooted in spotting undervalued opportunities that nobody else sees or believes in ...yet. That described Lions Gate Entertainment two years ago before Hunger Games put it on the map, and even described the stock a few months after the movie was released. A lot happened in the year and a half after that, however - LGF came into its own, developing a following that fully valued (and then some) the stock's price.

That's a good thing and a bad thing, the bad thing being the undervalued opportunity has been erased by completely unfurling. In fact, it looks like the bulls overshot their target, and are now correcting their mistake. They're not done making that correction, however.

Trading 101: Sometimes the news and fundamentals lead the chart, as was the case with Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. in 2012 and most of 2013. Other times, the chart tells you how the market is trying to interpret the fundamentals and prospects. That's LGF now, but more than that, the chart says traders are on the verge of collectively deciding the stock's overvalued... even more than the already have.

The weekly chart of Lions Gate shares below tells the whole story. The runup was great, but too much. Now the momentum has swung the other way, pulling LGF all the way back to its 200-day moving average line (green) which is a HUGE make-or-break point for a stock. If shares close under that line currently at $29.93, odds are very good that a whole slew of observers will come to the conclusion that shares are entering a nosedive, which of course will prompt the very selling activity they're fearing. More than that, a technically-weakening stock seems to somehow turn the fundamentals and the rhetoric bearish, where they'd been seen as bullish before. That chatter exacerbates the selling snowball. And for what it's worth, the downtrend's momentum has been so decisive and so strong, I'd be shocked if the 200-day moving average line didn't buckle as a floor.

This isn't a judgment call on the company. Lions Gate is still a great company with a great TV and film library. The stock's disconnected from the company's value right now, however, and like it or not, we have to respond to that reality.

For more trading ideas and insights like these, be sure to sign up for the free SmallCap Network newsletter.

European Stocks Post Biggest Weekly Decline Since June

European stocks posted their biggest weekly decline since June as better-than-estimated U.S. economic reports spurred speculation that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting stimulus measures sooner than forecast.

ThyssenKrupp AG (TKA) slumped 9.3 percent after Germany's largest steelmaker raised 882.3 million euros ($1.21 billion) through a share sale. Standard Chartered Plc lost 8.1 percent. Sage Group (SGE) Plc, the U.K.'s biggest software maker, rose 6.8 percent after reporting revenue growth that exceeded analysts' estimates. AZ Electronic Materials SA surged 43 percent after Merck KGaA (MRK) agreed to buy it for about 1.6 billion pounds ($2.6 billion).

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 2.7 percent to 316.5 this week. The regional benchmark gauge has still surged 13 percent in 2013 as central banks pledged to continue their support for economic growth. The Euro Stoxx 50 Index (SX5E), a measure for the euro area, lost 3.5 percent this week.

"Strong employment data means tapering comes sooner, but you also don't want weak numbers," Andreas Nigg, head of equity and commodity strategy at Vontobel Asset Management in Zurich, said in a phone interview. "This week has shown the latest economic reports to surprise on the positive side. While normally this could be a good omen for company earnings, we're at a point in time where tapering fears trump that."

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National benchmark indexes retreated in all of the 18 western European markets this week, except in Iceland. Germany's DAX (DAX) lost 2.5 percent, while France's CAC 40 slid 3.9 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 (UKX) slipped 1.5 percent for its fifth consecutive weekly retreat.

U.S. Economy

European markets pared weekly losses after data from the U.S. Labor Department on Dec. 6 showed payrolls increased by 203,000 in November, following a revised 200,000 advance in October. The median forecast of 89 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 185,000 advance last month. The jobless rate dropped to a five-year low of 7 percent.

The Federal Open Market Committee meets on Dec. 17-18 to consider changes to its $85 billion of monthly bond buying. Officials said at their Oct. 29-30 meeting that they may slow their asset purchases if the economy improves as forecast.

Gains in manufacturing, technology and housing fueled "modest to moderate" economic growth from early October through mid-November, the Fed said in its Beige Book survey released on Dec. 4.

Manufacturing Gains

U.S. manufacturing rose in November, with the Institute for Supply Management's factory index climbing to 57.3 in November from 56.4 a month earlier. That beat the median projection in a Bloomberg survey of 77 economists calling for a drop to 55.1. Separate data from the Commerce Department on Dec. 4 showed U.S. new-home sales jumped in October by the most in three decades.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Dec. 5 that increased commodity prices, weaker domestic demand and slow export growth all posed downside risks to the outlook for the euro area's economy.

ECB officials kept the main refinancing rate unchanged at 0.25 percent as predicted by every economist in a Bloomberg News survey. In the U.K., the Bank of England left its key interest rate at a record low of 0.5 percent, in line with its own guidance on rates.

ThyssenKrupp lost 9.3 percent, after increasing capital by 10 percent of its market value on Dec. 3. That followed an agreement last week to sell a U.S. steel plant for $155 billion as it pulls back from its Americas division.

Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered, the U.K. lender that makes about three-quarters of its earnings in Asia, fell 8.1 percent after saying full-year operating profit at its consumer-banking unit will drop at least 10 percent, hurt by its Korean business.

Operating profit at the division "is now expected to be down by a double-digit rate," while revenue is seen increasing "at a low single digit rate" in 2013, the London-based bank said in a statement on Dec. 4, without giving details. Consumer banking in Korea is expected to drop by about 15 percent.

Vienna Insurance Group AG declined 9.7 percent as an unidentified investor sold 2.29 million shares in Austria's biggest insurer, according to terms obtained by Bloomberg. They were sold at 34.10 euros apiece, according to two people with knowledge of the deal.

Sage Group, which provides accounting and payroll software to more than 6 million mostly small and medium-sized businesses, advanced 6.8 percent. Sales, excluding items such as acquisitions and currency fluctuations, rose 5 percent in the fiscal second half, beating the 3 percent analysts predicted on average, Numis Securities said in a note on Dec. 4. Full-year underlying revenue rose 4 percent to 1.26 billion pounds.

AZ Electronic (AZEM) surged 43 percent, the most since its at least November 2010, after Merck on Dec. 5 said it had agreed to buy the company for about 1.6 billion pounds. Merck added 0.4 percent. Shareholders will get 403.5 pence for each share, Merck said. The price is 53 percent above the Dec. 4 closing level in London trading.

New Home Sales Surge in October Despite Higher Rates

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Chuck Burton/AP WASHINGTON -- Sales of new U.S. single-family homes recorded their biggest increase in nearly 33½ years in October, suggesting the housing market recovery remains intact despite higher mortgage rates. The Commerce Department said Wednesday sales jumped 25.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 444,000 units. It also said new home sales fell 6.6 percent in September. The release of both the September and October reports was delayed because of a 16-day partial shutdown of the government last month. Economists polled by Reuters had expected new home sales to set a 428,000-unit pace last month. Compared with October last year, new home sales were up 21.6 percent. The strong rise in new home sales, which are measured when contracts are signed, suggested higher mortgage rate had not derailed the housing market recovery. Higher mortgage rates have slowed the pace of home sales, but demand for accommodation as household formation continues to recover from multidecade lows is keeping demand supported. Home resales fell in October for a second straight month and confidence among single-family home builders has ebbed somewhat since nearing an eight-year high in August. Strong new home sales in October saw the stock of houses on the market falling 3.7 percent after touching their highest level in nearly three years in September. Despite the tight supply of properties, the median price of a new home slipped 0.6 percent from a year-ago. At October's sales pace it would take 4.9 months to clear the houses on the market, down from 6.4 months in September. A supply of 6.0 months is normally considered as a healthy balance between supply and demand.