Treasuries Rise a Third Day as Investors Weigh Stimulus Outlook

Treasuries advanced for a third day as investors weighed whether the world's largest economy is expanding fast enough to prompt the Federal Reserve to taper monetary stimulus.

Ten-year notes headed for a weekly gain before Fed Governor Jeremy Stein speaks today on monetary policy in New York. Treasuries rallied yesterday when New York Fed Bank President William C. Dudley said policy makers may prolong asset purchases. Economists say U.S. reports today will show consumer confidence fell from a six-year high this month and business activity slowed.

The benchmark 10-year yield fell one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 2.46 percent at 8:18 a.m. London time, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. The 1.75 percent note due in May 2023 rose 1/8, or $1.25 per $1,000 face value, to 93 26/32. The yield has declined seven basis points this week.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment was at 83 in June, compared with a prior reading of 82.7 for the month and 84.5 in May, according to a Bloomberg News survey. The MNI Chicago Report's business barometer fell to 55 from 58.7 in May, a separate survey showed. A reading above 50 signals expansion.

Paula Deen's Biggest Failure: Not Heeding Warren Buffett’s Advice

You probably don't know Ken Lowe. Why should you? He's the CEO of Scripps Network Interactive (NYSE: SNI  ) , a five-year-old entertainment holding company that tends to keep clear of controversy. Or at least it used to.

Scripps, you see, is 70% owner of the Food Network, which says it won't renew its contract with celebrity chef Paula Deen when it expires at the end of this month. Deen is best known for cooking heavy Southern dishes on her shows. She also has restaurants and a media empire worth tens of millions, according to Bloomberg.

Paula Deen cooks up a controversy. Source: The Food Network.

But now she's come under fire for using a racial slur in years past. In a deposition given in a racial and sexual harassment suit filed by a former employee, Deen admitted to using the "N-word." Workers apparently also told racial jokes on her watch, The Wall Street Journal reports.

But now that empire is crumbling, in part because of a defensive video posted to YouTube in lieu of a canceled appearance on NBC's Today show. Deen has since offered a tearful apology on the show, but sponsors aren't buying it. Among the biggest names to drop her recently are Target (NYSE: TGT  ) , which has carried cookware bearing the chef's name. "We have made a decision to phase out the Paula Deen merchandise in our stores as well as on Target.com," a spokesperson told Bloomberg.

Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD  ) cut ties Friday, telling The Huffington Post that it decided to "phase out all products" tied to Deen's brand. Here's a more complete accounting of those who've dropped the kitchen diva:

Smithfield Foods Home Depot Caesar's Entertainment Novo Nordisk Wal-Mart J.C. Penney

The simple advice Paula Deen should have heeded
Warren Buffett has seen all this before, having helped rebuild Salomon Brothers after a management scandal tarnished the broker.  

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently," Buffett has said. Deen would have done well to remember that. Although, interestingly, Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) already ranks her forthcoming book -- "Paula Deen's New Testament: 250 Recipes, All Lightened Up" -- as its No. 1 best seller.  At least someone is profiting from this mess.

Warren Buffett speaks, and investors listen. Source: Fool.com.

But that's an exception. Buffett is right: Reputation is everything, and associating with a damaged celeb such as Deen is tantamount to damaging the brand. Take heed, investors. Know the ambassadors behind the brands you're investing in. Know what they sell, and how much they account for.

In this case, Deen's implosion isn't on the scale of what might have happened to Nike were Michael Jordan to suffer a scandal at the height of his stardom. Deen's star doesn't shine that bright, and most of her sponsors are already well-diversified businesses.

Call it a warning shot. Right now, it's Deen and not investors that are feeling the pain. We might not be so lucky next time.

The best investing approach is to choose great companies and stick with them for the long term. The Motley Fool's free report "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich" names stocks that could help you build long-term wealth and retire well, along with some winning wealth-building strategies that every investor should be aware of. Click here now to keep reading.

How Rare Was Yesterday's Market Swoon?

Yesterday was ugly. At one point the Dow Jones (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) was down nearly 400 points, or about 2.5%. It was the worst day of the year. 

How common is a hard fall like yesterday's?

I looked back at almost a century of market data. There have been 21,276 trading sessions since 1928. Yesterday was the 468th worst, or worse than about 98% of all other days.

That might sound bad, but it's really not. On average, we have six days a year as bad or worse than yesterday. About once every two months.

How many headlines did you see yesterday that said, "Dow has a pretty normal fall"? None. In the long draw of history, these big moves are fairly common, but we rarely think that when they happen. A big fall feels important, like the market is sending a message we need to listen to -- even if it isn't. 

If yesterday's big drop caught your attention, ask yourself three questions. 

1. Did you view it as an opportunity to buy good companies at lower prices? If so, great! You probably benefit from watching daily market moves. 

2. Did it make you anxious, or contemplate selling in order to avoid more losses? If so, you'd probably benefit from ignoring all market news. Set a schedule to check your portfolio, say, four times a year. Other than that, realize that tracking the market on a day-to-day basis is likely toying with your emotions and tempting you into decisions that you'll likely regret over time. 

3. Did you not care either way? Great. Congratulations. Now go find a new hobby besides reading financial news and let your money compound over time. 

More than a hundred years ago, someone asked J.P. Morgan what the market will do. "It will fluctuate," he allegedly said. He's been right ever since. 

More from the Motley Fool
The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for the next year. Find out which stock it is in the special free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." Just click here to access the report.

Don't Count Coal Stocks Out Yet

Why were investors so surprised that President Obama wanted to launch a "war on coal"? They were warned during his first presidential campaign that he wanted to bankrupt anyone that operated a coal-fired power plant so it's a given this administration has a deep-rooted animus against the industry.

Even so, coal stocks plummeted following Obama's speech with Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU  )  and Alpha Natural Resources  (NYSE: ANR  )  dropping 8% and Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI  )  down more than 6%. Using an end-run around Congress to implement overreaching regulations through executive order are a worrisome possibility even if they'll have minimal impact on carbon emissions. Why? Because China doesn't care a whit about it and they'll continue burning coal regardless of presidential platitudes.

The U.S. coal industry can survive this latest assault because its production capabilities are already gearing toward supplying the Orient's insatiable demand for it. And while thermal coal largely been a small component of our exports, we're likely to see that expand. Further, nearly 70% of all metallurgical coal produced in the U.S. is exported overseas and it carries higher margins than does thermal coal.

According to BP's latest review of world energy, global oil consumption grew 0.9% in 2012 and natural gas rose 2.2%. Yet it was King Coal that led the way with a 2.5% rise in global consumption.

Admittedly, that's almost half the rate it was growing over its 10-year average, or 4.4%, but it shows that many countries, particularly China, still view this cheap, abundant resource as a key component of their economic development and growth.

Indeed, growing at a 6.1% clip, China was the biggest consumer of coal anywhere in the world, and for the first time ever accounted for more than half of the resources consumption. It is coal that allows developing economies to achieve growth while the U.S. hamstrings its efforts by placing impediments in the path to coal.

Consumption in the U.S. declined almost 12% in 2012, more than offsetting the gains realized in Europe and Japan and almost single-handedly causing the 4.4% drop in consumption in OECD countries.

Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2013.

Now there are still risks inherent in the international trade. Goldman Sachs says the seaborne trade for coal may wane over the next few years because China's own production of coal has jumped at the same time its economy is slowing. Exports have slumped as a result and an inventory glut has grown in Asia. 

Although problematic, not everyone's convinced the China trade is doomed. Peabody, the largest private coal company, is looking for the seaborne trade for thermal coal to grow this year after total coal imports to China grew 30% in the first quarter to 80 million tons. India is also a major coal-consuming nation and imports rose 25% in the quarter allowing the subcontinent to surpass Japan as the second-largest thermal coal importer. 

While Peabody and Arch have largely abandoned the higher-cost Appalachia coal region, they've turned their sights to the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming, where more coal can be exported. Arch's first-quarter sales in the Basin were down slightly sequentially as prices fell, but its cash margins per ton jumped 30%.

The Powder River Basin produces 500 million tons of coal annually, most of it for domestic consumption, but only because there's not enough of an export infrastructure in place to support it. While there had been six export terminals planned for the West Coast, after Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI  ) cancelled its plans for a terminal in northern Oregon, it marked the third one that had been cancelled.

These are hurdles the coal industry can surmount, even in the fog of battle. The International Energy Association says the world will burn around 1.2 billion more tons of coal per year by 2017 than it does today, equal to the coal Russia and the U.S. combined are currently consuming. It will almost surpass oil as the world's top energy source.That's a trend I'd still be willing to count on, even if the miners themselves are fighting with one hand tied behind their backs.

There are many different ways to play the energy sector, and The Motley Fool's analysts have uncovered an under-the-radar company that's dominating its industry. This company is a leading provider of equipment and components used in drilling and production operations, and poised to profit in a big way from it. To get the name and detailed analysis of this company that will prosper for years to come, check out the special free report: "The Only Energy Stock You'll Ever Need." Don't miss out on this limited-time offer and your opportunity to discover this under-the-radar company before the market does. Click here to access your report -- it's totally free.

Hot Services Companies To Buy For 2014

It takes money to make money. Most investors know that, but with business media so focused on the "how much," very few investors bother to ask, "How fast?"

When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE: RS  ) .

Let's break this down
In this series, we measure how swiftly a company turns cash into goods or services and back into cash. We'll use a quick, relatively foolproof tool known as the cash conversion cycle, or CCC for short.

Why does the CCC matter? The less time it takes a firm to convert outgoing cash into incoming cash, the more powerful and flexible its profit engine is. The less money tied up in inventory and accounts receivable, the more available to grow the company, pay investors, or both.

Hot Services Companies To Buy For 2014: IRISH CONTINENTAL GROUP UNITS(COMP 1 ORD EUR0.65 & 3 RED SHS)

Irish Continental Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a passenger and freight shipping service between Ireland and France. It engages in the transport of passengers and cars, roll on roll off freight, and container lift on lift off freight on routes between Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Continental Europe; and operates container terminals in the ports of Dublin and Belfast. The company operates in two segments, Ferries, and Container and Terminal. The Ferries segment engages in the operation and external charter of combined RoRo passenger ferries. The Container and Terminal segment offers door-to-door and feeder LoLo freight, stevedoring, and container storage services. Irish Continental Group plc also provides ferry travel and holiday packages primarily in France, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. The company was founded in 1972 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.

Hot Services Companies To Buy For 2014: Kingfisher(KGF.L)

Kingfisher plc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer. The company primarily provides home improvement and garden products; kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom products; and DIY products. Its principal brand portfolio includes B&Q, Castorama, Brico Depot, and Screwfix. Kingfisher plc offers its products through 860 stores in 8 countries in Europe and Asia, primarily the United Kingdom, France, Poland, Turkey, and China, as well as through online. The company has a strategic alliance with Hornbach Holding A.G. Kingfisher plc was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Top 5 Gold Companies For 2014: NCC Group Plc(NCC.L)

NCC Group plc provides information technology assurance and protection services to the public and private sectors worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Escrow and Assurance Testing. The Escrow segment ensures source code, data, or other business critical material is protected and accessible, as well as confirms the material held is protected by verifying that could be rebuilt from its source code components. The Assurance Testing segment provides site confidence services, including testing and monitoring relevant aspects of system, network, and Web site performance to ensure that the technology used could deliver optimum performance. It also offers security testing services, including forensics, vulnerability research, and the development of software to aid organizations in their on-going with information security breaches; and penetration testing, secure systems development, security education, software design verification, and security assessments. This segmen t also conducts security audits; and offers strategic advisory services for card manufacturing, data preparation, and personalization, as well as provides business analysis, project management, test resourcing, network and application performance analysis, functional and non-functional testing, test automation, software testing, and tools training. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Manchester, the United Kingdom.

Hot Services Companies To Buy For 2014: Olam International Limited (O32.SI)

Olam International Limited engages in sourcing, processing, packaging, merchandising, and exporting agricultural products. The company operates in five segments: Edible Nuts, Spices and Beans; Confectionery and Beverage Ingredients; Industrial Raw Materials; Food Staples and Packaged Foods; and Commodity Financial Services. The Edible Nuts, Spices and Beans segment offers cashews, peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts, spices and vegetable ingredients, sesame, dehydrated vegetables, tomatoes, and specialty vegetables, as well as beans comprising pulses, lentils, and peas. The Confectionery and Beverage Ingredients segment provides cocoa, coffee, and shea nuts. The Industrial Raw Materials segment offers cotton, wool, wood products, and rubber products, as well as agri inputs, such as fertilizers. This segment is also involved in the development of a special economic zone project. The Food Staples and Packaged Foods segment provides rice, sugar and natural sweeteners, palm and dairy products, and packaged foods, as well as grains, including wheat, barley, and corn. The Commodity Financial Services segment offers market making and volatility trading, risk management solutions, and commodity funds management services. The company serves various customers worldwide. Olam International Limited was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Singapore.

Hot Services Companies To Buy For 2014: Urban Outfitters Inc.(URBN)

Urban Outfitters Inc. operates lifestyle specialty retail stores under the Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and BHLDN brand names in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Its Urban Outfitters stores sell women?s and men?s fashion apparel, footwear, accessories, and gifts, as well as apartment wares, such as rugs, pillows, shower curtains, books, candles, and novelties to young adults aged 18 to 28; and Anthropologie stores provide women?s casual apparel and accessories, shoes, gifts, and decorative items, as well as home furnishings, including furniture, rugs, lighting, antiques, table top items, and bedding to women aged 28 to 45. The company?s Free People stores primarily offer Free People branded merchandise mix of casual women?s apparel, intimates, shoes, accessories, and gifts to young contemporary women aged 25 to 30; Terrain store provides lifestyle home and garden products, antiques, live plants, flowers, wellness products, and accessori es, as well as landscape and design service solutions; and BHLDN store offers a range of weeding collections consisting of wedding gowns, bridesmaid frocks, party dresses, assorted jewelry, headpieces, footwear, lingerie, and decorations. As of January 31, 2012, it operated 197 Urban Outfitters stores, 168 Anthropologie stores, 62 Free People stores, 1 Terrain garden center, and 1 BHLDN store. The company also operates a wholesale business under the Free People brand name that distributes apparel to other retailers and department stores in the United States. In addition, it markets its brands directly to consumers through its e-commerce Websites, including urbanoutfitters.com, anthropologie.com, freepeople.com, urbanoutfitters.co.uk, urbanoutfitters.de, urbanoutfitters.fr, anthropologie.eu, shopterrain.com, and bhldn.com, as well as through its Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, and Free People catalogs. The company was founded in 1970 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani a.

Bad News, Good News for 99 Cents Only Stores

What Does the Future Hold for Canada's Oil Sands?

According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, or CAPP, Canadian oil production will more than double over the next two decades, fueled by steadily growing oil sands production and a rebound in conventional production.

But could the rise of alternative energy sources such as solar render expensive oil sands projects unprofitable within the next several years? Let's take a closer look.

CAPP's projections
CAPP forecasts total production to reach 6.7 million barrels per day in 2030, compared to roughly 3.2 million barrels per day last year. It expects oil sands output to account for a little over three-quarters of the expected 6.7 million barrels per day in 2030, or around 5.2 million barrels per day.

Conventional crude and condensate from western Canada will make up the remaining 1.4 million barrels per day, while eastern Canadian production is expected to account for the remaining 100,000 barrels per day, CAPP reckons.

That compares to last year's breakdown of 1.8 million barrels per day from the oil sands, 1.2 million barrels per day from western Canada, and 200,000 barrels per day from eastern Canada. CAPP's updated estimates are also slightly higher than last year's estimates, which forecast 5.02 million barrels per day from oil sands in 2030, 1.14 million barrels per day from western Canada, and 90,000 barrels per day from eastern Canada.

Risks to CAPP's forecast
As CAPP itself admits, its projections are dependent on a number of assumptions. In my view, any projections about oil sands output growth out to 2030 are bound to be highly uncertain due to the litany of factors that could cause them to deviate sharply from reality.

Already, Alberta's oil sands producers are finding it hard to cope with three major challenges: ballooning operating costs, depressed prices for Western Canadian crude oil, and greater competition from shale producers in the U.S. for what limited outbound infrastructure exists in Alberta.

The combination of these factors has made certain oil sands projects particularly challenging, depending on location and the method of extraction. Not surprisingly, some operators have decided to abandon some of the more expensive projects.

For instance, Total SA (NYSE: TOT  ) recently abandoned its Voyageur Upgrader project, deciding to sell its 49% stake in the project to its joint-venture partner, Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU  ) , for $500 million. Total defended the move to scrap Voyageur – a 200,000-barrels-a-day facility designed to "upgrade" bitumen into crude oil – by saying that it was "no longer justified from a strategic and economic" standpoint.

Faced with growing uncertainty, some operators are even scaling back investments and reducing cash flow guidance. Talisman Energy (NYSE: TLM  ) , Canada's sixth-largest independent oil producer, cut its capital budget forecast for the year by 25%, while Cenovus Energy (NYSE: CVE  ) in December lowered its cash flow forecast for the year by 16% to as low as C$3.1 billion. And Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE: CNQ  ) said that it plans to reduce spending on thermal sands production.

The threat from alternative energy sources
Some analysts argue that if oil sands producers fail to surmount these hurdles, additional investment in Alberta could soon dry up, especially if the price of crude oil sees a sustained decline. Jeremy Grantham, co-founder and chief investment strategist at Boston-based investment firm GMO, is one of the more outspoken critics, arguing that growing competition from alternative energy sources threatens to send oil sands operators packing:

I believe anyone investing in tar sands is very likely to end up with stranded assets in the next decade or two. Solar is getting cheaper by the minute, whereas petroleum is getting more expensive. It is only a matter of time before their expenses cross.

While foreseeing the evolution of solar energy would require a crystal ball, Grantham's point – that alternative sources of energy pose a major long-term threat to expensive, unconventional oil projects – is an important one.

Perhaps, then, there is a good reason why the share prices of oil sands producers – especially those with high exposure to particularly expensive projects – have remained depressed over the past few years. Investors attracted to some of these companies' cheap valuations would be wise to heed Grantham's words of wisdom.

There are many different ways to play the energy sector, and The Motley Fool's analysts have uncovered an under-the-radar company that's dominating its industry. This company is a leading provider of equipment and components used in drilling and production operations, and poised to profit in a big way from it. To get the name and detailed analysis of this company that will prosper for years to come, check out the special free report: "The Only Energy Stock You'll Ever Need." Don't miss out on this limited-time offer and your opportunity to discover this under-the-radar company before the market does. Click here to access your report -- it's totally free.

Top Cheapest Companies To Watch In Right Now

The winds of change are blowing through our energy economy, and it won't be long before they're at gale force. The simple fact is that we can't maintain our prosperity and growth without energy, and we can't continue to produce energy the way we've been doing it all along. Everything about the way we generate, transmit, and consume energy is going to have to change. This creates plenty of investment risk, but it also offers extraordinary opportunity for those who see the big picture.

The cheapest Megawatt
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman had a lot to say about energy efficiency at the recent Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) Summit. "Life is too short to work on second-class problems," he said by way of opening. Poneman views the transformation of our energy economy as the challenge of our generation, emphasizing that we cannot resist the transition to sustainability: We must lead it.

Top Cheapest Companies To Watch In Right Now: Novellus Systems Inc.(NVLS)

Novellus Systems, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, sells, and supports equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. The company operates in two segments, Semiconductor Group and Industrial Applications Group. The Semiconductor Group segment provides equipment used in wafer processing, advanced wafer-level packaging, and light-emitting diode (LED) manufacturing. Its deposition systems use chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), and electrochemical deposition (ECD) processes to form transistor, capacitor, and interconnect layers in an integrated circuit; and High-Density Plasma CVD (HDP-CVD) and Plasma-Enhanced CVD (PECVD) systems employ chemical plasma to deposit dielectric material within the gaps formed by the etching of aluminum, or as a blanket film that can be etched with patterns for depositing conductive materials into the etched dielectric. This segment?s CVD Tungsten systems are used to deposit co nductive contacts between transistors and interconnects; PVD systems are used to deposit conductive aluminum and copper metal layers by sputtering metal atoms; and Electrofil ECD systems are used for depositing copper to form the conductive wiring on integrated circuits using copper interconnects. The Industrial Applications Group segment provides grinding, lapping, and polishing equipment for fine-surface optimization. It offers products for use in the semiconductor and LED manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, medical, green energy, and glass and ceramics industries, as well as manufacturers of products, such as pumps, transmissions, compressors, and bearings. The company markets its products through direct sales force and manufacturer?s representatives primarily in Europe, the United States, Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, and southeast Asia. Novellus Systems, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Top Cheapest Companies To Watch In Right Now: Pacific Rodera Energy Inc. (PRD.V)

PRD Energy Inc., a development stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of natural gas and crude oil principally in Europe. The company was formerly known as Pacific Rodera Energy Inc. and changed its name to PRD Energy Inc. in August 2010. PRD Energy Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in Calgary, Canada.

Top Electric Utility Companies To Watch In Right Now: Old Line Bancshares Inc.(OLBK)

Old Line Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Old Line Bank that provides commercial banking products and services to small and medium size businesses, entrepreneurs, professionals, consumers, and high net worth clients in Maryland. It offers various deposit products, including demand, negotiable order of withdrawal, money market, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company?s lending portfolio comprises short to medium term commercial business loans, including lines of credit, revolving credit facilities, accounts receivable financing, term loans, equipment loans, SBA loans, stand-by letters of credit, and unsecured loans; commercial real estate loans; real estate construction loans consisting of funds advanced for the construction of single family residences, multi-family housing, and commercial buildings; home equity loans and home improvement loans; secured and unsecured consumer installment loans; and personal and househo ld loans. In addition, it offers safe deposit boxes, wire transfer services, debit cards, automated teller machine services, and credit cards, as well as provides Internet banking services. Further, Old Line Bancshares provides commercial account services, including direct deposit of payroll, an overnight sweep service, and remote deposit capture service. As of April 28, 2010, it operated one branch in Bowie, two branches in Waldorf, one branch in Annapolis, one branch in Crofton, and five additional branches in Prince George's County, Maryland. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Bowie, Maryland.

Top Cheapest Companies To Watch In Right Now: Superior Plus Income Fd (SPB.TO)

Superior Plus Corp., through its subsidiary, Superior Plus LP, engages in the distribution and retail sale of propane, refined fuels, propane consuming equipment, and related services in Canada and the United States. Its services include rental of tanks, cylinders, and other equipment; supply, installation, and repair of equipment and appliances; and maintenance services. The company sells propane and related products and services to the residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial, and automotive customer markets. It is also involved in the distribution of liquid fuels, such as heating oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, propane, and related services to a group of commercial, residential, and retail customers, including homeowners, agricultural and construction companies, municipalities, and schools. In addition, the company provides natural gas retailing services under fixed-price term contracts, primarily to residential and mid-sized commercial and industrial cus tomers; gas hedging products to commercial and light industrial markets; and natural gas liquids wholesale marketing services, primarily to small and medium sized propane retailers. Further, it manufactures sodium chlorate, chlorine dioxide, sodium chlorite, chlorine, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, potassium hydroxide, and hydrogen; and provides chlorine dioxide generators and related technology to pulp and paper customers. The company sells its products through its sales force, as well as distributors. Additionally, it distributes commercial and industrial insulation, and specialty walls and ceiling products consisting of drywall and components, acoustical ceilings, steel framing and accessories, building insulation and stucco, and tools and other related products. The company is also involved in the distribution of insulation, as well as provides fabrication services. Superior Plus Corp. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Top Cheapest Companies To Watch In Right Now: Blackstone Ventures Inc. (BLV.V)

Blackstone Ventures Inc., an exploration stage company, engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties. It primarily focuses on nickel and copper metals. The company�s principal exploration projects are located in Norway and Sweden. It also has interests in mineral properties located in Ontario and Nunavut, Canada. The company is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Top Cheapest Companies To Watch In Right Now: Bunzl(BNZL.L)

Bunzl plc distributes non-food consumable products in the Americas, Europe, and Australasia. The company provides food packaging, films, labels, counter-service packaging, foodservice disposables, take-out food packaging, first aid products, point of purchase displays, stationery, bags, and cleaning and hygiene supplies to grocery stores, supermarkets, retail chains, convenience stores, food wholesalers, ethnic grocers, and organic food outlets. It also offers non-food consumables, such as food packaging, napkins, disposable tableware, food service disposables, guest amenities, light and heavy catering equipment, cleaning and hygiene products, and safety items to hotels, restaurants, caterers, and the leisure sector, as well as to food processors and packers. In addition, the company supplies cleaning and hygiene materials comprising cleaning systems, floor care items, hand cleansing products, hygiene paper, janitorial products, cleaning machines, mops, polishes, protectiv e clothing, and washroom chemicals to facilities management companies, contract cleaners, and other industrial and healthcare customers; and personal protection equipment, such as footwear, gloves, safety helmets, work wear, harness equipment, tools, safety signs, and traffic management and ancillary site equipment, as well as ear, eye, respiratory, and face protection products. Further, it provides non-food retail products; and disposable healthcare consumables, such as gloves, aprons, bandages, facemasks, gowns, headwear, mattress covers, overshoes, procedure packs, tapes, wipes, incontinence products, and swabs for hospitals, retirement and nursing homes, and doctors? surgeries and clinics; and various products for the government and education sectors. Additionally, the company offers outsourcing solutions, such as redistribution services for janitorial distributors, foodservice broadliners, and other distributors. Bunzl plc was founded in 1940 and is based in London, th e United Kingdom.

Duke Lead Director to Become Board Chairwoman

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK  ) has announced the final board position elections that will fully remove soon-to-be former Chairman and CEO Jim Rogers from the utility's leadership team.

Duke announced last week that current CFO Lynn Good would step up to the CEO plate in July, but that Rogers would remain in his Chair position until the end of the year. This week's announcement puts lead director Ann Maynard Gray into the Chair position for 2014, while Good will assume the Vice Chair position effective July 1.

Gray has served on Duke's (or its predecessors') board since 1994, and has been lead director for Duke since 2004. Before joining Duke, Gray was President of Diversified Publishing Group of ABC,  a television, radio and publishing company, and has also served on several other NYSE boards.

"I'm honored that my fellow board members have asked me to serve as chair," Gray said in a statement. "And I'm proud to be associated with a company that provides a critical service to more than 7 million customers. I look forward to working closely with Lynn Good and the entire board to position the company for future growth."

link

Oracle and salesforce.com Finally Smoke a Peace Pipe

salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM  ) was started by former Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL  ) vice president Marc Benioff, and the two companies have been fierce rivals in a very vocal way ever since. So when Oracle promised that it would share a "startling announcement" regarding Salesforce this week, the company wasn't kidding.

The week started off quietly as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) started supporting Oracle's database and middleware software on Redmond's brands of virtual and cloud computing platforms. Just another deal to expand the market somewhat for both parties -- nothing spectacular.

But the promised Salesforce announcement is the real McCoy. This time, we have two extremely public rivals coming together for mutual support of one another's most important platforms. Oracle gains a high-profile win for some less central products such as the Exadata data management platform, and Salesforce gets a very committed partner for its back-end operations. And this agreement is here to stay, with a nine-year term at launch.

In the video below, Fool contributor Anders Bylund explains what this deal does and doesn't mean for the companies involved. (Before you ask, it's not a sign of a pending big-ticket buyout.)

Interested in the next tech revolution? Then you'll need to learn about the radical technology shift some say forced the mighty Bill Gates into a premature retirement. Meanwhile, early in-the-know investors are already getting filthy rich off of it... by quietly investing in the three companies that control its fortune-making future. You've probably heard of one of them, but I'd wager heavily that you've never heard of the other two. To find out what they are, click here to watch this shocking video presentation!

Why Merck Is Poised to Keep Poppin'

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, drug behemoth Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Merck and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Merck facts

Headquarters (founded)	Whitehouse Station, N.J. (1891)
Market Cap	$141.0 billion
Industry	Pharmaceuticals
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$46.2 billion
Management	Chairman/CEO Kenneth Frazier CFO Peter Kellogg
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years)	8.7%
Cash/Debt	$16.0 billion / $20.8 billion
Dividend Yield	3.7%
Competitors	GlaxoSmithKline Novartis Pfizer

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 93% of the 2,924 members who have rated Merck believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.   

Just last week, one of those Fools, PrInAl, succinctly summed up the Merck bull case for our community:

The pharmacy business is not going anyplace. The company has opportunely announced an enormous buyback plan, recently including $5B worth of stock from Goldman Sachs. ... Downside is protected somewhat by a dividend yield closer to 4% than 3%. Merck has to deal with patent expirations on products, but so do all its competitors. Its pipeline is robust, however.

This titan of the pharmaceutical industry stumbled into 2013 and continues to battle patent expirations and pipeline problems. Is Merck still a solid dividend play, or should investors be looking elsewhere? In a new premium research report on Merck, The Fool tackles all of the company's moving parts, its major market opportunities, and reasons to both buy and sell. To find out more click here to claim your copy today.

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More Expert Advice from The Motley Fool

The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for the next year. Find out which stock in our brand-new free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." I invite you to take a copy, free for a limited time. Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.

Microsoft Reveals Windows 8.1

Microsoft  (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) has launched Windows 8.1, kind of.

A preview was unveiled Wednesday. At a conference in San Francisco, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer acknowledged that the company pushed hard to get people to adopt a radical new tile-based "Modern" user interface in Windows 8. Microsoft is now back-pedaling, making it easier to reach and use the older "Desktop" interface. "Let's make it easier to start applications the way we're used to," Ballmer told the audience of software developers. "What we will show you today is a refined blend of our Desktop experience and our Modern experience."

In an effort to capture the growing demand for mobile-focused devices, Microsoft has updated its Windows 8 operating system with a slew of new features:

Search:  Powered by Bing, the Search function will let users see results from across the PC, apps, and the web.  Personalization: Users can set their lock screen to display pictures, turning the computer into a picture frame. Cloud Storage: SkyDrive -- a Microsoft cloud storage service -- will now be the default location for saving documents. With the SkyDrive app, users can further manage local and cloud back-up. Internet Explorer 11: Built for touch, the new Internet Explorer includes faster load times and side-by-side browsing.

For now, the update released Wednesday is a "preview." Only those who choose to download and install the update will see the updates. When launched later this year to the public, Windows 81. will be free for current Windows 8 users.

-- Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Top 5 Prefered Companies To Own In Right Now

Nokia� (NYSE: NOK  ) has partnered with UNESCO -- the United Nation's educational, scientific, and cultural organization -- to launch a new "English Teacher" service on Nokia Life+ that will provide free professional development support through mobile phones to primary school English teachers in Nigeria.

Through their mobile phones, teachers will be able to access English teaching resources, articles,� activities, and other materials to help them in the classrooms. Nokia says the "English Teacher" content been developed by the British Council and follows Nigeria's primary grade English curriculum.

Teachers can use the service free, though data charges apply. The service will be available through Nokia Life+, which provides "life-enhancement" information for people in emerging markets. In Nigeria, Nokia Life+ also offers "Life Skills," "Live Healthy," and "Learn English" services aimed at young Nigerians. Customers can access Nokia Life+ on Series 40 devices, which include the Nokia Asha smartphones.�

Top 5 Prefered Companies To Own In Right Now: Scientific Learning Corporation(SCIL)

Scientific Learning Corporation develops, distributes, and licenses technology worldwide that accelerates learning by enhancing the processing efficiency of the brain. It offers the Fast ForWord language products for elementary learners; the literacy products for adolescent learners; the Fast ForWord reading products, which focus on phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding, spelling, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension; and Reading Assistant, a software that combines advanced speech verification technology with scientifically-based interventions to help elementary and secondary students strengthen their reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. It also provides Progress Tracker, an Internet-based data analysis and reporting tool, which analyzes student learning results to provide diagnostic and prescriptive intervention information and allows educators to track and report their students? learning progress; Reading Progress Indicator that assesses student?s readi ng skills; BrainSpark products that target learners of age 5 to 13 who are at or above grade level and want to enhance their overall learning potential; and BrainPro targeted at learners who are below grade level. In addition, the company offers KinderSpark series that collects iPad games for children aged 3 to 6 for building readiness skills and excel in learning. Scientific Learning Corporation offers its products to educational institutions, speech and language clinics, learning centers, and parents. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Oakland, California.

Top 5 Prefered Companies To Own In Right Now: Xueda Education Group(XUE)

Xueda Education Group provides tutoring services for primary and secondary school students in the People?s Republic of China with a focus on offering personalized tutoring services. Its services include consultation and assessment, formulation of a customized study plan, personalized tutoring, and delivery of supporting services. The company also provides course offerings that cover various academic subjects taught in primary and secondary schools, such as mathematics, English, physics, Chinese, and chemistry; and self-designed courses beyond the standard curriculum in certain subjects, as well as in subjects not taught at public primary and secondary schools. As of December 31, 2010, its tutoring service network comprised 207 learning centers and approximately 9,650 full-time service professionals, serving customers located in 53 economically developed cities across 27 of China?s 31 provinces and municipalities. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Beij ing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul]

  Xueda Education Group is engaged in providing tutoring services for primary and secondary school students in China with a focus on offering personalized tutoring services. Its EPS forecast for the current year is 0.36 and next year is 0.56. According to consensus estimates, its topline is expected to grow 49.68% current year and 38.69% next year. It is trading at a forward P/E of 18.27. Out of three analysts covering the company, two are positive and have buy recommendations and one has a hold rating.

Hot US Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKA)

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Berkshire) is a holding company owning subsidiaries engaged in a number of diverse business activities. The Company is engaged in insurance businesses conducted on both a primary basis and a reinsurance basis. Berkshire also owns and operates a number of other businesses engaged in a variety of activities. On December 30, 2011, Medical Protective Corporation (MedPro) completed the acquisition of 100% of the Princeton Insurance Company, a professional liability insurer for healthcare providers based in Princeton, New Jersey. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Acme Building Brands (Acme) acquired the assets of Jenkins Brick Company, the brick manufacturer in Alabama. In September 2011, Berkshire acquired The Lubrizol Corporation (Lubrizol). In June 2011, the Company acquired Wesco Financial Corporation. In June 2012, Media General, Inc. sold 63 daily and weekly newspapers to World Media Enterprises, Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire. In July 2012, Berkshire�� The Lubrizol Corporation acquired Lipotec SA.

Insurance and Reinsurance Businesses

Berkshire�� insurance and reinsurance business activities are conducted through numerous domestic and foreign-based insurance entities. Berkshire�� insurance businesses provide insurance and reinsurance of property and casualty risks world-wide and also reinsure life, accident and health risks world-wide. Berkshire�� insurance underwriting operations are consisted of the sub-groups, including GEICO and its subsidiaries, General Re and its subsidiaries, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group and Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group. GEICO insurance subsidiaries include Government Employees Insurance Company, GEICO General Insurance Company, GEICO Indemnity Company and GEICO Casualty Company. These companies primarily offers private passenger automobile insurance to individuals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, GEICO insures motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, recreational vehicles and s! mall commercial fleets and acts as an agent for other insurers who offer homeowners, boat and life insurance to individuals. GEICO markets its policies primarily through direct response methods in which applications for insurance are submitted directly to the companies through the Internet or by telephone.

General Re Corporation (General Re) is the holding company of General Reinsurance Corporation (GRC) and its subsidiaries and affiliates. GRC�� subsidiaries include General Reinsurance AG, a international reinsurer based in Germany. General Re subsidiaries conduct business activities globally in 51 cities and provide insurance and reinsurance coverages throughout the world. General Re provides property/casualty insurance and reinsurance, life/health reinsurance and other reinsurance intermediary and risk management, underwriting management and investment management services.

Property/Casualty Reinsurance

General Re�� property/casualty reinsurance business in North America is conducted through GRC. Property/casualty operations in North America are also conducted through 16 branch offices in the United States and Canada. Reinsurance activities are marketed directly to clients without involving a broker or intermediary. General Re�� property/casualty business in North America also includes specialty insurers (primarily the General Star and Genesis companies domiciled in Connecticut and Ohio). These specialty insurers underwrite primarily liability and workers��compensation coverages on an excess and surplus basis and excess insurance for self-insured programs. General Re�� international property/casualty reinsurance business operations are conducted through internationally-based subsidiaries on a direct basis (through General Reinsurance AG, as well as several other General Re subsidiaries in 25 countries) and through brokers (primarily through Faraday, which owns the managing agent of Syndicate 435 at Lloyd�� of London and provides capacity and particip! ates in 1! 00% of the results of Syndicate 435).

Life/Health Reinsurance

General Re�� North American and international life, health, long-term care and disability reinsurance coverages are written on an individual and group basis. Most of this business is written on a proportional treaty basis, with the exception of the United States group health and disability business which is predominately written on an excess treaty basis. Lesser amounts of life and disability business are written on a facultative basis. The life/health business is marketed on a direct basis. The Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group (BHRG) operates from offices located in Stamford, Connecticut. Business activities are conducted through a group of subsidiary companies, led by National Indemnity Company (NICO) and Columbia Insurance Company (Columbia). BHRG provides principally excess and quota-share reinsurance to other property and casualty insurers and reinsurers. BHRG�� underwriting activities also include life reinsurance and life annuity business written through Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance Company of Nebraska and financial guaranty insurance written through Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corporation.

BHRG writes catastrophe excess-of-loss treaty reinsurance contracts. BHRG also writes individual policies for primarily large or otherwise unusual discrete risks on both an excess direct and facultative reinsurance basis, referred to as individual risk, which includes policies covering terrorism, natural catastrophe and aviation risks. A catastrophe excess policy provides protection to the counterparty from the accumulation of primarily property losses arising from a single loss event or series of related events. Catastrophe and individual risk policies may provide amounts of indemnification per contract and a single loss event may produce losses under a number of contracts. BHRG also underwrites traditional non-catastrophe insurance and reinsurance coverages, referred to as multi-line property/c! asualty b! usiness.

The Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group is a collection of primary insurance operations that provide a variety of insurance coverages to insureds located principally in the United States. NICO and certain affiliates underwrite motor vehicle and general liability insurance to commercial enterprises on both an admitted and excess and surplus basis. This business is written nationwide primarily through insurance agents and brokers and is based in Omaha, Nebraska. U.S. Investment Corporation (USIC), through its three subsidiaries led by United States Liability Insurance Company, is a specialty insurer that underwrites commercial, professional and personal lines of insurance on an admitted and excess and surplus basis. Policies are marketed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia through wholesale and retail insurance agents. USIC companies underwrite and market 109 distinct specialty property and casualty insurance products. Medical Protective Corporation (MedPro) is based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Through its subsidiary, the Medical Protective Company, MedPro is engaged in primary medical professional liability coverage and risk solutions to physicians, dentists, other healthcare providers and healthcare facilities.

Railroad Business

Through BNSF Railway, BNSF operates a railroad network in North America with approximately 32,000 route miles of track (excluding multiple main tracks, yard tracks and sidings) in 28 states and two Canadian provinces as of December 31, 2011. BNSF owns approximately 23,000 route miles, including easements, and operates on approximately 9,000 route miles of trackage rights that permit BNSF to operate its trains with its crews over other railroads��tracks. As of December 31, 2011, the total BNSF Railway system, including single and multiple main tracks, yard tracks and sidings, consisted of approximately 50,000 operated miles of track, all of which are owned by or held under easement by BNSF except for approximately 10,000 route! miles op! erated under trackage rights.

BNSF is based in Fort Worth, Texas, and through BNSF Railway Company operates railroad systems in North America. In serving the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, Western, Southwestern and Southeastern regions and ports of the country, BNSF transports a range of products and commodities derived from manufacturing, agricultural and natural resource industries. In serving the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, Western, Southwestern and Southeastern regions and ports of the country, BNSF transports a range of products and commodities derived from manufacturing, agricultural and natural resource industries. Over half of the freight revenues of BNSF are covered by contractual agreements of varying durations. BNSF�� primary routes, including trackage rights, allow it to access cities and ports in the western and southern United States as well as parts of Canada and Mexico. In addition to cities and ports, BNSF efficiently serves many smaller markets by working closely with approximately 200 shortline partners. BNSF has also entered into marketing agreements with other rail carriers, expanding the marketing reach for each railroad and their customers.

Utilities and Energy Businesses

MidAmerican�� businesses are managed as separate operating units. MidAmerican�� domestic regulated energy interests are comprised of two regulated utility companies serving more than three million retail customers and two interstate natural gas pipeline companies with approximately 16,600 miles of pipeline and a design capacity of approximately 7.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. Its United Kingdom electricity distribution subsidiaries serve about 3.9 million electricity end-users. In addition, MidAmerican�� interests include a diversified portfolio of domestic independent power projects, a hydroelectric facility in the Philippines and residential real estate brokerage firm in the United States.

PacifiCorp is a regulated electric utility compa! ny headqu! artered in Oregon, serving regulated retail electric customers in portions of Utah, Oregon, Wyoming, Washington, Idaho and California. The combined service territory�� diverse regional economy ranges from rural, agricultural and mining areas to urban, manufacturing and government service centers. As a vertically integrated electric utility, PacifiCorp owns approximately 10,600 net megawatts of generation capacity. MidAmerican Energy Company (MEC) is a regulated electric and natural gas utility company headquartered in Iowa, serving regulated retail electric and natural gas customers primarily in Iowa and also in portions of Illinois, South Dakota and Nebraska. MEC has a diverse customer base consisting of residential, agricultural and a variety of commercial and industrial customer groups. In addition to retail sales and natural gas transportation, MEC sells regulated electricity to markets operated by regional transmission organizations and regulated electricity and natural gas to other utilities and market participants on a wholesale basis and sells non-regulated electricity and natural gas services in deregulated markets. As a vertically integrated electric and gas utility, MEC owns approximately 7,000 net megawatts of generation capacity.

The natural gas pipelines consist of Northern Natural Gas Company (Northern Natural) and Kern River Gas Transmission Company (Kern River). Northern Natural is based in Nebraska and owns interstate natural gas pipeline systems in the United States reaching from southern Texas to Michigan�� Upper Peninsula. Northern Natural�� pipeline system consists of approximately 14,900 miles of natural gas pipelines. Northern Natural has access to supplies from mid-continent basin and provides transportation services to utilities and numerous other customers. Northern Natural also operates three underground natural gas storage facilities and two liquefied natural gas storage peaking units.

Kern River is based in Utah and owns an interstate natural! gas pipe! line system that consists of approximately 1,700 miles and extends from the supply areas in the Rocky Mountains to consuming markets in Utah, Nevada and California. Kern River transports natural gas for electric utilities and natural gas distribution utilities, oil and natural gas companies or affiliates of such companies, electricity generating companies, energy marketing and trading companies, and financial institutions. The United Kingdom utilities consist of Northern Powergrid (Northeast) Limited (Northern Powergrid (Northeast)) and Northern Powergrid (Yorkshire) plc (Northern Powergrid (Yorkshire)), which own a substantial United Kingdom electricity distribution network that delivers electricity to end-users in northeast England in an area covering approximately 10,000 square miles. The distribution companies primarily charge supply companies regulated tariffs for the use of electrical infrastructure. MidAmerican also owns HomeServices of America, Inc. (HomeServices), a full-service residential real estate brokerage firm in the United States. HomeServices also offers integrated real estate services, including mortgage originations through a joint venture, title and closing services, property and casualty insurance, home warranties, relocation services and other home-related services. It operates under 22 residential real estate brand names with over 14,000 sales associates and in nearly 300 brokerage offices in 20 states.

Manufacturing, Service and Retailing Businesses

Berkshire�� numerous and diverse manufacturing, service and retailing businesses. Marmon consists of approximately 140 manufacturing and service businesses that operate independently within eleven diverse, stand-alone business sectors. These sectors are Building Wire, Crane Services, Distribution Services, Engineered Wire and Cable, Flow Products, Food Service Equipment, Highway Technologies, Industrial Products, Retail Store Fixtures, Transportation Services and Engineered Products and Water Treatment.

!

Building Wire, providing copper electrical building wire for residential, commercial and industrial construction. Crane Services provides the leasing and operation of mobile cranes primarily to the energy, mining and petrochemical markets. Distribution Services, supplying specialty metal pipe and tubing, bar and sheet products to markets including construction, industrial, aerospace and many others. Engineered Wire & Cable, providing electrical and electronic wire and cable for energy related markets and other industries. Flow Products is producing copper tube for the plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, and industrial markets. Food Service Equipment is supplying commercial food preparation equipment for restaurants and shopping carts for retail stores. Highway Technologies, primarily serving the heavy-duty highway transportation industry with trailers, fifth wheel coupling devices and undercarriage products such as brake parts and suspension systems, and also serving the light vehicle aftermarket with clutches and related products.

Industrial Products, consisting of metal fasteners for the building, furniture, cabinetry, industrial and other markets, gloves for industrial markets, portable lighting equipment for mining and safety markets, overhead electrification equipment for mass transit systems, custom-machined brass, aluminum and copper forgings for the construction, valve and other industries, brass fittings and valves for commercial and industrial applications, and drawn aluminum tubing and extruded aluminum shapes for the construction, automotive, appliance, medical and other markets . Retail Store Fixtures, providing shelving and other merchandising displays and related services for retail stores worldwide. Transportation Services & Engineered Products, including manufacturing, leasing and maintenance of railroad tank cars, leasing of intermodal tank containers, in-plant rail services, manufacturing of bi-modal railcar movers, wheel, axle ! and gear ! sets for light rail transit and gear products for locomotives, manufacturing of steel tank heads, and services, equipment and technology for processing and distributing sulfur. Water Treatment, equipment including residential water softening, purification and refrigeration filtration systems, treatment systems for industrial markets including power generation, oil and gas, chemical, and pulp and paper, gear drives for irrigation systems and cooling towers, and air-cooled heat exchangers. Marmon operates approximately 300 manufacturing, distribution and service facilities that are primarily located in North America, Europe and China, and employs more than 16,000 people worldwide.

McLane Company, Inc. (McLane) provides wholesale distribution and logistics services in all 50 states and internationally in Brazil to customers that include discount retailers, convenience stores, wholesale clubs, quick service restaurants, drug stores and military bases. Operations are divided into five business units: grocery distribution, foodservice distribution, beverage distribution, international logistics and software development. McLane�� foodservice distribution unit, based in Carrollton, Texas, focuses on serving the quick service restaurant industry. Operations are conducted through 18 facilities in 16 states. The foodservice distribution unit services more than 20,000 chain restaurants nationwide.

Other Manufacturing, Other Service and Retailing Businesses

Berkshire�� apparel manufacturing businesses include manufacturers of a variety of clothing and footwear. Businesses engaged in the manufacture and distribution of clothing products include Fruit of the Loom, Inc. (Fruit), Russell Brands, LLC (Russell), Vanity Fair Brands, LP (VFB), Garan and Fechheimer Brothers. Berkshire�� footwear businesses include H.H. Brown Shoe Group, Justin Brands and Brooks Athletic. Fruit, Russell and VFB (together FOL) is primarily a vertically integrated manufacturer and distributor of ba! sic appar! el, underwear and athletic apparel and products. Products, under the Fruit of the Loomand JERZEES labels are primarily sold in the mass merchandise and wholesale markets. In the VFB product line, Vassarette, Bestformand Curvationare sold in the mass merchandise market, while Vanity Fairand Lily of Franceproducts are sold in the mid-tier chains and department stores. FOL also markets and sells athletic uniforms, apparel, sports equipment and balls to team dealers; college licensed tee shirts and fleecewear to college bookstores and mid-tier merchants; and athletic apparel, sports equipment and balls to sporting goods retailers under the Russell Athleticand Spaldingbrands. Additionally, Spaldingmarkets and sells balls in the mass merchandise market and dollar store channel. During the year ended December, 31, 2011, approximately 30% of FOL�� sales were to Wal-Mart. FOL generally performs its own spinning, knitting, cloth finishing, cutting, sewing and packaging.

Garan designs, manufactures, imports and sells apparel primarily for children, including boys, girls, toddlers and infants. Products are sold under its own trademark Garanimalsand private labels of its customers. Garan also licenses its registered trademark Garanimalsto independent third parties. Garan conducts its business through operating subsidiaries located in the United States, Central America and Asia. Substantially all of Garan�� products are sold through its distribution centers in the United States to national chain stores, department stores and specialty stores. In 2011, over 90% of Garan�� sales were to Wal-Mart. Fechheimer Brothers manufactures, distributes and sells uniforms, principally for the public service and safety markets, including police, fire, postal and military markets. Fechheimer Brothers is based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Justin Brands and H.H. Brown Shoe Group manufacture and distribute work, rugged outdoor and casual shoes and western-style footwear under a number of brand names, including! Justin, ! Tony Lama, Nocona, Chippewas, Born, Sofft, Carolina, Double-H Boots, Corcoran, Matterhornand Kork-Ease. Brooks Athletic markets and sells running footwear to specialty retailers under Brooksbrand. In 2011, Brooksachieved #1 market share in footwear with specialty retailers. A volume of the shoes sold by Berkshire�� shoe businesses are manufactured or purchased from sources outside the United States. Products are principally sold in the United States through a variety of channels including department stores, footwear chains, specialty stores, catalogs and the Internet, as well as through Company-owned retail stores.

Acme manufactures and distributes clay bricks (Acme Brickand Jenkins Brick), concrete block (Featherlite) and cut limestone (Texas Quarries). In addition, Acme distributes a number of other building products of other manufacturers, including glass block, floor and wall tile and other masonry products. Acme also sells ceramic floor and wall tile, as well as marble, granite and other stones through its subsidiary, American Tile and Stone. Products are sold primarily in the South Central and South Eastern United States through Company-operated sales offices. Acme distributes products primarily to homebuilders and masonry and general contractors.

Benjamin Moore & Co. (Benjamin Moore) is a formulator, manufacturer and retailer of a range of architectural coatings, available principally in the United States and Canada. Products include water-thinnable and solvent-thinnable general purpose coatings (paints, stains and clear finishes) for use by the general public, contractors and industrial and commercial users. Products are marketed under various registered brand names, including Regal, Superspec, Moorcraft, Moorgard, Aura, Nattura, ben, Coronado Paint, Insl-xand Lenmar.

Benjamin Moore and its manufacturing subsidiaries rely primarily on an independent dealer network for the distribution of its products. Its distribution network includes approximately 100! Company-! owned stores as well as over 4,500 third party retailers representing over 10,300 storefronts in the United States and Canada. Benjamin Moore�� Company-owned stores represent several multiple-outlet and stand-alone retailers in various parts of the United States and Canada serving primarily contractors and general consumers. The independent retailer channel offers an array of products including Benjamin Mooreand Insl-xbrands and other competitor coatings, wallcoverings, window treatments and sundries. Benjamin Moore also has three color stations located in regional malls that serve as brand marketing tools. In addition to the independent retailer channel, Benjamin Moore has recently begun to sell direct to the consumer through e-commerce sites and its customer care program, which includes national accounts and government agencies.

Johns Manville (JM) is a manufacturer and marketer of products for building insulation, mechanical insulation, commercial roofing and roof insulation, as well as fibers and nonwovens for commercial, industrial and residential applications. JM serves markets that include aerospace, automotive and transportation, air handling, appliance, HVAC, pipe and equipment filtration, waterproofing, building, flooring, interiors and wind energy. Fiber glass is the basic material in a majority of JM�� products, although JM also manufactures a portion of its products with other materials to satisfy the broader needs of its customers. JM regards its patents and licenses as valuable, however it does not consider any of its businesses to be materially dependent on any single patent or license. JM is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and operates 40 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and China and conducts research and development at several other facilities. JM sells its products through a variety of channels, including contractors, distributors, retailers, manufacturers and fabricators.

MiTek is a provider of engineered connector products, engine! ering sof! tware and services and computer-driven manufacturing machinery to the truss fabrication segment of the building components industry. Primary customers are truss fabricators who manufacture pre-fabricated roof and floor trusses and wall panels for the residential building market, as well as the light commercial and institutional construction industry. MiTek also participates in the light gauge steel framing market under the Ultra-Spanname, manufactures and markets assembly line machinery used by the lead acid battery industry, manufactures and markets a line of masonry connector products and manufactures and markets air handling systems used in commercial building. MiTek operates on six continents with sales into approximately 90 countries. MiTek has 34 manufacturing facilities located in eleven countries and 45 sales/engineering offices located in 17 countries.

The Shaw Industries Group, Inc. (Shaw) is a carpet manufacturer based on both revenue and volume of production. Shaw designs and manufactures over 3,000 styles of tufted carpet, tufted and woven rugs, laminate and wood flooring for residential and commercial use under about 30 brand and trade names and under certain private labels. Shaw also provides installation services and sells ceramic and vinyl tile along with sheet vinyl. Shaw�� manufacturing operations are fully integrated from the processing of raw materials used to make fiber through the finishing of carpet. Shaw�� carpet, rugs and hard surface products are sold in a broad range of prices, patterns, colors and textures.

Shaw products are sold wholesale to over 40,000 retailers, distributors and commercial users throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico and are also exported to various overseas markets. Shaw�� wholesale products are marketed domestically by over 2,000 salaried and commissioned sales personnel directly to retailers and distributors and to national accounts. Shaw�� 10 carpet full-service distribution facilities, three hard surface an! d two rug! full-service distribution facilities and 24 redistribution centers, along with centralized management information systems, enable it to provide prompt efficient delivery of its products to both its retail customers and wholesale distributors.

Berkshire acquired an 80% interest in IMC International Metalworking Companies B.V. (IMC B.V.). Through its subsidiaries, IMC B.V. is a multinational manufacturers of consumable precision carbide metal cutting tools for applications in a range of industrial end markets under the brand names ISCAR, TaeguTec, Ingersoll, Tungaloy, Unitac, UOP It.te.diand Outiltec. IMC B.V.�� manufacturing facilities are located in Israel, United States, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, South Korea, China, India, Japan and Brazil. IMC B.V. has five primary product lines: milling tools, gripping tools, turning/thread tools, drilling tools and tooling. Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is a manufacturer of recreational vehicles, utility, cargo and office trailers, buses and pontoon boats, headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana. Its products are sold in the United States and Canada through an independent dealer network.

Scott Fetzer companies are a diversified group of 20 businesses that manufacture and distribute a variety of products for residential, industrial and institutional use. The two of these businesses are Kirby home cleaning systems and Campbell Hausfeld products. Albecca Inc. (Albecca), headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, does business primarily under the Larson-Juhlname. Albecca designs, manufactures and distributes a complete line of branded custom framing products, including wood and metal moulding, matboard, foamboard, glass, equipment and other framing supplies in the United States, Canada and 15 countries outside of North America. CTB International Corp. is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of systems used in the grain industry and in the production of poultry, hogs and eggs.

Lubrizol is a specialty chemical company that pro! duces and! supplies technologies for the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. Lubrizol operates two business sectors: Lubrizol Additives, which includes engine, driveline and industrial additive products and Lubrizol Advanced Materials, which includes personal and home care, engineered polymer and performance coating products. FlightSafety International Inc.(FlightSafety) is engaged primarily in the business of providing high technology training to operators of aircraft. FlightSafety�� training activities include advanced training for pilots of business and commercial aircraft; aircrew training for military and other government personnel; aircraft maintenance technician training; flight attendant and aircraft dispatcher training, and ab-initio (primary) pilot training to qualify individuals for private and commercial pilots��licenses. FlightSafety also develops classroom instructional systems and materials for use in its training business and for sale to others.

NetJets Inc. (NJ) is a provider of fractional ownership programs for general aviation aircraft. TTI, Inc. (TTI) is a global specialty distributor of passive, interconnect, electromechanical and discrete components used by customers in the manufacturing and assembling of electronic products. Business Wire provides electronic dissemination of full-text news releases daily to the media, online services and databases and the global investment community in 150 countries and 45 languages. Berkshire�� retailing businesses principally consist of several independently managed home furnishings and jewelry operations. The home furnishings businesses are the Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM), R.C. Willey Home Furnishings (R.C. Willey), Star Furniture Company (Star) and Jordan�� Furniture, Inc. (Jordan��). NFM, R.C. Willey, Star and Jordan�� each offer a wide selection of furniture, bedding and accessories. In addition, NFM and R.C. Willey sell a line of household appliances, electronics, computers and other home furnishings. N! FM, R.C. ! Willey, Star and Jordan�� also offer customer financing to complement their retail operations. An important feature of each of these businesses is their ability to control costs and to produce high business volume by offering value to their customers.

NFM operates its business from two retail complexes with almost one million square feet of retail space and sizable warehouse and administrative facilities in Omaha, Nebraska and Kansas City, Kansas. NFM is a furniture retailer in each of its markets. NFM also owns Homemakers Furniture located in Des Moines, Iowa, which has approximately 215,000 square feet of retail space. R.C. Willey, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a home furnishings retailer in the Intermountain West region of the United States. R.C. Willey operates 11 retail stores, two retail clearance facilities and three distribution centers. Borsheim Jewelry Company, Inc. (Borsheims) operates from a single store located in Omaha, Nebraska. Borsheims is a high volume retailer of jewelry, watches, crystal, china, stemware, flatware, gifts and collectibles. Helzberg�� Diamond Shops, Inc. (Helzberg), based in North Kansas City, Missouri, operates a chain of 233 retail jewelry stores in 37 states, which includes approximately 550,000 square feet of retail space. Most of Helzberg�� stores are located in malls, lifestyle centers or power strip centers, and all stores operate under the name Helzberg Diamonds. The Ben Bridge Corporation (Ben Bridge Jeweler), based in Seattle, Washington, operates a chain of 70 upscale retail jewelry stores located in 11 states that are primarily in the Western United States. Three of its locations are concept stores that sell only PANDORA jewelry.

Finance and Financial Products

Clayton Homes, Inc. (Clayton) is a vertically integrated manufactured housing company. At December 31, 2011, Clayton operated 33 manufacturing plants in 12 states. Clayton�� homes are marketed in 48 states through a network of 1,333 retailers, inclu! ding 333 ! Company-owned home centers. Financing is offered through its finance subsidiaries to purchasers of Clayton�� manufactured homes as well as those purchasing homes from selected independent retailers. XTRA Corporation (XTRA), headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is a transportation equipment lessor operating under the XTRA Leasebrand name. XTRA manages a diverse fleet of approximately 83,000 units located at 63 facilities throughout the United States and two facilities in Canada. The fleet includes over-the-road and storage traile

Top 5 Prefered Companies To Own In Right Now: Transatlantic Petroleum Corp Co (TNP.TO)

TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd., an international oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties. The company holds interests in developed and undeveloped oil and natural gas properties in Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania. As of March 1, 2012, it held approximately 5.4 million net onshore acres. The company had interests in 57 onshore exploration licenses and 9 onshore production leases covering 4.3 million net acres in Turkey; 2 onshore exploration permits in Bulgaria; and 1 onshore production license in Romania. TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd. was founded in 1985 and is based in Istanbul, Turkey.

Top 5 Prefered Companies To Own In Right Now: Worthington Industries Inc.(WOR)

Worthington Industries, Inc. operates as a diversified metals processing company focusing on steel processing and manufactured metal products in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It processes flat-rolled steel and stainless steel for the automotive, construction, lawn and garden, hardware, furniture, office equipment, electrical control, tubing, leisure and recreation, appliance, agricultural, HVAC, container, and aerospace markets. The company also produces low-pressure liquefied petroleum gas and refrigerant gas cylinders; high-pressure and industrial/specialty gas cylinders; seamless steel high pressure cylinders for compressed natural gas storage in motor vehicles; aluminum-lined, composite-wrapped high-pressure cylinders; airbrake tanks; and consumer products. In addition, it produces recovery tanks for refrigerant gases; air reservoirs for truck and trailer original equipment manufacturers; and Balloon Time helium kits. Further, the company designs and manufactu res reusable custom platforms, racks, and pallets made of steel for supporting, protecting, and handling products throughout the shipping process; provides framing systems and stairs for mid-rise buildings, and current and past model automotive service stampings; designs, builds, and supplies light gauge steel framed commercial structures and multi-family housing units; supplies and constructs metal framing products for single family housing with a focus on military housing; and manufactures pre-engineered steel egress stair solutions. Worthington Industries was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

Trouble for the King of Cupertino?

Last Saturday, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT  ) permanently lowered its already discounted price for Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) iPhone 5 and 4S on a two-year contract. Available in stores only, shoppers can now score an iPhone 5 for $129 or an iPhone 4S for $39 with a fresh two-year contract from Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint.

Often permanent discounts are precursors to product refreshes, but Apple's upcoming iPhone 5S isn't expected to be available until sometime this fall. As you can imagine, the timing of this development could be interpreted as troubling for Apple investors.

The neighbor's cleaning house, too
Wal-Mart isn't the only retailer that's allegedly cleaning house on iPhone inventory. Best Buy (NYSE: BBY  ) has extended a promotion until June 29 to trade in your current iPhone 4 or 4S in return for a $150 gift card, which could be put toward a $149.99 iPhone 5 with a new two-year contract. The trade-in credit can only be put toward the iPhone 5, leading to me wonder if Apple is working behind the scenes. You would think that Best Buy doesn't necessarily care how you spend your $150 credit.

The bigger picture
Two possible scenarios may be playing out here. The first is that Apple could be working behind the scenes to fight off the competition from the likes of Google Android and Samsung until it releases the iPhone 5S. If this were to be the case, Apple's average selling price for iPhones would decline, gross profits would erode, and investors would not be happy campers. Additionally, it would signal that Apple is either desperate or scared, two qualities which investors aren't usually OK with.

The second could be that Best Buy and Wal-Mart are battling it out for foot traffic and the retailers themselves will be taking the hit. Back in January, Best Buy claimed it lost $65,000 in one day as a result of price matching against Wal-Mart's iPhone 5 discount. Perhaps this is round two between these giants?

Unless we hear from the companies directly, there's no way to know for sure how this story breaks down. With Apple's earnings release less than a month away, I'm sure investors will get some color on the issue. In the meantime, Apple investors should keep a watchful eye for additional iPhone retailer discounts that may offer clues.

Apple has a history of cranking out revolutionary products... and then creatively destroying them with something better. Read about the future of Apple in the free report, "Apple Will Destroy Its Greatest Product." Can Apple really disrupt its own iPhones and iPads? Find out by clicking here.

Banks Eager to Get Back to Business

The broader stock market didn't seem to mind the fact that first-quarter GDP was revised downwards, and that was especially the case for regional banks today.

Unlike many Wall Street banks, these regional banks are very tied to the American consumer, and they were smiling after hearing today's new numbers.

In this segment of The Motley Fool's everything-financials show, Where the Money Is, banking analysts Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson discuss a few stocks moving and shaking on the news.

Banks have been on a comeback trail, leading to big outperformance by bank stocks. But many investors are still spooked by "too big to fail" banking giants and their opaque balance sheets. Could that make regional bank Huntington Bancshares the perfect investment? To help figure out whether Huntington is a buy today, I invite you to read our premium research report on the bank. Click here now for instant access.

To view Where the Money Is in its entirety, click here!

You can follow David and Matt on Twitter. 

A Little Optimism Boosts the Dow's Mood

NVIDIA Drops Shield Price to $299: Desperate or Brilliant?

Last month, NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA  ) started taking pre-orders at $349 for its first handheld gaming device, NVIDIA Shield.

Naturally, that number upset more than a few people and drew skeptical reactions. Remember, Sony  (NYSE: SNE  ) , for one, long struggled to sell its own Playstation Vita handheld until it finally dropped the price by $100 to $249.

Besides, the mobile gaming market is also currently being upended by smartphones and tablets, which are arguably the biggest reason Sony had such a hard time selling its Vita in the first place. (Incidentally, that's something at least one fellow Fool saw coming long before he Vita was even released.)

Of course, unlike Sony, NVIDIA doesn't exactly have the widely favored Playstation 4 to fall back on, so many couldn't help but wonder why NVIDIA even entered the crowded handheld space to begin with.

Sure, the Tegra 4-powered Shield runs on Android, and its specs are impressive in their own right. What's more, hardcore gamers love the that fact Shield not only includes a comfortable gaming controller built in, but also enables them to stream high-powered games from their PCs via Wi-Fi, and even to their big-screen TVs.

In fact, that's why Shield has already raked in dozens of awards, including "Best of Show" at this year's CES, Computex, and E3.

Image source: NVIDIA

One final touch
Even so, many folks still couldn't seem to get past the sticker shock. In an official company blog post published on Thursday, NVIDIA's Jason Paul acknowledged, "We've heard from thousands of gamers that if the price was $299, we'd have a home run."

"So," Hall went on, "we're changing the price of Shield to $299."

As it stands, Shield won't actually be available for another week but, for those who've already pre-ordered the system, they'll be charged the new, lower price when it ships. 

Finally, Hall summed up the post by saying NVIDIA simply wants "to get Shield into the hands of as many gamers as possible [...] because we think they'll have the same reaction to it as thousands of gamers already have: joy."

The elephant in the room
Unfortunately, this absolutely begs one awkward question: With a week to go until Shield's official release, is this a sign of desperation from NVIDIA?

After all, so far the company has remained mum on actual sales numbers for Shield, so you can't help but wonder whether this move was a reaction to less-than-satisfactory pre-order results.

Then again, while I wasn't going to complain if the product actually sold well, last month I did warn we shouldn't expect Shield to move NVIDIA's revenue needle in the near future -- especially since it's a relatively niche product, anyway. What's more, as fellow Fool Evan Niu also recently suggested, one saving grace for NVIDIA if it all hits the fan is that Shield "only required relatively small incremental investments and amounts to a cheap experiment."

Bigger and better things
Still, I'd like to reiterate placing undue focus on Shield's sales numbers may be missing the point entirely.

Remember, as I also wrote last month, I think NVIDIA is using Shield "as an avenue through which it can raise awareness for its platform-independent, cloud-based GRID gaming solution."

And while NVIDIA's happy to continue extending its innovation to traditional console-based game platforms, its increasing focus on cloud-based solutions has made its long-term vision more clear by the day. Thanks to GRID, NVIDIA claims:

You'll soon be able to stream video games from the web just like any other streaming media. GRID renders 3D games in cloud servers, encodes each frame instantly and streams the result to any device with a wired or wireless broadband connection.

The page goes on to highlight users will be able to use GRID to experience "high-quality, low-latency, multi-device gaming on any PC, Mac, tablet, smartphone, or TV."

With that in mind, do you really think NVIDIA is all that concerned if Shield doesn't immediately take the world by storm? I certainly don't, because it looks like the folks at NVIDIA have their minds set on much bigger and better things for the gaming industry.

It's incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just a handful of companies. Find out "Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks?" in The Motley Fool's latest free report, which details the knock-down, drag-out battle being waged by the five kings of tech. Click here to keep reading.

Best Healthcare Equipment Companies To Own For 2014

When Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) officially�took the wraps�off its Kindle Worlds fan-fiction platform last month, some balked at the fact that it only provided licenses for writers to create content based on Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and The Vampire Diaries. Still, Amazon promised writers it was planning to announce "more licenses soon."

Sure enough, the retail giant has already fulfilled that promise through a new deal with comic-book publisher Valiant Entertainment -- and while Valiant isn't exactly a household name, there's reason to believe it's a great addition to Amazon's platform, says Fool contributor Steve Symington in the following interview with the Fool's Erin Miller.

In addition, Steve thinks this could be the start of something big for Amazon as the retail giant continues to pursue even more content. Do you agree? Please watch the video to get Steve's take, and then let us know what you think Kindle Worlds means for Amazon going forward.

Best Healthcare Equipment Companies To Own For 2014: Home Federal Bancorp Inc.(HOME)

Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Home Federal Bank that provides financial products and services to consumers and businesses. The company?s deposit products include checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposits. Its loan products portfolio comprises one-to-four family residential real estate, real estate construction, and commercial and multifamily real estate loans; commercial business loans for various business purposes, such as working capital and equipment financing, and capital and general investment; and consumer loans, including home equity loans and lines of credit, savings account loans, automobile loans, recreational vehicle loans, and personal unsecured loans. The company offers its products and services in the Treasure Valley region of southwestern Idaho, including Ada, Canyon, Elmore, and Gem counties; the Tri-County region of Central Oregon comprising the counties of Crook, Desc hutes, and Jefferson, as well as the communities of Eugene, Grants Pass, and Medford; and Lane, Josephine, Jackson, and Multnomah counties in Western Oregon. As of January 27, 2012, it operated 28 full-service banking offices. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Nampa, Idaho.

Best Healthcare Equipment Companies To Own For 2014: Hikma Pharmaceuticals(HIK.L)

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of a range of generic and in-licensed pharmaceutical products in solid, semi-solid, liquid, and injectable final dosage forms. It operates in three segments: Branded Pharmaceuticals, Injectable Pharmaceuticals, and Generic Pharmaceuticals. The Branded Pharmaceuticals segment offers 253 products in 485 dosage strengths and forms, which lie in the anti-infective, cardiovascular, central nervous system (CNS), and diabetes therapeutic areas. The Injectable Pharmaceuticals segment markets 120 branded and non-branded injectable products in 215 dosage strengths and forms with a focus on anti-infectives, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and oncological therapeutic areas. This segment provides powder, liquid, and lyophilized injectables. The Generic Pharmaceuticals segment offers 50 generic compounds in 117 dosage forms and strengths for various indications, such as analgesic, anti-infective, anti-infl ammatory, cardiovascular, CNS, respiratory, and hormonal and others in the form of tablets, capsules, solutions, and suspensions. This segment markets its products to chain stores, wholesalers, distributors, health systems, and governmental agencies. The company also manufacturers pharmaceutical packaging products; and conducts bio-equivalency studies. It has operations primarily in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and north Africa. The company was founded in 1978 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

5 Best Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: (TATASTEEL.NS)

Tata Steel Limited manufactures and sells steel products in India and internationally. The company provides steel products to vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers, and aerospace sector; structural frames, infrastructure, building envelope, and internal fit out application products used for heating and ventilation, and partition walls; hot rolled coil products and high-gloss pre-finished steel perforated blanks primarily for use in domestic appliances, lighting, furniture and office equipment, racking and shelving, battery cases, bake-ware, enamel-coated applications, and decorative pre-finished metals; hot rolled and cold rolled sheets, wire rod and wire, sections, plate, bearings, and tubes for engineering companies; agricultural implements; wire products for use in farming and fencing; and engineering services, including testing, erection, and commissioning, and business consulting services. It also offers tinplate, ECCS, and Protact polymer-coated steel product s for canmaking industry; formable steels for large and intermediary steel drums, and small pails for industrial packaging sector; strip and coil, quenched and tempered plate, and special profiles for track shoe and forklift masts, as well as engineered steel bars and tubes for lifting and excavating sector; welded pipeline packages and prefabricated structural products for wind, and oil and gas structures; light fabricated systems for solar farm foundations; semi finished steel components for drilling and power generation; plates, bulb flats, angles, tubes, sections, and bars for shipbuilding; rail sections sizes, steel sleeper, noise reduction systems, other specialised track, and rail products for rail sector; steel plate and sections, armoured steel, blast protective structures, perimeter security, and anti-attack vehicle barriers, as well as engineering consultancy and solutions to defense and security sector. The company was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Mumb ai, India.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Cutler]

  Neither JSW nor Steel Authority of India has the kind of raw material arrangements that Tata Steel enjoys. The company is 100 percent self-reliant and will not be affected by price increases in iron ore or coking coal. At the same time, it will fully benefit from increase in steel prices. This will lead to improved profitability. It is also the cheapest steel stock among its peers.

Best Healthcare Equipment Companies To Own For 2014: The Hanover Insurance Group Inc.(THG)

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, underwrites commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance coverage in the United States. It operates in three segments: Commercial Lines, Personal Lines, and Other Property and Casualty. The Commercial Lines segment provides coverage for commercial multiple peril; commercial automobile; workers? compensation; and other commercial coverages, including specialty program business, inland marine, and bonds, as well as umbrella, general liability, fire, specialty property, and professional and management liability. The Personal Lines segment offers coverage for personal automobile, homeowners, and other personal lines, such as inland marine, umbrella, fire, personal watercraft, and earthquake. The Other Property and Casualty segment provides investment advisory services; and manages assets for unaffiliated institutions, such as insurance companies, retirement plans, and foundations. The company sells its p roducts and services through a network of independent agents. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in Worcester, Massachusetts.