Top 5 High Dividend Companies To Invest In Right Now

Although this week's focus stock isn't a high dividend stock, like some of the stocks in our recent articles, it does have attractive options yield, and looks attractive on a long term basis, which is why we've included a long-term put options trade in this article. This household name also has turned around its prospects recently, going from negative to strong growth, and it looks undervalued on a PEG basis.

Whirlpool, (WHR), is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $18 billion in 2012, 68,000 employees, and 65 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, Bauknecht and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world. WHR enjoys a #1 market share globally, and in North America and Latin America.

It's not as dominant in Asia, where its operating profits were flat in its most recent quarter, but that should improve soon - WHR just announced that it will acquire a 51% majority stake in Chinese appliance manufacturer Hefei Sanyo for approximately $552 million. Whirlpool expects that this transaction will be accretive in the first full year of integration.

Top 10 Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: PetSmart Inc(PETM)

PetSmart, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of products, services, and solutions for pets in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. The company offers consumables, such as pet food, treats, and litter; and hardgoods, which include pet supplies and other goods comprising collars, leashes, health care supplies, grooming and beauty aids, toys, apparel, and pet beds and carriers, as well as aquariums and habitats, accessories, d�or, and filters for fish, birds, reptiles, and small pets. It also provides fresh-water fish, small birds, reptiles, and small pets; and pet services, such as grooming, including precision cuts, baths, nail trimming and grinding, and teeth brushing, as well as training, boarding, and day camp services. In addition, the company operates PetsHotels that offer boarding for dogs and cats; provides personalized pet care, an on-call veterinarian, temperature controlled rooms and suites, daily specialty treats and p lay time, and day camp services for dogs; and operates veterinary hospitals, which offer services comprising routine examinations and vaccinations, dental care, a pharmacy, and surgical procedures. As of January 29, 2012, it operated 1,232 retail stores; 192 PetsHotels; 791 veterinary hospitals under the trade name of Banfield, The Pet Hospital; and 8 hospitals operated through other third parties in Canada. The company also offers its products through an e-commerce and community site, PetSmart.com. PetSmart, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Divine]

  Finally, shares of PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM  ) soared 12.5% on Thursday as the activist investing firm Jana Partners announced a nearly 10% stake in the pet accessories retailer, prompting Wall Street to rub its hands in anticipation of shareholder value-producing changes. Activist investors, by definition, take a meaningful stake in a public company, and then proceed to shake things up, often through spinoffs, executive shakeups, the shuffling of board members, and capital restructuring. PetSmart, which saw profit growth decelerate from 34% annually to just 7% last fiscal year, may need the help.

• [By Mike Deane]

  On Thursday, PetSmart (PETM) announced that it will be raising its dividend 18.2% and that it has authorized a $535 million stock repurchase plan.

  The Phoenix, AZ-based company raised its quarterly dividend from 16.5 cents to 19.5 cents, which is an annualized payout of 78 cents. The dividend is payable on November 15 to all shareholders on record as of November 1. The ex-dividend date is October 30.

  In addition to its dividend boost, PetSmart also announced a $535 million share buyback plan that will start on October 1, 2013 and expire on January 31, 2015.

  PETM shares were up 56 cents, or .76%, at market close on Thursday. The company’s stock is up nearly 7% YTD.

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What:�Shares of�PetSmart,� (NASDAQ: PETM  ) were looking clever today, climbing as much as 15%, and finishing up 12.5% after JANA partners disclosed a stake in the pet-supply retailer.�

• [By Rich Duprey]

  There are a lot of moving parts for PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM  ) going into its annual shareholder meeting on Friday.

  The pet food and supplies leader announced yesterday it has named a new non-executive chairman of the board,�Gregory P. Josefowicz, who will assume the role following the meeting. Exiting Chairman and CEO Bob Moran will not stand for reelection as a director, and company President and COO�David Lenhardt will fill the role of CEO.�Executive Vice President Joseph O'Leary will become president and COO. In May, the company named Carrie Teffner as its new chief financial officer.

Top 5 High Dividend Companies To Invest In Right Now: Amkor Technology Inc.(AMKR)

Amkor Technology, Inc. provides outsourced semiconductor packaging and test services in the United States and internationally. It offers package formats and services using wirebonding and flip chip interconnect technologies that connect the die to the package carrier. The company?s package carriers include leadframe packages that utilize metal and place the electrical interconnect leads to the system board around the perimeter of the package; substrate packages, which utilize a laminate as the package carrier; and wafer-level packages. It provides chip scale packages comprising stacked chip scale packages for chipsets and memory applications; package-on-package solutions for the integration of logic and memory in a single footprint; and system-in-package modules that integrate two or more chips and passive device elements into a single package. The company also offers ball grid array packages comprising flip chip ball grid array packages that are used with silicon nodes f or small devices and other applications; and plastic ball grid array packages, which use wirebond technology. In addition, it provides other packaging services, such as wafer bumping services. Further, the company offers semiconductor testing services, including wafer testing or probe, final testing, strip testing, and end-of-line test services; and specialized logistical services, such as security certification and anti-counterfeit measures. It primarily serves the communications, consumer, computing, networking, automotive, and industrial markets. Amkor Technology, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Chandler, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Amkor Technology (NASDAQ: AMKR) shares gained 1.63% to touch a new 52-week high of $7.46. Amkor Technology's PEG ratio is 0.94.

  Abraxas Petroleum (NASDAQ: AXAS) shares gained 2.94% to reach a new 52-week high of $4.55. Abraxas Petroleum shares have jumped 93.01% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 17.50% in the same period.

Top 5 High Dividend Companies To Invest In Right Now: International Rectifier Corporation (IRF)

International Rectifier Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets power management semiconductors worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Power Management Devices, Energy Saving Products, Automotive Products, Enterprise Power, HiRel, and Intellectual Property. The Power Management Devices segment provides power metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), FETKYs, and DirectFETs for power supply, data processing, telecommunications, industrial, and commercial battery-powered systems. The Energy Saving Products segment provides analog high voltage integrated circuits (HVICs), insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) platforms, digital control ICs, and IRAM integrated power modules for motor control appliances, industrial automation, lighting and display, audio, and video applications. The Automotive Products segment offers HVICs, intelligent power switch ICs, power MOSFETs, IGBTs, diodes, and advanced power modules for various automotive applications. The Enterprise Power segment offers DirectFET discrete products, digital PWM controllers, power monitoring products, voltage regulators, low voltage ICs, and PowIRstages primarily for applications in servers, storage, routers, switches, infrastructure equipment, notebooks, graphic cards, and gaming consoles. The HiRel segment provides RAD-hard discretes, RAD-hard ICs, power management modules, DC-DC converters, and high temperature converters for satellites and space exploration vehicles, military hardware, and other high reliability applications. The Intellectual Property segment sells and licenses technologies and manufacturing process know-how. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in El Segundo, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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 International Rectifier (NYSE: IRF  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 5 High Dividend Companies To Invest In Right Now: Marlin Midstream Partners LP (FISH)

Marlin Midstream Partners, LP, incorporated on April 19, 2013, develops, owns, operates and acquires midstream energy assets. The Company provides natural gas gathering, transportation, treating and processing services and One million cubic feet (NGL) transportation services, which it refer to as its midstream natural gas business, and crude oil transloading services, which it refer to as its crude oil logistics business. The Company operates in two segments: Midstream Natural Gas and Crude Oil Logistics. Its primary midstream natural gas assets consist of two related natural gas processing facilities located in Panola County, Texas; a natural gas processing facility located in Tyler County, Texas; two natural gas gathering systems connected to its Panola County processing facilities, and two NGL transportation pipelines that connect its Panola County and Tyler County processing facilities to third party NGL pipelines.

Midstream Natural Gas

The Company's primary midstream natural gas assets consist of two related natural gas processing facilities located in Panola County, Texas with an approximate design capacity of 220 One million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d), a natural gas processing facility located in Tyler County, Texas with an approximate design capacity of 80 MMcf/d, two natural gas gathering systems connected to its Panola County processing facilities that include approximately 65 miles of natural gas pipelines with an approximate design capacity of 200 MMcf/d, and two NGL transportation pipelines with an approximate design capacity of 20,000 Stock tank barrel per day (Bbls/d) that connect its Panola County and Tyler County processing facilities to third party NGL pipelines. Its primary midstream natural gas assets are located in long-lived oil and natural gas producing regions in East Texas and gather and process NGL-rich natural gas streams associated with production primarily from the Cotton Valley Sands, Haynesville Shale, Austin Chalk and Eaglebine formations.

Crude Oil Logistics

The Company's crude oil logistics assets consist of two crude oil transloading facilities: its Wildcat facility located in Carbon County, Utah, where it operates one skid transloader and two ladder transloaders, and its Big Horn facility located in Big Horn County, Wyoming, where the Company operates one skid transloader and one ladder transloader. Its transloaders are used to unload crude oil from tanker trucks and load crude oil into railcars and temporary storage tanks. It�� Wildcat and Big Horn facilities provide transloading services for production originating from well-established crude oil producing basins, such as the Uinta and Powder River Basins. Its skid transloaders each have a transloading capacity of 475 Stock tank barrel per hour (Bbls/hr), and its ladder transloaders each have a transloading capacity of 210 Bbls/hr.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  The surge of master limited partnership initial public offerings continued this week, as Phillips 66 Partners (NYSE: PSXP  ) and Marlin Midstream Partners� (NASDAQ: FISH  ) commenced trading. In this video, Fool.com contributor Aimee Duffy looks at both of these IPOs, breaking down the potential opportunities for investors.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Mid-stream energy asset manager Marlin Midstream Partners (FISH) raised its quarterly dividend 1% to 35.5 cents per share payable May 6 to shareholders of record May 1. At nearly an 8% dividend yield, FISH is the highest yielder of this week’s dividend stocks.
  FISH Dividend Yield: 7.85%

• [By Robert Rapier] In last week’s MLP Investing Insider (MLPII) I took a look at the MLP IPOs from the first half of 2013. Today I review the half dozen that have debuted in the second half of 2013.
  
  Phillips 66 Partners (NYSE: PSXP) launched on July 23 as one of the most anticipated IPOs this year. PSXP owns some of the midstream logistics assets of its sponsor, Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX). PSXP has yet to announce its first distribution, but according to the IPO prospectus the minimum yield will be $0.85 per unit on an annualized basis. At the current unit price, this equates to a minimum annual yield of 2.8 percent, which is mainly a function of the huge run-up in unit price between the IPO pricing and today’s unit price. If the distribution does come in near the minimum, the unit price will almost certainly correct downward following the announcement.
  
  Marlin Midstream Partners (Nasdaq: FISH) launched on July 26. The partnership provides natural gas gathering, transportation, treating and processing services, NGL transportation services and crude oil transloading services. Marlin’s assets include three natural gas processing facilities in Texas, two natural gas gathering systems, two NGL transportation pipelines, and two crude oil transloading facilities. Marlin expects most of the gross margin to be generated under fee-based, minimum volume commercial agreements.
  

  Marlin targets a coverage ratio of 1.10x to support distributions. Marlin’s partnership agreement provides for a minimum quarterly distribution of $0.35 per unit for each whole quarter, or $1.40 per unit on an annualized basis. The prorated distribution for the two months of the recently concluded quarter since tje IPO should be announced soon. The minimum annual yield based on the current unit price is projected at 7.7 percent. The unit price has declined 6 percent since the IPO.
  

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Performance so far has been consistent with the advances enjoyed by most of the MLP IPOs over the past year. In fact a few of them made major advances. As discussed in last week�� article No Letup for Last Year�� Top IPO, the best performing MLP of the year so far is Phillips 66 Partners (NYSE: PSXP), which came public last summer and is up 48 percent year-to-date. Of course, there are some exceptions. Marlin Midstream Partners (Nasdaq: FISH) conducted its IPO three days after Phillips 66 Partners last year, and it has traded below its IPO price since. �

Best Diversified Bank Stocks For 2015

Best Diversified Bank Stocks For 2015: Central Fund of Canada Limited (CEF)

Central Fund of Canada is an closed-ended commodity mutual fund launched and managed by Central Group Alberta, Ltd. It invests in the commodity markets. The fund primarily invests in commodities like silver and gold. Central Fund of Canada was formed on November 15, 1961 and is domiciled in Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Parnell]

  It also remains worthwhile to hedge stock allocations to protect against any major downside event along the way. This includes positions with low correlations such as the PIMCO Total Return ETF (BOND) or the PIMCO Global Advantage Inflation Linked Bond ETF (ILB). This also includes allocations that are likely to rally sharply in the event of a stock pullback but can also continue to rise along with the market such as long-term Treasuries (TLT) or Build America Bonds (BAB). And despite the recent thrashing they have endured, the precious metals complex including gold (GLD), silver (SLV), platinum (PPLT) and palladium (PALL) continue to provide attractive long-term portfolio diversification benefits. I remain long all of these metals via the Central GoldTrust (GTU), the Central Fund of America (CEF), the Sprott Physical Silver Trust (PSLV) and the Sprott Physical Platinum and Palladium Trust (SPPP).

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-diversified-bank-stocks-for-2015.html

Top 5 Semiconductor Companies For 2014

We have tracked the key short interest changes as of September 30 in the following semiconductor leaders: Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK), Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH), Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM), Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL), Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA), Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) and Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT). We also chose to look at how the Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF (NYSEMKT: SMH) has held up.

Intel Corp.’s (NASDAQ: INTC) short interest rose 2.1% to 251.54 million shares. About 5.1% of Intel�� float is now short.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) saw short interest fall by 4.6% to 108.7 million shares, or 17.8% of the company�� total float.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) short interest rose 10.1% to 26.44 million shares, which represents 1.5% of the company�� float.

Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Own Right Now: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSM)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a Taiwan-based company principally engaged in the research, development, manufacture and distribution of integrated circuit (IC) related products. The Company operates its businesses through wafer manufacture, mask production, wafer testing and packaging components. The Company also involves in the provision of production management, customer services and design services. Its products and services are applied in the manufacture of personal computers and peripheral products, information related products, wire and wireless communication systems, automobile and industrial equipment, as well as consumer electronic products, such as digital disk players, digital televisions (TVs), game consoles, digital cameras, among others. Its customers include Altera, AMD, Broadcom, Marvell, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Analog Devices, Freescale, NXP and Texas Instruments, among others. In July 2010, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. acquired mechanical and engineering equipment from ASML HONG KONG LTD. In September 2010, the Company acquired a set of equipments from ASML HONG KONG LTD. In December 2010, the Company acquired a set of equipment from TOKYO ELECTRON LTD., KLA-TENCOR CORP. and NOVELLUS SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL,B.V. In January 2011, the Company announced that it had acquired a set of equipment from KLA-TENCOR CORP., a set of equipment and facility, and another set of equipment from VARIAN SEMI. EQUIP. ASSOCIATES GmbH. In March 2011, the Company acquired a set of equipments from Rudolph Technologies, Inc.In March 2011, the Company acquired a set of equipments from Rudolph Technologies, Inc. In May 2011, it acquired a set of equipments form APPLIED MATERIALS SOUTH EAST ASIA PACIFIC LTD., Hamatech APE Gmbh and CO. KG, TOKYO ELECTRON LTD., DAINIPPON SCREEN MFG. CO., LTD., and VARIAN SEMI. EQUIP. ASSOCIATES GMBH.

TSMC's customers include semiconductor companies, ranging from fabless semiconductor and systems companies, such as Advanced Micro Devices, In! c., Altera Corporation, Broadcom Corporation, Marvell Semiconductor Inc., MediaTek Inc., nVidia Corporation and Qualcomm Incorporated, to integrated device manufacturers, such as LSI Corporation, STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments Inc. Fabless semiconductor and system companies accounted for approximately 80%, and integrated device manufacturers accounted for approximately 20% of its net sales as of December 31, 2009.

The Company manufactures semiconductors using CMOS and BiCMOS processes. The BiCMOS process combines the speed of the bipolar circuitry and the power consumption and density of the CMOS circuitry. It uses the CMOS process to manufacture logic semiconductors, memory semiconductors, including static random access memory (SRAM), flash memory, mixed-signal/ radio frequency (RF) semiconductors, which combine analog and digital circuitry in a single semiconductor, micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS), which combines micrometer featured mechanical parts, analog and digital circuitry in a single semiconductor, and embedded memory semiconductors, which combine logic and memory in a single semiconductor. The BiCMOS process is used to make high-end mixed-signal and other types of semiconductors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephen Simpson, CFA]

  While Mattson has a longer history in this market, the battle between Mattson and Ultratech (and flash annealing versus LSA) will be an interesting one to watch. The engineering papers I have read seem to give the edge to LSA for its better minimization of pattern effects (differences in energy absorption that cause nonuniformities in the chip), but Mattson argues that its new Millios tool delivers real advantages at 20nm and below in terms of process temperature flexibility, speed, and performance. To that end, both Samsung and TSMC (TSM) have been evaluating these tools in pilot production lines.

• [By Robert Martin]

  The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is fairly heavily weighted in several countries. EEM has allocated 18% of its holdings to Chinese securities, 16% to South Korea, 11.5% to Brazil and 11% to Taiwan. Every other country comprises less than 10% of the fund. Samsung (SSNLF) is the current top holding, at almost 4%, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) and China Mobile (CHL) rounding out the top three.

• [By Dividend]

  Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) has a market capitalization of $85.85 billion. The company employs 39,267 people, generates revenue of $16.931 billion and has a net income of $5.550 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $10.448 billion. The EBITDA margin is 61.71 percent (the operating margin is 34.84 percent and the net profit margin 32.78 percent).

Top 5 Semiconductor Companies For 2014: Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc (FCS)

Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. (Fairchild) focuses on developing, manufacturing and selling power analog, power discrete and certain non-power semiconductor solutions to a range of end market customers. The Company is a supplier of power analog products, power discrete products and energy-efficient solutions, according to iSuppli. Its products are used in a range of electronic applications, including sophisticated computers and Internet hardware; communications, including wireless phones; networking and storage equipment; industrial power supply and instrumentation equipment; consumer electronics, such as digital cameras, displays, audio/video devices and household appliances, and automotive applications.

The Company�� product groups are organized by the end markets, which include Mobile, Computing, Consumer and Communication (MCCC), Power Conversion, Industrial and Automotive (PCIA) and Standard Discrete and Standard Linear (SDT). It invested in the wafer fabrication power semiconductor technology, including low and mid voltage PowerTrench, advanced insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), as well as advanced high power metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET) fabrication technologies.

Mobile, Computing, Consumer and Communication (MCCC)

The Company designs, manufactures and markets high-performance analog and mixed signal integrated circuits, low voltage power MOSFETs for mobile, consumer, computing, and communication applications. It has a portfolio of PowerTrench technology products. Its analog and mixed signal products are focused on the mobile end- markets.

Analog products monitor, interpret, and control continuously variable functions, such as light, color, sound, and energy. It forms the interface with the digital world. It provides a range of analog products that perform such tasks as voltage regulation, audio amplification, power and signal switching and system management. Analog voltage regulation circ! uits are used to provide constant voltages, as well as step up or step down voltage levels on a circuit board. These products enable improvements in power efficiency, lighting management, and improve charge times in ultraportable products. These products are used in a variety of mobile, computing, communications and consumer applications.

In addition to the power analog and interface products, it also offers signal path products. These include analog and digital switches, universal serial bus (USB) switches, video filters and high performance audio amplifiers. The analog switch functions are typically found in cellular handsets and other ultra portable applications. The video products provide a single chip solution to video filtering and amplification. Video filtering applications include set top boxes and digital television. Its solutions include surface mount devices, tiny packages, chip scale packages, and leadless carriers.

The Company also design, manufacture and market power semiconductor solutions for computing, communications, mobile, consumer and industrial applications. Power semiconductor solutions include, power discrete MOSFETs, analog integrated circuits, and fully integrated multi-chip and monolithic power solutions. Its power MOSFETs are primarily used in power delivery and power control applications. Power delivery and control applications are ubiquitous across data consumption, processing and communication applications. It produces advanced low power MOSFETs under its PowerTrench brands. The advanced power MOSFETs applications are used in smartphones, tablets, notebook personal computer, high performance gaming, home entertainment systems, servers, data communication, and routers.

The Company competes with Analog Devices, Inc., Linear Technology Corporation, Maxim Integrated Product, Inc., Micrel Inc, ON Semiconductor Corporation, ST Microelectronics N.V., Intersil Corporation, International Rectifier Corporation, Infineon Technologies AG and T! exas Inst! ruments Incorporated.

Power Conversion, Industrial and Automotive (PCIA)

Fairchild design, manufacture and market power discrete semiconductors, analog and mixed signal integrated circuits (ICs) for broad power conversion/power management, industrial, and automotive applications. Its products are building blocks that help convert a semi-regulated energy source (alternating current (AC)or direct current (DC)) to a regulated output for electronic systems (AC-DC, DC-AC, and DC-DC conversion). Its discrete devices are individual diodes or transistors that perform power switching, power conditioning and signal amplification functions in electronic circuits. The Company�� analog and mixed signal integrated circuits (IC) are used to control discrete semiconductors in applications, such as power switching, conditioning, signal amplification, power distribution and power consumption. It manufacture discrete products using vertical DMOS MOSFETs, Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT), Bipolar, and ultrafast rectifier technologies. It manufacture analog and mixed signal ICs using a range of bipolar (Bi), complementary metal oxide (CMOS), BiCMOS, and bipolar/CMOS/DMOS (BCDMOS) processes up to 1,200 volts and down to 0.35um (microns) minimum geometry.

Power MOSFETs are used in applications to switch, shape or transfer energy. These products are used in a range of high-growth applications, including solar inverters, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), data centers and communications, motors, lighting, automotive, computing, displays and industrial supplies. It produce advanced power MOSFETs under its SupreMOS, SuperFET, PowerTrench, UniFET and QFET brands. IGBTs are high-voltage power discrete devices. They are used in switching applications for solar inverters, uninterruped power supply, data centers and communications, motors, industrial, power supplies, displays, television and automotive ignition systems. These applications require lower switching frequencies, highe! r power, ! and/or higher voltages than a power MOSFET can provide. It is a supplier of IGBTs. Rectifier products work with IGBTs and MOSFETs in many applications to provide power conversion and conditioning. Its product is the STEALTH rectifier, providing industry performance and efficiencies in data communications, industrial power supply, displays, television, and motor applications.

Leveraging its power MOSFET and IGBT technologies, it also design and manufacture modules for the industrial, automotive, and home appliance end markets. It design and develop a line of smart power modules (SPM) products targeted to various end applications in consumer white goods and industrial applications, which include room air conditioners, industrial power supplies, solar inverters, pumps, and industrial motors. These are multi-chip modules containing up to 28 components in a single package that includes diodes, power discrete IGBTs or MOSFETs, high voltage power management driver ICs and current and temperature sensors. Similar modules, called APM, are used in automotive applications.

The Company design and manufacture power management semiconductors for line-powered and off-line powered systems that integrate its Power MOSFETs. It sell and market off-line and isolated DC-DC ICs, MOSFET and IGBT gate driver ICs, and power factor correction ICs to the consumer, computing, display, television, lighting and industrial segments.

The Company competes with Infineon Technologies AG, ST MicroelectronicsN.V., International Rectifier Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Power Integrations, Inc., ON Semiconductor Corporation, NXP Semiconductors N.V. and Vishay Intertechnology, Inc.

Standard Linear and Standard Discrete (SDT)

Standard Diodes and Transistors products cover a range of semiconductor products, including MOSFET, junction field effect transistors (JFETs), high power bipolar, discrete small signal transistors, TVS,! Zeners, ! rectifiers, bridge rectifiers, Schottky devices and diodes. The Company design, manufacture and market analog integrated circuits for computing, consumer, communications, ultra-portable and industrial applications. These products are manufactured using bipolar, CMOS and BiCMOS technologies. Standard Linear solutions range from bipolar regulators, shunt regulators, low drop out regulators, standard op-amp/comparators, low voltage op-amps, and others. Analog voltage regulator circuits are used to provide constant voltages, as well as to step up or step down voltage levels on a circuit board. Op-amps/comparators are designed specifically to operate from a single power supply over a range of voltages. It also offer low-voltage op-amps that provide a combination of low power, rail-to-rail performance, low voltage operation, and tiny package options which are well suited for use in personal electronics equipment. Its solutions include surface mount devices, tiny packages and leadless carriers.

The Company competes with International Rectifier Corporation, Diodes Incorporated, NXP Semiconductors N.V., ST Microelectronics N.V., ON Semiconductor Corporation, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., Vishay Intertechnology, Inc, Osram Opto Semiconductors, OPTEK Technology, OMRON Corporation, Avago Technologies Ltd. and Kodenshi Corp.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Fairchild Semiconductor International (NYSE: FCS  ) reported earnings on April 18. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Fairchild Semiconductor International met expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Top 5 Semiconductor Companies For 2014: Texas Instruments Incorporated(TXN)

Texas Instruments Incorporated engages in the design and sale of semiconductors to electronics designers and manufacturers worldwide. The company?s Analog segment offers high-performance analog products comprising standard analog semiconductors, such as amplifiers, data converters, and interface semiconductors; high-volume analog and logic products; and power management semiconductors and line-powered systems. Its Embedded Processing segment includes DSPs that perform mathematical computations to process and enhance digital data; and microcontrollers, which are designed to control a set of specific tasks for electronic equipment. The company?s Wireless segment designs, manufactures, and sells application processors and connectivity products. Its Other segment offers smaller semiconductor products, which include DLP products that are primarily used in projectors to create high-definition images; and application-specific integrated circuits. This segment also provides handhe ld graphing and scientific calculators, as well as licenses technologies to other electronic companies. The company serves the communications, computing, industrial, consumer electronics, automotive, and education sectors. Texas Instruments Incorporated sells its products through a direct sales force, distributors, and third-party sales representatives. It has collaboration agreements with PLX Technology Inc.; Neonode, Inc.; and Ubiquisys Ltd. The company was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN  ) results for the company's Q1 have been released. For the quarter, revenue was nearly $2.89 billion, an 8% decline from the $3.12 billion in the same period the previous year. Net income moved in the other direction, advancing to $362 million ($0.32 per diluted share), or 37% over Q1 2012's $265 million ($0.22).

• [By Chuck Saletta]

  Speaking of results ...
  Right now, quarterly earnings season is well under way, which provides a perfect opportunity for one of those "check in from time to time" moments. While the iPIG portfolio did nothing last week, several of its picks did report, and those quarterly confessionals can help determine whether the companies are still worth owning. To summarize key results:

  United Technologies (NYSE: UTX  ) reported decent numbers, with net earnings ahead of expectations but growth driven more by acquisitions than by organic improvements in its existing businesses. Given the company's conglomerate setup, growth by bolt-on acquisitions isn't surprising, but over the long haul, it'd be better to see its businesses growing internally as well as through acquisitions. The news at Mine Safety Appliances (NYSE: MSA  ) wasn't quite as good, with both revenues and net earnings falling from year ago levels on a tough environment for the mining businesses it supports. That's a risk well known to the company and its shareholders, though, and while the weaker results did knock the company's stock down, the business has ridden through tough cycles before. It looks capable of riding through this one, too. Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS  ) , on the other hand, reported earnings that beat expectations on an operating basis, before restructuring charges knocked it down to a net loss. Given that the company is in the very seasonal toy business, that loss in an off-peak quarter is much less of a concern than it would have been in the make-or-break holiday quarter. UPS (NYSE: UPS  ) kept on trucking, with a better-than-expected January and strength from eCommerce helping the company turn in an 8% growth in net reported earnings per share. Overall, UPS is operating efficiently, though its future success is tied to its ability to continue delivering more packages. As long as its e-commerce business continues to grow, though, UPS is wel

Top 5 Semiconductor Companies For 2014: Micropac Industries Inc (MPAD)

Micropac Industries, Inc. (Micropac), incorporated on March 3, 1969, manufactures and distributes various types of hybrid microelectronic circuits, solid state relays, power operational amplifiers, and optoelectronic components and assemblies. Micropac�� products are used as components in a range of military, space and industrial systems, including aircraft instrumentation and navigation systems, power supplies, electronic controls, computers, medical devices, and high-temperature (200o degree Celsius) products. The Company�� products are either custom (being application-specific circuits designed and manufactured to meet the particular requirements of a single customer) or standard components. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 (fiscal 2011), its custom-designed components accounted for approximately 34% of its revenue and standard components accounted for approximately 66% of its revenue.

Micropac occupies approximately 36,000 square feet of manufacturing, engineering and office space in Garland, Texas. The Company owns 31,200 square feet of that space and leases an additional 4,800 square feet. It also sub-contracts some manufacturing to Inmobiliaria San Jose De Ciuddad Juarez S.A. DE C.V, a maquila contract manufacturer in Juarez, Mexico.

Micropac provides microelectronic and optoelectronic components and assemblies along with contract electronic manufacturing services, and offers a range of products sold to the industrial, medical, military, aerospace and space markets. The Microcircuits product line includes custom microcircuits, solid state relays, power operational amplifiers, and regulators. During fiscal 2011, microcircuits product line accounted for 51% of its revenue and the optoelectronics product line accounted for 62% of its business respectively. The Company�� core technology is the packaging and interconnects of miniature electronic components, utilizing thick film and thin film substrates, forming microelectronics circuits. Other technologi! es include light emitting and light sensitive materials and products, including light emitting diodes and silicon phototransistors used in its optoelectronic components, and assemblies.

The Company�� basic products and technologies include custom design hybrid microelectronic circuits, solid state relays and power controllers, custom optoelectronic assemblies and components, optocouplers, light-emitting diodes, Hall-Effect devices, displays, power operational amplifiers, fiber optic components and assemblies, and high temperature (200o degree Celsius) products. Micropac�� products are primarily sold to original equipment manufacturers (OEM��) who serve major markets, which includes military/aerospace, such as aircraft instrumentation, guidance and navigations systems, control circuitry, power supplies and laser positioning; space, which include control circuitry, power monitoring and sensing, and industrial, which includes power control equipment and robotics.

The Company�� products are marketed throughout the United States and in Western Europe. During fiscal 2011, approximately 21% of the Company�� revenue was from international customers. The Company�� major customers include contractors to the United States Government. During fiscal 2010, sales to these customers for the Department of Defense (DOD) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contracts accounted for approximately 62% of its revenues. The Company�� customers are Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Rockwell Int��, and NASA.

The Company compete with Teledyne Industries, Inc., MS Kennedy, Honeywell, Avago and International Rectifier.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] % of NCAV, has similar (slightly better) z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 6%, but has ROA of 28%.
  
  ADDvantage (AEY) sells at 95% of NCAV, has similar (in the ballpark) scores and FCF and ROA of 23%.

  The slightly better businesses are currently more expensive in terms of price/NCAV. They have less asset-based downside protection, but they are better businesses.

  How do you quantify and qualify what is cheap enough? To me, there's a big difference in relative cheapness in a company selling at 74% of NCAV versus one selling at 95%. I'm wondering if I'm putting too much weight on this cheapness measurement instead of acknowledging that any decent business selling at less than NCAV is cheap enough. Yet, one has to have some quantifiable idea of when something is not cheap enough anymore.

  Can you help me put this into a unified framework?

  Dan

  There�� a great post over at Oddball Stocks called: �� Stock is a Business�� Read it. Then go over to Richard Beddard�� Interactive Investor Blog. Bookmark that blog. Read it religiously. He looks at Ben Graham type stocks in the U.K. And he looks at them not just as stocks but as pieces of a business.

  Here�� what Richard said in a post called ��iving Up on Mastery of the Universe��

  I need to know:

  1. Whether the managers have made good decisions in the past, and whether their incentives work in the interests of the owners, because those kind of managers often add value to a company.

  2. The products a company sells will still be in demand for years to come, because if they��e not then the past, which we know, does not tell us anything about the future, which we don��.

  3. A company is financially strong enough to withstand the kinds of shocks companies typically experience bearing in mind some are more sensitive to events than others.

  4. How to judge whether the share price undervalues the company, bearing in mind the preceding three factors.

Best Wireless Telecom Companies For 2014

After Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SRPT  ) announced that it was going to have a conference call today to update investors about its plans for a marketing application with the Food and Drug Administration, I joked on Twitter that the lede for my article, "I couldn't have predicted this," worked either way.

History said that the FDA wouldn't approve a drug with so little data.

The FDA's recent rhetoric said otherwise.

As it turns out, the news was the most predictable response from the FDA. The agency punted.

When Sarepta last updated us in April, the company said the FDA wanted more information to help the agency decide if Sarepta should file a marketing application for its Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug, eteplirsen, with the limited phase 2 data or wait for a phase 3 trial.

Instead, the FDA told Sarepta that it wouldn't commit to using dystrophin as an acceptable surrogate endpoint for accelerated approval. The agency plans to make that decision based on the data that the company submits with its New Drug Application in the first half of next year. Increased dystrophin protein -- the mutated gene in Duchenne muscular dystrophy -- is the primary endpoint of Sarepta's phase 2 study.

Hot European Stocks To Own For 2015: CalAmp Corp (CAMP)

CalAmp Corp. (CalAmp) develops and markets wireless technology solutions that deliver data, voice and video for critical networked communications and other applications. The Company has two business segments: Wireless DataCom, which serves commercial, industrial and government customers, and Satellite, which focuses on the North American Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) market. In May 2012, CalAmp Corp announced that it has entered into a five-year supply agreement to provide fleet tracking products to Navman Wireless. As part of the transaction, CalAmp has acquired certain products and technologies from Navman Wireless and established a research and development center in Auckland, New Zealand. The assets acquired by CalAmp include technology for Mobile Display Terminals (MDT) and an MDT product line marketed to telematics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) globally. In March 2013, it completed the acquisition of the operations of Wireless Matrix Corporation.

Wireless DataCom

The Wireless DataCom segment provides wireless technology, products and services for industrial Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Mobile Resource Management (MRM) market segments for a range of applications, including optimizing and automating electricity distribution and ancillary utility functions; facilitating communication and coordination among emergency first-responders; increasing productivity and optimizing activities of mobile workforces; improving management control over valuable remote and mobile assets, and enabling emerging applications in a wirelessly connected world.

The Company's Wireless DataCom segment is comprised of a Wireless Networks business and an MRM business. CalAmp's Wireless Networks business provides products, systems and services to industrial, utility, energy and transportation enterprises and state and local governmental entities for deployment where the ability to communicate with mobile personnel or to command and control remote assets is crucial. Utilities! , oil and gas, mining, railroad and security companies rely on CalAmp products for wireless data communications to and from outlying locations, permitting real-time monitoring, activation and control of remote equipment. Applications include remotely measuring freshwater and wastewater flows, pipeline flow monitoring for oil and gas transport, automated utility meter reading, remote Internet access and perimeter monitoring. CalAmp is among the leaders in the application of wireless communications technology to Smart Grid power distribution automation for electric utilities.

MRM wireless solutions include global positioning system (GPS) location, cellular data modems and programmable events-based notification firmware as key components, allowing customers to know where and how their assets are performing, no matter where those mobile assets are located. Commercial organizations, vehicle finance providers, city and county governments, and a range of other enterprises rely on CalAmp products and systems to optimize delivery of services and protect valuable assets. Applications include fleet management, asset tracking, student and school bus tracking and route optimization, stolen vehicle recovery, remote asset security, remote vehicle start, and machine-to-machine communications. In addition to functioning as an OEM supplier of location and communications hardware for MRM applications, CalAmp is a total solutions provider of turn-key systems incorporating location and communications hardware, cellular airtime and Web-based remote asset management tools and interfaces.

The Company competes with Motorola Solutions, GE-MDS, Freewave, Sierra Wireless, GenX, Spireon, Novatel Wireless-Enfora and Xirgo.

Satellite

The Satellite segment develops, manufactures and sells DBS outdoor customer premise equipment and whole home video networking devices for digital and high definition satellite television (TV) reception. CalAmp's satellite products are sold primarily to ! EchoStar,! an affiliate of Dish Network.

The Company's DBS reception products are installed at subscriber premises to receive television programming signals transmitted from orbiting satellites. These DBS reception products consist principally of outdoor electronics that receive, process, amplify and switch satellite television signals for distribution over coaxial cable to multiple set-top boxes inside the home that can acquire, recognize and process the signal to create a picture.

The Company competes with Sharp, Wistron NeWeb Corporation, Microelectronics Technology, Pro Brand and Global Invacom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Symington]

  CalAmp Corp. (NASDAQ: CAMP  ) � released its fiscal first quarter 2015 earnings today and shares fell by as much as 16% in after-hours trading. However, unlike last quarter's across-the-board miss, this time CalAmp's results actually came in ahead of Wall Street's expectations.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Canaccord Genuity also raised its price target on CalAmp Corp. (NASDAQ: CAMP) Tuesday, boosting it from $30.00 a share to $33.00. CalAmp makes wireless equipment and has a market cap of around $960 million. The company posted strong third-quarter results after markets closed Monday, and Canaccord expects strong growth in both the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years, based on the company’s expected fourth-quarter showing. Interestingly enough, CalAmp’s fourth-quarter estimates were slightly below consensus estimates.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  CalAmp (NASDAQ: CAMP) is estimated to post its Q2 earnings at $0.16 per share on revenue of $54.82 million.

  Texas Industries (NYSE: TXI) is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.01 per share on revenue of $233.63 million.

• [By Sara Sjolin]

  In the corporate sector, CalAmp Corp. (CAMP) �is likely to move. Shares dropped late Monday after its outlook for the current quarter fell short of Wall Street estimates.

Best Wireless Telecom Companies For 2014: Intelsat SA (I)

Intelsat S.A., incorporated on July 18, 2011, is a satellite services business, providing a layer in the global communications infrastructure. The Company operates satellite capacity, holds orbital location rights, contract backlog, serve commercial customers and deliver services. It provides diversified communications services to the world�� media companies, fixed and wireless telecommunications operators, data networking service providers for enterprise and mobile applications, multinational corporations and Internet service providers (ISPs). It is also the provider of commercial satellite capacity to the United States government and other select military organizations and their contractors.

The Company has a satellite fleet comprised of more than 50 satellites, covering 99% of the Earth�� populated regions. Its fleet, combined with the IntelsatOne terrestrial fiber network and a collection of teleports, form a singular unmatched global infrastructure to meet any communications requirement. As the provider of satellite services, the Company provides mission critical communication services.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Satellite services provider Intelsat (NYSE: I  ) announced yesterday its third-quarter dividend of $0.71875 per share on its 5.75% Series A mandatory convertible junior non-voting preferred stock, which trades on the NYSE under the symbol I.PRA.

• [By The Specialist]

  Subject to ongoing evaluation and analysis, the Reporting Person may consider certain plans or proposals to increase shareholders' value that may relate to or may result in (I) a change in the present board of directors or management of the Issuer, including any plans or proposals to change the number or term of directors or to fill any existing vacancies on the board; and/or (ii) a material change in the present dividend policy of the Issuer

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Satellite services provider�Intelsat (NYSE: I  ) announced yesterday its second-quarter dividend of $0.799 per share on its 5.75% Series A mandatory convertible junior non-voting preferred stock, which trades on the NYSE under the symbol I.PRA.

Best Wireless Telecom Companies For 2014: TechnoConcepts Inc (TCPS)

TechnoConcepts, Inc. (TCI), incorporated in May 2003, is in the business of designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing wireless communications semiconductors. The Company has begun manufacturing wireless transmitter and receiver microchips, based on its technology, and produced its engineering run in August 2006. The technology, which TCI calls True Software Radio, is designed to improve the way that wireless signals are received and transmitted, by making possible device-to-device communication across otherwise incompatible networks and wireless standards. On October 17, 2005, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Asante Acquisition Corp. completed reorganization with RegalTech Inc. RegalTech's name was changed to Asante Networks Inc. (Asante).

In December 2005, the Company formed Jinshilin Techno Ltd. (Jinshilin Techno) as its wholly owned subsidiary based in Shanghai, China. The Company organized Jinshilin Techno to provide marketing, sales and technical support for True Software Radio technology in China. On April 21, 2006, Jinshilin Techno acquired Internet television (IPTV) set-top box (STB) technology through license agreements with Jinshilin Technologies Development Company Ltd. (Jinshilin). Jinshilin Techno offers an IPTV set-top box that features voice over Internet protocol (VOIP), capability and can receive Internet protocol (IP) data transmissions through the household electrical power grid.

Asante Networks Inc. provides Ethernet networking solutions for Apple Computer and the small-to-medium business retail markets, offering the IntraCore and FriendlyNET product families, integrating voice, data, and video over wireless and wired networks with unified management and authentication. In April 2006, Asante announced the release of 2-chip switch solution, the IntraCore 38480. The IntraCore 38480 provides no frame loss and full-wire speed with minimized latency. With 96-gigabit switching fabric, the IntraCore 38480 supports full-wire speed on all ! ports. It has advanced traffic control based on L2-L7 data of incoming frames.

The Company's True Software Radio technology makes possible for wireless transmitters and receivers, as well as the radio signal processing, to be fully controlled and reconfigured by software commands across a range of frequencies and frequency bands. Its True Software Radio technology is a delta-sigma microchip architecture that converts radio frequency signals directly into digital data for the wireless receiver and directly from digital data into radio signals for the wireless transmitter. True Software Radio microchips replace the analog front end, intermediate frequency (I/F) processing, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC), and digital filtering sections of conventional wireless transmitters and receivers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap tech stocks TechnoConcepts, Inc (OTCMKTS: TCPS), Unisource Corporation (OTCMKTS: USRC) and Strategic Global Investments, Inc (OTCMKTS: STBV) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters thanks to promotions. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed promotions, but they can backfire on the unwary as its really up to investors or traders alike to do their own due diligence before investing or trading. With that in mind, here is a quick reality check about three small cap tech stocks getting a bit of attention lately:

  TechnoConcepts, Inc (OTCMKTS: TCPS) Has the Yield Sign Replaced on Its OTC Page

  Small cap TechnoConcepts is a wireless technology company currently holding patents and other intellectual property. On Friday, TechnoConcepts fell 0.45% to $15.58 for a market cap of $415.28 million plus TCPC is up 1.1% over the past year and up 6% since April 2012 according to Google Finance.

Best Wireless Telecom Companies For 2014: Rewards Nexus Inc (ERNI)

Rewards Nexus Inc., formerly NIS Holdings Corp., incorporated on June 21, 2004, through its subsidiaries, operates in the loyalty/rewards industry. The Company has launched the Earn IQ rewards program, a consumer loyalty platform-coupled with marketing and advertising services for various industries.

The Company provides consumers with opportunities to interact and engage with online and mobile products. It primarily focuses on various business sectors, including the customer loyalty management market, the gift card industry, the online food ordering industry, and the marketing consulting industry

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Rewards Nexus Inc (OTCMKTS: ERNI), MyEcheck Inc (OTCMKTS: MYEC) and ITonis Inc (OTCMKTS: ITNS) fell 29.6%, 18.92% and 9.09%, respectively, last Friday. Moreover, some of these small cap stocks are already making big moves again this morning - perhaps in part because they have all been the subject of recent paid promotions. So where are these small cap heading this week and for the long term? Here is a quick reality check:

Best Wireless Telecom Companies For 2014: Softbank Corp (SFTBF)

SOFTBANK CORP. is a Japan-based company that provides digital information services. The Company has six business segments. The Mobile Communication segment provides cellular phone services and sells attached cellular phone terminals. The Broadband and Infrastructure segment provides high-speed Internet access services, Internet protocol (IP) phone service, and contents. The Fixed Communication segment provides transmission services for audio and data, as well as exclusive line and data center services. The Internet Culture segment is engaged in the Internet advertising, broadband portal and auction businesses. The Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) segment sells personal computers (PCs), peripheral devices and software for PC use, as well as provides business-to-business and business-to-customer e-commerce services. The Others segment is involved in the broadcasting media, technology service, media marketing and overseas fund businesses.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks rose Wednesday after a lower open, with action quiet as most other Asian markets were closed for the Christmas holiday. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) gained 0.4% to 15,948.04, but with the broader Topix 0.4% lower. Seven & I Holdings Co. (JP:3382) (SVNDF) , operators of the 7-Eleven convenience-store chain, rose 1.3% as a Nikkei Asian Review report said it planned to pay about 楼5 billion yen to purchase nearly half of Bals, which runs home-and-kitchen-furnishings retailer Francfranc. Chip maker Renesas Electronics Corp. (JP:6723) (RNECY) was a strong performer, rallying 5.3% after suffering a sizeable drop in the previous session. On the downside, shares of Softbank Corp. (JP:9984) (SFTBF) fell 0.9%, after a separate article in the Nikkei saying that previously reported plans by the firm to buy T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) through its newly acquired Sprint (S) unit would value the transaction at more than 2 trillion yen ($19 billion) and would take place as early as next spring. Auto-maker stocks were mixed after the release of Japanese car-sales data for November, with Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) flat, Honda Motor Co. (JP:7267) (HMC) down 0.4%, Mitsubishi Motors

• [By Sophia Yan]

  Also poised to win big in the Alibaba IPO is Masayoshi Son, Japan's richest man. He is CEO of telecoms group Softbank (SFTBF), which has seen the value of its original $20 million investment soar to about $54 billion.

• [By Jonathan Berr]

  Opposition to the latest wireless rumored wireless merger might have come as a surprise to Sprint’s CEO/pitchman Daniel Hesse and Masayoshi Son, the head of Japan’s SoftBank (SFTBF), which acquired a controlling interest in Sprint for $1.9 billion last year. For one thing, it’s hard to imagine the new company posing much of a competitive threat. A combined Sprint/T-Mobile would have 53 million users — significantly greater than their individual parts, but still less than half the 110 million served by AT&T and the 120 million subscribers under the Verizon flag.

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks inched downward Wednesday, with action quiet as most other Asian markets were closed for the Christmas holiday. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) eased 0.1% to 15,874.40, with the Topix 0.2% lower, failing to get a bump from gains in Wall Street's abbreviated session Tuesday. Shares of Softbank Corp. (JP:9984) (SFTBF) slipped 0.3%, showing little reaction to an article in the Nikkei Asian Review saying that previously reported plans by the firm to buy T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) through its newly acquired Sprint (S) unit would value the transaction at more than 2 trillion yen ($19 billion) and would take place as early as next spring. Seven & I Holdings Co. (JP:3382) (SVNDF) , operators of the 7-Eleven convenience-store chain, rose 0.5% as a separate Nikkei report said it planned to pay about 楼5 billion yen to purchase nearly half of Bals, which runs home-and-kitchen-furnishings retailer Francfranc. On the upside, Renesas Electronics Corp. (JP:6723) (RNECY) rallied 5.3% after suffering a sizeable drop in the previous session.

Best Wireless Telecom Companies For 2014: Vodafone Group PLC (VOD)

Vodafone Group Plc (Vodafone), incorporated in 1984, is a mobile communications company operating across the globe providing a range of communications services. The Company offers a range of products and services, including voice, messaging, data and fixed-line solutions and devices to assist customers in meeting their total communications needs. Vodafone has a global presence, with equity interests in over 30 countries and over 40 partner markets worldwide. It operates in three geographic regions: Europe, Africa and Central Europe; Asia Pacific, and the Middle East, and has an investment in Verizon Wireless in the United States. In October 2010, Vodafone Global Enterprise, the business within Vodafone, announced the acquisition of two telecom expense management (TEM) companies, Quickcomm and TnT Expense Management. In November 2011, the Company sold 24.4% interest in Polkomtel in Poland. In March 2012, Verizon Wireless, which is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone, purchased the operating assets of Cellular One of Northeast Pennsylvania from the Company. In April 2012, its Netherlands-based division, Vodafone Libertel BV, acquired Telespectrum-DJ. On October 31, 2012, the Company acquired TelstraClear Limited. In May 2013, Vodafone Group Plc announced launch of its carrier services business unit.

In Europe, the Company�� mobile subsidiaries and joint venture operate under the brand name Vodafone. Its associate in France operates as SFR and Neuf Cegetel, and its fixed-line communication businesses operate as Vodafone, Arcor, Tele2 and TeleTu. Vodafone�� subsidiaries in Africa and Central Europe operate under the Vodafone brand, or in the case of Vodacom and its mobile subsidiaries, the Vodacom and Gateway brands. Its joint venture in Poland operates as Polkomtel and its associate in Kenya operates as Safaricom. The Company�� subsidiaries and joint venture in Fiji operate under the Vodafone brand, and its joint venture in Australia operates under the brands V! odafone and 3. The Company�� associate in the United States operates under the brand Verizon Wireless.

Vodafone has an international customer base with 370 million mobile customers across the world as of March 31, 2011. Vodafone also caters to all business segments ranging from small-office-home-office (SoHo) and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) to corporates and multinational corporations. Through its subsidiaries, Vodafone directly owns and manages approximately 2,200 stores around the world. The Company also has around 10,300 Vodafone-branded stores run through franchise and exclusive dealer arrangements.

The Company�� range of handsets covers all its customer segments and price points, and is available in a variety of designs. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 (fiscal 2011), 14 new handsets were released under its own brand and it shipped 5.8 million. In addition to handsets, it supplies a range of connected smart devices. It supplies the iPhone in 19 markets. During fiscal 2011, the Company launched its USB stick based on 4G/LTE technology in Germany and Verizon Wireless launched in the United States.; Vodafone WebBox; a smartphone roaming data plan that allows the European customers to use their home data plan abroad for only 2 a day to access the Internet, emails and applications; the Android-powered Vodafone 845 and 945 devices; Vodafone TV services; Vodafone 252, which comes pre-loaded with Vodafone M-Pesa for mobile payment services and a prepaid balance indicator that helps customers to keep track of their phone credit to avoid overspending; Vodafone M-Pesa in South Africa, Qatar and Fiji; 3G services in India, and LTE services by acquiring LTE spectrum in Germany.

The Company is a carrier of mobile voice traffic in the world providing domestic, international and roaming voice services to more than 370 million customers. Its networks sent and received over 292 billion text, picture, music and video messages during fiscal 2011. The Company ! serves mo! re than 75 million customers with data services, which allow access to the Internet, email and applications on their phones, tablets, laptops and netbooks. The Company provides a range of data products, including Machine-to-machine (��2M�� connections, which allow devices to communicate with one another via built-in mobile SIM cards; Third party billing; Financial services; Near field communication (��FC��, and Mobile advertising. The Company, as of March 31, 2011, served 5.3 million M2M connections around the world. NFC allows communication between devices when they are touched together or brought within a few centimetres of each other. The Company has mobile advertising business in 18 countries with a range of capabilities. Over six million customers use its fixed broadband services in 13 markets to meet their total communications needs. In addition, through Gateway, it provides wholesale carrier services to more than 40 African countries. Other service revenue includes business managed services, such as secure remote network access, and revenue from mobile virtual network operators generated from selling access to its network at the wholesale level. The Company�� enterprise customers range from small-office-home-office (��oHo�� businesses and small to medium-sized enterprises (��MEs��, through to domestic and multinational companies. The Company has 34 million enterprise customers accounting for around 9% of all customers and around 23% of service revenue. The Company focuses on SoHos and SMEs to provide customers with integrated fixed and mobile communications solutions. Vodafone Global Enterprise manages the communication needs of over 560 of the multinational corporate customers. It provides a range of managed services, such as Central Ordering, Device Manager, Spend Manager Solutions, Invoice Manager, Vodafone Neverfail and Telecoms management. The Company offers a range of total communications applications, as well as services for enterprise and consumer customers. Vodafone Alw! ays Best ! Connected software enables customers to stay connected to the Internet on the available connection wherever they are by automatically managing the switching between connection types including mobile broadband, Wi-Fi and LAN. Vodafone PC Backup is an online back-up and restores service that enables users to remotely store data securely and automatically via their Internet connection.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Royston Wild]

  Bubbly activity in these developing geographies can create large opportunities for many London-listed firms. Today, I am looking at�Vodafone� (LSE: VOD  ) (NASDAQ: VOD  ) and assessing whether its operations in these regions are likely to underpin solid earnings growth.

Top 5 Net Payout Yield Companies To Invest In 2014

A company's ability to consistently generate positive cash flows from its daily business operations is highly valued by investors. Operating cash flow can uncover a company's true profitability. It�� one of the purest measures of cash sources and uses, and is the gateway between other reported financial statements.

The Cash Flow Statement

Operating cash flow (or cash flow from operations - CFO) can be found in the cash flow statement, which reports the changes in cash versus its static counterparts: the income statement, balance sheet and shareholders��equity statement. Specifically, the cash flow statement reports where cash is used and generated over specific time periods and ties the static statements together. By taking net income on the income statement and making adjustments to reflect changes in the working capital accounts on the balance sheet (receivables, payables, inventories), the operating cash flow section shows how cash was generated during the period. It is this translation process from accrual accounting to cash accounting that makes the operating cash flow statement so important.

Best Logistics Companies To Watch For 2015: Vectren Corporation (VVC)

Vectren Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides energy delivery services to residential, commercial, and industrial and other contract customers in Indiana and west central Ohio. It offers natural gas distribution and transportation services, and electric distribution services; and owns and operates coal-fired and gas-fired electric generating facilities with an installed generating capacity of 1,298 megawatts. The company�s electric transmission system consists of 989 circuit miles of 345, 138, and 69 kilovolt lines, and 35 substations; and distribution system comprises 4,281 pole miles of lower voltage overhead lines and 372 trench miles of conduit containing 1,999 miles of underground distribution cable, 96 distribution substations, and 54,000 distribution transformers. In addition, it provides gas marketing, gas portfolio optimization, and other portfolio and energy management services to municipalities, utilities, industrial operations, schools, and healthcar e institutions; mines and sells coal; offers underground construction and repair, performance contracting, and renewable energy services; and invests in energy-related opportunities and services, real estate, and leveraged leases. Further, the company engages in transmission pipeline construction and maintenance; pump station, compressor station, terminal, and refinery construction; and hydrostatic testing services. It serves the automotive assembly, parts, and accessories; feed, flour, and grain processing; metal castings; aluminum products; polycarbonate resin and plastic products; gypsum products; electrical equipment; metal specialties; glass; steel finishing; pharmaceutical and nutritional products; gasoline and oil products; ethanol; and coal mining industries. As of December 31, 2011, it supplied natural gas services to approximately 993,300 customers; and electric services to approximately 141,600 customers. Vectren Corporation was founded in 1912 and is headquartere d in Evansville, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  I like the diversification, and the fact that the company has offered many of these products for anywhere from 30 years to 100 years may explain why it�� paid a dividend for the last 32 years. That dividend is presently at 4.3%.

  Vectren Corporation (VVC)

  The final stock on our list of secret dividend stocks is Vectren Corporation (VVC). VVC is another an energy play that�� diversified into four segments. The company provides 566,000 customers with natural gas delivery in Indiana.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Exelon (NYSE: EXC), down 1.2 percent, and Vectren (NYSE: VVC), off 2.3 percent.

  Top Headline
  Hillshire Brands Co (NYSE: HSH) announced its plans to buy Pinnacle Foods (NYSE: PF) for around $6.6 billion including debt. Hillshire will offer $18.00 in cash and 0.50 shares of its common stock for each Pinnacle share.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Exelon (NYSE: EXC), down 1.2 percent, and Vectren (NYSE: VVC), off 2.3 percent.

  Top Headline
  Hillshire Brands Co (NYSE: HSH) announced its plans to buy Pinnacle Foods (NYSE: PF) for around $6.6 billion including debt. Hillshire will offer $18.00 in cash and 0.50 shares of its common stock for each Pinnacle share.

Top 5 Net Payout Yield Companies To Invest In 2014: Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (SOXL)

Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3x Shares (the Fund) seeks daily investment results of 300% of the price performance of the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index (Semiconductor Index). The Semiconductor Index measures the performance of the semiconductor subsector of the United States equity market. Component companies are engaged in the design, distribution, manufacture and sale of semiconductors. As of February 18, 2010, the Semiconductor Index included companies with capitalizations between $1.7 billion and $114 billion. The distributor of the Fund is Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  On Thursday after the market closed, mid cap fabless semiconductor stock Marvell Technology Group Ltd (NASDAQ: MRVL) reported earnings and was slipping in after hours trading, meaning its worth taking a closer look at those earnings along with the performance of potential semiconductor benchmarks like the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (NYSEARCA: XSD), iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector (NASDAQ: SOXX) and Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (NYSEARCA: SOXL). In case you aren�� familiar with the term fabless semiconductor, it�� a�business�model that involves the�outsourcing the manufacturing of silicon wafers.�Most semiconductor companies are actually fabless because of the high cost of building�a facility and manufacturing fab. Therefore, fabless semiconductor companies can�concentrate on the design and marketing of chips while outsourcing the actual production to larger foundry companies.

• [By John Udovich]

  There appears to be light at the end of the tunnel for mid cap fabless semiconductor stock Marvell Technology Group Ltd (NASDAQ: MRVL) despite the fact that the company has lost a patent infringement battle with Carnegie Mellon University that could cost it $1.54 billion, meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with the performance of semiconductor ETF benchmarks like SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (NYSEARCA: XSD), iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector (NASDAQ: SOXX) and Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (NYSEARCA: SOXL).

Top 5 Net Payout Yield Companies To Invest In 2014: C&C Group PLC (CCGGY)

C&C Group plc, incorporated on March 19, 2004, is engaged the production, marketing and selling of cider and beer. The Company operates in five segments: Republic of Ireland (ROI), Cider United Kingdom (Cider UK), Tennent�� United Kingdom (Tennent�� UK), International, and Third Party Brands United Kingdom (Third Party Brands UK). The Company�� cider brands include Bulmers, Magners, Gaymers Cider, Blackthorn Cider, Olde English, Addlestones, Woodchuck Hard Cider, Wyder�� Cider and Hornsby��. Its other cider brands include Bulmers Berry, Bulmers Pear, Magners Pear, Magners Specials, Special Vat, K, Natch and Diamond White.

ROI includes the results from sale of all products in the Republic of Ireland (ROI), including Bulmers, Tennent��, Caledonia Smooth and third party brands. Cider UK segment includes the results from sale of the Company�� cider products in the United Kingdom, with Magners, Gaymers and Blackthorn the principal brands. Tennent�� UK segment includes the results from sale of the Company�� owned beer brand Tennent�� in the United Kingdom and sales of Caledonia Best in the United Kingdom. International segment includes the results from sale of the Company�� cider and beer products, principally Magners, Blackthorn, Hornsby��, Woodchuck and Tennent�� in all territories outside of the ROI and the United Kingdom. Third Party Brands UK segment relates to the distribution of third party brands and the production and distribution of private label products in the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  While�Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD  ) introduced some fruit-flavored margarita drinks and even Beam offered flavored bourbons to water down the market more,�the bigger threat may be coming from the explosive growth being witnessed in�hard cider.�Brewer Boston Beer (NYSE: SAM  ) rolled out its Angry Orchard cider brand just last year and has already catapulted to the top of the market, surpassing C&C Group's (NASDAQOTH: CCGGY  ) Vermont Hard Cider, the previous market leader.

Top 5 Net Payout Yield Companies To Invest In 2014: General Growth Properties Inc (GGC)

General Growth Properties, Inc. (GGP), incorporated on July 1, 2010, is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company owns or with joint venture partners 144 regional malls (126 domestic and 18 in Brazil) consists of approximately 135 million square feet. The Company is engaged in ownership, operation, management and selective re-development of its Consolidated Properties and Unconsolidated Properties, which are primarily regional malls.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company's segment was consists of 126 regional malls in the United States and 18 malls in Brazil, eight strip centers totaling 1.6 million square feet, primarily in the Western region of the United States, as well as seven stand-alone office buildings totaling 0.9 million square feet, concentrated in Columbia, Maryland. The Company also own interests in regional malls in Brazil.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  His largest new buys in the first quarter are: Penn Virginia Group Holdings LP (PVG), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN), Methanex Corp. (MEOH), Solutia Inc. (SOA) and Georgia Gulf (GGC). Of his top eight stocks, five are from the chemicals industry.

Top Long Term Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Top Long Term Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Orchids Paper Products Company(TIS)

Orchids Paper Products Company manufactures private label tissue products for the consumer market in the United States. Its product line includes paper towels, bathroom tissue, and paper napkins. The company also offers its products under the Orchids, Velvet, Colortex, Ultra Valu, Dri-Mop, Big Mopper, Soft & Fluffy, Tackle, My-Size, and Care brand names. It serves value retailers (dollar stores), discount retailers, grocery stores, grocery wholesalers and cooperatives, and convenience stores. The company markets its products directly, as well as through independent brokers. Orchids Paper Products Company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Pryor, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Goodboy]

  My next step was to locate stocks in this industry. One company stood out above the rest as a top performer with plenty of upside. That company is Orchids Paper Products Co. (NYSE: TIS).

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-long-term-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now-4.html

Top 10 Undervalued Companies To Own For 2015

Top 10 Undervalued Companies To Own For 2015: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ANUP SINGH]

  Coal consumption growth in China is estimated to have slowed down to 4% year on year in 2012, down from 10% in 2011. An economic slowdown inthe countryhas affected demand, and this has been one of headwinds for Joy because it has substantial exposure to China. Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) , one Joy's competitors, is also facing trouble in China of late.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-undervalued-companies-to-own-for-2015.html

Market Wrap-up for Oct. 26 – It’s Not About What Stocks You Buy

Whenever we are reminded of Wall Street success stories, take for example Warren Buffett, we instinctively link the individual’s great accomplishments to their stock-picking abilities. But the bigger reason, which is far less talked about, as to why some investors have managed to outperform the market over the long-haul lies in their planning ability more so than their knack for picking winning stocks.

That is to say, the so-called “secret to success” in the market has more to do with your asset allocation strategy, and actually sticking to it, than it does with your ability (or dumb luck) to pick the next hot stock on Wall Street. The reality is that this truth is far less appealing at first glance (it takes more work too) and many would much rather believe they too can beat the market by simply outsmarting or “out-picking” the rest of the crowd.

Asset Allocation 101

If you’re not familiar with this concept, take a step back and educate yourself on it because it’s absolutely one of the most important things that all successful investors utilize; the SEC offers a great Beginner’s Guide to Asset Allocation, as does Franklin Templeton Investments. Simply put, asset allocation refers to how you will divide up your capital among the major categories, which for simplicity’s sake are stocks, bonds, and cash-equivalents.

How you divide up your capital is largely dependent on two factors:

Your Goals - Are you saving for retirement down the road? Are you retired and looking to generate income? The investment process needs to start with you asking yourself what you want to accomplish; only then can you formulate a game plan that will help you align the present and the future. That is to say, you need to have a clear cut financial goal in mind for the future, which will ultimately help to influence and guide your money management decisions in the present.  Your Risk Tolerance - Depending on your goal and your investment horizon (in years), you will need to define your own risk tolerance. This refers to how much risk you are comfortable with undertaking so that you may still accomplish your longer-term goal. Breaking it down even more, this decision will help steer your allocations; if you’re nearing retirement, then bonds will likely make up a larger chunk of your portfolio. Likewise, if you’re a 20-something young professional, you should ideally set aside a greater portion of your assets for equity investments [see 7 Retirement-Planning Musts for Young Investors].

In the end, the point of an asset allocation strategy is to remind yourself of your longer-term goals to ensure that the portfolio management decisions you make today align with your objective and risk-tolerance. For example, if you’re committed to steadily growing (or preserving) your retirement account, there’s no temptation to gamble with penny stocks or hot IPOs today because your asset allocation strategy will remind you to steer away from certain opportunities, as they fall outside of your risk tolerance and don’t contribute to your future objective.

Best Clean Energy Companies To Invest In 2014

Synthesis Energy Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: SYMX) shares were among the Friday’s biggest percentage gainers, all because it has a deal to become a leader in the clean coal gasification market in China.

The question is whether the deal really means much other than speculators in low-priced shares pushing the stock up.

The Houston company will partner with Zhangjiagang Chemical Machinery to form a joint venture called ZCM-SES Sino-U.S. Clean Energy Technologies.

ZCM will contribute approximately $16.5 million to the venture for a 65% ownership interest, while Synthesis Energy will contribute exclusive usage of its advanced, proprietary gasification technology in Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines and Vietnam for a 35% ownership interest.

The cash may be the most important part of the deal, as far as Synthesis Energy is concerned. It has had a rocky history. It had operated a commercial scale coal gasification plant in the Shandong Province of China, but the plant was shut down.

Hot Chemical Companies To Watch For 2015: Entertainment Properties Trust (EPR)

EPR Properties, a real estate investment trust (REIT), develops, owns, leases, and finances entertainment and related properties in the United States and Canada. Its properties include megaplex theatres, entertainment retail centers, and destination recreational and specialty properties. As of December 31, 2007, the company had a real estate portfolio of 79 megaplex theatre properties located in 26 states in the U.S. and Ontario, Canada; 1 additional theatre property under development; 8 entertainment retail centers located in Westminster, Colorado, New Rochelle, New York, White Plains, New York, Burbank, California, and Ontario, Canada; and 1 additional entertainment retail center under development and land parcels leased to restaurant and retail operators. EPR Properties qualifies as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code and would not be subject to federal income tax to the extent that it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. The company wa s founded in 1997 and is based in Kansas City, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  EPR Properties (NYSE: EPR) closed a deal to acquire the Camelback Mountain Resort in Tannersville, PA, for around $70 million. EPR Properties shares gained 0.31% to close at $48.59 on Friday.

Best Clean Energy Companies To Invest In 2014: Yamana Gold Inc.(AUY)

Yamana Gold Inc. engages in gold and other precious metals mining, and related activities, including exploration, extraction, processing, and reclamation. It also explores for copper, molybdenum, zinc, and silver metals. The company's portfolio includes 7 operating gold mines namely Chapada; El Pen Advisors' Opinion:

• [By gurujx]

  Yamana Gold Inc (AUY) Reached the 3-year Low of $8.88

  The prices of Yamana Gold Inc (AUY) shares have declined to close to the 3-year low of $8.88, which is 58.5% off the 3-year high of $20.59.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  HSBC has cut its forecast for the price of gold and downgraded Barrick Gold (ABX) and Yamana Gold (AUY) in the process.

  REUTERS

  HSBC lowered its 2014 price target for gold from $1,435 an ounce to $1,292 an ounce, while it dropped its 2015 forecast from $1,395 to $1,310.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  In 2008, when most of the market was crashing, Passport�� returns when down with it, like most funds. They posted a 50.9 percent loss that year. Though 13Fs from the period are not available, a Forbes article from April 2008 says that a quarter of the fund was invested in basic materials such as iron ore and gold miners, with other large positions in Indian financial exchange firm Financial Technologies, Asian education company Raffles Education, Yamana Gold (AUY) and Transocean (RIG).

• [By Steve Symington]

  To be sure, take a look at how prominent miners such as Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) and Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY  ) have performed relative to the S&P 500 since then:

Best Clean Energy Companies To Invest In 2014: W.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW)

W.W. Grainger, Inc. and its subsidiaries distribute facilities maintenance and other related products and services in the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico, India, Puerto Rico, China, Colombia, and Panama. The company offers maintenance, repair, and operating supplies; and other related products and services through local branches, catalogs, and the Internet. Its products include material handling equipment, safety and security supplies, lighting and electrical products, power and hand tools, pumps and plumbing supplies, cleaning and maintenance supplies, forestry and agriculture equipment, building and home inspection supplies, vehicle and fleet components, and various other items for facilities maintenance market, as well as services comprise inventory management and energy efficiency solutions. The company also distributes tools, fasteners, safety supplies, instruments, welding and shop equipment, and other items. It serves small and medium-sized businesses to large corporations, government entities, and other institutions. W.W. Grainger, Inc. was founded in 1927 and is based in Lake Forest, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

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• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The early read is mixed. Shareholders have seemed to lose patience with companies whose investment cycle seems overly extended, aggressive, or risky. For example, many shareholders have exited MSM as its investment strategy became clearer and more dilutive all the while that growth was slowing. On the other hand, investors in both 3M and EMR have taken things in more balanced stride, willing to take higher growth levels as a payback for bigger spend. It�� a tricky situation because statistically companies who are able to raise margins and ROIC the most are more likely to have stocks that outperform peers. But there are examples of companies that have invested heavily, driven to higher growth levels, and been able to more than offset the higher spend with operating leverage from the higher volume growth. Distributors�W.W. Grainger (GWW) and�Fastenal (FAST) are two notable examples.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  W.W. Grainger: Maintenance and repair supplier W.W. Grainger (GWW) saw net income drop 11% between 2009-10, disqualifying it as a purple chip, but has since rebounded with three consecutive years of earnings growth. Plus, through Q2, it’s on track to make it four years in a row. GWW has been a steady performer for years, and it’s topping the market with 30% gains year-to-date. Speaking of steady: GWW has increased its dividend for 42 consecutive years, putting it among InvestorPlace’s Dependable Dividend Stocks. Granted, it has a low (1.2%) dividend yield, but its payout ratio is a low 32%, so there’s room to grow that dividend.

Best Clean Energy Companies To Invest In 2014: Hutchinson Technology Inc (HTCH)

Hutchinson Technology Incorporated (HTI), incorporated on October 29, 1965, is a global technology manufacturer. The Company is a supplier of suspension assemblies for hard disk drives. The Company operates in two segments: the Disk Drive Components Division and the BioMeasurement Division. The Company manufactures suspension assemblies for all sizes and types of hard disk drives. Suspension assemblies are components of disk drives that hold the read/write heads in position above the spinning magnetic disks.

The Company categorize its products as either suspension assemblies or other revenue, which consists primarily of revenue outside of the disk drive industry for precision component manufacturing, tool design, tool build and metrology, suspension assembly components, reimbursement for disk drive industry-related engineering services and specific disk drive program capacity and biomeasurement products. During the year ended September 29, 2013, the Company shipped 404 million suspension assemblies of all types, supplying all manufacturers of disk drives and head-gimbal assemblers.

The Company competes with Nihon Hatsujo Kabusikigaisha, Magnecomp Precision Technology Public Company Limited, NAT Peripheral (H.K.) Co., Ltd., Nitto Denko Corporation and Dai Nippon Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another under-$10 electronic component player that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Hutchinson Technology (HTCH), which is a technology manufacturer that creates value by developing solutions to critical customer problems. This stock has been on fire during 2013, with shares up a whopping 75%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Hutchinson Technology, you'll notice that this stock has been finding significant buying interest over the last two months, whenever it has pulled back to around $3.30 to $3.20 a share. This pattern could be signaling that shares of HTCH are forming a major bottoming chart pattern if those levels can hold as support. Shares of HTCH are now starting to flirt with its 50-day moving average at $3.56 a share. That move is starting to push the stock within range of triggering a big breakout trade above a key downtrend line.

  Market players should now look for long-biased trades in HTCH if it manages to break out above its 200-day moving average of $3.65 a share and then once it clears more overhead resistance levels at $3.89 to $4.13 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that registers near or above its three-month average volume of 392,134 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then HTCH will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $4.75 to $5.50 a share, or even $6 a share.

  Traders can look to buy HTCH off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $3.37 or at $3.17 a share. One can also buy HTCH off strength once it clears those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.