Monday, March 31, 2014

Why MannKind, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, and Idera Pharmaceuticals Tumbled Today

Lately, the stock market has turned on every word from the Federal Reserve, and so this morning's comments from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen received a huge amount of attention from investors Monday. With Yellen offering a much more encouraging assessment of how long interest rates might remain low in order to stimulate and sustain economic growth, stocks climbed sharply, with the Dow posting triple-digit gains. Yet for MannKind (NASDAQ: MNKD  ) , Momenta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MNTA  ) , and Idera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IDRA  ) , the news today was far from good, as all three stocks suffered declines of 10% or more.

MannKind plunged 17% as investors grow pessimistic about the chance that its Afrezza inhaled insulin product will gain FDA approval. An FDA advisory panel released materials related to Afrezza late last week, and the voluminous disclosure has analysts mixed on the likelihood of eventual FDA approval based on the materials. With Afrezza marking the only major prospect for MannKind, the company needs to have the drug approved for at least one type of diabetes in order to avoid what could become a catastrophic drop for MannKind stock.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Momenta also dropped 17%, as rival Teva Pharmaceutical (NYSE: TEVA  ) got good news from the Supreme Court in its battle to protect its Copaxone drug for multiple sclerosis. Momenta is ready to launch a generic version of Copaxone with partner Novartis (NYSE: NOV  ) , and an initial decision would have allowed Momenta to start those sales by May. After choosing not to add the case to its calendar on two separate occasions, the Supreme Court's decision will have a major impact on Momenta's plans. With a possible Supreme Court decision pending, Teva has at the very least bought some time and could eventually wrest victory from Momenta for a much longer period.

Idera stock fell 10% today, giving back much of its 18% gains from Friday. Friday's jump came after the biotech company announced favorable data in a phase 2 trial of a treatment for plaque psoriasis, with its IMO-8400 giving strong indications of safety and efficacy. Yet investors likely reined in their enthusiasm, as some analysts expressed concerns about not getting to see more information on dosing effects and other key elements of the trial. With Idera having gotten hit hard earlier this month due in part to the market's sudden hatred of all things biotech, the company needs to work harder to give investors everything they want to see from all of its trial results.

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Sunday, March 30, 2014

Move Over, Wall Street: Silicon Valley Is Invading Your Turf

McIek/Shutterstock If you ask most people where the greatest threat to Wall Street's nearly 100-year dominance as the world's leading financial center would come from, places like London, Zurich, Tokyo or even Beijing might be suggested. But more and more, it looks as if the threat to Manhattan's financial crown will come from right here in the USA. Silicon Valley appears to have Wall Street in its sights, aggressively funding a new generation of tech startups whose goal is to disrupt the financial services industry and attack Wall Street with a strategy and an attitude they have never faced before. These new fin-tech companies are younger, more flexible and -- with deep-pocketed venture capital firms backing them -- less concerned about reaching financial profitability in the near term. Unlike most venerable Wall Street companies, they are private entities that don't have to please the stock market with share prices or quarterly earnings nor support an infrastructure top-heavy with partners, associates, directors and VPs that would make Gordon Gekko cringe. Crowdsourced Earnings Estimates Estimize is an example of this new type of company that is putting Wall Street on notice. Founded in 2011 by former quantitative hedge fund analyst Leigh Drogen, Estimize crowdsources company earnings estimates on an open and transparent platform -- the opposite of the opaque proprietary model big Wall Street firms use -- and then makes those numbers available to the public for free. According to multiple peer-reviewed research papers, the Estimize approach provides more representative data for earnings, which come from more than 4,000 analysts who contribute to their web-based platform. The company says this translates to earnings estimates that have proven 69 percent more accurate than traditional Wall Street analysts. Drogen says the last figure "shows that our philosophies are winning against the stale old philosophies regarding sharing of data within the financial community." "I want Estimize to lead the change in how the financial community shares information and points the spotlight on certain individuals based on a meritocracy." Major players in the financial research industry already recognize that change, including Bloomberg, which offers Estimize earnings estimates through its platform. Zero Commission Stock Trades In the brokerage space, Robinhood, which is backed by Marc Andreessen and Google Ventures, is bringing the stock market version of the Holy Grail to investors -- zero commission stock trades. With its mobile-only platform, Robinhood allows customers to trade any amount of shares, as often as they like, for no fee. According to co-founder Vladimir Tenev, Robinhood's model doesn't depend on commissions for profitability, which should cause traditional brokers to quake in their boots. Instead Robinhood charges other companies to build upon its platform. This means that a consumer could use a third-party mobile app like Twitter, StockTwits or Yahoo Finance and trade stocks seamlessly via Robinhood for free. What should particularly worry Wall Street is that companies like Estimize and Robinhood don't think in traditional terms on a number of issues. For example, the first 11 hires at Robinhood were not financial advisers or brokers, but programmers, because it views itself not as a financial company, but a tech company. This philosophy also informs the way they market their product -- forgoing a brick and mortar presence or Superbowl adds -- to reach their target audience. With just a website, a social media campaign and the buzz from tech media, Robinhood has had more than a quarter of a million people sign up for brokerage accounts. Follow the Job Market A key reason that tech firms are competing in the financial sector is that the 2008 crisis cut jobs on Wall Street, causing many new highly skilled college graduates to look elsewhere for employment. One example of this comes from a recent survey by Harvard's newspaper. The Crimson found that only 31 percent of graduates were planning to pursue jobs in the financial sector, down from 2007, when the number was 47 percent. The macro trend also bodes well for tech, as Moody's Analytics predicts that 450,000 new workers will be hired in the high-tech industry by 2015, compared to only 230,000 for finance. It would be premature to count Wall Street out quite yet. Financial companies have faced wars, recessions, populist politicians, regulatory reforms and Occupy Wall Street, and have come out more profitable than ever. But the emphasis on product before profit, and the speed in which they can build and adapt their products to consumer needs, may give fin-tech companies the edge they need to dethrone the wolves of Wall Street.

Obama Sends Congress $3.8 Trillion Spending Plan

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is sending Congress a $3.8 trillion spending blueprint that seeks to achieve an elusive "grand bargain" to tame runaway deficits by raising taxes further on the wealthy and trimming popular benefit programs such as Social Security.

The president's proposal being unveiled Wednesday includes an additional $1.8 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade, bringing total deficit savings to $4.3 trillion, based on the administration's calculations.

It projects that the deficit for the 2014 budget year, which begins Oct. 1, would fall to $744 billion. That would be the lowest gap between spending and revenue since 2008.

But instead of moving Congress nearer a grand bargain, Obama's proposals so far have managed to anger both Republicans, who are upset by higher taxes, and Democrats upset with cuts to Social Security benefits.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., rejected the administration's argument that the refusal of Republicans to consider further tax increases represented inflexibility.

"We Republicans have already done things to move to the middle, to find common ground," Ryan said on MSNBC. "We really believe if we set the stage right, we can get fundamental tax reform."

The president's spending and tax plan is two months late. The administration blames the delay on the lengthy "fiscal cliff" negotiations at the end of December and then fights over the March 1 automatic spending cuts.

The president's plan tracks an offer he made to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, during December's budget negotiations, which Boehner ended up walking away from because of his opposition to higher taxes on the wealthy.

The Obama budget proposal will join competing budget outlines already approved by the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-run Senate.

Obama's plan is not all about budget cuts. It also includes an additional $50 billion to fund infrastructure investments, including $40 billion in a "Fix It First" effort to provide immediate investments to repair highways, bridges, transit systems and airports nationwide.

Obama's budget would also provide $1 billion to launch a network of 15 manufacturing innovation institutes across the country, and it earmarks funding to support high-speed rail projects.

The president also is proposing establishment of program to offer preschool to all 4-year-olds from low- and moderate-income families, with the money to support the effort coming from increased taxes on tobacco products.

The administration said its proposals to increase spending would not increase the deficit but rather are paid for either by increasing taxes or making deeper cuts to other programs.

Among the proposed cuts, the administration wants to trim defense spending by an additional $100 billion and domestic programs by an extra $100 billion over the next decade.

The budget proposes cutting $400 billion from Medicare and other health care programs over a decade. The cuts would come in a variety of ways, including negotiating better prescription drug prices and asking wealthy seniors to pay more.

It would obtain an additional $200 billion in savings by scaling back farm subsidies and trimming federal retiree programs.

The most sweeping proposal in Obama's budget is a switch in the way the government calculates the annual cost-of-living adjustments for the millions of recipients of Social Security and other government benefit programs. The current method of measuring increases in the consumer price index would be modified to track a process known as chained CPI.

The new method takes into account changes that occur when people substitute goods rising in price with less expensive products. It results in slightly lower annual reading for inflation.

The switch in the inflation formula would cut spending on government benefit programs by $130 billion over 10 years, although the administration said it planned to protect the most vulnerable, including the very elderly. The change would also raise about $100 billion in higher taxes because the current CPI formula is used to adjust tax brackets each year. A lower inflation measure would mean more money taxed at higher rates.

In the tax area, Obama would raise an additional $580 billion by restricting deductions for the top 2 percent of family incomes. The budget would also implement the "Buffett Rule" requiring that households with incomes of more than $1 million pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes. Charitable giving would be excluded.

Congress and the administration have already secured $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction over the next 10 years through budget reductions and with the end-of-year tax increase on the rich. Obama's plan would bring that total to $4.3 trillion over 10 years.

It is unlikely that Congress will get down to serious budget negotiations until this summer, when the government once again will be confronted with the need to raise the government's borrowing limit or face the prospect of a first-ever default on U.S. debt.

As part of the administration's effort to win over Republicans, Obama will have a private dinner at the White House with about a dozen GOP senators Wednesday night. The budget is expected to be a primary topic, along with proposed legislation dealing with gun control and immigration.

Early indications are that the budget negotiations will be intense. Republicans have been adamant in their rejection of higher taxes, arguing that the $600 billion increase on top earners that was part of the late December agreement to prevent the government from going over the "fiscal cliff" were all the new revenue they will tolerate.

The administration maintains that Obama's proposal is balanced with the proper mix of spending cuts and tax increases.

Obama has presided over four straight years of annual deficits totaling more than $1 trillion, reflecting in part the lost revenue during a deep recession and the government's efforts to get the economy going again and stabilize the financial system.

The Obama budget's $1.8 trillion in new deficit cuts would take the place of the automatic $1.2 trillion in reductions required by a 2011 budget deal. That provision triggered $85 billion in automatic cuts for the current budget year, and those reductions, known as a "sequester," would not be affected by Obama's new budget.

The budget plan already passed by the GOP-controlled House would cut deficits by a total $4.6 trillion over 10 years on top of the $1.2 trillion called for in the 2011 deal. The budget outline approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate tracks more closely to the Obama proposal, although it does not include changes to the cost-of-living formula for Social Security.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

One-sentence financial rules

There are 56,956 personal finance books on Amazon.com. In aggregate, they contain more than 3 billion words. This seems absurd, because 99% of personal finance can be summarized in nine words: Work a lot, spend a little, invest the difference. Master that, and the other 2.999 billion words are filler.

The most important finance topics don't require details. Most can be, and should be, summarized in a sentence or two.

Here are some I've learned.

1. Dollar-cost average for your entire life and you'll beat almost everyone who doesn't.

2. Only invest in products and companies you can explain to a six-year old.

3. Every five to seven years, people forget that recessions occur every five to seven years.

4. You're twice as biased as you think you are (four times if you disagree with that statement).

5. Read more books and fewer articles.

6. Read more history and fewer forecasts.

7. It's strange that you go to the doctor once a year, but check your investments once a day.

8. Be careful when reading about how stupid investors can be and not realize you're reading about yourself.

9. Your circle of competence is probably 90% smaller than you think it is.

10. You're only diversified when some of your investments perform worse than others.

11. Big risks will always be disregarded; small risks always blown out of proportion.

12. Check your brokerage account as infrequently as it takes to prevent rash decisions.

13. When in doubt, choose the investment with the lowest fee.

14. Emotional intelligence is more important than book intelligence.

15. The more you learn about the economy, the more you realize you have no idea what's going on.

16. Start saving for college before your kid is born, and start saving for your retirement before you graduate college. You'll feel silly when you start and like a genius when you finish.

17. The most powerful way to grow your money is learning to live with less, since you ha! ve complete control over it.

18. Singer Rihanna nearly went broke and fired her financial advisor, who described her situation well: "Was it really necessary to tell her that if you spend money on things, you will end up with the things and not the money?"

19. You have no obligation to have an opinion about anything.

20. You have a strict obligation to not have an opinion about things you don't understand.

21. No one attending private school should be on student loans. Most should utilize community and state schools, which provide just as good an education for a fraction of the price.

22. You shouldn't feel strongly about any investment you haven't spent at least a week thinking about.

23. Holding 60% of your assets in stocks and 40% in bonds isn't perfect for everyone; but I can think of a thousand worse strategies.

24. Respect the role luck has played on some of your role models.

25. Don't take out $100,000 in student loans for anything other than medical school (if that).

26. Change your mind as often as the facts change.

27. Ignore people who refuse to change theirs when the facts change.

28. Read last year's market predictions and you'll never again take this year's predictions seriously.

29. Warren Buffett's folksy talk misleads people into thinking that what he's accomplished is easy. It's not.

30. Sleep on every investment decision for a week, then run it by a trusted friend before acting.

31. Two things you can do to make yourself a better investor are increase the amount of time you're investing for and the humility you put into your ideas.

32. Just as you should dress appropriately for your age, you should spend appropriately for your income, and not a penny more.

33. Warren Buffett has the best explanation of dumb risk-taking: "To make money they didn't have and didn't need, they risked what they did have and did need. And that's foolish. It is just plain foolish."

34. You can probably affor! d not to ! be a great investor -- you probably can't afford to be a bad one.

35. You're twice as gullible as you think you are.

36. Learn more from your bad investments than your good ones.

37. Judge investors by the quality of their arguments, not the performance of their last trade.

38. You can realistically afford probably half the home the mortgage broker approves you for.

39. Teach your kids about money before they're old enough to earn their own.

40. Admit when you are wrong.

41. Imagine how much stuff you'd have to make up if you were forced to talk 24/7. Remember this when watching financial news on TV.

42. There is, and always will be, more money to be made providing investment advice than receiving it.

43. Assume the worst, hope for the best, accept reality.

44. Save for your own retirement; assume Social Security and private pensions won't be around (even though they probably will).

45. Annuities: A product mixing the complexity of high finance with the sales tactics of used-car salesman has an entirely predictable outcome.

46. The correlation between confidence and future regret is incredibly high.

47. During the last 100 years, there have been more 10% market pullbacks than Christmases. Everyone knows Christmas will come; think of volatility the same way.

48. Don't attempt to keep up with the Joneses without realizing the Joneses aren't any happier than you are.

49. Predictions, opinions, and forecasts should be discounted by the number of times the person making them is on TV each week.

50. Not taking advantage of an employer match on your 401(k) is no different than declining a raise.

51. Don't let Washington sway your investment decisions. Congress has been a dysfunctional swamp of disappointment since 1789, and stocks have done well ever since.

52. To quote Larry Summers: "A good rule of thumb for many things in life holds that things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then ! happen fa! ster than you thought they could."

53. Another Larry Summers gem: "THERE ARE IDIOTS. Look around."

54. "Invest in what you know" is dangerously simplified.

55. Quit day trading, and donate your money to charity instead. Same financial result for you, and a better outcome for society.

56. Most people's biggest expense is interest, which comes from living beyond your means, and buying things they think will impress others, which comes from insecurity. Avoid these two and you'll grow richer than most of your peers.

57. Reaching for yield to increase your income is often like sticking your hands in a fire to warm them up -- good in theory, disastrous in practice.

58. Your devotion to a political party or economic philosophy is directly proportional to your tendency to think irrationally about how politics affects your investments.

59. Most people need a financial advisor, but everyone needs a financial counselor, or someone to talk them off the ledge before making a dumb decision.

60. There's a strong negative correlation between flaunting money and being rich.

61. Investors were probably better informed 20 years ago when there was 90% less financial news.

The Motley Fool is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news, analysis and commentary designed to help people take control of their financial lives. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

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Friday, March 28, 2014

4 High-Yield Small Caps Poised to Rally

LinkedIn Logo RSS Logo James Brumley Popular Posts: This Year’s 5 Hottest Marijuana Stocks5 Solar Stocks Shining Bright in 2014HPQ Stock: The Hewlett-Packard Turnaround Is Just Beginning Recent Posts: 4 High-Yield Small Caps Poised to Rally Can Gold Prices Repeat Q1′s Heroic Move? HPQ Stock: The Hewlett-Packard Turnaround Is Just Beginning View All Posts

Looking for some big dividends but don’t want to step into an already-crowded trade? Well, consider checking out the world of small caps for some investment ideas.

SmallCap185 4 High Yield Small Caps Poised to RallyThe following four small-cap stocks are … well, small, and in a couple of cases, they’re downright obscure.

But they’re also potent. Not only do they contain the possibility for significant capital appreciation, but they also offer plenty as far as dividends are concerned. In fact, of the following four small caps, the weakest dividend yield is still a very healthy 8%.

Ship Finance International Limited (SFL)

ShipFinance185 4 High Yield Small Caps Poised to RallySFL Dividend Yield: 9.1%

Don’t let the name fool you; Ship Finance International Limited (SFL) isn’t much of a middleman or deal-facilitator for maritime shipping companies looking to add boats to their fleet. Ship Finance primarily manages its own fleet, ranging from drybulk vessels to drilling rigs to crude oil tankers … 73 in all, as of the last count.

It hasn’t been an easy (or profitable) business to be in since late 2008, when charter rates fell from record highs in the first half of the year to multiyear lows in the latter half of the same year. But, beginning in mid-2013, shipping prices began to move back to, well, at least promising levels. They’re currently up 60% over the past 12 months, and still rising.

Ship Finance International Limited is one of the better-positioned names to take advantage of that modest relief.

In the meantime, the 9%-plus dividend yield — at 40 cents per share, which is a dime better than SFL stock paid out in 2009 — is nothing to sneeze at.

Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (OZM)

OchZiff185 4 High Yield Small Caps Poised to RallyOZM Dividend Yield: 13.6%

Asset management — hedge fund management, to be specific — isn’t exactly what you would call a high-growth industry. It’s stunningly reliable, however, in that revenue is collected each and every quarter based on the amount of money under management. That’s how Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (OZM) could afford its double-digit dividend yield ($1.42 per share, all told) in 2013.

No, the reason an investor might want to nibble on Och-Ziff Capital Management Group shares here and now is that the price of OZM has been pulled down of late by a Department of Justice probe; the DOJ has questions about why Och-Ziff chose to manage money for the Libyan Investment Authority.

Bribery has been suspected, but given the DOJ and SEC’s completion rate, it’s unlikely anything substantial will come of the probe. Still, the price of OZM stick suffered all the same, falling from January’s peak of $16 to the current price of $13.37.

The seller will let up as soon as the news is a fading memory, which should be soon.

Apollo Investment Corp. (AINV)

Apollo185 4 High Yield Small Caps Poised to RallyAINV Dividend Yield: 9.7%

It’s classified by most as a business development company, but Apollo Investment Corp. (AINV) is quite different than most investment vehicles of that ilk. Rather than simply supplying cash in exchange for very favorable (to the lender) debt, Apollo Investment takes on a decent stake in equity of its portfolio’s companies.

That mix hasn’t prevented Apollo Investment shares from doling out some wild swings this year, but the current yield of 9.6% has been worth the turbulence.

The real buying cue for Apollo Investment Corp. right now, however, isn’t the strong yield. It’s the fact that a handful of insiders collectively bought 33,500 shares of AINV stock — a little more than a quarter of a million dollars’ worth — in February. It’s the first major insider stock purchase since the middle of last year.

If they want in, it might be a lead worth following.

CTC Media (CTCM)

ctcmedia 4 High Yield Small Caps Poised to RallyCTCM Dividend Yield: 8.2%

When tensions between Russia and Ukraine first began to develop in early March, most Russian stocks tanked. Russian broadcast television company CTC Media (CTCM) was no exception, with its stock losing 19% of its value in March alone, on top of the 24% dip that had whacked CTCM stock from the beginning of the year through the end of March.

Big mistake.

As alarming as the threat of military action can be, the reality is, just like Americans, most Russians are going to continue watching the tube no matter what kind of geopolitical turmoil has been stirred up.

Better still, CTC Media has been more than generous with its already-impressive free cash flow. Its free cash flow is reliably at or better than 20% of revenue, with half of that being religiously paid back to CTCM stock owners. That translates into a healthy dividend yield of more than 8.0% at the stock’s current price.

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

Thursday, March 27, 2014

10 Worst “Strong Sell” Stocks This Week Ć¢€” CPAC CNCO FCN and more

RSS Logo Portfolio Grader Popular Posts: 9 Oil and Gas Stocks to Buy Now15 Oil and Gas Stocks to Sell Now3 Electrical Equipment Stocks to Buy Now Recent Posts: Biggest Movers in Technology Stocks Now – DWRE N SYMC DDD Biggest Movers in Basic Materials Stocks Now – FUL SQM CLF HL Biggest Movers in Healthcare Stocks Now – EXAS CLDX CLVS HSP View All Posts

This week, these ten stocks have the worst year-to-date performance. Each of these also rates an “F” (“strong sell”) on Portfolio Grader.

Since January 1, Cementos Pacasmayo SAA Sponsored ADR () has plunged 18.9%. Cementos Pacasmayo engages in producing, manufacturing, distributing and selling cement blocks, cement bricks, concrete pre-mixed bricks and other construction materials, and its by-products in the northern part of Peru. .

Share prices of Cencosud S.A. Sponsored ADR () are down 19.3% since the first of the year. Cencosud operates as a multi-brand retailer in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Colombia. The stock has a trailing PE Ratio of 56.90. .

Shares of FTI Consulting, Inc. () have dipped 20.6% since the first of the year. FTI Consulting provides corporate finance and restructuring, economic, forensic and litigation, strategic communications, and technology consulting services. As of March 27, 2014, 11.6% of outstanding FTI Consulting, Inc. shares were held short. .

Since the first of the year, RentACenter, Inc. () has tumbled 22.4%. Rent-A-Center operates in the rent-to-own industry in the United States. As of March 27, 2014, 18% of outstanding RentACenter, Inc. shares were held short. .

Shares of Clean Energy Fuels () have fallen 30.8% since January 1. Clean Energy Fuels sells natural gas fueling solutions to its customers mainly in the United States and Canada. As of March 27, 2014, 18.9% of outstanding Clean Energy Fuels shares were held short. .

Shares of UTi Worldwide () have sunk 30.8% since the first of the year. UTi Worldwide is a supply chain services and solutions company. Shares of the stock have been changing hands at an unusually rapid pace, up 163.5% from the week prior. .

Since the first of the year, Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. () has dipped 31.2%. Alpha Natural Resources produces, processes and sells steam and metallurgical coal. As of March 27, 2014, 24.1% of outstanding Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. shares were held short. .

Shares of Aeropostale, Inc. () have slumped 34.1% since January 1. Aeropostale is a mall-based specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories. As of March 27, 2014, 26.5% of outstanding Aeropostale, Inc. shares were held short. .

Since January 1, Weight Watchers International, Inc. () has fallen 37.4%. Weight Watchers is a provider of weight management services, operating globally through a network of company-owned and franchise operations. As of March 27, 2014, 20.5% of outstanding Weight Watchers International, Inc. shares were held short. Shares of the stock are being traded at a very rapid pace, up 104.5% from the week prior. .

Since the first of the year, the price of Walter Energy () is down 48.6%. Walter Energy is a producer and exporter of metallurgical coal for the global steel industry. As of March 27, 2014, 13.3% of outstanding Walter Energy shares were held short. .

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.

Alli weight-loss drug recalled for tampering

glaxosmithkline alli

GlaxoSmithKline is recalling diet drug Alli after reports of tampering in seven states.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Alli, a popular over-the-counter weight loss drug, is being recalled in the United States and Puerto Rico because of possible tampering.

GlaxoSmithKline (GLAXF), the British company that makes the drug, said in a statement Thursday the recall comes after complaints from customers in seven states.

"A range of tablets and capsules of various shapes and colors were reported to be found inside bottles," the company said. "Additionally, some bottles inside the outer carton were missing labels and had tamper-evident seals that were not authentic."

GlaxoSmithKline spokeswoman Deborah Bolding said that 20 tampered bottles were reported to the company by 12 customers. She did not say whether anyone had consumed the fake pills, but she did say that no one got sick.

"We have received no reports of serious illness from the consumers who have reported these tampered products," she said.

The company is assessing the tampered products to try and find out what they are, she said.

GlaxoSmithKline described authentic Alli as a turquoise blue capsule with a dark blue band imprinted with the text "60 Orlistat," which is the active compound that prevents the absorption of fat.

23andMe: FDA ruling had huge impact   23andMe: FDA ruling had huge impact

The London-based company said the questionable Alli was purchased in retail stores in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina and Texas. Bolding said the drug is also sold in Europe, but there are no reports of tampering outside the U.S.

The company said it's conducting an investigation with the Food and Drug Administration.

Back in 2010, the FDA warned that a counterfeit version of Alli that was being sold online was potentially harmful to dieters.

To top of page

Buy a Warren Buffett Fathead for $29.99

warren buffett fathead

An oversize photo of Warren Buffett's head is now on sale, and the proceeds will go to two Detroit charities.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Investors have been known to pay $1 million for the chance to pick Warren Buffett's brain over lunch. Now they can get his entire head for only $29.99.

Fathead, which generally sells pictures of sports and movie stars like LeBron James or the "Hunger Games" cast, is selling an oversized picture of Buffett's face. The proceeds will go to charity.

The pictures were intended as a promotion for the $1 billion perfect NCAA bracket challenge from Quicken Loans and Yahoo Sports.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, Fortune 500) wrote the insurance policy that would have paid big if anyone had correctly picked the outcome of every game of the NCAA tournament. But nobody made it out of the first round with a perfect bracket.

The Buffett Fathead (1 foot, 7 inches across by 2 feet tall) debuted when Buffett went on "Late Night with Seth Myers" to promote the NCAA challenge last week. He appeared with Dan Gilbert, who is founder and chairman of Quicken Loans as well as the owner of Fathead.

Buffett agreed to the sale of the Fatheads as long as the money went to charity. For his part, Gilbert is active in charitable work in Detroit, where his companies are based.

The two charities that will benefit from the sale are About Money Matters for Youth, which promotes financial literacy for Detroit youngsters; and Motor City Blight Busters, which works to demolish blighted houses and other abandoned structures in the city.

"I was flattered, and frankly surprised, that anyone would want to purchase a Big Head with my face on it," said Buffett.

Buffett's charitable efforts include an annual auction to a private lunch with him and a campaign to get other b! illionaires to pledge with him to donate their wealth. To top of page

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Citigroup Tumbles as Fed Rejects Capital Plans

Shares of Citigroup (C) have dropped 4.5% in after-hours trading after the Federal Reserve rejected its capital plans.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

The Fed explains why it said no to Citigroup:

The Federal Reserve's objection to Citigroup's CCAR 2014 capital plan in part reflects significantly heightened supervisory expectations for the largest and most complex BHCs in all aspects of capital planning. While Citigroup has made considerable progress in improving its general risk-management and control practices over the past several years, its 2014 capital plan reflected a number of deficiencies in its capital planning practices, including in some areas that had been previously identified by supervisors as requiring attention, but for which there was not sufficient improvement.

Practices with specific deficiencies included Citigroup's ability to project revenue and losses under a stressful scenario for material parts of the firm's global operations, and its ability to develop scenarios for its internal stress tests that adequately reflect and stress its full range of business activities and exposures. Taken in isolation, each of these deficiencies would not be deemed critical enough to warrant an objection, but, when viewed together, they raise sufficient concerns regarding the overall reliability of Citigroup’s capital planning process to warrant an objection to capital plans and require a resubmission.

Morgan Stanley (MS),  JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC) had their capital plans approved. Morgan Stanley has gained 0.6%, JPMorgan Chase has dropped 0.8% and Bank of America has dropped 0.8%.

New Products or Acquisitions Keep These Small Caps Busy: IMDC, EPAZ & PIHN

Small cap stocks IN Media Corp (OTCMKTS: IMDC), Epazz Inc (OTCMKTS: EPAZ) and Polaris International Holdings (OTCMKTS: PIHN) have been busy developing new devices/products or making acquisitions. Moreover, at least two of these small cap stocks have been the subject of paid promotions or investor relations types of activities. Keeping that in mind, will new devices/products or acquisitions help these small caps along with their investors or traders? Here is a closer look:

IN Media Corp (OTCMKTS: IMDC) Is Developing New Devices

Small cap IN Media Corp is an integrator of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services, products and content for major platform and service providers (e.g. cable, satellite, and Internet providers). On Monday, IN Media Corp rose 7.14% to $0.0750 for a market cap of $4.46 million plus IMDC is down 61.5% over the past year and down 93.2% since December 2009 according to Google Finance.

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What's the Catch With IN Media Corp? According to various disclosures, transactions of $2k, $7.5k, $15k and $30k have or will occur to mention IN Media Corp in various investment newsletters. About a week ago, IN Media Corp announced a new device combining the functionality of both a phone and Tablet PC that also supports two SIM Cards, GPS, NFC and Bluetooth 4.0 plus comes with Quad core processor while two weeks ago, the company announced a new device combining the functionality of both a tablet PC and lap top PC. There is not much in the way of news beyond filings before that. A quick look at IN Media Corp's financials reveals no revenues; net losses of $192k (most recent reported quarter), $198k, $188k and $210k for the past four reported quarters; and $7k in cash to cover $867k in current liabilities and $369k in long term debt at the end of September.

Epazz Inc (OTCMKTS: EPAZ) Has Been Busy Announcing Acquisitions

Small cap Epazz Inc is a leading cloud based software company that specializes in providing customized cloud applications to the corporate world, higher education institutions and the public sector. On Monday, Epazz Inc closed at $0.0005 for a market cap of $1.73 million plus EPAZ is down 80% over the past year and down 97.5% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

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What's the Catch With Epazz Inc? According to various disclosures, a transaction of $500 has or will occur to mention Epazz Inc in various investment newsletters. Last Thursday, Epazz Inc announced it had signed a purchase agreement to acquire an undisclosed help desk software company and this new acquisition is expected to provide substantial growth to the company's recurring revenue stream by 15% as it has a long history of positive cash flow along with a strong list of Fortune 500 company clients. Epazz Inc will announce closure of the acquisition in the coming weeks. In addition and earlier this month, Epazz Inc announced it had signed a purchase agreement to acquire a contact center company in the Midwest that had reported unaudited revenues of over $600,000 for 2013 plus in late February, the company announced it had signed a letter of intent to acquire a software company used by colleges in the Midwest with the acquisition expected to generate a 30% increase in recurring revenues in the first year. A look at Epazz Inc's financials reveals revenues of $157k (most recent reported quarter), $279k, $208k and $337k for the past four reported quarters along with net losses of $585k (most recent reported quarter), $1,668k, $399k and $129k. At the end of September, Epazz Inc had $43k in cash to cover $1,025k in current liabilities and $2,039k in total liabilities.

Polaris International Holdings (OTCMKTS: PIHN) Acquires the Exclusive Rights to a Cannabinoid Line

Small cap Polaris International Holdings is in the business of supplying Information Technology ("IT") services for Network Infrastructure, ASP and Cloud Computing Solutions. On Monday, Polaris International Holdings sank 31.09% to $0.0082 for a market cap of $26.26k plus PIHN is up 720% over the past year and up 173.3% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

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What's the Catch With Polaris International Holdings? According to various disclosures, no transactions have occurred to mention Polaris International Holdings in various investment newsletters. Last Thursday, Polaris International Holdings announced that it had completed an important agreement with GBISS, Inc and its India based affiliates to begin project management and manufacturing of the company's exclusive Procannas® Cannatrol pharmaceutical grade core ingredients and sub-formulations. Company has also secured new office space of over 6,000 sq ft in Plano, TX to help out with the rapid growth of the company. In addition and on Wednesday, Polaris International Holdings announced it had entered into an exclusive agreement with Longevity Holdings, LLC for the ProCannas® product line where it received the sole rights to sell, distribute and market the provisional patent-pending formulation that includes a blend of cannabinoids, vitamins, antioxidants and other ingredients used for medicinal purposes. The full ProCannas® Line will include liquid drops for ingestion, tablets and transdermal patches. However, I am not seeing any financials for Polaris International Holdings on either Google Finance or Yahoo! Finance – meaning its investor beware.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Top Clean Energy Stocks To Own Right Now

In the U.S., when the topic of clean energy comes up, we like to debate concepts like climate change or global warming, turning it into a political debate more than a strategic one. Subsidies to industries such as wind or solar, no matter how small, take criticism from politicians and the media while the government continues to subsidizes oil, gas, coal, and nuclear production to the tune of billions of dollars each year. We neglect to account for externalities such as the cost of war ships keeping the Suez Canal open when Iran threatens to close it, oil spills inland and offshore, the wars in Iraq, and the limited liability given to the operators' nuclear plants. If Fukishima happened here, it would be no problem for U.S. companies -- Uncle Sam would pick up the tab.

In China, the energy debate is very different. When China sees its imports of coal rising and dependence on foreign oil growing, it springs into action. Not by screaming, "Drill, baby, drill," but by investing billions of dollars in home-grown energy sources. Yes, I'm talking about clean, renewable energy, and China's investment in these energy sources make U.S. subsidies look like the half-hearted effort they are.

Top Clean Energy Stocks To Own Right Now: UTStarcom Inc.(UTSI)

UTStarcom Holdings Corp. designs and sells Internet protocol (IP)-based telecommunications infrastructure products to telecommunications service providers and operators worldwide. It provides solutions in IPTV, interactive (iD) TV, Internet TV, and broadband, as well as related installation and maintenance services. It offers multimedia communications products, including RollingStream, an IPTV solution that enables a service provider to deliver broadcast television and on-demand video services to residential and commercial premises over a switched network architecture; mSwitch, a next generation network solution that enables service providers to migrate from existing circuit platforms to a next generation IP-based switch architecture, or to launch new applications in new deployment environments that have no legacy infrastructure; and a personal access system, as well as provides related consulting, technical, project, quality, and maintenance support-level services. The co mpany also provides broadband infrastructure products comprising broadband access products consisting of multi-service access node products; digital subscriber line (DSL) products, such as DSL modems, set-top boxes, and voice over the internet devices for residential and business customers; and gigabit Ethernet passive optical network products, as well as optical transport products, including packet optical transport network products, multi-service transport platform, and resilient packet ring. It sells its products through direct sales, original equipment manufacturers, distributors, resellers, agents, and licensees primarily in China, Japan, India, and other Asian markets; the United States; Latin America; and Europe. The company was formerly known as UTStarcom, Inc. and changed its name to UTStarcom Holdings Corp. in June 2011. UTStarcom Holdings Corp. was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Radovsky]

    DISH's reply
    As expected, DISH was ready with a response, but it wasn't one that defended its numbers. Instead, DISH filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission repeating media accounts regarding a Department of Justice investigation of bribery charges against telecommunications equipment provider UTStarcom (NASDAQ: UTSI  ) . The DISH filing says Masayoshi Son was chairman of the board of UTStarcom during part of the time in which the bribery was said to occur.

  • [By Dan Radovsky]

    Today the satellite pay-TV provider filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission pointing to media reports about a Department of Justice investigation into charges of bribery by telecommunications equipment provider UTStarcom (NASDAQ: UTSI  ) , also known as UTSI. The DOJ says the company gave $7 million to Chinese government officials in return for telecommunications sales contracts. In 2009 UTStarcom admitted to bribery and agreed to pay $1.5 million.

Top Clean Energy Stocks To Own Right Now: MagneGas Corp (MNGA)

MagneGas Corporation, incorporated on December 09, 2005, is an alternative energy company that creates and produces hydrogen based alternative fuel through the gasification of liquid waste. The Company has developed a process which transforms various types of liquid waste through a plasma arc machine. The result of the product is to carbonize the waste for normal disposal. A byproduct of this process is to produce an alternative to natural gas sold in the metalworking market. The Company produces gas bottled in cylinders for the purpose of distribution to the metalworking markets as an alternative to acetylene. In addition, the Company markets, for sale or licensure, its plasma arc technology. Through the course of the Company's business development, the Company has established a retail and wholesale platforms to sell its fuel for use in the metalworking and manufacturing industries. In August 2012, the Company purchased a 3.5 acre site in Tarpon Springs, FL.

The Company focuses on producing and selling fuels and equipment for the metalworking fuel market. The Company has distributors in Pennsylvania, Alabama, Michigan and Florida. The Company also has a retail operation in Florida selling fuel directly to end users. The Company has obtained approval from the Department of Transportation to deliver fuel in Florida and has several customers purchasing fuel directly. The Company has two products: the fuel called MagneGas and the machines that produce that gas known as Plasma Arc Flow refineries. The Company produces MagneGas for the metalworking market from a feedstock of virgin ethylene glycol (automotive anti-freeze) which is purchased in bulk from outside suppliers. The fuel is hydrogen based and can be used to replace natural gas. It is sold as a replacement for acetylene in the metalworking market. The Plasma Arc Flow technology can gasify many forms of liquid waste such as ethylene glycol, sewage and sludge. Plasma Arc Flow refineries are configured in various sizes ranging from 50kil! owatts (KW) to 500KW depending on the application.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By James E. Brumley]

    If the names Axxess Unlimited Inc. (OTCMKTS:AXXU) and MagneGas Corporation (NASDAQ:MNGA) ring a bell, it might be because yours truly posted some bullish thoughts on both names earlier this week. Although neither small cap stock had done everything they needed to do in order become a fully bullish trade at the time, both MNGA and AXXU have cleared those hurdles in the meantime. So, in case you forgot (or in case you missed the first look), an updated review of Axxess Unlimited and MagneGas is merited.

  • [By James E. Brumley]

    You're welcome. Back on March 12th when yours truly penned some bullish thoughts on MagneGas Corporation (NASDAQ:MNGA), nobody cared, largely because nobody had heard of the company, and there was no particular reason anybody had to find MNGA. Now less than a full week later, this once-obscure name is all the rage; no less than 21 different market-centric websites have made mention of the stock's explosive growth over the past few days. MagneGas has been proverbially put on the map, with shares surging 90% (as of right now) since the first exploration last Wednesday. So, like I said, you're welcome.... if you got in on the 12th, or even more realistically, got in on the 14th when MNGA finally crossed above the ceiling at $0.94 I was talking about a little less than a week ago.

  • [By James E. Brumley]

    Truth be told, had MagneGas Corporation (NASDAQ:MNGA) shares not surged 400% - and subsequently tumbled - in early January, it might not even be worth looking at now. MNGA did surge then, however, so what we've seen unfurl over the past few days can't be ignored now... as it suggests this small hydrogen supplier stock is about to take flight in a more controlled and longer-lasting way than it did at the beginning of the year.

Hot Net Payout Yield Stocks To Buy Right Now: Evolution Petroleum Corporation Inc. (EPM)

Evolution Petroleum Corporation, an independent petroleum company, together with its subsidiaries, acquires, exploits, and develops properties for the production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States. It primarily holds interests in the Holt Bryant Unit in the Delhi Field located in Northeast Louisiana. The company also has interests in the Giddings Field in Central Texas; the Lopez Field in South Texas; and the Woodford shale projects in Southeast Oklahoma. As of June 30, 2013, it had total proved reserves of 13,766 MBOE; and probable reserves of 11,224 MBOE. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Duprey]

    For holders of Evolution Petroleum's (NYSEMKT: EPM  ) �perpetual non-convertible 8.5% Series A cumulative preferred stock, investors will receive�1/12th�of the 8.5% annualized amount, or approximately�$0.177083�per share, based on the�$25.00�per share liquidation preference.

Top Clean Energy Stocks To Own Right Now: Singapore Airlines Ltd (SINGY)

Singapore Airlines Limited is a passenger air transportation company. The Company, together with its subsidiaries, is engaged in passenger and cargo air transportation, engineering services, training of pilots, air charters and tour wholesaling and related activities. The Company consists of 101 aircrafts. The Company operates in four segments: airline operations, cargo operations, engineering services and others. The Company's subsidiaries are SIA Engineering Company Limited (SIAEC), SIA Cargo and SilkAir (Singapore) Private Limited (SilkAir). Effective December 24, 2013, Singapore Airlines Ltd, a unit of Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd, raised its interest to 40.004% from 32.67% by acquiring a 7.334% interest in Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd from Dahlia Investments Ptye Ltd and Aranda Investments Pte Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Bruce Kennedy]

    Business travel columnist Joe Brancatelli reports the world's longest non-stop commercial route, the Singapore Airlines (OTC: SINGY) 18-hour, business class-only flight between Newark, N.J. and Singapore, will end on Saturday. The airline also retired the world's second-longest non-stop flight, Los Angeles-to-Singapore, last month.

Top Clean Energy Stocks To Own Right Now: Amarok Energy Inc (AMR)

Amarok Energy Inc.(Amarok ), formerly Drako Capital Corp. (Drako) is Canada-based company, engaged in oil and natural gas exploration and development in North America and Colombia. The Company operates in Canada, United States and Colombia. On February 27, 2012, Drako announced the completion of the Qualifying Transaction. On August 22, 2012, Drako Capital Corp. acquired Trilateral Energy Ltd. As part of the business acquisition of Trilateral a net carried working interest of 5% in Block LLA-21 for the two oil wells to be drilled on the Block LLA-21 property was acquired. As part of the business acquisition of Trilateral, oil and gas lease rights located in Montana, USA were acquired. 6,204 net acres (6,949 gross acres) of leases have been secured and approximately seven miles of two-dimensional (2D) seismic was acquired. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Holly LaFon]

    Question (From Bill Miller of Legg Mason): The airline industry is plagued with terrible economics. With the pending merger with U.S. Air (LCC) and American (AMR)��the industry has been consistently profitable with double-digit returns. Do you think the industry�� improved economics are likely to improve?

Top Clean Energy Stocks To Own Right Now: Sourcefire Inc.(FIRE)

Sourcefire, Inc. provides intelligent Cybersecurity technologies to commercial enterprises and government agencies worldwide. The company?s network security products include Sourcefire appliances for detecting, blocking, and analyzing network traffic; Sourcefire IPS to examine network packets for threats; Sourcefire NGIPS to discover the characteristics and vulnerabilities of computing devices communicating on a network; Sourcefire NGIPS with Application Control to provide granular control of applications; Sourcefire NGFW that includes application control and firewall capabilities; and Sourcefire SSL Appliance, which decrypts SSL traffic for inspection by network security appliances. It also offers FireAMP, a malware protection solution that uses data analytics to discover, understand, and block malware outbreaks; and Sourcefire Defense Center that provides application programming interfaces to interoperate third-party systems, such as firewalls, routers, log management, security information event management, trouble ticketing, patch management systems, and other technologies. In addition, the company provides Sourcefire Virtual Appliance, an application to inspect communications between different virtual machines; Sourcefire Virtual Defense Center, which provides central management, event analysis, and reporting services; Snort, a traffic inspection engine used in intrusion prevention system; ClamAV, an open source anti-malware product; and Razorback, an open-source project that addresses threat detection and protection. Further, it provides customer support, professional, and education and certification services. The company serves financial institutions, defense contractors, health care providers, IT companies, telecommunication companies, and retailers, as well as national, state, and local government agencies. Sourcefire, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Sourcefire (Nasdaq: FIRE  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 29. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

    The 10-second takeaway
    Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Sourcefire's revenues will increase 22.6% and EPS will shrink -6.3%.

  • [By Dan Radovsky]

    IT company Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO  ) has agreed to acquire cybersecurity software company Sourcefire (NASDAQ: FIRE  ) , the companies jointly announced today.

  • [By Marc Bastow]

    I’m with him on all counts, and would add steady growth along the bottom line over the past three years despite a slowdown — but not lower — growth along the top line. Indeed, Cisco is making moves to try and boost that top line, most recently through the acquisition of security software provider Sourcefire (FIRE), along with its nearly $225 million in revenues. The company still owns around 60% of the data-networking market, and is an entrenched cloud player and as Tom Taulli writes, up and coming mobile force. In another words, these guys are well positioned for the future.

  • [By Brian Pacampara]

    What: Shares of Sourcefire (NASDAQ: FIRE  ) soared a whopping 28% today after tech gorilla Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO  ) agreed to acquire the cybersecurity specialist for $2.7 billion.�

Coming Soon to Your TV: An Amazon Set-Top Box?

Operations Inside the Amazon.com Fulfillment Center On Cyber Monday David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images Amazon (AMZN), according to persistent rumors, is putting the finishing touches on a set-top box that will allows users to stream video content from a chosen device or devices to their TVs. If it's true, the company is coming fairly late to a stuffed segment. But grabbing market share -- and even making a buck on the device -- might not be its top motivation for wading into this fray. A Razor-and-Blades Strategy For the past few years -- ever since it launched its first Kindle -- Amazon has been willing to sacrifice making a profit on its tablets in order to push its digital content, a growing library of TV shows, feature films, video games and other material. It sells the current Kindle HD iterations at cost (starting at $139 for the standard HD, and going to $229 for the 7-inch-display HDX version and $379 for the 8.9-inch HDX). Since Kindles are packed with software that guides users to the retailer's offerings -- most compatibly, those TV shows and movies, which users can rent or buy, but also the company's online catalog of physical goods -- the business strategy is a variation on the classic razor-and-blades model. In other words, the company sells the razor (the Kindle) relatively cheaply, in the hopes of producing a long-tail revenue stream with the blades (the digital content). Amazon doesn't break out detailed numbers for revenue derived from Kindle user activity, so it's hard to gauge how effective the strategy has been. But the company is selling a lot of digital media. According to research conducted by investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS) last year, Amazon stood to take in around $3.8 billion worth of digital media sales in 2013. The bank predicts that this will surge to a projected $5.7 billion this year. The latter figure is around 6 percent of total anticipated net sales for the entirety of 2014. Tablet Sales are Tumbling Putting a damper on that happy growth story is development of the overall tablet segment, particularly Amazon's role in it. According to IT market researcher IDC, just under 77 million tablets were shipped worldwide in Q4 2013, an increase of 28 percent on a year-over-year basis. Sounds like a thriving segment, right? Well, not on a relative basis. Vaulting back in time one year previously, Q4 2012 had a growth figure several times that rate (87 percent). The market, in other words, is rapidly maturing. Amazon is slipping a bit, especially in contrast to the two big players in the tablet space -- Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (SSNLF). Amazon's total unit shipments declined, to 5.8 million this past Q4 from 5.9 million in the same quarter the previous year. Contrast that with Apple, which grew shipments 14 percent over that time frame to 26.0 million, and Samsung, flying high with 86 percent growth (to 14.5 million units). Amazon's Options for Selling the Device So it's likely that Amazon's hope with a proprietary set-top device is that, either through the direct sale of Kindles and/or the more indirect purveyance of digital content, it'll help boost overall revenue. That makes a lot of business sense; said devices and content are more attractive if they can be broadcast on larger media for a wider audience -- over the living room TV, for example. It would be wise if the retailer were to bundle the device as a freebie with the Kindle, sell it alone at or near cost like the tablet itself or employ both strategies at once. Amazon is a cagey retailer skilled at getting toeholds in markets that should be dominated by others. Witness its early success as a seller of books, to the detriment of traditional literature slingers such as Barnes & Noble (BKS). But the set-top device segment is a challenging one currently divvied up among determined competitors Apple (with its Apple TV), Google (GOOG) and its low-cost Chromecast dongle, scrappy little guy Roku with its namesake streaming product and numerous others. Clever Amazon likely realizes that a frontal assault on the market isn't its best path to success. So look for the company to use the device as a means to boost its digital content take. After all, it's got plenty of those blades to sell; the more razors it can supply, the better.

Future economy: Many lose jobs to computers

Want a secure job in the future? Don't compete with software.

[Editor's note: This is the first in a series of New Tech Economy columns called: Work in the 21st Century, which will appear here once a week in late March and April.]

Workers wanting secure employment in coming decades will need skills that complement software applications, rather than compete with them.

Those who don't possess such skills face a nearly-50 percent chance of having their occupations replaced by automation, according to two University of Oxford professors who studied technology's impact on employment over the last 500 years.

The career fields seen losing the most jobs include not just relatively low-skilled occupations such as telemarketing and retail sales, but also high-paying positions now held by accountants, auditors, budget analysts, technical writers and insurance adjusters, among others.

All of those jobs face at least an 85 percent chance of being automated, say Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne in their 2013 paper, "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible are Jobs to Computerisation?"

The jobs most at risk all have one thing in common: they're in occupations "mainly consisting of tasks following well-deļ¬ned procedures that can easily be performed by sophisticated algorithms," the pair wrote.

Even some highly-educated, technical occupations face relatively bleak chances of seeing growing employment in their field, as ever-smarter computers become better at analyzing massive amounts of data, to support all kinds of business decision-making.

Mathematicians, for example, face a 47 percent chance of seeing their jobs automated, the same percentage for all current occupations as a whole.

But there is a bright side to the new research out of Oxford, especially for those in occupations which software can't yet perform.

The jobs that will persist in the future include those that either take advantage of uniquely-human traits – such as manual dexterity, cr! eativity and emotional intelligence – or that improve the lives of other humans directly in a face-to-face setting.

For example, dentists, nutritionists, athletic trainers, podiatrists, elementary school teachers and occupational, recreational and mental health therapists all have a less than 1 percent chance of being replaced by computer software, say Frey and Osborne.

For similar reasons, firefighters have a much lower chance of being replaced by software than pilots, even though the latter have arguably more technical skills.

The first occupation is relatively secure (at least for now) because no computer can yet determine in an instant whether to lead other humans into a deadly blaze or merely spray water on it instead.

Conversely, as drones spread from military to civilian business uses, there will be less of a need for human pilots, despite the quick thinking and bravery their occupation requires.

There's another, less academic way of seeing which occupations are most at risk of automation, of course.

That is to make a survey of industries that have already suffered job losses due to innovation from growing technology companies, then predict where they will innovate next.

Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, for example, has kept his company's sales growing for two decades thanks to rapid, frequent innovation.

New ideas such as using so-called server farms -- huge warehouses jammed with Internet servers – have allowed Amazon to compile and analyze large amounts of data on its customers' purchasing habits.

With that knowledge, Amazon has been able to tailor its users' online experiences and suggest similar purchases in the future.

Because of this kind of software-powered automation, sales growth in the books, music and movie businesses has moved online, just as sales of hotel rooms and plane seats are also doing, thanks to flourishing Web travel sites like Priceline.com.

Now that Amazon's Bezos has shown off the first of his planned delive! ry drones! , the writing is on the wall for workers at freight companies such as FedEx and UPS.

Shipping clerks, for example, face a 98 percent chance of seeing their jobs automated, according to the Oxford University researchers.

The days of delivery drivers (and cabbies) are also numbered, thanks to Google's driverless cars and other automated vehicles of the future.

Likewise, as new real estate Web sites such as Zillow and Trulia create savvier buyers and sellers, they're reducing the need for professional market expertise.

Real estate appraisers and brokers, for example, both face a better-than-85 percent chance of future job losses.

Regardless of their industry, workers of the future should begin learning how to add value that complements software-powered automation, before their jobs are replaced by it.

In the next column in the series, I'll report on how the pace of technology's impact on the employment market is accelerating.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Coming Soon to Your TV: An Amazon Set-Top Box?

Operations Inside the Amazon.com Fulfillment Center On Cyber Monday David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images Amazon (AMZN), according to persistent rumors, is putting the finishing touches on a set-top box that will allows users to stream video content from a chosen device or devices to their TVs. If it's true, the company is coming fairly late to a stuffed segment. But grabbing market share -- and even making a buck on the device -- might not be its top motivation for wading into this fray. A Razor-and-Blades Strategy For the past few years -- ever since it launched its first Kindle -- Amazon has been willing to sacrifice making a profit on its tablets in order to push its digital content, a growing library of TV shows, feature films, video games and other material. It sells the current Kindle HD iterations at cost (starting at $139 for the standard HD, and going to $229 for the 7-inch-display HDX version and $379 for the 8.9-inch HDX). Since Kindles are packed with software that guides users to the retailer's offerings -- most compatibly, those TV shows and movies, which users can rent or buy, but also the company's online catalog of physical goods -- the business strategy is a variation on the classic razor-and-blades model. In other words, the company sells the razor (the Kindle) relatively cheaply, in the hopes of producing a long-tail revenue stream with the blades (the digital content). Amazon doesn't break out detailed numbers for revenue derived from Kindle user activity, so it's hard to gauge how effective the strategy has been. But the company is selling a lot of digital media. According to research conducted by investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS) last year, Amazon stood to take in around $3.8 billion worth of digital media sales in 2013. The bank predicts that this will surge to a projected $5.7 billion this year. The latter figure is around 6 percent of total anticipated net sales for the entirety of 2014. Tablet Sales are Tumbling Putting a damper on that happy growth story is development of the overall tablet segment, particularly Amazon's role in it. According to IT market researcher IDC, just under 77 million tablets were shipped worldwide in Q4 2013, an increase of 28 percent on a year-over-year basis. Sounds like a thriving segment, right? Well, not on a relative basis. Vaulting back in time one year previously, Q4 2012 had a growth figure several times that rate (87 percent). The market, in other words, is rapidly maturing. Amazon is slipping a bit, especially in contrast to the two big players in the tablet space -- Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (SSNLF). Amazon's total unit shipments declined, to 5.8 million this past Q4 from 5.9 million in the same quarter the previous year. Contrast that with Apple, which grew shipments 14 percent over that time frame to 26.0 million, and Samsung, flying high with 86 percent growth (to 14.5 million units). Amazon's Options for Selling the Device So it's likely that Amazon's hope with a proprietary set-top device is that, either through the direct sale of Kindles and/or the more indirect purveyance of digital content, it'll help boost overall revenue. That makes a lot of business sense; said devices and content are more attractive if they can be broadcast on larger media for a wider audience -- over the living room TV, for example. It would be wise if the retailer were to bundle the device as a freebie with the Kindle, sell it alone at or near cost like the tablet itself or employ both strategies at once. Amazon is a cagey retailer skilled at getting toeholds in markets that should be dominated by others. Witness its early success as a seller of books, to the detriment of traditional literature slingers such as Barnes & Noble (BKS). But the set-top device segment is a challenging one currently divvied up among determined competitors Apple (with its Apple TV), Google (GOOG) and its low-cost Chromecast dongle, scrappy little guy Roku with its namesake streaming product and numerous others. Clever Amazon likely realizes that a frontal assault on the market isn't its best path to success. So look for the company to use the device as a means to boost its digital content take. After all, it's got plenty of those blades to sell; the more razors it can supply, the better.

Warning! 5 stocks that can kill your portfolio

Five well-known stocks commonly found in individual investors' portfolios are overvalued and pose huge downside risk, according to research for USA TODAY released today by a valuation firm.

Online media company AOL, donut and ice cream chain Dunkin Brands, professional social networking site LinkedIn, game maker Electronic Arts and land manager Alico rank as the "most dangerous" stocks tracked by New Constructs.

New Constructs is an online service that uses discounted cash flow analysis to see how much a stock is worth today, based on how much cash it's projected to bring in the future.

Investors are especially sensitive to what stocks they might own that might be subject to a correction. Following the market's powerful run in 2013, investors are on edge over when a market pullback might be coming. The fears of turbulence in the stock market were fanned this week as Janet Yellen of the Federal Reserve gave guidance about the direction of raising interest rates.

Each of these stocks presents unique dangers to investors, according to New Constructs, including:

• AOL. Investors are betting on big growth from this company, still transforming from a subscription-based business to an ad driven one. The average Wall Street analyst rates the stock an "outperform" and sees long-term growth of 14%, says S&P Capital IQ. Such bullishness has pushed the company's P-E up to a lofty 38 times earnings over the past 12 months as the stock has rocketed 140% over the past two years. But the company's strategy of cutting costs to maintain profitability isn't sustainable, New Constructs says.

• Dunkin' Brands. The company, which owns Dunkin' Donuts and the Baskin Robbins brands, is dazzling investors with strong reported earnings growth. The company reported robust 36% net income growth in 2013, helping drive the stock higher. Shares of Dunkin' Donuts are up 41% the last two years. But during 2013, the company's cash from operations fell 8% in 2013. The company's profit relative to! what investors have invested in the company is 7%, below rivals including McDonald's, New Constructs says.

• LinkedIn. The site for professionals to connect with each other online was a darling in 2013, with its stock soaring 88%. But it's been a different story this year, with the stock declining 6.9%. Profit growth was just 23.9% in 2013, down dramatically from 2012 when net income rose 81.4%. Meanwhile, the company is only generating four cents of profit from every dollar invested in the business, which is low and falling, New Constructs says.

• Electronic Arts. Defying critics who say that the future of video games are 99-cent apps sold on phones, shares of EA are up 32% this year. So far, the company top title, Titanfall for the Xbox One, appears to be selling well. But at $30 a share, the company's stock have already hit analysts' 12-month price target of $30.53, says S&P Capital IQ. At its current price, EA's shares are priced for more than 20% net operating profit after taxes for 20 years, a pace difficult to maintain, New Constructs says.

• Alico. The land management business is the least-known company on the list and it's a relatively small company with a market value of $282.4 million. At the current stock price, which is 15.6 times earnings over the past twelve months, investors are betting the company's profit after taxes will grow 22% a year for 10 years, says New Constructs. That growth baked into the price is well above the 8% long-term growth expected by analysts, says S&P Capital IQ.

New Constructs used discounted cash flow analysis to find the five stocks most likely to crash in value.(Photo: Company photos, USA TODAY)

Stocks: Refocusing on the Fed

sp 500 futures 7

Click on chart to track premarkets

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Markets are refocusing their attention on the Federal Reserve after last week's geopolitical roller coaster ride.

U.S. stock futures were slightly higher ahead of the market open.

The Fed's Open Market Committee concludes its two-day policy meeting Wednesday afternoon, and investors seem happy shifting their focus from Russia's takeover of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula to the FOMC.

"Happy FOMC and Budget Day," wrote Societe Generale strategist Kit Juckes in a note to investors. "And apparently, happy 'ignore everything going on in Crimea' day, too."

It's Janet Yellen's first meeting in charge of the Fed and investors are looking forward to hearing from her after the meeting.

The Fed is widely expected to continue trimming its asset purchase program by another $10 billion, to $55 billion a month. The stimulus program was created to support the U.S. economy and has also been a key driver behind the equity bull market.

Investors and traders will also listen closely for any possible Fed plans to revamp its strategy on interest rate guidance.

The central bank has said it will only raise interest rates once unemployment falls to around 6.5%, or inflation rises as high as 2.5%. It's possible Yellen may abandon these numerical targets to focus on qualitative information instead.

And the latest reading of CNNMoney's Fear & Greed index shows market sentiment is in 'neutral' territory.

In corporate news, FedEx (FDX, Fortune 500)and General Mills (GIS, Fortune 500) will report earnings before the opening bell.

Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) shares fell in premarket trading after reporting revenue that fell short of Wall Street expectations. Shares in Pacific Sunwear (PSUN) rose in premarket t! rading after the firm posted a loss that was narrower than expected.

U.S. stocks closed higher Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 were each up more than 0.5% while the Nasdaq surged by more than 1%. Tuesday was the Dow's second consecutive day of gains.

European markets were mixed in morning trading.

Asian markets were muted Wednesday and ended with mixed results. The Nikkei in Japan edged up by 0.4%. To top of page

Sunday, March 23, 2014

fi360 Urges SEC to Consider Third-Party Advisor Exams

The Securities and Exchange Commission should revisit the idea of using third-party audits to boost the number of advisor exams in lieu of assessing user fees or appointing a self-regulatory organization to conduct such exams, says fi360.

In a March 10 comment letter to the SEC on the agency’s recently released five-year strategic plan, Duane Thompson, senior policy analyst at fi360, and Carlos Panksep, managing director of fi360’s Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX), told the SEC that it should consider “alternative” approaches to hiking its advisor exam rate, as attempts to push user fees as well as a self-regulatory organization have stalled.

“It is obvious that the SEC is challenged by the continued robust growth in the number of investment advisor registrants amid a time when Congress is faced with a budget sequester and other fiscal restraints,” Thompson and Panksep told SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White, as well as the four commissioners and top officials. “Combined with the current fiscal austerity climate and legislative gridlock in Washington, the Commission cannot be assured of a sustainable financial commitment to its National Examination Program without considering other alternatives.”

Fi360 shares other fiduciary advocates’ support for the SEC putting brokers under a fiduciary mandate and is also opposed to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority stepping in under an SRO model to examine advisors. Legislation to appoint FINRA as an SRO failed under former House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus, R-Ala.

 The Investment Adviser Examination Improvement Act, a bill introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., to allow the SEC to collect user fees to fund advisor exams has been languishing in the House with little support. But Neil Simon, chief lobbyist for the Investment Adviser Association in Washington, said in early March that IAA and other planning groups are “working hard” to get a bipartisan user fees bill introduced in the Senate that mirrors the Waters bill, H.R. 1627. FINRA, Simon said, is still actively “laying the foundation for a future lobbying efforts” to ensure it becomes the SRO for advisors.

The SEC is also unlikely to get the budget boost set out in President Barack Obama's recently released 2015 budget.

While the use of third-party audits to boost advisor exams was not one of the three options set out in Section 914 of Dodd-Frank, both Thompson and Panksep note that the SEC sought comments in 2003 on the topic and in 2009, former SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro raised the issue again in testimony before Congress.

 “Given the challenges in crafting a five-year strategic plan that meets one of the SEC’s most critical objectives, i.e. to promptly detect and deter securities law violations, fi360 and CEFEX believe, and would respectfully suggest, that leveraging private sector assistance through third-party compliance reviews – the same concept considered by the commission in 2003 and advanced by Chairman Schapiro in 2009 – is an appropriate and more assured means of enhancing investment advisor examinations and increasing investor protection,” Thompson and Panksep wrote. /* .premium-promo { border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 200px; float: left; } .premium-promo li, .premium-promo ul { list-style-type: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; } .premium-promo li { margin: 0 0 10px; padding: 0 0 10px; border-bottom: 1px dotted #ddd; } .premium-promo h3 { text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 11px; } .premium-promo h4 { font-size: 16px; } .premium-promo a { text-decoration: none !important; } .premium-promo .btn { background: #0069a1; border-radius: 4px; display: inline-block; padding: 5px 10px; clear: both; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; } .premium-promo .btn:hover { background: #034c92; } */ Both fi360 execs note that the number of compliance firms available to perform such audits “has undoubtedly increased,” and offered CEFEX’s third-party audit called a “fiduciary assessment,” which they say “can be considered complementary to regulatory compliance reviews, and may even be more cost-effective.”

Opponents of the third-party audits say they could prove costly.

CEFEX fiduciary assessments, the two execs continue, “are based on the ISO standard 19011, which provides for qualitative system audits of a service-oriented business.” The CEFEX assessment program “also relies in part on quantitative tools for assessing prudent practices of investment advisory firms by importing data from Morningstar’s extensive database and then comparing similar investment products to their assigned peer group, based on factors such as organization stability, style drift, expense ratios, and risk-adjusted performance.”

In addition, firms that wish to be certified as conforming to fiduciary best practices and listed on CEFEX’s publicly accessible database “are also subject to a review of compensation models and how conflicts of interest are managed,” the two write.

“This kind of registry, by coincidence, is consistent with the same concept advocated by Chairman Schapiro’s testimony in 2009 supporting public access to certifying audits and the auditors.”

---

Check out Advisor Groups ‘Working Hard’ to Get Senate User Fees Bill on ThinkAdvisor.

Gilead Sciences CEO cashes in…again

In what's shaping up as a year of oversized paydays for chief executives, Gilead Sciences CEO John Martin has emerged as one of 2013's biggest winners.

Martin pulled in compensation valued at nearly $180 million in 2013, including stock option gains worth $158 million, the biotech giant said Friday. Martin received $15.4 million in salary, incentive awards, stock and stock options - about what he's made in each of the past three fiscal years. But he cashed in on stock options for a $158.9 million gain and received another $4.8 million from shares that vested last year, Gilead said.

Martin's overall compensation was nearly double the $95.8 million he received in 2012, including $80.5 million from vested shares and stock option gains. He received about $54.5 million in 2011 compensation and $53.2 million in 2010, according to company filings.

Martin, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, has been Gilead's CEO since 1996.

Gilead says its executive compensation program is designed to "directly link pay with performance, creating appropriate incentives...that ultimately increase the value of Gilead and shareholder returns."

Moreover, prospects are bright for Sovaldi, a treatment for chronic hepatitis, whose annual sales could eventually hit $6 billion. Sovaldi received regulatory approval for a U.S. rollout in December.

Gilead has been a stellar Wall Street performer, with total shareholder return up 105% last year and 61% compounded annually since 2011.Still, at Friday's $75.05 close, shares are relatively flat this year and off 12% from a 52-week high.

Follow Strauss on twitter @gbstrauss.


Microsoft Stock at 14-year High

It didn't take very long for Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) to erase the $100 price premium it charged for the new Xbox One compared with Sony Corp.'s (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 4. All it took was a good excuse and that showed up with the release of Titanfall, the new shooter game published by Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA).

When Titanfall was first released it cost $60 as a standalone purchase or it came free with the purchase of a new Xbox One, effectively reducing the price of Microsoft's new console from $499 to $439. On Friday, big-box retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) began selling the same bundle for $449, effectively lowering the price of the new console to $389. The PlayStation 4 costs $399.

Microsoft claims that it has not lowered its suggested retail price and that the Walmart and Best Buy price cuts are special promotions offered by the two retailers. A Microsoft spokesman also said the company did not lower its wholesale price to either Walmart or Best Buy. According to nowinstock.com, the $449 bundle is out-of-stock at Walmart, but according to Engadget.com the discounted price is applied at checkout time. The price also applies to the bundle purchased at the physical store.

Availability of the PlayStation 4 is much spottier, with stores like Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) and GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) shown as out of stock. Only Best Buy among the big-box stores appears to have the PS4 in stock, although two bundles priced at $576 and $635 are available from Walmart.

Since both new game consoles were launched in November the PlayStation 4 had sold more than 6 million units by early March while the Xbox One is estimated to have sold somewhere around 4 million units. Neither company has updated those figures yet, but the gap is expected to have closed since the introduction of Titanfall.

Sony introduced a new game for PS4 on Friday as well: inFamous: Second Son. Like Titanfall, which is exclusive to Microsoft, the new game will be an exclusive on PS4.

Microsoft's stock posted a new 52-week high of $40.94 on Friday before sinking with the rest of the markets to close at $40.16. Microsoft stock has not closed above $40 since July 2000.

Jim Cramer's Top Stock Picks: ESV HPQ POOL

Search Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" trading recommendations using our exclusive "Mad Money" Stock Screener.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here are some of the hot stocks Jim Cramer talked about on Friday's Mad Money on CNBC:

ESV Chart
ESV data by YCharts

Ensco (ESV): Cramer said next week's energy conference should help to pop shares of this oil innovator.

Stock quotes in this article: ESV, HPQ, POOL 

HPQ Chart
HPQ data by YCharts

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ): The market is looking for boring stocks that may surprise in a growing economy and HP fits that bill.

Stock quotes in this article: ESV, HPQ, POOL 

POOL Chart
POOL data by YCharts

Pool Corp (POOL): Summer will be arriving at long last and Pool Corp will be ready to surge even higher.

To read a full recap of "Mad Money" on CNBC, click here.

To watch replays of Cramer's video segments, visit the Mad Money page on CNBC. To sign up for Jim Cramer's free Booyah! newsletter with all of his latest articles and videos please click here. -- Written by Scott Rutt in Washington, D.C. To email Scott about this article, click here: Scott Rutt Follow Scott on Twitter @ScottRutt or get updates on Facebook, ScottRuttDC

Stock quotes in this article: ESV, HPQ, POOL  At the time of publication, Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS had no position in stocks mentioned.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Tesla wins Arizone vote on car sales

A bill advanced in the Arizona legislature that would allow Tesla Motors to sell its car directly to the public, instead of going through dealers.

The bill comes as Arizona has become a one of four states that are finalists for a giant new battery plant that Tesla plans to build in the Sunbelt. But the state Rep. Warren Petersen, the bill's author, downplays the connection.

"For me this is about economic freedom," he said on CNBC Friday. "It gives customers the ability to choose what cars they want to buy."

The bill, which was passed by a state Senate committee this week, faces strong opposition from car dealers, the Associated Press reports.

"Tesla is asking for a special exemption for them to have a separate set of rules for their electric cars," Mike Gardner, a lobbyist for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, told the Senate Commerce, Energy and Military Committee. "What we're opposed to is allowing one of our competitors to go around the dealer network and sell directly to consumers. We think we should all be treated the same."

But Petersen, a Republican representing Gilbert, Ariz., says the message of the legislation is that the state is open for business.

Tesla is fighting to be able to sell its cars directly in a number of states where it has been shut out, including New York and Ohio. It had a big setback a week ago when New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission ruled that it can no longer sell directly in the state.

In Arizona, Tesla has a showroom in Scottsdale but can't sell cars directly. Instead, it takes internet orders.

Arizona joins New Mexico, Nevada and Texas as the states that are finalists for the Tesla battery plant, where it and partners plan to invest up to $5 billion and create hundreds of jobs.

Top 10 Stocks For 2014

Tim Geithner, who stepped down as Treasury Secretary in January, will start in March as president and managing director of private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who has spent virtually his entire career working for the government, is taking a job in finance.

Warburg Pincus, a firm engaged in buying and selling companies, said Saturday that Geithner will start at the firm as president and managing director in March.

Geithner told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the move, that he will play a "substantive role in helping ... manage the firm."

In a statement, Warburg Pincus said Geithner will "work closely" with its co-chief executives on strategy, management and investing.

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: Allied World Assurance Company Holdings AG (AWH)

Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, AG operates as a specialty insurance and reinsurance company in Bermuda, Hong Kong, Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It offers casualty insurance products that provide coverage for specialty type risks, such as professional liability, environmental liability, product liability, inland marine liability, healthcare liability risks, and commercial general liability products, as well as professional liability products, including policies covering directors and officers, employment practices, and fiduciary liability insurance. The company also provides a mix of errors and omissions liability coverages for various service providers comprising law firms, technology companies, insurance companies, insurance agents and brokers, and municipalities; primary and excess liability, and other casualty coverages to the healthcare industry, including hospitals and hospital systems, managed care organization s, and medical facilities, such as home care providers, specialized surgery and rehabilitation centers, and outpatient clinics; and general casualty products for a range of industries consisting of construction, real estate, public entities, retailers, manufacturing, transportation, and finance and insurance services, as well as workers compensation insurance products. In addition, it offers property insurance products covering physical property and business interruption for commercial property risks; and general property products covering risks for retail chains, real estate, manufacturers, hotels and casinos, and municipalities. Further, the company provides the reinsurance of property, general casualty, professional liability, specialty lines, property catastrophe, accident and health, and marine and aviation coverages. Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, AG was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Specialty insurance provider�Allied World Assurance (NYSE: AWH  ) announced yesterday its second-quarter dividend of $0.50 per share, a 33% increase from the payout it made last quarter of $0.375 per share, as approved by shareholders at the annual meeting last month.

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: HHGregg Inc.(HGG)

hhgregg, Inc. operates as a specialty retailer of consumer electronics, home appliances, and related services. The company offers video products, such as flat panel televisions, blu-rays, and DVD players; appliances, including washers and dryers, refrigerators, cooking ranges, dishwashers, freezers, and air conditioners; and digital camcorders, digital cameras, gaming bundles, home theater receivers, mattresses, MP3 players, computers, personal navigation, tablets, speaker systems, and telephones. It also sells a suite of services, including third-party premium service plans, and third-party in-home service and repair of products, as well as delivery and installation, and in-home repair and maintenance. The company operates its stores under the name of hhgregg. As of February 08, 2012, it operated 208 stores in Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Burrows]

    True, there’s probably room for one national chain, such as Best Buy or maybe even HHGregg (HGG). After all, brick-and-mortar retail is hardly dead. But outside of a merger or roll-up, but it’s hard to see how RadioShack — a company that’s been behind the curve for a decade or more — could be the one left standing.

  • [By Brian Pacampara]

    Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, home-appliances and electronics retailer hhgregg (NYSE: HGG  ) has received a distressing two-star ranking.

  • [By Sam Mattera]

    AFP/Getty Images TVs stand out as one of the premiere, big-ticket items of Black Friday. Even Kohl's (KSS), a store known for its clothing (not electronics), will have a few in stock that day, in an attempt to lure in a few extra bargain hunters. With so many different stores running specials, and all the different models on sale, there are literally dozens of different Black Friday TVs to choose from. While there are plenty of great deals available, a few stand out as being particularly noteworthy. Head to Walmart for the All-Around Cheapest Flat-Screen TV Walmart (WMT) will be selling a 32-inch LED Funai for just $98, making it one of the very cheapest TVs on sale this year. Discriminating buyers, however, should likely stay away -- Funai isn't in the same league as Sony (SNE) or Panasonic (PCRFY) when it comes to picture quality, and this particular set is just 720p (in contrast to full-HD 1080p). If you've never heard of Funai, the company generally sells its TVs under the Sylvania and Magnavox brands, two budget names not exactly known for their quality. Nevertheless, $98 for a 32-inch LED is hard (perhaps impossible) to beat. Shoppers looking for the cheapest flat-screen they can get their hands on should plan to be at Walmart Thanksgiving night. For a Great Deal on a Quality Samsung, Hit h.h. gregg At h.h. gregg (HGG), they'll also be offering a 32-inch LED, but unlike Walmart's Funai deal, this is on a model known for its quality. The set, Samsung's UN32EH5300, was declared one of the best 32-inch LCD TVs you can buy by LCD TV Buying Guide for 2012. It sports full-HD 1080p, and comes equipped with Samsung's smart TV suite -- owners can access digital content from sites like Netflix (NFLX) and Youtube. h.h. gregg will sell the TV for $299.99, what it claims is a 33 percent discount. Right now, Amazon (AMZN) is charging about $330 for the TV as part of its "Countdown to Black Friday" sale, making the h.h. gregg discount closer to 10 percent. (O

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    What's 4K? Well, they've got a gazillion pixels in them (almost 8.3 million, to be more exact), four times as many as today's 1080p sets, with large-screen formats of 55 inches and up. They also carry an equally large price tag. Although the sets Sony (NYSE: SNE  ) unveiled at CES sported price tags around $25,000, Best Buy will carry sets from the manufacturer with bargain-basement pricing starting below $5,000. While�they'll also be available at small chains like hhgregg (NYSE: HGG  ) and regional shops such as P.C. Richards & Sons, Best Buy is the only national chain carrying its sets.

Top 5 Warren Buffett Stocks To Buy For 2014: Alleghany Corporation(Y)

Alleghany Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the property and casualty, and surety insurance business in the United States. It underwrites specialty insurance coverages in the property, umbrella/excess, general liability, directors and officers liability, professional liability lines of business, and homeowners insurance. The company also writes surety products, such as commercial surety bonds and contract surety bonds. In addition, Alleghany Corporation owns and manages improved and unimproved commercial land, and residential lots in the Sacramento, California. As of December 31, 2010, the company owned approximately 320 acres of property in various land use categories. Further, it engages in the oil and gas exploration and production business. The company was founded in 1929 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Damian Illia]

    The firm is currently Zacks Rank # 2 - Buy, and it also has a longer-term recommendation of ��utPerform�� For investors looking for a Zacks Rank # 1 ��Strong Buy, Alleghany Corp. (Y), Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.B) and Fidelity (FNF) could be the options.

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: M/I Homes Inc. (MHO)

M/I Homes, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, primarily operates as a builder of single-family homes in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Homebuilding and Financial Services. The Homebuilding segment designs, constructs, markets, and sells single-family homes, attached townhomes, and condominiums to first-time, move-up, empty-nester, and luxury buyers in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and southern regions. It markets its finished homes through company-employed sales consultants under the M/I Homes, Showcase Homes, and TriStone Homes trade names. This segment also purchases undeveloped land to develop into finished lots for the construction of single-family homes and for sale to others. As of December 31, 2011, it had 3,041 developed lots and 625 lots under development in inventory, as well as owned raw land expected to be developed into approximately 3,491 lots. The Financial Services segment is involved in originating and selling mortgages, and colle cting fees for title insurance and closing services. This segment serves as a title insurance agent by providing title insurance policies, and examination and closing services to purchasers of its homes. M/I Homes, Inc. was founded in 1973 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By The Oxen Group]

    According to home construction news site Builderonline.com, MDC ranks 11th in terms of total number of home closings for the year 2012. Out of the top 10 competitors, MDC has the lowest PEG value, followed by Ryland Group (RYL) and Meritage Homes (MTH) with 0.23 and 0.6, respectively. The current pe ratio is lowest for the company followed by Ryland Group with 7.4 and Meritage Homes (MHO) with 11. In terms of forward pe, the top ten competitors have values in the 10-14 range. Putting numbers in perspective, relative to its competitors we believe that MDC presents a better value for investors looking to take advantage of the real estate market rebound.

  • [By Travis Hoium]

    What: Shares of M/I Homes (NYSE: MHO  ) fell as much as 10% today after the company released earnings.

    So what: Revenue jumped 37%, to $234.6 million, in the second quarter, and net income nearly doubled, to $6.05 million, or $0.25 per share. But analysts were expecting $258 million in revenue, and earnings of $0.36 per share, so results were still behind estimates.�

  • [By George Putnam, Editor, New Generation Research, Inc.]

    Steve Halpern: You have an exception to that rule, you look at a smaller home builder, M/I Homes (MHO), and you like that. Could you tell us why.

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: Inteliquent Inc (IQNT)

Inteliquent Inc, formerly Neutral Tandem, Inc., doing business as Inteliquent, incorporated on April 19, 2001, provides solutions for voice, data, and hosted services globally. With over 120 Ethernet sites across four continents, the Company is a global Ethernet interconnection provider, and has an Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) network. Inteliquent is a network solutions provider, offering intelligent networking to solve interconnection and interoperability issues on a global scale. With multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) network, which is interconnected to carriers globally, it provides voice, Internet protocol (IP) transit and Ethernet solutions to carriers, service providers, and content management firms based in over 80 countries, across six continents. Its IP Transit provides bandwidth for Internet service providers (ISP), mobile operators, Telcos, enterprises and content providers. In September 2012, it announced the establishment of its Turkish subsidiary, as well as its strategic alliance with Turkey's Turkcell Superonline. In April 2013, Neutral Tandem Inc acquired the global data services business of Global Telecom & Technology Inc.

The Company simplifies the complexities of data networking by making interconnection. Its EtherCloud transforms and simplifies the delivery of Ethernet and virtual private local area network (LAN) service (VPLS) services over a global footprint. A layer-II platform, EtherCloud connects partner networks into a seamless Ethernet cloud, which delivers end-to-end connectivity globally. It relies on Inteliquent�� global MPLS backbone as a distributed switched network, which is accessible in 120 point of purchases (PoPs) across four continents, to interconnect partners��networks through standardized external network-to-network interfaces (E-NNIs). By interconnecting partner networks to create one holistic Ethernet cloud, EtherCloud enables you to both source and to sell Ethernet and VPLS connectivity. It provides a one-stop-shop to conne! ct globally.

The Company provides a range of voice services. Inteliquent's voice services include streamlined session initiation protocol (SIP) interconnection options for domestic and international long distance traffic. It offers terminating and originating access, which supports billions of minutes of billable traffic each month. Its services include Access Homing Tandem and Gateway Tandem Services. It has the first wholesale, white-label hosted collaboration solution to be resold by value added resellers (VAR) and system integrators (SI). The hosted collaboration solution (HCS) offers a range of unified communication products and services, including single number reach, integrated messaging and presence, video calling, and WebEx integration.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rick Munarriz]

    Briefly in the news
    And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.

    Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG  ) hit a new 52-week high after posting stronger revenue than analysts were expecting. The burrito roller also indicated that menu price increases are on the way in a move that will increase margins. Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX  ) also landed a fresh 52-week high, but it doesn't report until next week. The big push for the leading video service was a dozen Emmy nominations for House of Cards and Arrested Development. There's always a model-affirming Emmy nod in the banana stand. Inteliquent (NASDAQ: IQNT  ) moved sharply higher after jacking up its revenue and adjusted EBITDA targets for the year. The provider of wholesale voice services had hosed down its outlook in May.

  • [By The GeoTeam]

    The largest single event the company has achieved is the acquisition of Tinet from Inteliquent (IQNT) , which had been IQNT's global data business. IQNT provides services to telecom providers, helping them deliver their network reach. With the divestiture of Tinet, IQNT's major focus is the delivery of voice versus data services.

  • [By Steve Symington]

    In fact, I had one such moment last year when I finally sold my shares of Inteliquent (NASDAQ: IQNT  ) �around $12 per share after holding them for much less time than I had originally planned. At the time, the stock had already been beaten down from its 2009 highs over $30 per share, and I had high hopes that the company might eventually regain its former glory.

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (MJN)

Mead Johnson Nutrition Company manufactures, distributes, and sells infant formulas, children?s nutritional products, and other nutritional products in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. Its infant formula products include formulas for routine feeding; solutions formulas for mild intolerance and specialty formula products, including formulas for severe intolerance; formulas for premature and low birth weight infants; and medical nutrition products. The company also offers products for infants with milk protein allergy, gas/fussiness, lactose intolerance, anti-regurgitation, severe protein sensitivity, multiple food allergies, fat malabsorption, and premature infants, as well as soy formula. Its children?s nutrition products comprise nutritious powdered milk for picky eaters, nutritious powdered milk, and nutritious milk modifier. The company also offers a range of other products, including pre-natal and post-natal nutritional supplements for expectant and nurs ing mothers. Mead Johnson Nutrition Company markets its products under the Enfamil, Enfalac, Enfapro, Nutramigen, Pregestimil, Enfacare, Enfagrow, EnfaSchool, Enfakid, Sustagen KID, Lactum, Alacta, ChocoMilk, Cal-C-Tose, Expecta LIPIL, and EnfaMama names. It sells its products to retail channels, including mass merchandisers, club stores, grocery stores, drug stores, and convenience stores. The company was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Glenview, Illinois. Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE: MJN), formerly a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., completed its initial public offering in February 2009.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jon C. Ogg]

    Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. (NYSE: MJN) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $90 price target at Credit Suisse.

    Plains All American Inc. (NYSE: PAA) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $64 price target at Credit Suisse.

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: Rochester Medical Corporation(ROCM)

Rochester Medical Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of PVC-free and latex-free urinary continence and urine drainage care products for the home and acute care markets. Its home care products include a line of silicone and latex male external catheters for managing male urinary incontinence; intermittent catheters for managing both male and female urinary retention, including Magic 3 line of silicone intermittent catheters; and the FemSoft Insert, a soft, liquid-filled, urethral insert for managing stress urinary incontinence in adult females. The company manufactures male external catheters in six models, including UltraFlex, Pop-On, Wide Band, Natural, Clear Advantage, and Transfix catheters; and intermittent catheters in four versions that include standard, antibacterial, hydrophilic, and antibacterial personal catheters. Its acute care products include a line of standard Foley catheters and Strata brand of Foley catheters; and Strata-NF Catheter, an antibacterial Foley catheter that reduces the incidence of hospital acquired urinary tract infection. The company?s primary customers include distributors, extended care facilities, and individual hospitals and healthcare institutions. It markets its products under the Rochester Medical brand name through a direct sales force in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, as well as through independent distributors in other international markets. The company also supplies its products to various medical product companies for sale under private label brands owned by these companies. Rochester Medical Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Stewartville, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Wolfe]

    Gabelli then made two separate buys into Rochester Medical (ROCM). On Sept. 4, the guru upped his stake by over 30% and on Sept. 5, Gabelli added an additional 10.21%. The guru purchased a total of 227,600 shares at an average price of $19.90 per share. Gabelli now holds on to a total of 750,110 shares, representing about 6.12% of the company�� shares outstanding.

  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Calling all cash flows
    When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Rochester Medical (Nasdaq: ROCM  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: Schawk Inc.(SGK)

Schawk, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides graphic services and solutions in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company?s graphic services encompasses a range of creative and executional service offerings, including traditional premedia business services, as well as digital photography, color retouching, large format digital printing, and sales and promotional samples under the Schawk brand name; and digital three-dimensional modeling of prototypes or existing packages for its consumer products clients. Its brand and package strategy and design services include brand consulting and creative design for packaging applications to consumer products companies, food and beverage retailers, and mass merchandisers under the Brandimage and Anthem brands. The company also offers digital promotion and advertising services to the digital communications markets under the Untitled and Real Branding brand names. In addition, it provides software products, such a s graphic lifecycle content management systems comprising digital asset management, workflow management, online proofing, and intelligence performance management modules; and support services, which include implementation, on-site management, validation for regulated environments, and support and training for the marketing services departments of consumer products, pharmaceutical/life sciences, and retail companies. The company serves direct purchasers of graphic services, including end-use consumer product manufacturers of food, beverage, non-food and beverage, and pharmaceutical products; groceries, pharmacies, department, and mass merchant retailers; converters; and advertising agencies. Schawk, Inc. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    There's no foolproof way to know the future for Schawk (NYSE: SGK  ) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result.

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: Violin Memory Inc (VMEM)

Violin Memory, Inc., incorporated on March 9, 2005, is pioneering a new class of flash-based storage systems that are designed to bring storage performance in-line with high-speed applications, servers and networks. The Company�� Flash Memory Arrays are specifically designed at each level of the system architecture starting with memory and optimized through the array to leverage the inherent capabilities of flash memory and meet the sustained requirements of business-critical applications, virtualized environments and Big Data solutions in enterprise data centers. The Company�� Velocity Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe), Flash Memory Cards leverage its persistent memory-based architecture in servers and are optimized for applications that require continuous access to quantities of low latency persistent memory located directly in servers.

The Company�� storage systems are based on a four-layer hardware architecture, which is integrated with its Violin Memory Operating System (vMOS), software stack to optimize the management of flash memory at each level of its system architecture. The Company�� Velocity PCIe Flash Memory Cards leverage its expertise in persistent memory-based storage and controller design, as well as its vMOS software stack, to offer a differentiated architecture in a deployable PCIe form factor.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jayson Derrick]

    Violin Memory (NASDAQ: VMEM) dove following its third quarter results and guidance that was released last night. The company reported a third quarter EPS loss of $0.63 while the Street was looking for a loss of $0.47. Revenue of $28.3 million fell short of the Street's expectation of $31.7 million. Shares were downgraded by J.P. Morgan, (NYSE: JPM) Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) and Pacific Crest. Shares lost 48.33 percent, closing at $3.10.

  • [By Mani]

    Violin Memory, Inc. (NYSE: VMEM) is well positioned to take advantage of the strong secular growth of flash in the enterprise. The combination of its proprietary hardware, a growing software portfolio and resulting industry-leading price/performance should translate into robust growth over a multi-year time frame.

  • [By John Udovich]

    On Monday, small cap storage stock Violin Memory Inc (NYSE: VMEM) surged 21.56% after booting out its CEO in the wake of disappointing earnings and IPO, meaning its time to take a closer look at the stock along with the performance of potential or better known storage peers like large caps SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) and Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ: WDC) plus small cap Dot Hill Systems Corp (NASDAQ: HILL).

  • [By Eric Volkman]

    Getty Images/Cultura As more than a few finance industry professionals will happily brag, 2013 was a banner year for initial public offerings with 156 new stocks coming to market -- the most since 2007 -- collectively reaping the issuers aggregate proceeds of more than $38 billion. We went over the most recognizable members of this year's rookie class in "The 5 Most Unfortgettable IPOs of 2013." But in a big pool of 156 companies, there are bound to be at least a few struggling fish. Here, then, is a selection of five from the class of 2013 that are getting seriously lapped by their peers. 1. Prosensa (RNA) This Dutch clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm had a strong debut when it listed on the Nasdaq in late June. The stock's offer price of $13 zoomed to close at over $19 on the first day of trading. But bad news was waiting around the corner; less than three months later, the shares tanked by more than 70 percent after the company announced that the muscular dystrophy treatment (drisapersen) it was developing in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline (GLAXF), did not hit its primary endpoint in late-stage trials. That one-day free fall saw the stock swoon from $24 per share to barely over $7. Since then, shares have slipped even further, and can currently be had for less than $5. 2. Violin Memory (VMEM) As a provider of high-speed data storage solutions, this company should be well in tune with current IT needs. But it fell flat from the beginning -- on its first day of trading the stock closed slightly over $7 a share, after pricing at $9. Worse was to come when the firm reported its first quarterly results as a publicly traded entity. While revenue advanced nearly 40 percent on a year-over-year basis, that couldn't cover the gaping hole of a bottom line loss totaling $34 million (a figure, by the way, significantly higher than the top line number of $28 million). The already-sinking shares continued to dive, bottoming at just over $2.50 per share. The re

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: Investors Bancorp Inc.(ISBC)

Investors Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Investors Savings Bank that provides a range of banking services in the United States. The company accepts deposits and originates loans. Its deposit products include savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company offers commercial real estate, construction, multi-family, and commercial and industrial loans; and consumer loans, including home equity loans and home equity lines of credit, as well as mortgage loans secured by one-to four-family residential real estate. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 82 full-service branch offices located in Essex, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Union, and Warren Counties, New Jersey; Nassau and Queens, New York; and Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Short Hills, New Jersey. Investors Bancorp, Inc. is a subsidiary of Investors Bancorp, MHC.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jim Royal]

    I'm about to buy shares in Investors Bancorp (NASDAQ: ISBC  ) , a soon-to-demutualize thrift that is undervalued. The thrift has quickly grown assets since it went public in 2005 and, with improving credit metrics and a solid return on equity, the bank is ready to make the final leap to full public ownership. So my Special Situations portfolio will acquire shares shortly. Here's why I like the stock.

  • [By Tim Melvin]

    He also pointed out that the approaching completion of Roma Financial (ROMA) and Investors Bancorp (ISBC) has some interesting implications for bank stock investors. Both are mutual holding companies, and the newly formed bank is expected to complete the process and do a second-step conversion offering. That will be a fairly large deal, much larger than most second-step offerings, as the combined banks should be somewhere around $3 billion in market cap. There will be larger investment banks involved, complete with road shows and institutional meetings to promote the deal. The attention could well cause a revaluation of the mutual holding company and converted thrift sector of the banking market.