Saturday, May 31, 2014

Hot Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015

Hot Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015: Lightstream Resources Ltd (LSTMF.PK)

Lightstream Resources Ltd, formerly PetroBakken Energy Ltd., is a Canada-based oil and gas exploration and production company. The Companys principal operating areas include southeastern Saskatchewan where it targets the Bakken formation and conventional Mississippian reservoirs, central Alberta, where it is focused on the Cardium formation, and north-central Alberta, where it is engaged in exploring for light oil resource plays. In addition, the Company also has land holdings in the Horn River and Montney plays in northeast British Columbia. On December 31, 2012, Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. and PetroBakken Energy Ltd. announced the completion of the reorganization. The Reorganization resulted in a newly incorporated company PetroBakken Energy Ltd. (New PetroBakken). Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By MLP Trader]

    Here are the current top five companies in the list:

    CompanySymbolEV/BOEPD/NetbackPrice/NAVEV/DACFPinecrest(PNCGF.PK)53564%4.0XLightstream(LSTMF.PK)131753%4.5XNovus(NOVUF.PK)133290%4.1XZargon(ZARFF.PK)138664%5.6XTwin Butte(TBTEF.PK)155885%5.5X

    Of the larger companies, one that remains obstinately near the top of the list is Lightstream . Lightstream trades at 40% of its book value and a whopping 13.4% yield.

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

Friday, May 30, 2014

Best Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2015

This week, King (NYSE: KING  ) , maker of the smash hit mobile game Candy Crush Saga, went public at $22.50 per share. This was a widely anticipated IPO, yet shares immediately pulled back. Investors have been concerned at how heavily dependent the company is on its one single hit, with its second and third top performers falling way behind the success of Candy Crush, despite all being very similar variations of the same game.

Investors have also been concerned about King's "freemium" business model, where gamers play for free, and then buy in-app purchases. Comparisons to Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA  ) were unavoidable, as the company also went public after the success of a freemium model game, and then performed poorly as a stock after its IPO.

In this segment from Friday's Tech Teardown, host Erin Kennedy and Motley Fool tech and telecom bureau chief Evan Niu discuss the mobile gaming business and how difficult it can be for a company to create a second blockbuster despite the massive success of its first. Evan also discusses the major risks investors in King face today.

Best Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2015: ICICI Bank Ltd (IBN)

ICICI Bank Limited (the Bank), incorporated on January 5, 1994, is a banking company. The Bank, together with its subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates, is a diversified financial services group providing a range of banking and financial services, including commercial banking, retail banking, project and corporate finance, working capital finance, insurance, venture capital and private equity, investment banking, broking and treasury products and services. It operates under four segments: retail banking, wholesale banking, treasury and other banking. Retail Banking includes exposures of the Bank, which satisfy the four criteria of orientation, product, granularity and low value of individual exposures for retail exposures. Wholesale Banking includes all advances to trusts, partnership firms, companies and statutory bodies, which are not included under Retail Banking. Treasury includes the entire investment portfolio of the Bank. Other Banking includes hire purchase and leasing operations and other items. As of March 31, 2012, the Bank had 17 subsidiaries. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013, the Company added 348 branches and 1,475 automated teller machines (ATMs) to its network, taking its branch and ATM count to 3,100 and 10,481 respectively at March 31, 2013.

Retail Banking

The branch network serves as an integrated channel for deposit mobilization, selected retail asset origination and distribution of third-party products, as well as the focal point for customer service. During fiscal 2011, the Bank continued its focus on increasing the proportion of low-cost retail deposits in its funding base. During fiscal 2011, its retail disbursements increased as it focused on opportunities in residential mortgages, vehicle finance and construction equipment finance. The Company also continued to focus on cross-selling new products and products of its life and general insurance subsidiaries to its existing customers. As of March 31, 2013, its ATMs offer services such a! s opening fixed deposits, payment of credit card and utility bills, payment of insurance premium, mobile re-charges and ultra fast cash.

Small Enterprises

The Company offers banking solutions to small and medium enterprises across industry segments. The Company supports the growth of the small and medium enterprises sector while adopting a cluster-based financing approach for enterprises with a homogeneous profile in industries, such as infrastructure, engineering, information technology, education, life-sciences and agri-based businesses. The Company also offers supply chain financing solutions to the channel partners of large corporates.

Corporate Banking

The Bank offers a suite of corporate banking products, including rupee and foreign currency debt, working capital credit, structured financing, loan syndication and commercial banking products and services. The Company also puts in place product specific teams with a view to focus on designing financial solutions for clients spread across structured finance, project finance, loan syndication and markets. The relationship team also works with its Markets Group to assist customers in devising and executing risk management strategies to address foreign currency, interest rate and liquidity risks. Its loan syndication franchise enables the Bank to structure, underwrite and syndicate rupee and foreign currency debt with Indian and offshore investors. The Bank has built robust sector-specific syndication skills across project finance, merger and acquisition (M&A) financing and structured finance to provide optimal financing solutions.

International Banking

The Company�� international banking business is focused on meeting the foreign currency needs of its Indian corporate clients and partnering them in their global expansion, taking select trade finance exposures linked to imports to India. ICICI Bank has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Russia and Canada, branches in the U! nited Sta! tes, Singapore, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Dubai International Finance Centre and Qatar Financial Centre and representative offices in the United Arab Emirates, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The Bank�� wholly owned subsidiary, ICICI Bank UK PLC, has 11 branches in the United Kingdom and a branch each in Belgium and Germany. ICICI Bank Canada has nine branches. ICICI Bank Eurasia Limited Liability Company has one branch.

The Company develops products and service offerings to meet the requirements of the Non Resident Indian (NRI) community. The Bank launched I-Express, an instant cross-border money transfer option for NRIs through its select partners in the Middle East. The I-Express facility offers the remitter an option of visiting any partner outlet for instant credit into the beneficiary account maintained with ICICI Bank in India, at no extra cost. The Company also launched Fixed Rupee on Money2India.com, a facility that enables NRIs to send the exact rupee amount remittance to India since the exchange rate is confirmed at the time of initiating the remittance.

Inclusive and Rural Banking

Inclusive and Rural Banking include offering credit to the rural market through the Bank's branches and dedicated field teams and financial inclusion through business correspondents. The Bank focuses on improving its product and service offerings to meet the requirements of all participants in the rural market, including farmers, traders, commission agents, small processors and other medium agri-corporates. The Bank focuses on building capacity to implement its financial inclusion plan. The Bank also focused on opening accounts for routing benefit payments under various government schemes and has received the mandate for opening accounts of individuals under these schemes in certain states.

The Bank has also identified 25 business correspondents having a network of over 7,500 customer service points, to service these cust! omers. Th! e Bank provides basic financial services to the unbanked and underbanked

population comprising small and marginal farmers, daily wage labourers, beneficiaries of government. Around 47% of the Bank�� branches are in rural and semi-urban areas

Treasury

The Bank provides provide foreign exchange and derivative products and services to customers through its Markets Group. These products and services include foreign exchange products for hedging currency risk, foreign exchange and interest rate derivatives, such as options and swaps and bullion transactions.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Chuck Carnevale]

    ICICI Bank Limited-ADR (IBN)

    My second featured aggressive financial is ICICI Bank Limited-ADR (IBN), an ADR (American Depository Receipt) headquartered in India. This company is the largest private sector bank in India. Current low valuation is what most attracted me to this aggressive selection. However, I believe that prospective investors should carefully consider the amount of price volatility that has historically occurred with their share price. Nevertheless, for those dividend growth investors with a stomach for risk, this company may be worth taking a closer look at.

Best Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2015: Syngenta AG(SYT)

Syngenta AG, an agribusiness company, engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of a range of products designed to enhance crop yields and food quality worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Crop Protection, Seeds, and Business Development. The Crop Protection segment offers herbicides for corn, cereals, soybean, and rice; fungicides for corn, cereals, fruits, grapes, rice, soybean, and vegetables; insecticides for fruits, vegetables, and field crops; seed care for corn, soybean, cereals, and cotton; and professional products, such as products for public health, and turf and ornamentals. This segment markets its products through independent distributors and dealers, agricultural consultants, and growers. The Seeds segment develops, produces, and markets seeds and plants based on advanced genetics and related technologies. This segment provides approximately 200 product lines and approximately 6,800 varieties of proprietary genetics, incl uding vegetables, flowers, corn, soybean, sugar beet, and sunflower primarily under the NK, Golden Harvest, Garst, HILLESH�, S&G, Rogers, Zeraim Gedera, and Fischer brand names. The Business Development segment engages in the development of enzymes and traits to enhance agronomic, nutritional, and biofuel properties of plants. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Not every crop is so protected. Between�Monsanto,�DuPont� (NYSE: DD  ) , and�Syngenta� (NYSE: SYT  ) -- the "three sisters" of GMO seeds -- they�control 53% of the world's seed production, yet their control of our food supply is almost universal because of their cross-licensing�agreements among themselves and with others, like Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW  ) .

  • [By Maxx Chatsko]

    Shares of energy crop developer Ceres (NASDAQ: CERE  ) surged more than 100% from the opening bell Monday to early trading on Thursday. In fact, over one-third of the total outstanding shares traded hands on Thursday. Even with the move the company is trading for "only" $100 million. With some of the biggest names in industrial biotech on its side -- such as Syngenta (NYSE: SYT  ) , Petrobras, Amyris, Valero, Novozymes, Gruppo M&G, and Mascoma, to name a few -- this must be a good buy right? Not so fast.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    The invincibility of genetically modified crops may be starting to crumble under its own weight, with�Syngenta� (NYSE: SYT  ) being the latest biotech to stress-test their resilience.

  • [By Tim Gallagher]

    Why don't we reach out to Monsanto (MON), Syngenta (SYT), Deere (DE), DuPont (DD), Kroger (KR), Kellogg (K), General Mills (GIS), and the other grocery chains, Wal-Mart (WMT), Target (TGT), Costco (COST), Panera (PNRA), Amazon (AMZN)…..you get the picture.

10 Best High Dividend Stocks To Buy For 2015: Jack Henry & Associates Inc.(JKHY)

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (JHA) provides integrated computer systems and services for in-house and outsourced data processing to commercial banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions primarily in the United States. It engages in processing transactions, automating business processes, and managing information services. The company?s Jack Henry Banking brand provides integrated data processing systems to de novo or start-up institutions and mid-tier banks, as well as markets three core banking software systems, such as SilverLake, a robust IBM i-based system designed for commercial-focused banks; CIF 20/20, a parameter-driven and easy-to-use system; and Core Director, a Windows-based and client/server system that offers intuitive point-and-click operation. Its Symitar brand supports credit unions with information and transaction processing platforms that provide enterprise-wide automation. This brand?s solutions include Episys, a robust IBM p-based system p rimarily designed for credit unions; and Cruise, a Windows-based and client/server system for credit unions. The company?s ProfitStars brand provides specialized products and services that enhance the performance of financial service organizations and corporate entities. Its iPay Technologies brand operates as an electronic bill pay for banks and credit unions with turnkey, and configurable retail and small business electronic payment platforms. JHA also offers complementary solutions comprising business intelligence and bank management, retail and business banking, member and member business services, Internet banking and electronic funds transfer, risk management and protection, and item and document imaging solutions. In addition, it provides data conversion, software implementation, training, and support services, as well as sells hardware systems. The company has strategic relationship with IBM Corporation. JHA was founded in 1969 and is based in Monett, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jay Jenkins]

    For U.S. Bancorp, a fine of this magnitude is nothing more than a slap on the wrist. However, it is a harbinger for change in how regulators view third-party relationships. Banks will now have to think long and hard about outsourcing, even to reputable companies like Jack Henry and Associates (NASDAQ: JKHY  ) and Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV  ) .�

  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Margins matter. The more Jack Henry & Associates (Nasdaq: JKHY  ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong Jack Henry & Associates's competitive position could be.

Best Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2015: Kabe Exploration Inc (KABX)

Kabe Exploration Inc., incorporated on December 15, 2005, is an exploration stage company. The Company focuses to drill shallow wells 3300-6000 feet. on a turnkey basis.

On February 21, 2013, Kabe purchased 320 Mineral lease acres in Butler County Kansas representing a 81% Net Revenue Interest. As of December 31, 2012, the Company did not generate any revenues.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    Last Friday, KABX previously surged (+4.93%) up +0.0007 at $.0149 with 220,466 shares in play at the close (ref. google finance July 12, 2013 ��Close).

    Kabe Exploration, Inc. previously reported it has secured a bridge loan with Phoenix Group Capital Markets, a UK holding company, through its wholly owned micro-cap investment fund. The bridge loan was secured with restricted stock for operating capital purposes. The company had previously entered into a $5,000,000 Reserve Equity Financing Agreement with Phoenix Group in a term sheet announced in May. ��his bridge loan affirms the level of investment confidence we are seeing from the professional investment community,��said Erik Ulsteen, the company�� CE

Best Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2015: iShares International Select Dividend ETF (IDV)

iShares Dow Jones EPAC Select Dividend Index Fund (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund that seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Dow Jones EPAC Select Dividend Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of a selected group of equity securities issued by companies that have provided relatively high dividend yields on a consistent basis over time. The Index consists of 100 of the highest dividend-yielding securities (excluding real estate investment trusts (REITs)) in the Dow Jones World Developed-Ex. U.S. Index, an index representative of the Europe, Pacific, Asia and Canada (EPAC) regions, which covers developed markets, excluding the United States. To be included in the Index, the securities must have paid dividends in each of the previous three years; must have a previous year�� dividend per share, which is greater than or equal to its three year average dividend payout ratio; must have a five-year average dividend per share, which is less than or equal to 1.5 times the five-year average dividend payout ratio of the corresponding Dow Jones country index, and must have a minimum three-month average daily trading volume of $3,000,000 a day. The Index is reviewed annually.

The Fund invests in securities of companies that are located in or whose securities are principally traded in the markets of the EPAC regions. The Fund generally will invest at least 90% of its assets in component securities and in depositary receipts representing such securities. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its assets in certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents, including money market mutual funds. The Fund will only concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that its Index is so concentrated. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors. The Fund�� index provider is Dow Jones & Company, Inc. The index provider determines the rel! ative weightings of the securities in the Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Index.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Selena Maranjian]

    Exchange-traded funds offer a convenient way to invest in sectors or niches that interest you. If you'd like to add some international dividend-paying stocks to your portfolio but don't have the time or expertise to hand-pick a few, the iShares Dow Jones International Select Div ETF (NYSEMKT: IDV  ) could save you a lot of trouble. Instead of trying to figure out which companies will perform best, you can use this ETF to invest in lots of them simultaneously.

    The basics
    ETFs often sport lower expense ratios than their mutual fund cousins. The iShares ETF's expense ratio -- its annual fee -- is a relatively low 0.50% -- and it recently yielded more than 5%!

    This ETF has performed �well, outstripping the MSCI EAFE index over the past three and five years. As with most investments, of course, we can't expect outstanding performances in every quarter or year. Investors with conviction need to wait for their holdings to deliver.

  • [By Jim Powell]

    At the minimum, your family trust should hold the iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (DVY). I also think you should consider the iShares International Select Dividend Fund (IDV) that invests in foreign companies with good payment histories.

Best Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2015: National Health Investors Inc. (NHI)

National Health Investors, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT), invests in health care properties, primarily in the long-term care industry in the United States. As of December 31, 2008, it had investments in real estate assets and mortgage notes receivable investments in 123 health care facilities consisting of 83 long-term care facilities, 1 acute care hospital, 4 medical office buildings, 14 assisted living facilities, 4 retirement centers, and 17 residential projects for the developmentally disabled in 17 states. The company has elected to be treated as a REIT for federal income tax purposes and would not be subject to federal income tax, if it distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its shareholders. National Health Investors, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Marc Bastow]

    Long-term care and senior housing real estate investment trust National Health Investors (NHI) raised its quarterly dividend 6.2% to 77 cents per share, payable on May 9 to shareholders of record as of Mar. 31. NHI stock has the second-highest yield on this week’s list of dividend stocks increasing payouts.
    NHI Dividend Yield: 4.88%

  • [By Jonas Elmerraji]

     

     

    After performing pretty poorly in the last year, $2 billion healthcare property owner National Health Investors (NHI) has gone from laggard to leader in 2014. Since the start of the year, NHI has moved more than 11% higher, stomping the S&P 500's performance by comparison. And now, NHI looks well positioned for another leg up...

     

    NHI is forming a "rounding bottom" pattern, a basic classic setup that looks exactly like it sounds: it's identified by a curved support level below shares and a horizontal resistance level to the top side. That rounded support line indicates a gradual shift in control from sellers to buyers -- and resistance at $63 is the price level to watch from here.

     

    Why all the significance at $63? It all comes down to buyers and sellers. Price patterns are a good quick way to identify what's going on in the price action, but they're not the reason a stock is tradable. Instead, the "why" comes down to basic supply and demand for NHI's stock.

     

    The $63 resistance level is a price where there has been an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a spot where sellers have previously been more eager to step in and take gains than buyers have been to buy. That's what makes a breakout above $63 so significant -- the move means that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level.

     

Best Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2015: Neenah Paper Inc. (NP)

Neenah Paper, Inc. produces technical products and fine papers worldwide. The company�s Technical Products segment provides filtration media for applications in automotive transportation; saturated and unsaturated crepe and flat paper tapes to manufacturers; lightweight abrasive paper for waterproof and dry sanding applications; wall covering substrates to converters serving commercial and consumer-do-it-yourself markets; label and tag products to pressure sensitive coaters; latex saturated and coated papers; premask, medical packaging, image transfer, and decorative components papers; and other products, such as clean room papers, durable printing papers, release papers, and furniture backers. Its Fine Paper segment manufactures and sells writing papers used for business and personal stationery, corporate identity packages, and related end-use applications; text and cover papers and envelopes used in corporate brochures, pocket folders, corporate annual reports, advertis ing inserts, direct mail, business cards, hang tags, scrapbooks, and various other uses; custom colors, paper finishes, and duplex/laminated papers; and bright papers used in direct mail, advertising inserts, scrapbooks, and marketing collateral applications. This segment also offers other specialty papers for various applications in wine labels and luxury packaging, as well as specialty paper products for enhanced image, such as translucent and art papers, papers for optical scanning, and other specialized applications. Neenah Paper, Inc. markets its products primarily under the JET-PRO, SofStretch, KIMDURA, MUNISING LP, PREVAIL, NEENAH, GESSNER, varitess, CLASSIC, CLASSIC CREST, ESSE ENVIRONMENT, ROYAL SUNDANCE, ASTROBRIGHTS, EXACT BRIGHTS, CAPITOL BOND, CRANE'S BOND, and CRANE'S LETTRA brands. The company sells its products through authorized paper distributors, converters, and direct sales. Neenah Paper, Inc. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgi a.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Tannor Pilatzke]

    Neenah Paper (NP) Spin-off in 2004

    Neenah Paper was named after the Kimberly Clark headquarters in Wisconsin and has two primary operations: technical products business and fine paper business. The Company�� technical products business is a producer of transportation and other filter media and coated substrates for industrial products backings and a variety of other end markets. The Company�� fine paper business is the supplier of writing, text and cover papers, bright papers and specialty papers in North America. The Company�� writing, text, cover and specialty papers are used in commercial printing and imaging applications for corporate identity packages, invitations, personal stationery and corporate annual reports, as well as, labels and packaging.

  • [By Marc Bastow]

    Fine paper manufacturer and distributor Neenah Paper (NP) raised its quarterly dividend 20% to 24 cents per share, payable on Mar. 4 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 14.
    NP Dividend Yield: 2.41%

Best Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2015: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Travis Hoium]

    Another Dow stock sinking is Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) , also down 1.9% after it was put on notice by short-seller James S. Chanos, who said he was shorting the stock because Caterpillar faces a lot of headwinds relating to the commodities market, where miners generate demand. If commodities demand drops in China, it will hit Caterpillar's sales and profit. The stock still pays a considerable 2.8% dividend yield and trades at just 12 times trailing earnings, but demand can swing wildly, and eventually China will have to stop its stimulus-fueled growth, which could have a big impact on demand. A short-seller's call isn't reason to dump the stock, but it may be a reminder to look at the macro picture and re-evaluate Caterpillar's prospects. �

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Finally, Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) rounded out the list of declining Dow stocks, falling 0.6%. The dollar's persistent strength spells trouble for the company's international sales, as the currency's strength make Caterpillar's exports more costly in local currency terms. With competitors from Japan and elsewhere gaining a competitive advantage, Caterpillar will have to work that much harder in an already-challenging environment of slowing economic growth and weak commodity prices.

  • [By Stephen Rosenman]

    Can you really take a company's yearly guidance seriously? Who can predict future events a year from now? It's so hard most companies skip the ordeal. Who can blame them? So many unforeseen events can derail a company's guidance. Yet, a few daredevil companies continue giving their yearly outlook. As far as I'm concerned, that's akin to writing the front page of next year's Wall Street Journal. I've already highlighted how Caterpillar (CAT) and Parker Hannifin (PH) - two excellent companies - almost never get their yearly guidance right.

Best Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2015: (LTUM)

Lithium Corporation, an exploration stage company, engages in the identification, acquisition, and exploration of metals and minerals with a focus on lithium mineralization in Nevada. It holds interests in Fish Lake Valley property that covers approximately 7,360 acres located in west central Nevada in northern Esmeralda County; Salt Wells property, which covers approximately 8,500 acres in Churchill County; and Cortez property that consists of approximately 4,960 acres located in Lander County, Nevada. The company was formerly known as Utalk Communications Inc. and changed its name to Lithium Corporation in September 2009. Lithium Corporation was founded in 2007 and is based in Reno, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    Today, LTUM has shed (-19.80%) down -0.0079 at $.0320 with 33,100 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 11:18AM EDT June 26, 2013), but don�� let this get you down.

    Location Based Technologies, Inc. previously reported it received FCC and IC certification for its versatile LBT-886 device. These certifications are necessary before devices can be sold to consumers throughout the US and Canada.

    Lithium Corporation previously reported it has recently acquired a new Graphite (BC Sugar) prospect in the Shuswap area of British Columbia, in an under-explored area. In addition to the acquired claim, Lithco has also staked another four claims, to bring the total area to be explored by the Company to 3,405.77 acres (1,378.27 hectares). Although graphite has been identified locally in marbles, it has become apparent that graphite is also hosted here in quartz, biotite/mica gneisses, and also in calc-silicate gneisses. The host rocks at BC Sugar are similar to the host rocks in the area of the Crystal Graphite deposit 55 miles (90 kms) to the Southeast, where Lithium Corporation holds the Mt Heimdal block of claims.

National Bank Holdings Downgraded to “Sell” at Goldman Sachs; Outlook Maintained (NBHC)

On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs reported that it has downgraded National Bank Holdings Corp (NBHC) to “Sell.”

The firm has cut its rating on NBHC from “Neutral” to “Sell,” and has given the company a $21 price target. This price target suggests that the stock will remain flat at its current price of $20.94.

Top Financial Stocks To Buy Right Now

An analyst from the firm commented: “While we believe that NBHC can grow EPS longer term as it leverages its $400mn of excess capital (above 10% tier 1 leverage), with shares trading at 1.1x TBV, we see limited upside in the near-term without any strategic M&A.”

Looking ahead, the firm has maintained its FY2013 EPS estimate of 26 cents. For FY2014 and FY2015, estimates have been maintained at 57 cents and $1.88.

National Bank Holdings shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Tuesday. The stock is up 10% YTD.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Top Transportation Stocks For 2015

Top Transportation Stocks For 2015: Frontline Ltd (FRO)

Frontline Ltd., incorporated on June 12, 1992, is a shipping company. The Company is engaged primarily in the ownership and operation of oil tankers and oil/bulk/ore (OBO) carriers. The Company operates tankers of two sizes: very large crude carriers (VLCCs), which are between 200,000 and 320,000 deadweight tons, and Suezmax tankers, which are vessels between 120,000 and 170,000 deadweight tons. As of December 31, 2010, its tanker and OBO fleet consisted of 73 vessels. The fleet consists of 44 VLCCs, which are either owned or chartered in, 21 Suezmax tankers, which are either owned or chartered in and eight Suezmax OBOs, which are chartered in. The Company also had five VLCC newbuildings and two Suezmax newbuildings on order and three VLCCs under its commercial management. In February 2010, it purchased the VLCC Front Vista from Ship Finance International Limited (Ship Finance). In January 2011, it sold the VLCC Front Shanghai.

The Company operates through sub sidiaries and partnerships located in the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, India, the Isle of Man, Liberia, Norway, the United Kingdom and Singapore. The Company is also engaged in the charter, purchase and sale of vessels. In April 2010, the Company delivered the single hull Suezmax Front Voyager. During the year ended December 31, 2010, six newbuildings were completed. Four Suezmax vessels were delivered: the Northia, on January 5, 2010; the Naticina, on March 9, 2010; the Front Odin, on May 5, 2010, and the Front Njord on August 12, 2010. Two VLCCs were delivered: the Front Cecilie on June 10 and the Front Signe on August 9, 2010. As of December 31, 2010, the Company's newbuilding program consisted of two Suezmax tankers and five VLCCs.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Paul Ausick]

    Big Earnings Movers: Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is up 9.1% at $27.37 after beating on both the top and bottom lines last night. 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) is dow! n 10% at $33.56. Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) is up 16.6% at $2.74.

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    The reason for the disconnect between earnings and stock performance has to do with the changing fundamentals for shipping overall. For years, shipping companies both on the dry-bulk and the tanker side of the industry have suffered from weakness in the global economy after having built huge numbers of new ships during better times. That forced Overseas Shipholding Group to seek bankruptcy protection late last year and has left tanker giant Frontline (NYSE: FRO  ) under considerable financial pressure as it continues to labor under a substantial debt load.

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-transportation-stocks-for-2015.html

Top 10 Defensive Companies To Buy For 2015

Top 10 Defensive Companies To Buy For 2015: Enzo Biochem Inc. (ENZ)

Enzo Biochem, Inc., an integrated life sciences and biotechnology company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of diagnostic and research products based on genetic engineering, biotechnology, and molecular biology. The company operates in three segments: Clinical Labs, Life Sciences, and Therapeutics. The Clinical Labs segment offers routine and esoteric clinical laboratory tests or procedures used in general patient care by physicians to establish or support a diagnosis, monitor treatment or medication, and search for an otherwise undiagnosed condition. This segment operates a full-service clinical laboratory, a network of approximately 30 patient service centers, a laboratory, and a full-service phlebotomy and in-house logistics department. The Life Sciences segment manufactures, develops, and markets products and tools to life sciences, drug development, and clinical research customers. It provides proteins, antibodies, peptides, small molec ules, labeling probes, dyes, and kits, which offer tools for target identification/validation, high content analysis, gene expression analysis, nucleic acid detection, protein biochemistry and detection, and cellular analysis to life science researchers. This segment provides its products to scientific experts primarily in the field of cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, diabetes and obesity, endocrine disorders, infectious and autoimmune disease, hepatotoxicity, and renal injury. The Therapeutics segment researches and develops therapeutic drug candidates in the areas of gastrointestinal, infectious, ophthalmic, and metabolic diseases. The company sells its products through its direct sales force; and a network of distributors worldwide. Enzo Biochem, Inc. was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    Enzo Biochem Inc. (NYSE:ENZ) is a pioneer in molecul! ar diagnostics, leading the convergence of clinical laboratories, life sciences and therapeutics through the development of unique diagnostic platform technologies that provide numerous advantages over previous standards.

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-10-defensive-companies-to-buy-for-2015.html

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Best Paper Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Best Paper Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Fibria Celulose SA (FBR)

Fibria Celulose S.A. (Fibria), formerly Votorantim Celulose e Papel S.A., incorporated on July 25, 1941, is a producer of market pulp. During the year ended December 31, 2010, Fibria produced 5,054 kilotons of eucalyptus pulp (including 50.0% of the pulp production of Veracel). The Company also produces coated and uncoated paper, carbonless paper and thermal paper at its Piracicaba paper mill, located in the State of Sao Paulo with an annual production capacity of 190 kilotons. During 2010, it produced 115 kilotons of paper products and recorded consolidated net revenues. Fibria produces bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp at three pulp mills, the Aracruz pulp mill located in the State of Espirito Santo, which has an annual production capacity of 2.3 million tons; the Tres Lagoas pulp mill located in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, which has an annual production capacity of 1.3 million tons, and the Jacarei pulp mill located in the State of Sao Paulo, which has an annual produ ction capacity of 1.1 million tons. The Company has a 50% interest in Veracel, which owns and operates a pulp mill in the municipality of Eunapolis, State of Bahia, with an annual production capacity of 1.1 million tons.

Pulp

Fibria produces bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp from planted eucalyptus trees. Bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp is a range of hardwood pulp. Eucalyptus is a hardwood tree, and its pulp has short fibers and is generally suited to manufacturing tissue, coated and uncoated printing and writing paper and coated packaging boards. Short fibers are optimal for manufacturing wood-free paper with good printability, smoothness, brightness and uniformity. Market pulp is the pulp sold to producers of paper products. Kraft pulp is pulp produced in a chemical process using sulphate. During 2010, it produced 5,054 kilotons of pulp (including 50.0% of the pulp production of Veracel).

Paper

During 2010,! Fibria produced 11 5 kilotons of paper. The Company produced coated printing an! d writing paper, which is a coated woodfree paper used for promotional materials, folders, internal sheets and cover of magazines, books, tabloids, inserts and mailing; uncoated printing and writing paper, which is a uncoated woodfree paper in reels and sheets; carbonless paper, which is used to produce multi-copy forms, POS, invoices and other applications in place of traditional carbon paper, and thermal paper, which is traditionally used in fax machines; POS, bar code labels, toll tickets, water and gas bills and receipts for automated teller machines (ATMs) and credit card machines. It manufactures thermal paper products with technology licensed byOji Paper Co., Ltd (Oji Paper).

The Company competes with APRIL, Arauco, APP, Georgia Pacific, CMPC, Sodra, Stora Enso, Weyerhaeuser and Suzano.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Fibria Celulose (NYSE: FBR  ) reported earnings on July 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

    The 10-second takeaway
    For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Fibria Celulose met expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/best-paper-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now.html

Pandora: The Best Short Opportunity

Pandora (P) is going to be a perma-short for me. I plan on loading some puts when the week opens again. My price target for the company remains in the single digits, where I will then reevaluate the path the company is on. Pandora is all bark, no bite.

Pandora remains my most confident short for the long-term. Pandora has pulled back significantly off highs and still has more downside. I've often argued that Pandora is a great short prospect. It's going up against Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG)(GOOGL), is massively overvalued (still at $26), lags in both content and innovation, and has a stale user base that is failing to grow as aggressively as it needs to.

This also marks yet another quarter where the company has guided lower than what the market expected. Pandora is getting good at disappointing the market's future expectations.

What we need to get into focus to begin with is the way that Pandora is currently being valued by the market. This is a company that the market has put a value of nearly $5 billion on. The company guided for $0.14 to $0.18 a share for the coming full year. That means Pandora's forward P/E ratio is somewhere in the realm of 140.

Did I mention this company is indirectly competing with the most fundamentally sound company in the world, Apple — who just happens to have a stranglehold over all things streaming music? Apple, in specific, has the goods to really give Pandora the business. Apple has more content, for less, in more countries. And, they just reaffirmed their dominance with the iTunes store growth of 11% just days ago.

Pandora expects second quarter revenue of $213M-$218M and EPS of $0.00 to $0.03, below a consensus of $219.3 million and $0.05. Full-year guidance is for revenue of $880 million to $900 million (up $10 million from prior guidance) and EPS of $0.14 to $0.18 (up $0.01) vs. a consensus of $892.3 million and $0.16. Shares -5% AH (first quarter results, PR).

The main reason that Pandora was clipped in after-hours trading was because the company's outlook for the current quarter was below estimates, and the increased yearly outlook that the company offered also fell flat. In the second quarter, the company guided for revenues of $213 million to $218 million, and EPS up to 3 cents per share. The consensus estimates were for $218 million in revenue and EPS of $0.05.

The company's active users continues to plateau, as I first mentioned in an article months ago. Among a sea of improving metrics — that one could argue aren't growing fast enough themselves — active users continues to slow, possibly even regress. When charted out monthly, it's even a bit easier to see.

These numbers haven't exactly been scorching to the upside since November of last year. In its press release, Pandora states: Active listeners were 75.3 million at the end of March 2014, an increase of 8% from 69.5 million from the same period last year.

That looks good and well, but when you look at recent numbers or start to compare month-to-month, the numbers look a bit uglier.

I've said it before and I'll say it again — Pandora is a company priced solely for massive growth, and the company makes its money mostly from advertising. If the amount of advertising channels doesn't increase greatly, there's no justifying giving the stock the credit that the market has, pricing it at this insane multiple. If these active listeners can't continue to grow aggressively, Pandora is going to have a major issue showing the market that it's worth the multiple it trades at.

Speaking of multiples, I think Pandora is susceptible not only to macro market pullbacks, but this recent trend we've seen of money pouring out of momentum stocks and moving into value style stocks.

Pandora's earnings failed to do anything to change my view on the company. I'm still underwhelmed by what the company is producing versus what the market is valuing them at. Pandora remains a "short at will" for me, until further notice. It's time to look through the hype with this company and slap it with the valuation it deserves — single digits until it can prove that it can keep growth versus Apple, Google and Spotify.

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Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Talent Management Top HR Priority at Financial Services Firms

Human resources executives at financial services firms will focus on identifying and developing talented employees over the next year, according to a new survey by Towers Watson.

The survey also found that HR leaders will emphasize manager effectiveness and performance management programs.

Towers Watson conducted the poll of 60 senior HR professionals at leading financial services companies during a May 7 conference in New York.

According to the poll, 44% of respondents said identifying and developing talent was the primary focus of their organization’s HR division over the next 12 months.

Twenty-five percent said they would focus on updating their HR technology over the next year.

About 10% said their primary focus would be on compensation and benefits, work force planning or employee engagement initiatives.

“Given the dramatic changes that the financial services industry is undergoing from both a regulatory and business perspective, it’s no surprise that HR leaders will be focused on talent management,” Ravin Jesuthasan, global leader of talent management at Towers Watson, said in a statement.

“The landscape for talent has been changing steadily, driving financial services executives to identify what skills will be needed for them to compete effectively, and develop programs to attract and retain the best talent for their organizations.”

Towers Watson also asked respondents which talent management initiatives would receive the most attention at their organizations over the next 12 months:

“Identifying, developing and managing talent in an industry as global and complex as financial services is a constant challenge,” Chris Fabro, global leader of Towers Watson’s Talent and Rewards financial services practice, said in the statement.

“Industry staffing levels have changed dramatically over the last three years, with companies increasing staff before the crisis hit, reducing staff as the crisis unfolded and rebuilding staff again as the recovery gained ground.”

Fabro noted that many organizations were increasingly concerned about their ability to attract top talent in particular.

“All of these changes and new realities will demand that companies have an innovative and robust talent management strategy in place to succeed in the future.”

---

Check out Managing Employees Is a Chemistry Experiment on ThinkAdvisor.

Monday, May 26, 2014

VW Passat diesel is elegant mileage champ

The current Volkswagen Passat diesel is being shown the door, with its engine to be replaced later this year by a new diesel that will be widely used in VW's U.S. lineup.

Other updates are due next year for the 2016 Passat.

But the current diesel model remains popular — 42% of Passats sold in April were diesel. And it was a good month for Passat, so that's 42% of a strong number.

VW's usual "take" rate for the TDI — VW's name for the diesel — is about 23%, so VW either was giving away the diesel Passat last month, or people suddenly realized that diesels are a good way to boost mileage without the complexity of a gas-electric hybrid.

A heavily promoted bonus for buyers — a $1,000 card for diesel fuel — surely helped. Based on recent diesel prices and the car's combined city/highway mileage rating for the car, the card is worth roughly 8,600 free miles.

Test Drive wanted to say farewell to the current Passat TDI with a reminder drive, hoping for more insight into why so many sold last month. And insights we got, though not all strictly related to the TDI powerplant:

Expect good but not stupendous mileage in the city. That's what hybrids are for. Diesels excel on longer runs.

We notched about 25 mpg in short-hop suburban schlepping; about 29 in longer suburban trips; and about 50 on the highway.

Auto editor Fred Meier reported an astonishing 53.1 mpg with a different but similarly outfitted Passat TDI in 1,579 mostly highway miles from the East Coast over the mountains to the Midwest and back and driven, shall we say, not always gently.

That tester was similar to VW's record-setting Passat that got 77.99 mpg in 8,122 miles through the Lower 48 states. The record-setter, though, had special tires and was driven strictly for mileage, without much regard for speed, convenience or comfort.

Top 10 India Companies To Buy For 2015

The 53.1 was in th! e real world: 800 pounds of people and cargo, AC on, keeping up with, or passing, the Joneses on the turnpike.

Don't expect gee-whiz electronics. For example, the backup camera has a dimmer image than some rivals, making it harder to use in low light. And phone pairing was non-pairing with our too-hip Windows phone. IPhone had better luck, maybe you will, too.

Be delighted by the very roomy back seat. Look for opportunities to carry passengers back there. Remarkable.

Renew your understanding of "elegant," an oft-misused word meaning high-class simplicity. Passat's interior is laudable for the elegance of its straightforward dash, gauges, upholstery and trim. The exterior is likewise applause-worthy for not trying too hard in pursuit of "styling."

Reacquaint yourself with comfort. Passat's seats are close to the Goldilocks Baby Bear standard: just right. Firm, supportive but not back-breakers, as in some Europeans. Great for road trips.

Be reminded how pleasant it is to pilot an engaging car. No-drama corners. Treat-filled steering and stopping.

We found the ride could turn a bit choppy on wrinkled asphalt, which sounds like a "duh," but other test vehicles have handled that area more gracefully.

What about that new EA288 diesel due in a few months? VW says it's rated 150 horsepower, up 10 hp, with the same 236 pounds-feet of torque. And it says emissions-reducing changes also result in better throttle response. We'd vote for that. While the test car wasn't sluggish, especially once it picked up a bit of speed, it could have felt perkier.

Passat strikes us as a very good sedan, able to satisfy practical needs and driving enthusiast longings. Equip it with the TDI and it enjoys a "green" credential hard to find elsewhere.

But if we were writing the check, we'd wait to try the new engine, or perhaps even bide our time until the updated 2016 model next year, hoping it has friendlier electronics and a handful of other updates. Without losing its elegance,! of cours! e.

WHAT STOOD OUT

Highway mpg: 50 or more without trying.

Comfort: Lots of room, great seats.

Driving feel: Nice mix of comfy, sporty.

ABOUT THE 2014 VW PASSAT

What? Midsize, front-drive, five-passenger, diesel-power sedan; VW calls its diesels TDI.

Where? Built at Chattanooga, Tenn.

How long? Current-design Passat on sale Since September 2011. New diesel engine's coming this summer and overall freshening of the car a year after that.

How much? Passat TDI SE, the lowest-price diesel, starts at $27,115, including $820 shipping, $2,350 more than most similar gasoline model. Top diesel model, TDI SEL Premium, starts at $33,815.

What makes it go? 2-liter, four-cylinder, turbocharged diesel rated 140 horsepower at 4,000 rpm, 236 pounds-feet of torque at 1,750 rpm. Six-speed manual standard, six-speed automatic optional.

How big? Within an inch of Honda Accord all around. Passat has 102 cubic feet of passenger space, 15.9 cu. ft. in the trunk. Weighs 3,393 lbs. (163 lbs. more than gasoline model).

Rated to carry 1,155 lbs. (manual) or 1,237 lbs. (automatic) of people, cargo, accessories.

How thirsty? Manual rated 31 mpg city, 43 highway, 35 combined. Automatic: 30/40/34. Burns low-sulfur diesel, holds 18.5 gal.

Manual test car registered 25.8 mpg (3.88 gallons per 100 miles) in mainly short suburban hops, 29.8 mpg (3.36 gal./100 mi.) in longer suburban trips.

Colleague driving similarly equipped 2012 model recently got 53.1 mpg (1.88 gal./100 mi.) in about 1,500 miles of mostly highway, 30.2 mpg (3.31 gal./100 mi.) in city/suburb mix.

Overall: A charmer, despite some annoyances.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Apple Inc's Interest in Beats Is Further Evidence of a Disturbing Trend

Although the deal has not yet been formally announced, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) is still expected to acquire Beats Electronics at some point in the near future. Much has already been written about the purchase -- its potential to bring a level of fashion to Apple's future wearables, Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine's music industry experience -- but what I find most interesting is what it says about Apple's iTunes business.

Apple's total iTunes revenue is growing, and at a rapid pace, but the model on which the business was built -- music downloads -- could slow. Streaming services are clearly the future, and though acquiring Beats should help Apple break into that business, it still poses a major challenge.

Downloads give way to subscriptions
Industry music downloads slipped 5.7% on an annual basis last year, according to Nielsen. Consistent with those figures, Asymco estimated that Apple's iTunes Music sales declined about 14% in 2013.

It's possible that a lack of quality music may have weighed on iTunes' sales last year (arguably, fewer must-have songs were released in 2013), but the growth of music subscription services cannot be discounted. Spotify, the leader in that business, now has 10 million paying subscribers, up from just 5 million 17 months ago.

iTunes and the ecosystem
That's a problem for Apple, at least in terms of its ecosystem. Apple's customers are notoriously loyal, partly because the company makes great products, but also because Apple makes it difficult to leave. It's possible to port a large iTunes catalog to Android or another rival operating system, but the process is far from straightforward.

Someone who has purchased a bunch of music through iTunes, then, is likely to remain an Apple customer, consistently buying a new iPhone every two years. The idea of the sticky ecosystem has been championed by bulls such as hedge fund manager David Einhorn, who has consistently argued that this property of iTunes makes Apple unlikely to suffer the same fate as the once-dominant phone giants that preceded it.

But a customer who switches to Spotify, or some other similar subscription service, is device agnostic. In fact, the very appeal of these subscription services is that they allow their customers to access music from anywhere -- just about any Internet-connected device can access Spotify, no matter the manufacturer.

Apple is less likely to retain its customers
In acquiring Beats, Apple will get access to its own streaming service, along with a team of music industry veterans who can help it negotiate contracts with musicians and labels.

Although Beats' subscription service trails Spotify in terms of total subscribers, it's still relatively new. Apple's engineering expertise could improve Beats Music significantly, much like it transformed SoundJam MP into iTunes.

But even if Apple were to eventually offer the premier streaming music service, and go so far as to restrict it to the iOS platform, it would be worse than having a robust iTunes business. Switching between music streaming services is easy; losing access to a catalog of songs that one has invested hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of dollars in is far more difficult.

It remains to be seen if Apple will actually go through the acquisition, and, if it does, what it will do with Beats Music. But Apple's interest in a streaming music service -- and, more broadly, the growth in the larger sector -- is a disturbing sign for the long-term strength of its ecosystem.

Leaked: Apple's next smart device (warning, it may shock you)
Apple recent recruited a secret-development Dream Team to guarantee their newest smart device was kept hidden from the public for as long as possible. But the secret is out...and some early viewers are even claiming its everyday impact could trump the iPod, iPhone, AND the iPad. In fact, ABI Research predicts 485 million of these type of devices will be sold per year. But one small company makes this gadget possible. And their stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors. To be one of them, and see Apple's newest smart gizmo, just click here!

Saturday, May 24, 2014

For Gas Prices, It's Deja Vu This Holiday Weekend

Top 10 India Companies To Buy For 2015

It's Deja Vu for Gas Prices This Holiday Weekend Damian Dovarganes/AP NEW YORK -- The price of gasoline looks familiar this Memorial Day. For the third year in a row, the national average will be within a penny or two of $3.64 a gallon. Stability wasn't always the norm. Between 2003 and 2008 average retail gasoline prices more than doubled, reaching an all-time high of $4.11 a gallon in 2008. Prices then collapsed as the U.S. plunged into recession. But after a two-year run-up between 2009 and 2011, the price of gasoline has remained in a range of roughly $3.25 to $3.75 a gallon. Drivers can handle that, according to AAA, and are ready to head out for Memorial Day driving trips in the highest numbers since 2005. "It is unlikely that gas prices will have a significant effect on travel plans compared to a year ago," AAA wrote in its annual Memorial Day forecast. Steady gasoline prices are largely the result of relatively steady crude oil prices, even though there has been a long list of global supply disruptions and political turmoil that that typically would push the price of oil higher. Sanctions have sharply cut output from Iran, once the world's third largest oil exporter. Libya went through civil war, and labor and political disruptions continue to limit its exports. Venezuela's oil output has been steadily declining for a decade. Most recently, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is raising concerns that sanctions will impact production or exports from Russia, the world's second largest exporter after Saudi Arabia. But rising crude output in countries such as the U.S., Canada and Brazil have offset the declining supply elsewhere, helping to keep prices steady. Approaching this Memorial Day, the national average is $3.65 a gallon, according to AAA, OPIS and Wright Express. Last year on the holiday it was $3.63 a gallon. In 2012 it was $3.64. The story is similar with other fuels. Through the first quarter of this year airlines are paying $3.03 a gallon for jet fuel -- exactly the same they paid on average for all of last year, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The average price of diesel, $3.93 a gallon, is a nickel higher than last year. Averages only tell part of the story, though. Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service and Gasbuddy.com, compares the national average price of gasoline to the average temperature of the country -- outside your door it's almost certainly hotter or cooler than the average. This year, drivers in the Midwest, Great Plains states and the Rockies are paying quite a bit less than they did a year ago on Memorial Day weekend. The Minnesota average of $3.49 is 78 cents lower than last year, the biggest drop in the nation. Drivers in North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa and Kansas are all paying at least 50 cents a gallon less. That's because last year some big Midwest refineries were taken offline to be upgraded to handle cheaper Canadian crude oil. That work is done and the refineries are churning out a lot of fuel, pushing down prices in the region. The story is different on the coasts, though. Refineries there have to pay higher prices for global crude, and more refineries are seeing downtime in Texas and Louisiana than in recent springs, according to Kloza. Gulf coast refiners supply much of the nation, and especially the coasts, with fuel. Pennsylvania drivers are paying $3.77 a gallon on average. That's 27 cents higher than last year, the biggest increase in the country. Drivers in the Carolinas and Alabama are paying at least 20 cents more than last year, though they are paying less than the national average. As usual, California drivers are paying the most in the lower 48 states, at $4.15 a gallon, about 10 cents higher than last Memorial Day weekend. Across the nation, all U.S. drivers will likely be paying less in the coming weeks, the result of a typical seasonal decline between late spring and early summer. "Temperate-to-lower prices is the most likely path for the next couple of months," Kloza says. "And then in hurricane season you just cross your fingers."

Friday, May 23, 2014

Hot Building Product Stocks To Buy For 2015

Hot Building Product Stocks To Buy For 2015: Silicon Image Inc.(SIMG)

Silicon Image, Inc. provides wireless and wired high-definition (HD) connectivity solutions that enable the distribution and presentation of HD content for consumer electronics, mobile, and personal computer (PC) markets. It delivers its technology via semiconductor and intellectual property products. The company?s consumer electronics products include high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port processors, HDMI and mobile high-definition link (MHL) transmitters, MHL-to-HDMI bridges, and HDMI receiver products; PC products comprise MHL/HDMI-to-HDMI bridges and digital visual interface receivers; and storage products consist of a line of serial advanced technology attachment controllers used in PC, DVR, and network attached storage applications. Its products are deployed by the electronics manufacturers in various devices, such as desktop and notebook PCs, DTVs, Blu-ray disc players, and audio-video receivers, as well as mobile phones, tablets, and digital cameras. The company, through its subsidiaries, provides manufacturers comprehensive standards interoperability and compliance testing services; and acts as an agent for promoting and administering HDMI and MHL specifications, and for licensing the serial port memory technology memory interface specification. It sells its products to original product manufacturers worldwide through direct sales force, as well as through a network of distributors and manufacturer?s representatives. The company has operations in the United States, Taiwan, Japan, China, and Korea, as well as Europe and internationally. Silicon Image, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    The exact same setup is shaping up in shares of small-cap semiconductor firm Silicon Image (SIMG). Like HCP, this firm is stuck trading in a downtrending channel. Unlike HCP, trendline resistance is a whole lot ! stronger in this stock. Shares have gotten swatted down on each of the last eight attempts through that ceiling; with shares at resistance again, the high-probability move is to the downside.

    Again, relative strength has been terrible since the summer; SIMG is underperforming the S&P by a considerable margin. Downtrending relative strength is a cardinal sin for stocks, so with shares sitting at resistance, now's a stellar place to be a seller. While support has been pretty strong along the way down, SIMG's previous penetrations through S1 should be a big red flag that buyers are skittish.

    SIMG is in a textbook downtrend right now. Don't get caught on the wrong side of the trade.

  • [By John Udovich]

    We have recently added small cap video chip stock Pixelworks, Inc (NASDAQ: PXLW) to our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO)as it stands to benefit from the growth in connecting HD quality video across all mobile device platforms, as well as Smart TVs; but Silicon Image, Inc (NASDAQ: SIMG) and Sigma Designs, Inc (NASDAQ: SIGM) are also providing chips for the video or entertainment markets. Moreover, all three of these small cap stocks have recently reported earnings that might leave you feeling even more bullish.

  • [By Bryan Murphy]

    Quick - what do Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE:SPG), Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE:DPS), and Silicon Image, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIMG) have in common? If you said absolutely nothing, you'd be about 99% right. There's one common thing between SIMG, SPG, and DPS right now, however. What's that? All three stocks are on my personal "buy" list this week.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Technology shares dropped by 0.14 percent in the US market today. Among the sector stocks, Liquidity Services (NASDAQ: LQDT) was down more than 11.2 percent, while Silicon Image (NASDAQ: SIMG) tumbled around 6.7 percent.

  • source from Top Penny Stocks:http! ://www.se! ekpennystocks.com/hot-building-product-stocks-to-buy-for-2015.html

Thursday, May 22, 2014

SoundCloud's online growth feeds Twitter rumors

BERLIN – Just the other week, SoundCloud founder and chief technology officer Eric Wahlforss told USA TODAY that his team of 300 had no business plans beyond growing the 6-year-old audio platform, which has gone from a hub for electronic music creators to a favorite tool for artists such as Snoop Dogg and Justin Bieber.

"There are no IPO plans or anything like that," Wahlforss said in the company's modest offices. "We're focused on growth and have exciting things in the pipeline."

But one of those exciting things could well be new owners. Twitter may be considering an acquisition of SoundCloud, according to a Monday report on the tech news site Re/Code. It would mark a major acquisition for the company, given that SoundCloud's most recent $60 million fundraising round valued it at $700 million.

Neither Twitter nor SoundCloud are commenting on the alleged talks. But online music plays are particularly hot these days as they provide companies with instant access to a community of passionate users.

Another similar rumor is last week's buzz that Apple was considering the purchase of Beats Electronics from producer Jimmy Iovine and rapper Dr. Dre, whose newly minted Beats Music streaming audio service provides subscribers with playlists and suggestions made by humans and not algorithms.

A Twitter and SoundCloud marriage could benefit both parties, providing the former with a much-needed uptick in growth numbers and the latter with access to a potent ad operation that is poised to bring in $1 billion for Twitter this year. Industry experts say SoundCloud merits the courtship, noting stats such the 12 hours of music that are uploaded each minute and its 250 million-plus user base.

"There are other platforms out there, like Mixcloud and Bandcamp, but (SoundCloud) has really become the place to have your audio online," says Nina Ulloa of Digital Music News.

"It works on a variety of levels," she says. "There's the follower aspect, where you can see who likes what you're! either recording or listening to. There are the small artists hoping to get discovered. And big players like (deejay) Diplo's label, which is busy looking on SoundCloud for the next big thing."

Pioneering rapper Snoop Dogg, also known as Snoop Lion after this Rastafarian conversion, has made a name for himself in the SoundCloud community. He trolls the site looking for unsigned talent, sometimes leaving "SnoopApproved" postings and, in one instance, flying to Poland to record with rapper Iza Lach, who he subsequently signed to his label.

You never know who is listening (on SoundCloud). It could be me.

Rapper Snoop Lion

"Once I got on SoundCloud, I started uploading beats and vocals for my fans to build off of, that's how 'SnoopApproved' came about," the rapper tells USA TODAY in an e-mail. "SoundCloud is changing the game because they made it easier for artists to reach people directly with new music. And it's cool for artists, too. You never know who is listening. It could be me."

Wahlforss, a programmer who launched SoundCloud with some friends in 2007 solely as a means to more easily share his own electronic music compositions, seems pleasantly shocked at the site's mushrooming growth.

"We did this just because there was nothing out there the solved the simple problem of sharing a piece or music or audio online," says the soft-spoken Swede, who set up shop in Berlin due to the energized feeling in this European tech hub. "We had milestones along the way, where we saw people using it in novel ways."

That would include comedian Jon Oliver's using SoundCloud to host his series The Bugle, composer Hans Zimmer leveraging the site to find a promising new hire and, most recently, Justin Bieber dropping his new single, Hard 2 Face Reality, via his SoundCloud account, where he goes by Sir Bizzle.

That sort of cultural heat would certainly justify interest from Twitter and other suitors, but it's clear SoundCloud execs sense their future is bright regardless of a possi! ble acqui! sition.

"When we started this was about friends sharing music with friends, or a business using us to share clips, like a diving company owner in Florida who would share clips of whale songs to promote his business," says David Noel, an early SoundCloud employee who now serves as community manager and evangelist.

"What was just a workflow tool turned into something unanticipated, which was communities of artists interconnecting and creating new music," he says, adding that beyond having early Dubstep tracks and Lorde singles first surface on SoundCloud, today new musical genres bubbling up on the site include Witch Hop, Trap and Mermaid. "A third of our users are in the U.S., a third in Europe and the rest all over the world. But clearly music knows no borders."

What still eludes SoundCloud is a steady revenue stream beyond those who opt for the non-free version of the service at between $4 and $12 a month. Wahlforss says the company's new office in New York – there are also outposts in San Francisco and London – is a place "where we hope to connect the dots between advertising and rights holders."

On the former front, a recent score was getting Levi's to use SoundCloud as the audio portal for its "Make Your Mark" cross-country ad campaign. Each time Levi's scouts found new musical talent, they uploaded images to Instagram and audio clips to SoundCloud.

But when it comes to the more complex and critical task of securing licenses from music labels, Wahlforss says "I can't talk about specifics, but they're progressing." He likes to stress instead how mainstream artists can glean invaluable insights through SoundCloud's analytics, such as planning a tour based on a city-level view of where their music is most popular.

"It's all about the community we've built in the past five years, and what they are saying is what we want from you guys is to help us find an even bigger audience," says Wahlforss, who used SoundCloud to help hone the sounds on his latest album, a 2012! release ! of music he calls Church Step, influenced in part by the music played in his mother's church in Sweden. "We've proven our concept. We just want more people to use it every day."

Is that a chirp we hear?

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Nearly 2 Million Pounds of Tainted Ground Beef Recalled

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Officials: 1.8M pounds of ground beef recalled Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images DETROIT -- Officials say a Detroit-based business is recalling about 1.8 million pounds of ground beef products sold for restaurant use in four states that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Monday that affected Wolverine Packing Co. products were produced between March 31 and April 18. They were shipped to distributors in Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. The Food Safety and Inspection Service says 11 illnesses have been identified. The products bear the establishment number "EST. 2574B" and will have a production date code in the format "Packing Nos: MM DD 14" between "03 31 14" and "04 18 14." E. coli can cause severe cramps, nausea and diarrhea, as well as other complications.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Fly the 'Allergy-Friendly' Skies: Airline Aims to Ground Allergens

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Swiss.com Relief is on the way for travelers with food intolerances and allergies. Beginning in May, Swiss International Air Lines is instituting an "allergy-friendly" policy. "We have seen a steady increase over the past few years in our customers' need for an air travel environment that pays due regard to any allergic conditions," said Frank Maier, Swiss's head of product and services. "So we've been working with [the European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation] to provide a concrete response to these demands to make everyone's air travel experience as pleasant and problem-free as possible." The changes -- which make it the world's first airline to get a seal of approval from the foundation -- address environmental allergens and food intolerances, but not food allergies. Gentle Soaps Added, Air Fresheners Removed Changes will include making available gluten- and lactose-free snacks and drinks in flight and "allergy-friendly" foods in Swiss lounges in Switzerland. Passengers with food intolerances will be able to order special meals in all seating classes during long flights, but only in business class within Europe. Requests for special meals must be made at least 24 hours in advance of the scheduled departure. In addition, changes will be made to the cabin environment, such as air filtering, gentle soaps in the lavatories and pillows stuffed with synthetic materials rather than down as an option in first and business classes. Further, the cabins will no longer have fresh flowers or air fresheners. Cabin crew members are trained to respond to allergic emergencies. Clifford Bassett, an allergist and fellow of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, applauds the airline's efforts in addressing the growing population of individuals with food intolerances as well as those with environmental allergies and asthma. He notes the airline is not yet addressing the needs of the up to 5 percent of adults have food allergies. These passengers need to make an action plan with their allergist and travel with foods that are safe for them to eat, as well as two to four epinephrine auto-injectors. Passengers with airborne food allergies should request a barrier of 10 to 15 rows in front and behind their seat to reduce exposure, although ideally there would be no food allergens, he says.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Get ready for interest rates to rise

A ho-hum interest rate environment can lull borrowers into thinking that cheap money will be with us, well, nearly forever and one might think talking about rates isn't relevant.

But savers, borrowers and market watchers are wise to prepare for changes in the wind, even if huge rate increases aren't on near-term forecasts.

High school grads heading to college should bank on higher rates ahead for college loans.

"I expect interest rates on federal education loans to continue to rise each year for the next several years, especially as the Federal Reserve board stops manipulating interest rates," said Mark Kantrowitz of Edvisors.com.

As of July 1, federal student loan rates will edge up. Rates overall will be up 0.8% compared to current rates.

Federal Stafford Loans for undergraduate students will be 4.66% — up from 3.86%. Federal Stafford Loans for graduate students will be 6.21% — up from 5.41%.

Federal Grad PLUS and Federal Parent PLUS Loans will be at 7.21% — up from 6.41%.

The higher rates add about $46 to $49 a year to borrowing costs for every $10,000 in student loans borrowed on a 10-year term. Total costs would increase by $460 to $492 over a 10-year repayment term of the loans, Kantrowitz said.

Last year, federal student loan rates were unusually low, with nowhere to go but up, Kantrowitz said.

But by next year, he predicts rates could be higher than 6.8% on the Stafford loan and higher than 7.9% on PLUS loans.

Kantrowitz said he predicted rates would start heading up when Congress switched the way student loan rates are handled. Now interest rates are fixed, but each year's loans are at a new fixed rate. Congress changed the interest-rate formula in August, retroactive to July 1, 2013.

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Feel like your credit card debt is under control because you can make the minimum payments? Or read! y to borrow more because you found a limited-time offer at 0%?

Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate.com, said shoppers would be wise to pay down their credit card debt now to avoid higher interest rates in the future.

When overall rates climb higher, rates will jump on variable-rate credit cards and the minimum payment goes up too.

"2014 may be your last hurrah for paying down that debt in an environment with the tailwind of lower interest rates rather than the headwind of rising rates," McBride said.

McBride said he would not be surprised to see credit card rates climb in the next year or so.

"You better have a game plan for paying it back," McBride said.

Rates for savers haven't shown much sign of life for quite some time, but that can could change too.

"The lift-off on short-term rates by the Fed is still close to a year away (give or take a few months)," according to a May report by Diane Swonk, chief economist for Mesirow Financial in Chicago.

"Lift-off" is the new lingo for the first increase in the Fed's short-term interest rates from the current level of zero.

Rates could be held low as well by tensions in Ukraine that already led to lower bond yields in the United States and Europe, she noted.

Even so, savers can spot slight improvements here and there.

In May, the new rate on Series EE savings bonds was set at a fixed rate of 0.5% for 20 years. But if someone held that bond for 20 years, the bond would double in value and the effective rate would be just over 3.5% compounded semi-annually.

Though that rate is low, savers are getting a far better rate than the 0.1% they got on Series EE bonds from November through the end of April. That was the lowest fixed rate ever set for Series EE bonds.

But the upside again for truly long-term savers who bought those 0.1% bonds in recent months is if you'd wait until 2033 or longer to cash that bond, you would see the bond double in value and get a much higher eff! ective ra! te. The key is the bond must be held up to the original maturity of 20 years to get that higher rate of return.

New Series I savings bonds, if bought from May through October, will earn a composite rate of 1.94% for six months.

Series I bonds fluctuate based on inflation. The earnings rate for Series I bonds is a combination of a fixed rate that applies for the life of the bond, and the semi-annual inflation rate. The fixed rate on I Bonds issued from May 1 through Oct. 31 is 0.1%.

But that fixed rate is lower than what savers got in the past. The fixed rate was 0.2% on I Bonds issued from November through April 30. So over the long run, those would be slightly better bonds for savers to hold on to. The initial composite rate for I bonds issued then was 1.38% — including the fixed rate at 0.2%.

Rates for savings bonds are set each May 1 and Nov. 1. Savings bonds held less than five years are subject to a three-month interest penalty. Both series I and EE bonds may be redeemed after 12 months and have an interest-bearing life of 30 years.

Contact Susan Tompor at stompor@freepress.com

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Week In FX Asia – Indian Election Results Boost INR And Sensex

INDIA

India's Opposition Wins Election by Landslide Election Result Pushes Rupee and Sensex Higher New Indian Government Will Inherit Slow Output and High Inflation Indian Central Bank Could Come Under Pressure From New Government

The largest democracy in the world finished its five week long election process. The final results will be a surprise to no one as the BJP had a strong campaign. In January polls favoured them to win a majority after the party's leader was hitting all the right notes on the campaign trail. The opposition is on track to win by a landslide and score a majority in the lower house.

The optimism surrounding the potential BJP win aligned with a strong market rally that pushed the currency and the stock market higher. The INR appreciated the whole week to finish at 58.55 after starting the week close to 60 USD/INR. The expectation is for the new government to deliver on its promise of economic growth. Narendra Modi the BJP's candidate has promised a strong economic revival. The main challenge will be to turn campaign rhetoric against the political establishment into a reality for all Indians.

The economic growth goals could put the new government on a collision course with the Reserve Bank of India. The market has given a lot of credit to Governor Raghuram Rajan for steering India's economy in the last year as inflation, output and the rupee have been concerns. The interaction between the central bank and the newly elected government is one of the most anticipated partnerships by market participants.

A good working relationship will go a long way of boosting India's credentials abroad and create optimism surrounding the country's growth goals. A rivalry could mean a return to the vicious cycle that has engulfed India in the post credit crisis years.

JAPAN

College Grad Employment Rises to 94.4 Percent Four Largest Banking Groups Report Increase in Profits in 2013 GDP Grows 5.9 Percent on Pre Tax Hike Shopping Japanese Growth Beats Forecasts Wholesale Prices Rise 4.1 Percent in April BOJ Could Be Called Into Action if Japanese Exports Continue To Fall

Japan had on net a very positive week. Inflation continues to rise which will help the economy reach its 2 percent inflation goal. Gross Domestic product surprised to the upside. The GDP rose 1.5% in the first quarter of 2014. The forecasts called for a 1% increase. The major driver for the increase was the introduction of the sales tax hike in April. The higher tax prompted consumers to expedite large purchases to avoid paying the extra tax. Consumer spending accounts for 60% of GDP so the real question is what effect it will has going forward after the new higher sales tax.
The JPY was stuck in a tight range this week and could not pierce the 102 level for too long. The currency finished the week at 101.56 USD/JPY after a good GDP print and uncertainty about the Bank of Japan's next move.

Next Week in Asia:

Reserve Bank of Australia Meeting Minutes Bank of Japan Interest Rate Decision and Monetary Policy Statement Chinese Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)

Next week in Asia there will be a release of the Reserve Bank of Australia's minutes from their May 6 meeting. The minutes are released two weeks after the interest rate decision to avoid introducing more market moving information at the same time. There is a low level of probability that there will be surprises on the minutes as the meeting held rates at 2.5%. The expectation in the market has shifted to the effect the newly announced budget could have on the economy before the RBA commits to any policy changes.

The Bank of Japan has been under pressure to act since the start of the year. After being the most proactive central bank of 2013 with the bold policy change that gave Abenomics a running start not much has been done by the BOJ. The economy continues to struggle even though it has seen incredible growth in Q1, but boosted by a transitory sales tax hike which increased consumption. Exports continue to fall even with the benefits of a lower yen. The BOJ is probably going to wait for another major central bank to act first with the ECB being the most likely candidate after its President's comments this month.

Chinese manufacturing has been steadily contracting for the past four months. Next week's HSBC/Markit Purchase Managers Index will probably confirm the downward trend. The Chinese president Xi Jinping commented last weekend that the country needs to get used to slower growth. The comments were taken as a negative to the question of further stimulus.

Japanese Government Task Force Recommends Corporate Tax Cuts – MarketPulse Japan College Grad Employment Rises to 94.4 Percent – MarketPulse India's Opposition Wins Election by Landslide – MarketPulse India Election Result Pushes Rupee and Sensex Higher – MarketPulse China Sees Increase in Bad Loans – MarketPulse JPY Rises As Europe and America Dissapoint – MarketPulse Japan 4 Large Banking Groups Report Increase in Profits in 2013 – MarketPulse Japan GDP Grows 5.9 Percent on Pre Tax Hike Shopping – MarketPulse Japanese Growth Beats Forecasts – MarketPulse Japanese Wholesale Prices Rise 4.1 Percent in April – MarketPulse Indian Central Bank Could Come Under Pressure From New Government – MarketPulse Australia's Tough Budget Big on Spending Cuts – MarketPulse Five Points on The Australian Budget – MarketPulse India Stocks Hit Record High on Election Optimism – MarketPulse Australia New Budget Aims to Halve Deficit – MarketPulse China's Slowdown Deepens – MarketPulse Chinese President Tell Country to Get Used to Slow Growth – MarketPulse BOJ Could Be Called Into Action if Japanese Exports Continue To Fall – MarketPulse Hong Kong and Singapore At Risk of Higher Fed Rates – MarketPulse New Indian Government Will Inherit Slow Output and High Inflation – MarketPulse

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

Posted-In: Forex Markets

Originally posted here...

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Friday, May 16, 2014

Chesapeake Energy Corporation to Spin Off Oilfield Services Business to Shareholders (CHK)

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) reported on Friday that it now plans to spin off its Oilfield Services Business to its shareholders.

The company announced in February that it was seeking alternatives for its oilfield services business which is operated by CHK’s subsidiary Chesapeake Oilfield Operating. The spin off will be completed in tax free transaction that will eliminate $1.1 billion in debt from the company’s balance sheet. This is part of CHK’s plan to divest non-core businesses in order to focus on the highest rate of return businesses.

Looking forward, the company expects production to grow by 7%-10% in 2015 with the asset sales.

CHK Dividend Snapshot

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As market close on May 15, 2014

CHK dividend yield annual payout payout ratio dividend growth

Click here to see the complete history of CHK dividends.

Chesapeake Energy shares were down 18 cents, or 0.62%, during pre-market trading Friday. The stock is up 6.82% YTD.